Chapter 19 – Revelation
"They caught your thief, Hayden," Ian stated as he looked at the front page of the morning newspaper; the article was clearly titled in large bold letters "Thieving Employee Busted", with the photograph depicting Violet City's Poké Mart, and a small mugshot of the thief in question in one corner of the photograph. Hayden looked over at his father with intrigue.
"Oh yeah?"
"Store manager reported it to the police," Ian added, reading the article with great interest. Hayden nodded.
"I asked him to as soon as the missing money was found," he explained. "I knew because the ex-employee had a police escort."
"But I didn't hear any sirens?" Lily questioned.
"They didn't need them, it wasn't a 991 call," Hayden said calmly.
"Oh, that makes sense," Lily smiled as she resumed looking through the cupboards by the sink.
"What are you going to do with his position then, Hayden?" Ian asked curiously. Hayden shrugged.
"Advertise it, I suppose. Even though it's doing well as it is, this city's store is still understaffed," he replied.
"Any stores that are overstaffed? Maybe you could transfer one of the employees to Violet City," Ian suggested.
"Nowhere else is overstaffed, Dad, I checked. I'll have a word with Roger tomorrow, see how he feels about the idea of interviewing for a replacement," Hayden mused. Lily lifted herself away from the cupboard, confused.
"Hayden, you haven't seen the bucket anywhere, have you?" she asked. Hayden looked over at his confused wife.
"No, I haven't needed to use it. Why?"
"It's not there."
Xavier lay on the soft grass outside, in the shade of Alexa's balcony. The sky was a perfectly balanced; there were a lot of beautiful fluffy white clouds, but not enough to mask the serene blue sky, with the afternoon sun creeping in. Unbeknownst to the sleeping Zoroark, Ryder looked cunningly down at him from the top of Alexa's balcony. Layla watched with concern as Ryder lowered a metal bucket of icy cold water down to Xavier's head, controlling its every movement with his cyan telekinetic powers. As soon as Ryder was satisfied at the distance between Xavier's head and the bucket, Ryder initiated his prank; in one quick movement, Ryder not only turned the water on Xavier, but also slammed the bucket right on his head. Xavier was startled and chocked, coughed and spluttered on the water until it soaked right into his fur.
"W-WHAT THE FU-" Before Xavier could finish his sentence with profanity, he heard Ryder's roaring laughter above him. Xavier pulled the bucket off of his head, careful not to scratch it with his claws and looked up; Ryder was on the balcony, laughing hysterically. Layla stood there, looking between the laughing Lucario and the irate Illusion Fox. Xavier growled deeply, sincerely angered.
"Rrrrrr...RYDER!"
Keenan heard Xavier's roar over his video game. He paused the game in the middle of another boss battle and immediately hurried to the window; there, he caught a glimpse of Xavier yelling inaudibly at Alexa's balcony. Iara looked at Keenan in confusion, wondering what the commotion was. Keenan sighed and returned to his bed, petting Iara on the head. Iara felt satisfied that the commotion wasn't anything serious and resumed watching Keenan playing his video game, watching as his Dewott protagonist battling an antagonistic Meloetta while attempting to resuce a kidnapped Oshawott NPC.
Downstairs, the adults had heard Xavier's roaring and scolding quite clearly, over Ryder's hysterical laughter, both of which soon died out.
"There's your bucket, Lily," Ian said casually as he finally opened the newspaper. Lily sighed.
"Are they going to keep this up?"
"Doubt it, they're even now," Ian guessed, remembering Xavier's earlier stunt on Ryder. Lily shook her head.
"I'd rather they never tricked each other to begin with," Hayden sighed. "Still, you can't say Alexa's Pokémon don't have personalities."
"All Pokémon have personalities; it's just that Alexa – and the rest of this family – has allowed those personalities to grow. As ALL Pokémon Trainers should," Lily said quietly, sounding slightly disgruntled as she recalled her encounter with a certain murderous Pokémon Trainer who was currently serving time in a far away prison. Ian nodded.
"Jordan could do with remembering that; his Pokémon acted like drones."
Jordan walked into the deserted Pokémon Centre with his luggage bag over his shoulder. Aggron and Haxorus followed him as Jordan slammed the bag on the reception desk; respectively, Aggron and Haxorus held Keith and Alexa by their arms, restricting their movements. The pair instinctively struggled, but their efforts were in vain. Gabby and Andy arrived to greet their leader.
