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The Children Are Hunted

Glameow took the hit and went down hard. Mia sighed and returned her fainted pokemon. But, was Zoran talking to her Delcatty?
"Um... She is inside the pokeball. I don't think she can hear you. As for why she evolved so soon, that one I don't know. She was like that when my brother gave her to me. You'd have to ask Simon," Mia said. She wasn't telling the whole truth. Simon had rescued her from an AAPM agent in the area. Mia assumed they had done some kind of experiment to make the Skitty evolve early or something like that.

(OOC: Did I just make a new subplot? You better believe it! This is actually my first non character based one. Every other one is based around the characters and their thoughts and feelings. Actually, upon fither review of my sources, I have found Delcatty evolves when it has a moonstone used on it. But the subplot still stands!)
 
(lmao awesome.)

Zoran grinned. "True but maybe you should ask. Those people who had her before were fools." he stated, returning Dora. "There's so much more she could have done as a Skitty. You'll need to find a way for her to remember, so to speak. When you do that," Zoran gave her a smile. "You'll be stronger than many of us. I'm sure."

Dora gave him a curious look. "Master?" Zoran just smiled.
 
Mia just nodded, though she had no idea what he was talking about. What did he mean, get her to remember? She had the impression Delcatty wasn't a Skitty for very long. How could Mia get her to remember? And just what was she supposed to be remembering anyway?
"Um... Thanks, I think. I don't quite get it," she mumbled before going to sit down. Amber walked over to Thomas and lay down. She seemed to be tired after all that rough-housing. Not that Mia could blame the little cat. Her playing was more powerful than Mia's pokemon in battle!
 
Zoran laughed. "Don't worry it's a difficult concept. Basically your Delcatty had a lot of moves it could learn as Skitty, but evolving ruined that. Relearning and mastering those moves would make an amazing concept, one I'm sure you could take advantage of." dratinit butted Zoran's hand, still playful.
 
"Great, that big lizard wore her out. So long as he doesn't start jumping on me, I'll be happy," Vulpix muttered to himself. He looked at the Dratini, watching him to make sure he did not in fact do just that! After a while, he sighed and put his head down. It was very peaceful, a good time to rest. He blasted out a little of the excess fire that had been building up and watched everyone.

Mia sat down and rested too, though her mind was far from free. She was remembering when Simon had given her Delcatty. It was just after her Rattata was stolen by those RDM freaks! She glanced at Vulpix again, wondering how anyone trusted him. He was still one of them in his heart, even if his head wasn't. He had shown that today when he told them about Project Rise. The glee in his eyes when he said a continent without humans. Anybody that was against the RDM would have been confused, even angry at that thought, but he looked like he wanted it. Ugh, what a nightmare! She was just jumping at shadows! Vulpix had risked his life to get that map for her, and this was how she repayed him? God! No wonder noone liked her!
 
Zoran sat next to Vulpix and gently stroked his fur with one hand. Dora quietly danced nearby. She wanted to evolve now but it was not necessary until she mastered her balance. Dratini floated quietly around her, helping. "Shh..." Zoran hummed, a soft lullaby coming from his lips. "Focus Dora." she nodded, listening and trying to obey.

"Mia," Alyss said after a moment. She knew already but it would be polite to ask. "Why are you so upset?"
 
Mia didn't know if she wanted to answer. Everyone was looking at her, except Vulpix, who was still laying down, and Zoran, who seemed to be more focused on the little fox and his own Kirlia. She decided to tell them. She didn't want to make them mad at her again. Not after they seemed to start getting used to her.
"It's kind of tough to explain... How can I say this. Um... I don't trust people easily... Not since the R... Since some thing bad happened. And now, I'm finding myself in a position where I want to trust people, but it's so hard. I don't know how to explain it any better than that. Don't worry, I'm not mad at you guys or anything like that..." she said slowly. She wouldn't have been able to explain it very well in her own tongue, much less this one! Marcus nodded thoughtfully. If he had understood a word of that, he gave no clue. He glanced at Thomas. Geez! How much could one guy sleep! He was still laid out against the RV!

