Chapter 17: Abandoned
Lyla was about eleven or twelve years old when it happened.
"Do you think they'll like the pink ones, Skitty?"
"Meeyah!"
"Can you hand me the ribbon?"
The two were sitting at a table in her mother's flower shop and she was arranging some flowers in a vase for someone's wedding anniversary. Her mother suddenly came in, arms full of groceries purchased from the grocery store next door. Lyla paid no attention as her mother came in because she was too busy trying to perfect the arrangement she was working on. She finally noticed her mother when all of the items hit the floor.
"Oh darn…what a mess," Caroline, Lyla's mother, trailed off as she bent down to clean up what she had dropped.
"Need some help, mom?" Lyla asked with a giggle as she walked over to assist her mother.
"I figured that if I asked, I would just get some back talk, as always. Although, ever since you met Skitty, I must admit that you have really improved!"
"Aw shucks, ma!"
"I mean it; you've really begun to develop a sense of responsibility and compassion for others. I guess you're just growing up, but either way, I'm so proud of you, sweetie!"
Lyla smiled without saying much and carried some of the bags to the cooler in the back of the store. Then she returned and continued to arrange the flower bouquet while her mother took inventory. It wasn't long before the bell on the door jingled as someone entered the store. It was a normal occurrence so Lyla didn't even look up, but her mother turned around and her face quickly filled with anger.
"What are you doing here?" she asked softly. This caught Lyla's attention and she looked up to find two strangely-dressed men standing at the front of the store. She was silent but watched cautiously as they approached Caroline.
"We have some business to discuss with you, remember? You agreed to it…" one of the men said.
"I told Maxie that I would speak to you both on my own terms. What is the meaning of this, Team Magma?"
"Don't be a bitch, Caroline. We're not here to cause trouble. We just wanna talk."
"Lyla, take Skitty to the back room and clean it now," Caroline said calmly.
"I already cleaned it, mom. Don't worr –"
"Go to the back, now!" Caroline demanded.
Lyla had never seen her mother so flustered before and decided that it wasn't worth it to argue, so she got up quietly and went to back room. The men watched her silently with mischievous grins on their faces.
"You are not to look at her. You are not to speak to her. You are not to go anywhere near her. Do I make myself clear, gentlemen?"
Lyla closed the door behind her and pressed her ear against it, in hopes to better understand what was going on.
"Myee?"
"Shhh, Skitty! I don't know what's going on either. Be quiet so I can find out, okay?"
The two grunts murmured quietly and Lyla couldn't make out what they were saying, but she sensed a bit of threat in their tones. After a while, there was a pause of hesitation and Caroline asked if there was 'any other way.'
"Any other way to do what?" Lyla wondered, gradually becoming more aware of the situation. One of the grunts muttered something and the other gave an apology that made Lyla's heart sink. The next sound she heard was a vase shattering against the floor followed by what sounded like a violent struggle.
"MOM?" Lyla shouted, extremely alarmed and in total panic at this point. The struggling suddenly stopped and all Lyla could hear was whispering so she called her mom again, on the verge of tears.
"Stay there, sweetie! They'll be gone in a minute!" Caroline called and then continued in a lower voice, "Please, you have to think of my daughter. This could affect her for the rest of her life! What is she going to do?"
"She seems pretty bright. She'll manage. But I'm afraid you'll have to come with us!"
"What do you think you're doing? Get your hands off of me!"
Lyla took ahold of Skitty and squeezed her tightly as the three struggled once more.
"What do we do, Skitty? What do we do?" Lyla sobbed. "They're trying to take her away…But why? What did she do to them? We don't have any money. What do they want?"
There was suddenly a loud thud and it all ceased. Lyla held her breath and there was only silence. She and Skitty waited and listened; eventually, the bell on the front door jingled as someone left and Lyla exhaled.
"M-mom?" she whispered. "Are you here?"
There was silence for a few moments more and then the sound of footsteps gradually neared the back room where Lyla and Skitty were waiting. Lyla froze as the doorknob turned and then she backed away from it slowly as it opened. One of the grunts and her mother had disappeared and the other had stayed behind; he entered the room.
"Wh-what's going on? Who are you? Is my mom okay?" Lyla asked, dropping Skitty who then darted to a table to hide beneath it.
He said nothing and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, lifted her up and held her in the air for a moment while she kicked violently and screamed for help.
"Shhhhhhh," he said. "I'm gonna see to it that your mother will be just fine but I need you to promise me something okay? OKAY?"
