Chapter 32
Andy had never flown on an airplane before, but the experience of flying was definitely breathtaking. All of the landscape passed by beneath them. He felt like nothing in the world could touch him or his friends while they were up in the air. He saw the oceans pass by them, mountains cower beneath and long stretched of plains just rolled about. Since Xen and Forro weren’t as immortal as Kyogre, they did have to take some stops here and there, but they were so quick they were almost forgotten about.
They had flown for so long Andy has almost wished he hadn’t told them his story, because conversation died quick. He occupies the time with his friends telling what happened to them while they were separated. They had all washed up somewhere in Europe and found a base where they learned all their moves.
“And then what? How did you know I was over at Skellig Michael?”
“Again, you got us. To be honest, we probably forgot already.”
After that, they just flew in silence for the longest time until the landscaping started to become familiar. Soon small roads began developing and Andy recognized the school he used to go to. After flying, they even soared over the base! Now Andy definitely knew where they were. After soaring for another hour or so, Andy could see large buildings come into view.
“Is that it?” One of the birds asked, “Is this Salt Lake City?”
“Yep! That’s where we’re headin’!”
The birds nodded towards each other and began to dive. They got to the ground outside of the city and let the four off. The birds wished them well before they both took off.
“Look at us! We’ll be the first students to fly around the world in less than 80 days!”
After they disappeared into the sky, Andy and his friends put on their rings and began walking towards the town. The closer they got, the heavier traffic became until the streets were constantly full of cars. They had to be careful around these parts, or else they could get lost.
As they walked they passed by a lot of homeless people. They had signs up with some messages in an attempt to move the heart, and people interrupting their path to beg was not uncommon. Having been in this city many times, it wasn’t a problem for Andy. Though what really surprised Andy was that some of the homeless people noticed their rings and gave them a little wink. This comforted Andy with the knowledge that if anything were to go wrong, at least one person would know exactly what was going on.
Soon they stopped at an ice cream shop and sat down for a moment. While they were eating they began strategizing how things would need to be done to get the final gear.
“Since this is such a huge place,” West said, “It won’t be as obvious to find out where we can get it Any suggestions?”
Andy began thinking about possible locations as to where the gear might be. Maybe at the Capitol building? No, too obvious. Maybe it’s somewhere inside one of the LDS temples? Doubtful, anyone would know where it was then.
Andy decided to stare towards the mountains in hope of finding some sort of daydream that can help give them an idea as to where to go. When he shifted his sights downward he noted a white S on the mountain.
I remember that S, Andy thought, Each county in Utah has a letter on the neighboring mountain to represent that county.
Then Andy began to think for a moment. Nobody was allowed to go to the S, which would be the perfect hiding spot for a Time Gear! He turned towards his friends and relayed to them his revelation.
“Sounds like a better idea that we were having,” Josh said as he wiped the ice cream off his face.
“But now we have a new problem to face,” Claire said. “If we do get the gear, how are we supposed to get home?”
“Yes, that’s a problem we must consider the solution for before doing anything,” West analyzed, “If we find the Time Gear, it won’t mean a thing if we get caught. No doubt Vincent learns from his mistakes. And what about Sam or this Rufus fellow? We know they’re higher-ups to Vincent, who knows what they’re capable of?”
“We could pull a Batman Gambit like we did back at Dublin.”
“That would work, but don’t Pokextinction bases commune with each other?”
“They would, but they’ve never seen us fly here. For all they know, we’re still at the Dublin base!”
“Well…that would work, but it would be incredibly risky.”
“Don’t all Batman Gambits have some risk to them?”
So they finished their ice cream and started away, refreshing their ring usage in the bathroom stalls before heading out.
As they headed out of town, Andy noticed the charm glowing ever so slightly. When he closed his eyes though, he was surprised. The path wasn’t going up the mountain, it was actually going back into town. He stopped his friends.
“Guys, it’s going back into town. We should go back there.”