"Uh... Is he still alive?" Marcus asked pointing at the downed light user. Esper meowed at him. That answered that. If Thomas had died, Esper would surely let them all know, then probably try to kill Zoran for pushing him that far. Oh well. He would be happier when they got on the road for home, but he just couldn't leave them like this! He had to stick around, at least until this whole mess with the RDM agents was over and Thomas had gotten his fourth badge! His gaze turned back to Vulpix. He must be under a tremendous burden. After all, the RDM was up to no good. He had to feel responsible for their actions, or for the fact that he couldn't prevent them. Even though none of that was his fault. Yeah, he'd be back to his old grumpy self too, before this was done. Vulpix let out a sigh, and blasted up a tad bit more fire, before curling up into a ball.
 
Alyss nodded softly. "It is hard to trust," she said simply, going to join Zoran, who was staying by Vulpix's side. She rested her head on his shoulder and he grinned softly. Ash sighed quietly.

"Stop overdoing and think it through," Ash ordered calmly. "You're not used to it so think your answer over before plunging into this risk. Take your time." Zoran ignored the whole situation, trying to comfort Vulpix. The Pokemon was his friend, he thought and he would like to make that friend happy. Or, a little more relaxed. He believed Vulpix could handle himself.
 
"It really has nothing to do with you guys! I promise! But... I don't know how to explain it. Maybe if I tell you what happened, you'll be able to understand..." Mia said, unsure what to think. She didn't want to say the wrong thing. Her, well they weren't friends yet, traveling compnions still needed to know. After all, most of them had told her about themselves, though how much of that was true, she had no idea.

"I was nine years old when I recieved my first pokemon. I-It was a Rattata, though it was an odd color. I'm told now that it was very rare and very valuable. Though that made no difference at all. My big brother had caught it for me, and I was very pleased with him for doing that. That Rattata, Sparkles is what I called her, can you imagine that? But Sparkles and I were inseperable. I loved her, and she loved me. Then one day, I was playing with Sparkles out in a field. Then some strange pokemon came up. They called me all sorts of vile names, and I got really scared. Sparkles jumped out to protect me, but they knocked her out easily. I ran to try and save her, but those pokemon pulled me out of the way! They grabbed Sparkles and ran away. I still remember the look in her eyes as she woke up! I learned later that they were from the RDM, and I swore to get stronger and make sure they couldn't do anything like that to anyone else! I hate the RDM and everyone asociated with them! At least, I did. I'm not sure anymore. Vulpix... I'm so sorry!" she said, crying when she brought up Sparkles getting stolen from her, and again when she said she was sorry.
"Oh, can it with the waterworks! I hate it when girls cry!" Vulpix grumbled, but didn't move from his spot. He opened one eye to look at her.
"But... What?" she said.
"I said stop it! It's really annoying! I'm not mad at you! Why should I be, other than the fact that you've treated all of my friends like dirt. But they seem to be fine with that, and I stand be them. So cut it out!" Vulpix said sternly. If he had been in her shoes, he probably would have held a grudge too. But he didn't care about that now. He was being pet, something that rankled him and at the same time made him happy. His feral pride told him he was wild, not some domesticated pup. But that wasn't really true, now was it? He was sort of in between, and very happy being there. But if someone tried to catch him, he'd be roasting their bones over his open fire. Something the others seemed to know, so he just lay there and let Zoran pet him. To tell the truth, he would only let Zoran, Thomas, Ash, Alyss, and Marcus pet him like this. And the only reason he would let Alyss pet him is because he didn't feel like bringing down everyone's ire on him for biting her. The rest of them he didn't want touching him unless they had too.
 
Ash nodded. "that's right. You're bound to be confused right now, so just relax a little. As you can see, we're not angry and neither is Vulpix. So it's all right. Nothing to cry about. Your Sparkles may miss you a lot but as long as the chance of her being alive is there, you may have a chance of seeing her again." Alyss nodded quietly, her face was very solemn. She had known Vulpix didn't like her all that much. She wasn't that dumb. She just knew better than to say anything. Zoran had told her not to worry about it. So she had stayed very quiet. Arca pawed her arm as Kirlia stopped, looking dizzy. She laughed faintly as Dratini plopped next to the downed Psychic type.
 
