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Previously on An Apple A Day
Anita, Erin, Liam, and Jake arrive in Artemis Town. She quickly meets Styx, the gym leader's girlfriend, who not only knows about Liam's Forced Transformation Device, but agrees to help Anita destroy it. She also believes Anita is Mew. Anita has no clue how or where she's been obtaining this information. Apple stays in a patient room, recovering from burns. Apple teaches Anita some minor telekinesis-Anita can now move small particles like dust with her mind.
While sneaking around the off-limit halways in the Pokemon Center to find Anita (who's with Apple), Erin overhears Dustin (the gym leader of Artemis Town) and Styx discussing Liam.
Professor Blubber recognizes Mel as Professor Hastings's son. Professor Hastings was recently arrested by the gym leaders for being suspected of withholding information about where Liam is. Liam puts Rita Teal temporarily in charge of Team Glop'emm and asks her to look into who Professor Seth Hastings is. Anita admits to Liam that she knows that he's looking for Mew.
Chapter 38: Stuck in a Bind
I couldn't sleep. I tried, but thoughts of my conversation with Liam whirled about my head, a tornado of danger, madness, and change. Change certainly.
I wondered if it was a mistake to tell Liam I knew he was looking for Mew.
Finally, after I heard Liam breath steadily, I got out of bed, a PokeBall in hand. I needed a distraction.
I returned the Pokemon Center's quiet rooftop, enjoying the night's light breeze. With the touch of a button, Splash was released from his PokeBall. His bright fur glittered with sparks. I smiled as he zoomed around the rooftop, marveling at his new speed. He hadn't had the chance to run free since Vintage Village, since his evolution.
<I'll be able to catch Vanilla now for sure,> he said gleefully. A stray leaf caught an upward draft, twirling across the rooftop. The moment it touched Splash's fur, it was zapped into sizzling dust.
<We have to train. You need to learn to control electricity.>
<Training! Can we steal that Dangerous, High Voltage sign?> Splash said, eyeing the enclosure that no doubt held the Pokemon Center's backup generator.
<We'll see,> I said, then hesitated. <Splash?>
Splash sensed my seriousness and for once held his attention on me.
<There are some things I'm going to need your help with. Dangerous things I'm not prepared to explain and dangerous secrets that must be kept, well secret.>
<I'll do it, of course. Anything! I'm better at keeping secrets than Vanilla, you know? Once in our old home, Allo pooped on the floor and I didn't tell anyone for weeks—>
<Alright, then. Lets train.>
By the end of the night, anything that touched Splash's fur still sparked and disintegrated, but I was peaceful and sleepy and satisfied with Splash's exuberant effort. I crawled into my bottom bunk and slept.
---------------
The sun was already up when I awoke. I rolled over and looked at my PokeTech, which I'd buried under my pillow.
7:30 a.m.
Automatically, I looked to the end of the bunk to see if Apple was up, only to remember she was with Fiery in the Pokemon overnight room. Right, Apple. My eyes darted to Liam's bed. He was still asleep. I'd set an alarm for five in the morning so I'd wake up before he could even attempt to take that Forced Transformation Device anywhere near Apple.
Clearly, that was a failed plan. I clicked through my PokeTech until I got to the alarm setting.
It blinked 5:00 p.m.
I felt ridiculously brainless—if Liam had gotten up, if I'd failed Apple just because of a stupid alarm…
I sat up and glanced back at Liam's bed, feeling lucky he was still asleep. He was always the first one up and usually woke me up for our training sessions—like the one we were supposed to have this morning.
But there Liam was, sleeping with his face into his pillow, the covers half over his body, half falling off the bed. From Erin's soft snores from the top bunk, I figured she wasn't up either.
As I climbed out of bed and quietly got dressed, I thought back to last night's conversation with Liam, again wondering if it was a mistake to tell him I knew he was after Mew.
Last night, before training with Splash, I thought it was. Now... now in the daylight, seeing Liam drool all over his pillow, I thought maybe I'd overreacted. Liam had probably known I knew. Otherwise he wouldn't have followed Erin and me around to begin with, right? And darn it, I'd been right back then—I'd known there was something up with him when we'd first met by Peepin Pond. I would've abandoned him then but nooo, Erin had to have her obnoxious, Mew-chasing, "researching" friend. And now she wasn't even officially a research assistant!
Unfortunately, I couldn't change any of that.
My priority for now was to keep Apple safe. Which meant keeping Apple out of suspicion. Which meant keeping Liam away from Apple until Apple and I could implement our rather vague plan. Which meant I had to get Styx in contact with Liam so she could deal with that dratted untransformer.
All of which indicated I had to find a way to drag Liam to the gym, where Styx said she'd be, without letting him near Apple.
Now that I thought about it, Liam had never watched one of my gym battles. He probably wouldn't be interested in seeing this one either. Getting him to the gym could be a bigger problem than I initially thought.
I eyed the belt lying atop Liam's nightstand. Liam was very protective of the few possessions he had; when I'd reached for his belt on the ship to Vintage Village, the S.S. Bezzle, he'd snatched my hand away. Clipped to the belt were six PokeBalls, a pouch that contained the syringe, and a grey walkie-talkie.
Taking the Forced Transformation Device was the equivalent of admitting one of my Pokemon was Mew. That was out of the question. Taking his Pokemon… I wasn't sure. It felt wrong. I mean, Team Glop'emm stole Pokemon.
That left the walkie-talkie. Why the hell did he have a walkie-talkie anyway? I mean, he had a PokeTech. Who held the other end of the walkie? His parents? Or maybe it was one of those emergency phones.
Whatever it was, he wore it every day. I carefully unsnapped it from his belt. When I accidently let the belt clank on the nightstand, my heart pounded loudly in my chest.
Liam's head rolled into the pillow.
When there were no further movements, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.
I picked up my pack and double-checked my PokeBalls. If Liam was going to the gym, Apple couldn't come, and I'd have to leave Fiery with her just in case. That meant I'd only have my other four Pokemon to use in the battle against Dustin. Oh, well, it couldn't be helped. Hopefully the training with Splash would help.
I stepped onto the lower bunk's bed frame and pulled myself up until I my head was eye to eye with Erin's. "Erin," I hissed.
Erin's eyes fluttered. "But I don't want to be a muffin menace," she mumbled.
"Erin, wake up," I whispered.
Erin's eyes opened. Startled, she sat up, making the bed squeak loudly and causing loose pieces of pink fluff from her pajamas to flutter about.
"Shh—I need you to do me a favor."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
I watched out the window, waiting for Anita's signal with excitement and only the slightest twinge of guilt.
For whatever reason, Anita had taken Liam's bulky phone.
The look on Liam's face would be priceless.
Outside, standing in front of a vegetable vendor's stand, Anita squinted towards the Pokemon Center with a hand above her eyes to block the sunlight. When her gaze fell upon my window she grinned and waved Liam's phone in the air.