“Wait, what? That…that’s a surprise.”
So, they went back into town and followed the aura trail. For one of the first times since going on this adventure, Andy felt genuinely excited. No longer was this taking place in some sort of landmark, but now it was somewhere inside the city. Andy felt like nothing could stop them.
Then, while he was observing the aura, Andy felt something giving a distressed vibe. Looking around, he definitely found something in trouble. Now Andy reached a sort of dilemma. Should he go after the Time Gear, or should he go find whatever it is that is giving off the aura distress signal?
If he went after the Time Gear, whatever the distressed was would likely be in a worse situation than it would if they had rescued it now, and it would probably even be dead. On the other hand, if they go rescue whatever it was that was distressed, it would give the Pokextinction the time they needed to find the gear before they could. If Vincent’s ability to read aura was a strong as he was boasting about, he’d have no trouble finding it.
The fight continued in his head until he came to the realization; they can always get the Time Gear back, but the life of whatever it was that was being hurt may likely not, unless it came back as a ghost Pokemon, but the chances of that happening are never fully explained in the games or television series.
Andy sighed; ethicality ruled over loyalty. He motioned for his friends to follow him as he crossed the street. Soon the atmosphere became darker and darker as they were lead in the back roads of neighborhoods, a generally unsafe area for people. When they came close, Andy turned the corner to see Pokextinction members and reflexively jumped around the corner, putting an arm out for his friends to stop. He put a finger over his mouth to silence them as he turned his head around the corner.
At the end of the dead-end road there was a Gardevoir. Her wrists were strapped to some power chains that looked mighty special; presumably to make sure she would not use Teleport to escape. Two Pokextincion members were standing in front of her.
“I’m getting real frustrated with you,” the smaller grunt said, “Tell me what we need to know!”
The Gardevoir, obviously exhausted, weakly shook her head. To Andy’s horror, the smaller grunt suddenly was holding a pipe rod above her head. It swiftly descended, and Andy could hear a sickening bang! and the Gardevoir’s groan.
“Fine, I’ll just keep you here until you talk.” She tossed the rod to her larger accomplice. “Stay guard. She’ll break sooner or later.” She turned around and made her way down the street. Andy quickly motioned to his friends to hide behind the trash cans. He heard the grunt’s footsteps growing dangerously close before she walked right past them and down the street.
Andy and his friends sat in the dark, their hearts were beating fast after their close call. They must have sat there for about 30 minutes or so before Andy could hear the sound of snoring. He hopped out of the trash and looked over the corner again. The bigger grunt had fallen asleep in the chair he was sitting on to guard the Gardevoir.
That won’t look good on your evaluation dude, next time get some sleep.
He and his friends leaped out of the trash and quietly walked towards the Gardevoir. Her head hung very low, and Andy thought he saw a tear fall from her face. It was understandable; there is no type resistance to metal pipe-type moves in Pokemon. As they walked closer, the Gardevoir looked up at her rescuers.
“Man, you guys stink What do you live in, a dumpster?” Andy and co. removed their rings, but it seemed to be of little condolence for her.
“My name is Andy and we’re here to rescue you.”
“Really? They’re a bit too late in sending PRT members, then.”
“Oh, no, it’s we’re not…okay, so me and Josh are, the other two aren’t. No, we’re out here for a different reason. Josh, can I borrow your claw real quickly?” He nodded and Andy moved his hand towards the chain. He used Josh’s claw to saw off each of the chains until she was free. She quickly embraced all four of them and Andy felt the familiar sensation of teleporting. They had appeared at the top of a building, looking over the city.
“Well, thank you four. What are kids like you doing out here by yourselves, anyway?”
“Well, we…gee, I don’t think we’re allowed to say, but…well, we’re going on a treasure hunt, but we heard you were being hurt so we wanted to help you out.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet! You really didn’t have to do that, but I’m still very grateful. Would you like for me to help you out on your treasure hunt?”