Lyla was completely petrified at this point and couldn't say a word, so he gave her one violent shake to get the response he wanted out of her.
"OKAY! PUT ME DOWN!"
"If you're quiet about this, go home, watch TV, make dinner, and go to bed. Your mother will be back in the morning or perhaps within the next few days, weeks, months…it doesn't matter how long. But you must keep that mouth shut. Do not go to the police. Do not try to find her. If I learn that you have alerted the authorities or are pursuing us, I will see to it that your mother is killed. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes…" Lyla whined, tears streaming down her face. He smiled and dropped her to the floor.
"I'll hold you to it then. Have a nice day, sweetheart."
Lyla scurried underneath a table, took Skitty into her arms and sobbed as the man slammed the door behind him. Then he slammed the front door so hard that the noise awoke Lyla from her sleep.
She sat up and looked around, remembering that they had taken an overnight ferry and were on their way to Slateport. The boat was rocking slightly and there was some fierce pounding coming from somewhere. Lyla touched her face and realized that she had been crying in her sleep and wondered if Aiden or Eziray had noticed. The pounding suddenly subsided and Lyla wondered what it was for a moment.
"Skitty…you awake?" she whispered.
All of a sudden, there was another loud thud, as if something was ramming into the side of the ship because the entire boat swayed this time and Lyla fell out of the top bunk and onto the floor. The boat bobbed back to its normal position and Lyla slid along the floor with it. Aiden and Eziray were awake and sitting up in their beds.
"Um…I've never been on a boat before so is that normal?" Lyla asked, looking around.
Almost immediately, there was another thud and the boat rocked again, much more violently. The trainers grabbed hold of bed posts and held on for dear life as the crashing continued and the boat rocked vigorously. This continued for quite some time and then it suddenly stopped.
"Is everyone okay?" Eziray asked.
"I'm fine! Skitty?" Lyla asked.
"Mya!"
"Let's go check it out," Aiden said, hopping out of bed.
"I second that!" Lyla exclaimed, following very close behind him for protection.
Eziray quickly scooped up Skitty and went along too. When the trainers reached the deck, they were greeted by several other passengers who had already assembled and were scanning the water for something.
"Hi, what's going on?" Eziray asked, handing Skitty to Lyla.
"There's a monster in the water!" a small child exclaimed excitedly.
"This is very serious, Meena," the girl's mother said, fastening a life jacket to her child.
"Monster?" Lyla asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I bet it's Team Aqua! SHOW YOURSELVES!" Eziray demanded.
"ROOOOOAAAAAHHH!" a Gyarados roared as it emerged from the water. The entire deck of passengers fell to their knees and cowered as it prepared to fire a Hyper Beam. Before it could charge, however, Espeon was pelting it with Swift so it ceased the attack to brace itself.
"So there's Gyarados in Hoenn too, hm?" Eziray asked, watching as the Water-type fled.
"Are you all okay?" Aiden asked as the group of passengers slowly stood back up.
Lyla scanned the water for the Gyarados, practically pressing her body against Aiden in fear.
"I've never seen a Gyarados so big before," the first mate said, joining them on the deck. "The captain asked me to check for any major damage. I wanted to thank whatever trainer scared that thing off before it destroyed the ferry!"
"That would be him," Lyla said, pushing Aiden forward.
The first mate saluted him and proceeded through a door to go inspect the area that the Gyarados had been slamming into.
"You okay, Lyla?" Aiden asked.
"I'm fine…" Lyla trailed off, deep in thought about the dream she had had. It was a reoccurring dream that haunted her quite frequently since the day that it took place. This was the first time she had had it since she joined Aiden and Eziray.
Suddenly, the boat turned sharply and began speeding as quickly as it could move, knocking all of the passengers over.
"What the hell?" Eziray demanded as the first mate came racing back out and bolted straight into the captain's room.
"Something must be wrong," Lyla said.
Eziray got up and entered the room from where the first mate had left and the other two curiously followed. They began stepping down a staircase which eventually led them to a room that was quickly filling with water.
"OH MY GOD, IT'S SINKING!" Lyla shouted in a panic, racing back out to the deck as fast as she could.
"Aiden…" Eziray trailed off.
"Don't say it…"
"Who said it would be a good idea to buy the sparkly pink life vests, Aiden?"
"You did, Ez…"
"And who said that they were ridiculous and that it would be a waste of money?"
"I did, Ez…"
"Who was right?"
"You were, Ez…"
"Damn straight! So if we die, it's your fault!" Eziray exclaimed as she raced back to the deck, giggling.