"She's probably on that island they've floated out to sea. Knowing my old bosses, Sparkles would have been the first one sent, because she is so rare. A Shiny Rattata? Yeah, that's bound to attract attention. She's probably doing just fine. And don't worry. As soon as Thomas learns about this, he'll want to rush down there and make sure nothing bad is going on. He's just like that," Vulpix said, closing his eyes again, ending his part in the conversation.

"Don't let Vulpix get to you. He just needs more time to get to know you better. You will be surprised, but you're the only person he's let touch him without biting them. Thomas, Marcus, Zoran, Ash, Robby, if you look very closely they have scars on each of their hands. I'd say that's a step in your favor!" Esper said to Alyss. He had been scanning the area, and had felt her concern about Vulpix. He giggled when he saw Dora get dizzy.
"And he still doesn't like me at all! Though I can't imagine why," Esper said with a hint of mischief in his voice. He knew very well why. It was because he teased the little fox without mercy!
"But if you're really worried about it, then spend some time with him when he's not brooding. He'll never admit it, but he likes being pet as much as I do! And he definately won't bite you. He would have done that the first time you touched him. He is a wild pokemon after all. Impulse control is not one of his virtues," Esper said to her, hoping it would make her feel better. He checked on Thomas again. He was still locked in the light. Esper sighed. He couldn't help his partner with this battle. All he could do was guide him back when it was over.
 
Alyss shrugged. "It's probably because I feel more like a wild Pokemon," she said simply. Her eyes always had that feral, bird of prey look. It was one of her many reasons of disliking eye contact. "Zora and Ash were caged too long so that feeling has faded a lot." She knew that it wasn't gone. Zoran had always enjoyed hunting everything. And Ash would swallow fire before she admitted to being trapped.

Zoran gently poked Mickey, who glared and whispered something in his ear. Zoran shrugged and rolled up his sleeve. Mickey gave him a reluctant look. Somehow he had known. Ash noticed and glared. "Zora..."

"Do you want him to go after Sleeping Beauty over there?" Ash winced. Good point.

"Tch. Fine. I'd tell you all to look away but you probably won't listen. Go on Mickey, be disgusting."

Mickey grumbled. "You act like this is fun." Sighing, he sank sharp fangs into his friend's arm. Ash rolled her eyes, glancing at Alyss, who didn't react. She could see Zaria shake her head.
 
"That must be the strangest thing I've ever seen," Marcus said softly when he saw Mickey sucking Zoran's blood. He wasn't grossed out by it. A long time ago it would have sent him screaming in the other direction, but not now. Mia looked a little fascinated, but mostly grossed out. To her credit, she said nothing. Robby didn't even seem fazed. His eyes held that faraway look that Marcus often got when he was remembering something, though he had a frown that bordered on a scowl. Vulpix didn't even open his eyes, though he could smell and hear what was going on above him.
"Just don't try that on me, and we'll have no problems," Vulpix muttered, not caring if anyone heard him. Esper gave him a sharp look, which he flat out ignored.
 
(I hope this post doesn't mess anything up...)

Garet had finished dragging Clair to a part of the plane where she wasn't near anything else, like the escape hatch or any controls. "Leo probably left a tracker on the boy," he answered Trigger's question, turning to the backseat controls-system that had been customized for a Pokemon without hands. Like him. "Bring up activated trackers," the Arcanine said, expecting them to come up on the screen. Using this system involved something a human had called Direct Voice Input, whatever that was. However, all he got out of the system was a few confused images on the screen and small arcs of electricity on the controls.

As Garet backed away in surprise, the screen went black before breaking, sending some pieces of glass flying. He jumped to the side to avoid one. Another landed near Clair. "What is going on?" the Arcanine growled, eyes watching the electric arcs. His nose twitched, bringing his attention to something else. As he followed it to the door, he found...three different scents. One of which was human.

Garet followed the human scent, ignoring anything Trigger might have said at that moment. It seemed to go around a lot of the plane; one stop had been at a compartment, which also had the Leo's scent (though it was old) and one of the two Pokemon scents. It didn't seem like this human had gone anywhere else but out the door, so Garet went back to the door to follow one of the other scents. This one was shortly in the plane before coming back in and heading straight for paneling in the cockpit. Again, he didn't have hands, so he wasn't about to try opening it.

