The Children Are Hunted

Revelations and Connections Mended.

Clair collapsed after the Arcanine took off with the bottom side of her cape. Not because of the fire or the small burn on her back. There was something inside a pocket there in the cape. It was a small crumpled piece of paper but it was the most important possession she had. It was the only thing she had of her grandmother besides the picture in her-. She began searching her pockets. Where was the picture? The precious picture of her grandmother, where was it? Her worried look turned into anxiety as Mark found the frame on the ground. He turned it over and looked up at her.

"Is this yours?"

"No! No. That's not mine. It must be yours."

"Well, it's either yours or the Arcanine, and he didn't seem like the type to carry this. Who is it?"

Tears welled up in Clair's eyes as she grabbed it out of his hands and ran into the gym. Mark got up to follow her before Dragonair scooped him up and slithered non the ground. This would make everything a lot faster. So, somehow, that RDM member has found them. How? They could've been anywhere in all of Pangaea, yet, he found them with ease, or so it seemed. He patted Dragonair on her body, thanking her for her protection over them.

"Dragonair, do you know who that was?" Mark asked, solemnly. Dragonair nodded. They continued to explore the castle of a gym. He passed another trainer on the way down. He must have seen everything that had happened. The boy looked at him before darting towards the battlefield. For some reason, Mark felt that it wouldn't be the last time he saw him.

They found Clair sitting on the beach, right outside where the gym's south exit ended. She was sobbing, drying her tears with a small handkerchief.

"That woman was my grandmother. Your father is keeping her captive."

His father? Mark had forgotten about that fact. His shoulders slumped and he fell right next to her. "I guess there's a lot to talk about. But, no matter what, I'm breaking your grandma out."

"You won't stand a chance. She's being kept at a high tech facility in...maybe. But you need eight badges."

"Eight badges? What're you talking about?"

"The final thing I got from the AAPM was information about a tournament. Maybe, maybe you could get there and battle your way to the top. Then, I'll sneak in and get her back."

"But, wouldn't you need eight badges too?"

"No, you get a free escort!"

"Then, it's settled. Eight badges."

A yell of victory sounded through the halls. The boy must have won his gym battle. But, that victory yell went for both of them too.

(OOC: Trying to decide who that new character is.)
 
Garet stared sullenly at the virtual map. So far, the tracker's signal hadn't moved much, but that wasn't the subject of his sullenness.

The Arcanine had found a clearing that would've been big enough for one of the RDM's smaller planes. Once there, he'd secured the piece of cape in his mane for safekeeping. Now, he was thinking back on the battle.

The most trouble had come from the Dratini-turned-Dragonair. That Cyndaquil had been easy to kick out of the battle, which probably meant that the boy wasn't quite as experienced as other people Garet had seen before. The serpentine dragon, though, had been able to do some damage with her Aqua Tail and had hurt his leg with the Dragonbreath. Especially after she had evolved.

Even so, the Dragonair hadn't seemed as battle-hardy as him. What got Garet miffed was that he'd run away from the battle when he could've defeated her. He probably could've found a way around the humans to make sure that the Dragonair wouldn't have been able to resist.
And there was still the thing about the two humans and the Cyndaquil stepping between his fire and the Dragonair. Considering what he'd been told by Agatha, Garet wasn't fitting it with what he knew of the AAPM. Confusing, it was.

Garet shook himself, then closed the virtual map. All this thinking was getting him nowhere. What he did know for sure was that another battle like today would probably end in failure again. That is...if the Arcanine fought on his own.

Grinning to himself, he made himself at home on the ground in the middle of the clearing. With any luck, the plane that was sure to come once his tracker signalled would be carrying one of his few friends. Duos could do more than soloes.
 
Words Tell A Thousand Pictures...wait, what?

"The bottom of my cape, it had a certain letter from my grandmother. It was the last thing I had from her, and now, it's gone."

"What'd it say?" Mark inquired. His rash words were fed by curiosity but Clair could sense the sincerity.

"Care for all, as they would care for you. Take this gift, and cherish her with these words as your guide."

The duo were silenced by the powerful words. What do you say after that? Her grandmother had given her Dratini. Now, that Arcanine had that letter and his father had her grandmother. The only way out for Clair was to kidnap him, and he didn't want that. So, the solution was the tournament. But sooner or later, he would have to go to the RDM and confront that Agatha. Human to human wasn't the same as human to Pokemon. He would also have to...confront his father. It was like the movie Star Wars. Except it seemed the outcome was much more real and dreaded here.

"Well, we should get that letter back."

"No. It's too risky. It's...gone."