That was the signal. I turned around. It took only two steps for me to reach Liam's bed; rooms provided by the Pokemon Center really were not very spacious.
Liam was dead to the world—I couldn't even tell he was breathing. It was highly unusual for Liam to sleep this late; I wasn't sure I'd ever even seen Liam asleep. Tentatively, I poked his shoulder. "Liam?"
A muffled groan indicated that Liam was indeed still alive and well.
"Liam, I think you need to get up." I almost smiled at the well-performed worry I heard in my own voice. Almost. Smiling would've ruined the pretense.
Liam sat up, running a hand through his hair. He blinked at the light streaming in through the window. "What time is it?"
"Almost eight," I said. "Err, you might want to look out the window."
Liam looked past me at the bottom bunk. "Where's Anita?"
"Just look out the window." I backed up and sat on Anita's bed, where I would be safe from any sudden, perhaps anger-provoked movement.
Liam untangled the covers from his feet, scooted out of bed, and peered outside. He froze with a hand on the windowsill. Then slowly, his gaze turned to the nightstand, on top of which his belt lied.
I'd been right—the look on Liam's face was priceless.
Craning my neck, I risked a glance out the window. Anita was dancing in front of the vegetable stand, waving the phone in the air.
Liam literally sprinted out of the room, dressed only in boxers and the white t-shirt he'd worn to bed. He only stopped to grab the belt on his nightstand and didn't bother shutting the door on his way out. As the pound of his feet faded down the hall, I heard another door open.
"Hey, what's all the ruckus—Liam?" It was Jake's voice. "Hey, wait! Liam, did Anita go to the gym yet? Is that where you're going? Wait! Wait for me!"
More foot pounding.
I sighed, supposing I should follow.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Run.
With the soles of my tennis shoes thumping against the sidewalk and my heart pounding so loud it made my ears ring, I found a new respect for the Melonbi Middle School's track team. I remembered back when my childhood friend, Mia, had asked me to join the team with her, I'd bent over laughing until she aimed a well-placed kick at my shins. I'd chased after her with a shoe, threatening retaliation—she outran me, of course.
You couldn't pay me to run, and the track team—they tortured themselves for fun.
However, put an angry, dark-gifted boy hell-bent on retrieving his weird walkie-talkie, which I just so happened to be carrying, on my tail and I'd run until the rubber on my shoes crumbled.
Luckily, I only had to make it to the gym, and I thought I had about a minute and a half head start. I wasn't sure; I'd seen Liam move and he was fast.
There weren't many people on the street yet so I ran straight down the middle of the sidewalk, rushing past the colorful shops on my left and the fire hydrants, benches, and planted trees on my right. When I thought about daring a look behind me to see how close Liam was, I swore I could hear Mia's scolding voice: "The first rule in track is to never look back at your competitors. You'll go faster if you always think they're right behind you."
So I didn't look. The rhythmic thump of my feet against the sidewalk and my ragged breathing blocked my attempts to listen for Liam's approach.
I could see the massive gym ahead of me buried between office buildings. It was shaped and colored like a massive eggshell.
Only when I reached the gym's front doors did I risk a glance back. Liam was only a block away.
Gasping, I hurled myself through the gym's revolving doors.
My ears popped at the change in air pressure. I was surprised to find the inside of the dome shaped gym just as vast as the outside. Sparky's gym had been divided into several, smaller rooms, and Aden's gym was sectioned between the entrance room, the maze, and the battle arena.
Dustin's gym was spacious and austere. Bright lights lined the ceiling, and several rows of bleachers reflected the light about the gym, creating spots of light on the curved walls. The floor was made of a blue tile atop a gleaming metal—thicker lines of the metal carved out a simple battlefield that stretched in front of me. At the other end of the battlefield, a tiled platform drew my attention, the reflected light from the bleachers seeming to center upon this spot.
There were four large, throne-like chairs on the platform. Two Eevees sat on the center two. One of them had to be Dustin's Eevee, Ray, but I couldn't tell the difference between the two. Dustin sat in the chair on the far right; a woman with fair hair and sharp eyes sat on far left—Dustin's twin.
Directly next to the revolving door Styx stood with her arms akimbo and a grin on her face. "Welcome to—"
Liam shoved his way through the doors and lunged at me. Before I could react, he roughly grabbed the walkie-talkie from my hand, knocking me to the floor in the process.
Trying to calm my breathing, I stared up at Liam as he clipped the walkie to his belt, his relaxed jaw revealing a small glimpse of relief in his impassive expression. He was dressed in only boxers and a t-shirt. No shoes. No socks. He showed no sign of discomfort, despite his bare feet touching the cool floor.
Without acknowledging anyone in the room, Liam turned to leave.
"Welcome to the Artemis Town gym," Styx said ironically. She blocked his path to the revolving door.
"Yes, Liam Mendol, please stay," Dustin said. He leaned against an armrest and cupped his scruffy chin in a hand. "I'm honored you made an appearance."
I frowned, disliking Dustin's arrogant tone. And that platform with the chairs was totally an unsubtle treat-me-as-royalty-you-puny-trainer gesture. *******. "How do you know Liam?" I demanded.
Liam turned back to face Dustin, glaring. Some undecipherable expression was exchanged. What the heck? I reached my mind to Dustin's—
There was a sharp pain in my head as Dustin psychically shoved the tendril of my mind back at me. "Nice try," he said. Ignoring my question, Dustin addressed Liam. "I appreciate the tip, though I'm not sure what to believe regarding his actual position."
Liam said nothing.
I looked from Dustin to Liam and back to Dustin, trying to figure out what I was missing. Styx was smiling as if nothing was wrong, and Dustin's sister watched Liam warily, clutching the armrests of her chair a bit too tightly.
The revolving doors whirled, and Jake stumbled into the gym breathing heavily. "Geeze Liam… you're like… a freak… freakin' Suicune." He bent over, resting his hands on his knees. I noted that he was also disheveled, appearing to wear what he'd slept in—black shorts and a sweatshirt that read, I Got Balls, with a lovely picture depicting two PokeBalls and a guy's—well, you know.
Dustin looked irritated. "You again?"
Jake grinned, stood up slowly, and ruffled his hair with a hand. "Yup."
Once again, the revolving doors spun. Erin entered and unlike the boys, was fully clothed.
Jake's jaw dropped. "Hey, how—I mean, I'm a faster runner than you. How'd you get here so—"
"Unlike some morons," Erin tilted her head towards Jake. "I actually stopped to pick up my healed Pokemon before going to a Pokemon gym." She spun a PokeBall on her finger—a trick she may have picked up from Liam. "And Griffy's much faster than you, Jake."
Jake closed and opened his mouth a few times before turning to face Dustin, looking a bit shame-faced.
"Well, I know Anita Parkwood, Liam Mendol, and Jake Veneer. Who are you?" Dustin asked.
