Chapter 18: Just Had To Go My Way
Carla had never been more grateful for her hoodie.
"Is it always this cold in Sinnoh?" Tally rubbed her upper arms, then jammed her hands into her pockets.
"Yup!" the muscled sailor replied cheerfully as Bruno stepped onto dry land. "And this ain't even the coldest place."
Carla almost missed the feel of waves under her feet. Watching the sunrises and sunsets over the water had been amazing, and she'd enjoyed watching the schools of Finneon and Lumineon at night when the sun they had caught made their scales glow.
She'd toyed with the idea of catching one, but then remembered Tally and Boing. It would be difficult to take care of a pokémon that needed to be in water all the time. It was a shame; the line would be perfect for water-themed contests.
After saying a quick goodbye to the sailors, the trio headed for the Centre.
While Bruno asked the nurse what rooms were available, Carla walked over to a map on the wall. The sailors had told they were disembarking in Pastoria City; from here, they could either go to Hearthome City, or visit Lake Valor. If they went to Lake Valor, they could travel to Veilstone or Sunyshore, and...
"Carla?" Tally took hold of Carla's arm. "You need to see this."
"What is it?"
Tally kept her voice quiet. "I was looking up the Ocean Palms attack on one of the computers and I saw that." She gestured towards the monitor.
Frowning, Carla looked at the screen...and felt her entire body go still.
It was her.
The black and white image had been taken from one of the security cameras. It showed Carla standing in front of the prone Team Scythe member, looking up into the eyes of the reader. Her face was concealed thanks to the black scarf, but her eyes glittered.
Beside her was the unmistakable form of Rakel.
"That's..." Carla swallowed.
"What is that?" Bruno had appeared and was peering over Tally's shoulder. "Oh, that's...that's not good."
The words of the article seemed blurry. There are speculations as to whether this is the same individual seen in Mauville City...
Carla looked mysterious, threatening, ruthless. She looked as if she'd deliberately attacked the downed man instead of acting to protect herself.
...the PTPL would like to remind trainers that vigilantism is neither encouraged nor endorsed.
"Let's go to our rooms," Bruno muttered. Tally quickly logged out and the three of them headed towards their designated places.
"You guys are sharing again," Bruno said, but he made no move to go to his own room.
As if on instinct, Carla opened the door that matched the room key and walked in. She sat down on the further of the two beds and waited for the others to enter.
It was still cold, even inside the room.
"Did that article mention any of us by name?" she asked as soon as the door closed.
Tally shook her head. "Some guy said the PTPL should be doing better, or something, but it didn't mention us."
"What about that security guard and the Scythe goons? Could they have said anything?" If they had, all the PTPL would have to do was look up which trainers with a Spoink, Noctowl and Misdreavus had visited the Centre in Lilycove.
Bruno laughed softly as he sat down and buried his face in his hands. "Looks like you had the right idea to get out of Hoenn, Carla."
"I don't get what she meant about vigilantism," Tally protested. "Why wouldn't they want trainers to stand up against rogue teams? They didn't have a problem with that when it was May Maple!"
"They did," Carla told her. "Why do you think they founded the PTPL in the first place?"
Bruno pointed at himself. "Hello - not from Hoenn, remember? I don't know anything about this."
"But you do know about The Awakening, right?" asked Tally.
"When Groudon and Kyogre woke up? Yeah."
"When it happened," Carla began, "people were scared. The League declared a national emergency; that's how terrifying it was. In Mossdeep, we thought the sea was about to swallow the island. We thought we were going to die."
She remembered huddling up against her mother's side, praying for the storm outside to stop.
"Afterwards, people wanted answers. They wanted to know why Kyogre and Groudon took their primordial forms, and why they stopped rampaging. Somehow, Gabby Galloway and her cameraman found out the truth."
"Didn't they track down May's hospital records or something?" Tally interjected, twining her fingers together in her lap.
