The Children Are Hunted

Yet Another Chase...

For some reason, Garet did not give instant chase to the Leafeon when she dashed off with Espore. Esper. Gah, that's confusing, the Arcanine thought, thinking of the Espeon's two different names. Then Trigger arrived, carrying the Sableye, and said, "Garet! You must hear... Where did Espore, or Esper, or whatever the hell he's called now go?" he said tiredly as he kneeled down so that Karib could get off of his back. ... Tell Garet what you overheard Karib!"

"A Leafeon that showed up abducted Esper," Garet answered. "I'm sure all three of us know by now that 'Esper' is his real name." As the Sableye jumped off of Trigger's back, the Arcanine asked, "What did you hear?"

"Sir!" Karib snapped to attention. He wasn't sure why it was so urgent, but the Staraptor seemed to think it was. "I overheard Winny the Wynaut say that Thomas captured Van! And there are a few more humans in that group!"

The new humans wasn't a surprise to the two Devisers. However, the news that Thomas, one of the CTs, had captured Van, the Vulpix who had left the RDM to join the CTs, was...disturbing. Especially when combined with what the Leafeon had said about Esper breaking 'Master'. Too many Psychic Pokemon messing with others, Garet thought to himself. "This only delays what I want to tell you," Garet said to Trigger. He then turned and walked over to where he'd last seen the Leafeon, lowering his nose to the ground and moving forward for a few seconds.

Smart Leafeon. She'd changed her scent to that of grass. Not too surprising, as far as Grass Pokemon went. The smell of grass was similar enough to Garet's surroundings that it would be difficult to follow the Leafeon. However, though the Leafeon herself could smell like grass, Esper's scent could not change in the same way, only covered. The Arcanine brought his nose up a foot or so from the ground, still sniffing. Yep, Esper's scent was a little stronger above the ground. Still mostly covered up by grass, but there was a faint trail.

Garet turned and trotted back to the other RDM members. Looking over the Mapmakers, he asked Kai, "What particular skills does your team have?" Now would be the Arcanine's first assessment on how helpful this team could be, now and in the future.
 
Adler shreed angrily as he hit one of the bookshelves. He got back up, still looking adorably ferocious. Alakazam snorted, clenching a fist and charging with a Thunderpunch. Adler dodged easily, soaring above his head. "Too slow~ Yer never gonna catch me loser! Yahoo!"

"Stay still," the Psychic type muttered half-heartedly. Adler rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"Warriors of Libety never rest!" he declared, slicing down in another Shadow Claw. The ICe Punch smacked him hard into the chair where Zoran was curled. The boy made an odd noise, the cry mixed with pain. Adler perched on the chair rest. "Don't worry pal," he said softly. "I won't let you down. You believed in me so I won't go down!" Adler took off, slamming into Alakazam's chest with an Aerial Ace, determinedly attacking at his midsection.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Theo's Pokemon asked darkly, throwing him aside. "Poor attempt isn't it?"

Adler shook his fluffy head and got back up. "If I was gonna kill ya..." he said defiantly. "I woulda gone and done it by now! But you've been hurting my buddy! I ain't gonna let you do that again! I'll free him from you guys! LIBERTY!"

Alakazam huffed and blasted his enemy into the hallway. Adler flew back in. Was he hurt? There was blood dripping from his face and his wings seemed weaker. However, he let out a ferocious screech, spreading his wings and tackling Alakazam into the wall. The Psychic type cringed a little For his size, the brat hit hard. The eaglet let out a wild noise akin to a roar. "I am Adler, a Rufflet of the Appalacian!" the bird declared. "I will fight anyone I can! AND I WILL WIN!" He soared up to the ceiling and dove, slashing a Shadow Claw into Alakazam's face.

~~

Mare laughed. "I love when people make threats they can't carry out." She let Floyd come out and lift her into the air. "Follow that silly man okay?" Floyd buzzed a bit in agreement, taking off quickly. "This is gonna be fun~" She let Floyd do his typical acrobatics above, skimming the trees smoothly.

~~

Ninetales swirled in midair, using his tails to take the fiery attack. It hurt a bit, however, it healed as well. He had needed the energy after attacking that human's mind so ferociously. "Thank you for the pick-me-up little one," he told the angered Vulpix. Were all children as unstable as this one? Ah kits and their tempers... "Now then... to return the favor." He focused a Dark power, drawing the negative feelings of the nearby people to him. This base was full of those emotions. It formed a swirling ball of energy and Ninetales quickly released it in a pulse. Theo watched silently, smirking a bit. Ninetales was always too intelligent for his own good.
 
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Amber and Espore

Amber stopped as she reached the beach. Hamg on? Why was she here? She needed to get Esper back to the others! Esper gave a soft groan from her back and she sat down. The small pink cat slid to the ground and the slightly smaller yellow cat bounded playfully into the water. After a moment, Espore began to wake up. He looked around and realised he had no idea where he was. Amber came back to shore, dripping wet.

"Wee! That was fun! You're finally awake Esper! Now, I've gotten you away from those bad pokemon! So... Will you fix Master now?" Amber said, her eyes shining with hope. Espore gave her an odd look. She was getting on his nerves.

"No, I will not. He doesn't deserve it!" Espore said angrily. Amber frowned. Time for a different approach.

"Pretty please? Come on, RDM Deviser! Aren't you supposed to help pokemon that need you? Isn't that what you do? Man, you RDM guys are so stingy!" Amber said. She sat down in the sand, turning her large amber eyes pleadingly on Espore. Espore simply looked away ad sent out a telepathic signal to Leo.

"We free pokemon from cruel people like your master-" Espore began, but Amber cut him off.

"Esper, look at me!" she commanded, her voice no longer the playful tone she normally used. It was deadly serious now. Such a departure from character immediately caught Espore's attention. He turned his head and looked at her. She was holding her head to the side, and Espore could see several very visible scars on her neck and behind her ear.