"Did you get what you wanted?" Gabby asked.
"And more," Jordan replied, pointing behind him. "Found myself a pair of hostages." Gabby and Andy finally noticed the apprehended Alexa and Keith, and were delighted in an evil sort of way.
"Hah! How the mighty have fallen!" Andy shouted tauntingly to Keith and Alexa, who both glared at him coldly.
"And in the worst way possible; pulling the same stunt Keenan pulled," Jordan added, turning to look at his prisoners, Alexa in particular.
"How lame!" Gabby mocked.
"Oh, shut up!" Keith snapped.
"You shut up!" Andy retorted. Keith laughed sarcastically at Andy's lack of maturity behind his comeback. Jordan simply stared at Alexa, who felt extremely uncomfortable.
"...w-what?" she whimpered timidly. Jordan approached her and ran his hands over her body, searching her for something.
"Hey! HEY! Leave her alone!" Keith protested. The search ended quicker than it began, picking up a Net Ball from the pocket of Alexa's jeans. Jordan looked at it before looking at the horrified Alexa.
"You won't be needing this."
"Give it ba-" Before Alexa could protest, Jordan quickly took his dagger and held it to her neck, shutting her up in a heartbeat. Keith was horrified; if he protested, Alexa would get hurt. Jordan's act reminded him and Alexa of their encounter in the Viridian Forest in a way.
"Watch what you say, young lady; I haven't forgotten our little rendezvous in Viridian Forest. And this time...nobody will save you." Jordan returned his dagger to its holster, leaving Alexa speechless. Keith looked at her worriedly as Jordan looked over at Andy.
"Andy, chuck this wherever Pokémon Centres keep Poké Balls," he instructed, tossing the Net Ball to Andy. He caught the Net Ball perfectly with one hand, and proceeded to look at it with intrigue. "That's all, Andy," Jordan sighed.
"Don't you want to know what's inside it?" Alexa froze; she sincerely dreaded the idea of Jordan discovering the identity of the Pokémon inside her Net Ball.
"I don't care," Jordan replied simply.
"Oh, okay," Andy shrugged as he jogged out of the reception area. Jordan looked back at Keith and Alexa, who were no longer struggling in the grip of the Pokémon restraining them.
"Gabby, fetch my toolbox."
"Got it!" Gabby complied, trotting off elsewhere. Keith glared at Jordan.
"What are you up to?!" he demanded.
"Making sure you don't escape," Jordan replied. Alexa was extremely quiet, not making a single sound; she was so quiet she couldn't hear herself breathing.
A damp Xavier entered the kitchen and held out the bucket that was once on his head to Lily. Lily, Hayden and Ian could see the dampness in Xavier's fur; his head and a small part of his mane was slightly darker than usual.
"Yours?"
"Thank you, Xavier," Lily said politely as she reclaimed her missing bucket. "Are you all right?" she asked.
"Under the circumstances, I'm surprisingly content," Xavier replied as Lily returned the bucket to its proper place.
"Content? I wouldn't be surprised if the neighbours heard you," Ian chuckled. Xavier laughed nervously.
"Yeah, well..."
"What's the next round?" Hayden asked playfully.
"Swallowing some humble pie and apologising to Ryder and Layla," Xavier replied, rubbing the back of his neck shyly.
"Very sensible," Lily said as she pulled out the blue spray bottle she was looking for. "You can't prank each other forever, someone will get hurt eventually," she added as she sprayed the chemical inside the bottle into the somewhat grimy kitchen sink.
"Yeah, I want to avoid that," Xavier agreed. "Is Alex still out?" he asked suddenly.
"Yeah, for almost two hours now," Hayden replied.
"Oh." Xavier frowned; there was something inside him that told him something wasn't right. He felt concerned, worried and somewhat paranoid all in one furry, albeit slightly damp, package.
"Don't worry, she and Keith will be back soon," Ian smiled.
With a great amount of force, Jordan tossed Keith and Alexa inside what appeared to be a storeroom. Alexa landed on one shoulder while Keith landed on his backside, winding him as a result. Both Keith and Alexa had their wrists bound behind their backs, each with a black cable tie.
"Ah-how-how, my coccyx...!"
"Now, you two sit there and do not make a fuss. I'll be back for you once I've decided what to do with you," Jordan said coldly. Alexa struggled to sit up, considering her hands were tied behind her back. She glared at Jordan angrily, though she was still somewhat scared of him.
