Chapter 15 – Sheer Cold
"Crowded streets all drift away – one by one. Hollow heroes separate as they run. You're so cold keep your hand in mine. Wise men wonder while strong men die." – Breaking Benjamin – So Cold
"Thou art all ice. Thy heart freezes." —William Shakespeare
[12:10PM] – 25rd May – Route 19 – Seafoam Waters – Misty & Pokémon (Gyrados, Golduck, Pichu)
"You're a funny little guy," the red head spoke to the small electric mouse which she had fished from the sea a few days before. She had been sailing past Route 12 and the Silent Bridge, when she had caught sight of the yellow creature, struggling beneath the waves. Instructing her Golduck to retrieve it, she had been introduced to the small, hyperactive Pichu which had been her entertainment for much of the three day journey to Seafoam Islands.
"Pi!" the small creature chirped happily, dancing around of Gyra's head much to the Atrocious Pokémon's annoyance. The sea monster was cruising in the air, about two metres above the eerily calm waves. To the north, the land which must be Vermillion could be seen, shimmering in the distance. But Misty's destination lay to the south west, a small cluster of rocks which marked out the Seafoam Islands.
She wasn't really sure why they were called islands when the majority of them were more like underwater caverns. They loomed up in front of her, faster than she would have liked, and before she knew it, the sea monster had descended to the ocean, pausing on the edge of the rocky outcrop. A few metres away sat a cave entrance, dark and ominous.
Misty was really beginning to hate caves.
[19:22PM] – Unknown Date – Approximately Five Years before – Cerulean Base – About two months after the lab incident
"You betrayed us!"
"You betrayed me!"
"You can't even remember!"
"Doesn't change what happened!"
"No, it doesn't. And I betrayed you and you betrayed me so there - we're even all right! We made stupid mistakes and I regret every second of it!"
The raven haired man fell silent, eyes wide and lost, the blue lightning until they were almost grey, stormy emotions swirling within. Finally he sighed, "Until I can remember everything this conversation is over," he spat, whirling around and turning away from her.
Misty thought her heart broke then - just a little.
[12:24PM] – 25rd May – Route 19 – Seafoam Island – Caves – Second Level – Misty & Pokémon (Gyrados, Golduck, Pichu)
The little yellow baby Pokémon skipped along happily, chirping a little song as they walked along. Misty took a moment to examine the electric type, pausing for a moment in thought about the gender. At first she had though the mouse was a boy, but she could see the nick in the tail that indicated a female of the Pikachu evolutionary line. It was the ear that had put her off, the fur spiking up in three black clumps.
If anything it was unusual but Misty didn't have the time to analyse the little Pokémon's story. She had decided to join Misty and that was that.
But the gym leader really needed to stop mentally calling the mouse a 'he'.
The red head had been quick to descend to the icy layer of the second level of caves. She winced as she slipped on the ice, crashing into a blue ice encrusted rock. Really, was she expected to skate around to get anywhere?
The giant blue scaled sea monster had been left outside, beaching himself comfortably on the warm rocks, curling up in exhaustion from the long three day journey south along the coast. Golduck stalked just ahead of her, leading the way, the slight purple glow to his eyes the only clue that he was using psychic. "So," Misty spoke, trying to ignore the echoes, "Where did you come from little guy…uh… little girl?"
The only other reason she was positive it was a girl was the white ice flower the mouse had stuck behind her spiky tipped ear. The rodent in question let out a happy chirp, brown eyes bright.
Misty nodded, chewing her lip, "Since I can't understand you, I'll ask you a question and you either nod or shake your head."
Another chirp.
"Yeah, well so are you from around Vermillion?"
To her surprise the little mouse actually shook her head.
"Lavender?"
Another shake.
