Inferno, Chapter 9
Hey everybody, sorry for the wait. Life has a way of kicking you when you least expect it. Be that as it may, I plan to make this as exciting as I can, or at least set this story up for some excitement. With that in mind, let's begin.
A Cry For Help
Lora woke up, with Blaze sleeping soundly next to her. She checked his arm and smiled; due to the nature of the experimentation, he healed at a much faster than normal rate, and as long as the bone was set properly into place, it would be like it never happened in the first place. She breathed a sigh of relief, then stretched lightly and exited the tent, making sure not to disturb Blaze.
Outside she stretched properly and spotted Loki already making breakfast with his own provisions. He looked up at her and said
"Good morning. How is your friend?" Lora smiled and responded
"All he needs is a bit of rest. Due to Team Rocket's experimenting, he heals faster than most living things. As long as the bone is set back in its proper place, which it has been, it will heal in a matter of days."
Loki nodded and said
"That's good to hear. I can't say I'm surprised that such a thing could occur, given the atrocities often committed by Team Rocket. But we should be fairly safe out here, at least until we make the journey to get you two to Unova. I have to speak with my friend before we try though; I have to know if I can rely on his help or if I'm on my own. I hope to have some help, but I'll prepare for the worst."
Lora eyed him with concern and asked
"What would be the worst?" Loki shrugged and said
"I have to do everything and can't secure a two-way secret stream. That ensures that even if they get hold of one of us, they can't get everything." Lora frowned and pointed out
"But I told you everything."
Loki nodded and said
"Maybe, but I have an unbreakable will. Don't worry, your secrets are safe with me, but I need to give my friend some information. He's the kind of guy who doesn't do anything without a good reason. Unfortunately, that extends to helping others. That's where the two of us differ really; I'll help anyone when they need it, but he won't unless it's in his best interest. Chances are he'll turn you down, but he might, just might, decide to help us."
Lora frowned and said
I don't like the sound of this character too much. It seems like, if it was in his best interest, he could easily betray us." Loki thought for a moment, then shook his head and replied
"He might be a bit of a jerk, but he's not a traitor. Besides, if nothing else, he needs to know that I plan to be in town for a while." This made Lora raise an eyebrow and ask
"You intend to come with us?"
"Well, you need some sort of protection, or at least a guide. After all, you don't know the Unova region very well, do you?" Lora slumped and replied
"I don't even know the Kanto region very well. That's made it difficult to truly escape since we don't where we're going." Loki nodded and said
"I understand. I'll try and get you familiarized with Unova's borders and such; that way, if you need to make a daring escape, you can do so safely." Lora fidgeted and asked
"Will this require reading?" Loki eyed her suspiciously and asked
"Why would you ask that?" Lora fidgeted again and told him
"Because Team Rocket was worried the mothering units might leak secrets in some way, perhaps a message in a bottle or something, we were kept illiterate. We can speak quite well, but we are forbidden to read, at the penalty of torture. They would call it punishment, but that never fooled anyone."
Loki thought about this for a moment, then said
"Well, it doesn't really require any reading from you, but if you don't possess the ability, then you won't get very far in the lines of employment. Many jobs nowadays require the ability to read. I'll try and teach you while we wait for your friend's arm to completely heal." Lora nodded and sat opposite the fire from him. Loki handed her some of the breakfast he had prepared for them all. She couldn't identify it, but it didn't matter much since none of it looked like meat.
Once breakfast was finished, Loki began to get ready to teach Lora how to become literate. He brought out a small pack of paper and some writing utensils. Then he laid out one sheet of the paper and handed a pencil to Lora. It was a little more awkward for her to hold onto the pencil than him, both because of her anatomy and lack of writing skills. However, she refused to give up because of that, which gratified Loki. He began to draw out some rues of the language he spoke, and when he finished, he set it in front of her and began to say
"This is in English. It is the alphabet for the language, consisted of twenty-six letters and an almost infinite amount of punctuation. I'll get into that later. For now, I want you to copy out each letter, in both capitalized and lower-cased form. After each one, I'll explain what it is, and anything significant about it."
For the next couple of hours, Lora went over the alphabet, learning about the sounds of the letters, how they could be changed, and how they were placed together to create new words, and how the words worked together to create a legible sentence. It was all very confusing, but Lora found the exercise both challenging and exhilarating. Once she began to make sense of it, Loki began to quiz her on the variety of sounds that could be made.