Carla nodded. "When the news got out, there was outrage. People kept saying it shouldn't have been a teenager's responsibility to deal with the threat, that it should have been handled by an older and more powerful trainer or one of the Elite Four. That's why Barnabas Reed founded the PTPL. It wasn't just to protect us from rogue teams; nobody wanted their kids to go through anything like May did. She needed therapy after The Awakening."
She hadn't been the only one.
Bruno exhaled loudly, rubbing his hands on his jeans. "Wow. Yeah, I can...yeah." He shook his head.
"Whoever wrote that article is calling Carla 'the spectre'," said Tally.
The spectre. It sounded like something Gabby would have come up with.
"If they had managed to find out who we are," Carla began, "they would have tracked down our families first. I've had no missed calls or texts from mine."
That's because they don't have your new number.
"Neither have I," added Tally.
Bruno exhaled again, a little slower this tiem. "OK. How long is it going to take for things to die down? A couple of weeks?"
"That should be enough. We could think of this as a long sightseeing trip; I've never been to Sinnoh before," said Carla.
Tally's face brightened at the word sightseeing. "Neither have I! I'd really like to see a Sinnoh contest; they're only held in Hearthome City."
"Well, Hearthome's not far from here - we just have to go through the marsh." Carla noticed Bruno was smiling as well. Good. "Or we could go to Veilstone City and look at Lake Valor."
"Hearthome," Bruno said decisively. "Wait, did you say marsh?"
"That's what it said on the map." Carla got up. "I'll show you."
Maybe travelling in Sinnoh for a while would be fun.
The lobby had more trainers in it now than it had before. Carla walked right past the reception desk and towards the map - but then her eye fell on a poster just beside the desk. It was of a man in his mid-to-late thirties, with a handsome face, brown hair and light green eyes. The corners of his mouth were slightly tilted upward, and his eyes held a calculating gleam.
Tally peered at the poster. "It says to call that number if you see him."
Carla could not look away from his eyes. The lobby suddenly felt very cold, and not from the temperature outside.
"Carla?" she heard Bruno say. "Have you seen that guy?"
"I've met him."
Martine: International Police Report Line, Martine speaking. How may I help?
Caller: I saw a poster that said to call this number if I saw Orestes Thorn.
Martine: OK. Can you tell me where you saw him, please?
Caller: In Hoenn, a couple of months ago.
Martine: I know it can be easy to lose track of time in the wild, but do you think could you be more specific? Did he approach you, speak to you?
Caller: It was about four months, on the road between Verdanturf and Mauville. He showed me a picture of a trainer and asked if I'd seen him. I said I hadn't.
Martine: OK. Did you get the trainer's name?
Caller: Randall Shaw. He's got red hair and he's got a Minun.
Martine: Did Thorn tell you that?
Caller: (brief pause)
Martine: Hello?
Caller: I lied. I did see Randall, but I told Thorn I hadn't. Is Randall in trouble?"
Martine: Look, I'm not sure how much information I'm allowed to give you, but you did the right thing in lying. And in calling this number. It's likely we're going to have to give you a call back to verify some information; is that OK?
Caller: Yeah, that's fine.
Martine: Thank you for calling.
(end of transcript)
"That. Was. Horrible."
"Hey, you wanted to go to Hearthome," Bruno reminded Tally, who nodded and shrugged ruefully.
They quickly found out that getting stuck in the marsh meant becoming an easy target for trainers looking for a battle. Carla quickly made short work of anyone who wanted to battle her, but Bruno and Tally's battles lasted longer.
The mud had dried on their jeans, but their shoes were still wet.
"I hope there's a good launderette in Hearthome," muttered Carla. She suppressed the urge to shiver as the wind attacked them; if they were going to be in Sinnoh for a while, they were going to have to get used to the cold.
"Hey!" Someone was coming up behind them. "I want a battle!" she called.
Another one. Carla was tempted to say that their teams were exhausted - which was true - but the other trainer might have thought that was cowardice, or worse, insisted on having a battle.
Besides, there was one member of her team that didn't need healing at a Centre.
"Careful," a boy in a thick blue coat said as he walked past. He pointed directly at Carla. "That one's tough."
