The Children Are Hunted

Ash sighed. "he was talking earlier. Did you hear him then?"

Zaria giggled. "Poor Vulpix! He's so abused." She gently patted his head, giggling again. Deena snorted and finished healing. She went to another room, apparently trying to repair it. Doom whuffed softly, going through the open door outside. Zoran started humming and Zaria flew over his head, the pair amused deeply about some private joke.
 
"What? I haven't heard anything come out of his mouth since we saved him from that place," Marcus said. Thomas shook his head. Esper gave a mental sigh. The boy was about as psychicly tuned as a brick! Vulpix got up and walked over to Zoran and Zaria.
"I don't have to put up with this! I'm going where I'm appreciated!" Vulpix said.
"Sheesh, I'm sorry, alright? Really!" Thomas said. Vulpix huffed at him and lay down gently.
 
That's some powerful Dratini.

Garet recoiled from the Dratini's Aqua Tail, shaking his head. He hated water! Too wet! This little dragon isn't with a beginner, he thought briefly.

The Arcanine darted forward with ExtremeSpeed, aiming to bowl over the Dratini. After that, he reached down to grab the serpentine dragon with Fire Fang, shaking it briefly before throwing it in the boy's direction.
"Who do you expect?" Garet asked back, glancing over at Clair to make sure she was still there. "You'd know soon enough if you just came with me. All you're doing right now is letting these two get hurt."
 
"Good lad," Zoran hummed and Zaria laughed.

Ash groaned. "Well darn, ever'thing just got difficult."

"You're the one who brought it up."

"That's cause he's on his way here."

"Oh. Well, fine by us right Zari?"

"Sure."

Ash sighed. This meant she had to talk. Agh, she hated talking for long periods of time. "Well, here goes everything. Thomas, I want you, Marcus, and Vulpix to swear not to run away in a flurry of emotion okay?"
 
"You know me, the master of control!" Thomas said. Vulpix snorted with laughter at this.
"Allright, ya got me. I may not be able to control myself, but I promise I'll hear everything you have to say before deciding whether or not I want to run off in terror. I can't do much more than that, in the state I'm in," Thomas said.
"I've got nothing better to do!" Vulpix said. He probably wouldn't be bothered by anything she could have told them.
"I promise," Marcus said simply. Thomas waited. He wasn't sure he was going to like what he heard, but this was clearly important. He would try his best to control his emotions, but he didn't know how that would work out. Either way, he would not have a repeat performance of this morning!
 
Ash managed a shaky smile. "Zora? You all right with thi?"

She felt a shrug. "What have we got to lose?"

She nodded. "Okay then..." She closed her eyes and raised her left hand. An Aura Sphere began to form before it shifted around her fingertips into something similar to a blade. Kira was watching silently from the other side of the room. She released the energy and looked, not at the children, but at Vulpix. "While in the ranks of RDM, did you ever hear of the "Dawn Project"?"
 
"Yeah. But no one ever told me what it was. I tried my best to find out though. You all know what a snoop I am. I didn't get anything reliable though. Why don't you tell me what you know, and I'll see if it matches up with some of what I heard," Vulpix said carefully.
"Dawn Project?" Marcus echoed.
"Keep quiet and let her talk!" Thomas said impatiently.
 
Ash laughed. "Yeah, that's because we ended it." She sighed. "It's a sort of well-kept secret that all humans have a power buried inside of their bodies. They called it a Pokemon's power but... no one is quite sure what it is. Sometimes it awakens, sometimes it doesn't, like with psychics. It's strongest when awakened as children because the ability is more unfocused from age. The purpose of the Dawn Project was to find the children who had awakened that power and to contain them. Eventually, once they were trained, it was likely they were going to be used as members of either the RDM or the AAPM, more loyal than any other brainwashed by their own emotions."

Deena spoke up, knowing Zoran couldn't. "The way they gathered children was as a day camp. The children who showed no promise of ability were still there, but they were kept out of the experimenting. Parents saw them all over Pangaea and didn't think anything of it."

Ash coughed. "Theo's full name is Theodore Ebony and he was the creator of the Dawn Project. I'm sure if you looked him up, he's also a member of the AAPM, causing chaos."
 
