A Maiden's Voyage

Chapter 13: Evelyn

The next day I woke up late into the afternoon. Everything about it was hellish and I remember getting up with difficulty. Pains and aches argued on how to better cause me physical anguish as they debated in the lower regions of my back and shoulders. Everything was just slow and painful as my muscles screamed in agony. The fading memory of my dad is what kept me sitting, propped upright on the bedside granted to me by the Bridge, contemplating on what I would do. It would be impossible to walk around Sinnoh the way my situation stands. Everything I knew was a lie and my whole world crumbled before me.

Rotom floated nearby and looked around the room we were in. He hadn't had the chance to see where we were sleeping because it was really dark inside the Bridge after my colossal victory in the abyss. I would go to Hera today and maybe talk to her about leaving to get my father. But it wasn't just about my father anymore. It was about Sinnoh as a whole.

All my life I've been living securely, due to the "protection" of my Society guardians. But now that I've seen their true colors everything has changed. Those fences that line my cities aren't to keep enemies away. They're to keep us in. For "protection." The Society has lied to me my entire life. I'm one of the only people in my region who knows the truth. Whatever it takes, I will topple the corruption that is destroying my region. They will pay for what they did to Dusknoir.

Rotom sensed my solemnity and orbited my head, averting my scheming to his silliness.

"What are you doing?" I smiled at him as he floated around my face like I was the sun and he, a planet. He shrugged his electric shoulders and stopped to face me.

"You looked like you were in deep thought and I began to worry you were having a stroke." To which I rolled my eyes and stood up. It was weird but Rotom seemed to make some of my aches go away but not the ones in my shoulders. I could really use a massage.

"I was thinking about Dad. We need to find him and bring him here where it's safe." We started to exit my room, and began walking down the mazes of hallways, passing by unfamiliar doors and hearing strange voices emanating from them. With each door I pictured a trainer whose Psychic pokemon were using their psychic abilities to make objects float. Then I realized that's just a stereotype with Psychic pokemon and dismissed the thought.

Rotom and I wandered through the hallways and just before the fear could swell in my soul over the fact that we had gotten lost, I saw a familiar door and approached it. This door was where I had last seen Hera's boyfriend, Alex. We approached it and it opened for us automatically. I saw Alex standing next to a boy about his age and another boy much younger than them.

The younger boy wore a red hat that sported a dark pokeball on it. His light blue sweater was zipped down to his pants, but was open enough to reveal his white belt. His shoes were a colorful red and squeaked when he walked around the two boys. His hair was long but not like mine, for it was nestled in his cap and only barely reached his neck. When he saw me standing in the doorway like a fool, his eyes remained fixated on me until Alex noticed and called me over.

"This is the girl I was telling you about." Alex motioned to the tall, tan guy. His eyes fluttered when our eyes first met and he greeted me with a tantalizing smile that gripped me from the inner reaches of my soul and left me stunned in all of my desires. He extended one hand to meet mine and I shook it like my Dad had taught me, when I was younger. I gripped his large hand in my own and shook it firmly.

"So you're Aria? Well my name is Vance." He said, never allowing our eyes to part. When they did I caught a glimpse of the boy standing next to Vance, and he blushed when my eyes fell upon him.

"And you?" Alex beckoned at the kid who issued a stressed grunt.

"I'm Drayke. Nice to meet you, Aria." I smiled, when he finished, and he grew redder than the reddest of Octilery.

"Drayke, why don't you go get Hera from the Gardens?" Alex reached over and placed a free hand on Drayke's shoulder. Drayke gave a sullen nod, looked at me then to Vance.

"Fine, but only if Vance comes with me so I don't get bored and lonely." Alex rolled his eyes and the two boys left for the Gardens. As they left I saw life in both of them. They filled a hole in me that has been left gaping for a long time now. Rotom and I were beckoned by Alex to follow him up to the same table we had been talking at before. I took the seat right in front of him and Rotom floated somewhere nearby.

"Do you like the guys?"

"They seem alright." I looked around the room.

"The kid likes you."

"I'm aware." I gave a sort of half-chuckle.

