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~Forest(?) to Cipher Key Lair: Dahlia vision~
"My name is Riku.." The Ralts murmured in reply to Dahlia's question, and as these words passed through her tiny lips, he relaxed in the slightest, dispelling a slow sigh as his shoulders untensed, and he found his penetrating stare softening to just a meager one of innocent curiosity, and shift away from the strange Pokemon and onto the curving path ahead. Perhaps it was a silly reason to trust her, perhaps the tiny Eevee was looking for even the tiniest excuse to grasp onto, but a Ralts with a name like "Riku" seemed harmless enough, especially one who had agreed to aid him in locating his best friend. I mean, at least she hadn't admitted to being called "Shadow", or "Bones", or "Death", or even "Plague". Now that really would've sent shivers down the pint-sized Pokemon's spine. Suddenly, in their trek, the Ralts stopped abruptly, her peculiar eyes enlargening significantly, as if she had just seen a ghost. Long, shaggy fur instinctively beginning to prickle and stand up on ends, Dahlia glanced around guardedly, searching for whatever had spooked his companion. After several long seconds, when the unseen nearby brook continued to babble, and the few wild Bidoof and other Pokemon that inhabited the Orre region continued in their frolic and play, Dahlia's gaze shifted, falling from his narrowed, protective glare and shifting into one of question. He instantly raised his defenses again as slowly, he began to back away from the Ralts. Cocking an eyebrow upward, he waited for some sort of explanation for her odd actions.
"Forget who I am right now! My psychic abilities have found your trainer! She's close!"
Mira! Dahlia thought wildly, and this time, as the petite little Ralts broke into an instant sprint, the Eevee followed willingly, racing eagerly after her. The two were just a flash of moving energy as they galloped through the thick Forest seperating Gateon Port and Cipher's key lair, the hidden Forest just large enough for people, Ciper Peons, Grunts, whoever, to pass through into the city unnoticed. With their truckload upon truckload of shadow Pokemon, stacked above and beside and under each other in no particular order, rumbling down the faint dirt path just wide enough for the vehicles to pass through, this Forest was a means of cover for the stealthy scoundrels transporting Shadow Pokemon to the Ciper warehouse. And now, a Ralts who had unknowingly traversed this long path before previously, and an Eevee, new to it, but willing to follow it anyways in hopes of re-obtaining his trainer and best friend ran down it, to the one place, the one lair and factory, that no one would've ever guessed two Pokemon would run to as opposed to away from.
"We have to hurry!" Riku exclaimed, concern marring her strange guys as she turned briefly to Dahlia.
"Cipher.. I dunno if so.. They may turn your trainer into something I am!"
"Something you are?!" Dahlia screamed in panic, chocolate eyes widening in horror as fear clutched at his tiny little heart, causing instant tears to spring into his enlarged eyes, pooling deep within his chestnut irises and threatening to spill over down his cheeks.
"They're going to turn her into a Ralts?!!" He yelled, obviously confused as to what Riku meant. After all, Dahlia was still just a simple little Eevee. Uninformed about the dirty deeds of Cipher, much like thousands of other beings throughout Orre. Mira had been as well, just days before, though as she had already found out, she would play perhaps the biggest role in the overall plan of Cipher. Yes, there was obviously alot in store for the oblivious little Eevee, as he would soon come to discover.
The tiny Evolution Pokemon, in fact, completely froze up when he caught his first glimpse of a rather large building. No, not building. Foretress, rather. The building stood firmly upon a large plot of firm grassland, though strangely, it was surrounded by a broad sandy expanse of Desertland on all sides but one, the one Riku and Dahlia had just come from. The sight of the building left Dahlia speechless, and his tiny jaw practically drug the ground as he attempted to take in the sight of the building, the armed guards surrounding the front and back entrances, and the young trainers, so eager and excited, so strangely enthusiastic about something.. What was it? They tossed out Pokemon that seemed to be shells of their former selves for battle, Pokemon who did not cry out their names in preparation for combat as Dahlia oftentimes did, Pokemon who had eyes glazed fiercely over.. But other than that, appearing perfectly normal. Dahlia had but a brief moment to process all these new sights and sounds before Riku gently pulled him over to her, the two huddling quietly near the mouth of the Forest, voices lowered in significantly, as if formulating a Play to take down the other team. Obviously, she had been here before. And by the way she acted, Riku wasn't too keen on coming back.
