The Children Are Hunted

[Dawn]

King was the first to hear it, the sound of intensely flowing water. That wasn't right... They shouldn't be at the beach yet. He turned his head, only to catch sight of a giant wave. King just sort of stopped, his ears drooping in terror as he became frozen like a deer in headlights. Kai noticed this and stopped, prompting Kimiko and Shu to stop as well. Kai's jaw just sort of hung open. At the rate that wave was approaching...

Kai (bulbasaur): "Guys..."

Kai didn't know what to say. There was no plan to be made, no escape to be made. Abruptly Kimiko yelled out, her voice panicked.

Kimiko (Dratini): "Ruuun!!!"

This was followed by her flying off into the sky. Kai grimaced. If she hadn't known Kimiko was far too slow anyway, she would've been pretty peeved about being abandoned by their designated flier. Nevertheless, she supposed there was no point in accepting their fate. If they were going to die, they might as well die fighting for life. Kai turned tail and ran, being quickly outpaced by King who was much faster than her. Legend was pricking and squirming, but Kai knew she couldn't handle herself. Shu was... gone? She must have missed him.

Despite their efforts, they were incqpable of running the wave. Kai felt the spray of water behind her just before she was hit with a powerful force of water. No amount of resistance could've protected her. She was out like a light the moment it hit.

...Only to re awaken some time later. It couldn't have been long. Brains were very hard pressed to shut down for extended periods of time without it being a sign of some fatal wound. Yet, how long had it been? Where was she? She tried to stand. Ouch. That wasn't working. Something pinning her down. Her body felt broken. The pain was terrible. She was having difficulty opening her eyes. Was she dying? She couldn't tell. She could make it an odd noise. Her ears were not hearing correctly, however. She coughed up some sea water. That hurt too. Everything hurt! She collapsed into sleep....

...Only to wake up yet again. She forced herself to open her eyes. Where was she? How long had it been? Where were the others? The sunlight threatened to blind her. Wait... Sunlight? Kaiwilled herself to uae synthesis. It took her a while, but he managed to begin healing herself, utilizing the brilliant, intense Venice sun to help her out. She felt her strength returning to her. Yet, there were some thigs not even her miraculous self healing powers could fix. It felt like her skeleton had taken a major beating. It no longer felt like something was pinning her down. It was then she heard he strange noise from earlier. Only, this time her hearing was clearer. Was that crying?... That was Legend's voice!

Summoning her will she used her vines to help support her weight so she could stand. She then proceeded to limp off in the direction of the crying. She found Legend not far away, one leg caught under a fallen tree. She was crying hysterically and squirming, covered in mud. It occurred to Kai she must be pretty filthy. She had bigger things to worry about though. She knew she had to help Legend.

She moved over beside Legend and collapsed. She then proceeded to use her vines to attempt to move the tree. At first she was too weak, but after.a couple of tries her adrenaline kicked in and she managed to roll the tree aside a bit to free Legend's no doubt crushed leg. Legend was quieted down a bot when this happened, resigning to shivering and whimpering rather pathetically. Kai was pretty sure she was scarred for life. It would depress her if this killed Legend's fiery spirit.

Legend (Torchic): "...Kai?"

Legend seemed surprised and relieved. Kai sighed.

Kai (Bulbasaur): "It's alright... We survived."

No response. She then turned her attention to other things, like where the others were. She couldn't see them, couldn't hear them. She decided to try calling their names. She called their names, each time a bit more desperate, only to receive no answer. She felt the heartbreak beginning to set in. What if they weren't as lucky? It was then she heard a forlorn voice. She immediately recognized t as Shu's, despite the fact he only spoke once in a while.

Shu (Yamask): "I'm here..."

Kai was relieved. She looked up at the sorcerer of the voice. Oddly enough, Shu appeared to be fine. Ghost pokemon. Heh. There was still no sign of the others, though. Kai looked.towards Legend.

Kai (Bulbasaur): "We need to move... Legend, it might be hard, but you have to try and walk..."

Kai extended her vines over to help Legend up. Legend tried to put her injured foot down but quickly found that to be a bad idea. She would instead have to hop on one foot. She felt like a hoothoot.

Legend (Torchic): "I don't feel very good..."

Kai (Bulbasaur): "I know... We'll find a way to get through this though."

Kai realized she didn't know where to go. She doubted her ability to make it to help in time, let alone search for the others, and Shu couldn't carry them.

Kai (Bulbasaur): "Shu... Search for the others. If you find them... send help. We'll... We'll try and find safety."

Shu hovered there for a moment before floating off. Kai then lifted her weight wry her veins again and started hobbling towards where she thought she had seen some sort of civilization earlier. Legend hopped along behind, both going ay a pretty slow pace. Of was grueling labour, to say the least.

 

[Roserade]

The Barriers Conclusion: Death in Venice.

Tony had been washed into the Forevr Ocean. But, at last, he could see the Venician shores. That's when the water started to rise. He felt the icy water begin to grow over the whole scene. He could see an all-out battle. Pokemon rushing to escape the giant wave, the RDM and AAPM fighting it out. All of them would be crushed. The wave continued to expand until it towered over Venice itself. The town was strange. It was gray and depressing. He could see why, the AAPM had covered the whole city. What was going on down there? He watched his friends disappear but he could still see Alakazam. She was staring right at him. He began to open up to his Psychic powers. Maybe...maybe he could stop it. He pushed himself to the limit. The wave began to decrease in size, but was still huge. He felt his body squeeze into a flat surface as if he was being flattened into air. His body was exploding with Psychic energy. Alakazam was right next to him. They became one and everything came back to Tony. At that exact moment, he remembered everything about his past, everything. Just as his body was destroyed by his power and Alakazam sent a message to the Espeon. He sent Mia a message. Goodbye.​