"I asked them if they would accompany you on the outside. On your mission." Alex looked sternly into my face. I could see in his eyes that he regretted his decision but pursued it, regardless. It's too dangerous to be living in a world where young people are the only ones who possess the truth, I thought thinking what Drayke had done to get him into the Bridge.

I told him they seemed like fine companions and I would feel safe with them if I got to know them more. Then I asked Alex if he would tell me more about them.

"The kid, Drayke, is a Dragon-trainer. He started training with pokemon at the age of five and has developed a really close bond with his dragons. When he went to school he also at the top of his class, until he had to leave because he was abandoned by his parents. They just couldn't manage a child and so they left him and moved themselves to a faraway place."

"That's so stupid." I said shaking my head.

"Yeah." Alex said looking down. "He was quickly accepted into the Bridge because his adoptive guardian, also his aunt is the leader of the Dragon house here. Her name's Margaret. She was here yesterday as well." I nodded. We talked about Drayke a lot, but I forgot to ask him about Vance, when the two boys strolled into Alex's office with Hera. When she saw me, her face lit up and she came over. Rotom watched as we embraced in the room and then the five of us stood in a circle as Alex took the floor.

"Vance, Drayke. You both know the mission, right?" They both nodded.

"Vance, you're the most experienced so without any doubt you'll be the designated team leader and come talk to me once you guys get back, alright?" Vance gave a small nod. Hera pulled me over and I looked at Rotom while Alex debriefed Vance and Drayke on the mission.

"I know you'll find your Dad. I feel it in my gut that he misses you and will be exultant when he finds out you got two gym badges." She smiled at me and I could see my Dad's face in my vision then blinked him away, returning to Hera's shining face.

"Thanks."

"Trust me when I saw Vance and Drayke I knew they were a perfect match for your team. Drayke may be just a little kid but some of my students who are almost twice his age have a hard time against him in battle. Vance on the other hand is an advanced Fire trainer and his expertise in combat and survival will keep you all safe, promise." Hera must've seen that Alex needed us over and I turned around with Rotom to meet up with the boys. Alex said some words of encouragement and Vance led us out of the office. The last thing I saw was Alex's unchanging face and Hera waving goodbye before the automatic door closed.

"So you're a Ghost trainer, Alex tells me?" Vance said as he guided us to a region of the Psychic floor I had never been in. We criss-crossed a hallway that was brown along the walls and the floor remained shiny and white like from before.

"Yeah, well I don't have any specific proficiency, I just feel comfortable when I battle with Ghost pokemon." Drayke nodded and blurted that he feels the same way about his dragons. I smiled and he blushed, then looked away.

We walked through this unfamiliar hallway until we were met with an elevator. The elevator was a cargo elevator and looked like it could hold an armored vehicle or two. It was metallic on all sides and its buttons were encased in a silvery metal that only opened with Vance's thumbprint. We boarded the lift and I picked a corner in the back to lean on. Rotom floated nearby and Drayke was eyeballing my pokemon to which Rotom returned an icy glare.

We ascended in this elevator for what seemed like an eon before it finally came to a stop on a dim floor, that I had never seen before. Vance told me we were now in the disguised part of the Bridge that was made to look like a regular warehouse. He said we were just under Hearthome City now and it was one more elevator ride away from the surface world. Well he has right about the elevator because that second ride was an equally mundane experience as the first. The whole time I saw out of the corner of my eye, the frantic eyes of the little boy, Drayke. It seemed like he hadn't seen any of what I was seeing like this was the first time he had been here, too.

Vance led us through narrow hallway after narrow hallway until natural sunlight shone in my face. It was a glorious and sorrowful experience packed into one. I approached several glass doors separating me from fresh oxygen when Vance barred me from the doors. His eyes were filled with concern.

"Before we leave I have to make a couple things clear." He began. "It's really important that we all stay together at all times. We are after all, Bridge operatives, so if Team Galactic or the Society get hold of our identities, we're royally screwed, you know? Oh, and I know that Alex assigned me as team leader but that doesn't mean too much to me, here. This is a rescue mission so don't feel like you don't a voice, alright? There, I think that's all I wanted to say so we better get started, I hope to reach Coronet by sunfall." Vance said releasing his hand from my shoulder and the three of us looked outside to witness something completely ordinary. Vance opened the door and outside, as I spun around, I could see we had emerged from a warehouse in an entire neighborhood of warehouses.