"Cerulean? Viridian? Pewter? Saffron?" she ventured at last, receiving a positive, "Oh that must have been horrible – we're you with the Team?" The little electric type responded with a negative, "The rebels?" A shrug, "A gym leader?" Nod, "Sabrina?" Nod. "Really?" Shrug. "Oh, were there others as well? Surge? No…uh… Janine? Brock? Blaine? It is a Kanto gym leader right? Hmm… oh, I know – Erika! Yes! And who else? Dragon? Oh, you mean Lance. And… Shadow? Uh… right… did you have fun with them? They rescued you? Oh, that's nice. The… you liked the older evolution of yourself – a Pikachu? No… Raichu – that's cute… oh – like a big brother kind of way? Why's that? He had a mate… what do you mean an Eevee-Espeon-Umbreon? Did they leave you? No… you ran away from them – why? Oh, you were scared – is that how you ended up on Silent Bridge?"
Misty paused, trying to decipher the long string of syllables. From being around his Pikachu for so long most of the words were translatable, especially with the exaggerated mimes and squeaks. But the garbled mess about 'explosion boom! Grass run and shadow vanish with big brother and aura follow me scared boom bong bell."
With a small laugh, Misty scooped up the little baby Pokémon, holding her to her chest, as she did so long ago with Togepi. "You sound like you had quite an adventure!" she complimented.
"PiChu!" the mouse squeaked, yawning slightly.
From up ahead Golduck paused sharply, turning to his trainer, "GolDuck!" he called.
The red headed Cerulean gym leader hurried over, trying not to slip on the icy floor, "Great job," she complimented her Pokémon, and he beamed with pride. Her fond gaze switching to the gloomy stairs she had found, "Lorelei should be down there then… that is if she chose Soafoam Islands as her haunt. But we've been all around the coast and this is the most likely place until we get to Cinnabar."
Misty began to descend the stairs when her blue feathered duck pulled her back sharply. "Gold!" he quacked and Misty stepped back away from the gaping abyss in alarm. The rocky stairs only went a few feet down into darkness before they fell away, crumbling into dust. Below Misty could see the next cave level, about three metres down.
"ChuKaa!" with a squeak, Chu hopped out of her eyes, scurrying over to where a rope ladder was nailed into the rock. She jumped up and down happily in front of it.
"Great job Pichu!" Misty congratulated, before following the female Pichu down the ladder and into the gloom. A shiver ran up Misty's spine and she felt a great sense of relief that she wasn't going to be meeting any bug type Pokémon down there.
The second level was similar to the first, coated with slippery ice which sent Chu skidding across the shiny surface. Misty followed more carefully with Golduck now bringing up the rear, giving a growl to some wild Dewgong that lurked in the shadows.
"There's another layer right?" Misty asked the silence, as she made her way up a rise and back down again, spotting another dark hole in the floor, "Do you think we'll find Lorelei down there?"
A part of Misty wanted to meet the ice type elite again, her awe of the amazing water and ice type trainer still present. The other part was scared stiff – she had seen what the elites could do when angry – Lance's Dragonite had levelled half a forest while Ash's Charizard had burnt his way through her and Brocks type effective Pokémon with ease, before going to sleep on their last Pokémon. It had been extremely embarrassing when her Milotic and Brock's Rhyperior had been knocked out by a carelessly flick of his tail, and the red head had been convinced it was a dragon tail in disguise.
The elites were the powerhouses behind the League, and now behind SECTION. Agatha the ghost type specialist, Karen the dark mistress, Bruno, the fighting giant, Will the psychic, Lorelei, the ice queen, Lance, the dragon master, Koga, the poison ninja and him. Of course. Who else? The lightning lord. He'd made champion at only fourteen before stepping down into the elites. (Eighteen according to the 'our world equivelent' rant)
Life was good.
Then the war began.
Misty shivered slightly as she descended another level, pausing to look around wide eyed at the small network of canal and rocks in the bottom cavern. Next to her Golduck hopped down some steps, etched into the rock, wading into the water. "Can we surf?" Misty asked him, and he nodded, as she cautiously dabbed her fingers into the water.
Freezing.
Gritting her teeth and forcing herself to pull off her extra warm layers, stuffing them in her waterproof backpack, Misty stripped down to the usual swimming gear she wore underneath. She was a water type gym leader. She wouldn't let something as fickle as cold water get in her way.