Clay had no time to move out of the way before the wave crushed him. He felt his legs snap. His arms bent as he was pushed against the ground. The water hadn't been as hard as he thought it would have been. It was harder. He couldn't move. He felt himself be taken by a Psychic force. Merin? Had he survive the massive beating of the wave? Another suspicious thing...that wave could have easily reached the city and brought it underwater. What had happened when he was taken down by the icy water. He could see the water return to the ocean. The scene felt eerie and he could hear the laughter of Merin. He must have gotten what he had come for.​

Clair looked around Venice when they got there. She saw all the shops were closed. All the people were gone. AAPM agents watched the streets. She pushed everyone behind the gym. She felt an emptiness in her. As if, something had been ripped out of her soul. A voice boomed around them, "Hello Venice. Or should I say, Regin Venice. If you step outside of your building, you shall be killed. If you see a group of children, you shall be rewarded. It is your choice who to help. And, children, I'm done waiting." ​

She looked around the city. The windows were closed and the canals were dark and empty. Then she looked at Mia who seemed to be recieving some kind of message. She had seen that face on...Tony. Where was he? She was sure he was okay. She looked around and remembered the mirror. They hadn't gotten what they came for and they had left without a friend.

Karen arrived back at RISE Island with everything she had gone for. In one hand, she held Esper, or Espore. In the other she held Dust, or Shauntal. But, maybe most importantly, she held a mirror. Merin's mirror. She dripped some water on it to see what would happen. It was a face. A girlish figure. She seemed worried, as if something was following her. Her features seemed to morph. As if she was changing who she was. Was this what the final clue was? A picture of a girl? No. A picture of a girl with powers. A CT. And the RDM had seen her first.​

 

[Garet]

(Great, this is what lack of access might mean.)

Karib had eventually been drawn into the battle, though he still hid where and when he could. He'd been able to stay conscious after the splash damage of the Espeon's attack on Merin, which meant that he'd also heard what the AAPM agent, Clay, had said. So, the Sableye had been on his way to try and stop the human, when he noticed the rising water. And Karib had turned to run from it.


Carrie had slowly come back to full consciousness after what the Vulpix had done to her. Her first thought had been, That actually hurt! How could that have hurt me so much?! The Gabite had been turning to look for the Vulpix, so that she could challenge him. Then, she'd seen the giant wave of water. Thoughts of challenging the Vulpix were drowned out by thoughts of survival. So, Carrie had turned to run, as well. Noticeably faster than Karib's pace.


Leo wasn't sure what had happened, but when he finally cleared his head, the Poochyena and the human that had come up were not around him. He did see another Lucario [Kira] headed his way, though he didn't recognize the other. Probably the Aura-user's, Leo thought. Then, hearing something, he turned towards the beach, too. "Oh, snap!"

Leo turned and started running, ignoring any others. If that other Lucario had any sense, he'd also get out of the area. In seconds, Carrie the Gabite had come up alongside him. "I'm not sure if we can outrun this," the Gabite growled. "So why are we running?"

"Fright, for one thing!" Leo snapped back. He skidded to a halt when he came upon RDM Pokemon that were still unconscious from the battle. They would drown if they stayed here.


Garet had skidded to a halt when the Raikou had jumped in front of him. And he hadn't actually tried to dodge the Thunder, though that had been diverted by something that a nearby human was holding, from what the Arcanine saw. Looking around, though, Garet noticed the tidal wave. "Prob'ly gonna have a nightmare after this," he muttered, turning to run. He didn't think much about the Raikou's safety at the moment. If he, or she or it, had appeared so suddenly, then the Raikou could disappear just as suddenly.

Garet skidded to another halt when he came across Leo, the Gabite, and the unconscious RDM Pokemon. Looking ahead, he saw what looked like the Sableye, who was definitely not running faster than the wave. "Leo, can you make a barrier?" Garet asked quickly.