"Then what? What do we do now?"

"There's a gym near here. Well, not entirely near. But, we could catch a plane. Siberia or Venice?"

"I think that's obvious."

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

Agatha re-winded the video of the children in the RDM Base. She played it in slow-motion and stopped it at one specific part. The part where the other boy had used some kind of light power. She zoomed in on his eyes. It seemed they glowed a bright white. So, their eyes had some connection to their power. He had easily overwhelmed the system of the Room of Disenchantment. Then, Agatha watched the part where they tried to free the ghost girl. Interesting. That ghost girl seemed to be taking a part of Zoran's powers.

Karen waltzed into her office. She seemed proud of her success. Agatha had another mission for her.

"The ghost-girl. Destroy her."

"What?" Karen stared at the video. It was Zoran. She swore she wouldn't hurt him or his ghostly friend. "I'm not going to do that."

"Aaahh. Defiance? You know what Shauntal did? She quit and nobody has heard from her yet."

"Did you do something to her!?"

"No, I don't know where she is. But the point is, you will destroy that girl."

Karen left the room scornfully. She wasn't going to do that.

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

Regis finished the flyers for the AAPM tournament. This tournament would bring the CT's. He looked at the progress of Mark. He had defeated another gym. That make two. Six away from seeing him. He wondered if by now, he had realized who he was. Certainly that note was a big hint.

This was the biggest project since the spy he had sent to the RDM. But, they had yet to report back. They must have run. Pity. Now, he would have to hunt her down. Just some extra work. He turned back to finish typing. He had recently set up the final main bases. There was his work HQ. But, nobody would now where it was. It was impossible. For if someone wanted to find him, they would have to do a lot of swimming.
 
"Oh, no. You're not a bur... She's already unconcious," Thomas said. Esper told him it was safe to go bandage her wounds. Marcus looked up from what he was doing.
"Need a hand?" he asked.
"No, just keep his oddness off my back, would you?" Thomas said. Esper gave him some antibiotic cream. He was glad Esper had shoved that first aid book into his mind. It still hurt to think about it, but he had the knowledge. He finished bandaging her up, and stood up. His eyes may have been playing tricks on him, because he thought he saw something on her back. But, he couldn't tell. The others hadn't seen anything, or Marcus would have flipped out from the fright. His mind was drawn back to when Esper sent him the image of her dress moving on it's own as she walked. Maybe there was more to this girl than he thought. It seemed like she would continue to surprise him, but now wasn't the time for that.
"Well, now that we've established we aren't going anywhere, how about you get some more training done? Amber and Deluge still need some work to catch up to the rest of your team!" Vulpix said. Thomas grinned and pulled out Amber's pokeball.

(OOC: Que training montage!)
 
(Yes! XD Do we need cheesy music?)