"Only you would laugh at this situation," Aiden called. "And maybe Gracie…and maybe Olivia if she was with me…but that's not the point! Hey, I have an idea, why don't you come back here with Gracie and help me and Espeon prevent any more water from getting in?"
Eziray was already gone so he sighed, turned to Espeon, and concluded that they would stop the boat from sinking themselves.
"What happened here?" Espeon asked as she used Psychic to blog the holes that the Gyarados had created.
"That aggressive Water-type decided to play Titanic with us," Aiden said, scratching his head.
"I see…"
"Can you hold it?"
"Yes. It is not difficult, but I will grow tired eventually. Might you know how close we are to land?"
"I actually don't…"
"I hope this captain perhaps knows of a nearby island of some sort because I will not be able to hold it for more than thirty minutes; I will expend all of my energy. Could you please go tell him that?"
"Yeah…I'll go see if anyone on deck has a Psychic Pokémon to help you out too…"
"Thank you, Aiden."
"No, thank you. For saving our lives…"
"Do not thank me for that, Aiden. Besides, it is a normal occurrence now," she said, looking up at him with a playful beam, which was pretty rare behavior for Espeon.
He returned to the deck to find Eziray and Lyla leaning over the rail, staring off into the distance at something.
"What are you talking about? I don't see it…"
"You don't see that? Right there? It's definitely a ghost ship!"
"Eziray…even if there was a ship there, it's not going to be haunted…"
"Sure it will! I mean it probably suffered the same fate that we almost did!"
"What are you two talking about?" Aiden finally asked.
"Eziray says she can see a ship in the distance and she thinks it's haunted or something. But there's no such thing as ghosts and even if there were, SHIPS DON'T HAVE SOULS!" Lyla explained, turning to Eziray for the last part.
"They can still turn into ghosts!"
"No they can't! They don't die, Eziray! They're never alive to begin with!"
"Shouldn't we be more concerned about the fate of this ship than about the fate of a ship that may or may not even be there?" Aiden asked, trying to be polite about it.
"Oh, it's there, Aiden!" Eziray exclaimed.
"Besides, Ez said you'd take care of the problem so we've stopped worrying about it…" Lyla trailed off.
"Oh, did she now?" Aiden muttered, grabbing Gracie's Pokéball from Eziray's belt before walking towards the captain's cabin.
"Mudkip!" Mudkip exclaimed, surfacing beneath the two girls.
"What did you find, Mudkip?" Lyla asked.
"Kip!"
"SEE! I TOLD YOU THERE WAS A SHIP!" Eziray shouted in victory.
"Yeah, but that's no ghost ship! Maybe they'll be able to save us!" Lyla exclaimed, rushing after Aiden.
She entered the cabin to find Aiden explaining the situation to the captain and how he had temporarily fixed it. The captain seemed flustered and thanked Aiden but mentioned that there was no dry land within a thirty-minute traveling distance from there.
"Um?" Lyla asked sweetly.
"Everything okay?" Aiden asked.
"Well Mudkip says he did see a ship and he can lead us to it so maybe they'll help us?" Lyla asked.
"BUT WHAT IF THEY'RE PIRATES?" Eziray demanded, running up and about knocking Lyla over from behind.
"There are no pirates, Ez…" Aiden and Lyla trailed off in unison.
"I know what ship you're talking about…" the captain trailed off.
"You do?" Lyla asked.
"Yep. It's been there for years, farther back than I can even remember, as a matter of fact. I should have thought about it before…"
"Wait. It's been anchored there for that long?" Lyla asked.
"Yes and it's been abandoned for that long too."
"I KNEW IT WAS A GHOST SHIP!" Eziray shouted, elbowing Lyla vigorously.
"No, it's not haunted. It was a fancy cruise-liner back in the day but it got caught up on some tall rock formations. It didn't sink. No one died. It's just been stuck there for many, many years. Trainers come from all over Hoenn to visit the ship because it's become quite the battle spot. I think we could certainly get to safety there but I wouldn't recommend exploring the thing and taking part in any battles with trainers cuckoo enough to be there at this hour, but that's up to you I suppose…"
"ALRIGHT!" Eziray exclaimed as she raced out.
"We'll go let the passengers know what's up," Lyla said, taking Aiden by the hand and leading him away.