"These came from cruel people. They're just the ones you can see. Don't talk to me about cruel people. I'm a month old, and a good three quarters of my life was spent with cruel people. If Master was cruel, do you honestly think I'd go to such lengths to fix him? If he was cruel, I wouldn't even care what happened to him! But he isn't. He's nice. Or... He was before those people broke his heart. That's why you have to fix him!" Amber said seriously. She fell quiet and began chasing her tail, kcking up l lot of sand, leaving Espore to ponder her words. He reached into her mind, as gently as he could, looking at her memories. All he got was a few peeks at her life with the AAPM, like them cutting off her ear and then having to reattach it, or one of the times they had tried to force her to evolve with the Fire Stone. But he also got some of the more recent memories, like Thomas teaching her some new moves and heaping her with praise. Her and him training together. This only served to confuse Espore. Were these memories even possible? He contacted Leo.

"... Leo, I want to know the truth. I need my memories back. All of them. You'll have to get me away from Amber, or perhaps get her to come with us, but I have to know the truth," Espore said.

Van

Van leapt to the side with a snarl. The Dark Pulse flew right by him and hit the ground.

"There's a difference though. That little pick me up, as you called it, only helps your flames. You flames can't hurt me!" Van growled before blasting another Flamethrower at Ninetails. Then he focused his energy a bit and emitted a blinding Flash. The more he made it so that Ninetails couldn't see, the easier it would be. But the large fox was already making it pretty easy for him to win.

Marcus and Thomas

"Man!" Volt growled as he hit the ground. He had a big burn on his flank and a good deal of bruises from Magmar, but he was in far better shape than his opponent. Magmar was swaying on his feet, unable to do that much to defend himself.

"Ah..." Marcus whimpered, still on his knees clutching at his face. By now small red lines of blood had run down his face.

"Volt, use Discharge again," Thomas said emotionlessly. Volt looked at him questioningly, but blasted Magmar. The pokemon went flying and hit the wall, where he lay in a crumpled heap next to Robby, who was still out.

"Return... G-go, Mightyena. Use Sand Attack..." Marcus said. He had no chance. He was going to lose... But his vision... It... It may have been even further in the future. Because Esper had been there. Yet... Esper was no where to be found now. Maybe he had read it wrong...

"Humph. Please. Volt, return. Deluge! Use Ice Beam!" Thomas said. He returned Volt. His Wartortle came out and blasted a beam of ice right at Mightyena, who leapt to the side with a growl.

Zara

"Humph. She thinks she's got everything figured out, doesn't she?" Zara muttered as Arcino ran.

"I'm confused Zara. What is up with ths Mare person? You seem to have peaked her curiousity," Quin mumbled sleepily. Zara chuckled.

"Heh, I attract the weirdest sorts. Just remember to warn that big mouthed blonde haired fool to watch out for her if he decides he wants to pursue that female," Zara said. He was a little bored now. Quin yawned in his mind and said he would. Good, one less thing to worry about. Zara really didn't want to have to deal with people thinking he had killed another knight.

Trigger

Trigger fell silent and fluttered up into a tree. He blinked a few times, trying to adjust himself to the lack of light. From what Garet had said, it seemed like he wasn't that concerned. Well, Trigger had felt it was important. But then again, he was very protective of Van. Maybe he was just playing things up in his own head.

"So, you found the rest of your team? Well, that is helpful," Trigger said quietly. Then he fell silent again as he waited for Garet to decide on a course of action.
 
Kai raised her eyes to attention when she noticed that Garet was coming towards her. He mildly surprised her by asking what her team was capable of. Well let's see... She supposed she should start with the obvious.

Kai (Bulbasaur): "Well, we're all very good at memorizing places, by sight and sometimes smell when available."

She then turned to look at Kimiko, who didn't seem to realize she was being looked at until she heard her name.

Kai (Bulbasaur): "Kimiko has telekinetic powers that she uses to fly and can control the weather..."

And she then turned to Legend.

Kai (Bulbasaur): "Legend breathes fire..."

It probably didn't sound like much, but the implication was that /nobody else on the team could/. Legend was their only garaunteed source of warmth, and the /only/ reason they could ever survive the icier parts of the world, even if Legend herself hated those parts. Legend just sort of turned her head in Kai's direction. She still seemed kind of quiet, and her posture suggested she was afraid. She hated being blind, hated the dark even more than she did the cold. Only the fact that she was around her friends was keeping her from freaking out. Darkness was one of the only things that actually made Legend rather docile. She'd spend days in the cold complaining in an angsty tone and she'd back talk bigger stronger pokemon trying to threaten her, but put her in a dark room and suddenly she was eerily quiet.

Kai (Bulbasaur): "King can hear things for miles... and he's actually really strong. He also has a good sense of smell."

King flexed his ears, which looked as silly as it sounds. Truth be told though, he wasn't joking. He used those ears for any heavy lifting or any hitting he needed to do, and he had plenty of physical strength to back it up. Unfortunately, he was also rather easy to startle and struggled with cowardice. Just never call him anything along the lines of a sissy bunny, lest one wants to see rabbit rage in it's full. As King was flexing Kimiko leaned in with this look in her eyes that somehow managed to make her look like a troll even without a mouth to speak of. She then proceeded to speak in a hushed voice, immitating a rather specific sound.

Kimiko (Dratini): "Nom nom nom..."

King just sort of stopped, his ears twitching. He then proceeded to turn and just glare at Kimiko, though he declined to respond. Just then Kai hesitated. She... honestly had no idea what exactly would be considered Shu's special talents. Being distant? Drifting through walls? She'd never asked. She'd learned what the others were capable of through necessity.

Kai (Bulbasaur): "Shu is...-"

She just sort of stared at Shu as she said this. She returned the look and seemed to understand the problem. It was simply better for him to explain than to leave it to her.

Shu (Yamask): "...I...can pass through solid matter."

For a brief moment it almost seemed like he was done. Yet...

Shu (Yamask): "I'm can also posses people.... both living and... deceased. I can... create realistic illusions and... sense people's presense...and... ... ..."

Shu went quiet. Kai was honestly shocked by what Shu said. He could possess people? That was kind of scary, actually. What had he been about to say though? Shu was not one for talking. When he had gone silent he had averted his eyes in an almost guilty manner, yet that guilt was replaced with a deep sadness. Guy had issues.