"Erin Kendle."
Dustin nodded. "Never heard of you." He started to stand up, and then did a double take. "Huh, do you work at the Pokemon Center?"
"Um, well." Erin glanced at Liam, Jake, and I. <****, ****, ****, I ran into the stinking gym leader yesterday. Aw, ****. Would they cover for me if I said I did?> Erin was projecting her thoughts rather loudly. From Dustin's grin, I had no doubt he was listening as well. Erin spotted Styx. <Hell, I can't say I work there. That's the lady who checked us in yesterday. F—>
"Yes, of course she works there," I snapped, knowing very well that everyone in the room knew she didn't. Whatever.
Dustin laughed. "Well, I haven't had this much entertainment in my gym since Styx and I—"
"Dustin!" Dustin's sister exclaimed. The two Eevee's on the platform put their paws over their faces.
Dustin rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. I'm Dustin Blavoid, gym leader of Artemis Town." He gestured to his left. "But my twin sister, Tali, pretty much runs this place with me."
"Or for you when you and Styx are off—" Tali started.
"And that's my beautiful girlfriend, Styx." Dustin pointed his hand across the room at Styx. Styx gave a little wave. Tali shook her head, smiling, and patted the Eevee beside her fondly. "Liam, you can stop giving me your death-glare because I'm not going to tell your little secret," Dustin said. "In fact, I think it's probably good for you to get out."
<What secret?> Erin and I thought at the same time. So did Dustin know about Mew? Was he somehow involved with Liam? My eyes slid to Styx. It was more likely that he was involved with Styx, and Styx was supposed to be helping me destroy Liam's untransforming device.
Supposed to being the key words there. Styx had made no attempts to destroy the device on Liam's belt yet. Hmm, maybe his lack of pants was a deterrent.
Dustin cleared his throat. "Anita."
My head snapped around. Everyone in the room was watching me. "Huh?"
"You entered the gym first."
"Uh, yeah."
Silence.
"Oh. I'd like to challenge the gym," I said.
"Very well." Dustin nodded at Styx. She walked a few paces away from the door, and began rummaging through a small cabinet I hadn't noticed before. "Who would you like to be your partner?" Dustin asked.
"Erin."
Jake's eyes flashed to me. "What! No, Anita, c'mon."
"Erin, you may leave," Dustin said.
"Wait, I just said I wanted her to be my partner!" Dustin looked amused by my complaint, and Tali was no longer paying attention to us, feeding PokeBlocks to the two Eevees out of the palm of her hand.
"Go on, Erin." Dustin made a shooing motion. Erin hesitated, glancing at me. "Don't worry, you won't miss anything. Anita won't be battling today anyway."
"Sorry, Anita," Erin said. As she walked out the revolving doors, I peeked into her mind. <With the whole caught pretending to be a nurse situation, best not to mess with him any more. Plus, Anita'll be okay battling with Jake… right?>
Liam, Jake, and I stood for a moment. The only sound came from Styx closing the cabinet, apparently having found whatever it was she was looking for. The sound echoed around the gym.
"Anita, I ask again, who would you like to be your partner?"
Okay, this was totally unfair. First off, I didn't want to be stuck with either of them—Liam refused to battle and Jake was a total ******* who'd already lost to this gym leader. Secondly, even if I wanted to partner up with either of them, it was apparent that Dustin wasn't going to let me have a say. I'd end up with whomever he wanted me to partner up with.
"Listen up, Blavoid," Jake said. "I came here to challenge the gym, too, and I want to be partnered up with Anita." It was bold, but mostly stupid of him to speak.
Dustin smiled. "Alright, Anita, your partner will be Liam."
I turned to Liam. He was already heading for the door.
"What, Liam, too scared to battle me?" Dustin called. Liam ignored him, side-stepping Styx when she made to block his path. "I'll tell them," Dustin said, just as Liam reached the door.
There it was again. Well, the threat wouldn't work because I already knew about Mew. Although, Jake didn't…
Liam turned around. Somehow, despite not wearing pants, he managed to look intimidating. "I won't use my Pokemon."
"Styx tells me you've recently acquired a Ditto. That should suffice."
"Can we just hold on a minute?" Jake said, holding his palms out. "What part of I want to partner up with Anita did you miss?"
"Are you the gym leader?" Dustin asked him.
"No."
Dustin turned his attention back to me. "As I told Erin earlier, we will not be battling today." Dustin nodded to Styx. "Tie them up."
Styx took my hand and reached for Liam's. I tugged back, pulling Styx out of reach. "Now, wait a second. What's going on?"
Dustin raised his eyebrows. "Nobody told you about the prelim?" When I didn't answer, he continued, grinning. "The Artemis Town gym promotes teamwork. Thus, for the next twenty-four hours, you will be tied to your partner. You will be forced to work together to get through everyday tasks—"
Jake coughed. I swear I heard him rasp, "Like showering."
Sicko. I threw my backpack at him.
"—and at the end of the twenty-four hours, if you're still tied together, then you've passed." Dustin put both hands on his head and leaned back. "Actually, you'll have to make it through twenty-four hours and then fight me and Tali to pass the prelim. I've gotta make it a little harder for the gifted."
"Hey, they're not more gifted than me," Jake complained. "How come I never had to—"
Dustin raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you seriously going to complain? Because I can make your prelim more difficult—"
Jake shook his head frantically.
"Right, then. Styx." Dustin gestured to us. Styx pulled my arm.
"Wait, fight, as in…?" I punched the air.
"No, fight as in—" Liam swiped a foot into my legs. I fell forward, catching myself with my hands.
I scrambled to my feet. "What the hell, Liam?" Liam glared past my shoulder. I took a step toward him. "Don't take your anger out on me just because your perfectly devised plans aren't working—"
"Right, because this isn't all your fault," Liam said scathingly.
"Why you—"
"Children!" Dustin yelled. Liam and I both turned our glares to him. In any other instance, I might've applauded him for not even flinching. "Please, wait until you're tied together before you start fighting." His gaze fell on me. "If you fail the prelim, you'll fail this gym. Permanently."
"That's not fair! Jake—"
"Both times Jake has challenged the gym, he's passed the prelim," Dustin said, smiling. "He failed the Pokemon battle."
If I didn't feel like there was about a two percent chance of me making it through this prelim, I would've laughed at Jake for failing more than once. As it was, I just gulped.
"Liam and I are untied before we fight you, right?" I asked Dustin.
Dustin actually contemplated that, but it was Tali who nodded. "That would only be fair." Dustin begrudgingly agreed.
As Styx pulled my hand, I thought to her, <You'd better destroy the Forced Transformation Device before I leave here.> Whether she heard me or not, I couldn't say.
I was surprised when Liam willingly held out his hand, allowing Styx to touch our wrists together. Maybe he just wanted to get out of the gym and away from Dustin quickly. As she wrapped the band around our wrists, I realized I wouldn't be able to use my powers for twenty-four hours. Well, that was just dandy.