Back at the door, Garet followed the third scent to the compartment, which this Pokemon seemed to have dug through, going by smell and the other things that had been pushed around. "We weren't careful enough," Garet muttered. They'd left the door wide open for intruders. And he didn't know what might have been in this compartment.

Garet spent a minute or two memorizing the intruders' scents before walking over to Clair. "Are you awake?" he asked, prodding her side with a paw.

~~~~~

Leo groaned. That hit to the head in the forest had hurt. That had probably been the reason for the Charizard to land. Combined with the damage he'd taken from the Hyper Beam, that had been enough to make the Lucario unconscious.

From his current position, Leo looked around. He was in some sort of cell, cylindrical in shape with hardly any room to move around in. The walls were smooth, and the only light came through a set of bars above him, out of reach. Smart, this was. Smarter than putting him in a regular cell would have been. Leo didn't have enough room to do all the stretching he could, and he didn't have enough room to actually sit down.

He just hoped the AAPM wouldn't try trapping him in one of those infernal machines meant for catching Pokemon.
 
(OOC: It won't. Trust me!)

Trigger jumped in surprise when they found out the plane was messed up. A piece of glass just narrowly missed his face. He turned to Garet.
"Well, now that the plane is broken we should drop this human off at the Venice base before going off after the CT and Leo. We could borrow a tracking unit there as well, so we could follow the signal. Or are you more interested in going after whomever did this? What did your finely honed sense of smell tell you?" Trigger asked after Garet had finished memorizing the scents. He had seen that expression on Van's face many times before. He hopped his way over to the paneling when he spotted a lose screw.
"Is this supposed to be like this?" he asked, touching it lightly with his beak.
 
"What?" Garet turned his attention from Clair to Trigger, who'd gone into the cockpit. Following the bird, he saw the loose screw. "I'm sure it's supposed to be all the way in," he said, walking out of the cockpit. "Change of plans, then. First, we get this human to the Venice base, as you said. There, we'll get a tracking unit and leave a request for them to come get this plane, or at least fix it. I'm not sure if I want to leave a report. After that, I want to find out who these intruders are."

Looking down, he noticed the device around his right leg. "Scratch the tracking unit," Garet added, grinning. "I still got this one. At the base, I should be able to get someone to adjust it to follow the tracker on the CT. Assuming Leo put one on him." Walking back over to Clair, the Arcanine growled, "I still want to find the intruders first."

~~~~~

Thinking back on his actions, Leo remembered the tracker he'd left in the CT's bag. Would they let the boy keep the bag with him, or would they have taken it away? If so, would that bag still be in this base, wherever this base was? It probably would be. And if it was, then Leo's partner would be able to follow it. Garet was not the type to give up.

Leo sighed. Considering the unusual moves that Underoot's Pokemon had known, the Lucario could assume that this base would have something to do with one of the projects the AAPM had. Sooner or later, they would probably come to interrogate him about the CM Project.
 
"Very well. If you can get her out of the plane, I can carry her. I don't want to wait all day for you to drag her there," Trigger said with a nod. He already knew who had done this, but was going to wait until it dawned on Garet. He didn't know who had been in the comparment after the others left, but was sure that they were connected to the other intruders. He had a change of heart at that point. He had to tell Garet what he knew. If Garet didn't know what he was dealing with, he may fail. As much as Trigger would have liked to see how Garet reacted to finding out first hand what those humans could do, he would rather them both be safe.