“Yes, please. Well, if it’s okay with everyone else?”
He looked back towards his friends. Claire had a smile on her face as she nodded. Josh was a tad reluctant to agree, but he did so. West took a moment to think about ti, then considered the alternatives, but ultimately decided on her staying.
“Yep, welcome to the club!”
“Aw, thank you! My name is Bonnie. I know the Lucario’s name is Andy, and the Weavile’s name is Josh. Who else do I not know?”
“My name is Claire.”
“Name’s West. Nice to meet ya.”
“Thank you, Claire and West. Now then, do you know where the treasure is?”
Andy looked at his charm. He still had that glow going off, so he looked over the edge and read the aura. The trail winded and looped around the town until it stopped abruptly at a building. The more Andy looked at said building, the more familiar it became.
“Wait a second…that building over there is…”
“Yeah, what is it?”
“It’s…an Escape Room building?”
“An Escape Room?” West asked, though Andy could tell Claire and Josh were also perplexed. “What is that?”
“Well, it’s a game where you’re locked into a room and you must solve puzzles to get out. Some rooms are board games, some are ones you can make by printing pictures and instructions at home, but some people,” he pointed towards the building, “want a more authentic experience.”
“That sounds like a lot of fun!” Bonnie said. “Are we headed there?”
“Yes, it’s at the back of the building. Can you teleport us there?” Bonnie looked over the edge. She put a hand on her chin as she began mind-mapping the town.
“Yes, I can! Hold on to me.” Andy and the others all joined in one great hug with Bonnie as they once again teleported. They were at the back of the building.
Andy used the aura to look around, and found the aura trail going into some garbage cans. He moved them aside to reveal a bare wall. He used his aura sensors again to find that the trail went through the wall. Andy reached a hand through and to his surprise found that is was an optical illusion. There was a huge hole in the wall the whole time, but it was hard to see!
“Looks like we may not be fighting this one. You guys ready?” They all decended down the stairs past the hall.
Next: Here
Andy had never flown on an airplane before, but the experience of flying was definitely breathtaking. All of the landscape passed by beneath them. He felt like nothing in the world could touch him or his friends while they were up in the air. He saw the oceans pass by them, mountains cower beneath and long stretched of plains just rolled about. Since Xen and Forro weren’t as immortal as Kyogre, they did have to take some stops here and there, but they were so quick they were almost forgotten about.
They had flown for so long Andy has almost wished he hadn’t told them his story, because conversation died quick. He occupies the time with his friends telling what happened to them while they were separated. They had all washed up somewhere in Europe and found a base where they learned all their moves.
“And then what? How did you know I was over at Skellig Michael?”
“Again, you got us. To be honest, we probably forgot already.”
After that, they just flew in silence for the longest time until the landscaping started to become familiar. Soon small roads began developing and Andy recognized the school he used to go to. After flying, they even soared over the base! Now Andy definitely knew where they were. After soaring for another hour or so, Andy could see large buildings come into view.
“Is that it?” One of the birds asked, “Is this Salt Lake City?”
“Yep! That’s where we’re headin’!”
The birds nodded towards each other and began to dive. They got to the ground outside of the city and let the four off. The birds wished them well before they both took off.
“Look at us! We’ll be the first students to fly around the world in less than 80 days!”
After they disappeared into the sky, Andy and his friends put on their rings and began walking towards the town. The closer they got, the heavier traffic became until the streets were constantly full of cars. They had to be careful around these parts, or else they could get lost.
As they walked they passed by a lot of homeless people. They had signs up with some messages in an attempt to move the heart, and people interrupting their path to beg was not uncommon. Having been in this city many times, it wasn’t a problem for Andy. Though what really surprised Andy was that some of the homeless people noticed their rings and gave them a little wink. This comforted Andy with the knowledge that if anything were to go wrong, at least one person would know exactly what was going on.
Soon they stopped at an ice cream shop and sat down for a moment. While they were eating they began strategizing how things would need to be done to get the final gear.