Kai (Bulbasaur): "...Shu is quiet most of the time. I think he's done."

Kai's tone was apologetic. Whether Shu had actually been about to say something else was up for debate. Truth be told, he was. He had not quite finished describing his unique powers. He knew deep down though, that if he were to tell them they would want explanations, and those explanations would inevitably reveal things about him. He was confident they would never trust him again if they knew. They might even hate him for it. It was his secret, eternally. It was not truly a secret however. Anyone who knew the secret behind a Yamask's mask might be able to guess what was bothering him. That mask... It was solid gold, and yet it looked uncannily like a face. Not just any face... but a human face. Shu's looked like a middle aged man, mouth agape in horror. If anyone paid close attention to where he was looking at, they'd find he was not in fact staring at the ground, but at the mask. Chances were, most pokemon wouldn't happen to be an expert on Yamask, as knowing these things required in depth study of the species. In that case, one would be left to wonder... Where did he get a mask like that?
 
Adler let out a determined shree of triumph as Alakazam collapsed. "LIBERTY! IS! VICTORY! YAHOO!" He soared toward his human's body. The boy's face was wracked with an unusual pain and Adler cooed sadly. "Zora... buddy... wake up..." The eaglet crooned sadly before chirping happily. Zoran was stirring. He opened his eyes halfway to look at his Rufflet. Adler almost fell of his perch. His human's eyes were dull, almost seeing through him.

"Adler..." The child spoke the word almost like a sob. "Are... you okay?" Adler cooed and the boy smiled weakly. "Good..." He rolled off the chair, landing on all-fours. Instantly, his face contorted with pain and shudders racked his body, aura waves pulsing through his body. He whimpered and let out a soft sob, curling in on himself. "I-I'm sorry... I'll get up... I promise..." He whimpered again and struggled to his feet, only to collapse. Sparx released herself from the Pokeball and gently placed her trainer on her back. The boy trembled. "I'm sorry..." Sparx purred soothingly and padded carefully toward the door. "Wait..." She paused. "The drawer..." Adler chirped and pulled open one of the drawers. Zoran lifted his head and looked inside. There were all kinds of objects in there, including... a Pokeball? Zoran reached out and took it, pocketing it. Take that...

Satisfied, Sparx padded out. She could smell Dora and Van nearby. They were moving away from each other or Dora was moving. Van likely needed more help than Dora. She went toward him. Zoran trembled against her back and was perfectly silent. Sparx kept her growls hidden by purrs. Theo broke her master. She would destroy him.

~~

THe Ninetales winced as his eyes burned. However, he wasn't done yet. He released a Flamethrower before commenting. "I do believe you misunderstand. You finished my job for me. That little boy's heart, I was having trouble with him. But your flames... they destroyed his heart. You did an excellent job assisting us. Your dear friend will never be the same." He fired a Dark Pulse. "Some friend you are."

Theo smiled quietly and released a Pokemon to his side. Vaporeon mewled lightly and leaned into his hand. She was a good friend to him, had been for a long time. She made a quiet noise of disapproval at the Vulpix. A pup, a broken, silly-minded pup.

~~

Dora floated through the halls. Morty was limping down the hallway. "You want something from me," he asked hoarsely. She held out a hand pointedly." Morty stared at her unblinkingly before nodding. "Ah..." The Pokeball was clipped to his waist. His arm hurt too much to grab it. So he stared at her.

~~

Mare laughed, soaring to catch up with him. "I can hear you you know~" She flew above him. "What, I can't watch you kill?" She spun above him, Floyd buzzing his amusement. "Ah that idiot o yours..." she commented. "Aren't you worried about him? That woman will kill him without question~ I could feel it... murder's in her blood."

"Not that one...." Day mumbled weakly. "Not the blind one."

"Of course not her," Mare protested with an airy laugh. "I meant the little angel with Kilita, the girl with wings..."
 
Leo stopped listening once his attention was grabbed by a telepathic signal from the south. Tuning to it, he noted that it came from the beach. A little after that, Leo got Espore's message: "... Leo, I want to know the truth. I need my memories back. All of them. You'll have to get me away from Amber, or perhaps get her to come with us, but I have to know the truth."

"We'll come," Leo relayed back to the Espeon. "And if my acquaintance isn't able to get them back for you, I do not know who could. Don't worry." The Lucario turned his attention back to the others. "I don't care if you want to try following that Leafeon's trail by yourself, Garet," he cut in, a few seconds after Kai finished, "but I'll save you the trouble. They're at the beach."

Garet nodded, mostly to himself. So this team of Mapmakers would indeed be helpful, should he decide to bring them with in the end. The Arcanine noted the Yamask's unfinished sentence. Personally, he had never done much research on any Ghost Pokemon, much less Yamasks, so he didn't really know what sort of secret Shu might be hiding. The part about Shu being able to possess others, though, was a creepy idea to Garet.

"Lead the way," Garet said to Leo, who made a mock-salute before turning and walking confidently towards the part of the beach that broadcasted the telepathic-signal. Turning to Karib, the Arcanine ordered, "Get to the rendezvous point. Let QuickDigger know what's happening, then stay there. I expect food to be available." To both Karib and Trigger, Garet said, "I want to know everything you two know about Thomas, Van, anything else about the CTs, whatever else you feel is important, once this business with the Leafeon is over."
Garet then turned back to the Mapmakers. "Your choice. Help us get the Espeon back, or gather some more food and wait at the rendezvous point. I won't wait too long." He then turned and trotted over to Leo, who had stopped some yards away to wait. "Get to the beach," Garet said quietly. "I'll follow."

Karib was still standing where he was. The Sableye wanted to know for sure whether the Mapmakers would be coming with him or not; that way, he wouldn't worry as much as if he'd left that second. Why was TruthSeeker interested in the Mapmakers? Karib was sure the white Arcanine could deal with the Leafeon himself (reputation and all that), especially with the Lucario's help. What could TruthSeeker be planning ahead of time?
 
Kai couldn't help but wonder exactly how Leo knew where the Leafeon had fled to. She of course couldn't tell. How would she? Yet, that didn't seem to be the question at hand. Rather, Garet had asked her if she and her team were coming with him. On one hand, Legend was /blind/. On the other, she wasn't keen on leaving Legend behind. It wasn't that she didn't trust Garet and his team. It was just that she really didn't think Legend would appreciate it. Ultimately, she came up with a solution.