"Yeah, but I don't know-- " Leo trailed off as the Arcanine ran ahead. In seconds, Garet had come back with a complaining Karib hanging from his jaws. "Best chance, I guess," Leo muttered.
While Garet, Karib, and Carrie gathered together all the nearby unconscious Pokemon, Leo concentrated on creating an Aura barrier designed to keep things out. They were all enclosed some seconds before the tidal wave hit.

~~~~~

There was no knowing, at least in Garet's mind, what had happened to anyone else outside of the barrier. He didn't know if Merin had gotten out of there, or if the Psychic Pokemon had teleported anyone else out or whoever else Merin might have teleported out. Garet didn't even pay a whole lot of attention to whoever else might have ended up inside the barrier.
What Garet did know, though, was that he and the other conscious Pokemon had to drag unconscious Pokemon closer to the center of the area inside the Aura barrier, which Leo had to shrink in order to kepe it between them and the surrounding water.

The Lucario released the barrier once the water had receded, then collapsed on the ground. "I haven't done that sort of thing before," he said between breaths. "Not against that much force. Gonna...sleep now..." Leo then slipped into unconscious.

Garet sighed, then looked around. After a brief glance at the nearby Pokemon (and whoever else might have been near), he looked beyond. It didn't look like the water was going to threaten this area again, not at the moment.
With that sort of thing, there were no differing sides. At least, Garet believed that there shouldn't be, in the case of some natural disaster. With the impending danger, it hadn't even mattered much that the RDM had been after the fourth CT on short notice.

"What now, sir?" Karib asked in Poke-speech, sitting on the ground.

 

[Nideous]

Mia fell to her knees and broke down crying. She had finally found him! And now he was gone, forever. Sparkles nibbled on her hair affectionately. She ignored her shiny companion. She was too lost in her misery. Then, she grew angry. She clenched her fists. Those stupid RDM! This was all their fault! If they hadn't been after Thomas and the others, this wouldn't have happened! And the AAPM! This was all because of their stupid fighting! She stood up, her eyes full of tears and walked over to Thomas. Robby looked at her questioningly.
"You're going to collect eight badges and take that tournement out, aren't you?" she asked him, her tone full of pain. Thomas could not hear her. He was still unconcious. Even if he wasn't, he'd still be incapable of hearing her. She pulled her Common Badge out of her pocket.
"As Gym Leader of the Venice Gym, along with my big brother Simon, I confer upon you the Common Badge! You've beaten me not once, but twice!" she said as she put the badge in Thomas's hand. She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek and stepped back. Robby said nothing. He was terrified of what might happen to his cousin. After seeing Mia break down like that, he wasn't sure if he could take it if Marcus was hurt. Mia walked into the gym. After a few moments, she returned. She had her fifth and sixeth pokeballs in her hands. The ones Simon had said he would give her when she was ready. Well, she was ready now. She eyed the ball with her Munchlax and put it on her belt. She returned Sparkles and did the same.
"Fearow! I need you!" she said as she called out the great bird. She climbed on his back and Van limped over to her.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm going to go get stronger so I can deal with this!" she said determinedly as Fearow took off.
"Are you sure that's smart? I mean, Thomas and I can train you," Van said. Mia shook her head.
"It's because of you and Thomas I have to go. This wasn't Tony's fight. He was fighting for all of you, and he's dead now. I'm... I'm a little angry about that," she said.
"Understatement of the year," Van muttered to himself.
"Shut up! I... I also need some time to myself to work things out in my own head. Please don't follow. I'll be alright. I'll come back when I'm ready, I promise," Mia said. She nodged Fearow and he took off. Van shrugged.
"Whatever. It's not like the rest of us aren't hurting from loss today," Van muttered. He turned to Robby, who was too preoccupied by his own fear and doubt to care about Mia leaving. Suddenly, they heard a loud crash. A Gyarados just broke the surface of the water. He opened his mouth and Marcus jumped into the water and began swimming toward them at a slow pace.

"God, that was the scariest thing I've ever seen!" Marcus said as he climbed out of the water. He shook himself off.
"Were... Were you just inside his mouth?" Van asked, rubbing his paws together as he remembered when he had been in that things mouth.
"How do you think I survived that? Clair! Clair, the mirror! It... It showed some girl!" Marcus said as he handed her back the mirror.
"Marcus! Im' so glad you're ok!" Robby said as he grabbed Marcus in a bone crushing hug.
"I wonder what that means?" Van said.
"Probably more trouble!" Marcus said scornfully. Van looked at him. Marcus shook his head. He was beginning to grow sick of all this, something he had expressed to the others. He was done. He was risking his and his cousins life for what? He couldn't do it. This was the last straw. Funny how being inside of a Gyarados's mouth can do that to you.
"Robby, let's go home man," Marcus said. Van looked up at him surprised. What? Why now?
"What? Why now?" Robby asked, echoing Van's thoughts exactly.
"I... I can't take this anymore. I'm not a hero. I'm just... I'm just me. I'm tired of getting into these situations. I'm tired of nearly dying with nothing to show for it! I want to go home! This is too big for us! Let's just go home," Marcus said. Robby bit his lip and looked over at Thomas.
"What about your friends? What about Thomas?" Robby asked.
"They'll be fine. Besides, I'll know if anything will happen to them. Remember?" Marcus said. Robby couldn't argue that point.
"So, you won't even say goodbye to your best friend?" Robby asked. Marcus shook his head.
"I... I can't. It would only make it harder if he was awake. And I know I'll see him again really soon," Marcus said. He turned to Ash and the others.
"I'm really sorry about this, but like I said, I'm done. I just can't do this anymore. I've reached my limit. Tell Thomas I'm sorry," Marcus said. He walked over, followed by Robby and the two of them climbed up on Gyarados's head. Marcus wiped away a tear as they floated away. It killed him to leave them all like this, but it literally would kill them all if he didn't.
"So, why don't you tell me what you really saw?" Robby whispered in his ear as they departed. Marcus nodded and began to fill him in.