"W-what are you going to do with my Pokémon?!" she exclaimed. She was vague about her Pokémon, not wanting Jordan to find out the species inside the Net Ball he confiscated.
"Nothing, I'm not interested in other people's Pokémon; Team Rocket, I ain't," Jordan replied casually. Keith recovered enough to join in the conversation.
"I'm pretty sure they steal wild Pokémon too," he said harshly. Alexa worried for her Pokémon, but she knew Jordan was telling the truth when he said he wasn't interested, so she took some comfort in knowing that. Now all she had to worry about was what was going to happen to her and Keith, now that they were officially Jordan's captives.
"Besides, my next target is on a grander scale than even an oddly coloured fossil Kabutops. Far grander," Jordan added with a small grin.
"What..?" Alexa questioned quietly.
"Like I said, don't make a fuss," Jordan said firmly as he placed his hands on either side of the storeroom doors. "If you're incapable of keeping your mouths shut, I have no objections shutting them up for you." Keith and Alexa winced a little inside; they knew what he meant. "I'll be back."
Jordan pulled the doors and slammed them shut with a loud bang. After a loud click was heard, signifying the doors being locked from the outside, Keith and Alexa were alone in the dark. Keith struggled briefly, but stopped when he felt the plastic cable tie rubbing his skin. He looked at Alexa worriedly.
"...Alexa, are you all right?" he asked kindly.
"I-I think so... I-I'm worried about Cassie; if Jordan finds out she's a Lapras..." Alexa trailed off; the very thought of her own Lapras meeting the same graphic demise as the one they stumbled on during her and Keith's first visit to Jordan's former hiding place was an unwelcome one. Keith looked around at his surroundings; there were shelves and shelves of unused medical supplies; many bandages, dressing, surgical tools, stethoscopes and many other medical equipment were piled on the shelves. As he surveyed their make-shift prison cell, Keith realised he had no idea where in the world he and Alexa were.
"...where are we anyway?"
"Cinnabar Island's Pokémon Centre," Alexa sighed, relieved for the subject change; she almost felt like crying, and was grateful she hadn't. "The entire island's been empty since the volcano erupted six years ago."
"What was the island like before?" Keith asked.
"Kanto's seventh gym was here. As well as an old mansion, one of Dad's Poké Marts and the laboratory where my Aerodactyl was revived from the Old Amber I received from the Pewter Museum...from some scientist who wanted it gone."
"And the volcano wiped it all out?"
"The Pokémon Centre survived...obviously...and it was in business for a while until they decided to close down."
"Huh; no wonder Jordan chose to move here," Keith muttered. Alexa remained quiet, allowing the reality of their situation to sink in. Deep down, she knew Jordan was right; this was exactly how Keenan ended up as Jordan's prisoner in the first place. She felt like a complete idiot. "Alexa, we have to get out of here."
"How? We're locked in and there's a reason Jordan used cable ties!" Alexa exclaimed quietly. Keith looked around again.
"This looks like a storeroom...Alexa, what do Pokémon Centres keep in here?" Keith asked.
Xavier walked into Alexa's bedroom, where he saw Ryder and Layla speaking privately to one another with concern until they spotted him.
"Sorry; am I interrupting?" Xavier asked shyly.
"N-no, you're fine," Ryder replied, signalling Xavier to come into the room. Xavier walked inside and spotted Mavis on one of the beanbags, sound asleep. "I tell you, Xav, that bird is one helluva heavy sleeper."
"Yeah, she has to be if she slept through our commotion," Xavier remarked as he looked at the sleeping Staraptor. She had slightly less bandages than before, and smiled happily as she slept; she didn't look disturbed in the slightest.
"What's up?" Ryder asked. Xavier faced the Lucario and took a deep breath.
"Listen, I'm sorry about disturbing you two; I really have no excuse," Xavier apologised.
"I'm sorry, too, Xav; I shouldn't have overreacted," Ryder said sincerely.
"I guess I needed a bath of sorts anyway," Xavier chuckled. "No hard feelings?"
"Of course, no hard feelings," Ryder smiled. Xavier was delighted to hear those words and the pair tapped their fists against one another. Layla smiled at the two Pokémon, but Xavier quickly lost his smile.
"By the way, did Alex say how long she was going out for? I can't shake this feeling that something is wrong," he admitted. Layla and Ryder looked worriedly at one another before giving Xavier the same look.
