Chaotic Good

Chapter 18: Proof Mike Has A Heart

Mike's POV

        Okay, this was hella suspicious. How is everybody so easily convinced we should fly to a friggin' polar icecap to stop some "evil countess"? Okay, this may be a bit subjective, because I hate the cold, but my first point still stands. Right now everybody was at Cyanide City resting in a dingy hotel. Everybody except me, no way I'm going to sleep with Meloetta in the same building. She's probably going to stab us or something. Maybe light a fire in our rooms. I was staring at the door unblinking, waiting for someone to pick the lock. It was inevitable. Before we came here, I had asked Meloetta why she didn't ask where the other team members were; she replied with "Well, I knew you guys were spying. I've got good senses.". That's pretty suspicious. And okay, I know I'm kind of a cynic, but I've got good reasoning. Zena, Jay, and apparently Matt and LoveGame are more trusting, but they've probably only gotten good out of trusting strangers. Me? Not so much. I'd trust Jay and Zena and maybe my sisters with my life, but not strangers. I'll have to keep a good watch on Meloetta while we travel. I'd have to get some warm clothes too, maybe fur cloaks for everybody. I still had a lot of money to spend. I decided to go out and find some shop that would sell some. Maybe I'd find any reason to actually trust Meloetta while I'm out there.

 I stepped out to see bright city lines shining in the distance. It was relatively warm for the fact that it was almost 4AM at night, but it felt nice. The hotel had crappy air conditioning. I walked for about an hour, headed downtown. Pokemon, buses, and limousines bustled about despite how late it was. This must be the big city for Vanaheim. Many of the Pokemon here were followed by a posse or paparazzi of some sort. Perhaps some big event had just ended. I wasn't fond of celebrities and that stuff. I paused to look at a small thrift shop. I walked inside and the high-pitched jingle went off. The place had a cozy feeling, and there weren't many others inside. I wonder why it was open so late. The back wall had fur coats and scarves hung up. Weird, considering this place wasn't exactly cold. It probably would become cold soon, though. I picked out silver cloaks for Jay and I, a tan one with gray edges for Zena, and dark brown ones for LoveGame and Matt. I didn't trust Meloetta enough to get one for her. The prices were really cheap for cloaks so thick. Either way, I bought them and headed out into the city. These things were heavier than I thought. I decided to take a bus back to the hotel instead of walking for another hour. The ride was surprisingly mellow, I had expected the roads to be bumpy. 

I don't remember what happened between me getting off the bus and falling asleep in the hotel, but here I was, being awoken by Matt's furiously banging on the door. I stood up groggily and opened the door to see everybody, including Meloetta, standing around, apparently waiting for me to wake up.

"Get up sleepy, we're going to the south pole! Or, as Meloetta says it's called, Ledas Pole." Zena sing-songed. She always liked traveling to new places. I moved to pick up the back of cloaks I had bought and handed each one to them.

"Wow, Mike, I never knew you actually had a heart." Jay deadpanned. He was grinning, though.

"Aww, thanks Mike! I'd hug you, but you'd probably bite my head or something." Zena said. LoveGame and Matt didn't say anything, but they looked grateful. Nice. Suddenly everything felt too touchy-feely. 

"Welp, let's get going shall we?" I said, clapping my hands. Meloetta gave me a look, but followed Jay out the door. I put on my silver cloak as soon as we checked out and took to the air. The inside wasn't as fluffy as the outside, but warm nonetheless. Apparently we weren't that far from the Ledas Pole at all, we only flew for a few minutes before we started seeing snow. It sparkled beneath us, it looked like the Sea of Time. Or at least how the Sea of Time was told in the stories. After a while of admiring the snow and ice, Jay turned back to us. 

"Meloetta says this is as far as we can go, but she drew me a route on the map."

"Howcome she can't go any farther?" Matt asked with a suspicious tone.

"Because Countess Clandestine will detect my presence and send troops to attack us. I apologize for me not being able to go any farther, but I led you guys through most of the traps. Her base is not far from here. Please do not get lost in the snow." Meloetta replied, And with that she turned around and flew back to wherever it is almost-deities go. Well, shit. This was gonna be fun.

Jay motioned for us to fly down some time later. When we landed the ice crunched under our feet and it slipped between my toes. Jay looked on the map and on the ground several times.

"Was the base underground?" I asked him.

"Well yeah, but there's meant to be an entrance, I don't see anything."

"Let me see." Zena said. She walked up to where jay stood and breathed a Flamethrower on the spot he was looking at. The snow and ice melted instantly and a hatch revealed itself underneath.

"Simple." She said with a smirk.