Kai (Bulbasaur): "I guess we're coming with you."

She was rather clearly speaking to Garet. She then turned to Kimiko and spoke in this mildly demanding tone that seemed to suggest Kimiko wouldn't want to do what she was about to ask her to.

Kai (Bulbasaur): "Kimi.../carry Legend/."

Legend's head perked up at the mention of her name. She had been busy silently feeling uncomfortable. Kimiko meanwhile looked a bit startled to be spoken to in that manner, but quickly moved over to Legend, hovering low and lifting the fire chick onto her back with her telekinetic powers. She mumbled something inaudible as she did so, though. Pehaps she had caught on that she'd acted like a joker enough for one day. Meanwhile King seemed to find something amusing about the situation. Regardless, once Legend was no longer a serious liability in a chase she turned back to Garet.

Kai (Bulbasaur): "Ready when you are, sir."

For whatever reason Kai seemed to assume that Garet was the leader of their combined forces. Perhaps because chasing people down wasn't normally her job.
 
Trigger

Trigger nodded and fluttered to the ground. He grumbled a little bit as he tried to identify where Karib was. Whether it was a little Torchic or a big Starapter, most bird pokemon had the same problem. They were blind as a bat at night. A fact which annoyed Trigger more than anything else.

"Lead the way," he said to Karib, gesturing with his wings.

Amber and Espore

"My friends are on their way. You may want to get out of here," Espore said. Amber shook her head no. Espore gave up. She was way too stubborn. Oh well, she'd learn. While he could probably escape by herself, he didn't feel like dealing with the hassle right now.

"Nope! I'm gonna bring you back where you belong! You may have forgotten... But I haven't! Master is nice! And he needs help!" she said stubbornly. Espore sighed and shook his head. This was not going to end well.

Van

Van began shaking.

"N-no! Y-you're lying!" Van shouted. He blasted a Flamethrower at Ninetails now. He was struck by the Dark Pulse and went rolling along the ground. With a whimper, he got up. Then he growled. His eyes were flashing with hatred.

"How dare you blame me... He's the only friend I have left... Everyone is gone now... How dare you bastards destroy everything I hold dear! I'll kill you. I'll burn this whole place down if I have too!" Van said. It would be tough to take him seriously, as his voice was a frightened whisper, as if he was scared that what Ninetails had said was true. His own heart was breaking, and it was painfully clear. He growled and began using Flame Charge. But he didn't stop there. He heated up the fire as hot as he could. The air around him began glowing brightly as he walked towards Ninetails. He threw his head back when he reached the larger fox pokemon. The resulting blast was by far the strongest one he had ever produced. Ivory flames shot in every direction, blasting the Ninetails back. After Van's little Overheat was finished, he felt substantially weaker. But that wasn't going to stop him. He growled and set himself on fire again. This time, his pain and anguish took it's toll on him, as the flames were the standard orange color. But that didn't matter. It was still strong enough to kill a normal man.

"You're next, you bastard!" Van snarled at Theo. That was the problem with blind rage. He didn't even notice the Vaporeon by his side. If he had, he would definately have tried things differently. As it stood, he charged forward at Theo. He was swaying a little bit left and right as he ran. Midstep, he leapt at Theo, his flames scorching at him as he flew through the air.

Thomas and Marcus

"Give it up. You can't win now," Thomas said softly. Deluge landed back in front of him and looked nervously at him. Clefairy hit the ground hard in front of him. She didn't move.

"Cl-clefairy! Return! You did you best." Marcus said. He only had Gyarados left. Thomas was arleady calling back Deluge. He knew what was coming.

"Gyarados! Drago Force!" Marcus called out. His Gyarados roared it's outrage, but before anything else could happen it was dropped by a single blue bolt of lightning.

"MAN!!" Volt yelled as he panted.

"Please Marcus. You may be able to have seen the future, but you're way to predictable!" Thomas said as he walked toward Marcus. Marcus's arm lashed out and puched Thomas in the groin. Thomas's eyes widened and he fell to his knees, a perfectly predictable reaction.

"Oh yeah... Bet you didn't see that coming! You burned out my eyes, dimwit, not my mind and arms!" Marcus said as he got to his feet. Thomas glared, but was currently unable to do much more than that. Marcus grasped his hands together and with a mighty swing, slammed them into his skull. The older boy dropped like a stone. Before anyone could do anything else, a telekinetic shield covered the two of them. Robby was holding one arm up as he got to his feet.

"We'll just be going now... Nice seeing you all again!" Robby said cheerfully as he slung the unconcious teen over his shoulder. Marcus returned his fainted pokemon and slipped his small hand into his cousins.

"Now... Let me see if I remember how to get out of this maze..." Robby said as he led his now blind cousin out of the room.
 
Cynthia left Lucian's side and smiled. "Follow me," she stated quietly, happily taking point again. Togepi made a happy coo, eager to be running along even if it was in human arms. Lucian scowled a little.

"Don't come back this time," he called irritably.

Cynthia chuckled. "I still have to kill you so no can do. Sorry." She left the room.

~~

"Gotta dig, gotta dig, gotta dig, dig, dig..." The happy litany was stated by a merry-looking Sandshrew. This was Mickey's Sandshrew, who had released himself when the boy wasn't looking. He was weak, but he loved to dig. And he was good at it. That was all that mattered as far as he was concerned. "Dig, dig, dig... gonna dig to China..."

He reluctantly popped up, wondering where he was. There was an unconscious blonde in front of him and his human was actually asleep! Why were these humans so lazy? Ah well, he would wake up this one. Mickey was out like a log! And why was that other one being a blanket. So many questions...

So Sandshrew began poking at Draco. "Oi, lazy human! WAKE UP!" Alyss looked down to see a Sandshrew poking Draco's leg and giggled. That wasn't mean enough but it was still funny!