Before doing so, however, Aiden made a quick stop to check on Espeon and send out Eziray's Ralts to help her. It took thirty minutes exactly to get to the abandoned ship but it was plenty of time for everyone to get their belongings to the deck and be ready to go. Gracie and Espeon, however, were extremely tired at that point so they were called back to rest as the passengers got off the boat. Everyone managed to get to the deck of the abandoned ship safely and the ferry slowly sank before their eyes.
"You cold?" Aiden asked. Both of the girls were shivering and huddling together for warmth. And then, as if it weren't chilly enough, an icy wind blew over them and made their teeth chatter.
All of the other passengers began to bundle themselves up in blankets and such but Lyla decided that it would be warmer inside the abandoned ship where the wind wasn't blowing. The other two followed.
"I saw some small boats all docked around the ship. Do you think we'll run into any trainers?" Eziray wondered out loud.
"I kind of hope not," Lyla replied, admiring the old paintings that hung on the walls. She stopped at one and wiped the algae away and it revealed a portrait of a Skitty with a diamond collar. "Awww."
"Why not?" Eziray asked, cocking her head.
"Because this place is cool! Come on, when will we ever be onboard an abandoned ship again? Don't you want to check this place out?"
"It's actually kind of creepy…" Eziray suddenly realized. "Don't you guys feel like we're being followed?"
"Eziray, we just got here. How could someone be following us already?" Aiden muttered.
"What's down there," Lyla wondered, walking towards a stairway leading down. Aiden and Eziray continued without noticing her go down it.
"I'm starving…Do you think there's any food left in the kitchen?" Eziray asked.
"No, and if there is, I wouldn't eat it," Aiden replied.
"Do you have any food?"
"I think I have some peanuts or something," Aiden said, stopping to investigate his pockets.
"Shh…did you hear that?"
"Yeah, it was a wave hitting the side of the boat. We're in the middle of the ocean, Eziray," Aiden said with a chuckle.
"Where's Lyla?"
"…Shit."
"LYLA!" Eziray called.
"You guuuuys," Lyla called back eerily.
"Real cute, Lyla!" Eziray exclaimed rushing forward. "We know it's you!"
"How did she get ahead of us?" Aiden wondered, running after Eziray.
"I'm in here!" Lyla exclaimed as they rushed past a door.
They came back and opened it but it was just an empty janitorial closet.
"I thought her voice came from in here," Eziray said, closing the door in disbelief.
"I thought so too…" Aiden trailed off.
"Now I'm over here!" Lyla's voice echoed.
The two followed it, unsure of what else to do and it led them to the kitchen.
"Alright! Nice find, Lyla!" Eziray exclaimed, snooping through the cabinets.
"Something's not right…" Aiden trailed off.
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, for one, the lights are on and there's no electricity on this boat…"
As Eziray realized this, chills began to crawl up her spine. Before she could respond, the lights quickly shut off and all of the cabinets swung open with a loud bang. Then the lights powered on again.
"AIDEN, I WANT TO LEAVE!" Eziray whined.
"Yeah, that would probably be a good idea. But we still haven't found Lyla…"
Suddenly, all of the dishes and silver wear began to fly everywhere and the two ducked under a table for cover.
"I TOLD YOU GUYS THIS WAS A GHOST SHIP! DID YOU BELIEVE ME? NO! SO EZIRAY: TWO. AIDEN AND LYLA: ZERO!"
"There's got to be some sort of explanation for this…"
"Okay, Mr. Physics Major, how do you explain flying plates?"
"It's…" Aiden trailed off as it all stopped and a dark, grayish-blue Pokémon appeared and hovered in front of them, grinning widely. "A Pokémon…"
"Aww, it's cute!" Eziray exclaimed, pointing her Pokédex at it.
"Shuppet, the Puppet Pokémon: Shuppet is said to use its horn to feed on envy and malice and it is very active during the night," the Dex informed.
"Shuppet, there you are!" a boy exclaimed as he raced into the room. "Was he bothering you two? I heard screaming!"
"Wasn't us! We just like hanging out under tables…" Eziray trailed off, realizing how silly that sounded.
"Don't worry about it, kid," Aiden said with a sigh.
"Shuuh!" the Shuppet whined.
"Oh you were just trying to find someone to battle us?" the boy asked.
"I'll battle you!" Eziray volunteered excitedly.
"You will? Awesome! All the other trainers here are sleeping somewhere but Shuppet and I sleep during the day so it's hard to find challengers at this hour!" the boy explained.
"Have you seen our friend by any chance?" Aiden asked.
"I haven't…you, Shuppet?"
The Shuppet shook its head 'no.'