"Where are we?" I asked looking at Vance. He said we were in Hearthome City but I don't recall seeing this during my first visit. After pondering this it hit me. Oh right, that was the night I was running for my life, the night Dusknoir… Well it's irrelevant where we are in Hearthome City but the fact of the matter is that we were all fugitives who could be apprehended in a moments notice.

Rotom buzzed in my ear and I looked in the distance to see soldiers guarding the same barbed fence I had escaped from a few nights ago. Vance had taken notice of Rotom at this point and walked up to the Electric/Ghost pokemon, who in response was startled and let out a mild electric shock.

"Oh my god! Vance I'm so sorry, you startled Rotom and it was just… are you okay?" I looked at his shoulder where Rotom zapped him and looked back at Rotom who mouthed the word "sorry."

"I just wanted to see it up close, my bad." Vance chuckled and regained his composure. Drayke looked afraid and from that point on didn't walk near Rotom. I could tell Rotom was indifferent about other human beings at first, but I knew what kind of personality he had and he loved to act all tough and aggressive around strangers to assert his dominance. Kinda like a dog. But Rotom's not my pet. He's my partner and we respect each other as equals. That's how we battle and so far it's proved to be somewhat effective.

I realized something important. The Society surely knows my face and they wouldn't hesitate if they saw me so how is that we can just walk around freely? I brought this up by Vance and his explanation was astounding.

"At the Bridge, we don't usually ascend to the surface world, but we have tasks that need to be completed, new recruits are always being taken in, recently at a significantly slow rate, but they still come. Some of our operatives come up to the surface many times while others have dwelled down below for most of their lives. We are on an important mission and our identities are hindrances to our goals. Down there you may be known as Aria, but up here forget about it. That was stripped from you the minute you learned the truth about the Society. You can pick a new name while you are up here, but I have selected the name Vance and Drayke picked his.

"Wait so your real names aren't Vance and Drayke?"

"It's easier than always carrying around two names, don't you agree?" Vance looked at me and I looked at Rotom incredulously.

"So I can't even be referred to as Aria anymore?" I looked at him pleadingly, like my name was the only thing next to Rotom that I couldn't afford to lose.

"I'm sorry, what would you like to be called now?" Vance asked.

"Picking a new name is fun," Drayke piped up. "And you don't need a last name when you're in the Bridge, so pick something creative like me." He smiled broadly. I thought about this for a long minute, leaving the four us standing (and floating in Rotom's case) while I thought of a new name for myself. Marissa? Sally? Candace? As names rapid fired through my brain one emerged and I knew, without a doubt, that if not for Aria I would be preferred to be called:

"Evelyn."

"That's a… a pretty name. I've never met an 'Evelyn.'" Vance said smiling.

"What about Eve? Evelyn's too long." Drayke moaned. I shook my head. I wanted it to be like that.

"Evelyn it is. Good to meet you." Vance bowed his head, jokingly.

"Now Drayke has some sunglasses and a hair tie for you. If you look slightly different from your original self, you'll easily fool the Society with a simple disguise." I couldn't believe this. I always wore my long, brown hair down. More importantly, I had to get a new name and make myself look like I wasn't Aria Verne Ketchum. I tied my hair up in a bun and put on the sunglasses.

"Would you rather we dye and cut your hair?" I shook my head and tied up my hair.

"There's Evelyn." Drayke pointed and laughed childishly. I rolled my eyes beneath the glasses and Rotom just looked at me like I was a stranger. I didn't know how I felt about that.

"We're not gonna risk a confrontation with those Society Guards at the entrance to Hearthome, so we can just sneak through the Hearthome Forest, don't worry I know these woods like the back of my hand." Vance assured me. The four us wandered through these woods and I had no idea where we were. Drayke seemed uneasy, too.

"Hey." I said to him as we were walking. He didn't look at me and I knew he was red in the face.

"Yeah." His voice squeaked.