"Layla and I were discussing that just now," Ryder said.
"Really?"
"Nyah," Layla nodded, stroking the red bangle on her wrist nervously.
"Have you spoken to Anna yet?" Ryder asked. Xavier shook his head.
"No, why?"
"According to her, Alex, Keith and Keenan were almost burned alive."
"No?" Xavier was shocked beyond comprehension.
"Straight up, hence Keith and Alex taking today off. The house Jordan first hid in was burned down and everything we saw there was missing beforehand."
"So Jordan relocated?" Xavier asked.
"That's the only real explanation," Ryder nodded, resting his paws on his hips. "But hearing that from Anna, I'm worried about Jordan's new hiding place and next move."
"Can't say I blame you."
"I checked; Alex and Keith aren't in Cianwood."
"WHAT!?" Xavier exclaimed. "But they said they were planning to go there over breakfast!"
"Now you see why we're worried," Ryder nodded.
"...maybe you should look everywhere else," Xavier suggested shakily. "I-it's possible they changed their mind while they were out."
"...I never thought of that," Ryder muttered. Ryder knelt on one knee and placed one paw to the ground. His eyes closed softly as his aura sensors lifted. Keenan, who had waited outside Alexa's slightly open bedroom door, had heard the entire conversation and snuck passed the room with Iara hanging from his shoulder.
"Nyah...!" Layla held her bangle close to her.
"It's okay, Layla, I'm sure they're safe and having run as we speak!" Xavier said reassuringly, despite lacking confidence in his own words.
Keith stood in front of a tall metal rack, blindly rummaging through the shelf behind him. Despite his hands being bound, he searched through what he could reach until he felt something cold and sharp.
"Aha! I told you I'd find something," Keith smiled as he carefully took the object without pricking himself. The object he picked up was a scalpel; it had an orange handle with a blue slider on the side of it, allowing the blade to be retracted for safety reasons. It was small enough to fit in someone's pocket, and the sliding mechanism of the scalpel allowed a person to carry it without stabbing themselves accidentally. It was also thin enough for it to be in someone's pocket without it being discovered by someone else.
"I didn't doubt you, Keith, I told you Pokémon Centres carry basic medical equipment, including those used for surgery," Alexa said calmly. Keith returned to Alexa and sat with his back to her. He took the scalpel in his dominant hand and extended the blade, aiming it at the cable tie binding Alexa's wrists.
"I'll cut you loose first," he said. Alexa felt nervous.
"Keith, a-are you sure you're holding it ri—aaagh!" Alexa felt the tip of the scalpel cutting into her wrist. Hearing her cry, Keith retracted the blade quickly.
"Sorry, sorry! Are you hurt?" he panicked.
"I-It just stings..." Alexa replied. The blood from the cut on her wrist dripped down her hand, fingers and then onto the floor just behind her. Keith felt nervous when he extended the blade on the scalpel again; he didn't extend it as far the second time around.
"I'll try not to hurt you again. I just wish I could see what I was doing..!" he grumbled.
Before Keith could even move, the storeroom doors unlocked with a click and were shoved aside; Jordan looked down at his captives, who looked up at him nervously. Jordan couldn't see what it was Keith was holding, but he spotted the small puddle of blood between him and Alexa.
"I told you not to make a fuss and you're trying to escape? Big no-no, Keith. And don't hurt Alexa, that's my job."
"What?" As if I'd let you!" Keith bellowed furiously.
"Calm down, you'll get your turn," Jordan sighed.
"What?!" Alexa gasped.
"That's my decision; what else am I here for?" Jordan asked rhetorically. Keith discreetly retracted the scalpel blade completely and shoved it inside his back pocket before Jordan approached him and Alexa. They both felt intimidated, as one thought circled their minds right now; "we're screwed".
Keenan ran down the stairs, bolted passed the adults and out of the house. Confused and concerned at the same time, Hayden followed him, being the only one of the three not preoccupied; Ian was distracted with a crossword puzzle and Lily continued to clean the kitchen worktop.
Hayden closed the front door behind him just as Keenan released his orange crested Fearow from his Poké Ball. Iara was still settled on her trainer's shoulder.
"Keenan? What's the rush?" Keenan was startled when he heard his father's voice, but turned around and faced him regardless.
"Alex isn't in Cianwood, I want to find her," he said quickly.
