The Children Are Hunted

(XD I know. I hope technology doesn't improve that much. XD)

Zoran smiled coldly. "Yeah Thomas," he said softly. "You're in a lot of danger, more than you think. And that'd involve you thinking silly."

"Yes it would," Day agreed, stepping forward and taking the gun back. Lucian moved but there was a second bang and Lucian hissed through his teeth, clutching his arm. "The good thing about this is I don't have to make a headshot for you to die." SHe stepped back casually. "Ne, boy," she glanced at Zoran, who perked a bit. She switched to Hindi and hummed. "Come play with big sister ne?"

The dark boy snorted. "Grown-ups are strange." He watched her go before looking at Lucian who was already shaking like a maniac, lilac wisps leaving his body as well.

Lucian hissed. "Morty come on!" He placed his free arm on THomas' shoulder.

Morty hesitated. "But Brie-"

"LEave her," the boy said coldly. "She'll survive." Morty looked back again until Lucian barked painfully. "Now!"

"Don't worry," Zoran said cheerfully, pushing him away. "I'll help. It's not Brie's fault you guys are incompetent." Morty glowered but oveyed. Lucian hissed as the three teleported away. Zoran sighed then. "Please tell me Day has a scalpel."

"I've got a clean knife," she replied, tossing the switchblade for it to land at the boy's feet. "Honestly, you shouldn't be calling me Day."

"You're the same person dreamer," he replied. "Dreams become real with you regardless." SIghing again, he went to examine the wound. "Well we got lucky," he mumbled, pulling out Cody to release a gentle water gun. "Went straight through."

~~

Ash had sense the enemy earlier but was not in the mood to dlip out. When she sensed Amber, the woman smiled a little. "Amber," she called gently. "Why don't you bring your friend out here? It's okay. It's just us."
 
Ignoring Leo's telepathic warnings, Garet asked, "Who was the first person you met after you first got amnesia?" The Arcanine was still walking along the scent trail, now avoiding trees and undergrowth. If Espore was to regain his memories, his real memories, then it would be important to know something about who the Espeon had talked to.