"That's a lie! You were mimicking her voice, remember?" Eziray shot back.
"Shupp-et…"
"He says that he saw your friend wander off. He doesn't know where she went," the boy said.
"I'm sure she's fine," Eziray said. "She's just curious. We'll find her after the battle, okay Aiden?"
"Fine…" he trailed off, taking position as the referee. "This will be a one-on-one battle?"
"Yep!" the boy exclaimed.
"I'm down," Eziray said with a nod as she sent out Charo.
"Wow a Charmander? That's so cool!" the boy exclaimed.
"Shuuu," the Shuppet said with a sigh.
"But you're cool too, Shuppet! In fact, why don't we prove how cool you are by using Shadow Ball!"
Shuppet opened its mouth, forming a small purple orb of energy that it sent flying towards Charo.
"Fire Fang!"
Charo opened his jaw and chomped down on the Shadow Ball with blazing fangs that completely destroyed it before it could do any damage.
"WOAH! SO STRONG!" the boy exclaimed. "You guys aren't rookies, I take it?"
"Far from! Charo, use Metal Claw!"
Charo rushed forward and began slashing away at the Ghost-type who suddenly vanished.
"See? This is why Ghost Pokémon rock!" the boy exclaimed as Charo looked around for the Shuppet. "Use Screech!"
The Shuppet suddenly became visible again and began to scream loudly from behind Charo. The Fire-type responded by throwing his hands up to his head, trying to muffle the awful sound.
"Great! Now give it another Shadow Ball!"
The Shuppet stopped, but before Charo could regain composure, Shuppet knocked him a few feet forward with a Shadow Ball.
"And now, Night Shade!"
Shuppet's eyes began to glow bright red and then two shadowy black beams shot from them at Charo.
"Flamethrower!"
Charo quickly countered the attack with a powerful blast of fire that continued on and drove the Shuppet into a wall. Being a Ghost-type, however, it passed right through the wall with ease.
"Night Shade? Hey, Aiden! Remember that time when we ran into that hoard of Gastly in that cave in Kanto and –"
"Eziray, please focus on the battle," Aiden said, shivering slightly.
"CHAR!" Charo exclaimed angrily, as if being reminded of whatever event she was talking about brought back horrible memories.
"Shuuup," the Shuppet said, floating back into the room and wincing as if it had a headache.
"Oh right! Charo, get ready with another Flamethrower!"
Meanwhile, Lyla was still wandering aimlessly around the ship. She entered a room that was partially submerged in water; there was a pool of dark water towards the back of it that came up through the broken floor and led out to the ocean. She hesitated for a moment, thinking about her dream again, and closed the door behind her. Then she walked to the water's edge and sat in front of it, staring into it as she played back what would have happened next if the Gyarados hadn't woken her up.
Lyla and Skitty remained trembling under the table for quite some time after the grunt had left. Lyla had no idea what had happened or why it had happened, but she knew that her mother was gone now. She wanted so much to hear that bell jingle again followed by the sound of her mother's voice, but she somehow knew that wasn't going to happen. She wasn't sure if she should stay there or go home. She didn't want anyone to see her upset or ask where Caroline was because she didn't want them to know. She wanted to do as the grunt said and keep it a secret because she feared that he would do something terrible to her mother if she disobeyed. She began to weep harder, as much as she could, in hopes to get it out of her system. She decided that she would go home once it got dark but she still had to stop crying just in case she happened to cross anyone on her way home.
"Mrrr," Skitty purred, trying to comfort her trainer because she didn't understand what was going on in Lyla's mind.
Lyla hugged the Normal-type tighter and forced a slight smile to make Skitty think that she was helping. The two sat there together, for several hours, until Lyla had finally stopped crying. At this point, nothing seemed real anymore. The events of that day had become completely foggy to Lyla and she suddenly wanted to go home because she was convinced that her mother would be waiting there for her. She told herself that it never happened and maybe she had just fallen asleep and dreamt it. She smiled and scooped up her Pokémon before closing up the shop and heading home.
"Are you okay there, hun?" a man asked as Lyla rushed past him.
"I fell earlier and I hurt my leg but I feel better now!" Lyla exclaimed, stopping for a moment to respond. "My mom made spaghetti so I really want to get home now."
"Are you sure about that? I just walked past your house a little while ago and the lights were all off. I don't think anyone's home…"
"Oh, then she went to the store!"
"Well, okay then…" the man trailed off as Lyla sprinted away. "I hope everything is okay…"
"MOM!" Lyla exclaimed, entering the front door of the house and switching on all the lights.