Alyss slept through it, due to the fact that Zanna remained similar to a teddy bear. Arca walked up to Vulpix and offered to help him. "It's not like I can do much else right now, you see."

~~~

Asha closed the book she was reading, glancing at Zora. He was twitching slightly. "Dude... holy crap... it's starting to wear off."

"Yes I can twitch my fingertips," the boy commented dryly. "Great work." Zaria giggled as Adler chirped from the bedpost.

"Be happy," she grumbled at him. "It's something. Do you know where you're being sent for your next Gym?"

"I've heard details of either Venice or Japan. Either one I'll live with."

"Not Stonehenge?"

"No need to retrieve Alyss yet."

"Of course. Mister Theo doesn't want them to see you with... well-"

"Cunning bastard ain't he?"

"How long before he goes to meet them in person?"

"He hasn't told you either? Great, well give him until after they beat the Gym."
 
(OOC: Always! XD)

Training against Vulpix or Arca by themselves was tough enough. Training with both of them was even worse! Thomas took a break. He looked over at TGP. He had been shouting cheers for Thomas the whole time. Granted, they were some of the cheesiest oneliners he had ever heard, but it's the thought that counts, or so he told himself.
"Ah, Pokeboy! You are doing so well under my tutelage. Very soon you shall be ready to strike off on your own. A hero in your own right!" TGP said. Thomas surpressed a laugh. Given some of what he had already accomplished, TGP was a bit behind on the times. But still, one thing needed to be taken care of for this arrangement to work.
"How many times do I have to ask you to stop calling me Pokebooy! My name is Tho-" Thomas began.
"Hush! You don't want to give away your secret identity!" TGP said.
"Why not? What aren't you telling me?" Thomas asked. TGP paused for a moment, then looked around. He leaned in closer to Thomas.
"The minions of darkness have been pursueing me for the past 7 years. Before that they held me captive in their dastardly facility! But, using the powers of a hero, I managed to escape. So they pursue me even now, but I am always one step ahead of them!" TGP said. Thomas was sure he wasn't crazy now. Well, aside from the obvious, of course. He was being chased by... Someone. Someone very real, that drove him to becoming, well this, and now, he didn't know how to let it fade. Or, he had become so wrapped up in his facade that he didn't know who he was anymore. Thomas looked over to where his pokemon were still training. Esper was directing them now, and Amber and Razor were the ones fighting. He got up and took over for Esper after he had digested this new information.
 
Muahaha! I Haff Stolen Your Montage!

"You're going to have to be incredibly stronger to face off against those five trainers. I hope you realize that your father will be the final battle of those five. The only way to win is to discover that power of yours."

"What power? You mean the one that I sometimes get during battle? I mean, it's alright, but I don't need it. My father won't have those powers, will he?"

Clair pushed Mark onto the ground and sat back down, "Have you ever met someone else powers that you could see? Like, anyone else?"

Mark instantly thought Shauntal, but erased that from his mind. "N-no. I haven't, why?"

Clair eyed him, "Fine, don't be honest with me. But I know you have. You told me you met Shauntal. She can talk to all Pokemon. Regis is definitely going to use them as battlers. Then, he'll steal their powers to power himself up. We have to find them as well as up your own power."

"And the other CT's. We have to find them too!"

"Yes. Now, let's start training. We'll begin with Volcan. He has some potential there! The way he absorbed that Flamethrower, that was amazing."

Volcan crawled out from underneath Mark's lap. He had been all bandaged and fixed up. He was raring to go. He jumped into the air and began to run as fast as he could. "It looks like he wants to learn Flame Charge! How about you train against me?"

"Okay! Volcan. Surround yourself with fire and run!"

"Dragonair, move out of the way and grab him with your tail!"

Volcan charged forth but Dragonair easily moved and caught him with her tail. Then, she shot out a Dragonbreath but was disturbed. She was feeling something in her tail. As shock? Some electric shocks formed around Volcan and shot out as he charged forth.

"What was that?" Just as he said the words, his Cyndaquil began to glow. Would this be two evolutions so close together? It was! Volcan began to lengthen and his flame grew from his head and tail. Cyndaquil -> Quilava.

Clair laughed, "That, was looong overdue."
 
(Sorry, internet died.)

Arca glanced at Alyss, who was being woken up by Zanna. She was surprised to be working so well with Vulpix, who seemed too much like a rude loner to try that. She moved back again, her fur spiking up.

Zanna hissed at Alyss. "Found one of our sensory types it seems."

Alyss merely opened her eyes a slit. "One down, one to go." She felt ill, this was probably the rest of the backlash taking its toll. Zanna sighed and remained in her arms. She knew how bad Alyss could get it. This was lucky. She blinked as Alyss murmured. "He might need some help remembering who he is."

Zanna snorted. "Might?"
 
(OOC: Did our subplots just meet in the middle? And Roserade, gimme back my montage! :P )

Vulpix was having a blast. For all his posturing, he had been trained by the RDM to work well with most any other types in battle. But Arca was something else. She wasn't like some of those stuffy windbags he'd had to work with before. They never listened to him, simply because he was so young. It was similar to working with Trigger again. Vulpix found he missed that Starapter. The two of them had bickered the whole time they were assigned together, but they meshed in battle incredibly well. As did he and Arca. She clearly knew what she was doing, but didn't let that go to her head. She payed attention to what he didn't say, and the two of them stomped Thomas's whole team into the dirt. The only trouble that he'd had, was when Esper and Volt were out. Esper was another one he wouldn't mind working with. Though the Espeon could be as annoying as his trainer.