About ten minutes later she was regretting that mind-set, as she stumbled shivering out of the water. Pausing for a moment, just to hear her teeth clattering together, Misty pulled on her clothes, sinking into the soft and warm cloth. Pichu hopped onto her shoulder, pressing her body against the red head neck, trying to warm her up.
Slinging her backpack onto her shoulder, Misty paused to look around, deciding which path to pick in the gloom. In the shadows a shape danced, and her Golduck spun around warily, opening his mouth to let out a cry, but the warning came to late.
An ice cold hand clamped down over Misty's mouth, before pulling her into the shadows.
[19:22PM] – Unknown Date – Approximately Five Years before – Cerulean Base – About two months after the lab incident – Ash? (Eevee, Pikachu)
There were times when he woke up again, not knowing who he was. That always scared him the most, and he would spend the next hour or so with Pikachu and Eevee talking, solidifying facts and names and images in his mind. There were still gaping holes, and the fact there was nothing there was actually preferable to those half faded, but he didn't tell anyone that.
He wasn't sure what the pretty red haired girl meant to him. There was an overwhelming sense of betrayal which was bitter and frustrated, mixed with endearment, or maybe it was just pain, that was hidden under layers and layers of indifference. The champion kept staring at him, seeming to want to say something but could never find the words. After their first meeting…well… as far as he could remember it was the first, although he knew it wasn't for Lance popped up a lot in his memories, but he had no reference to judge the situation, but at the time when he had been lost, and memories still torn away . Needless to say the champion, looking for his friend who wasn't there and the aura guadian with no sense of identity had gotten along thrillingly well. That is to say, they had argued.
Half the words weren't his and the other half weren't either. It didn't take long before Eevee darted forward in a snarl, black ear twitching and his Dragonair had appeared, writhing and flailing.
They had battled, and he would have said it was a six on six except he didn't feel right, instructing Pokémon he knew, yet at the same time didn't really – ghosts of someone else's life. But Va and Pika were quite enough as it turned out to take down four of Lance's dragons – his Dragonair, Aerodactyle, Altaria and they were working on the Salamence when Blue had broken up the fight.
No wait… his name was Gary…
The thing he hated the most was the pity – the looks people sent him when they thought he wasn't looking, even when he could feel the emotion pouring out of them.
Well… he said that was the worst thing… he might have lied a bit about that…
The worst thing was the teleporting. He hadn't told anyone.
He wasn't planning on it.
Most people must have just assumed he got very good at disappearing, even as he unconsciously split dimensions, pulling himself and his Pokémon through and out again. He didn't even think about it, and the hardest thing was not doing it without realising, when he stepped back in alarm. He had once, but the blue haired Platinum…
No wait… her name was Dawn…
The hyper co-ordinater hadn't even noticed so engrossed she was in telling him all about contests. He had been back before she noticed he had gone.
And so things remained Sapphire and Platinum regaling his in epic tales of adventure… Lance avoiding him… Misty alternating between stalking his movements and vanishing from his sight… Blue insulting him… Pikachu stealing ketchup… Eevee hiding… pictures began to creep back slowly, sometimes with, and sometimes without the annotations to go with them.
Some things would never come back, and others… well – he would have to wait and see.
[12:24PM] – 25rd May – Route 19 – Seafoam Island – Caves – Second Level – Misty & Pokémon (Gyrados, Golduck, Pichu)
"Get of me!" Misty screamed, although it came out mumbled. With a cry she drove her elbow backwards, trying to nail her attacker in the gut but they sidestepped.
With a cry, Chu let out a thunderbolt, and the water trainer winced as her attacker let her go. Being used to Pikachu's attacks, Misty was first to recover, as she knocked her head backwards, hitting the nose of the person behind her, even as she twisted, breaking the hold.
"Golduck – hyper… Lorelei!" she gasped, seeing the reddy purple hair in the light of the sparking electricity. "It's you? Lorelei Prima?" she asked, voice uncertain as the woman shook of the attack, standing, narrowing her dark eyes at Misty from behind her glasses.
"You're the Cerulean gym leader," Lorelei spat, "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you," Misty breathed, nervously, "We've been collecting the time gears from around the region and rumour has it that A…" she choked on the name, "That you were given one," she amended.
