Pokémon PrismGold

Chapter Twenty-Eight: "Ice Island"

Sean tried to hide his slight jealousy over Mark getting confronted by Mew. He had worked so hard to become the shrine keeper and the best Mystic that he could be. To have Mew tell Mark that HE was the wise one had hurt, but he tried to push his emotions down. He had studied Pokemon long enough to know that legendary pokemon always had their reasons for choosing people. It didn't stop his thoughts from drifting to a dark place though. Had his father been right? Was there something wrong with him? Sure, Mark seemed no different from him, but Mew had chosen him. Didn't that mean he had done something wrong somehow? Bowing his head, he stared at the restless waves with a distant look. His father's words echoing in his mind, until he had to curl his fingers into fists to keep his hands from shaking. Mark touched his shoulder, asking a little worried. "Sean? Everything ok?" Sean jerked his head up, straightening himself up as he said curtly. "Fine. Just... Just thinking."

Mark didn't seem to believe him. Mark's hand reached out to brush a tear from the corner of Sean's eye. Surprised, Sean sniffled and raised his hands to wipe his eyes with his sleeves. When had he started crying? He hadn't felt them. Mark opened his mouth to say something, but got distracted by a snowflake that drifted between them. Mark's hand went to catch the snowflake with a stunned look. From the front of the Lapras, Pryce said aloud in a soothing voice. "Simply beautiful." Sean looked up more to see the familiar snow falling from the cloudy sky around Ice island. It wasn't unusual to see. Articuno often made it snow around the island and just off the coast. The scientists guessed it was a way of Articuno marking the borders of his territory. Although, others wondered if he did it to keep the island and the water around it from getting too warm. In either case, it was beautiful. Lapras dodged around the small glaciers around the coast, powering through a few of the smaller whirlpools. The water cyclones were dancing around the back of the island at the moment, giving them a clear opening to the docks.

Gripping a spike of Lapras's shell, Sean stood up to get a better view of the island. Ice island looked like a single massive mountain from the shore of Shamouti, but it was deceptive. Only the shell of it looked like a mountain. There was only one way to get on Ice island by water and that was because the rest was just jagged unclimbable icy snow covered rocks that stretched miles into the sky. Mark gawked at the mountain, uttering out in amazement. "Holy shit... How do people leave here? Are you people part goat?" Sean chuckled, pointing to the icy dock as he said excitedly. "No. You'll see. Ice island is more than you see." As Lapras drew closer to the docks, Sean's breath began to puff before his face in a misty frost of air. Pryce stood up, pointing to the St. Anne that was anchored before the jagged glacier coast on the far side. Sean knew they couldn't get a ship that big too close, but wondered how they got passed the whirlpools. Looking ahead to the dock, he saw a dingy boat with two Sharpedos harnessed to the front.

The Sharpedos snapped their shark jaws down on their metal bits, thrashing restlessly as a sailor sat in the boat and began to play a pan flute to calm them. Pryce noticed it too, saying coolly back to them. "They are here. We have to move quickly." Sean nodded, telling them seriously. "Stay by me. I know where they are going." Lapras pulled up to the dock that was nothing more than an icy staircase leading down into the ocean and up to an icy looking cave tunnel with a carved archway. Pryce hesitantly put a foot on a stair to test how slippery the stairs were, but Sean just hopped straight off and onto it without fear. There was a trick to the stairs. Most of the stairs were slippery to act as a defense. However, there were a few steps that were actually just decorated to blend in with the ice. Allowing those who knew where to look an easy way up. He'd traveled it so much that he knew the pattern by heart. He could see the difference easily. Reaching out for Pryce's hand, he started to tell him about the steps... When Mark hopped down like he had... in the wrong spot.