Trigger flew around, looking for some sign that someone had survived the tidal wave. In particular, he was looking for Garet or Merin. If anyone would know what was going on, it would be them. His back ached. Razor had gottne the drop on him more than once during that fight. Not for the first time, he considered retiring and just teaching the younger and more agile birds the tricks of the trade. Nah, he couldn't do that. He was aging, but he wasn't old. Even though he was nearly ten years old, he could still keep up and surpass the younger generation. There! He'd recognize that shaggy white head anywhere! He dropped in to see what Garet was doing. He carefully laid Winny's unconcious form on the ground. He then perched himself near the Deviser.
"Hello Garet. Leo. I see you survived. I must ask you, just what the hell is going on here!? What happened? I lost a lot of friends in that wave. Why? I'm asking you, Garet, because you are the highest ranking person I can find! Where is Agatha? That old crone would surely have the answers if you don't!" Trigger said angrily. He didn't mind fighting like this, but he had lost a lot of his best friends to Esper's psychic blast, and then even more to that tidal wave. People he'd known since they were hatchlings. And that angered him greatly.

Espore looked around. He was confused. Where was he? What was the signifigance of that girl? Or the mirror? What was going on here? He sent Karen his confusion, unaware that he was broadcasting it for all to hear. He couldn't speak, not through his mouth or through his mind. Just what was wrong with him? Why couldn't he remember anytihng? Who was he, really? That kadabra had said he was a Deviser. What was that? He obviously had known Espore. Espore looked around again, taking in his surroundings. He knew more and more that he needed to talk with that Kadabra again. He had the answers, Espore was sure of it. But, there was this odd kind of tug on his mind. Like there was something he had to do, only he had no idea what it was! It was maddening!

 

[Roserade]

Torture.

Dust wouldn't speak. She wouldn't dare reveal the location of the Lugia. She kept the thought as far away from her as possible. She knew that there would be mind readers, and that wouldn't help her situation. At least now, she had some leverage over them, something to stop them from killing her. The gray cell where they had her imprisoned was reinforced for just her. He watched Karen sitting on a bench a few feet away from her. How...awkward. agatha's assistants sitting so close to each other. An Umbreon came by and nuzzled Karen's leg.

"Karen, tell me about yourself." Dust asked, hoping to gain a new friendship of some sort.

"Born in Alaska. Worked at the AAPM. Left. Now I work here. There you go, my resume." she turned the page in the magazine she was reading.

"Why'd you work at the AAPM."

"None of your business, Shauntal." she pushed the hair out of her eyes. A glitter of tears flowed through her eyes, but by pushing her hair, she was able to dry them and keep them a secret.

************************************

Mark finally awoke with Arlanda right behind. She woke with a deep breath and looked around. "Where's Rai? Where is he?"

"Who's Rai?" Clai asked, sadly. She had watched the group dispurse. There were so many gone now, and everyone had just left.

"The yellow dog. Where is he?" she glanced over her shoulder.

"It must've gone." Mark chimed in and saw Arlanda break out in tears, "Where's Tony?" This time it was Clair that fell to the ground. Something had happened, and Mark didn't want to think about it. But it would be dishonorable towards Tony's memory if he didn't. "Why don't we get inside this gym. We'll talk there. C'mon everyone. Maybe I'll meet Simon."

"No need. I'm right here." the voice boomed behind him. Simon looked at the group of kids, "Let's go inside, shall we?"​

 

[Nideous]

Thomas was lost in the light. He was surrounded by it, and it flowed through him. He could only feel one thing. Esper. He could feel Esper in his mind, but not quite. He wasn't being blocked, but he wasn't making contact either. Then, he felt pain in his hand. He snapped out of his trance.
"Yeowch!" Thomas yelled as he rubbed his hand. It was bleeding.
"I told you, up! You great dumb human!" Van snarled. Thomas blinked. He could see Van standing on his chest. He rubbed his eyes and picked up the Vulpix and stood up. His head was spinning, but at least his senses were mostly back, except for his sight, which was still light vision. He heard Simon's voice booming, telling them all to get into the gym. He grinned.
"Thanks Simon. We owe you for this," Thomas said. Van rolled his eyes.
"Heh, I guess it's kind of pointless now to act like I'm tame. But if you try to catch me I'll burn you to death!" Van said to Simon as Thomas walked into the gym.
"So, how long was I out this time? What's been going on? I swear I heard someone say something about killing anyone that stepped outside," Thomas said. He thought he had an idea of what was going on, and already was plotting how to counter it. But, he would have to see what the others said.

Espore paced around in the room. That person had told him to wait here, and he really had no choice. He knew what kind of shape he was in. He had no idea what he was supposed to be doing, save that he was waiting for something. He broadcasted how bored he was, and he decided it was time to find something to do. He began exploring his room, sniffing everything, climbing on everything. He leapt from the top of the sink to the bed and landed with a laugh. How fun! He leapt back, and used Psychic to float himself to the safe landing spot. Again, he felt the pull on his mind. What was that? Why did he feel like he was losing something important? What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he remember? Why wasn't someone telling him what was going on?

 

[Fuyu]

Ash gestured to Bryan and Mickey, who obediently went inside. She was not going in. Until Kira came back, she would wait. Even if she got killed waiting, she would do it. Kira was her partner. Wherever he was, he would come back and find her. He always did. Riley popped out and squeaked comfortingly. And then she growled at the air. If they touched Ash, she would kill them. Bring it on!

The young woman sat on the steps. She closed her eyes and released herself into the world of Aura. There were so many hostile ones around her. THey were close and obnoxious. She shoved them aside, searching. Ah... she found Kira now. He was resting on a tree stump, meditating. That was what he did when he was irritated. A black shadow touched hers and she recognized Zaria floating around her head. "Yes Zari?"

"You're overdoing it." THe flatness of the tone was only changed by a mild scolding hint.

"So?"

"So stop. If you don't wake up again-"

"If I don't get up again, then what?"

