Chapter 76; Searching for hope

Jasmine's phone alarm rang. Checking the time she hit the snooze button and tugged herself in the blanket again.

Some would think she was trying to get more sleep.

They would be bold to assume she had gotten any sleep.

24 hours had passed since the revelation of the carnage in Mahogany town. And she still couldn't accept it.

They couldn't possibly be gone.

There was no way.

"There is no way" she thought over and over "they can't be dead. He can't be dead. It sounds stupid… but I can feel it. They are alive. Somehow. Somewhere".

This thought had been torturing her all night. The voice of hope whispering in her ear.

She jolted up, reaching for her phone.

"I can't just sit around. I need to know"

She quickly dialed a number.

On the other side of the bay, gym leader chuck was heading to his gym to open it for either challenges or simply workout.

The apparent demise of team Sonic did weigh on him a lot, though not to a point of total paralysis.

Those three young trainers had given him some of the best battles he had ever had. Especially Tails.

Taking on the 5th gym leader without any prior badges or real experience and winning was something Chuck didn't believe possible.

As he was about to put the key in the keyhole, his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Chuck it's me".

"Jasmine?"

"Listen. You owe me a favor right?"

"Yeah…" Chuck raised his eyebrow in question.

He did actually. Jasmine had borrowed his team and took challenges for him and at her gym while he was going through a rough phase for a couple of months, essentially fulfilling double gym leader duties which wasn't an easy task.

"Good. Cause I want to cash in that favor right now".

"Ok… what do you need?"

"I need you to come to Olivine. NOW".

Chuck was taken aback by the shift in the tone.

"You alright?"

"One more thing. You know how to drive right?"

"Yeah I do".

"Good. Meet me at the car renting store in Olivine. I'll fill you in when we're on the road".

And just like that she hang up.

Chuck was bursting with questions.

What did Jasmine want? Where was she intending to have him drive them?

Shrugging as it couldn't he helped, he assigned one of the trainers working at his gym to be a temporary gym leader until his return, hopefully by the end of the day.

Taking the first ferry of the day, Chuck headed to Olivine.

Immediately upon making port, he headed for the car renting store. Jasmine was waiting there, next to a rented car.

"What is going on?"

"Shut up and drive. I'll fill you in when we are out of Olivine".

Chuck was now totally confused. Jasmine was never this brash.

Getting in the car he ignited the engine with Jasmine taking the passenger seat.

Once they were on the road heading for Ecutreak, Chuck demanded answers.

"What is going on?! You have me come here right away and now we are on the road going… where are we going actually?"

"Mahogany".

Chuck's mouth hang open for a moment.

"Is this about your friends? Team Sonic?"

"Yes".

"Jasmine they're gone. I too have a hard time with this but you should be trying to make peace with it".

"They're not dead Chuck. I can feel it".

"You saw the news. You saw how much blood there was on the scene. There is no way…"

"I don't care!" she screamed, holding her tears back "I will not believe it. Not until…" she kept silent for a moment "we have found… proof".

Chuck was well aware now that she was intending to look for the bodies.

"But if that's your goal… what do you need me for?"

"You're not the only one who's going to help me with this".

Chuck raised his eyebrow in question.

"You will see when we get there. Now please remain quiet and focus on the road for the rest of the trip. I need the quiet for a bit".

As the two gym leaders went quiet, each lost in their own thoughts, another event was taking place in Ecutreak's police station.

Looker was rummaging through the evidence from the Mahogany carnage, looking for the shadow gas canister. But it was nowhere to be found.

Finally giving up, he headed for file room, looking for the report of the previous day.

An officer Jenny found him.

"Detective what are you doing here? You need something?"

"I need the report from yesterday. One piece of evidence has gone missing".

Officer Jenny took over and found the report in a matter of seconds.

Looker quickly read it. The canister wasn't even mentioned in the report.

"What?! Where is it?!"

"Sir?"

"Who wrote this report?"

"Lieutenant Jameson. He the one responsible for the evidence yesterday as well".

Looker booked it out of the room, heading for the lieutenant's office desk.