At least I'd be able to keep Liam away from Apple.
Just as Styx finished tying the final knot, she bumped into Liam, who incidentally knocked into me. I fell, pulling him with me. The next moments seemed to happen in slow motion.
I saw Styx's nimble hand reach for the untransformer as Liam fell toward me. Liam, always acutely aware of his surroundings, elbowed her hand out of the way, and carefully watched Styx as she managed to turn the movement into a clumsy stumble.
Great, just what I needed—Liam suspecting another person who might've been able to help me. My back hit the cold tile floor. Liam nearly landed on top of me, barely managing to catch himself with his hands on either side of my head. I winced, my right hand trapped beneath his left because the elastic band bound them together.
For less than a moment I looked up at Liam's face. His eyes were wide, startled even, and his breath cool like a spring breeze. Wisps of black hair fell forward, tickling my forehead.
In that miniscule millisecond, my stomach clenched and knees quivered.
By Liam's feet, Styx regained her balance, but knocked into Liam to steady herself. I closed my eyes at the jolt.
Liam's lips brushed my nose, light and feathery.
And then I was being pulled up. I felt my face flush, but no one seemed to notice. Jake was giving a dramatic speech to Tali, attempting to persuade her that it was too dangerous to let me and Liam be partners, that she and Dustin were clearly violating the gym leader council's gym safety regulations. From Tali's squinted eyes and doubtful expression, I doubted she'd be swayed.
Liam was once again making dagger-eyes at Dustin, perhaps purposefully avoiding my gaze. I caught Styx's eye as she brushed off her white skirt, regaining composure, and I chose to give her an unsubtle you-screwed-up-bad look. She shrugged and mouthed something.
<What?> I thought, knowing she couldn't hear me.
She must have understood my expression because she mouthed more slowly, "Venture west." Whatever that meant. She waved frantically at herself, and then at me, stopping abruptly when Dustin gave her an odd look.
Liam nodded to Dustin. As Liam tugged me towards the revolving doors and it was clear Styx wasn't going to make another attempt at the Forced Transformation Device, I mouthed, "You suck" at her.
Styx watched us leave, her dark eyes wide, trying to give me a hint I could no longer receive telepathically.
Liam was smirking slightly when we pushed through the revolving doors. That couldn't be good.
I squinted when we got outside, the combination of the bright light and change in air pressure making my head hurt. "Let's go find a pair of scissors," Liam said, dragging me towards the nearest store.
"What? Wait, already?" I tugged back. He stopped walking. "It's been about thirty seconds. I don't like this, but I've got to beat the gym."
Liam shrugged. "Not my problem."
"Please?"
"Persuade me." Liam raised his eyebrows, his green eyes glinting. "Otherwise…" He made a scissor motion with his fingers.
I knew what he was getting at. "I'm not telling you anything about Mew."
Liam turned back toward the store. "A pity."
"I'm serious, Liam. That info's not worth the price of gym badge." Liam pulled me and I followed, not wanting the band to snap. "You might be the nastiest, most uncaring—"
"You've still got about thirty seconds to persuade me. Sixty, depending on how long it takes the clerk to find a pair of scissors." We reached the store door.
"What do you want?" I asked, trying not to let my voice sound desperate. Liam gave me a look.
I thought back to earlier. "A kiss?"
That disturbed Liam enough for him to pull away from the door and put as much space between him and me as he could. "Ew, no." He gave me a where-the-hell-did-that-come from-look.
"What do you want?" I repeated.
Liam unsubtly brushed over the Forced Transformation Device with his free, right hand.
I stared at his hand of a second. "Oh. Oh." Well, he was going to test them at some point anyway. I'd be putting a lot of faith in Styx by doing this—in her "Venture west" plan and in her ability to keep Liam thinking Apple was still hurt. Could Styx and I break the Forced Transformation Device before Liam could use it on Apple? "Fine," I said.
"Alright, let out your Pokemon," Liam said.
"I'm not stupid. As soon as you use that untransformy thing, I know you're going to cut the band." I held up our bound wrists. "Plus, I don't have all my Pokemon. The nurse told me this morning that Apple needed to rest another day, and I left Fiery with her for company." I said it as if I believed it, I couldn't afford Liam to see through the white lie.
Liam nodded. "Fine. This evening, I get to test the Pokemon you currently have. Tomorrow, after we get this band off, I get to test Apple and Fiery."
Was that enough time?
"Deal."
We shook our already joined hands.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Your little secret," I muttered, repeating the words Dustin had spoken to Liam. I meant to find out Liam's little secret.
<Secrets, secrets are no fun unless you share the applesauce!> Griffy's tail yelled. I sighed, returning Griffy to his PokeBall.
I stood in front of Artemis Town's quaint library. For such a large town, the library was tiny—a small brick building squished between a grocery store and a funny smelling store that sold antiques. I pushed through the glass front doors.
If Dustin knew something about the secret, then the first place to start looking for clues was the gym leader database, a book every library should have. I nodded to the old librarian at the front desk and wandered into an aisle that looked like it might fall apart the moment I took a book off of the shelf. I spotted the Pokemon Trainer section in the far back, denoted by a putrid green sign.
There was a girl with pigtails leaning back in a chair, her feet up on a small wood table as she paged through a book. She had a red bag swung over her shoulder and was chewing gum loudly. As I walked past her to the bookshelf, she glared up at me as if my presence personally offended her.
I quickly located the spot on the shelf where the database should've been. The spot was empty.
As I turned to return to the front desk and ask the librarian for help, I glimpsed the cover of the book the pigtail girl was reading. The 2013 Gym Leader Database. Of course.
"Excuse me, can I see that book when you're done?"
"Not going to be done for a while," the girl said between bubble gum pops.
"Can I take a look at it now then? It'll only be a minute."
"You a trainer?" the girl asked.
I shrugged, not particularly wanting to explain.
"I've got six badges," the girl said, "and I'm not going up against Tamara 'till I find a decent dark Pokemon, but I've got a kickass fighting team ready to rock. The dark gym leader, however… you heard about him?"
"No."
"Well his freakin' prelim is to find him."
"Abalina's was like that, with her gym under ground—" I started.
"Not like this," the girl said, whipping her pigtails back and forth. "Nobody knows what his face looks like, and he could be anywhere, and I mean anywhere. In Sinnoh for all anyone knows. No trainer's seen him since he left the gym. I heard a rumor that the dark gym leader was friendly with the normal gym leader so I came here—I mean, I figure the gym leaders aren't freakin' out over where the guy is so they must know or at least have contact with him. And if the dark gym leader's havin' contact with any of them, it's the normal guy, right?"
I didn't particularly care about this missing dark gym leader; I just wanted to take a look at that book. I hid my annoyance and nodded.