Leo gave up on warning the Arcanine. Sometimes, his partner was too stubborn for his own good. Espore is gonna have another tantrum if Garet's not careful, he thought to himself. Leo almost stopped when one of the CTs' Auras and the two newest Auras disappeared. Had that kid been--? No, not dead. If the light-Aura CT had died, then his Aura wouldn't have disappeared that quickly. "One CT and two others are not there anymore," he relayed to Garet.

~~~~~

Karib froze when the Leafeon appeared. The Sableye opened his mouth to say something, but then one of the humans called, "Why don't you bring your friend out here? It's okay. It's just us."

Karib had been trying to avoid this. The Leafeon had probably smelled him out, or something, but how had one of the humans known he was there? He looked down at the RDM bracer on his left arm. The Sableye personally didn't know if these humans were for or against the RDM, or even if they were just neutral. "I'd rather not come out of hiding," Karib whispered to the Leafeon, also in the Pokemon language. "Besides, my objective is beyond this site."
 
Thomas

Thomas and the others appeared in front of the base. He looked at Lucien and Morty a moment before turning and heading inside. He stopped at the door.

"If Theo needs me, I'll be training my new pokemon," Thomas said quietly before walking through the maze back to the room he had found his pokemon in. He opened the door and went inside. He closed the door back and sent out Vulpix. Vulpix was standing still, shaking. After a moment, he calmed down and looked up at Thomas. He barked something out at him.

"I don't understand what you are trying to say. Nor do I care. Now, I'll give you one chance to listen to me. If you don't listen, or if you don't carry out my commands without hesitation, there will be consquences. I know you understand me-" Thomas said, but he was cut off by a Flamethrower aimed at his head. He dodged out of the way, and blasted Vulpix with hs light, knocking the fox into a wall. The resounding thud as Vulpix's head crashed into the wall was quite odd. It had no effect on Thomas. He didn't care, except for the fact that he didn't want to damage his newest and strongest pokemon.

"Understand this. I am your master now. You will do what I say. Now, get off the ground and use Flamethrower on the wall right there," Thomas said, pointing to a spot on the wall. Vulpix looked at him with a dazed expression before firing another Flamethrower right at him. Thomas again dodged it, diving to the ground. He blasted Vulpix again. This was going to be a long training session. Vulpix lay on the ground, whimpering slightly as Thomas got back to his feet.

Amber

Amber had spotted the RDM braclet on his arm and taken note of it. When Ash called out to her, she meowed happily and bounded out into view. She wasn't in the mood to force the other guy to come out, so she wouldn't. She ignored Ash and walked straight over to Alyss. She knew this human could translate her meows into speech. Didn't matter how.

"Hi! I know you know what I'm saying! Could you tell the others my new friend is wearing a pretty braclet with the letters RDM on it? He says he doesn't want to come out right now. Also... Something's wrong with Master... I... He's turned into those bad people he saved me from. And I don't know how to fix him... Hm... Where's Esper? I want to play with him!" Amber meowed helpfully, then took to searching the entire campsite for Esper, even sniffing Kilita when she came in for a landing. Quin stood up and stretched out. He had spotted Draco's pager flashing.

"I have to go find a bush to water," Quin said.

"TMI there Quin!" Draco protested as Quin ignored him. Quin had recognised that number. He walked away from camp. First, he would find out exactly what Draco had asked Delila to do, then he would get on Draco, because it likely would just mess things up even more.

"You guys look after the idiot while I'm gone, ok?" Quin asked Ash and the others. Then, without waiting for an answer, he walked out of the area.

Espore

"Why do you want to know? Hm... It was Merin, but I only saw him for a moent before I was wisked away to RISE Island. Then, I met with Agatha. After I talked with her, I went to my room and my memories slowly began to come back. Then, we came here and I was teleported somewhere by Thomas, my old trainer, and Trigger flew me to you. Oh yeah, I also used that move machine before the base blew up. It was awesome!" Espore said happily. He looked at Leo and Garet with curiousity on his face as the two of them had a telepathic conversation without him. Espore could break into the conversation, but that would be rude, so he waited for an answer.
 
Lucian had collapsed after the teleport. Morty whistled and the older male was quickly taken away. Morty hesitated as Thomas left, then followed him. He was worried about Brie but... he paused outside the closed door and keyed the code in. He silently watched the boy blast his Pokemon into the wall. "You know fear doesn't make a strong Pokemon. I know you do. Neither does acting like an arrogant big shot." He sighed a bit. "I'm weak... but even I could kick your arrogant, childish rear end Thomas. Just letting you know that."

~~

Alyss nodded. "The Pokemon doesn't want to come out," she told Ash softly, who nodded. Alyss reached over to pet Amber's head gently. "Esper's with some other people right now. He doesn't trust us anymore. He'll come back." She looked at Ash. "THomas' hanged for the worse." Ash groaned a bit and nodded. She waved lazily as Quin left.

"No promises," she called after him.

~~

Brie's breathing began to ease as the chemical began to leave her system. Zoran sighed and began to bandage her. "Can you carry her?" he asked. "I'm a bit short." Day nodded and knelt. THen she abruptly clutched her head and whined.

"What did I do?" she mumbled.

"Not you," Zoran told her. "But you." Day shivered.

"Ookay..." she didn't quite get it but she was so sleepy. Oh well, this girl was hurt. She would remember later. Day put her on her back and they hurried back to camp. Poly's Pokeball shook.
 
Kai herself had felt the ghostly wind. It was certainly fitting for Shu, anyway. She peered into the distance, trying to see if she couldn't make out her teammate as they walked along. All of a sudden she saw the glint of something metallic through the trees and her attention was grabbed. She could see something that looked a lot like a fairly large gold object hovering not far away through the trees. Gold? She got the feeling she knew what she was looking at.

Kai (Bulbasaur): "Hey..!"

She briefly called out to alert the others before realizing that Shu was coming towards them. The yamask casually floated over to the group, silently glancing at the pokemon he did not know before turning his attention to Kai who seemed to be looking up at him expectantly. Rather than wait, Kai asked the obvious question.

Kai (Bulbasaur): "Shu, do you know where the others are..?"

Shu seemed as if he weren't going to respond, though after a moment he spoke in a quiet tone of voice.

Shu (Yamask): "Of course... They're nearby, if you listen..."

Kai wondered what Shu meant by that until she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and tune in her ears to search for faint noises. As it happened, she heard a voice. She couldn't understand what was being said, but she vaguely recognized it despite this. Shu proceeded to turn and slowly proceed in the direction of the voices, prompting Kai to follow. Meanwhile Legend just sort of followed along as per usual, assumedly tracking them by hearing.
 
The End of the Search...?

Garet didn't say anything more to Espore - he'd seen the glint, too. He watched as the Yamask came closer, traded a few words with Kai, then turned and began to leave. After hearing the sounds Shu referred them to, Garet hurried a little to walk beside the Yamask.

So Merin and Agatha had been among the first ones to talk to Espore...it figured that a Psychic Pokemon might have something to do with this. The "move machine" was most likely the CM Project, but that wasn't really relevant at the moment. But, if Espore said his memories were returning, then why stick with the RDM instead of his trainer, Thomas? I'm not called TruthSeeker for nothing, Garet thought to himself.
It would have to wait until they took care of the business at hand, though.

~~~~~

What...was this? A Pokemon that was owned by a human, yet unrestrained? Karib watched silently for a few moments before hurrying further around the site's edge, making sure he was still hiding and moving away from the human that had just left the site. The Sableye still hadn't found anything to indicate the source of the shot he'd heard earlier, though he was getting closer.
 
Thomas and Vulpix

"..." Thomas said. He really didn't care what any of them had to say. Unless they brought him orders. Vulpix growled and got back to his feet again, this time charging right for Thomas, his body covered by fire. Flame Charge. Thomas didn't much care for ruling his pokemon by fear, but it didn't matter who it was, if someone attacked him, he was going to fight back.

"Do you have orders from Theo?" Thomas asked calmly as he teleported to a different spot, causing Vulpix to crash into the wall. He had just realised Morty was still there, and assumed he had other matters than just telling him how he did things was wrong.

Amber

Amber looked at the strange boy that was still cooking. She was enjoying being pet, but she soon grew bored with it. She stalked over to Kilita, the one that smelled the most likely to play with her, and punced on the dragon's swishing tail. Kilita jerked her head back to see what had landed on her, but soon turned back around and lay her head down. She closed her eyes, but everytime Amber would try and jump on her, she would move her tail out of the way. Draco laughed at theeir antics and leaned back when he was doen cooking.

"So... What have you been up to all these years?" Draco said quietly. He was growing tired of the silence that had fallen over the campsite. He cut a chunk of meat off the deer and served himself, motioning for the others to do the same. Zeal gave an annoyed grumble and took to the air again. Rena popped out of her pokeball, and the Dragonair looked up at Zeal's retreating form. She shook her head and coiled up on the ground.

