Sorry for taking this long to reply, but I managed to get my laptop confiscated and locked out of the computer room.
*
Several muffled Pok?mon cries sounded from the direction of the dull metal shutters stretched across the chamber?s watery entrance. Cat didn?t so much as blink. Likely as not, some of the wild ?Mon she?d already observed afloat the river leading to this cavern were scuffling behind the electronically operated doorway. She sighed and closed her eyes, resigned to the worst. What was the probability that she?d be able to talk her way out of harm? Aquas weren?t known for their understanding, or compassion. Mercy on their part these days was rare, even towards fellow members; her chances of release were looking increasingly slimmer.
A sudden flare of light shone unannounced through her closed eyelids, causing her to jolt upright abruptly, forcing them apart. Multicoloured spots erupted in front of her dazzled eyes, clouding her vision. Rendered blind by the unexpected flash that now died almost as quickly as it had appeared, she could barely make out the outline of its creator. She blinked furiously, attempting to regain the use of her eyes, but succeeded only in further provoking the patterns spiralling at random across her line of sight. An unfamiliar voice barked fiercely in her direction, ordering her to raise her hands above her head. She hastily complied with the command, not wanting to cause yet more trouble than what she?d already found herself in.
?Stay where you a? a kid?? His authoritative manner dropped as he surveyed her, and one eyebrow disappeared into his low fringe. ?What, are the Aquas taking in junior recruits?? A slight frown creased his brow. He hadn?t been trained to deal with children, and this girl didn?t look a day past fourteen. His grip tightened slightly on the creamy, close-growing fur on the neck of the Ninetales to his right. It raised its head and stared enquiringly up at him, but on gaining no response shook its tails and followed its master?s gaze to the somewhat startled girl ahead.
The colours obscuring Cat?s vision began to fade, enabling her to squint curiously at the figures before her. Several silhouettes were distinguishable; a man, and what looked like three Pok?mon surrounding him. Not a lot else was clear. She shook her head vigorously, and her vision cleared completely. The flash earlier had obviously been caused by combined fire attacks issued from the mouths of the ?Mon either side of him, Combusken and a canine whose species? name she wasn?t able to recall. He was wearing a red-black uniform ... A Magma? The third ?Mon didn?t quite seem to fit with this image, but then again, he?d have needed to surf down the underground river to reach this laboratory-of-sorts. A powerful-looking Blastoise?s gargantuan form filled the cave entrance, fearsome cannons aimed straight at her head. She shivered. First an irate grunt, now their rival team ... And she?d been found in the Aqua base, assumed an enemy team?s member by this hostile intruder. What luck. From what she could see, she wasn?t any better off with the team of earth and fire than she?d have been if confronted by an Aqua executive. Well, it wouldn?t do a lot of good to stay quiet and let him think she was there out of choice.
She sighed, moistened her lips and spoke up. ?I?m
not an Aqua, as you?ll soon find if you allow me to display my Pok?mon. And I?m not a child, either.?
Her last few words carried a bite of irritation, and the man seemed to pause to take this into consideration before replying. ?So what are you doing down here if you?re not at least in league with them? What was the shouting I heard from the tunnel about?? He wasn?t convinced. There was hardly an acceptable excuse for a regular Pok?mon trainer to have been snooping around an Aqua base. Whatever reason she had, it?d better be good, else she?d have to be silenced or taken hostage.
?I travelled here from Mt. Silver, for a change of scenery, under the impression that the area was deserted. An Aqua grunt caught me checking this place out and locked me in here.? She paused to take in his reaction, but his features remained blank. ?And now he?s left to find an executive to ?deal with me?.? Her voice was more than a little scornful, as if she held the opinion that anyone attempting to ?deal with her? would have made quite an underestimation of her prowess as a trainer. The arms frozen above her head were starting to ache in protest, but she did her best to ignore the pain, unwilling to appear weak.
The Magma almost smiled at the brief streak of arrogance she?d displayed. She had by this time dispelled almost all doubt he?d had of her status, but even if she wasn?t an Aqua, there weren?t many members of the public who supported his team, mainly due to the disease many believed that their Dr. Anderson had created. Of course, someone of such high recognition within Magma as himself
knew that their suspicions were not without reason; in fact, he?d met Anderson in person, but that was a couple of years before the experiments he was performing had bore fruit. Perhaps it would be wise to inspect the girl?s Pok?mon, as she?d suggested. Ninetales at his side, he drew cautiously closer. The expression adorning her rather shadowed features was that of feigned boredom, not of open hostility. She flinched slightly when he unclipped the first Pok?ball from her custom-made belt, but didn?t object. On inspecting each of the balls? contents, he found only one of the Aquas? signature water-type Pok?mon, and three others that were in fact
weak to aquatic attacks.
?Alright, you can bring your hands down.? Thoroughly relieved, he recalled the last of her ?Mon and handed her back all four Pok?balls.
She flashed him a quick smile, then repositioned them on the thin belt around her waist and stood up, dusting off imaginary dirt as she did so. Well, his attitude beat the other grunt?s tactics of attacking first and asking questions later. With a start, she realised that the blue-clothed man could return any moment, possibly with another, higher-ranking Aqua. Whatever this Magma was here for, neither of them would stand a chance against the highly trained water Pok?s most Aquas sported ... She was obliged to inform him of the need to leave in haste, especially if she wanted a chance of escaping along with him.
?Uh ... ? She realised that she had no idea what the Magma?s name was. ? ... Sir, I think it might be best if we got back to the surface. Pretty sharpish. The Aqua I encountered earlier could get back here any time now, and no offence or anything, but I don?t think either of us would be strong enough to hold out against two teams of water ?Mon.?
He grimaced at being addressed as ?Sir?. Of course, lower-ranking Magmas frequently used the expression, but, well, outside of work ... ?It?s Jon.? And however little he appreciated being advised on matters by those appearing at least five years younger than himself, he had to admit she was right. It?d be foolish to hang around here. He?d taken the documents needed already, anyway, returning only out of curiosity as to the shouting that had reached him as he made his way back along the underground waterways mapping the area. The sooner he left, the better, and it wouldn?t be fair to leave the girl behind. Decided, he swiftly recalled the three ?Mon standing alongside him and deftly flicked open another Pok?ball to release a pendulum-wielding Hypno, catching hold of its arm and beckoning Cat forwards. Her face broke into a grateful smile, and she hurried over, taking hold of the psychic ?Mon?s other arm.
?On the count of three, you?re to teleport us to the surface. OK?? The Hypno nodded, and the Magma extended three bony fingers. ?One.? He folded one in on his palm. ?Two.? Another down. Cat heard a splash from the direction of the entrance. ?Three!? She turned her head just in time to see the head of a Lapras colored quite differently to her own rounding the corner, her Aqua acquaintance riding atop it alongside another, rather more curvaceous female figure.
Then all was white.
*