"Is this your first time up here?" I asked and he returned a nod, while still looking forward as we trekked between trees and shrubs.

"My aunt was really annoying about me going up here. When Alex told me I would be going up, my aunt barged into his room and they argued. When my aunt came back she said she would prepare me for the overworld. My aunt's a professional Dragon trainer and I learned a lot from her like to never ask strangers for directions or to talk to anyone wearing a spacesuit." He grinned proudly and I nodded at his story while I could tell Rotom was sighing and rolling his eyes. He asked me about Rotom and so I told him. Rotom has been my partner since I was in the sixth grade. Without him I might not even be alive. With his guidance and presence as my best friend, we've gotten ourselves out of more messes than anyone could believe.

Drayke oo-ed and aw-ed as I talked. I could tell Vance was amused by my story as well. I looked back at Rotom several times, but he never once looked at me. It felt like he was angry with me. I allowed Drayke and Vance to go ahead of Rotom and I so that we could be alone for a little while. When I saw that Drayke had waddled next to Vance and they started talking, I immediately took off my sunglasses and looked at Rotom in the eyes.

"Okay, talk to me, because you were sending me daggers when I was talking to Drayke."

"That's not even that kids name, Aria. Things are getting really whack right now." Rotom stared at me as he floated nearby. I agreed with him that things started to get a little weird but I was at the mercy of the Bridge. As long as I did what I was supposed to do, everyone was happy. I accepted their laws and they accepted me as a free soul of Sinnoh.

"I'm just going to pretend I'm someone else until we get back down there." I pointed back to the warehouse that covered up the Bridge.

"It doesn't seem like these people care all too much about 'Aria' and this 'Evelyn' is the new recruit into the Bridge as far as they're all concerned. By the way, it was some move of you picking that name, Aria."

"They said I could pick any name." I retaliated.

"Well, I'm not buying into this, you're always going to be Aria to me." Rotom said, looking away from me and at the two boys walking in front of us. Vance noticed during some point that we had strayed too far behind them and waited with Drayke for Rotom and I too catch up.

"Sorry, I just needed to be alone with my pokemon for a little." I said smiling and slipping on my sunglasses.

"Do you talk to your pokemon, Evelyn?" Drayke asked me.

"Yeah, and he's a good listener, too." I didn't even have to look to be able to tell that Rotom scowled silently after I said that. Vance beckoned us and said we were close to the exit of the forest. The land dipped up and we had to venture to the top of a steep hill in order to go any further. It was a pretty difficult journey reaching the top. At one point the hill became so steep I had to get down on all fours and maneuver until I could stand comfortably. Vance was the first to make it to the top of the hill. Shortly after, I got there and Rotom was by my side at all times, even guiding me once when I needed him.

"Where's Drayke? I can't find him anywhere." Vance said running around frantically, peering over the hill and looking around us. Rotom and I looked around but couldn't find him either. I began panicking. It was almost twenty minutes into our first day on the surface and something was already going wrong. Vance was calling out Drayke's name and there was no response.

"I'm up here, guys!" We heard his voice and looked around everywhere. My eyes finally saw him riding atop an Altaria which he instructed to land right beside us on the ground.

"Sorry, but that hill was really steep and I just couldn't climb it, so I had Altaria fly me up."

Rotom rolled his eyes. Vance wiped his brow and told him to say if he was gonna fly before scaring us like that again. Beyond the hill and after I had calmed down a bit, I noticed the trees slowly began clearing and the tall mountain Coronet loomed ahead of us, as if it was guarding the Sinnoh region.

I noticed the sun was entering the side of the sky, beginning to set. We had emerged to the surface late in the afternoon and the day was already beginning to end. What a bummer.

"We're going to find a cave and sleep there tonight." Vance said in front of us as we walked towards the mountain.

"Sleep in a cave?" I asked incredulously.

"Well we can't just order a room when the Society is hunting you down. You know there was a manhunt for you, right?"

"No." I said, Drayke looked at Vance uneasily.