Quin

"Damn it! I don't care what he asked you to do! I said no, and I'm the one in charge! I don't care how long he's been with you, he doesn't have the right to go over my head like that. Well, he was exagerating. I'm fine now. Trust me, I'm fine. I'm going to wring his neck, but I'm fine... Alright. Fine then!" Quin said angrily as he snapped his phone shut. He shoved it back into his pocket. The nerve of that woman!Talking down on him like that. So what if she had been a knight longer, he was the one out in the field! He sighed and shook his head. He called out Arcino, and leaned against the Sceptile, trying to decide what to do. Draco had just messed everything up again. He was in a real dilemma. After all, how could he just let the two of them force that girl to do anything she didn't want to? And he knew she would not want to give up Porygon 2.

Winny

Winny finally reached the spot where Van had vanished. But all she saw was Zoran, Day, and some other girl. Day was carrying the other girl, and they were walking back the way she had come from.

"Hey! Down here! I finally made it! Where's Van? What happened?" Winny said as they walked past her. She turned and began to follow them as fast as she could, but Wynauts are not known for their speed.

Espore

Espore walked along after Garet, Shu, and the others, but he caught a whiff of something interesting, and lost interest in them. He turned and began tracking the scent, even though his nose was sorely out of practice. how had it gotten that bad? Oh, right, he tended to rely on his psychic senses. He smelled cooking meat, but that made him want to vomit. No, what he was after was different. He had smelled some fruit. That was what he wanted. Problem. It was way above him. Well, he could use his Psychic powers to get it down, but where was the fun in that? He walked over to the tree and began to climb it, his claws biting into the soft wood. He made it up into the branches with ease, and reached up and snatched a piece of fruit down. He lay down and began snacking on it, proud of the fact he had scaled the tree with ease.
 
Morty shrugged and nodded. "Orders are..." He walked over to pick up the Vulpix. He was concerned about the Pokemon in general because despite how sturdy they were, being thrown into a wall was not exactly health oriented. "Go get your bones checked by a specialist. Brie is a genius healer, no doubt, but bones aren't supposed to rapidly repair themselves. After that come back here. We're supposed to wear you out completely, figure out your limits."

~~

"Thomas captured Van," Zoran said softly, watching Brie's condition. She was deeply asleep but her face kept pinching. Pain and nightmares maybe. "Day made them leave. But Van's okay," he added. "I know he is. No one there likes abuse and they'll step in."

~~

Alyss giggled at the Pokemon antics. Ash gave her a little smile. She then glanced at Draco, or in his direction, seeing his aura. It made her sick. Funny how she hadn't noticed that. Then again, many people made her sick. She looked away, debating whether if was worth telling him. She spoke solemnly after a few minutes. "I've been training a lot, healing some. I've seen my family." She closed her eyes and let her Aura senses sharpen, almost feeling Bryan having a panic attack. "I've lived. I've had fun, nearly been killed." She smiled again now. "I found someone who meant a lot to me, more than anyone."
 
Kai glanced back to check on the others as if to make sure they were following as she walked, following Yamask eagerly. Legend seemed to struggle to walk in a straight line, but otherwise was following along decently. One would think she might be hurt somehow if they didn't know she was essentially blind. It didn't take long for them to close in on the voices, which got louder with each moment. After a time Kai managed to make them out. That was most definitely Kimiko speaking.

Kimiko (Dratini): "Don't you know anything about what plants you can eat? I thought you were a herbivore!"

They weren't going out of there way to be loud, and rather sounded a bit quiet. Kai could tell they'd be able to see them any second. In fact, before she could even finish that thought it happened. Kimiko had bruises all over her body and didn't sound very healthy just by her voice. One of King's ears hung limply and one of his eyes looked very swollen. In addition, one of his arms was quite clearly broken on further examination. His fur seemed to hide most of his other wounds, which he assumedly had. He sounded a bit healthier than Kimiko, but even his voice held hints of pain.

King (Buneary): "Th-That's a /stereotype/..!"

King was insulted by the notion that he was strictly a herbivore. He knew what game Kimiko was playing. She was trying to imply that he couldn't hunt, that he was weak. Why did she have to be like that? Meanwhile, Kimiko noticed Shu approaching, followed momentarily by the others.

Kimiko (Dratini): "Hmm..? .../Kai/!"

Her voice held a tone of excitement and King immediately looked up and squinted as if having trouble seeing. He then promptly pointed an accusing finger at Kimiko.

King (Buneary): "Kai! Kimiko said she was going to /eat me/."

Kai just sort of gave the two a blank look as Kimiko snickered and proceeded to let out a sigh of relief. They obviously weren't dying, but they were still immature. Hopefully her presence would make them behave.

Kai (Bulbasaur): "Seriously guys..? You both look like zombies. Time to get serious about your health."

Shu mumbled irritation at the statement, though it hadn't been directed at him in the first place. It seemed to cause offense despite this.

Kai (Bulbasaur): "Let's go."

King and Kimiko both had fallen silent and moved to follow Kai, shortly followed by Shu. Kai turned back to Garet, looking up at him as she spoke next. Her locked gaze seemed to suggest that he had her attention, that she was ready to follow when he was ready to move. Or at least, that might be what one might assume.

Kai (Bulbasaur): "These are fellow RDM members, devisers."

Kimiko (Dratini): "You needed backup?"

Kai (Bulbasaur): "...I didn't know if you were /alive/."

Kai's response was almost uncharacteristically harsh toned, as if it frustrated her to have been asked that question. In truth, she had just dealt with a lot of stress during her separation from the two. Kimiko proceeded to respond in a tone that reflected low spirits.

Kimiko (Dratini): "Oh..."