"Okay, here's my plan. We sneak in through a hole I shall make with my powers.. And we will find your trainer that way.. Come on." Riku whispered, to which Dahlia followed without question or objection. Had he been perhaps a little more energized, or maybe just a little bit less so eager to locate his trainer, he would've paused to question exactly how Riku would make a hole in a wall that looked as if twenty tanks all at once couldn't penetrate it, and even if by some miraculous way she could, how they would do it without sending the nearby Guards running. Dahlia wasn't the strongest of Pokemon, quite obviously, and he knew he wouldn't fare well in battle, especially with his added-on weakened condition. Still, he faithfully followed the Ralts who, along with him, crept quietly toward the south wall of the building, hands raised in preparation for the next step in her plan.
Strangely enough, when Riku had began to make her "so-called" hole, she had made it substantially bigger than what was required for a Ralts and an Eevee to bust in. In fact, the new passageway loomed perhaps ten feet past the height of both of them, but even still, the Guards paced unknowingly before the entrance, both wearing expressions of extreme boredom as they stared straight-forward almost mechanically, which evoked a grin from the little Eevee, as a break-in was occuring right behind them.
"You go first. You'll recognize your trainer first rather than me."
Riku uttered, to which Dahlia apparently didn't respond fast enough, as before the tiny Pokemon knew it, he was being lifted by a strange Psychic force, one that left him completely mobile, then pushed through the crawl-space and down onto a metallic tiled floor of sorts. Riku swiflty followed seconds later, and as the two glanced quickly around in an attempt to recognize rougly where they were, a shiver ran down Dahlia's spine as he actually caught sight of the place. Blood had been spilled everywhere, strewn all over the thick metal walls, pooled in shallow puddles all over the floor.. This room appeared to Dahlia to be a Dungeon of types, there were row upon row of cells, holding cells, with charts fastened upon clipboards placed at the side of each cell. Dahlia squinted his eyes in an attempt to read what was scrawled across some of the clipboards, but the nearest one was still a good ten feet away, too far a distance for his eyes to focus. He stepped away from the grotesque scene, stomach churning at the sight of all the crimson fluid, eyes wavering as he glanced fearfully up at the Ralts. Riku, who seemed unfazedby the massacre-like scene, seemed to notice his nausea, and patted him comfortingly upon the shoulder.
"You.. I never caught your name so Eevee.. stay here." Riku ordered firmly, to which Dahlia was more than happy to comply, as he wasn't feeling at his best at the moment. His queasiness had taken over, and hoping to relieve it a little, he made his way over to a corner, ducking back behind a large crate as he waited, anticipating what Riku would bring back. Just his chocolate eyes were visable above the crate, and the exhausted Eevee watched intently as Riku vanished around a corner, staying low as she searched quietly for Mira.
~Cipher Key Lair: Shadow's Eye vision~
Soon after the Cipher Peon had let out the diabolical laugh associated with all heartless villains, they had switched onto other topics. The one who had salvaged her from the other's perverted grip rambled on excitedly about the intensity of the power of his new Shadow Pokemon, a Dragonair, what it sounded like, whilst the other listened, occaisionally tossing in complaints about the Shadow Pokemon he had been assigned, a Dodrio he claimed hadn't been completely closed off right, as it still showed signs of compassion when being asked to take down people, young trainers especially. The whole conversation saddened, and sickened Mira to say the least, though she only caught about half of the two's exchange, as the drugs meant to ease the pain of her eye were taking her in and out of consciousness, sometimes so slow it took her several seconds to drift away, and other times so fast that it hit her like a train, and she was out like a light before she knew it. The latest bout of unconsciousness had been enforced via the latter, so when a sudden voice penetrated the foggy, thick barrier that was her mind, she jolted quickly awake, pastel eyes shooting wide open in alarm.