"Maybe Keith and Alexa moved on, I highly doubt they'd be there for long," Hayden suggested calmly. "We both know there's very little to do there."
"...oh."
"What's wrong anyway? You're not usually this anxious," Hayden said worriedly.
"I heard Ryder and Xavier talking; they think something might have happened to Keith and Alex," Keenan replied truthfully. Hayden took a few moments to let Keenan's words sink in; he knew there was nothing to worry about, but he began to worry, remembering the three villains who were still at large.
"...I still think she's fine," Hayden began, despite not sounding completely confident about his own assumption. "But if it sets your mind at ease, it can't hurt for you to look for her." Keenan smiled at his father, even though he got the impression that he was allowed to search for his sister partly because Hayden wanted his own mind to be at ease.
"Thanks, Dad!"
"Just be careful, okay?"
"I promise," Keenan nodded as he mounted onto his Fearow. With his trainer on his back, Colin shot up into the sky and flew out of the city, Hayden watching the entire time. He sighed; now he was really worried about his daughter.
Jordan dragged Keith and Alexa into one of the Pokémon Centre's emergency rooms, where Andy and Gabby were already waiting for them. Jordan tossed Keith over to Andy, who, in return, gave Jordan the length of rope he held. As Andy restrained Keith, Jordan tossed the rope over his shoulders and tried to move Alexa to the hospital bed nearby. Alexa struggled until Jordan gripped her hair tightly, which ceased her struggling before it could even begin.
"Oi. Pack it in," he threatened spitefully. The adrenaline running through her body gave her momentary confidence.
"Get a kick out of this, do you? Picking on girls more than half your age?" she whispered nastily.
"No. Just you." Frustrated, Jordan lifted Alexa off of the ground, surprising even Gabby and Andy. Alexa gave a little shriek as Jordan threw her onto the hospital bed. Before she could even move, he tied one end of the rope around Alexa's left forearm, quickly ran the other end underneath the bed and tied it to her right forearm, trapping her to the bed. Alexa struggled, but Jordan tied her securely to the bed. Seeing the brutal treatment Jordan gave Alexa was reason enough for Keith to secretly take out his hidden scalpel and proceed to carefully run the blade up and down the cable tie around his wrists. He was determined to escape before Alexa gets more than the prick he accidentally gave her in the storeroom. Jordan held his dagger in one hand and his lighter in the other, holding the blade over the flame. Alexa was terrified as the dagger began to turn a tremendously hot orange, but soon noticed Keith's subtle struggling. Assuming he was somehow trying to free himself, Alexa had an idea; it was time for her to call upon an old tactic of hers.
"What's grander than a shining fossil Pokémon?" she asked suddenly. Jordan looked towards Alexa, looking somewhat annoyed; he almost wished he had gagged her and Keith.
"Banter before torture, Alexa?"
"You said something like that, so explain!" Alexa demanded. She suddenly recoiled. "Uh, please..." Andy couldn't help but laugh at the abrupt change in Alexa's demeanour, while Keith was confused at what Alexa was up to. He kept struggling, as he knew there was still time for him to cut himself free. Jordan laughed.
"Heh-heh. Well, since you said please..." Jordan returned his dagger to his holster and put his lighter away. "Tell me something, kids; are either of you familiar with...legendary Pokémon?"
"A-a bit," Keith said hesitantly, having seen a few in the flesh; the one he didn't want to be reminded of was Cresselia.
"All of them," Alexa replied earnestly; she knew them all, having grown up with a keen interest in the history behind legendary Pokémon. Alexa suddenly gasped. "Wait...y-you're not...?" Jordan laughed.
"Worked it out, I take it?"
"A-as if you'd capture one! T-they're legendary for a reason!" Alexa cried.
"Indeed. But, unlike most, THIS poacher," Jordan began, pointing at himself. "Has done his homework. I know where the one I want is going to be and when. And I have everything I need to subdue it without killing it; it's all in the luggage bag you two saw me with." Alexa vaguely recalled Jordan carrying a bag of sorts when she and Keith saw him in Johto. "See, I figured that just using the Poach Ball would be insufficient; I needed more. So, I plan on combining the primitive poaching methods with the modern Poach Ball approach." Alexa was livid; when it came to legendary Pokémon, she loathed the very idea of humans disturbing them, evil intentions or otherwise.
"I don't care how you go about it, it won't work!" she yelled desperately.