Having a sudden burst of hindsight, Kai decided to stretch her veins out and pick King up, who didn't seem very comfortable with the idea but accepted it anyway. She then lifted King and set him atop her. He was heavier than torchic, but oh well. Kimiko on the other hand... Kimiko could carry herself. Injuries didn't even impede her movement. She moved via telekinetic floating! Kai was pretty confident that as long as she was fully conscious she was fine to float along with them. Kimiko didn't complain, perhaps understanding this herself.

King (Buneary): "Thanks..."
 
Mapmakers, Lost and Found

Leo stopped when Espore left the group, looking both ways before silently following the Espeon. Better make sure the Psychic Pokemon isn't jumped when he isn't looking. The Lucario stayed a few yards behind Espore anyways, standing beside the tree as he watched the cat-like Pokemon eat. Seriously, exactly how old was this Espeon?
Leo let some time pass before relaying, telepathically, "Are you wondering why TruthSeeker asked you that question?"


This search hadn't taken as long as Garet had thought it would. And his night vision was good enough that he could see the state the Dratini and Buneary were in. "All this from a tidal wave?" the Arcanine spoke, showing a little surprise in his voice. They needed medical attention, and soon. Turning around, Garet frowned. Leo wasn't with them anymore. "The best we can do right now is a Heal Pulse," Garet said to the Mapmakers, "once I find out why Leo and Espore left us." He waited a few moments for any objections before turning and walking back the way they'd come, halting once he found the scents of Leo and Espore.

~~~~~

Karib came to a stop in his current hiding-place, in the shadows behind a few bushes, when he spotted three humans moving toward the campsite, one being supported. The Sableye also noted the Wynaut that appeared. So the supported human was probably the one who'd been hit by the shot. With only some of the moonlight coming through the treetops, Karib couldn't tell for sure where the wound might be.
He backed away as he watched the humans, then stopped as his foot found a twig to step on.


Carrie QuickDigger was breathing heavily as she stood over the dead deer. Just wait 'til I get bigger, she thought, remembering the chase she'd just finished. The Gabite knew she'd be even faster one day. Carrie got into a position where she could drag the deer easily and began the walk back to the outskirts of Venice.
 
Espore

Espore looked down at Leo. He flicked his tail and an apple floated down to him. He could sense the Lucario's confusion and laughed a little bit.

"Of course I'm curious why he asked. I'm always curious. But I was hungry. I haven't eaten all day... You would be too. In fact, I asked him why he wanted to know when I answered. He didn't exactly respond to my question. So, I figured he wasn't going to tell me. So, I came to get something to eat. Simple as that," Espore said to Leo as he reached up and pulled down another apple for himself. He looked down at Leo, awaiting his response as he ate his apple.

Thomas and Vulpix

"Careful, he bites," Thomas warned as Morty reached down for the little fire type fox, who was now growling menacingly at Morty. Vulpix bit down on Morty's hand as hard as he could, drawing blood and opening a large gash. Thomas merely watched this with boredom. If Morty wasn't going to take his warnings, then he deserved what he got. He pulled out Vulpix's pokeball and and tossed it up and down. Van let go of Morty's hand and blasted a Flamethrower at the ball. Thomas caught it and put up a powerful light shield, blocking the attack. He decided to forego the counter attck. Blasting Vulpix half to death when the stupid little fox attacked him was one thing. Blasting Morty half to death at the same time was completely different.

"Alright. Let's go," Thomas said simply as Vulpix growled at Morty, telling him to put him down.

Amber and Draco

"... Sounds rough," Draco said simply. Hee knew he was pushing her buttons. But then again, his mere presence pushed her buttons. Amber got tired of playing with Kilita and walked around the campsite, sniffing everything and looking around, exploring her surroundings. Then she let out a tired yawn and curled up in an empty spot on the ground. Quin returned and glared at Draco. He knew what about. Draco stood up and crossed his arms defiantly over his chest.

["You stupid idiot! What the **** were you thinking! You may have just messed everything up!"] Quin stated angrily in Finnish. Draco glared at him before answering.

["You were out like a light! What was I supposed to do? We've been out here too long anyways! Our orders were simple, retrieve the new pokemon. By any means neccessary! We can't let our personal feelings and attachments get in the way of our mission!"] Draco retorted back in Finnish. Quin walked over to him and and the two of them stood glaring at each other.

["You're one to talk about personal hang ups, Dragon! I am the mission leader! You don't have the authority to just go and call for backup! I-"] Quin replied, his tone icy and level, but Draco cut him off.

["Quincy, you were out. Provision 329 says that I can call in whomever I want when such an important mission has gone terribly wrong and the agents are compromised or surrounded by their enemies!"] Draco said, equally venomously. Quin threw his hands up in the air with a look of disbelieve on his face.

["My god Dragon! These are kids! Not trained soldiers! And they aren't our enemies you blind fool! They invited us into their camp! What the **** is wrong with you!? I swear, Dragon, sometimes you just make me want to-"] Quin said with a note of anger in his own voice.

"Raise your voice to me again and see what happens! I don't care whether you're the leader out here or not, I will not tolerate that kind of- ZZZZ" Draco began, but he stopped again as Logana flew over him, sprinkling him with Sleep Powder. He fell forward and Quin caught him. Quin lay him down gently and Logana landed on his shoulder.

"Sorry you all had to witness that. Draco... He's kind of impulsive like that," Quin said calmly as he sat down.

Winny

Winny stopped, her anger growing. She looked at Zoran and Day with a confused look on her face.