In the main room of the headquarters, everyone gave Looker either a confused look as he was heading frantic for Jameson's desk or a slightly angry look. Those who gave him an angry look were of course angry about the doom of team Sonic and the police's lack of action when they were needed the most.

Jameson noticed Looker and stood up.

"Sir?" he put his arms behind his back.

"Don't you sir me lieutenant. Where is the shadow gas canister from yesterday?!"

Jameson looked at Looker in confusion.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Sir… detective Morrison told me yesterday you ordered him to discreetly investigate the canister and its origin. He also told me you ordered it not in the report".

"YOU GAVE HIM THE CANISTER?!" Looker's voice sent chills down everyone's spines.

"I… I did sir… On your orders".

"You imbecile! He tricked you! He never rejoined the case! He had no jurisdiction! Whatever gave you the impression he did?!"

"W-well… I just… I didn't question it… he has helped immeasurably in cases before so I thought…"

"To hand him the most vital piece of evidence, possibly a link to team rocket boss Giovanni, without confirming with me first!"

Jameson regained his composure after a few seconds. Professionally he had messed up. So now, there was only a one in a million chance he wouldn't get fired. So he decided to speak his mind.

"Forgive me in advance for my lack of respect sir, but you didn't seem to share this desire with detective Morrison before the fall of team Sonic. Detective Morrison was the one trying to pursue team rocket alongside team Sonic and all you did was get in the way. Is it any wonder I didn't hesitate?"

Looker was fuming.

"Your chief will know about this when this whole case is over. So enjoy whatever service time you have left because I'll have your badge!"

And with those words Looker left the room, his image to the rest of the officers, unbeknownst to him, having been smeared even more than before.

The contents of the exchange of course didn't go unnoticed. One hour later an officer left the station for her lunch break.

Hiding in a storage closet, she activated her communicator.

"What is it?" a voice responded.

"I need to speak with admin Archer immediately. This is urgent".

A moment of silence.

"Patching you through".

Static played for a second.

"I hope this is serious" Archer's voice spoke through the device.

"Sir, we cannot retrieve the shadow gas canister. The detective who was thrown off the case took it".

"Hm…" Archer's voice hummed "I see. Unfortunate. But it's not a very big deal. By the time his investigation has borne fruit, it will be too late. The boss will be back with us. Team rocket will be officially back… and this time" he said maliciously with an evil laugh "Sonic the hedgehog will not be there to stand in the boss' way. So let the canister be. We have won".

"Yes sir" the grunt signed off before actually heading to grab lunch.

Several hours later, Jasmine and Chuck finally arrived at Mahogany town's central square. There expected them the last two people Chuck would anticipate.

"Pryce? Clair?"

Clair immediately turned to Jasmine.

"What was so urgent you had to bring us all the way here Jasmine? I'm supposed to be back in Blackthorn, helping my cousin regain his sense if perfect balance in order to be safe around our dragon pokemon".

"This has to do with those three young trainers who met their bitter ends here, am I right?" Pryce made a guess.

"An accurate guess Pryce. I want your help in finding team Sonic".

Clair closed her eyes in a slight disappointment.

"Jasmine they're gone. Finding their bodies won't change anything".

"They're not gone! I can feel it!" Jasmine got in her face "and even if they are… finding them will change something… my own internal pain".

"So this is just your own personal quest. Hmph. I'm leaving then".

"Clair?" Pryce looked at her in question.

"My cousin is unbalanced. His dragonite can feel it. Their bond is strong but it is based on Lance's balance of mind. He needs me".

"And I need your help! All of yours' help!" Jasmine pleaded.

Clair stopped. She turned to them.

"Give me one good reason why I should be chasing ghosts instead of being there for Lance".

"We ought to find them" Chuck explained, having changed his mind "they deserve a proper sendoff if they're really gone".

"This is mere sentiment. We need to focus on the present, on reality. Not…"

"We need to find them" Pryce declared, surprising everyone.

One would think Pryce would discourage them, as Mahogany was in disarray. As gym leader it was his duty to help his fellow residents get back in order.