"That's about as much as I've heard. I get the feeling you know a bit more than that though, right?" Vulpix said. Thomas nodded.
"Ok, but I have a question. If Theo is a part of AAPM, how can I trust him? They killed my family!" Thomas said bitterly. He soothed the light down when it jumped up at his emotions, and lulled it back to sleep. He couldn't afford to lose control. He had promised to listen first, then decide. He couldn't let himself fly into a rage everytime the AAPM was mentioned. And if Ash trusted this Theo, she must have a good reason too. He trusted her, but he would use his own judgement when he showed up. Until then, he wouldn't care one way or the other. Esper purred at him. Marcus remained quiet. Thomas could tell he was thinking hard about something. Was he young enough to have been a part of that? Thomas was confident that even if he was, he was one of the ones that wasn't a part of any experiments. But he didn't want to ask Marcus directly. He sat there and waited for her to continue.
 
Ash shook her head. "That's the thing: we don't trust Theo. We can't trust him. We just have to use him and he has to use us. I used to trust him... he gave me my sight."

"Theo was a family friend and he knew Ash very well. He has a little ability of his own: to sense and nullify other powers," Deena explained. "He knew Ash disliked being blind and used that against her to make her activate her aura. Before he could take Ash with though, he met Zoran, murdering a man and clutching Zaria's body." Zaria flinched and Zoran made a strange mental noise, one of sadness and acceptance. "So, being the cunning, manipulative man he was, he took them both."

Ash sighed. "He told me... told us... that he could help. And for a while it did. He gave me Kira and Riley as eggs and thanks to them, I learned a lot of what I did now. But... the testing was painful. They used your powers to the absolute limit. There were days where I was worse off than you were Thomas, where I was in a coma. They made us fight each other, and sometimes kill each other. I didn't know for a while because I never saw a corpse because they have no Aura. It was Zora who ended that."

"Yeah..." he rasped. "Thanks for shooting me, by the way." She laughed shakily.

Ash grinned weakly and bitterly. "Not many of us were really aware of what was happening back then. We weren't aware of the missions we were sent on, the tests we were doing. But... Zora almost died and when I felt that..." She clenched a fist. "I wiped the base out. The scientists, nurses, the machinery... the only ones who survived had powers or were protected by someone who did. It was reported as a chemical explosion. That was seven years ago now... and Theo is gathering everybody up again."
 
"I really, really don't like the sound of that. Why is he gathering everyone up? Or do you not know? I don't think I really want to meet him, but I seem to have no choice. What do you want me to do, other than control myself," Thomas said. He tried to let the anger that was bubbling up inside of him fall away, and wasn't having much success. Vulpix was silent, probably to shocked to speak. Then something occured to Thomas.
"If he's after you guys again, what's to say he doesn't already know about me? Not that I'm that worried, but I've got to know if he plans to target me this time! Because I was somehow missed last time!" Thomas said. Despite what he said, he was scared. He tried not to let it show, and to let it pass. But, he was knotted up with tension. It was difficult, but he managed to keep a lid on his emotions and his power, though the light stirred anxiously just beneath the surface.
 
That's Because It's NOT a Dratini!

As Dratini tried to hold off the Arcanine, Clair was trying to think up a plan. "Why was he here for both of us?" was the main question going through her head. She had never heard of Pokemon agents in the AAPM, so this was a RDM fighter. She had heard they were called Devisers. Dratini kept fighting but was easily flung off by the strong Arcanine. Dratini began to glow. It elongated its body and it's and an orb formed under her neck. The new Dragonair had a much better chance of fighting off the Arcanine.

"Dratini! I mean, Dragonair, you evolved." Clair gasped. Dragoniar let out a light coo. Then, she formed an even stronger Aqua Tail.

"Look. I'm sorry that we are harming Pokemon. But Pokemon need this experience as well. It's not as if Pokemon in the wild don't rumble every now and then. Without battles, Pokemon could never evolve, like Dratini did." Mark worked up the courage to speak. Arcanine may still be stronger, but at least now they had some chance.
 