"Thomas... CAPTURED VAN!!!??? That... Van won't do well in captivity, abuse or not. He... We have to get him out!" Winny said urgently. The thought of Van after a few days in captivity again. His spirit had been broken even after a short time. It had taken her and Trigger ages to get him back to normal. And now, being caught and imprisoned by one of his best friends? She'd be lucky if she could get Van to trust any human again! And it would only get worse the longer he spent like that! She hustled as fast as she could to catch back up to Zoran and Day.

"Just show me where to go, and I can teleport us there now!" Winny said urgently. Forget that Thomas was also messed up and needed help. She really didn't care about him right now. Her only worry was Van.
 
Morty didn't even flinch at the bite, despite the bleeding. "No," he told the fox. "I'm not putting you down. You could gnaw my hand off if you'd like. But I'm supposed to give all injured Pokemon to a separate wing while the trainer is examined. So either you let yourself get healed or I leave you here. I don't think you're going to make a stupid move." He gave Van a calmly cheery look. "I'm right aren't I? You're not stupid."

~~

Zoran sighed a little. "But we have to... no it's all right. Miss Shay take that girl back to our camp. I'll show Winny where to go." He heard a chirp above them and Adler landed on his arm. The bird chirped anxiously. "I don't want to know," the boy decided, not even sure what the bird was talking about. He reluctantly returned his Pokemon and placed a hand out to Winny. "The image is in my head," he told her. "It's easier if you just grab on."

Zaria appeared behind them. Zoran shook his head at her and she gave him a small glare, looking irritated. Day watched this silently, looking confused. She had noclue where the camp was. Being called directionally challenged was an understatement. Eventually though, the two siblings stopped their silent bickering and Zaria smiled, gesturing for Day to follow.

Day felt Brie shift on her back and nodded, hurrying after the ghost. Zoran turned to WInny. "Let's go now."

~~

"Impulsive or prideful?" Ash muttered slyly, grinning at Riley. The Raichu squeaked its agreement. "Don't worry about it. He's always been like that." Kira banged politely on his Pokeball, prompting Ash to click it open lazily. The Lucario nodded to them all politely. Alyss tilted her head curiously.

"Something's wrong," she said to Quin. "Isn't it?"
 
Thomas

"He's not, but sometimes it's hard to tell," Thomas said simply as Vulpix bit down again on Morty's arm, spitting out the blood from his mouth. He had opened up a large gash in Morty's hand, right near the wrist. He spat out some more blood and began struggling in earnest now. He barked and yipped and clawed, trying to get Morty to put him down. Thomas just stood there and watched, not wanting to get involved. Either way, it didn't bother him. He walked over to Morty, putting Vulpix's pokeball on his waist.

Quin and Amber

"Both, actually. Anyways, you don't need to worry. I'll take care of everything. Just relax, ok?" Quin said easily. He didn't want to burden his new friends. Even now, Draco may have helped speed the mission up, but at what cost? He shook his head. Wrong was wrong. He would do things his way, and not make any more enemies than he had to. He would absolutely not force Day to give up her new pokemon if she didn't want to. The scientists were after the data for their new Pokedex. All he needed was a scan of the pokemon. Amber walked towards the edge of camp. She was making sure no one was watching her as she slipped away into the darkness. She was going to go find Esper. She had caught the scent of one of the RDM people she knew. And she had to go and find them. She slipped away to go sniff out the Arcanine she had barely caught the scent of a second ago. Who the other pokemon with him were, she didn't know, but she was going to find him.

Marcus and Robby

"Swellow, take this note and go fly up there," Marcus said as he tied the note to the Swellow's leg. Swellow took off and flew to where Zoran and Winny would appear in a few minutes. He had seen that they would be there. The note was written in English, as he wasn't sure Zor knew French.

Zoran, this is Marcus. Don't move anywhere! We'll be up there in about fifteen minutes! Oh, this is my new pokemon Swellow! Do you like him?
Marcus.

Satisfied, he sent Swellow on his way. He grinned at Robby, who was still practicing his powers. He knew that they were going to fight someone soon. He smiled back, and the pair of them wordlessly made their way to where they would meet Zoran. Back to where it began. Where Marcus's best friend needed his help.

Winny

Winny concentrated a bit on Zoran's mind, trying to pick out where he wanted her to go, and nothing else.

"Er... I'm sorry if this is a bit painful. I'm not good at mind to mind stuff like this. I hope I don't get more than intended," Winny said as she pulled the location out of Zoran's memory. But, in her own clumsiness, she also got more. She pulled out a memory of a terrible fire. Nothing more than that, just a fire. She shuddered and tried to block it out.

"Sorry about that," Winny said. She ambled over to Zoran and grabbed his hand. She Teleported to the location she had gotten from him. A very regal looking Swellow looked at them from where it was resting on a rock. He flapped over and landed on top of Winny's head and stuck his talon out to Zoran, still clutching the note.

"Eh?" Winny said confused by this bird's behavior. She cocked her eyebrow at him, but said nothing else.
 
Kai resisted the urge to make a comment on Garet's surprise. Perhaps it was because she'd been personally hit with one, but she didn't think he understood exactly how hard waves like that could hit. The only way not to get wrecked by a wave like that was not to get hit. She wouldn't have been surprised if even the strongest pokemon in the world couldn't take that much abuse with grace. It was, after all, called a natural disaster for a reason. She personally was just grateful they were alive. It was without a doubt that pokemon had perished that day. Regardless, she turned to follow wordlessly. Meanwhile, Kimiko and King seemed to be bickering over something. At least that is until Kai shot them a look. She knew it was probably Kimiko's fault knowing how she was, but she felt the need to try and teach King not to respond anyway. Meanwhile, Shu floated along, the least hurt or tired of the mapmakers. He seemed very quiet. At times like this, Kai appreciated it. At other times, it was kind of eerie. It seemed like the only times he spoke was when he thought he had something important to say. That or perhaps he was shy. It was hard for her to tell despite having known him for a while. Kai supposed she would have to talk to Garet more later. For now though, they had things to do, goals to accomplish, work to do. She wasn't sure how /she/ could help the devisors, but it was both her duty and she felt obligated.