"But I haven't seen nothin' and I've been watching this normal guy for two weeks already. Believe me, I know all about him and his freaky girlfriend—"
A thought dawned on me, so obvious I might've smacked my head against the table if I wasn't worried about what this girl might do to me if I passed out in front of her. "You said the dark gym leader's been missing?"
The girl scowled at me. "That's what I've been complainin' bout. You even listening?"
"How long?"
"How long what?"
"How long has he been gone from his gym? How long has that prelim been going on?"
The girl shrugged. "A month maybe?"
Dustin knew Liam. Liam was darkly gifted.
The dark gym leader of Acceber has been missing for a month. We met Liam a month ago.
Two plus two, does in fact equal four
Duh.
"What's the dark gym leader's name?" I asked.
"Somethin' common." The girl leafed through the book. "Ah, there we go." She held the book up, and turned it so the pages faced me. She placed her finger under a name. "Just says the last name for some reason. Mendol."
Well, that was that. I knew his secret.
Liam was undoubtedly the dark gym leader of Acceber.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Venturing west didn't work out well.
It took me ten minutes to figure out which way was west. By that time, the streets were crowded with people trying to get to their Monday morning work. Liam and I were jostled about—businessmen elbowing us out of their paths and street vendors forcing their products in front of us. Seeing the band attaching our wrists, we got several offers for fakes to be put on later.
Though the offers were tempting, I suspected Dustin would have a way of knowing if the band was cut and replaced.
And I had yet to find exactly what Styx was referring to.
"You're sure Erin said she'd meet us here," Liam said doubtfully, nudging a Zigzagoon he would've otherwise tripped on out of the way with his foot.
"That's what she said." Not. I looked away from a man in a top hat shoving a hotdog beneath my nose. Artemis Town was beginning to seem like one giant market—if you walked down the middle of a street, there were so many market stands you couldn't see the office buildings on either side of the road. Between a woman wearing a giant hat and a man dressed as a Pikachu, I spotted green.
"We're not going to find her in this crowd. Call her," Liam said.
"Wait." I headed in the direction I'd glimpsed green. We came upon a giant park. There was a group of kids playing with a Frisbee and two trainers battling, but it was certainly less crowded than the street. I felt like I could breath again.
Liam was already dialing Erin's number on his PokeTech. I looked around frantically. What was Styx talking about? I was pretty screwed when Erin answered her phone.
Liam frowned. "No one's answering."
Maybe Styx would show up or something, but I wasn't going to wait around helplessly. I cursed silently, wishing I'd broken the untransformer earlier this morning when Liam was asleep. He'd have known one of my Pokemon was Mew, but he wouldn't have had a way of proving it. Now, if I didn't find a way of breaking the Forced Transformation Device, Apple was in very deep doo-doo.
Alright, attempt number one: smash it in close combat.
I swung my unbound fist at Liam's belt, where the untransformer was. Of course, Liam blocked it with his arm. Neither of us moved. "This could get very dangerous for you, very fast," Liam said.
I yawned widely, watching him through the narrow slit of my eyelids. "Chill. I just want to practice while we wait for Erin. I want to be ready for tomorrow, and someone slept in for my morning practice."
I kicked my right leg at the back of Liam's knees. Without room to maneuver, Liam took the hit and fell to the ground. Unfortunately, because we were tied together, I was yanked down towards him.
Liam caught himself with his free hand, swinging our bound hands over his body. His legs caught under mine, and I fell face forward into the grass. By the time I hit the ground, Liam was sitting up beside me, holding both of my arms behind my back. I winced.
"Fighting in this state," Liam said, jiggling our tied wrists. I could feel his racing pulse slow, "will not help you prepare for tomorrow's gym battle and will likely result in your injury."
The grass tickled my nose. In my peripheral vision, I could see the untransformer peeking out of the pouch on Liam's belt, gleaming in the sunlight as if to mock me. Mission smash untransformer with my fist: fail. "Fine. Let me up," I said, my voice muffled by the grass.
Liam released my arms. I pushed up on the ground, awkwardly tucked my legs beneath me, and scooted on the grass until I sat facing Liam. Behind Liam, people were still bustling about on the streets. Our scuffle had attracted a little attention, but now that we weren't fighting, people continued on their way quickly, not even glancing at us.
Liam watched me speculatively, his head cocked to the side. "If you want to prepare for tomorrow, it would be more beneficial to discuss strategy."
My nose tickled and I thought I might sneeze. Wow, he was absolutely right. Well, right as long as I broke that untransformer and didn't have to run for my life and Apple's tomorrow. I forced my eyes to stay on his face and not dart to the untransformer. "Okay. What do you know of Dustin and Tali's powers? How do you know Dustin anyway?"
"How I know them is not your—"
I held up our tied wrists. We were tied together—how could this not be my business?
"—business," Liam finished. I didn't press him; there were more important matters to worry about at the moment. He continued, "Dustin can mimic any gift—"
"Does that include your fighting ability?" I asked.
Liam looked at me, his eyebrows furrowed in irritation. "Will you let me finish a sentence? My ability to do this—" Liam shoved my shoulder with his tied hand, pushing me on my side, my left shoulder digging into the dirt.
"And you just love showing it off," I muttered.
"-was hard earned through years of training. Dustin can't mimic it; it's not part of my gift." Liam let me up. I rolled my shoulder, more to annoy Liam than out of actual soreness. "Dustin's twin, Tali, has control over sound."
"That doesn't sound so bad."
"You've never been yelled at by her." Liam sighed and looked overhead. "So what do you know about strategy? Have you ever played strategy games?"
"What, like chess? I guess I strategize in Pokemon battles. When I battled Sparky—"
"Let's use chess as an example. How do you strategize in chess?"
I think the last time I played chess was in third grade, when I had a crush on a freckled boy in the chess club. When he beat me in a chess game, my heart was crushed and I found I no longer had any positive feelings for the kid. "Well, I guess I set up that knight-pawn wall around my king, and then I try to knock out as many of my opponent's pieces as I can—"
"So you lose sight of your goal, and then proceed to lose the game."
"Hey—"
"Strategy is accurately predicting your opponent's moves and using these predictions to defeat your opponent." Liam's lips quirked. "For instance, if I flicked your nose right now, you'd be goaded into grabbing at my hand. Because I know how you'll react, I'd be able to intercept your hand, forcing you to be still."
"And I'd spit in your face."
"Then I'd push you back to the ground painfully—" Liam started.
"Once again illustrating the perverse enjoyment you get from seeing others suffer."
"That's not true."
I smiled, daring him to try me. "Let's just be glad you didn't flick my nose."
Liam's face was calm and stoic, but his eyes bore into mine, green as the grass field around us. "Strategy," Liam said, finally. "Dustin's powers are the most unpredictable, but he can only mimic one gift at a time."
"Right. So he can either be a psychic, or he can have your oh-so-special dark gift."