"All I can think of..." Ash mumbled. "Is to complete the Dawn Project. On record we were to be used as soldiers. Off record, I think Theo planned to use us to recreate Noah's Ark and wipe the world of powerless humans and those Pokemon species deemed unneeded and restart the world."

"Thomas, he won't know about you," Deena interjected. "Not unless you've met him and his grey-red eyes. He doesn't know about you or your power unless he's met you. There are few people with his sensory powers. Two of them were with us at the base and one was an adult. He was killed two years ago."

"And if you're lucky you won't meet him," Ash added. "He said he'd wait ten days before he contacted me again. That gives Zora time to get the poison from his body and you some time to get away from here.
 
"What about you?" Thomas asked in surprise. Marcus came back to reality again.
"I think she'll be alright!" Marcus said. He sounded urgent about it.
"Maybe, but I don't like leaving when my friends are in danger... But as I am now, I'd get in the way if it came to a fight, and because I don't have a handle on fighting blind, I wouldn't be able to protect myself. I'd be a very unhappy hostage. I'll leave it to you, but what if he was lying? What if he's on his way now?" Thomas said.
"Wow, I think that's the least amount of fight we've had out of him! You sure you're alright over there?" Vulpix asked.
"Oh, shut up! Ash obviously has a plan! So I'll let her handle it! It's not like I could force her to let me stay," Thomas said. He was concerned about her well being. He turned to Zoran and Zaria.
"And you two have been awfully quiet! What do you think of all this!" Thomas asked them.
 
Ash shook her head. "I have to stay with Zora." She rested a hand on Riley's head and the Pokemon squeaked softly about it. "And he won't come now because he's very punctual and he wants a useful Zoran, not one who can't move."

Zoran and Zaria seemed to nod at each other. "We're staying with Ash and-"

"It's likely we'll have to go back with him," Zaria added.

"I don't like Theo, " Zoran added, noticing Ash examining Marcus with worry. "But he helped me with Zari so I owe him/ I have to repay my debt, like Ash does."
 
"Even though it will likely hurt others and yourselves? From what I've heard, you don't owe him anything! The more I hear about this, the crazier it sounds. And he's working for the AAPM right? Whatever happened to not taking their crap lying down?" Thomas asked. He was frustrated. It had sounded good, but not anymore! It was very stupid! Zoran had fought so hard not to end up in the hands of the AAPM, and now he was walking right back to them! And Thomas could do nothing! No, that wasn't true. He had to use his head. Thomas began to think. Maybe he could follow them, and lend them a hand. He had to do it so that he wouldn't get caught. He had to plan every detail carefully. And to do that, he had to have all the facts. Fact one, Ash and Zoran felt they had a debt to Theo. No matter how much Thomas tried, he probably wouldn't convince them otherwise. Fact two, Marcus seemed to have some kind of connection with this as well, but Thomas had no time to find out what yet. Thomas also knew that Theo wouldn't hesitate to use his friends against him. That could end very badly. Thomas was sure if it came to it, he would be able to beat Zoran in a battle under those circumstances. His heart wouldn't be in it, and it would be much like when Thomas himself was working for the AAPM. Ash, he probably could subdue with is powers, if he managed to learn a little more control. He could probably out power Zoran, for that matter, but the expierence would leave him drained and helpless. Thomas hoped that Vulpix was a good tracker, or that Marcus could lead him to wherever they were going. He knew they would stand by him. He had nine days to prepare himself and his team. He also had to use that time to get Marcus's pokemon up to fighting strength. Thomas may or may not be blind when the time came, but he had to plan for that possiblity. He wasn't going to take this lying down, oh no, not at all! He was going to fight tooth and nail for his friends! And he was going to succeed!
 
Ash and Zoran sighed in unison. "Thomas, he's not really an AAPM agent. It's just his cover so he won't get caught. And he is crazy; we grew up qith his teachings. But..." Ash trailed off.

"But we have to stop him and we have to go," Zoran stated. "It's us or he takes Mickey."

"We won't let him take you or Mickey," Ash told him firmly. "So get your plan out of your head. He won't bother using us against you. He knows about friendship."