"This whole week since you joined up with the Bridge we've been looking extensively at what the Society was doing in Hearthome and they were going door to door and skulking around the warehouses looking for you. We were almost on red alert when one of them wandered into our building. Until we can figure out a way to make you virtually invisible, you'll just have to deal with this makeshift disguise, unless you wanna cut your hair?" I shook my head no and there was no argument after that.

It seemed like we had been walking for around an hour when I started to notice that it was getting darker. The mountain I had seen before now stood much closer than before. The land began rising inconsiderably and I didn't take any notice of it. Vance held out one hand halting us suddenly when Vance saw a man walking up to us.

"Society." Drayke whispered with terror in his voice.

"Be cool." I ducked my head down as we walked passed the Society operative. I wondered why he would be patrolling this part of the forest and I concluded they were still hunting for me for what I did back in their headquarters. I saw the shoes of the Society operative stop in front of us and Drayke stopped us as well.

"Hi." Vance said and we continued walking.

"Aria?" The Society man said. Vance and Drayke were frozen with fear and I looked up at Rotom who was staring wide-eyed at the man directly in front of us. His face was so familiar and I could never forget meeting this man.

"Castor." I said smiling, letting my sunglasses droop on top of my nose.

"You know this guy, Evelyn?" Vance looked at me and I sighed when he called me by that name.

"Evelyn? I thought your name was Aria?" Castor stood there looking at me. He wasn't wearing his signature trench coat, and instead wore Society white clothes. It must've been a miracle that we ran into him here.

"How ya been?" I walked up to him.

"Evelyn, don't!" Vance tried to stop me.

"It's alright, there pal I'm not going to hurt her." Castor looked at Vance easily. Drayke and Vance returned a cold look back but I persisted.

"Trust me guys, I know him."

"Just because you know him doesn't mean he isn't one of the Society scum who poison our world." Vance raised his voice. They were conditioned to despise the Society and Team Galactic. I resent both factions as well, but Castor just seemed so normal and he let me in. I needed to know a few things, too, and if any Society member would tell those things to me it would be him.

"Aria. Or Evelyn," He looked at me weirdly. "I don't know what you did to piss off the Society Executives but they ordered everyone to apprehend you if we found you."

"You're not taking her." Vance stood in front of me and Drayke appeared at my side ready to deliver a blow to anyones knees.

"Relax, I'm not goin' do anything. Relax, alright? We just need to talk." Castor raised his arms to show he wasn't going to do anything but when Drayke walked forward a little, I heard a growling coming from Castor's direction.

"What's that!" Vance said alert and pulled out a pokeball.

"It's just my pokemon, your friend is wandering too close and it's making her uneasy." I looked down and sure enough behind Castor's legs I saw a shadowy pokemon peering up at us humans with her murky eyes. When I stepped forward it lightened and jumped at me. Vance became uneasy but I knelt down and the Umbreon I had met before sat before me elated that I was there.

"Wow, Aria slash Evelyn my Umbreon has never been this affectionate with another trainer and even your Rotom who seems pretty aggressive is friendly with it." Castor laughed and I joined with him as Vance and Drayke just watched us.

"I'm not going to hurt you like I said, but I do need you to trust me and I will trust you." He said and I nodded.

"It was smart of you to hide out wherever it is that you were hiding because everyone was looking for you. I have a deep feeling in my gut that you are now involved with the Bridge. I thought it was just a rumor and then your friends revealed their hostility for a Society member so I sorta pieced everything together. It's totally fine that you're with them I won't say anything and you can hold me to that."

"She may trust you but we don't." Vance opened his mouth.

"Vance." I said looking at him.
"No, Evelyn, this isn't the time to make friends, not with him."

"Evelyn or Aria you can trust me. To prove that, I would give you my partner to make you believe me."

"You would give me your Umbreon?" I looked at him astonished.

"Not permanently, only until you see that there are other people in the Society and perhaps even in Team Galactic, who aren't ravenous villains that eat babies or whatever you Bridge folks think of us. I will tell you that you're taking the right path to Mt. Coronet. It'll keep you hidden and I hope you make it to wherever you're going, but I have to get going myself."

"He's gonna report that he found you." Drayke said worriedly.