"Or he can copy Tali's ability to manipulate sound," Liam said. "The least threatening of these three abilities is mine—my gift is really only useful in the dark or when fighting a psychic." He nodded at me. "So we can force Dustin—"
"We can force him to copy your dark gift if I bombard him psychically." I plucked at the grass by my feet, shredding the blades into ant-size pieces. I wished I could practice psychically moving the grass bits like I had the glass shards yesterday with Apple. "And then you can take Dustin out with your hard-earned fighting skills."
I peeked up at Liam. He nodded. I guess it was a good strategy.
"You know, we have another advantage," I said. Liam watched me expectantly. I tapped my head. "If you open up your mind for the battle, we can communicate telepathically—"
"No," Liam said harshly.
"Okay, okay. It was just a thought." The Frisbee the group of kids had been playing with flew over my head, a thrown gone astray. Liam caught the Frisbee and tossed it back without getting up. "What about Tali?"
"Earplugs."
I smiled. "Or those noise canceling headphones that are always in the commercials." As I glanced down to pluck more grass, I noticed Liam's bare feet and legs. He was still just wearing his boxers and a t-shirt. I'd forgotten. "Err, maybe we should also buy you some pants and shoes." I paused. "I could call my mom and ask her to loan me some money. I still owe you shrinkers…"
Liam got to his feet and offered me his hand. Err, his free hand. "Earplugs and pants first."
I stared at his hand for just a moment before taking it and letting him help me up. "Earplugs and pants," I agreed.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Mel, why don't you let Sparkles take you to the playground?" Sparky said. "It'll be good for you to get to know other kids your age."
I sat on the cushy couch in the TV room. Sparky's house was big and confusing, which was cool because I could just float through the walls. My favorite room was the attic upstairs that was sealed in—only me and ghost Pokemon could get to it. The TV room was my second favorite because the couch was so cushy I sometimes got stuck between cushions and had to go intangible to get out.
Scary floated invisible near the doorway. We were playing I Spy the Ghost, even though I was getting too old for the game. I always found Scary now. "I don't want to," I told Sparky. I wondered if I should call him father. I didn't really think of him like that—Scary would always be my parent. "Can we practice with Rotom?"
Sparky shook his head. "Gym battles today. I'm already going in late." Sparky smiled. "'Course, the challengers are probably trapped in our booby traps, right?"
"Yup," I said. Hehe, Scary was making faces behind Sparky. "Can I watch the battles?"
"Sure. I'm leaving in fifteen." He walked right through Scary when he left the room. Sometimes Sparky could sense Scary and me when we were invisible. Sparky said we were charged weird. Scary and I had been working on being invisible even to Sparky's senses—pranking Sparky would be the most ultimate prank ever. So far Scary and I were only sometimes successful. Scary thought we weren't sensed when we stayed still, but I was pretty sure it was only when Sparky wasn't focusing on sensing a ghost, like Anita not being able to read minds unless she was trying to.
I turned intangible and floated through the walls to Sparky's office, where I knew he was going. Since yesterday, I had a new reason to be invisible to Sparky. Now that he knew who used to be my father, I had to make sure Sparky didn't try to give me back. Seth Robert Hastings was not my father any more. He'd had his chance. He left.
Sparky was computer chatting with a woman who reminded me of Anita. She had purple eyes with little wrinkles in the corners. She looked tired.
"Sparky, I don't have time for this." The woman rubbed her temples. "Aden, Nai, and I are up to our ears in Team Glop'emm—"
"I thought we got the leader, Tamara. The Arkle guy."
"We did. He's who's giving me this blasted headache—literally. I can't get into his brain. Remember those Team Glop'emm members we caught on the boat, the ones using ghosts? They confessed Arkle was behind the orders. However, it seems their Master's been keeping a few more ghost tricks up his sleeve—there's a ghost Pokemon in his body, blocking me from reading him—either a Sableye or Spiritomb—" Tamara stopped speaking suddenly, looking as if she wanted to say more.
I squinted at her.
<There's a ghost within her,> Scary said, appearing beside me.
How'd he know that?
<Look, she moves her mouth, but no words come out. Also, her eyes are dimmer, like Anita's were when you took over her body.>
Weird.
Tamara took a deep breath. "We've had to resort to messier means of gaining information. Thus, Nai and Aden."
Sparky seemed to think Tamara was shaken over what she was talking about, not the ghost inside of her. He murmured something about "fire and ice torture" to himself and then smiled super big at Tamara. "Let's hope he can't pull off the most renowned ghost trick—disappear." He laughed at his own joke. Tamara didn't. I didn't get it, but I would've laughed to make Sparky happy. "Alright, sorry. Why don't you try using a ghost Pokemon to kick the other ghost out?"
"And which of us has a ghost Pokemon with that kind of power?" Me! I wanted to shout. Scary gave me a look like a silent shush.
Sparky didn't answer.
"None of us, aside from Mendol, even have a well-trained ghost Pokemon." Tamara raised her eyebrows, looking grave. "Unless…"
"Mel is eight years old and will have nothing to do with this," Sparky snapped. What was wrong with Sparky? I could so do it. I'd battled ghosts for bodies before, including my own! I could get rid of the ghost in the man they were talking about and maybe in Tamara, too.
<He just wants you to be safe,> Scary said gently. <And so do I.>
It wasn't fair—everyone I knew got to battle and fight bad guys. Why couldn't I?
Tamara closed her eyes and said, "I have work to do. What did you want?"
"It's about the man that was arrested the same day as Arkle, the one suspected of holding our dear Mendol hostage. Professor Seth Robert Hastings." My heart sunk. I felt my eyes getting watery even though I knew I should be able to stop myself from crying. I was old enough now. But Sparky was going to send me back to him. Sparky was going to abandon me just like he did. "Mel, my foster son, is Hasting's biological son according to Professor Blubber."
"Nai accused Hastings of child abuse," Tamara said softly.
"I know. I haven't talked to Mel about it. I don't know if I will."
"The information he has could be useful."
Sparky's eyes flashed a cold, stormy grey. "He's not a tool—first battling Arkle's ghost and now this? What's gotten into you, Tamara?"
Tamara's eyes looked sad and distant, but she said nothing.
"It was Professor Blubber who recognized Mel; he was acquainted with Professor Hastings. He also said that when his past assistant, Erin Kendle, had returned accompanying Mel, she had spoken of finding him in an abandoned mansion a few miles from Cape Caution. I don't know what kind of convictions we want to start drawing up against this Seth Hastings, but I figured it would be beneficial for someone to check out the mansion and pick Professor Blubber's mind..."
<Sparky's not leaving you,> Scary said as the conversation continued. <He won't. He chose you.> Scary put a hand through my heart. I smiled at him.