"He'll send someone else, someone who will kill you instead of fight you in battle," Zaria stated. "You aren't as smart as Theo. And he'll use you. The second you come after us, it'll be over. We won't be at the base for more than ten minutes."

Ash shook her head and glanced at Kira. "Just go and defeat the Gyms Thomas. That's all you should do right now: defeat the gyms and master your power. Knowing him, he'll make us do the same."
 
"... If that's how you want to play it, then fine. Although after all that preaching about how I needed to rely on you, I'd think you'd have learned to trust me as much as I trust you. But since that clearly isn't the case, I'm out of here! C'mon guys!" Thomas said. He stood up and walked out the door without a second glance. His pokemon followed him out the door. Vulpix looked at the three humans left in the room.
"I get what you guys are saying, but Thomas has a point. You should trust him a bit more. I'll see to it that he doesn't kill himself in the state he's in. Or anyone else for that matter," Vulpix said and walked out the door behind them. Marcus was dumbfounded. He looked from Ash to Zoran and back to Ash.
"Uh... Later!" he said, and ran out after his friend. He wanted to say more to them, but just couldn't find the words.
 
Ash watched them go then sighed. "It's done sir." She returned the Pokemon to their Pokeballs and Ralts turned off the oven, jumping into Ash's arms. There was a soft laugh from the room Deena had been in. The Audino sighed.

"Good work," Theo commented as he left. "You warned them about me and now you have betrayed. You two have done well." Ash nodded, looking down. He reached over and patted her head. "Don't feel guilty Asha." She flinched at the name. "You've saved them you know. I won't hunt them, as I've promised. I keep my promises." Zoran remained quiet. "I'm keeping mine to you too lad. Her cousin will only come if he wishes to and your sister will remain." Zaria remained shyly still. Theo clapped his hands, greying hair falling over his eyes. "Now then, let us go." He placed one strong hand on Zoran's shoulder and looked at the Pokemon that appeared. "Alakazam, let us go." The group vanished.

(I know you expected that.XD)
 
Thomas walked angrily down the road. He stopped for a moment and thought about what he was doing. He had just let his best friends go into an unknown danger. Granted, nothing he could have said or done would have stopped them.
"Wow, you're a tough person to keep up with when you're mad!" Thomas heard from behind him. He turned around and saw Vulpix.
"Did you even consider the possibility that they were protecting you?" Vulpix asked.
"Of course I did! Why do you think I'm so mad! I'm not some helpless little princess! I can take care of myself and my friends!" Thomas said angrily.
"Prove it then! Beat the gyms! Fight the AAPM and the RDM! Rely on your own strength and talents, and stop relying on theirs! You can do things no one else can do! It's time to stop whining about what you can't help, and do something about what you can! They don't need you! But the other CTs do! You've done all you can for Zoran. Now you should trust him to do things for himself, and move on! You're not supposed to coddle everyone you meet and protect them from everything! You are to do enough so that they can protect themselves! That means leaving when the time is right," Vulpix said. Thomas had been thinking all these things himself but...
"How can I be sure they will be ok?" Thomas asked meekly.
"I thought you trusted them?" Vulpix countered.
"Thomas! Wait up!" Marcus yelled. He ran up breathing heavily.
"You said yourself that you'd only be in the way. And you would! Not because of your eyes or your arm, but because of who you are as a person. You hate seeing anyone in pain, and do all you can to ease it. They don't need that right now," Vulpix said.
"So... What's the plan?" Marcus asked after he had caught his breath.
"... We continue on our quest to the Stonehenge gym for my third gym battle, and we hope that whatever trouble Zoran has gotten himself into he can get out of. But first, Esper, tell Zaria that I'm going to do as I was asked, but if they ever need my talents, to contact you," Thomas said. He called all his other pokemon back. He knew Esper had done that. The traitorous cat had probably told her the whole conversation. He was kind of glad for that. At least they would know they could call on him if they needed him. But he had to do what was right, and let them deal with it.
"Now, let's see how far we can get by dark!" Thomas said feeling a little better. He hoped he would see Zoran and Ash and Zaria again. The two humans, the fox, and the cat began walking toward the horizen.

(OOC: I'd have had to have been blind not to see it coming :P)
 
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