Prima curled her lip, "How did you find me?" she asked, and behind her Misty could see a Cloyster and Dewgong lurking in the shadows.
Misty answered honestly, aware of her Golduck beside her and Chu on the floor in front of her. "I followed the coast. I thought… you're an ice type specialist and if you weren't in Cerulean and hadn't gone home to the islands then you'd be in Seafoam."
The purple haired woman scoffed, "I'm not joining the war," she spat, "I heard what happened four years ago. You're boyfriend died didn't he?" she mocked, softly, and Misty hid the wince.
"He died fighting," she spat, "Unlike you – you coward! The least you can do is give me the gear and I'll leave you alone to freeze down here!"
Prima adjusted her glasses, "Then you can die a fool like Ash did – is that what you want? You know how many time gears there are?"
"Seventeen."
Lorelei looked mildly impressed, "Do you know what type mine is?"
"It's not yours!" Misty snapped, "Ash found! He only gave it to you to look after because you were hiding down here!"
"What type?"
"Ice."
"Do you have any others?"
"The bug, psychic and ground type. I have the water type with me."
In the shadows her Dewgong hopped forwards, something in its mouth. "Do you even know where to take them?" Lorelei asked, scathingly, her stance not changing.
"No." Misty said, standing up tall, "But we're finding it out."
For a long moment Lorelei considered the water type trainer in front of her before turning carelessly, snapping her fingers towards the Dewgong, "You can have it. Do what you want with it – I don't care."
Misty took the ice cold white stone from the dual type's mouth. It was cold to the touch, but the white sparked blue under her fingers. "Thank you." She said, gratefully, "I'll leave now."
"Yes," Prima didn't look at her, "You do that."
Misty stared at her icons back for several seconds before curling her lip and turning away, stalking off. Some hero she was.
She didn't look back.
[12:24PM] – 25rd May – Route 19 – Seafoam Island – Caves – Second Level – Misty & Pokémon (Gyrados, Golduck, Pichu)
She didn't see the pair of rockets until she almost walked right into them.
Misty had successfully made it up to the top floor of the cave, and had been working her way carefully around the ice patches, her focus on the ground, so she didn't notice the two black suited figures ahead of her until they spoke.
"Look at that Bob – a little lost gym leader."
"My name is Butch."
The red head looked up in alarm, eyes wide as her Golduck stepped in front of her, claws out. At the two rockets feet a Raticate let out a growl.
"Prepare for trouble," the woman announced, smirking.
"And make it double."
Misty's face, although they weren't looking at it, too busy in their dance routine, had become slightly pinched in what seemed to be resigned boredom.
"To infect the world with devastation,"
"To blight all peoples within the nation."
"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"
"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"
"Cassidy!"
"Butch!"
"Team Rocket circling the earth both day and night. Surrender to us now or prepare to lose the fight!"
"Raticate!"
The blonde woman looked down, smirk falling as she saw Misty's deadpan expression. "Uh… Butch? Did we overdo it on the motto?"
The teal haired man shrugged, "She's in awe of out power."
Misty raised an eyebrow, "I'm just in awe of how much of a failure you two are. I mean… you can't even get the motto for Team Rocket right!"
"What!" Cassidy screamed. No, what – that was Butch screaming. "What do you mean we can't get it right!"
Misty cleared her throat. "It goes like this. Ahem. Prepare for trouble, make that double. To defend the world from devastation. To unite all people within our nation. To defend the evils of truth and love. To extend our reach to the stars above. Jessie. James. Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light. Surrender now or prepare to fight. Meowth that's right." Her grin was decidedly smug as she finished.
Cassidy stalked towards her, glaring daggers. If looks could kill Misty would be dead a hundred times over by now. "How dare you recite those lunatics motto!"
"Oh I dare," Misty shot back, "It's better than yours – moron!"
Cassidy took another step forward and Misty stepped back, eyes widening as she came into contact with a wall. Cassidy smiled, "You're in a tight little situation aren't you? How would you like to come back with us to Saffron HQ!"