Meanwhile, Legend waddled along uneasily. At this point she could hardly see in front of her. She couldn't count the number of times she had tripped or bumped into something already. Why couldn't she just have a glowing tail or back, or /head/ or something like many fire pokemon?! She couldn't even light a torch and carry it because she had no hands! It was like Arceius really hated her species or something. That angst filled thought aside, she was managing to keep up with the others. Kimiko resisted the urge to tease her companion about her blindness. It had come to be a very sensitive subject among the group which she knew Kai wouldn't tolerate becoming a subject of teasing. Shu wasn't even fun to tease, because he seemed to ignore everything she said, except jokes pertaining to death which got her growls at best. King on the other hand was kind of easy. If it wasn't his femininity it was his ability to fight or his honor, and boy was he self-conscious about all of them. At the moment though, he didn't look like he was handling the walk so gracefully. His ballance was completely thrown off, making his walking more of a speed limp at best. She supposed with ears like that they /must/ contribute to balance.

Regardless, they were all following Kai for the moment, despite their individual difficulties.
 
Morty still didn't notice. Or if he did, he was used to it. "I suppose that's so," he agreed. Then he stiffened. "Thomas, go follow your orders and get to the doctor. And deliver this," he held out a notebook. "To Lucian." Before there could be anymore debate, he tightened his grip on the fox and left the room. He hurried down the hallway intentionally toward the medical wing, leaving the path for Thomas to follow. Then he stopped at one door and marked it so the boy knew. After that, he turned to a blank wall and walked through it, carrying Van with him.

"Don't panic," he said dully, giving the fox a quiet, even stare. "And stop biting. I can't feel it. I have a deal for you. Someone important to me is trapped here. You help me get her out, I help you get out." He lifted the Pokeball with his free hand. "I'll release you too. Your choice. I'm going ahead with this regardless, even if it means leaving you down there." He paused, looking at the stairwell. The problem with this area was, only people like Morty could access it without help. Not just because there wasn't a door but the nature of this section of building was neutral, like Theo. Ghosts weren't affected by that. Neither was he. It was why he didn't fight much; he couldn't.

"If you need incentive," Morty commented quietly. "Here's a couple. People can only come down here every few months. Also, the air is rather thin and filthy, being a place for prisoners kept asleep, the most dangerous. Sometimes they wake up. Sometimes they lash out and accidently kill you. Believe me, it's not a picnic." Morty fell silent now, brushing his hair from his eyes.

~~

Alyss shook her head. "We should be worried," she said softly. "You're worried." Ash just shrugged, petting Riley as casually as ever.

"Things'll happen the way they do,"" Ash said easily before stiffening. Day wandered out, still carrying the girl. "Seven hells," she muttered. "What caused that?"

"She got shot," Day said innocently, placing the healing girl on the ground. "She's supposed to sleep." Day sat up and released a certain Pokemon, Poly. Poly floated around her head. "Hullo Poly," she greeted, oblivious to what chaos she likely wrought. "Day is happy to meet you." The Pokemon floated around her head, still curious. It made an odd, beeping noise and settled on her head. Otto let out a "wott!" of jealousy.

~~

Zoran shrugged, fingering his Pokeballs. "Tha's all right," he commented quietly. "It ain't all that serious." He glanced at the Swellow and smiled a bit. "Heya," he greeted, taking the note and reading it. "We need to wait a few minutes. We have a friend meeting us here." He let out Adler again, who chirped excitedly. It was time to be awesome as far as the eaglet was concerned.
 
Leo grabbed the apple as it floated down to him, immediately taking a bite out of it. It was about time he ate something. After a bit of time, during which he continued eating his apple and thinking, the Lucario said, "I know it may be a touchy subject right now, but I...know someone who could help you with your memories. Maybe find the ones you don't remember. I don't want to force you into it, and I don't want to seem like I am forcing you."


Garet didn't miss the bickering that had just ended, nor had he missed the earlier arguing between the Buneary and the Dratini. Canine-like Pokemon usually had great hearing. After glancing back once, Garet slowed the pace a little. Next thing to do after the rendezvous is get to a base, he thought.
A Mapmakers-team of five Pokemon, all of them young, far as he could tell (which might explain the bickering). He'd come to that conclusion with the evidence from the time spent with Kai and Legend, then the arguing between the Dratini and the Buneary. As he mulled it over, Garet struck on another thought. Didn't Mapmakers usually work with a human? He wasn't sure, but if they did, then why--

That train of thought ended as Garet, who'd been following the scents, found Leo leaning against a tree. Garet turned his head to either side, searching for Espore. His ears picked up the sound of munching from one of the tree-branches. If Leo wasn't too concerned, then he needed something to do. "Leo, you're probably the only one here who can heal others," Garet said, indicating the Buneary and Dratini.

Leo dropped his apple-core at the sight of the two Mapmakers' injuries. "What have you two gone through?" he asked, walking closer to release a Heal Pulse on Kimiko and King. "Did you fight, or what?"