"I may have some information you will find surprising. I don't know precisely WHO they are, but I do know WHAT they are. First, one of them is Van Flaresoul. He's an ex RDM Devisor, and an old pupil of mine. He's got a lot of talent, though he is provoked far too easily. He's probably the one that took whatever it was out of that compartment you were sniffing earlier. He's the only one that would have known where to look. Also, he has been known to travel with one or two of the CTs, and two other CTs have been confirmed to be in the area. We should assume that they are working together, for that would be the worst case scenario. I'm sure you have read the report that Winny, another pupil of mine, gave about the humans with powers of pokemon. Well, I can personally say that it is true! I was tracking the group earlier and was attacked by one such human. We had an interesting chat, then I flew back here to help you. There seem to be more of them here. They may all be working together, but we don't know for sure. Either way, be on your guard, for these are not your typical enemies!" Trigger said. There, he had informed Garet. Now, he would see what the Arcanine would do. He smiled, he didn't intend to leave a report on this until it was over, then he would leave a full and accurate report. If the two of them made a bigger mess of things than they already were, well, they would have only themselves to blame. But Trigger didn't intend to mess this up. He had a job to do. His mind went back to the conversation with Alyss. He hoped that she found a gentle breeze to fly away on, for Trigger didn't want to fight her. She seemed like a good kid, and it would be a shame to have to kill her because of some other foolish humans.
 
Humans with the powers of Pokemon? Garet narrowed his eyes, thinking it through. This could explain how the smoke had cleared out so fast. And maybe why the AAPM, and the RDM, was after the CT he'd chased. And how the boy had been able to escape before. This could even be connected with other things that the Arcanine knew about. One question that stood out in his mind, though, was: How can they possibly have such powers?

The mention that an ex-Deviser would possibly be working with other CTs was somewhat worrying, as Garet didn't know Van Flaresoul and therefore didn't know what he would know. "The Venice base, first," the Arcanine said, then bent down and began dragging Clair out of the plane. A minute or so later, the human was on the ground outside again.
 
Trigger hopped out of the plane, folding his wings uncomfortably. Once he was out, he took off and flew a few seconds. He swooped down in front of the Arcanine and picked up the woman in his talons. He grasped the ropes that were binding her and strained to get some altitude. She was much heavier than he had estimated, but he was still strong enough to carry her.
"Follow me please," he said to Garet as he flew. Garet should know the location of the Venice base, but then again, Garet should have known about the humans with powers already as well. Trigger didn't wait for an answer, instead he flew lazily toward the base. He knew Garet could keep up, but made sure not to go to far out of sight. Soon, he was circling over the base. A second later, he dropped to the ground. He gently set the woman down. He spotted Winny ambling over.

"Winny, what are you doing here?" Trigger asked. He looked at the Wynaut. Being a Devisor in her own right suited her. She looked a lot tough and more confident.
"I'm just passing through until I can get a ride to RISE Island!" Winny said. She was being assigned there? Interesting.
"Good, then you can help me out. bring this woman inside. She is not to be harmed, or interogated until Merin arrives. She's an AAPM agent, or she used to be, and is very dangerous. And as soon as my rather grumpy partner arrives, he'll have a tracker with him that he needs to have adjusted. He'll have more details when he arrives. Who's in charge here?" Trigger said.
"Um... Nobody. Almost all of the higher ups are out on their own missions right now. Trigger, what's going on?" Winny asked. Trigger sighed.
"We have a large amount of trouble. For the moment, you will be in command. Call in Merin, he'll handle the rest. You just make sure that this woman is not touched until he arrives," Trigger said. She may be one of the lower rankings Devisors, but she was very competent, and would not disappoint him. She nodded and began shouting out orders. Trigger longed to get out and do something, but he waited until Garet arrived. The last thing either of them needed would be for him to get caught by the CTs.
 
Zoran snorted and let out a soft yelp. "Mickey!" Mickey winced and let go, wiping his mouth. The smaller took his arm back,looking amusingly annoyed. His hazel eyes were slightly glazed and he winced sharply. Zoran let out a whine. "Don't take my shadows too!" Ash and Mickey both snorted.

"Moron," Mickey muttered with a small laugh. "You need to learn some tact mate. Everybody's disgusted."

Zoran shrugged. "Well, I'm disgusting by normal standards so forgive me for not catching the hint!"

Ash chuckled as Alyss giggled sadly. Mickey rolled his eyes. "Fair enough." He turned to Marcus and the others. "Sorry you had to see that. I know my backlash is plain nasty. But I need to replace the blood I use with my power. It only works with the blood of those with awakened abilities though, no normal humans or Pokemon. Don't ask: the ability's not under record. We have no clue what I can do."

"We have guesses though, considering that kind of power's a new one to crop up," Ash commented. "We like guessing," she added cheekily.
 
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