"Aren't you even curious about which Pokémon it is I'm after?" Jordan asked. Alexa looked at him with mild shock; she knew all of the legendary Pokémon that reside in Kanto and Johto, it was difficult for her to narrow the options down. She remained silent in case it gave Jordan the idea to go after more than just one, and the idea of him seeking just one was too much for her to bear. "I'll take your silence as a yes. In that case, I'll tell you."
Keith felt the cable tie being ready to snap apart, which would finally free his wrists. He stopped all signs of struggling as he saw Jordan moving over to Alexa. He lowered his head near Alexa's and whispered something in her ear. Alexa already felt uncomfortable with Jordan invading her personal space, but what Jordan had whispered to her distressed her further. Furious, Keith turned the scalpel around as soon as it finally broke the cable tie and slammed it into Andy's thigh. Andy yelled in pain and momentarily lost his grip on Keith, who then broke free, taking the scalpel with him. Gabby was too startled to do anything, and even Jordan was surprised. Alexa, however, was ecstatic and relieved beyond words; again, her stalling strategy reaped its rewards.
"What the-?!" Jordan spotted the scalpel in Keith's hand as he retracted the blade and stashed it in his pocket. Jordan was livid. "Get him!"
"C'mere you son of a bitch!" Andy shouted furiously. Keith narrowly dodged each and every fist Jordan and Andy threw at him whilst attempting to throw a few punches of his own. Jordan wished he could use his Pokémon, but considering the bed he tied Alexa to wasn't the only one in the room, there was a severe limit in space. Speaking of beds, Keith saw another one of them and had an idea. While Jordan was distracted with Gabby and Andy, who had unleashed their Roserade and Arbok respectively, Keith made a break for the bed.
"No, you fucking idiots, there's not enough room in here!" Jordan yelled viciously. Keith sat on the worktop near the bed and moved it so the soles of his feet touched the bed. He readied himself to slide into the gap between the worktop and the bed. "Call them back!"
"Jordan!" Gabby shrieked. But it was too late; putting everything he had into his legs, Keith pushed the hospital bed into Jordan, Gabby, Andy and the Pokémon. The bed flipped over and fell on top of the fatigued foes. Keith stood up properly and quickly snatched Jordan's dagger.
"That's what you get for invading Alexa's personal space, you piece of shit," Keith said spitefully. Under his breath, of course, he didn't want Alexa to hear him cursing. Keith ran over to Alexa and quickly untied the ropes around her forearms.
"Keith! You're all right!" Alexa sighed with relief as Keith helped her sit up. Keith used Jordan's dagger to make quick work of the cable tie around Alexa's wrists, finally freeing her.
"Of course. Thanks for the stall tactic. Again," Keith smiled as he carefully helped Alexa off of the bed. Alexa lost her smile, Jordan's words ringing in her ears.
"I wish I could say you're welcome, but I had an ulterior motive alongside helping you," she confessed. Keith lost his smile, remembering Jordan's words himself.
"...Jordan's target..."
"We need to find Cassie and get out of here NOW! I'll explain later!"
"We don't know where Andy took her Poké Ball, though!"
"I know where this Pokémon Centre keeps its Poké Balls!"
"Okay, lead the way, babe!" Keith said eagerly. Without any further thinking, Keith and Alexa fled the room, Keith dropping the dagger on his way out. Jordan recovered and threw the bed away from him. Andy, Gabby and their Pokémon were still fatigued after having had Jordan and a hospital bed falling on top of them. Jordan scowled at them as he reclaimed his dagger. Without another word, Jordan left the room in pursuit of his escaping hostages.
Alexa led Keith to another large room, with two incredibly large racks that covered both sides of the room, leaving one long path down the middle from the doorway. Each shelf on the rack had many sockets in them, roughly about the same size as a tennis ball. However, all but one socket was empty and gathering dust. Alexa quickly reclaimed her Lapras's Net Ball and pocketed it immediately.
"Found her!"