"That was fun! Let's do it again sometime!" Vulpix said wearily as he walked over to the fire. He didn't know who had started it, but he was glad they had. He needed warmth. While it was great working with the ice type, she froze the air around her to make herself faster. Vulpix didn't know if she did it intentionally or not, but it took it's toll on him too. After all, he was a fire type. They don't do to well getting cold. He looked around. His finely honed sense of smell told him that Alyss was awake again. He guessed she had been watching the training. He found he didn't really trust her, but Thomas did, and she seemed ok so far... But something about her made his fur stand on end. He put it out of his mind, telling himself he was being foolish. She was just a girl. Granted, her powers seemed to rival that of Thomas's, but she didn't seem to want to use them on him and his friends. All in all, she seemed in evert way, to be a scared human girl with powers she may not understand, but certainly control. Even his nose told him that. Thomas and Marcus didn't seem to notice she was awake, and he wasn't about to rat her out. He wasn't scared of her or anything, he just didn't care what games she was playing. Things would be different if she tried something against any of them, but she hadn't, and probably wouldn't, and he didn't care about much else beyond that. His gaze turned to TGP. That was one he really didn't trust. He was wrong in the head. Vulpix could smell the power in him. Power always left an odd scent in everyone that had it. That was how he had found Alyss the night they had met. She smelled like something out of the forest, though not quite. Just a bit off. TGP didn't smell like anything he'd ever smelled before. And he didn't like the scent. His nose wanted to tell him that TGP and Marcus were the same, with some minute differences, but that couldn't be right. Everyone had a different scent. No, that wasn't quite true. While he had been a prisoner of the AAPM, he had smelled someone that smelled a lot like Thomas, but not quite. The biggest difference there had been that the scent was older and female. But other than that, he didn't know. He made himself comfortable, and decided to rest a bit. Thomas was still training. That Bagon, what was his name again, Draco? Vulpix watch him use Ember. Hah! Not anywhere near as hot as his Flamethrower! Vulpix had the hottest Flamthrower he had ever seen before. And he was very proud of that fact. He lay in the fire, absoring some of it's energy, and letting the flames lick at his body, and he kept an eye out for anything that might come his way.
 
Arca smiled quietly. "That would be nice." She walked away and went to nose Alyss, who stirred, pretending to wake up.

"Arca..." she mumbled dizzily. "Wha's..."

"Up, Alyss," the Glaceon ordered gently. "We cannot sleep all day."

She seemed to nod sadly, sitting up and openly staring at TGP. She felt ill watching him, him and Marcus. She was not a sensor, and wind wasn't the same as gut feelings, but she did know when things were about to change, and where the cause of it was. Not to mention...Alyss stared in the direction of the Gym.

"Good, I'm not the only one who hates those poser places," Zanna grumbled.

"I highly doubt that's it," Arca retorted, slapping the Zorua with her tail.

(Looks like it XD)
 
Alyss wasn't the only one staring at the gym. Esper could sense danger from it, but couldn't figure out the cause. Thomas and Marcus began packing up. They would reach the gym in under an hour, and that would give them plenty of time for a battle. Esper could not allow that! He ran over and meowed at Thomas.
"What's up Esper?" Thomas asked. He looked down at the pokemon. Esper thought about it for a moment, then sent Thomas a false image of how tired he was after all that training. Thomas fell for it.
"Well, one more night won't kill us, I guess. Hey everyone, Esper's not feeling up to a gym battle right now, so we're going to go in the morning, alright?" Thomas said.
"Why delay? We should strike out at the minions of darkness now! The more we delay, the more they can prepare for us!" TGP said.
"I thought you could beat them, no matter how tough they are?" Thomas said in challenge.
"Erm, yes, of course I can! I am The Great Pokemaster!" TGP roared.
"Good, then we rest here!" Thomas said.
"Sounds fine to me," Marcus said. Esper was glad. When it was dark, and all the humans had gone to sleep, he would sneak over to the gym himself to see why he felt the way he did. This way was better, because Thomas wouldn't be risked. Esper lay down to sleep. It looked like it was going to be a long night.
 
Too Much Waiting...

Garet had started pacing around the clearing, trying to ignore the ache in his leg. Why exactly was he still here, anyways? Why wasn't he going back for Clair?

His left forepaw landed on a rock, sending dull pain up his leg. Garet stopped to lie down. That's why. It was going to be a little while before he could run at top speed again.

Yet...thinking about running away from the battle got the Arcanine back on his feet again. This was one of the few times in recent months that he was restless, always after not winning a battle.
This time, he was more restless than ever.

Garet fished out the tracker he'd gotten for himself and dropped it on the grass, pushing it around with one paw until he found a small button on one side. Above the button was a small digital screen that displayed the hours and minutes left before the tracker would signal. Staring at how much time was left, Garet shook his head. This waiting wasn't going to help him this time.

He pressed his paw to the button, which brought the timer immediately down to 00:00. The tracker should be signalling back to that airbase now. Garet managed to get it back in his mane before lying down again.