"Really?" The girl smirked and took a capsule out of her pocket. "I love a challenge."
Under different circumstances, Carla might have grinned in anticipation. But she was tired and wanted to rest, and so decided it was best to get this battle over and done with one way or the other.
"Wait." Bruno stood in front of her. "I'll take this one."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I'm sure. I healed up Frank after our last battle; he should be able to handle this."
The girl's smirk as the wind made her curly red hair even wilder. "Aren't you confident? My name's Kayli and just so you know, I won't go down easy."
Now Carla found herself grinning. She liked this trainer.
Bruno and Kayli sent their pokémon out at the same time. A Ponyta landed on the ground opposite to Frank, who snarled and bristled his mane; as if defiance, the Ponyta tossed his head and neighed loudly.
"Let's get this started. Durnay, use Flame Charge!"
Durnay whinnied and shot towards Frank; flames shot up from his hooves and sparks flew all around.
"Roar!" commanded Bruno.
Carla and Tally clapped their hands over their ears as Frank let out a bellow that sent Starly flying from the nearby trees in fright. Durnay came to a halt, shaking his head from side to side and stamping at th ground.
"Hang in there!" Kayli shouted, but it was too late. Frank was charging forward, his jaws open; lightning sparked from his fangs. Durnay screamed as Frank's teeth closed around his neck.
Immediately, Frank yowled and let go. He scrambled several paces backward and stood there, growling angrily.
"Got a burned mouth, huh?" laughed Kayli. "Serves ya right."
"Hold on." Bruno was pointing at Frank, his face a mask of confusion. "That was Thunder Fang. Luxios aren't supposed to learn Thunder Fang until after they..."
Frank's entire body turned white. Bruno let out a wild laugh as the Luxio grew larger and larger; when the light disappeared, Frank shook his mane and roared triumphantly.
"Way to go, Frank!" Tally called.
But Kayli wasn't finished. "Durnay, use Inferno!"
Durnay stamped his hooves and shot a jet of flame towards Frank; within moments, the Luxray was engulfed in fire. Carla winced at Frank's roars of pain.
"You can do it, Frank! Just hold on!" shouted Bruno.
"Take Down."
Durnay lowered his head and charged. He slammed right into the centre of the blaze, sending Frank tumbling backwards and leaving black scorch marks on the grass. Growling, Frank got to his feet; his yellow eyes were glinting and his nose wrinkled in a snarl.
"Use Thunder Fang again!"
Frank launched himself at the Ponyta, his gaping jaws closing onto his back. This time, Frank ignored the flames and held on. When he let go, Durnay collapsed onto the ground and lay motionless.
"Great match." Kayli returned Durnay and kissed the capsule before stowing it away. "And congrats on the evolution. That's one heck of a Luxray."
"You know, if you keep up with the training, Glossie should evolve soon."
Tally looked at Carla with bright, eager eyes. "Really?"
"Yeah. We'll help you."
The three trainers started towards Hearthome again. Carla hoped there were some good clothes shops there; what she had brought over from Hoenn wasn't going to cut it in Sinnoh.
"Do you need help with anything?"
Carla smiled at the sales assistant. "No thanks, I'm fine." She frowned at the black T-shirt she held. There were rips across both arms and the bottom hem was jagged, as if cut carelessly with scissors.
"It's meant to look like that. That style's very popular in Galar."
Carla folded the top carefully over her arm. "I like it." She also had two strappy tops for when they went back to Hoenn, and two soft but comfortable T-shirts.
The trainers had decided to split up while clothes shopping; it would be quicker that way.
Her eye fell on something close to the edge of the rack; she picked it up and studied it. It was the colour of charcoal, with a pleasantly soft texture. The top had long sleeves and a hood, and was slightly longer than Carla was used to wearing. It was also a lace-up top - something Glennis or her friends might wear.
Carla probably shouldn't get it. She was supposed to be saving money, not spending it. But all the same...she rather liked it. And it was in her size.