There was a cough from Butch. "Uh… Cass? Saffron HQ is down – remember? After the burglary and the three rocket elites abandoning their posts."
The blonde waved a hand, dismissively, "Psh. We'll take them to Viridian then."
Misty stood up, glaring at them. "You should be careful." She warned. "I'm about to unleash my ultimate attack," she told them, voice entirely serious, and Butch actually looked slightly alarmed. Dramatically, Misty let her eyes slide over their heads, "Oh mew!" she cried, "What the hell is that!"
In alarm, they spun around, even as Misty took the opportunity to duck away, Golduck at her heels. "Oh and your motto is rubbish!" Misty called over her shoulder as she raced away from them, Pichu laughing on her shoulder.
Team Rocket. The grunts were complete and utter morons.
"Where's the exit?" she gasped to her Golduck, who looked around in alarm.
"Gol," he quaked, pathetically, looking towards a mess of rocks and ice and rubble.
"Idiots," she hissed. "They do realise they've blocked themselves in to – don't they?"
"GolDuck!" cried her duck, and the water trainer turned to see him being bitten by a hyper fang, the Raticate holding him down. Behind them the blonde and green haired man stood, arms crossed, once again, hemming her in.
Team Rocket grunts also appeared to be very fast runners.
"Well look at this – our prey is caught again!" Cassidy let out a cackle.
Misty shook her head, "I'm not coming with you," she sneered, her eyes flickering to over their heads. Her eyes widened slightly. "Uh… you guys… behind you…"
"We're not falling for that a second time!" Butch chuckled, even as an ice beam hit his head, freezing him solid.
Cassidy spun around very slowly, swallowing nervously as she encountered Lorelei's giant Lapras, the ice type Pokémon already charging a white cold beam.
The sheer cold attack froze her too.
Misty let out the breath she didn't even know she had been holding, kicking the half frozen Raticate away from her Golduck, checking he was all right. "Thank you." She said, speaking both to the Lapras and the person riding him, glasses catching the light.
"No problem," Lorelei said, calmly, as if it didn't affect her. She truly was an ice queen. "I can give you a lift out, since the fools blocked the entrance. Hop on."
Misty didn't move. "What made you change your mind?" she asked.
Lorelei laughed. "Oh don't get any ideas about me coming out of hiding to help with the war! You just ran off before I could tell you about Indigo Plateau!"
"What about it?" Misty asked, as she followed her blue duck up onto a perch on the large transport Pokémon. She was larger than Ash's had been, and Misty could perch near the bottom, far enough away from Lorelei Prima to still glare at her fully without craning her neck.
The ice elite smile. "Didn't anyone ever tell you about why the League was built there?" she asked, as the ice and water type began to slide on the ice, navigating quickly and with ease. "The League picked that spot because it was the location of where there was a crack in the world. In olden days, people used to worship Dialga there. They called it Temporal Tower."
"What?" Misty stared at her, "Temporal Tower is at the Plateau?"
Prima laughed, "Temporal Tower was destroyed. In its wake, the Plateau rose. Weren't you listening? They rebuilt it! Indigo Plateau is Temporal Tower!"
AN – Meet baby ChuChu. I know, I called her a boy in an earlier note, but what can I say? She takes after her trainer ;) (Not Misty, even though she's called the tomboyish mermaid and has adopted ChuChu as her pretty much). And no – no ChuChu and Rai love. I admit, I was planning on it, but Va and Rai is cuter not to mention she's a little Pichu and he's a Raichu. The age difference :S
So Misty finds the Seafoam Islands, Butch and Cassidy get frozen... you get a flashback of Ash trying to remember and getting really confused (poor him) about names. I admit to feeling only slightly evil!
Next time… Janine protests against stealing stuff (wow, makes a change – especially since I envision her as a Yuffie character from FFVII who steals anything she can lay her hands on using her ninja awesomeness!), Lance shoots Ash (by accident – seriously!), and Erika realises she's the only sane one around (when she's really, really not). Oh, and I steal some time-ish stuff from Doctor Who and Torchwood!
~ Eclipse