~~

Dora floated through the hallways, spotting Sparx. She held Van's Pokeball silently. Dora's gaze softened at the sight of her master shaking. They needed to get him out of here soon but not without Van. Zoran reached out weakly and took the Pokeball, clipping it to his belt. Adler chirped and soared ahead of them to an open door. Inside Van was charging toward Theo blindly.

"Van..." the child muttered weakly. Sparx felt his shuddering on her spine and growled. Had the Vulpix done something? He wouldn't dare, would he? It didn't matter right this second as a large wave was headed toward the fox from the side.

Adler shreed. "Silly fox! You are no Liberty Warrior!" He flew to pick up Van, wincing in pain at his burned talons and flew quickly away from the waves. "If you died, my buddy would be depressed! As if he wasn't bad enough! Leave the fighting to Sparx!" As he cawed this, Sparx had charged forward, her human next to Dora. She released a bolt of electricity toward the Vaporeon, who was slammed back by the force of it.

"Van..." Zoran said weakly, not able to move his head as Adler touched down next to them. "Why did you attack me... what... what did I do... I... I'm sorry..."
 
Leo had left already, running unswervingly in the direction of Espore's signal. The only reason why he would have to move left or right would be the trees and bushes and things in the way.
As he ran, Leo was thinking. So Espore had agreed to let him help restore the Espeon's memories. One problem there would be getting Espore away from the Leafeon - Amber, apparently. Garet had already tried talking to her, but that hadn't seemed to work well. If at all. The only other options, it seems, would be to fight Amber until she couldn't follow them as they got away, or somehow spirit Espore away. From what Shu had said, he could create illusions.

I'd almost prefer to pull this off without fighting on any side, Leo mentally grumbled, dodging around another tree. There had been too many disasters, small and large. I am going to get those answers from Garet, whether he likes it or not.


Garet nodded. "Follow me, then," he said to the Mapmakers. The Arcanine then turned to where Leo had been just a minute ago. Unlike the Leafeon, the Lucario's scent stood out to Garet like a beacon. Part of that would be its freshness.
As he started walking along, slowly at first to judge if the Mapmakers might have trouble, Garet asked, "What about you, Kai? You've said what your team members can do. What specific skills do you have, though?" The Bulbasaur hadn't said anything about herself, other than that they all could memorize places. It would be helpful to know what every member of this team could do, including its leader.


Karib sighed silently as he watched the others leave. The Sableye secretly harbored a love for excitement. Going to the rendezvous and making sure there was food was about as exciting as watching clouds in the sky fly by. To Karib, at any rate.
Turning back to Hawkeyes, Karib walked over to stand by the Staraptor. "Are we flying there, or is it troublesome to carry me?" The Sableye didn't want to assume authority over a higher-ranking Deviser, but birds were naturally faster on wing than on foot. Whichever way Hawkeyes wanted to get to the rendezvous, Karib would cooperate. He wasn't one to disobey orders from his superiors.
 
The mapmakers all had to hustle to keep up with Garet. He was honestly significantly faster than they were, and there wasn't a whole lot they could do about it. Yet, if they hustled they could at least reasonably keep up. When Garet asked Kai what /she/ was good for Kai seemed mildly surprised by the question, her publish eyes widening a bit. For a moment she hesitated to respond. What... /was/ she good for? She was a decent fighter when necessary and she had the willpower of an out of control train at times but she didn't have any particularly noteworthy skills she could think of. ...Besides leading, y'know. It honestly took her a few moments to figure out what she wanted to say.

Kai (Bulbasaur): "I guess I'm good for keeping these guys under control... I can also produce sleep powder, synthesize to keep myself healthy in battle, and I guess I'm one of the better fighters on the team..."

The best fighter on the team was very arguably King. His ice punch could make any of them flinch, which made it ironic that Kimiko had the guts to tease him. Shu was also a decent fighter, but Kai hadn't observed him fighting much, as he did not like to fight for sport where it was easier to observe. Kimiko and Legend were arguably the worst fighter, though that was unfair because Kimiko specialized more in support.
 
Zara

Zara ignored Mare as Arcino carried him. It wasn't that he hadn't heard her, he just didn't care. His eyes narrowed and he approached the site.

"You still up there aren't you." he stated calmly. He didn't even look up.

"Do me a favor and stay up there. I don't feel like having to keep an eye on you too," Zara said quietly. He put his hand on Ezar's pokeball and looked at it.

Marcus and Robby

Robby nodded at Cynthia and began to follow her. Marcus stopped and turned to face Lucian. He had something to say.

"I don't care if you were doing it because of Mister Theo. Don't hurt my friends again," Marcus said before turning and following the other two out the door.

Draco

"Gwuh! What the... That rat bastard!" Draco said as he woke up. He looked down at the Sandshrew and smiled.

"Not you. You're fine. Thanks for waking me up buddy!" Draco said. He looked around and saw that Quin was gone. That little idiot was going to ruin everything! Damn him and his big heart! Hm... Day was gone as well... He sighed. He looked up and saw Kilita still flying around with Alyss and decided to let her have her fun.

"Zeal," he said simply as he called out his Salamence. He jumped up on his back before looking at Ash.

"I have to go stop my partner from making a very big mistake. I'll be back shortly," he said simply.

Van

Van yelped as he heard the wave, but it was far too late for him to do anything about it. He felt talons close on him and he's lifted out of range. He looked at Adler with disbelief as he spoke.

"S-sorry..." Van wihmpered as he gets set down next to Zoran. His eyes widened at what the boy said and he cringed and began shaking.

"Z-zoran... I'm sorry! I-I wasn't... I'd never... Bwah!" Van said as he began to cry. He whimpered and curled up into a little ball, feeling terrible and hating himself.

Winny

Winny appeared in a dan hallway. All of a sudden it hit her how little air there was. She had been teleporting all over this damn place! And she still hadn't found him! She sighed and teleported again.

Trigger

Trigger's head whipped around to look in Karib's general direction.

"Unless you can spot the site from the air, then we should walk. Can you see it from so high up at night? Because I would prefer to fly personally," Trigger said sharply. He didn't like being out at night. It made him feel vulnerable. He was thinking of what Garet had said. All the information he had? He didn't have much...

Amber and Espore.