"What about your gym leader duties?" Clair questioned him.

"One day without me won't bring ruin to town. At least no more than my failure already has".

"Your failure?" Clair tilted her head in confusion.

"It was my duty as gym leader to protect pokemon and trainers in Mahogany from threats to their well-being. Team rocket was here, under my nose, for months. And what did I do? Nothing. A big part of the blame for team Sonic's doom lies on my shoulders. I too want to find them… to properly apologize… as stupid as it sounds".

"Come on Clair" Jasmine pleaded "we're all on the same side here. It will be just a few hours. Please".

Clair sighed

"Fine. But remember. Only a few hours".

"Good enough for me" Jasmine nodded.

The four gym leaders then headed for the scene of the crime.

Finding the entrance of the tunnels from the souvenir shop, they walked into the underground passages.

Signs of battles stretched all around them. They couldn't help but be impressed.

"Heading into the heart of the earth, in a place crawling with their enemies… they must have put up quite the fight" Pryce admitted impressed.

"You have no idea how great they are. In more ways than one" Jasmine replied.

Clair gave Jasmine a side look. This was more than personal for Jasmine.

Reaching the room the carnage had taken place, they all felt sick from all the blood stains.

"The blood leads outside" Clair pointed out "they must have fled after that executive's fatal injury".

Jasmine gulped. They had left the tunnels.

That meant there was bound to be one or more trails of blood outside.

She couldn't bear the thought of what awaited at the end of those trails.

Following the exit tunnel, they found themselves outside again, by the lake of rage.

"I guess the tunnels must have been very useful back in the day" Chuck commented.

"So where to now?" Clair asked.

"Look around. There must be blood trails" Jasmine explained.

Splitting up the four gym leaders started carefully observing the ground for any hint of direction.

After a few minutes, Pryce found something.

"Over here! Dried blood!"

The other three converged and saw what he meant; dried drops of blood were decorating, for lack of a better word, the leaves of several bushes.

"Must be theirs" Jasmine assumed

"No sign of them though" Chuck looked around.

"Maybe they hid in the bushes immediately after their escape for a while".

"But where did they go afterwards?" Pryce inquired rhetorically as he looked around in deep thought.

"They must have gone somewhere to get medical assistance" Jasmine stated the obvious.

"But how would they go under the radar? They must have been trying to go in hiding instead" Clair shut down her theory.

"But Sonic and his Raichu were bleeding heavily. If they didn't get medical assistance…"

Everyone went silent.

"There" Pryce pointed to a small path by the lake "more blood drops".

They made for the start of the path.

"Has to be theirs" Pryce surmised while kneeling to check the trail.

"And look!" Jasmine pointed forward "more drops ahead".

Indeed there were more blood drops further down the path.

"How did the police miss all this?" Chuck inquired.

"Because they didn't bother to look. And I am sure Looker made the call to not look for them" Jasmine guessed disgusted.

"Well in any case" Clair spoke with her hand on her waist "to find anything we will have to follow the path. Question is, are we all prepared to face what possibly awaits at the end?"

All four went silent once again. Jamsine was breathing heavily thought the nose, her conflicting emotions rampaging like a whirlwind.

"We need to see this through" she declared.

"Very well then" Clair nodded taking the lead "just remember. This was your choice".

And with her black cape, similar to that of her cousin, Lance's, billowing behind her, Clair started walking down the path, followed by Jasmine, Pryce and Chuck.

As the four gym leaders paid close attention to both the path and their surroundings for any clues, Clair asked Jasmine to walk side by side with her.

"What is it?"

"You didn't bring us here for your peace of mind, right?"

"What… what do you mean?"

"You're a steel type trainer. Steel is hard but if enough force is applied it can be easily bent or broken. And I believe something that can apply enough force like that isn't necessarily something physical. Like love".

Jasmine didn't reply but her cheeks turning into a mix of pink and red gave Clair the answer she needed.

"You're in love with Sonic, aren't you?"

"This… doesn't have anything to do with our search".

"But it does. It's the very reason we seek them. If you're gonna do this, at least be honest with yourself".