“Since this is such a huge place,” West said, “It won’t be as obvious to find out where we can get it Any suggestions?”
Andy began thinking about possible locations as to where the gear might be. Maybe at the Capitol building? No, too obvious. Maybe it’s somewhere inside one of the LDS temples? Doubtful, anyone would know where it was then.
Andy decided to stare towards the mountains in hope of finding some sort of daydream that can help give them an idea as to where to go. When he shifted his sights downward he noted a white S on the mountain.
I remember that S, Andy thought, Each county in Utah has a letter on the neighboring mountain to represent that county.
Then Andy began to think for a moment. Nobody was allowed to go to the S, which would be the perfect hiding spot for a Time Gear! He turned towards his friends and relayed to them his revelation.
“Sounds like a better idea that we were having,” Josh said as he wiped the ice cream off his face.
“But now we have a new problem to face,” Claire said. “If we do get the gear, how are we supposed to get home?”
“Yes, that’s a problem we must consider the solution for before doing anything,” West analyzed, “If we find the Time Gear, it won’t mean a thing if we get caught. No doubt Vincent learns from his mistakes. And what about Sam or this Rufus fellow? We know they’re higher-ups to Vincent, who knows what they’re capable of?”
“We could pull a Batman Gambit like we did back at Dublin.”
“That would work, but don’t Pokextinction bases commune with each other?”
“They would, but they’ve never seen us fly here. For all they know, we’re still at the Dublin base!”
“Well…that would work, but it would be incredibly risky.”
“Don’t all Batman Gambits have some risk to them?”
So they finished their ice cream and started away, refreshing their ring usage in the bathroom stalls before heading out.
As they headed out of town, Andy noticed the charm glowing ever so slightly. When he closed his eyes though, he was surprised. The path wasn’t going up the mountain, it was actually going back into town. He stopped his friends.
“Guys, it’s going back into town. We should go back there.”
“Wait, what? That…that’s a surprise.”
So, they went back into town and followed the aura trail. For one of the first times since going on this adventure, Andy felt genuinely excited. No longer was this taking place in some sort of landmark, but now it was somewhere inside the city. Andy felt like nothing could stop them.
Then, while he was observing the aura, Andy felt something giving a distressed vibe. Looking around, he definitely found something in trouble. Now Andy reached a sort of dilemma. Should he go after the Time Gear, or should he go find whatever it is that is giving off the aura distress signal?
If he went after the Time Gear, whatever the distressed was would likely be in a worse situation than it would if they had rescued it now, and it would probably even be dead. On the other hand, if they go rescue whatever it was that was distressed, it would give the Pokextinction the time they needed to find the gear before they could. If Vincent’s ability to read aura was a strong as he was boasting about, he’d have no trouble finding it.
The fight continued in his head until he came to the realization; they can always get the Time Gear back, but the life of whatever it was that was being hurt may likely not, unless it came back as a ghost Pokemon, but the chances of that happening are never fully explained in the games or television series.
Andy sighed; ethicality ruled over loyalty. He motioned for his friends to follow him as he crossed the street. Soon the atmosphere became darker and darker as they were lead in the back roads of neighborhoods, a generally unsafe area for people. When they came close, Andy turned the corner to see Pokextinction members and reflexively jumped around the corner, putting an arm out for his friends to stop. He put a finger over his mouth to silence them as he turned his head around the corner.
At the end of the dead-end road there was a Gardevoir. Her wrists were strapped to some power chains that looked mighty special; presumably to make sure she would not use Teleport to escape. Two Pokextincion members were standing in front of her.
“I’m getting real frustrated with you,” the smaller grunt said, “Tell me what we need to know!”
The Gardevoir, obviously exhausted, weakly shook her head. To Andy’s horror, the smaller grunt suddenly was holding a pipe rod above her head. It swiftly descended, and Andy could hear a sickening bang! and the Gardevoir’s groan.