"I sense Leo... You should clear out. I've got my own things to do..." Espore said as he watched her. Amber looked at Esper and shook her head.

"I can small him. He'll be here soon! He's not going to makke me change my mind!" Amber said as she playfully pounced on Esper. The larger cat hissed and shoved her off of him.
 
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Garet stayed at his current speed; he didn't detect too much of an effort in the Mapmakers to keep up. He hoped they wouldn't have to slow down. That wasn't his sort of thing. Garet's patience held him in check, though. That concept had been imprinted into his mind. To Kai, he simply replied, "Keep up the leadership."
As they were following Leo's scent-trail, Garet had to make a small detour here and there, such as walking around a bush that the Lucario jumped over, to accomodate for the smaller Pokemon with him.

How long had it been since Garet had worked with a team like this? A long time, if ever. There were often downsides to such teamwork, in the Arcanine's opinion. For one, teams were often as slow as the slowest member, the way he saw it. More Pokemon to keep alive, more food, more space...there were several reasons why Garet tended to want to work alone.


Leo came to a halt as he came to the edge of the beach. The moon- and starlight were sufficient for him to spot the Espeon and Leafeon some distance away. Now that he was here...what to do? As before, Leo came to the conclusion that talking wouldn't help. The Leafeon's SolarBeam had broken his earlier Aura-barrier, so it would be tough to keep her contained that way. One obvious solution: beat up Amber. Another: keep Amber occupied until Garet arrived, probably to beat her up.

If only I had my plane right now, Leo grumbled to himself. Honestly, he hadn't really grabbed anything in the way of equipment the last time he'd left the Venice base. A plane had room to carry cargo (depending on the type of plane). Maybe the RDM's too dependent on technology and violence, he thought, creating a stick out of Aura. "I doubt you'll listen," Leo called to the Leafeon, "but last chance to leave!"


Karib backed up in the face of Hawkeyes' answer. Honestly, some higher-ups...the Sableye crushed the urge to shake his head. "I can spot it from the air," he answered evenly. There was enough light tonight, and Karib was able to spot things from a distance. Karib moved to get onto the Staraptor's back, as before. Trigger's reply had, to the Sableye, basically given permission to do so. Unless Karib had misinterpreted...then he'd likely be in trouble.


Carrie came to a halt, hopefully for the last time. Really?! It was at least moonhigh...and no one else was here?! The Gabite let out a growl of exasperation. "Has Mr. Whitey changed his mind again?!" she snapped, to no one in particular. The temptation to just dig into the deer she'd caught was strong.
At that moment, if QuickDigger had had fur or hair, it would have stood up on end. What had that sound been?... Carrie pivoted around quickly, catching a glimpse of something. Had it disappeared?

Now I have to deal with something while I wait, Carrie mentally grumbled. At this time of night, it could be a Ghost Pokemon. Very likely, it seemed. What was TruthSeeker doing right now?
 
Mare smiled distantly, letting Day spill into her voice. "Will do~" she sang out. She had to see this show. "Oh and your friend is coming," she added. "Floyd just buzzed." For anyone who didn't get the message, her Vibrava was acutely aware of Dragon types in the area and buzzed whenever they were coming closer. It wasn't actually buzzing but Day was never known for knowing everything on a topic.

Floyd let out a sharp cry of annoyance. Treat his trainer with more respect! Mare was a pain yes, but she was worthy of some fair treatment.

~~

"You do that," Ash said quietly, her eyes semi-closed. Zaria swore the teal eyes were now blue behind the lids, blue as the Forever Ocean, the vivid color of Aura.

"Ash?" The woman held up a forestalling hand before glaring at nothing. Her fists clenched and she brought them down to rest in her lap, struggling to suppress fury. Draco had thought she was mad earlier, they obviously hadn't fought enough. This was pure rage.

"Bastard," she hissed through her teeth. "Bas-tard..."

"Ash," Alyss said softly. "Please calm down. You don't have enough energy to take on Theo. And besides, Zoran will be okay. I know it." The elder pouted and reluctantly remained where she sat, struggling to pull back the suddenly blazing anger. Unfortunately, their resident bird girl had a point. She went up to Theo now guns blazing, she'd be dead. And even she knew how that would go.

~~

Lucian couldn't help laughing. "Or what? I offered it; he asked me. It was his choice and as you know, I only help people with their choices. Isn't that what Zoran does? Pushing your own beliefs on someone else isn't exactly what a good person does after all." He chuckled again and opened his book. He was injured, true, but unlike Robby, he had no temper problem.

~~

Zoran couldn't see all that well, his vision royally distorted by Aura. But he could still hear, and even through the roaring fire and battle going on around them, he could tell Van was crying. He was confused. Why would he be crying? Didn't Van want him dead? Or maybe that was Thomas... did he feel bad for obeying him? But it was a badge power, you could control Pokemon with them. It wasn't his fault... right?

Maybe he was just deluding himself and Van was faking it. No... Van had been upset before. And he was terrible at faking anything. He looked a mess now too. Ah... he didn't know what to think anymore. But... Van had been his friend. And whaever to do with earlier, Van had been there. So... maybe he could figure it all out later, when there was no more Theo and he was with Ash and Zaria and everyone else.

His arm hurt as he reached for his friend's balled-up body. His whole body hurt and black narrowed his blurred vision and he tried to crawl closer, only for a shudder of pain to pulse through him and force his hand on Van's fur. The black was filling his vision a second time an coughed a little. "Van..." he rasped out. "It... was an accident, you didn't mean to... You're my friend....right?" Zoran didn't hear the answer as he collapsed. "Don't... don't cry..."Then he slipped into black bliss, unaware of Sparx screaming bloody murder as she attacked Vaporeon with all the ferocity her lion body possessed.
 
Trigger

Shook his head as Karib gave his answer and climbed on his back. While the words had been perfectly fine, Trigger had heard the tone. Karib wasn't happy about Trigger doubting him it seemed.

"Sorry. I keep forgetting that just because I can't see at night doesn't mean everyone is equally blind. Hold on," Trigger said mildly. He flapped his wings and was soon airborne again.