"All right, let's go!" Keith took her hand and fled at full speed with Alexa behind him. Jordan startled the pair as he suddenly appeared from behind a corner and tried to slash Keith and or Alexa – whoever he hit successfully was of no consequence to him, so long as he hit someone – with his dagger. Keith narrowly avoided the blade, but the blade sliced across Alexa's right forearm. She gave a small cry of pain as the sharp metal sliced across her sleeve and skin. Keith briefly turned around as he took his scalpel one more time and threw it at Jordan. The blade landed in Jordan's shoulder, causing him to wince in pain. Jordan had stopped momentarily to take the scalpel out, but the time it took had allowed Keith and Alexa to gain some distance between them and Jordan. Gabby, Andy and their Pokémon tried to grab the pair, but missed royally and crashed into the wall. Keith tried hard not to laugh at their epic failure and kept running, being careful not to grip Alexa's hand too tightly; she was already bleeding from her left wrist.
Eventually, Keith and Alexa left the building and, without thinking to go to the pier where Jordan moored his speedboat, ran up the hill. Keith and Alexa looked down at the sea; it was one hell of a long drop. Keith looked back and saw Jordan leaving the building, looking around to see where he and Alexa went. With her hand free from Keith's, she held onto her bleeding forearm.
"Now what?!" Keith complained. Stuck between Jordan and the ocean, Alexa believed only one alternative was left. She faced Keith solemnly, who, in return, faced her, somewhat confused at her look.
"Do you trust me?" she asked.
"Kitten, I didn't get this far NOT trusting you!" Keith laughed slightly, despite trying to keep a straight face.
"Yeah, dumb question," Alexa muttered to herself. She held onto Keith's hand. "Then JUMP!"
Without hesitation, Keith and Alexa leapt off of the hill, down towards the ocean. Alexa opened the Net Ball, finally releasing her Lapras, Cassie from within. However, Alexa's plan didn't go too well; she and Keith ended up in the ocean several inches away from Cassie. Startled, Cassie dived underwater. She surfaced with a disgruntled Keith and Alexa on her shell. As she surfaced, the dark blue spot on her front left flipper could be seen. Cassie looked up at where Keith and Alexa jumped from and saw Jordan, Andy and Gabby looking down at her. Despite not knowing who the individuals were, she sped off before she had the unfortunate opportunity to find out. Gabby and Andy were gobsmacked.
"...her Pokémon was a LAPRAS!?" Gabby shrieked in horror. Andy held a Poké Ball in one hand, and his injured thigh with another.
"Fearow will kill it!"
"...let them go," Jordan insisted.
"WHAT?!" Gabby screamed.
"Are you crazy!?" Andy yelled furiously. A smirk grew on Jordan's face.
"...change of plans. When we meet...there..." His smirk grew, which intimidated even Andy and Gabby. "It'll be for the last time..."
Alexa and Keith sat up properly on Cassie's back as she swam across the extremely tranquil Kanto ocean. Alexa held her bleeding arm with her injured hand. Seeing this, Keith grew worried.
"Are you all right? You're hurt..." Cassie looked back at her trainer, worry written all over her face. Alexa looked up at Keith while enduring the extra pain of the salty water having penetrated both of her wounds.
"I-I'll live... Could've been worse," Alexa replied. Cassie felt obligated to speed up even more. Keith moved closer to her and gently kissed Alexa on her lips. He looked deeply into her eyes with a loving smile on his face.
"I'm just glad you're alive," he said kindly.
"Snap, for the both of us. By the way...Keith, Cassie. Cassie, Keith." Keith looked at the Lapras carrying him and Alexa at the same time as Cassie looked at him.
"Hello," he said politely. Cassie smiled and nodded at the boy, seemingly happy to meet him.
"Cassie, can you take us to Cherrygrove? It's quicker to go home from there," Alexa asked. Cassie nodded and slightly changed her course slightly. Keith looked behind him reluctantly, but was bewildered when the only thing he saw was more ocean.
"...they're...they're not chasing us."
"They've got bigger problems. And so will we if we loiter around for too long." Keith looked at Alexa in confusion; he immediately noticed she was beginning to panic for whatever reason.
"What do you mean?"
"ALEX!" Suddenly, everyone heard Keenan's voice calling Alexa's name. They soon saw the orange crested Fearow flying over to them, with Keenan and Iara on his back.
"Keenan? What's wrong?" Alexa asked.
"Ryder and Xavier were worried and-" Keenan suddenly noticed Alexa holding her wounded arm and saw blood dripping from her wrist. "Aagh! You're hurt!"
"We've got bigger problems!" Alexa yelled, her panic getting the better of her.
"But-"
"I'll explain later! We need to go home and figure out how to stop Jordan from capturing Moltres!" Alexa cried. The revelation left Keith, Keenan and the Pokémon horrified.
To be continued..