"Give Mira back, you creeps!" A sudden voice snarled, and Mira glanced around, as quickly as she could, which wasn't very quick at all, seeing as she was still in a dream-like trance. Blindly, and with only one eye to aid her, Mira searched hopefully around for who was to be her savior, but saw nothing even remotely nearby save for a little Ralts.
Am I seeing things? Did these drugs finally take what little rationality I had left? Mira thought, dispelling a slow sigh, her lone eye dragging along the cold, titanium floor before she suddenly averted it again to the Ralts, and stopped pausing in the very breath she took, her heart nearly stopping as immediately, she tensed up. It was.. one of those Pokemon. A thick, dark purple aura swirled around the Petite Pokemon's tiny body, and as it lifted its head, Mira caught sight of two blood-red eyes.
"NO!!!!" She screamed in terror, blindly trying to wriggle away from the two Peons dragging her, and succeeding, but only barely, as they released her slender body, letting her fall to the cold floor with a loud "THUD". Mira bit down upon her lower lip, eye scrunching shut as an immediate harsh pain racked through her bones, evoked from the harsh impact of her frame meeting the ground. Instinctively, she curled up into a ball, wrapping thin arms around trembling bare legs as she squeezed her sole operating eye shut, cowering fearfully before the microscopic shadow Pokemon as she awaited the worst. She didn't know much about their kind, but Mira did know enough to realize that they wouldn't hesitate to attack anything, be it Human or Pokemon, and even something so small and seemingly harmless as a Ralts shouldn't be taken lightly.
"The Ralts must be here for the girl.. But why would a Shadow Pokemon help a Human? They are considered for hate and power only.."
No sooner had these words left the Peon's lips than the Ralts thrust her thin little arms upward, raising the two Peons high into the air, surveying her work with what Mira could only depict as a sly little smirk. Her aura suddenly shifted then, turning from the dark purple acclimated with Shadow Pokemon to a more crimson hue. Mira's heart leapt against her chest then, as she had no clue what this meant, only that it couldn't be good. In seconds, the pressure of the Psychic energy was so great, that the Peons being held high into the air were being squeezed, constricted practically to death. Loud, pained cries shattered the once-still air of the Dungeon, and Mira winced as the cries elevated into shrill, desperate screams, miserable, tortured screams, as finally, they felt the pain, the pain of every Pokemon forced into darkness unwillingly. Mira lay weakly on the ground, still disoriented, shudders passing down her body as silently she just willed it all to end. Eventually, it did, but only after blood had begun to run from the eyes and mouths of the two Peons, and they were forced into painful unconsciousness, just as she had been. As soon as they were released from the deathly Psychic grip, a large hound-like Pokemon sprang seemingly from nowhere, teeth bared in a ferocious growl as he stepped up to the two fallen Ciphers. His eyes gleamed with a furious hatred for the men, and before Mira could even cry out at it, he was standing atop the two, teeth sinking instantly into their unbroken flesh, ripping it, tearing it, slicing it up as more and more blood was spilled from their collapsed bodies. Mira let loose a blood-curdling scream then, struggling blindly to propel herself away from the barbaric scene.. All the blood.. all the pain.. She couldn't take it, but she was now cursed with it. There was something new to replace her nightmares with.. It was called.. Reality.
"Hey hey! I've come to rescue you! Well.. me and your Eevee. Come on, we've got to get you to a Doctor!"
The Ralts appeared sincere, and honest, even concernen for her well-being, if just in the slightest. Mira blinked her eye down in surprise. She.. hadn't been expecting this from a Shadow Pokemon, to say the least. The Ralts had extended its hand, so hesitantly, Mira took it, smiling kindly down at the little Emotion Pokemon as she placed her other hand atop its head.
"You brought Dahlia here to me.. and saved me both. Thank you so much little Ralts..Only one problem," The girl laughed, lips curling upward into a playful grin, despite the obvious pain she was suffering. Using her head to motion down to her bare legs, both of which still tingled with numbness, she let loose a tiny sigh.
"I can't move."
