Chapter 17

Search for a Guardian

The four now had an even bigger task at hand, one that seemed nearly impossible to Wasser. "Rayquaza lives in the upper atmosphere. How are we supposed to find him?"

"You heard Mew," Braun said "Shout your name to the Heaven's Winds."

"Yeah, well I haven't a clue what that means and I doubt you do either."

Unlike they had been a few days ago, their banter didn't have a hint of sting to it. They had come to trust each other and know that there was nothing between them.

Sam smiled listening to them. She walked behind them with Luca, who clutched her hand gently in his own. Feeling him filled her with a pleasant sense of content. It was probably the most content she'd felt since Feuer's death. And she didn't feel the same pang of sorrow that she normally would have. Instead, thinking of him only brought out sweet memories that lingered long enough for her to remember how he made her felt, but faded before she could really miss him.

He caught her looking out into space. "You ok?"

She blinked, the images vanishing and a smile replacing them. "Yeah."

He returned her smile.

"How much further are we planning on going?" she asked to no one in particular.

Braun reached the top of a small rise in the path and stopped. "We're here."

A cold, wet breeze hit her face as she stepped over the hill. In the distant, a bright blue sea spread as far as she could see. Clouds of Wingull could be seen even from this distance. A city, slightly smaller than Saffron, sat next to the water. Just beyond the city, several white cruise ships floated in the water. Vermillion City: Sam recognized it from travel postcards. "Why are we here? Isn't this a resort city or something?"

"It is," Braun said. "But it's also the main ocean hub to Kanto. There will be a few sailors that might be able to give us a clue about what the Heaven's Winds are."

They made the rest of the half-hour walk silently, letting the sounds of the city slowly overtake them. The Wingull created a high-pitched cry that seemed to never take a pause. Even the city couldn't drown it out.

The edges of the city seemed to be the more average types of small suburbs: apartments, one-business buildings, etc. But as they got closer to the city center, it began to look like Saffron, though the buildings were quite smaller. Further towards the water, more hotels and specialty restaurants took up the blocks. That area was the resort section, which easily took up half of the city.

They stopped at a hotel just within the resort lines for a room. Luca ordered two rooms by unspoken consent from the others, one for Sam and one for the guys. But they still had half of the day to spend.

"I know this great bar a few blocks over," Luca suggested. "You want to go grab a bite to eat?"

"I'm in," Sam said.

"I think I'll go straight for the docks," said Braun. "I'd rather not let Roth come back again."

Wasser looked around. He had never been in a real city. "I'll go with you. I want to see more of this place."

"Fine."

And so they went their own ways, Braun and Wasser heading towards the ocean to the south while Luca and Sam went towards the east.

Sam became mildly fascinated with the city as they walked. Many of the women were dressed in such small pieces of cloth they may as well have not been wearing anything. And yet they mingled with people wearing full business wear as if the other were dressed identically.

And then they were suddenly standing outside a small corner building. A blue awning ran the length of it, the words "Bud's Bar" across the window in stylized yellow letters. Compared to the modern city, the walls looked incredibly old, as if they were ready to collapse in on themselves at any second. Luca quickly led her through the front door. The inside looked much more appealing than the outside did: the walls were stained wood, with several posters and pictures. Tables were scattered around the room with a one-sided bar going along the windows and along the other side; only three tables were occupied. A wall of glass bottles lined the far wall. Sam had never been in a bar before, and it was a little strange. The smell stood out the most; it was a bit smoky, but not overwhelmingly so.

A man from behind the bar looked up, his face quickly turning into surprise. "Luca? Is that you?"

"Nice to see you, Bud," he replied as they weaved over to the bar. "How's business?"

"Thursdays are slow as always as you can see," he waved to the room. "But weekends are still jumping." He nodded his head at Sam. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Sam. Sam, this is Bud."

"Pleasure to meet you, ma'am." He reached his hand out to Sam, who took it. "Anything I can get for you two?"

Luca swung his leg over a stool and sat. "Surprise me. Nothing too strong, though."

"Two Blue Teas, coming up."

Sam sat down next to Luca, eyeing the different bottles along the far wall. They were too numerous to count. She then noticed a small sign above them that listed several specials with prices. Then she realized, "I don't have any money."

"Don't worry about it," Bud said as he poured something blue into a tall, thin glass. "Luca's money ain't good here anyway."

"Why's that?" she asked.

Luca held up a hand. "Please, Bud. You don't have to go through this again."

"Of course I do." He spun around, two identical drinks with blue fluid in his hands. "Luca can always seem to tell when a fight's going to break out. He's saved my bar twice now." He topped off each glass with a slightly amber liquid. "He doesn't have to buy another drink from me." The two glasses came up to the bar-top. "Enjoy."

"Thanks."

Sam slid her cup over to her. It had a very strong smell. When she looked over, Luca had already taken several sips of his, so she brought it up and let a few drops fall onto her tongue. It was very sweet and left a tangy aftertaste when she swallowed. She liked it.

Luca suddenly slid off his seat and patted her shoulder. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."

She smiled and set her glass down. "Ok." He turned and walked off through a side-door.

Bud walked back up as he vanished, drying a glass with a rag. "Nice guy, isn't he?" Sam nodded as she took another sip. "Do you like him?"

She set the glass down with a smile. "I love him."

"So why don't you show it?" She paused, not quite understanding, so he went on. "Something's holding you back. What's up?"

She took her eyes off of him and let them settle onto the blue drink. "My mate died a few weeks ago…"

"Ah," he said, interrupting her. "Say no more. I know what it is." He pointed over his shoulder towards a frame Sam didn't see before. It was of a younger Bud and a blonde. "My wife Judy died three months after we were married. I stayed inside for weeks. But you gotta let them go. Don't get me wrong, I still love her. But if I hadn't moved on, I wouldn't have met my current wife, Sue."

When he looked at her, she had a face between horror and disgust. "How can you just do that to her?"

"You can't let the past keep you from living your future."

Before she could respond, Feuer walked back into the room and Bud went off to do his own thing. After he took his seat, Feuer asked, "Do you still have those Buffalo Wings?"

"Sure do," Bud answered with a smile. He went on, casually pretending he and Sam hadn't shared a word.

Sam ate some, but not much. She now had too much on her mind to be hungry.

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Unlike most of the city, the docks of Vermillion were anything but a resort. Large sections were bare concrete and metal. A few places had large piles of ocean equipment.

"Let's get out of here fast," Wasser said. "I don't think I like this place."

"Just relax. One more crew and we'll go."

They'd gone down the entire docks, asking every of the six crews currently harbored. None of them had heard of such a thing as the Heaven's Wind, but Braun didn't think any of them looked like real seamen; they were just workers aboard the cruise lines.

As they stepped around an old wood shed, a collection of flashing red and blue lights met them. A collection of police and ambulances were gathered around the last of the docks. A number of them were wearing HAZMAT suits. A yellow circle of police tape kept a small crowd back.

They shared a single glance before approaching.

"What's going on?" Braun quickly asked when they hit the tape.

A policeman held a hand out. "Stay back please."

A line of gurneys came from the ship. Bodies, struggling against tight restraints, twisted in each one.

"What's going on?" Wasser asked from below. "What's happening?" He wasn't quite tall enough to see.

Braun fought to find the words that suddenly escaped him. "Fur… He has fur." The gurney was quickly loaded into an ambulance. "Another one has scales. They almost look like Feuer."

"What? How is that possible? I thought Feuer was the only Halfling."

Their eyes slowly met as they reached the same conclusion.

"Eldryn."

"He's done it."

A/N: Ah, the cliffhanger. Just when you think he's dead, he strikes again.

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