"Myaaa…" Skitty trailed off.
"But she has to be here…she has to…where else would she be?" Lyla asked, falling to her knees. "Where could they have taken her? And why?"
"Mey…"
"I don't understand. Why do they need her? She's a good person! She doesn't have any enemies, she's nice to everyone, and she's just a flower shop owner who never even leaves town. How could they possibly know about her, let alone have some sort of problem with her? How could she possibly be what they want?" Lyla demanded, tightening her fists. "I just want them to give her back…I'll do as he says! I won't tell anyone. I'll just wait here for her, for as long as it takes! Do you think we'll get her back then, Skitty?"
Skitty didn't know what to say so she remained silent as Lyla continued to vent and shed tears once more. Surprisingly, Lyla became very tired at some point and the two of them managed to get some sleep. They awoke the next morning, curled up on the living room floor, to the sound of the doorbell. Lyla rubbed her eyes and the sick feeling in her stomach suddenly came back. She wondered about it for a brief moment before it hit her all at once and she remembered what had happened the day before. Before she could think about it much, however, the doorbell rang again. She raced to it, excitedly, praying that it was her mother and she had just forgotten her key or her arms were filled with groceries again. Unfortunately, when she opened the door, she found a man in a suit with long, red hair. She didn't recognize him at all so she slammed the door in a panic, thinking that he might be coming after her.
"Lyla…" he trailed off.
She said nothing and backed away from the door, on the verge of tears.
"My name is Martin. I'm a detective and I need to speak with you about something…"
Lyla continued to back away and about tripped over Skitty in the process.
"Something has happened to your mother…"
His words made her want to vomit and she wrapped her arms around her stomach as a wave of dizziness flooded over her. She hesitated for a moment and walked back to the door, opening it again.
"Where is she?"
"Her body was found in a creek this morning…"
"But…she's going to be okay right?"
"…She's not coming back, Lyla."
"What do you mean, she's not coming back? Of course she is!"
"Lyla, did you see your mother at all yesterday?"
"Yes…"
"When?"
"Yesterday morning, at the flower store…"
"And did anyone suspicious come in to talk to her?"
"…No."
"Are you sure?"
"I promise."
"Lyla, I can't help unless you tell me who your mother was with yesterday."
"I don't know! I saw her and then I went home!"
"I see…Are you going to be okay? Do you want to come with me to the station or anything?"
"No, I want you to leave!" Lyla shouted, slamming the door. "How am I possibly going to be okay now?"
Lyla locked herself up there for a week and didn't speak to anyone until one morning when she finally came out. The first thing she saw was a Lavaridge newspaper on the front porch and Caroline's death had made the front page. Lyla kept walking and several people tried to talk to her as she continued on, but she had no idea what they were saying and she didn't really care. She got to the grocery store and bought some milk with some money from a safe that her mother had filled in case anything ever happened. The cashier spoke to Lyla for several minutes but she ignored him and stared at the ground until he was finished. When she left the store, she noticed a flyer on the window, advertising a memorial that had been set up just outside of town. It was for Caroline and a service would be held there that weekend in her honor. Lyla ran to it.
"I miss you!" she exclaimed, dropping to her knees in front of it. "You have no idea how much I've needed to talk to you this past week. I just can't believe you're really gone. I can't believe I'll never see you again. I don't want to believe that. If I could have one wish, I would ask to see you one more time. Just for a few minutes, and just to say good bye. That's all I want! And then everything would be okay again. I wouldn't be sad anymore. So…if you can hear me, please give me some sort of sign…"
Lyla waited and there was nothing, not even a gust of wind, just silence.
"Maybe you can't do that. It's okay…I see people brought you flowers. See how much everyone loves you? See how many people want you back? I'm sorry I didn't bring flowers…I didn't know. I would have brought you roses because they're your favorite. They're my favorite too! They smell like you. They make me think about you."
Lyla thought about what more she could say as she fiddled with a bouquet of tulips. The people who placed the flowers there had gone to Mauville to get them because no one was running the flower shop at that point. Lyla realized this and vowed to take care of it on her own. She would be able to live off of the money in the safe back at home but she wanted to keep the flower shop alive because, in some way, she felt that it would keep her mom alive. She smiled, said good bye, and left the memorial with this idea stuck in her head.
"Skitty…" Lyla trailed off.
"Mya?"
"Do you ever think about what happened to us when…?"