"You can't just leave too!" She couldn't see expressions, never could, but the ghost's voice betrayed her, purposefully. "If you leave, then, then, everyone will. I can feel Esper but I can't feel him. That guy Tony's gone, Marcus and Robby left, and Alyss and Zora are gone too! You can't go!"

Ash sighed. "I ain't gonna go," she told the distraught girl. "Now get inside. Kira will come here and then I'll join you guys."

(Yes Ash is that defiant. Anybody notice that without Marcus there is likely not going to be a voice of reason in this group? XD)

 

[Roserade]

Falling Down.

Mark looked around the gym. It was very different from the others. No red beams or shadowy mist. He still hadn't learned what had actually happened to Tony, but then again, nobody knew. Clair had assumed the worst from Mia, but what if he was still alive? He knew what it was like to have finally had your family so close and then have them ripped away. SO. He would find his father. Someone had taken him away and he would make them hurt.​

"Are you okay, Chris?" Clair looked at his feet. She could only keep her eyes down without tears leaking through. Truth was, everyone had their own miniature problems. Maybe...it was time that everyone went their seperate ways. ​

"SO. I'll find him. SO."​

Arlanda looked up, "SO? SO? I've heard that before. S-sa-samuel. Samuel Oak. Samuel Oak!"​

"Who?" Mark asked impatiently. Did she know someone? He grabbed her shoulders, "Where is he?"​

She appeared shook up, "Oh, I don't know. Let me think...There was a sound of rushing water, a strange noise, and lots of jungle."​

"Wait, what sound was it?" Mark held his breath as Arlanda made the noise of a Chatot. They've been spotted around Africa, around...​

"Victoria Falls. He's at Victoria Falls. How did you know about this place?"​

"I stumbled upon it when my family was in Africa, by accident."​

"Arlanda, that was no accident." Clair looked at her sharply, "So, Clay's AAPM base. The main base somewhere in the Forever Ocean. And the African base." she blurted out. "That's all three. I used to work for the AAPM."​

"Now, now. It's time you tell me what's been going on." Simon looked at them all. Mark stepped up to him.

"I want a battle. I need one so I can get out of here and go to Africa."

"But, what about the badges? Mark, think." Clair shook him.

"I'll get them along the way. All I know now, is that I'm heading to Africa."​

 

[Nideous]

"Allright, that's all well and good, but what about Venice? Didn't you see the AAPM goons crawling all over the place?" Van asked. He sat at the door looking at Mark.
"Van, if he wants to get his badge and leave, that's fine. I'll take back Venice! Those AAPM idiots won't know what happened!" Thomas said with a smile. He then did something he didn't think would work. He shifted his backlash from his vision into his other senses. His eyes immediately cleared. He began feeling like he was standing in sunlight. His hearing was oddly muffled. He had a funny taste in his mouth and it would not go away. He looked at his hands. They were glowing faintly. He shrugged. He looked at Simon now.
"Well, Simon, in a nutshell, we've been pissing off the AAPM and the RDM. That all came to a head after I was captured and rescued from the RDM. They went to attack us, and we fought back. The AAPM came here, probably chasing after Mark here, and got invovled in the fight. They also seem to have taken over the city, and I have a pretty good plan on how to get the AAPM and the RDM out of Venice! But first, I need a map of Venice, do you have one?" Thomas said. He turned to Zaria, Mickey, Brian, and Van.
"Zar, Van, will you two help out? Mickey, Bryan, I know I haven't known you guys that long, but will you help too? Mark, Clair, Arlanda, please, I can't do this on my own. I really need your help. All of you. But, I can't force you guys. It's your choice," Thomas asked quietly.
"Why are you asking me? Of course I'm going to help!" Van said grumpily.
"I'm asking because this will likely be more dangerous than that last battle was. I can't just tell someone to risk their life like that. So, I'm asking," Thomas said. Van shook his head.
"Idiot human. I need to get Winny back!" he replied.
"Great. I'll be right back. I've got to go ask Ash a question or two. I'm pretty sure she'll love this," Thomas said as he walked out of the gym.
"Was... Was he being sarcastic?" Van asked when he left.

"Ash!" Thomas said as he walked outside. He spotted her just sitting in front of the gym. He smiled. She was clearly waiting for something.
"I'm sure you know what's going on here. I've put together a rough plan on how I'm going to take back the city from the AAPM and drive the RDM out. Will you give me a hand? And will you give me the dynomite you wouldn't stop talking about?" Thomas said with a grin as he shifted Esper's empty pokeball from one hand to the other. He knew Esper was no longer in the area. He also knew he was ok. He felt Esper's confusion through the bond they shared, but he was curious. It had never been so strong that he could actually feel Esper's feelings too. Just what was going on with that cat?

 

[Fuyu]

Mickey nodded quietly. "It's not like I intend to live long and prosper," he replied coolly. Bryan snorted and agreed, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and grinning. "If I'm going out, I'm going out fighting."

Ash looked in his direction. She nodded quietly. "Sure I can but Kira's got it. He'll be back soon with it." She tilted her head and closed her eyes. "here he is." Something landed on the ground. Or, rather, two somethings. Kira dropped into a kneeling position in front of Ash as her Charizard landed with a lot of explosives of all kinds on her back. Ash smiled at the sight. "Will that do?"

 

[Garet]

Recovery and Some Question Dodging

Garet looked up at Trigger as he landed. "Hello Garet. Leo. I see you survived. I must ask you, just what the hell is going on here!? What happened? I lost a lot of friends in that wave. Why? I'm asking you, Garet, because you are the highest ranking person I can find! Where is Agatha? That old crone would surely have the answers if you don't!" Trigger said angrily.

Garet recalled some of the words that Agatha had spoken to him: "You must not tell anyone about this." And now, Trigger wanted to know what was going on.
The Arcanine let the Staraptor's name-calling on Agatha slip. "Well," he started, "with the storm from before, and what Agatha said briefly when she told us that there was something going on here, I will assume that the tidal wave may have been caused by the fourth CT."
Karib and Carrie started at that, and they started listening intentionally.
"I wasn't directly in whatever battle happened here, so I don't know exactly what happened for all these Pokemon to be...unconscious, or whatever condition they're in. Last I heard, Agatha was in the Venice RDM base when she told us that we needed to check up here. Whether she's still there or not, I do not know for sure."