At some point, Blaze woke up and walked out of the tent to find them sitting close to each other, both bent over something. Curious and wary, Blaze cautiously approached them and asked
"What's going on?" They both turned to him and Lora answered
"Loki's teaching me how to become literate. I should be able to do this so we can make a better-planned escape next time, if indeed we need one." Blaze thought it over for a second, then said
"I don't mind the idea, but are you sure we can trust this guy?" Lora cocked her head and asked
"What do you mean?" Blaze scoffed and said
"I know he wasn't just a random trainer in the woods. This guy was obviously tracking us, and well, too. That means he has experience hunting people down, and I don't know if I can trust anybody like that."
Loki's eyebrows were raised in surprise that this hybrid had deduced him so well. Lora came to his defense by saying
"I know he seems suspicious, but he's the one who bought these supplies and didn't ask anything in return. And he saved us yesterday from that Rocket grunt. By the way, how's your hand?" Blaze held up the hand that had been run through with a dart and showed her that the hole had sealed up and he could move his hand without any impediments. Loki presented him with leftovers from breakfast, which he accepted, but cautiously.
He sat across from them around the pit that once held the fire, put out for lack of necessity. While he ate, he watched Loki teach Lora the English language, and although he wouldn't admit it, he was rather interested himself in being able to read what a lot of the signs said that he often passed by. Lora felt his curiosity, but decided not to address it. Around midday, Loki rose and stretched, then told Lora
"Keep studying; I'm going to go contact my friend and see what our position will look like." Lora nodded and continued to look over the alphabet, which she was starting to get the hang of, startling Loki. She was taking to it much faster than he anticipated. Now she was starting to form words. Of course, her handwriting was quite sloppy, but considering she was making somewhat legible words on her first day of learning, it was quite an achievement.
Meanwhile, Loki walked for about ten minutes before he walked into the Pokemon Center that had been volcano-proofed ahead of the eruption.
"Hello, welcome to our pokemon center! How may I help you?" asked the bubbly, pink-haired nurse that always resided behind the counters of the Pokemon Centers. Loki passed up some of his pokemon and said
"I need to get these pokemon healed, and I also need to use the videophone." The nurse nodded and took his pokeballs, setting them on a tray, then taking them into a back room. Loki went over to the part of the Pokemon Center that housed the videophones. He typed in the number of his friend and hit the "call" button. Hopefully he would home today and be able to answer his call. After a few rings, the screen lit up, revealing a boy slightly older than himself who, like him, had black hair. The rest of him was obscured by the fact that the screen wasn't very big. Ignoring that, Loki said
"Yo, Nicholai, how's it goin'?" The boy, Nicholai, dipped his head in acknowledgement and said, in a slight accent that hinted Russian
"Hello, Loki. It has been a while since we last spoke, my friend. What can I do for you on this fine day?" Loki dipped his head and replied
"I have a favor to ask you." Nicholai grunted but didn't say anything, prompting Loki to continue.
"I've come across these two defectors from Team Rocket." Before he could say anything else, he could see as Nicholai's neck tendons and veins bulged, and he growled
"Team Rocket… those bastards are still in power, then?" Loki nodded grimly and said
"Unfortunately. Anyway, I've found these two defectors, and they're… well, a bit strange." Nicholai raised an eyebrow ad asked
"In what way?" Loki looked around him but saw no one, not even the nurse. He faced the screen again and whispered
"One of them is a Blaziken/human hybrid. The other's a Gardevoir who was tasked with raising him. After some time, they decided to make a break for it, and now Team Rocket is hunting them. They can't get very far here since Kanto is where Team Rocket is strongest. So they're planning to flee the region. I discussed their options, and they settled on Unova." Nicholai's head lifted in understanding, and he said
"Ah, I see now. And you wish for me to help them settle here." It wasn't a question, but Loki nodded anyway. Then Nicholai said
"I will do it, if only because I despise Team Rocket. It sounds like this hybrid is important to them if they are hunting him, and to bring him to a land where their influence is minimal will no doubt strike a blow to them. However, I cannot guarantee they will not come here if indeed he is important to them." Loki nodded and said
"I understand, but we should do what we can for them." Nicholai nodded and asked
"How do you plan to move them to here?" Loki scratched the back of his head and said nervously
"Actually, I was hoping you would have some ideas." Nicholai pinched the bridge of his nose and spoke in Russian.