<Thanks, Scary.> I thought about how strange it was that I could see Sparky, and that he couldn't see me or Scary, and that I could see Scary if he wanted me to, and if Sparky really wanted to he could see us too, and my father hadn't been able to see me… <Scary, they said they're going to search our home.>
Scary nodded. I floated through the ceiling, upwards into my secret attic. Scary followed. It smelled a little like old socks, but I liked the texture of the wood floor. <Did my father… Did he love me?> I asked Scary.
Scary nodded again, his pointed ears bobbing.
<Because Tamara said abuse… and that's when someone does very bad things to someone else.> I made myself solid and leaned against the wooden wall. I couldn't see well now that I was solid—I could only make out an outline of Scary with the few bits of sunlight coming in through cracks between the wall planks. <Did father abuse me?>
<He left you.>
<And that's abuse?>
Scary shrugged. He didn't know. I didn't know either. <He's not my father,> I said. <But when he was, he liked his books, remember?>
Scary looked at me with his serious face. <He told me to guard them with my life once. He said the only thing more precious than them was you.>
<I never read his books. You taught me to read after he was gone.> I thought about making a hole in one of the planks so more sunlight came in. I decided it wasn't worth Sparky maybe finding out. <If they search the house, they'll find the books.>
I think Scary knew the direction my head was going now. He was good like that. My true parent.
<He's not my father any more, but I want to get the books before they do.>
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
We had a successful morning shopping among the colorful stores of Artemis Town. When I'd called my mother, she wasn't happy that the first call from me she'd received in weeks entailed me asking for money, but by the end of our lengthy conversation, she agreed to give me money, though warned me it would be the last time. She'd ranted for quite a while about my father, his lack of money as a trainer, and how though I was going through a "stage" in my life, she trusted I wouldn't be a trainer for the rest of my life.
I loved my mother, but there were reasons I didn't call often.
I didn't tell her about my psychic gift. I'd read in Tamara Lilac's book,The Gift, that the gift was genetic. I wondered if my mom had passed those genes to me, or if it was my father who I hadn't seen in years.
After getting Liam his necessities, I picked a quaint café to eat lunch at. It was called The Blue Swellow and smelled like coffee and cookies. The walls were blue, composed of small glittery tiles. It was here, after a filling meal, that Liam and I encountered our first awkward difficulty in being tied together.
"I have to pee," I said.
"That stinks," Liam said, shrugging.
"No seriously, I'm not going to hold this for another twenty hours." I got up and headed for the bathroom at the back of the restaurant. Liam, of course, was dragged along. A "W" on a wooden door indicated the woman's bathroom. When I opened the door, I realized it was a single room-single toilet bathroom. "Alright, stay here and don't let anyone come in."
Liam rolled his eyes. "How do you expect—"
I closed the door on his arm. Liam glared at me through the door crack.
"No peeking!"
Liam turned his head, muttering something under his breath. The bathroom was small with crinkled wallpaper and a rusted sink. There was a faded advertisement on the wall for some roller coaster called, "Adventure Quest." At least it smelled like soap. I backed up, trying to reach the toilet. I pulled Liam's arm—just a little more…
"I thought you didn't want me in the bathroom while you did your business," Liam complained. His shoulder was nearly sliding through the door crack. "I'm getting weird looks. This is ridiculous."
My rear end barely grazed the toilet seat. Just as I was clumsily trying to unzip my pants one handedly, a waitress walked past the doorway, curiously peering over Liam's head. We made eye contact. Very awkward.
"Fine, get in the bathroom," I hissed, rezipping my pants while Liam slipped through the doorway, careful not to look at me. He locked the door and faced the wall with the roller coaster poster.
I managed to unzip my pants and get on with my business. Maybe in an attempt to pretend he wasn't locked in the bathroom with a peeing girl, Liam started reading the advertisement on the wall out loud mockingly. "Adventure Quest: the thrill you need. Adventure Quest: learn about magnetism! Adventure Quest: Artemis Town's biggest roller coaster." Liam snorted. "Like Artemis Town has more than one."
Something in my mind clicked.
Adventure Quest. Venture West.
Geeze, I stunk at reading lips.
I zipped up my pants and made for the sink. "So Liam, do you like roller coasters?"
----------
"Not that I care, but won't Erin be looking for us at the park?" Liam asked, grimacing at the sun. It turns out "Adventure Quest" was a roller coaster that wrapped around a building owned by an investing company called Invest-A-Quest. You'd think that because the company owned the building, the line for the roller coaster would be inside. You'd have thought wrong.
The line spiraled along the outside of the building, and Liam and I were unlucky enough to currently be standing in the part of the line the Invest-A-Quest building did not shade. The sun was sweltering. Not only could I feel my sweat trickling down my body, but I could feel Liam's on my wrist. The elastic band was not helping.
Worst of all, there was still no sign of Styx. I had no idea why she wanted me to come here. "Erin's still not answering her phone," I lied. I'd pretended to call her several times via PokeTech, not wanting to risk Liam actually getting in contact with her. I had to get this Forced Transformation Device thing sorted out first.
I eyed the black pouch that held the device. Liam wore the belt it was hooked onto loosely around his new cargo pants. Luckily, Liam was the complete opposite of Erin when it came to shopping—he went directly for what he needed, bypassing all the clothes salespeople tried to throw at him. I wondered if Erin'd be mad she'd missed the opportunity to force Liam into skinny jeans. That last night in Vintage Village, she and Lily had giggled about it behind Liam's back, when they thought he wasn't listening. I let my smile fade. That was before I knew about the Forced Transformation Device.
Maybe Styx thought with all the twists and curves on the roller coaster, I could accidently smash into Liam, crushing the untransfomer. I guess that was worth a shot.
The line moved. We passed several signs depicting how magnets powered the roller coaster, but didn't make it around the corner into the shade. Liam wiped his face with his t-shirt sleeve. "This better be worth our money," he mumbled.
I was surprised Liam had readily agreed to go on the roller coaster. No complaints, no suspicions, no questions.
"Have you been to Olivine Sea?" I asked. That was the amusement park my parents had taken me to once a year when we lived in Goldenrod. Even when we moved to Acceber, my mom still took me every few years.
"The beach?" Liam replied.
"It's an amusement park. Why'd you agree to go on this? Have you ever even ridden a roller coaster?" Olivine Sea was the only amusement park I'd ever heard of.
Liam shrugged. "I like roller coasters. There was an indoor park just outside of Mauville. Lots of electric Pokemon to run the place." Liam paused. "My parents used to bring me and my cousin. Once my cousin bought us both a pair of platform shoes so we could get on all the rides with a height requirement. He loved roller coasters."
I wanted to squeal and exclaim, "Aha! You shared personal information with me and the world was not minced to pieces by the information-sharing devil. Would ya look at that!" However, I didn't think that would encourage Liam to continue sharing memories. In fact, he'd probably never speak to me again. Instead, pretending we were two people engaged in normal conversation, I said, "You grew up in Hoenn?"
Liam nodded, looking out in the direction of the sea.
"Do you still keep in touch with your cousin?" I asked.