“Fine, I’ll just keep you here until you talk.” She tossed the rod to her larger accomplice. “Stay guard. She’ll break sooner or later.” She turned around and made her way down the street. Andy quickly motioned to his friends to hide behind the trash cans. He heard the grunt’s footsteps growing dangerously close before she walked right past them and down the street.
Andy and his friends sat in the dark, their hearts were beating fast after their close call. They must have sat there for about 30 minutes or so before Andy could hear the sound of snoring. He hopped out of the trash and looked over the corner again. The bigger grunt had fallen asleep in the chair he was sitting on to guard the Gardevoir.
That won’t look good on your evaluation dude, next time get some sleep.
He and his friends leaped out of the trash and quietly walked towards the Gardevoir. Her head hung very low, and Andy thought he saw a tear fall from her face. It was understandable; there is no type resistance to metal pipe-type moves in Pokemon. As they walked closer, the Gardevoir looked up at her rescuers.
“Man, you guys stink What do you live in, a dumpster?” Andy and co. removed their rings, but it seemed to be of little condolence for her.
“My name is Andy and we’re here to rescue you.”
“Really? They’re a bit too late in sending PRT members, then.”
“Oh, no, it’s we’re not…okay, so me and Josh are, the other two aren’t. No, we’re out here for a different reason. Josh, can I borrow your claw real quickly?” He nodded and Andy moved his hand towards the chain. He used Josh’s claw to saw off each of the chains until she was free. She quickly embraced all four of them and Andy felt the familiar sensation of teleporting. They had appeared at the top of a building, looking over the city.
“Well, thank you four. What are kids like you doing out here by yourselves, anyway?”
“Well, we…gee, I don’t think we’re allowed to say, but…well, we’re going on a treasure hunt, but we heard you were being hurt so we wanted to help you out.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet! You really didn’t have to do that, but I’m still very grateful. Would you like for me to help you out on your treasure hunt?”
“Yes, please. Well, if it’s okay with everyone else?”
He looked back towards his friends. Claire had a smile on her face as she nodded. Josh was a tad reluctant to agree, but he did so. West took a moment to think about ti, then considered the alternatives, but ultimately decided on her staying.
“Yep, welcome to the club!”
“Aw, thank you! My name is Bonnie. I know the Lucario’s name is Andy, and the Weavile’s name is Josh. Who else do I not know?”
“My name is Claire.”
“Name’s West. Nice to meet ya.”
“Thank you, Claire and West. Now then, do you know where the treasure is?”
Andy looked at his charm. He still had that glow going off, so he looked over the edge and read the aura. The trail winded and looped around the town until it stopped abruptly at a building. The more Andy looked at said building, the more familiar it became.
“Wait a second…that building over there is…”
“Yeah, what is it?”
“It’s…an Escape Room building?”
“An Escape Room?” West asked, though Andy could tell Claire and Josh were also perplexed. “What is that?”
“Well, it’s a game where you’re locked into a room and you must solve puzzles to get out. Some rooms are board games, some are ones you can make by printing pictures and instructions at home, but some people,” he pointed towards the building, “want a more authentic experience.”
“That sounds like a lot of fun!” Bonnie said. “Are we headed there?”
“Yes, it’s at the back of the building. Can you teleport us there?” Bonnie looked over the edge. She put a hand on her chin as she began mind-mapping the town.
“Yes, I can! Hold on to me.” Andy and the others all joined in one great hug with Bonnie as they once again teleported. They were at the back of the building.
Andy used the aura to look around, and found the aura trail going into some garbage cans. He moved them aside to reveal a bare wall. He used his aura sensors again to find that the trail went through the wall. Andy reached a hand through and to his surprise found that is was an optical illusion. There was a huge hole in the wall the whole time, but it was hard to see!
“Looks like we may not be fighting this one. You guys ready?” They all decended down the stairs past the hall.
Next: Here