Skitty nodded slowly and licked her trainer's hand. Lyla was trying to fight back the tears.
"It haunts me so much. I wish it would stop…"
"Mrrrr," Skitty purred, brushing up against Lyla.
"Thank you…"
Lyla looked back at the water and tiny air bubbles suddenly began to drift rapidly to the surface. Lyla stood up and backed away with Skitty as the bubbles grew larger and an enormous, serpent-like Pokémon rose from the pool.
"It's the Gyarados!" Lyla realized, setting Skitty down.
"Roaaaah!" it roared, bending slightly to reveal a large fang that was lodged into its side.
"Y-you're hurt…That's why you're being so violent, isn't it? I can help you."
The Gyarados responded with a mighty Hydro Pump attack that Lyla and Skitty quickly dodged. Lyla's first instinct was to run and get help from Aiden or Eziray but she decided against it. She decided that she was going to defeat it herself instead.
"Eevee! Let's go!" she exclaimed, sending out her hatchling.
"Vui!" Eevee exclaimed, looking up at the Gyarados with much arrogance.
"Hey, don't get cocky now…" Lyla trailed off.
"RRROOO!" the Gyarados roared before attempting to blast the Normal-type away with Hydro Pump.
Eevee grinned and jumped out of the way with ease. Then she multiplied into ten more Eevee with Double Team.
"Well, I was about to say that, but you should really wait for –"
"Pff…" Eevee sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Hey! Attitude much!" Lyla growled.
"Eeevuiii!" Eevee exclaimed, turning her head and batting her eyes to let her trainer know that she was ready for another command.
"Mya!" Skitty exclaimed, suddenly taking position amongst the crowd of Eevee. There was no way that she was about to sit along the sidelines and watch her teammate get pummeled by this monster.
The Gyarados suddenly began to wince and Lyla frowned, knowing that the fang must have been pretty painful for it.
"Gyarados…if you battle, it's just going to get lodged deeper. Just let me –"
"RRROOOA!" it boomed before throwing down its body and destroying three of the Eevee clones. It continued to thrash around for several minutes as the two Normal-types desperately tried to dodge; they managed to avoid the rampage but none of the clones did. When the Gyarados finally stopped, it ducked down and disappeared into the water.
"Be ready guys!" Lyla exclaimed.
The two Normal-types nodded and focused hard on the pool of water before them. Suddenly, the ground began to rumble, and to everyone's surprise, the Gyarados busted up through the ground beneath Eevee and chomped its jaw down on her. Then it shook her around violently.
"Eevee, use Double Team!"
Eevee gritted her teeth but she managed to multiply within the Gyarados' mouth, forcing its jaw open. Then she and all her clones escaped so the Gyarados roared in frustration and then disappeared into the water again. Eevee glared at the water, panting heavily as all of her clones disappeared. Lyla knew that the hatchling was exhausted.
"Eevee, catch your breath. Skitty, get ready with Iron Tail!"
"Ee!" Eevee managed, shaking her head side-to-side in disagreement.
"But you're not used to battling yet! Don't push yourself so hard!"
"Mya!" Skitty exclaimed, genuinely concerned for her teammate's health.
Suddenly, the Gyarados came up again and Eevee lunged at it with full force, but her Tackle didn't do much; she just bounced right off. It did, however, enrage the Gyarados even more. The Water-type roared mightily and blasted Eevee into a wall with Hydro Pump. This attack finished the poor hatchling off so Lyla called her back and took out Mudkip's ball.
"Alright! Skitty, Mudkip, I'm counting on you two!"
The Gyarados watched furiously as Mudkip materialized. Mudkip immediately noticed the fang in Gyarados' side, cocked his head, and then cried out with joy as he blasted it with Water Gun. The fang was of course lodged even deeper and the Gyarados cried out in serious pain. Lyla quickly snatched up Mudkip by the neck and shook him violently.
"ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US KILLED? THAT THING WANTS TO EAT US AND IT'S PISSED ENOUGH AS IT IS! HOW COULD YOU HAVE POSSIBLY THOUGHT THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA?"
"Muud!" Mudkip whined, but before he could explain that he was trying to knock it free, the Gyarados fired a Hydro Pump at them both.
"Eek! Counter it!" Lyla exclaimed, dropping her Water-type.
Mudkip immediately shot a Water Gun at the Hydro Pump but he was being overpowered pretty quickly.
"Skitty, Assist!"
Skitty nodded and used Assist, resulting in Bide.
"That's fine! That works! Mudkip, you use Bide too!"