"He's dead."
"Oh. Sorry." The line moved again. We finally reached the shade. Now we were in the spiral right up against the building, almost to the front of the line. I wiggled my wrist tied to Liam's a bit, trying relieve it from the itchy sweat. It didn't help much. "How'd he die?"
I wanted to take the words back as soon as they left my mouth. Curiosity killed the cat. Or this conversation. Seriously, what was wrong with me? That was personal and rude. No way would Liam—
"He was swept away by the Slateport tsunami," Liam said bitterly.
The tsunami might be my first memory. It had happened on my third birthday. At the time, I didn't understand why many of my friends and my parents had left the party early. I'd cried for hours. Only when I was older did I comprehend the effects of the tragedy. Everyone seemed to know someone who didn't make it through the disaster. In history class, we'd learned it was caused by Kyogre, the legendary Pokemon of the seas.
Legendary Pokemon… Oh.
"You don't like legendary Pokemon much," I commented.
Liam froze for a moment. Then he closed his eyes, leaned against the brick building, and bent his head back.
"So that's why you're after Mew."
"Why don't you say that a little louder," Liam said, not meeting my eye.
"Nobody cares if—"
"Anita, just stop talking." Liam was… upset? I should probably be feeling bad, but I didn't know what I did. And Liam was… Well, he didn't exactly look upset, more like defeated, but he didn't usually look much of anything.
Bewildered would probably be the best word to describe my feelings this moment. So of course, I said, "If Kyogre killed your cousin, why aren't you chasing that legendary Pokemon?"
"It's complicated."
"Try me." The line moved again, and I pulled Liam away from the wall. We finally reached the metal gates opening to new riders. There was a slot in the middle that was empty, and we took it.
Liam spoke quietly and precisely. "Kyogre's tsunami also drowned my mom and my aunt. My dad and I moved to Acceber to get away—it was the only known region without a legendary Pokemon. My dad despised legendary Pokemon, maybe more than I did… than I do. Then we arrived in Vintage Village, trying to get on with our lives, and boom—Mew's explosion, houses on fire, several dead including Lily's parents."
"But Kyogre—"
"Don't you get it? Nobody's safe from any legendary Pokemon. And in Acceber, I have an—" Liam stopped talking suddenly.
"You have a what?"
Liam looked at me hard for a moment. "Is there someone in your life that you'd do anything for? Run into a fire, dig through corpses, take a bullet…"
I thought about Apple, grinning her sharp canines at me from my shoulder, her tail brushing against my neck. I nodded.
"That's what my cousin was to me. Nobody should have to deal with the pain of losing someone like that."
I still didn't quite get why he was chasing down Mew instead of Kyogre, but I wasn't going to keep pushing the subject. A roller coaster pulled into the station, and after the previous riders exited, the metal gates swung open. Liam climbed into the cart first, and I awkwardly climbed in after him, unbalanced because of my tied hand. The roller coaster didn't go upside down so our seats were really just one big seat with a buckling safety belt and a neon yellow safety bar. We buckled up, and Liam pulled down the yellow bar.
"What are you going to do when you…" I couldn't think of the right word because I didn't really know how Liam planned on accomplishing what he wanted to accomplish. "Get Mew?"
Liam just stared at me.
Guess we both knew the answer to that.
"Mew can't be killed, you know," I said. An operator droned on about keeping our hands and legs inside the vehicle.
Liam gave me a sidelong glance, tilting his head in acknowledgement.
The roller coaster began.
The ride was a little bumpy, but definitely worth the five dollars we paid. The wind against my face was a relief after standing in line, and the small hills made my stomach flip wondrously, leaving my conversation with Liam momentarily forgotten in the station. Neither Liam nor I were screamers, but I let out a few squeals and I caught Liam smiling at an unexpected twist.
Of course, I did my best to ram into Liam at every turn the centripetal acceleration pulled me that way. His arm was hot and his shirt damp. I crinkled my nose at the smell of Liam's sweat.
Unfortunately, my poor attempts to smash the untransformer were futile. At least they went unnoticed.
When we exited the ride, there was still no sign of Styx. Maybe I'd totally misread her lips? I really should go back to the Pokemon Center to look for her, but I didn't want Liam anywhere within an a hundred yard radius of Apple, anywhere he might think to test her with that device.
The roller coaster exited to a higher level of the Invest-A-Quest building, and the exit led directly into the building, requiring riders to walk through the building to get back to street level. We passed several investing advertisements, more signs bragging about Adventure Quest's amazing magnetic feat, and a huge electric generator on our way down the staircase to the lobby.
When we reached for the street, Liam looked at his PokeTech. "We should find Erin and get dinner soon." He turned to me. "But first I'd like to test your Pokemon, please."
Well, at least he was polite.
"Fine." As I released my Pokemon in front of a roller-coaster-magnetism's-awesome-please-ride-Adventure Quest poster, a thought came to me. The signs, the giant generator, the Forced Transformation Device…
I glanced at Splash, remembering our training earlier this morning.
I knew what Styx had been planning, or at least, I thought I somewhat knew. I didn't know enough about magnetism to know how to make it seriously mess up a circuit. However, I did know that if you put enough electricity through any circuit…
Liam bent over Splash, lowering syringe to his spiky fur.
BZZZZZZZZZZZT
…stuff will get seriously fried.
Of course, I'd forgotten I'd get electrocuted along with Liam and the untransformer. Though slightly dizzy, I smiled at a blurry Splash, so thankful he couldn't control the electricity running through his body. I'd tell him psychically if it weren't for this blasted band binding me to Liam. Ah, and the best part was I didn't have to do anything—this looked like a total accident.
As my vision came to, I saw Liam's outstretched right arm holding the syringe. It was smoking slightly, and the air smelled like something burning—
Liam turned toward me slowly, his eyes glinting like newly sharpened skewers. "You planned this." His voice was deadly.
"N-no, it was an accident." I moved backwards, stumbling. At another time I might've laughed at an attempt to get away from someone I was tied to.
Liam was reaching for my neck. He was going to strangle me—I saw it in his eyes, in his face—I could only think of getting away—but we were tied together—something to slice the band away, anything—if I could use my powers, get up high maybe—
There was a flash of light.
An Eevee flipped through the air, neatly striking Liam on the head with its lit tail. My arm was tugged toward the ground.
I blinked.
Allo stood in front of me, crouched with his lit tail ready to strike again. Splash, Vanilla, and Sunflower watched behind him in awe. Liam was slumped on the concrete sidewalk, pulling my arm forward. We were getting some funny looks.
"Where'd you learn that trick?" I asked.
Tied to Liam, I couldn't hear his answer. Honestly, I wasn't too worried about it at the moment.
I bent over. "Liam?"
No answer.
He was knocked out cold.
I was tied to Liam Mendol. Liam Mendol was unconscious. The Forced Transformation Device was destroyed.
I'd take it.