Garet paused a moment for breath. "As for why the RDM is after the CTs..." He suddenly looked over at the other RDM Pokemon, notably Karib and Carrie, and sighed. "There are good enough reasons for me to say that...I...am not saying what I know. One of those reasons would be that some here would probably make it public knowledge among the RDM." Garet looked at Karib and Carrie again before lowering his voice. "That isn't the main reason why I'm not telling, though. But I can tell you both that one of the main reasons that we're after the CTs is good enough for me and would be for you if I told you.
"I have a few more questions myself for Agatha when I see her again. Anyways...I saw a human here before that tidal wave, and he looked a lot older than the human kids. So, before we go anywhere, one of the things I'd like to know is if any of you saw anyone or anything here or around here that we weren't aware of before."

 

[Dawn]

Meanwhile Kai and Legend sluggishly limped along, or in Legend's case, hopped. They had no idea how far it was. The pain was borderline unbearable. Legend had complained of it for some time.before Kai had finally opted to just carry the young fire chick on her back. It didn't make things go any faster, but Legend was happier and Kai wasn't bothered too much. Legend was pretty light, and she was very warm to the touch. Kai felt her eyes getting heavy. Was that another blackout coming on? She stopped for a moment and waited it out. The feeling soon left. How long could her body go on like this before it simply gave out? She wasn't sure. She used synthesis another time to rejuvinate her energy. Yet once again it could not heal the more serious wounds. She knew one thing. She would not survive the night like this. They were both easy prey for all manner of horrors. Legend had taken to snuggling up against Kai's bulb and sleeping. Had Kai not been in so much pain she would have found this adorable. Legend was not normally all that affectionate.

It was then she spotted buildings. A nearby town? They were saved! That is, until she noticed who occupied said town. Kai stopped dead in her tracks, silently peering out from between the trees and the brush and the town. This was a human town. No doubts about it. Did she dare risk entering, especially after seeing that AAPM members were in the area? Their freedom or worse, their lives, was on the line of Kai making the right decission. They were in no position to fight back if the AAPM was around...

 

[Nideous]

Trigger gave Garet a hawklike gaze for a moment.
"Really. Bah, fine. I'm off," Trigger said. He pumped his already tired wings a few times and became airborne again. He was struggling to get altitude, but he finally reached a height where he could simply drift along on the breeze. If this was the game that the higher ups played, no wonder Van and Winny had left them. He wondered again if he had done the right thing when he passed up that promotion a year ago. He sighed. At the time it had been. He wasn't able to handle the authority back then. If he had taken it, he would be embroiled in this mess now instead of trying to figur eit out. He tried to look at it from the other side. The reason must be pretty substantial if they weren't telling the grunts. Trigger wanted to know, but would that really be best? If he knew the whole story, he might hesitate to do what was needed. He was a sentimental old bird.

Thomas clenched his fist around the badge in his hand. Mia leaving had hurt him. As had Marcus and Robby. He knew that those two had been planning to leave, but he couldn't help the feeling. Marcus was his friend. He shook his head. He couldn't afford to get like this. The others were counting on him. He looked at the explosives that the Charizard had brought. He had no idea what was what.
"Ash, I'm appointing you our demolitions expert. Now, how do we blow this crap up? Timer? Remote detonator? What?" Thomas said with a grin. He shook his head. Esper was still blocked out, even though he could feel all of his thoughts. What was going on with him?

Espore was bored. He had explored the room several times. He opened the door and walked out of the room. Where was he going? He was going to find the woman that had brought him here and get her to fill him in on what was going on. He took a moment and... There she was! Ha! He walked down the hall and to where her mind was. He puched the door open with his mind and meowed loudly. He didn't know or care what was going on. She had brought him here, so she was going to tell him why. It was the only thing that made sense.

 

[Fuyu]

Ash smiled to herself. "Let's see... I'm not crazy on timers or remote detonators. It's too easy to dismantle. But I have a good way to do it. Bryan, outside!" The redhead peered out, his eyes lighting up like a kid's. He walked out curiously. Carrie carefully placed each bit down. Ash put some of the smaller bombs in her pockets and nodded. "Bryan, you can set a fire anywhere right?"

Bryan nodded. "I'm better at envisioning places and burning there, rather than firing like I usually do. Why?"

Ash nodded. "Okay, here's the plan." She held out one remote to Thomas. "Bryan can blow them up, which is a bit safer once you plant them. But a few of them, the numbered ones, can be detonated with this. That work?"

 

[Garet]

(This ain't overboard, is it?)

Garet watched Trigger take off, then sighed. He hadn't told the Staraptor that it had been a direct order from Agatha to keep certain reasons to himself.

"Uh, sir," Karib started, scratching his head with one hand. "You wanted to know more about the battle, sir. I was in it, and I recall seeing a human that Merin briefly fought. And that human said something about an AAPM base."

A fit of coughing, Pokemon in nature, drew the attention of the Devisers to the nearby unconscious Pokemon. Karib rushed over to see what the cause was. A Charmeleon was lying on his side with eyes open. "Not the only...humans," he wheezed. "Three of them...on their way...I saw hoods...when I was hit by some psychic blast..."
Garet walked over slowly and saw the flame on the Charmeleon's tail. It was weak, very weak. When the Charmeleon saw the Arcanine, he pushed himself up to stand before him. "You," the lizard-like Pokemon started, "are gonna be held accountable...if this happens again...I'm pretty sure that half of us are gonna be lunatics after that mental blast...if not worse...do not let it...happen again..." The Charmeleon collapsed onto the ground, unconscious again.

"That was...disturbing," Carrie QuickDigger commented suddenly, coming up beside Karib. She turned her head to look at Garet. "And I can tell you that from what I've seen and heard today, this guy has a really good point. Not a lot of Pokemon I know can stay sane after being attacked by a Psychic Pokemon."