"Vy povtorno idiotom. Fine, let me think." Loki held his tongue as Nicholai began to write some stuff down on a paper he apparently had with him. Then he raised his head and said
"Okay, first we must eliminate all forms of transportation that will not work for you." Loki sweatdropped and asked
"Is that really necessary?" Nicholai fixed him with a stern gaze and said
"You wish for me to help you?" Loki nodded nervously, to which Nicholai responded
"Then we do things my way. Now then, for obvious reasons, bicycles, cars, buses, and trains are closed to you since they do not have the ability to traverse over the ocean. That leaves you with either aircraft or seacraft. Which would you prefer?" Loki went over the options and said
"That's a difficult choice to make. We're trying to keep all forms of stealth here, and I don't think either one offers much of it." Nicholai scoffed and said
"I am not telling you to get them first-class tickets, just get them on the plane or boat to Unova. Chances are they would prefer to hide in the cargo bay of either anyway. I know I would." Loki laughed, simply because he found it funny. But when he looked back at the screen and saw that Nicholai's expression hadn't changed, he asked
"You're serious?" Nicholai nodded, and Loki said sarcastically
"Look, I'm all for crappy living conditions, but I don't think they'd be too agreeable to that." Nicholai smirked and said
"Humor, how delightful. Now then, we are agreed that they will either take a boat or a plane to Unova. Either you make the decision for them or ask their opinions. I must leave for now, but I will be available tomorrow. Try to contact me early." Loki nodded and ended the conversation. When he stood, the nurse came out of the back room and told him
"Thank you for waiting, your pokemon have been restored to full health." Loki took his pokeballs off the tray and thanked the nurse for her help, to which she bowed and said
"Anytime! We hope to see you again soon!"
Loki walked outside and angled for the temporary camp he had set up for Lora's and Blaze's benefit. When he got back, he found Lora explaining some of what she was learning to Blaze, who seemed interested in it. Blaze looked up at him and scowled. Loki sighed in disappointment. He was the kind of guy who loved to help whoever he could, but if he couldn't gain their favor, then that became much harder. He sat down and Lora asked
"So, how did it go?" Loki grinned and said
"He's willing to help you escape Team Rocket, but we need to go over how we're going to get you to Unova." Lora nodded and asked
"Do you have any ideas yet?" Loki huffed and responded
"Well, the only modes of transportation we can use to get you there in a reasonable amount of time is either a ship or a plane. Which would you prefer?" Blaze looked up and asked
"Which one would be the stealthiest?" Loki thought for a moment, then answered
"Probably a ship." Then Lora asked
"Which would be faster?" Loki slumped and said
"Definitely the plane." Blaze and Lora looked at each other, then began to debate.
"Stealth should be the way to go. That way we don't get found in the first place and no one's the wiser."
"But if we opt for speed, then stealth doesn't become as big an issue. Once we arrive, we can employ stealth to throw off any trackers we might have."
"But if we employ stealth in the first place, then chances are we won't even have any trackers."
"But that's still relying on chance, which hasn't worked out very well for us. And if we do have trackers on the ship, it will be that much harder to avoid them because we will be so limited on space. And while a plane has less space, it also means they wouldn't attempt anything because everyone would see. Besides, it might cause you to go ballistic, which would kill us all, and Team Rocket wants you alive."
Loki sweatdropped and said
"That's not very encouraging or optimistic." Lora turned to him and said
"But it is realistic, and right now we have to be that way. Unease is to be expected, but we must acknowledge everything in order to make the best decision." Loki hesitated, then said
"All right, if that's the case, then you both choose to go by plane?" Blaze hung his head and said
"I don't like it, but I guess Lora has a good point. Besides," he said, raising his head again "the sooner we get there, the sooner we get away from Team Rocket, right?" Loki hesitated again, and he told Blaze
"Well, I can't guarantee that. If you're really as important to them as it sounds, then I believe they would look for you in every region. However, Unova is safest because their influence isn't as big there, and it's the furthest region away from Kanto and Johto. Otherwise, I would really suggest Hoenn." Lora took out a map Loki had left behind and asked
"What about this one? The region known as… Orre?" Lora was still trying to read, but given some of the basics of the English language, it wasn't unduly hard to pronounce the simple word. Loki shook his head and told her
"No, you don't want that one. It's notorious for its criminal syndicates. Most everyone who comes from there are like hardened criminals. They make excellent trainers, if they don't deviate from the lines of morality, but they can have a tendency to overdo it a bit when it comes to traveling to other regions."
Lora cocked her head in confusion and asked
"What do you mean by that?" Loki sighed and replied
"They don't have an official Pokemon League like the rest of the regions do, so the rules of battle are a bit… laxed over there. I don't know much else, but I know you don't want to head there." Lora nodded and said
"All right; I'll take your word for it."
For the rest of the day, Loki continued to teach Lora how to properly read and write in English, Blaze gradually coming into the picture. Then they broke off to eat and soon after retire for the night.
Okay, that's the end of this chapter. Tell me what you think of it so far!