"I am".

"Then why don't you tell yourself the truth? You know the facts" Clair tried to reason with fellow gym leader.

"There is no way so much blood was spilled and they are still alive. Hope is a good thing. But you need to know when it is ok to have it. Otherwise you're not hopeful. You're foolish. Which is what you are being right now".

"Take that back. I'm not foolish".

"You brought us here because you felt they are alive. This is hoping despite all the undeniable facts. In other words foolishness. You know it, I know it. Which is why I gave you the chance to not go through with this. Now if we find what I believe we'll find at the end, unfortunately… I believe you will not be able to handle it".

Jasmine hated when Clair did this.

Her mastery of emotions like her cousin made her able to feel not only dragon pokemon's emotions but others' as well.

And she was, just like always, spot on.

Soon after this exchange, they found something that deeply shook them; a huge pool of dried blood, in a small clearing on the side of the path.

But once again, no bodies.

Pryce examined their discovery.

"This must be where they took their last breath" he said sadly.

"This can't be!" Jasmine countered in absolute denial "if that's the case where are their bodies?!"

"Look around you Jasmine. We're standing literally next to the lake of rage. A lake known for its gyarados population. What chance is there that the savage gyarados smell their blood, come out of the lake and feast on their flesh?" Clair brought the harsh fact down on Jasmine hard.

Jasmine knelt, the weight of her emotions too much to bear.

Clair was making a point that was just too valid to ignore.

Wild gyarados were savage by nature. Especially with the radio waves bombarding them, they would have become bloodthirsty.

Her fellow gym leader was probably right.

This was a foolish chase from the start.

As she finally let her tears fall, Clair closed her eyes tightly and placed her arm on Jasmine's shoulder.

The fact she was assuming the most probable outcome from the start didn't mean she didn't wish she was wrong.

All four gym leaders took a moment alone allowing the reality to sink in.

That was until Chuck noticed something a bit further down the path towards Aero town.

Picking it up, he found it to be a bandage full of dry blood.

"Guys check this out" he called out to them, showing them his discovery.

Jasmine stood up and took the bandage.

Her face lit up.

"They're not dead!" she whispered.

"What?" Clair looked at her in disbelief "what are you talking about? This is the final proof they are gone!"

"No they're not! The bandage was on the ground, obviously taken off. A gyarados wouldn't take off the bandage before eating them! They have to be alive!"

"But if they are, where would they be?" Pryce inquired.

"The bandage was further away from the pool of dried blood" Chuck said allowing his mind to piece together the answer "towards the ruins of Aero town. That must be it".

"But this doesn't make any sense" Clair tried to use logic "why would they go hide in the ruins? In fact why hide at all? That would mean they are faking their deaths".

"Only one way to find out!" Jasmine said with a smile, hopeful once again as she started walking, almost sprinting to Aero town's ruins.

The three gym leaders followed her, Pryce as best he could, as he was not as young as he used to be.

Soon enough they were on the outskirts of the town, the old abandoned, collapsed buildings giving off an eerie feeling.

"They can't be hiding here. Look around you. The place is crumbling. Hiding here is dangerous" Clair tried to deter them.

"Then we better hurry. Split up" Jamsine declared as she took off, running through the crumbling, ancient buildings.

Clair sighed.

"It can't be helped. Split up. Meet back here again in 30 minutes. And don't do anything risky without reason".

"Got it" Chuck nodded.

"I'm not young enough for risks anyway" Pryce chuckled.

And just like that, the search was on.

Clair walked as quietly as she could throughout the ancient town, her black cape billowing behind her, trying to pick up anything strange, be it image or sound.

But nothing. Place was just what she imagined. A ghost town.

"Why would they hide out here?" she thought.

The sound of footsteps made her turn in an instant.

They belonged to a small ratatta, looking around for food.

Clair was about to turn around when something stuck itself on the back of her head.

It felt like a small round pipe.

"Don't move a muscle" a voice then warned her.

Clair put her hands in the air, as her eyes widened. That thing was not a pipe.

It was the barrel of a gun.