TruthSeeker was silent. He was shaken by what he'd just witnessed.

 

[Roserade]

The City Of Embers...Two?

"Oh my gosh, explosives? That's the plan?" Mark grimaced. He had never liked fire. Ever since the...incident. Two flashes and all of it came right back to him. The burning balloon. The grief. The screams. The...laughing? He hadn't remembered that before. There was laughing, he swore he could hear it over the cinders. Was Regis laughing at his misery? What kind of sick, twisted...oh, right.

Clair grabbed him, "We need an escape, and that seems to be our only option."

"But will people get hurt, I mean there are a lot of people here, and what about the landmarks, and the town, omigosh, THE TOWN. What about-"

"Just calm down. Everything will be fine." she snapped and then placed a hand over his eyes, "Better?"

"Much."

************************************

Agatha had prepared Espore's room. Espore, what a silly name. But, he could prove to be useful. The room had been filled with old "memories". Thomas had hurt him so he had run away to this place, or at least, that's what he would think. She turned to looke at the Venice cameras. She had been watching the RDM base there for quite a while. It appeared that they were planning some kind of action, but nothing like this. All the stores had been shut down, even this very nice one down the street. She quite liked the biscuits.

It was then she heard the whispering. There was novisual, just a whispering. A whispering of children, were they there too? No, they weren't worth her beloved Pokemon getting hurt. It was time, she went there herself. She radioed into all RDM members.

"Attention RDM Members. I'm moving to Venice. The CT's have been spotted by they are not top priority. It appears our rivals, the AAPM have had a spur of action and need to be taken down a notch."

*************************************

Regis had spotted the kids. But this time, he moved in silence. He was on his way there.​

 

[Nideous]

"I'm not going to be blowing up the city. I'm going to use this to get their attention. There is more to my plan than that! Now, we knoiw there is an RDM base here. Also, odds are good that they are in total chaos right now from that large wave. And the AAPM have to have a base somewhere in the area too, or they would not be able to maintain such a strong presence here. So, I'm going to draw them into a conflict with each other. Zaria, I'm going to ask you to see if you can find the AAPM base. You can fly, turn invisible, and because of Esper, I should be able to talk with you the same way I usually talk with him," Thomas said. He wasn't sure about that one. He was hoping the fact that his bond with Esper was now strong enough that he could go into Esper's subconcious mind and actually do that. But, he would have no way of knowing unless Zaria answered him. He sent his light through the link that he and Esper shared, and found most of Esper's mind muddled by a thick fog he couldn't penatrate. Hee wasn't even going to try. He had no idea what that would do to Esper. Nothing get get out of that fog. And Thomas was to scared to send anything into it. Still, he found what he was looking for. Shunted to one side was another, weaker link to Zaria. He went into it a little to try and send a message.

"Wow, you have no idea how tough this is... Anyways, I hope I'm not talking to myself here. Zar, if you can here me, please say or do something. I'm not sure if this would be a one way connection or not. Hm..." Thomas said, feeling slightly foolish. Van glanced up at him.

"Weren't you just making a plan!?" he asked irritatedly. Thomas shook his head at the impatient fox.

"Yeah, I was just checking something. Van, you know the Venice base right?" Thomas said. He smiled at the ones gathered there. Van shrugged.

"I've been there a few times with Trigger a few months ago. Yeah, I can remember it," Van said. Thomas grinned Perfect! Now, his plan was starting to come together!

"Good, you and Ash will go set up a bomb in the Venice base. Nothing to awesome, just enough to make them think they are under attack. They'll see it was a bomb and not a pokemon, or a person with powers and assume that the AAPM did it. Then they should, hopefully, attack the AAPM. Mark, Clair, and I will stage an RDM raid on the AAPM base as soon as we know where it is. Also, while we're there, we can see about finding some leads to this SO person you want to find. Because just taking off to Africa on a hunch won't help things Mark. They should have something in that base," Thomas said. He waited a moment and caught his breath before continuing.

(OOC: I have to go for a little while. I'll finish the plan when I get back.)

 

[Fuyu]

Ash grinned. "Fine by me. I love blowing things up!" She looked through her selection and picked up two explosives, nodding to herself. "These will work fine. And if you don't like fire kid," she added to Mark. "You and I will neverbe best buds, right Carrie>" HEr Charizard roared agreedment, the sound quieter than normal due to the situation. Ash grinnedand held out an arm so Van could climb on. Bryan cackled, already envisioning the chaos that would unfold. He couldn't help it. It was an effect of hanging out with Asha.

Zaria winced at Thomas' voice in her head. Did he realize that was loud? Geez... she smiled to herself. "I can hear you Thomas don't worry." She flew over to him to prove it, spinning in midair.

 

[Garet]

(If you're a little confused by this post, then see my previous three posts.)

QuickDigger jumped a little as a nearby radio echoed, "Attention RDM Members. I'm moving to Venice. The CT's have been spotted by they are not top priority. It appears our rivals, the AAPM have had a spur of action and need to be taken down a notch."

Garet groaned. What were they supposed to do with all the RDM Pokemon here that were helpless?
"Finally." The Arcanine turned in surprise when Leo sat up, now awake. "Someone we can fight without disaster left and right." The Lucario winced as he tried to push himself to his feet, then sat back down. "Except me. Still need to rest. Not sure how I woke up just in time to hear that."

Garet shook his head. There was little chance that there would be someone here who could heal others. At the moment, anyways. "You're gonna have to stay here for now," he said to Leo. Turning to the Gabite, Garet said, "You're coming with me. We need to get to the base and find someone who can come back here for the rest."

"Name's QuickDigger," she interrupted. "I prefer to be called by name, thank you very much."

"Just make sure you have a radio on you," Garet growled. "I don't want to miss anything else that comes over the radio. Tell Agatha that TruthSeeker and QuickDigger are on their way to the Venice base to get help for those who were in the battle here."