Mudkip ceased Water Gun and began to glow, allowing the Hydro Pump to blast both him and Skitty. Then they both released their gathered energy in a bright flash that blinded Lyla and resulted in an explosion. When Lyla could see again, there was a gaping hole in the side of the ship and moonlight was shining in on the pool of water. Gyarados was nowhere to be found.
"You guys okay?" Lyla asked.
"Mud!" Mudkip exclaimed happily. Skitty nodded, panting a little.
"Grrroah!" the Gyarados snarled, rising from the water once more with a layer of soot masking its infuriated expression.
"You two are amazing! Let's keep it up, okay?"
"Eevui!" Eevee exclaimed angrily, popping out of her ball. She refused to be outdone by the others.
"Eevee, it's okay! They can handle it!"
"Vui!" she shouted defiantly as she multiplied into five Eevee that tackled the Gyarados, one-by-one.
The Gyarados growled and reared back, readying another Hydro Pump.
"Ice Beam!"
Before Gyarados could attack, Mudkip froze its neck against a bit of the wall that remained. Gyarados desperately struggled to break loose as Lyla spoke to it once more.
"Gyarados, I'm going to come pull that fang out, okay? Please stay still," she said calmly as she made her way over.
"Grraahh!" it roared, opening its mouth as bright energy began to form within it.
"H-hyper Beam?" Lyla squeaked.
Meanwhile, Aiden and Eziray were rushing through the ship, trying to get down to where all the commotion was coming from.
"Oh God, I hope she's okay!" Aiden shouted.
"Do you think she's maybe just battling another trainer?"
"I don't know. What the hell is she doing all the way down here though?"
"Maybe the Shuppet scared her too?"
"No, the Shuppet didn't follow her, remember? I think her curiosity has gotten her into some sort of trouble."
"Actually, she better be in trouble. I hate it when my battles get interrupted! We were about to totally dominate that Shuppet too!"
"Come on! Through that door! I think I heard her voice!"
The two busted through a door to their right and arrived just in time to see Skitty somersaulting into the air and coming down rapidly on the trapped Gyarados' head with Iron Tail, preventing it from blasting them all away with Hyper Beam. The two were so shocked that they remained completely silent as the ice shattered and the Gyarados fell down to the water with a splash and floated motionlessly to the surface.
"Hold still, okay?" Lyla said sweetly, walking towards the Gyarados.
She waded into the freezing cold water and made her way over to where the fang was lodged. Then she pulled it out carefully and the Gyarados winced, moaning slightly.
"See? I'm making it better," she said calmly as she sprayed the wound with some medicine from her bag and rubbed it in. The Gyarados closed its eyes tightly and fought through the stinging pain from the medicine. It understood now that she was just trying to help it. She began to shiver uncontrollably and swam back to the floor of the ship, noticing Aiden and Eziray as she turned around.
"Damnit, Lyla!" Aiden exclaimed, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around her when she climbed out. "It's good that you want to help that Pokémon and all, but that water's cold enough to kill you! You're probably going to get sick now; who knows when a rescue boat will come for us?"
As Aiden scolded Lyla, Eziray inspected the fang she was holding. It looked like a dragon's tooth and Eziray wondered where it came from and how it had gotten lodged into the Gyarados' side.
"Rrrrr," the Gyarados grunted. The trainers looked up at it and it had lifted itself up and it was looking down fiercely at Lyla. Then it suddenly lowered its head and she tensed, but then she realized that he only wanted to nuzzle her.
"Um, you're welcome," she said, trying not to be knocked over.
"Good job, Lyla! It's hard to make friends with a Gyarados!" Eziray exclaimed as the Water Pokémon let out a mighty roar and disappeared into the water. Lyla smiled victoriously, proud of her accomplishment, and then her teeth began to violently chatter away. Aiden responded by wrapping his arms around her from behind and leaning his head on her shoulder to keep her warm. As their faces lightly brushed together for a split second, he could have sworn that hers seemed a little red, as if she had been crying. Or perhaps it was just the cold. Unsure of what to say about it, he simply remained silent held her tighter.
Author Notes
This chapter was titled so for two reasons. One, obviously, because they're stranded on an abandoned ship in the middle of an ocean. And two, because Lyla was sort of abandoned as a child. Aiden knows that Lyla is repressing something and wishes he could help her but he knows that it must be too painful to talk about; all he can do is make her feel as happy and welcomed as possible. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it, I certainly enjoyed writing it. Review if you liked it (or didn't like) it and continue reading!