Amber and Espore

"Get offa me you crazy cat!" Espore said annoyedly as he shoved her roughly away from him. Amber seemed unperturbed as she bounded away.

"Crazy? At least my head isn't broken!" Amber said with a laugh. She heard Leo order her to leave and burst into hysterical laghter. She flicked her tail dismissively at him and blinked coyly.

"Last chance to leave? Who do you think you are, my Master? Sorry, I've already got one. No, I'm not going anywhere, and I not letting Esper go anywhere. His head is broken and I need to fix it!" Amber said as she started giggling. She was still acting innocent and playfull, but Espore could feel that she was dangerous now. Not just from her emotions, because he couldn't read her that well, but from her stance, her posture. She was standing straight up, her knees slightly bent, her cat-like eyes wide open and watching everything. She was on high alert. Espore's ears flattened.

"Careful Leo... She's a real handfull..." Espore warned.

"It's not nice to talk about someone behind their back Esper!" Amber said, which made him stop. Wait, she could hear his telepathy? She smiled knowingly. Had she just guessed? Either way, that had been really creepy.

Draco

Draco was not as dumb as he looked right now. He could tell Ash was pissed. The last time he could remember her ever acting like this... Was when she threw him from a few thousand feet up. He rubbed Zeal's head as the Salamence floated. Kilita was darting around them now. Should he stay and try to calm her down? Or should he leave? He wasn't sure.

"Rean... Go after Quincy and bring him back here. You too Zeal..." Draco said as he sent out his Dragonaire. He jumped off of Zeal's back and landed on the ground. Rean and Zeal took off after Quin and Day. Kilita landed and cooed at Ash.

"Erm..." Draco said, knowing he was not good at these kinds of things.

"Wat's wrong?" Draco said finally.

Zara

"Humph. Damn fool would pick now to wake up and be an idiot..." Zara said annoyedly. Arcino looked down at him and leapt thrrough the trees. They came to a clearing. An attractive blonde woman was standing there, looking at her watch impatiently. Arcino stopped and Zara hopped down.

"Well it's about time... God damn it Draco! Can't you do anything right?" she said annoyedly. Zara chuckled at this.

"Hello Delilah... And I was just thinking that... Anyways, you should go back and let me deal with this," Zara said. Delilah narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

"Zara, I can't do that. You've thrown the whole mission into chaos. They aren't pleased that you haven't retrieved-" she said, but Zara cut her off.

"Ezar! Get out here! And it's not your concern why and how I complete my missions!" Zara said, snapping a little. The Sandslash appeared and stood next to Arcino. Delilah shook her head.

"Oh, Zara... Always one to fight... Well... You've lost this one! Camerupt! Nidoqueen! Let's go!" she said, sending out the two pokemon.

Marcus and Robby

"That doesn't matter. You took advantage of him at a time when he was weak and hurting. How does it make it right that he asked for it?" Marcus said as he followed Robby and Cynthia out of the room, ending the conversation.

Van

Van whimpered when he felt Zoran start petting him. He was still feeling terrible, not even knowing what he had done wrong, only that he had hurt Zoran somehow. He probably was still hurting him, as his fur was still incredibly hot, even after the battle and using Overheat and burning himself out.

"Z-zoran..." he said as he sat there. Out of nowhere, Winny appeared.

"Oh, finally! Van! I've come to rescue you!" she said as she ambled over to Van, ignoring the fighting going on in the background.
 
Ash

Ash growled the second Draco spoke. "What's wrong?" she repeated slowly, as if speaking to a toddler. "Hm... I dunno..." She seemed ready to blow Draco's eardrums off. Then Ash stopped abruptly with a scowl and shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I can't do anything about it."And you wouldn't listen even if I said it. She thought this quietly, her eyes returning to their ordinary teal color. THe glow that had been shining faintly around her began to fade and Alyss breathed deeply. She remained quietly by Brie.

Zaria shook her head a bit. This was not the time for Ash to bottle up heremotions. It was going to get her hurt all over again. Hm? Was that girl waking up?

Cynthia

"You should have told him Robby," Cynthia said merrily. "Lucian doesn't regret anything he does. If the person has a wish he can grant he will. It's their fault if it's their decision as far as he's concerned." She shook her head. "I keep telling him it's going to get him six feet under one of these days but does he listen?" She tutted. "I'm beginning to fall under the impression you men have cotton over your ears."

Togepi cooed and bounced in her hands, while Spiritomb seemed amused. The girl paused to wait at the door. "Do you wish to go ahead, or wait for your friends?" She didn't want to say what was actually happening to said friends. That would not end well.

Mare

Mare chuckled quietly to herself, watching the going's on with a high amount of amusement. She sighed from the tree branch she was sitting on, and set to checking her gun. Good, that idiot brat hadn't broken it. Xavier would have been so mad at her for letting that happen. She shook her multicolored head, causing Day to stir again.

"Something the matter Mare?" she asked warily, causing the other to roll her eyes.

"I wish I didn't have your poor sense of direction Day. We could be in Russia right now."

"It could be worse," Day reasoned. "We could be in that place again."

"Yes Day but at least there it would have been all right to kill people. I am hard pressed to believe that is allowed with these people."

"You can do it next mission Mare. Or, well, I can do it."

"Yes. You're not a weapon's master for nothing Day."

Sparx, Dora, and Adler

Adler let out an irritated chirp at the sight of Winny. "You are late and rude. Can't you tell your friend is thinking on other things? You disgrace us Liberty Warriors for taking so long!"

"Adler behave!" Dora scolded, causing the eaglet to chirp loudly at her, almost guilty. Dora turned to her fellow Psychic type and gave a quick apologetic bow. "I'm sorry to ask this of you but could you take Van and my master back? I don't think it'd be good to separate these two right now. I have to wait for Sparx to calm down." The lion was successfully beating the poor Vaporeon unconscious. Those things took a while to beat.

Sparx yowled furiously at Theo, who merely smiled at her. She wanted to lunge, however, she saw his hand resting on another Pokeball. How many of those bastards did he have? Well, at least Zoran had one. Tch. Vaporeon nearly blasted her and she rolled away, glowering furiously.
 