~~~~~

Karib watched as the Wynaut and the boy teleported away. If he'd heard right, then that had been Winny. She'd been in charge of the Venice RDM base for a while, if Karib remembered right. In any case, the new humans around here seemed to be affiliating with the humans he knew were friends of the CTs. TruthSeeker would want to know of this.

The Sableye waited until the humans had entered the campsite before moving again, still hiding as he went towards the rendezvous point. He hadn't noticed the Leafeon leaving the camp.
 
Espore

Espore sat on his tree branch, munching on his apple. He looked down at Leo. What was with everyone wanting him to get his memories? The ones he had were painful, terrible. He wasn't sure if he wanted to get the rest of them back. Still, he was curious.

"Hm... Maybe it would be ok... Who?" Espore asked as he sensed Garet, Kai, Legend, and three others he didn't know walk into the area. Though he assumed they were the rest of the Map Makers team. He grinned at all of them from his perch.

"Hey down there! You guys hungry?" Espore asked. With a twitch of his tail, several apples floated down toward the other RDM members. He set his head down and thought a moment, trying not to think about what he had remembered... And what he forgot. He sensed another person in the area. His ears flicked back, but he said nothing. He didn't hear anything at all. Whoever was coming was being incredibly stealthy. The only scent he caught was grass, trees, and other things you would find in a forest. So, whoever it was was likely a grass type, as that was all he could smell. Granted, his nose wasn't exactly good. But the person was very emotional, and that he found distracting. Leo could probably sense their Aura. But before he could say something, a young Leafeon burst into view. By young, he meant very young. She was just a kit, not much more than a few weeks old at best.

"Esper! I smell you up there! Come on down!" Amber shouted in the pokemon language at him. He began laughing.

"Come up here and make me!" he called playfully back at her. She grinned, completely ignoring the other RDM members, and began to climb up the tree. Espore grinned at her as she climbed. She was soon standing on the branch on front of him. The two of them stared at each other before she batted at his head. She grabbed him with her paws, and after a bit of yowling and squabbling, they both tumbled to the ground.

"Ow..." Espore said as he landed on his back. That theory anout a cat always landing on his feet? Totally bogus. Amber, however, landed right on top of him. She meowed and shook her head. Her eyes lit up and she bit down on the scruff of his neck and began dragging the still dazed Espore away from the others.

"Got you! Now, let's get back to the others! They've been worried about you Esper!" she said through the pink fur in her mouth as she dragged him past Garet.

Thomas

Thomas nodded and took the notebook from Morty, who tightened his grip on the still struggling fox. He walked calmly out the door after him, unconcerned that Morty had just stolen his pokemon. It's not like he cared. Vulpix was of no use to him right now anyways. He followed Morty to where he was going. He passed through the door Morty had marked and looked for Lucien.

"Here. Morty told me to give this to you," Thomas said boredly when he found him. He passed over the notebook and stood waiting for something else to do.

Van

Van growled and continued biting and clawing at Morty the entire time they walked down the hall. He stopped with a confused look on his face when they passed through a wall. His finely honed sense of smell was immediately assaulted by the dank, rotting smells coming from this area. He growled angrily, tasting the thin air. His breathing became more paniced and shallow. He looked at Morty. He was still very shaken by what had been happening. First Thomas catching him, and trapping him in that tiny ball, then Thomas beating the crap out of him, and now this? It was too much. Van just wanted to break down and cry. Instead, he growled threateningly.

"Put me down or you'll regret it!" Van barked out, knowing that Morty would not understand him. Biting and clawing wasn't working. Time for something a little more drastic. He remembered Zoran's blistered hands when he had gotten too hot not to long ago. Time to amplify that a lot. With a flick of his head, he set himself on fire. Flame Charge was burning him too, but he had a feeling that Morty wouldn't be able to stand the heat too well.

Marcus and Robby

Marcus and his cousin hiked towards their destination.

"So, are you ever going to tell me what you saw that's making you do this?" Robby asked finally, knowing the answer. Marcus shook his head no. How could he tell Robby? How could he tell anyone? It was too terrible, but he had to do it. There was no other way. Perhaps he could change things... Perhaps.

"You know as well as I do that I'm not going to," Marcus said. He huffed and pushed his way up the trail. Robby used his power to pick Marcus up and bring him back. Marcus just kind of floated in front of him with an amused expression on his face.

"Cousin! I need to know! How am I supposed fight this for you if you don't tell me?" Robby said concernedly. Marcus smiled. Instead of protesting and saying he could fight, he reached out and touched Robby's forehead. Robby yelped in pain and stumbled back, clutching his head like he had been shot. He might as well have been, for that was the vision Marcus had sent him.

"What makes you think I can't fight? Now come on, Zoran and Winny are waiting on us," Marcus said with a small smile. Robby rubbed his head again, but he nodded and followed his cousin. They soon heaqrd the excited chirping of a Rufflet. Marcus turned a corner and Zoran and Winny came into view. Swellow flapped over and landed on Robby's arm. Marcus scowled that his bird liked his cousin better than him.

"Hey Zor, it's been a while. Sorry about disappearing like that. I needed some help with a vision I had. Now, are you ready?" Marcus said as he walked forward. He grinned at them both. Robby joined the small group too.

Quin

"Don't worry. I'll handle it," Quin said assuringly. When Day walked into the camp with a girl on her back, he gave them an odd look. He let out a few choice words in Egyptian when he heard she had been shot. When Day released Poly, Quin fell silent, observing the way it moved through the air and the sounds it was making. He settled down and began taking notes in a small notebook. Logana took off and began floating around the area, watching over them all. He smiled, but made no moveto try and mess with Poly. He thanked everything he held dear that he had put Draco to sleep. The fool would likely have done something stupid.
 
Lucian took the book silently and began flipping through it without a word of thanks. He smiled a bit at one page before pointing behind the curtain. He winced as he did so, pulling at the tight bandages around his ribcage. "There's a doctor waiting to examine you. Go talk to him." He didn't look to see if the command was obeyed, deep within the pages of the notebook. He chuckled a bit, the sound cold.