Carrie grumbled to herself as she found the radio and spoke into it, "Agatha, this is QuickDigger. There was a battle here, and there are several Pokemon who are unconscious, if not worse. Some were hit by a psychic blast, so mental help may be needed. TruthSeeker and I are leaving Karib ShadowHider and Leo SkyHigh in charge of unconscious combatants while us two will head for the Venice base to get necessary medical help."

When the Gabite finished, Garet turned and began running, QuickDigger behind him as they made a straight line for Venice. They were unaware that a certain pair of Pokemon [Kai and Legend] were going to be in their path within a minute or two.

 

[Nideous]

Thomas grinned at Zaria. He tried again, this time quieter, as he had seen her whince, and assumed he had done something wrong.
"Sorry about that. I'm still new at this telepathy thing. I wish I could just have Esper do it himself, but he isn't here right now," Thomas said to her as quietly as he could. He turned to the rest of the group.

"Right. Simon, if you could use your influence as a gym leader to try and get the civilians out of the area, that would be very helpful. I don't want anyone innocent to get hurt in the fighting. Mickey, Bryan, Arlanda, I want you guys to go back out to where we were just fighting. There still has to be a lot of RDM people out there. They will be hurt, angry and demoralized. In short, they'll want to strike back. To get revenge. To finish what they started in spite of everything that went wrong. Give them that chance. Draw them into the set up that the rest of us are making. When that is done, there is more. We will then go after the leaders. Take out the head, and the body will follow. That means Garet, Trigger, Merin, and that Lucario, as well as whoever is telling them what to do all have to go. At the same time, those two men from the AAPM must go as well. Especially the one that I stood up to. Him," Thomas said as he altered the light to make an image of Regis.

"He seemed like he was in charge. We have to take them all out. We have an advantage here people! All of us are shaken up, weakened, and confused. But, there are only nine of us, so we will be able to bounce back first and take care of them all! Zaria, tell Zor to stay put for now. If things go sour we'll need him to get us all out of this. Heh, best not to put all of your CTs in one basket," Thomas said. He looked around at all their tired, worried, and saddened faces. He didn't feel he could leave it at that. They needed something more. Something to make them feel better. He wasn't very good at that sort of thing, but he had to give it a try.

"Alright. I know you're all tired. I know it hurts. But we can't just leave it like this. The ones with power owe it to the ones without to protect and shelter them. To help them when they need it. Otherwise, what's the point? I know we've all lost some friends, some family, soem loved ones. But, don't we owe it to the ones we've lost to keep going? They've given everything to make this a safe place. We have to finish that. Put aside all you've lost. Try to focus on what you still have. We all have each other. We need to put aside our differences and work together to make Venice a safer place for everyone, because if we don't then who will? Like it or not, we all owe it to the ones we've lost in this fight to finish it. For Tony, for Esper, for Winny. For everyone that is looking out their windows in fear of the people that have taken over their city. For yourself, and those around you. We all have to do our part," Thomas said. He felt rather foolish now. He couldn't think of anything to say but that. But, he said it with all his heart. Everything he had was telling him this was the right thing to do. The moments lengthened.

"Ok... Now, any questions, comments, concerns? Any glaring flaws that need to be worked out before we try this? I'd like to know what each of you think. Anything we can work out here is one less thing to go wrong," Thomas said to break the silence.

Espore was led to his room. Not the holding room he had been in before, but his actual room. When did he get a room? He looked around at his things. There wasn't a whole lot in here. A radio, a few nice looking collars, a bed. Some odd knicn naks he must have aquired after a while of being here. He used Psychic to lift one of them over to him and froze. He looked at it. A small flash of memory occured. He saw a boy he thought he knew. The bot was yelling at him. What? Why was he doing that? He looked angry. Very angry. Esper dropped the small glass ornament and it shattered when the memory ended with the boy kicking him. The thing shattered into several pieces. Esper sat down. Had... Had that been his memory? He reviewed it again. Well, there was no evidence it wasn't. He shook his head. Why had that human kicked him? He came to the conclusion that the kick had somehow damaged his mind, and it had taken him this long to recover. Hee must have run away, though he couldn't remember it. The radio crancked on and Agatha was telling everyone she was going to Venice. He had to go to! He walked out of his room and located Agatha with his mind. He walked to wherever she was and meowed at her.
"Hm... Ah! Finally figured it out! Hah! I'm so smart! Agatha! I want to go to Venice too! I'm supposedly a Deviser, right? Well, other RDM agents seem to be in trouble. Who knows, maybe my Empathy can help," Espore said when he finally figured out how to project his thoughts, rather than just his emotions. He didn't even feel Thomas and Zaria comunicating through his mind.

Trigger flew around. As he found injured RDM personelle, he'd take them back to Skyhigh. He floated around. That had seemingly been the last of them. Wait, there seemed to be two more near Venice he had missed. He flew over to them. His keen eyes spotted someone on a rooftop aiming a gun at him.
"S***!" he screeched as he rolled to the left. But, he wasn't fast enough. The bullet tore through his shoulder and flew out of his back. He tumbled and began losing altitude. He opened his wings wide and gaped in shock when his left wing wouldn't respond. He had to land, now!
"Son of a b****!" he said to himself as he plummeted. He managed to right himself just enough to land on his talons. He fell in a wreck on the ground. Bah, he should have known better than to be such an easy target! He looked around and spotted a familiar white mane moving through the trees.
"Gaet! Be careful! AAPM agents are all over the place! I'm incapable of flying, so I'd better get myself to Skyhigh and await medical attention," he said, unaware that Garet already knew that. He picked himself up, even though he still could not move his wing, and began talon walking back to Leo.