Pokémon Bloodstone | An Orre Fanfiction

Chapter 42: Too Horrible

Amber returned from Apt. 94 with Courtney. She pushed Lyric in a shopping cart stocked with external hard drives. Camden was happy to see Lyric. He pulled her into the kitchen to switch Baby Carvanha back on. Amber's Pokémon were as tired of hearing it as she was, but they were as patient as her, too. Dragonite, Empoleon and Sandslash obediently danced.

Cassia relayed what they knew so far to Courtney. She showed no emotion, but they knew she was mulling it over.

'Huh... strange... very strange... the pendant...'

'It could be a ridiculous theory,' Amber said, 'Because I don't really see how they got a dead baby into Alola. But that's why I don't want to ask Lyndon. I don't want him to fall down a wormhole for no reason, you know?'

'Yes... Don is a better hacker... than me... but... I don't want him to fall down a Raboot hole... either. But... I'm also curious. And if... that girl... is alive... she's my sister in-law... and I'm done... with the world shitting on everything I care about... so! I already... have access to the Orrean government's systems... ahaha! ♪'

When Amber watched Lyndon casually hack that string of systems that were supposedly highly secure, rock music was playing in the background. Courtney's soundtrack was Baby Carvanha. She didn't seem to mind. She cheerfully hummed along to it.

'December 18... Rosen Raco... AKA Gretchen Manning... and Lovrina Drason... they took flight AO 109 to Hau'oli City.'

'The day before the murder,' Amber commented, 'Or kidnapping, I guess... probably to meet that crazy Alfie fan.'

Charizard removed the cookies from the oven. It unplugged the stereo to carry it to Camden's bedroom, where the kids couldn't accidentally touch the hot tray.

'Thanks, Charizard. You're a saint.'

'They left... at 7:55 PM on December 19... on flight AO 117 from Heahea City. Rosen was carrying... a passport for her two year-old nephew... Lir Kovar. Before she killed him...'

'OK... so they did take a baby with them. That does kind of imply...'

Cassia nodded. 'That they were baby-swapping.'

'But we know the dead baby wasn't Lir. He was alive for her to kill a year later. Unless they never got around to actually swapping the kids, so they did kill Fire Agate? Because they didn't expect Alfie to be there? He did change his flight at the last minute.'

'Hm... we know for sure... a baby went to Alola... and a baby came back.'

Amber sighed. 'I guess there's no way to tell which ones...'

'There are... photos. Target lock... completed! Downloading... photos!'

'Oooh! I kept saying it to Lyndon, but I love this family!'

Amber began to sketch a family tree, but she was distracted when Courtney turned the laptop to show a black and white photo of a dazed, frightened-looking baby.

'This... is the baby who went... to Alola...'

'Well, that's definitely not Lir Kovar. Oh, that poor baby! She looks terrified! Gosh... I almost hope we're out of our minds, because of course she looks bloody terrified. She was on her way to die! That's too awful. It's going to be her on the way back, too. It has to be. Surely no-one...'

'Amber...'

Even Courtney looked truly unsettled. What little colour was in her pale face drained.

'That... that's not the same baby.'

There were never any photos of Fire Agate around the house when Amber grew up. Abbey couldn't bear to look at them. She still immediately recognised her half-sister.