~~~~~

The beeping brought his attention to the screen. "TruthSeeker activated his tracker," he said, turning to look at the RDM Deviser in the room.

"I'm going," the Deviser replied, turning to leave. Time to take the plane that had been prepared for this. He knew Garet. If the Arcanine wasn't waiting until tomorrow morning, then he was wanting help. And that was not often.
 
Alyss caught on to the Espeon's plan quickly and sighed to herself. She pulled out a Pokeball and Zanna stepped back. "No way," the fox hissed. "I hate those things and you know it."

Arca glared at her. "At the moment, I will likely be needed more than you. That is a Rock Gym and despite your ability you aren't very effective." Zanna huffed and reluctantly went into the Pokeball. Arca leapt onto Alyss' shoulders and smiled. She gave a quiet mew as Alyss stood up, ignoring her wounds, and began to climb the tree again. She really did belong up there; it was why she couldn't sleep on floors very well. Arca mewed at Esper, indicating they were joining him whether they were injured or not.
 
Esper sighed. He told the two of them that he didn't want them to come along. After all, it would be easier for him to get out of trouble by himself. Alyss, at least, should stay behind. Esper promised to link his, Arca's, and her own mind, that way she could see everything they did, and she would be able to comunicate with them quickly. He tried to explain that he didn't want to put anyone else in danger. Even as he suggested this, he knew he had no way of stopping them from doing whatever they wanted to. He was very strong, but after fighting that Glaceon, he wasn't sure he would win. And if he wasn't sure he would win, then he wouldn't take the chance of fighting and losing. Not on something as important as this. He didn't even try to bluff them. He just stated how he felt, and his plan, and hoped they would consider it. Either way, they would have to wait a little while. Thomas and the other humans weren't even close to sleeping yet.
 
"At least he's smart," Arca mumbled and carefully stroked Alyss' injured arm. She didn't flinch. "Alyss, maybe you should stay here. It will bring less suspicion on us. At least if I go, it'll seem a bit more normal."

"But Arca-"

"No buts lass," she said firmly. "I promised to keep an eye on you and I will. Now stay here and rest. If worse comes to worse when we go, I'll howl. I promise." Alyss nodded miserably and laid on the branch. Arca sent the compromise to Esper and curled up as well.
 
Esper got up ten minutes after Thomas had fallen asleep. He heard the telltale snores that came from TGP. Esper walked over to Marcus and meowed softly. No response. He signaled to Arca and Alyss, then linked them all.
"Can you both hear me?" Esper said through the link. He walked over to Vulpix, and was soon satisfied that he, too, was asleep.

(OOC: Now we just need some idea of what's in the gym.)
 
(Darn server.My idea was someone skulking around, perhaps an RDM agent and they're caught by the AAPM replacement. I dunno.)

Alyss didn't twitch but she was wide awake. Her wings were fluttering invisibly in the air, displaying her nervous fear for both Pokemon. Arca leapt down and landed on the ground. next to Esper. "We're connected," she replied softly for her trainer. "Shall we depart?"

"Be careful..." Alyss whispered.
 
(OOC: That's a pretty good idea.)

"Unlike my sleeping companion, I am always careful," Esper said. He began walking through the grass toward the gym. It's times like these that he wished he was an Umbreon. It's tough to hide when you're bright pink. If only he had waited for ten more minutes to evolve. But, no, if he had done that, he wouldn't be able to use these psychic powers he so enjoyed. He would just have to deal with it as best he could. He slowly reached the gym. He hid behind a rock, and extended his psychic senses. He could sense people moving throughout the gym. And there were more of them than there should have been. He had expected three or four at the most. There had to be at least a dozen in there, maybe more!
"Well, linked as we are, I know you both felt that. It is most certainly a trap. Now... How to proceed. Arca and I don't exactly blend into the night well, me especially," Esper said. He waited for them to reply before doing anything.
 
Arca shrugged and looked at the Gym. There were various nooks and crannies they both probably could squeeze through. Alyss mouthed the words but they could both hear it in their minds. "Use the gaps in the walls and find the ventilation system. There has to be one in a place like that. If not,just keep very quiet and I'll see from there. People usually don't look down if you stay quiet." Alyss looked up at the moon, before closing her eyes, trying to get a map of the place in her head as she watched.
 
"Given that I've spent so much time in the presence of one who calls attention to himself, I may be a little rusty at this. But here goes nothing!" Esper said. He sensed no one coming, and as quiet as only a cat can be, he stole his way to the side of the building. Using his nose, keen eyes, and psychic senses, he found the vent most likely to take them deep into the building. Unfortunately, it had a grate. And the grate was screwed in.
"I could unscrew these, but it would take all night! I'm not good at manipulating small things with my mind! There has to be an easier way in than this grate! You find anything yet, Arca?" Esper said, frustratedly. He turned to look at his blue partner in crime.
 
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