"I swear to everything holy that I will not tell anyone that I saw you, okay? You have my word. Now I have to go, but it was nice seeing you Evelyn." He smiled and went his way.

"See ya, Castor."

We found a cave when it got really dark. The rest of the climb was chilly but I was able almost match Vance's dexterity and endurance while climbing. Drayke and Vance didn't say anything to me as we climbed and it wasn't until we had entered the cave that I broke the ice.

"Okay you two, you'll have to talk to me at some point."

"I can't believe we're trusting a Society operative. That goes against everything we

believe, Evelyn." Vance looked up at me as he was setting up blankets that Drayke carried with him in his backpack.

"Please, Vance." I put my arm around his shoulder and sat next to him.

"If you trust me, then you can trust him. Besides he didn't ask where we were going only that we were going to Mt. Coronet which anyone could've figured out. If he really wanted to trap us he would've asked where we're headed to."

"Just to be on the safe side, we're going around to Floaroma Town in order to prevent getting trapped in Oreburgh. That's my order." Vance said as he continued setting up our beds.

"Come on out guys!" Drayke yelled as he released his pokemon to hangout with us. He had a Flygon and his Altaria sitting next to him, to which Vance threw three pokeballs: unleashing his Flareon, Blaziken and Houndour. I didn't appreciate how Vance was treating Castor despite the fact that I barely knew either one of the two boys. I decided I would venture to the mouth of the cave and talk with Rotom since his wisdom, I would always accept. I told Vance I was going to be at the mouth of our cave and he told me not to be gone for too long. He asked his Flareon to create a fire in a pit that he arranged from sticks, rocks and some newspaper all of which Drayke had provided.

As Rotom and I walked through the cave we noticed several Zubat sleeping, nestled on the roof of the cave. They were hanging upside down, but were huddled close together forming families of Bat Pokemon. Rotom and I found a cliff around where we had primarily entered and sat down, allowing us a perfect view of the sky above. Hearthome City would be somewhere far away and I was glad of it.

"Did you see how hostile he was to Castor?" I began.

"Yeah, it's probably just in his nature. Him and everyone in the Bridge are sworn enemies against the Society and Team Galactic. I mean most of them who are in the Bridge got there because of one of the two factions, you know?" Rotom responded, to which I nodded slightly. Flashbacks of my experience with the Society began rushing back into my memory as I remembered the tears from the whole thing. The Society had definitely done me wrong and I wouldn't standby and let them do that to other people.

"We need to find Dad and bring him back."

"What will we do then?" Rotom turned to me, and I could see his plasma face looked genuinely intrigued for my next response.

"The Society is corrupt with violence and anger pent up from fighting against another faction for many years. Our world needs a new leadership because our current one is so far out of line." I said looking up at the stars. The view from up here was gorgeous and I could see, very well, the shapes and constellations of the night sky.

"How do you expect to topple two powerful factions? I mean, they're not just going to step down because nobody is getting what they want. They will fight for power because once a man gets the power he desires, he will destroy everything to keep it." Rotom joined me in looking up at the stars, not noticing that a single tear ran down my cheek.

"We need to fight for everything that's right." Rotom began again. "Dusknoir would've wanted that if he were still alive." I sniffled and wiped my face. That memory will forever be burned into my skull until the day I die, because never have I seen someone throw an innocent pokemon into a fire, never have I seen such mistreatment of pokemon. It made me sick and angry to think people like that really existed.

"Do you trust Vance and Drayke?" I asked after a few minutes to calm myself down.

"I don't know." Came after two minutes of silence.

"Do you trust anyone in the Bridge?" I looked at him.

"Yes."

Another minute of silence came until Rotom asked if we should go back into our little chamber and get some sleep. When Rotom and I wandered in, Vance's Flareon peered up at us, let out a small yawn, and went back to sleep. I saw the fire they created had since died down, but that didn't stop my exhausted companions from dozing off. Drayke was sleeping on the puffy clouds of his Altaria while his Flygon slept nearby. Vance and his Fire pokemon slept opposite to Drayke, all sprawled out on the ground. I chose a spot where Vance had arranged some blankets and watched the fire die down until all that could be heard was the slight shuffling of wings from the cave.