"Is that everything?" the saleswoman asked when the girl approached the counter and placed the clothes on it.
"Yes."
Carla left the second-hand clothes shop, her purchases neatly tucked away in her bag. She was just about to head back to the Centre when she saw a church nearby. No - it wasn't just a church. That was Hearthome Cathedral.
She hesitated, then walked towards the open doors.
Sunlight pooled onto the floor through the stained glass windows. As Carla walked quietly up the aisle, she saw several chapels with candles flickering in holders. There was one for Moltres, Groudon, Dialga, Mesprit...whoever had designed the cathedral hadn't left any of the legends out. The glass window of Arceus was much, much larger than the one in the church Carla went to back home.
There was a cleric nearby.
"Excuse me."
He turned around and smiled at her. "How may I help you?"
"Can you tell me where the Latias chapel is, please?"
"The Skydancer's chapel? It's just behind you. There are tapers as well, if you want to light a candle."
"Thanks."
Carla took a taper from the stash next to the candles, touched it lightly to the closest flame and lit one of the untouched candles. Soon her own flame was flickering next to the others.
Thank you for watching over me on my journey so far. Please keep my family safe.
Latias' eyes looked down at her from the window.
Carla bowed her head and turned to leave.
"Could you wait for a moment, please?"
A woman in a light blue robe stood just in front of her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
Even though very few people in Hoenn paid homage to the Kanto legends, Carla recognised the symbol on the woman's robe. The Legendary Birds had different types of acolyte: Valor for Moltres, Instinct for Zapdos and Mystic for Articuno.
"Is something wrong?" Carla asked. There had been a note of urgency in the young woman's voice.
The acolyte reached into the pocket of her robe and drew out a tiny velvet pouch. "This is for you."
Frowning, Carla took the pouch and opened it, tipping the contents into her palm. It was a tiny grey-blue stone pendant; etched into it was a feather the colour of winter ice.
Carla shook her head. "There's some mistake. I'm from Hoenn, we don't..."
"I don't think there is a mistake," the acolyte replied firmly. "I know an ice maiden when I see one. You're going to need that."
Carla didn't know what else to say. She thanked the acolyte and left the cathedral, the pendant and the velvet pouch tucked away in her bag.
That was strange. What were ice maidens, and why had that acolyte thought Carla was one? She wasn't even from Kanto.
It didn't matter, anyway. The others were waiting for her.
"Look at that moon," Tally said dreamily. She pointed at the pale, sharp sliver hanging in the black sky. "It's beautiful."
Carla was glad they were looking at it through glass. "It's a curse."
"What?"
"Sinnovans say Darkrai wanders the land when there's a new moon. He's the bringer of nightmares, and it's dangerous to be outside when he's around."
Tally shivered. "Good thing we're inside. Hey, I saw something on the Centre noticeboard. A berry farmer's looking for help; shall we call the number tomorrow? I'll ask Bruno in the morning."
"Sure."
Halfway through the night, Carla suddenly woke up, gasping for breath. Her heart was hammering in her chest and her blood tingled as if from an electric shock.
Tally switched on the light. "Carly? Are you OK?"
Carla put a hand on her chest. She could feel her heartbeat through her T-shirt. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Was it a nightmare?"
Carla shook her head. She hadn't been dreaming at all.
Nixie and Layla hopped onto the bed, their eyes anxious as they snuggled into Carla's side. Tess cheeped loudly and flapped her wings until Carla helped her and Zoe up as well. Rakel lowered herself down until she, too, was resting against her trainer.
Gradually, Carla's heart returned to its normal pace. "Thanks, girls."
She wasn't sure if that had been a visit from Darkrai, and she didn't believe in omens. But later in her life, she was to look back and wonder if that strange incident had been a warning, hidden in plain sight.
I had to split this chapter up; that was just the perfect place to leave it. There will be a new addition to Carla's team next time, I PROMISE.
This chapter's title comes from Twisted Angel by LeAnn Rimes.
Hope you're enjoying the story so far! Please leave a review if you liked it.