~~

Morty finally felt the pain but his grip was still like iron. Finally he sighed and placed the fox down on the ground. "Are you implying you want to stay here and be killed?" he asked softly, stepping to stand inside the wall. "If you don't run out of air here, your human could kill you. Or one of the ones downstairs can do it. You don't want to die. The living normally don't." He stood and watched, listening to the world around him.

~~

Day looked innocently at Quin. "That wasn't nice," she told him before looking back at the beeping Poly, who then made a set of odd beeps. "Poly wants to know why you're staring at him."

Bryan rolled over, having been laying on a sleeping Mickey's stomach. "And you know that how?" he asked cheerfully, rubbing his eyes and moving his red locks from his face. He glanced at the quiet Alyss, who had decided at some point to jump on Logana's back and sit there, causing Ash to laugh. THe girl looked mildly enthusiastic.

"Morse code," Day told him with her wide red eyes staring happily at him. Bryan looked at her, seeing a shadow behind that stare. He recognized the feeling from them: his brother had looked that way before. Yet it didn't seem she was fully aware of it. Or if she was, she didn't seem too worried about it. He could also see something in her pocket, the outline of a small gun. Disturbing.

~~

Zoran smiled a little. "Hi Marcus, Hi Robby," he greeted, whistling to Adler. "I am. But I'm afraid you're going to have to go with Winny. I have something I have to do on my own while we're here." He clutched Dora's Pokeball and whispered to it, smiling without a care in the world. His honey-colored eyes flashed violet and he knocked on the door. A blonde, Cynthia, was out and opened her. Her grey eyes opened a little more and she smiled dreamily.

"Hi there," she greeted dazedly. "Are you here to visit again? You really should come by more, they miss you."

"I know," he told her earnestly. "Can you show these guys the way? I've got to deliver something."

"Of course," she told him with a smile, piercing Robby and Marcus with her eyes. "This way."

Meanwhile, Dora had sent a soft message to Van. "Do you recognize me Van? It is I, Dora. Zoran is worried about you. He says you can set him on fire if you tell him where you are. This place is very dangerous, even if there were no children here."
 
Kai and Shu tended to be the quiet ones of the group, especially Shu. Nobody knew why Shu was so quiet. He just didn't seem to take any pleasure in talking to anyone. In truth, the only reason Legend was being rather quiet was because she was scared. Normally, she was excellent bait for Kimiko to tease with her fiery temper. They were all indeed relatively young, though Legend was the only one of them exceptionally young. Shu on the other hand was... once again kind of odd. If one knew anything about Yamask, they'd know that there was little to no chance he was young, as they tended to be "born" already old. Who knew a lot about Yamask though? Not Kai, that's for sure. She was an expert on traveling and geography, not pokemon biology. To her, Shu was just quiet. That's all she knew.

When Leo spoke up the dratini and buneary didn't immediately respond. That is, not until after they'd been hit with a heal pulse anyway. King lifted his previously limp ear and let out a sigh of great relief, whereas a shiver seemed to run across Kimiko's body. She looked a lot less battered afterwards, but otherwise she honestly wasn't acting all that different. Dratini were rather hardy, Kai thought to herself. It was very difficult to keep them down without flat out knocking them out due to their psychic method of movement meaning they only needed their consciousness and energy to move about. The same applied to Shu though, really. Yet, he seemed to be pretty good at avoiding getting wrecked in the first place. Kimiko promptly replied in a deadpan tone.

Kimiko (Dratini): "No... no, we just got pulverized by a giant wave. That's all."

Rather than make any comment on a similar line, King simply gave his thanks, showing how grateful he was. His wounds must've been bothering him a whole lot.

King (Buneary): "Thank you..."

Kai seemed pleased by this. The team was back together and no one was at risk of dying. How could she ever thank the devisors for helping her? She turned her gaze to Garet in thought. Perhaps he had something he might ask of them? It seemed like a thought. Otherwise she could simply offer at some point, assuming he wasn't done with them altogether.
 
Leo would have said who it was, if Garet hadn't shown up with the Mapmakers. After the Heal Pulse, the Lucario glanced over the surrounding area with his Aura-sight. The humans' camp-sight was on the fringes of his Aura-sight, which was why Leo had stopped keeping track of the situation following the shot.
He frowned. There was an Aura coming towards them, though. Leo wasn't surprised, then, when that Aura's possessor showed up. What did surprise him was that the Leafeon, whose appearance seemed vaguely familiar, climbed up the tree to play with Espore, completely ignoring the RDM Pokemon.

Garet had grabbed, with his jaws, one of the apples that had floated down, then stashed it within his mane. He would eat it later.
As the Leafeon was dragging Espore - Esper, whichever one now - past him, Garet calmly lifted his right forepaw and brought it down on the Leafeon's body, pinning her to the ground. "We'll need those apples," he said, nodding at the fruit that Espore had sent down. Turning his gaze back to the pinned Leafeon, the Arcanine stated, in the Pokemon language, "You could have waited to see if he wants to go before trying to drag him away."

Garet narrowed his eyes suddenly. This Grass Pokemon had used the name 'Esper'. "Would you happen to know a human named Thomas?" he asked the Leafeon.

~~~~~

Karib stopped, looking up into the tree above him. There was some fruit up there, if his eyes were correct. There was also a sleeping bird on one of the branches. The Sableye gripped the tree's bark with his hands, trying to climb the tree. After a few meters, Karib pulled himself onto one of the branches. Looking at the bird again, he finally recognized Trigger Hawkeyes. As he continued climbing up towards the fruit, Karib wondered if he should wake up the Staraptor. Moon-high wasn't too far off.
 
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