Leo shook his head. The fighting never ended, did it? The Leafeon's last comment about talking behind backs didn't seem important or interesting enough for the Lucario to pay special attention to it. "That's what I'm going to do," he replied, easily holding his Aura-stick as he edged closer to Amber. The way he held it showed his experience in fighting with it. "Unless you can convince me that you have a better way, which isn't likely." Leo then Rushed forward, swinging his Aura-Bone at Amber in a series of continuous moves.


Karib stayed silent as Trigger flew into the sky. Pursuing the matter would make it worse.
It wasn't too difficult to stay on the Staraptor's back. As his eyes adjusted to the new height, the Sableye turned his head left and right, looking for the ruins he knew to be Venice. Spotting them, Karib indicated them to Trigger. "Over there. TruthSeeker said the western edge of the ruins." Karib swallowed. That city had been his home for more than a few years. He'd also had some friends, beside QuickDigger. And it took one day to be destroyed.

I really hope there's a good reason for whatever's been happening, Karib thought.
 
Kai wasn't one hundred percent sure what Garet had meant in his response, though she had a guess that he was simply telling her to keep her team under control. It seemed reasonable enough anyway. The mapmakers seemed to be perfectly capable of keeping up at the current speed however. Something was uttered by Kimiko about talons, but other than that they didn't have much to complain about. The slowest member of the team was actually Legend, but she was being carried by one of the faster members of the team. The fastest? King. Most of them were perhaps ironically around the same speed with the exception of Legend and King whom were both significantly slower and faster respectively. This is despite the fact that Shu's species was not known for speed at all. Kai was silently considering what they were about to engage in. They were hunting down a grass type pokemon which meant they should probably be prepared for a fight. She was already considering what they could use to their advantage. No doubt King and Kimiko would prove themselves here.
 
Winny and Van

"Liberty warriors? What have you been smoking Adler?" Winny said. She turned to to Van and Zoran. Then she looked at Dora. She used Light Screen, boosting their defences a little bit. Anything she could do.

"There. Maybe that will help with my being late. Stay safe!" she said, now calm since she had found Van. She walked over to him and Zoran. She was glad to leave this damn place behind.

"Don't worry... It'll be ok..." she cooed soothingly to them as she placed her hands on Zoran's arm. She focused her energy and teleported them back to the campsight.

Draco

Draco had been about to press her for answers, but then Winny, Zoran, and Van Teleported in.

"Are you guys ok?" he asked when he saw the condition of them. He moved to help when he found he had run into a wall.

"Not you idiot! Neither of them know you! Unless you want to get set on fire!" Winny said angrily. She pointed at Ash, but didn't need to say a thing. Ash would know what to do.

Zara

"Ezar! Earthquake! Arcino! Protect!" Zara called out. Arcino created a shield as Ezar slammed the ground with her claws. The resulting quake was super effective on both of Delilah's pokemon. The Nidqueen fainted, and Delilah replaced her with a Serperior.

"Serperior! Use Leaf Storm! Camerupt! Use Earth Power!" Delilah called angrily.

"Arcino! Rock Slide! Ezar, Aerial Ace!" Zara said, starting to hear the wing beats of a Salamence. Well, Day would have to take care of the idiot.

Amber and Espore

"Fighting... Is that all you know how to do?" Amber said as she skillfully dodged the attack by leaping to the side. She fired Razor Leaf at Leo and giggled. Espore shook his head, unsure what to think now.

"You got this Leo? Or do you need my help?" Espore said as he sat off to the side.

Trigger

Trigger was also thinking what Karib was. There had better be a damn good reason his home and everything he had wroked to accomplish was in ruins. He had lost a lot of good friends in that, and for what?

"Very well..." Trigger said as he flew down to the meeting sight.

Marcus and Robby

Robby said nothing as he guided Marcus behind Cynthia. Thomas groaned softly and Robby shifted him a little bit.

"I know that Cynthia. But someone had to say something," Marcus said as he stumbled along behind Robby, his hand in a vice like grip around his cousin's hand.
 
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Leo was able to bat aside a few of the leaves that flew in his direction, wincing slightly as the others hit. "If you feel it's necessary," he sent back to Espore. Esper. Whichever. Right after the Razor Leaf ended, Leo threw his Aura-bone like a spear at Amber, following up with swipes from his Aura-formed Metal Claws. "I actually know other things," he growled back at the Leafeon, swinging at her in well-trained movements, ready to stop should he hit her. "There are places that you can't fight your way into. TruthSeeker actually tried talking to you earlier. Off th' top o' my head, though, I'm not sure what other way there is to stop you from dragging Espore away."


Garet was silent after that, still padding along Leo's scent-trail. He slowed to a stop once he saw the beach and the two combatants. There was enough moonlight for the Arcanine to identify Leo and the Leafeon, with Esper sitting off to one side. Glancing at the moon, Garet saw that it was already moon-high, if not a little after. This would have to be wrapped up in a few minutes if they were to get to the rendezvous without keeping the other Devisers waiting for too long.
Some of his instincts were yelling at Garet to charge in and fight the Leafeon. Part of his upbringing and training told him to wait, take in the whole situation, then act as necessary. It took a second or two for Garet to decide on a course. Crouching down, he whispered to Kai, "Can you and your team get Esper away without fighting? I want to get this done without serious damage."


Carrie was standing over the deer, ready to strike down...whatever it was that kept appearing and disappearing around her. The Gabite was convinced that it was after the food - which she caught. It never showed itself long enough for QuickDigger to know for certain what it was. Besides, her night-vision wasn't as great as Karib's. Carrie only saw the unwelcome visitor as a shadow, when she saw it at all. It would disappear before she got a straight look at it. Unnerving, and very infuriating, on Carrie's part.
It wasn't too surprising, then, when out of the corner of her eye, Carrie saw a dark shape descending from the sky, not close enough for a Dragon Claw, and swung around and fired a red-orange fireball of Dragon Rage. Before seeing that it was Hawkeyes.

"Pull up!" Karib was suddenly squeezing some of Trigger's feathers in his hands in panic. He did not feel any qualms at all in panicking in the face of a fireball. The impact of falling from this height would definitely hurt the Sableye, on the side.
 
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