"What do you mean, he's not here?"

Will threw a look at Karen. He supposed that now she was the most senior member at the Indigo Plateau, he would have to get permission from her first. Secretly, he was hoping that she wold take charge of the situation. He had never felt comfortable dealing with these young upstarts who pestered you for as long as it takes to hatch a Chansey egg.

Karen sighed, "As in he's gone away."

"Aren't champions supposed to give advanced notice?"

"It was an emergency."

"What emergency?" That came from Will. He personally had never been told why exactly Lance had disappeared all of a sudden. And for most part it seemed like the others weren't feeling obliged to tell him.

"Not here," Karen muttered, rubbing her forehead and turning her back to an irate young trainer. She led Will firmly by the arm past the double doors and down the corridor into her own chambers.

"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "He said that there's some sort of emergency in Lance's family - you know, the Dragyns. In truth, I think he may have gone to the Dragon's Den, though he's said nothing about it. But - " she lowered her voice and made Will lean forward to catch her words " - all of this is a little suspicious. The Dragyn family are awfully powerful, influential and ambitious. Recently I heard that they were searching for some - some precious thing or the other that a few other people are keen on getting their hands on as well, and I quite sure Lance would know about it - maybe involved in it."

"I see," Will breathed.

"So there you are," said Karen, turning away. "I'd like to know what's really going on, too. But no one here seems to know."


"Have you seen a young brunette? About five foot tall, slim, seventeen-year-old girl?"

The old man shook his head. Red let out a faint hiss of frustration and gestured to Yellow. "Let's go."

"Have we asked all the residents in the area?"

"Yes," Red replied, reaching up one hand to brush off the raindrops around the rim of his hand. "It's just ridiculous. Gone for three days without notice, we tracked her to here and she seems to have vanished into thin air! Where could she have gone?"

"Maybe she's just delayed, or pulling our legs," said Yellow hopefully. She blinked as a couple of raindrops stung her face.

"It can't be! She promised she'd call us with the PokeNav every two hours without fail, and she has, in fact, up till now. Three days without a word. I can only pray she's not hurt and not in serious danger."

"What was it that she said she was tracking again?"

"The Ameridian Diamond," Red said from between a clenched jaw. "God knows why she has to get herself involved with this stuff."

The rain pounded down mercilessly as Red and Yellow headed out of Blackthorn City towards the rocky cliffs that surrounding the idyllic mountain retreat.

"The Dragon's Den?" Yellow mused quietly to herself.


"Careful," Shadow warned. "Lots of damp plant growth here. And good grief, what a smell."

"I thought they'd clean this place. It being where they live and all."

"Only the innermost chambers, the chambers where only those with dragon blood - including the Dragyn family - can enter. This - well, this is one of the secret entrances most commonly used by young Dratinis and the like. And obviously they don't clean up where they've been to," Shadow told Silver.

The redhead frowned and inched along the narrow stone tunnel. "Is the only secret entrance around here?"

"Nope. Explored the places fully, and there are about a dozen, at least. But this is the quietest. With the other tunnels, they may be wider, but they're full of Aerodactyls and other small flying buggers. Startle one and you'll never hear the end of it - literally. And especially if the Dragyn Elders are holding a meeting, all of them will be on full alert. This one here is the safest that I've found."

The two teenagers slipped and slid and found themselves looking down into an enormous polished marble hall, with a dome ceiling at least five storeys high. The tunnel, in fact, had led to the rim of the ceiling. Humans and dragon-types alike congregated around a huge table, with a few Flygons and Altarias swooping and circling the throng. Shadow eased out of the tunnel and tiptoed on the rim, her back pressed against the ceiling, to let Silver get a view of the scene. He noticed that many of the Dragyns around the table were white-haired old men with beards of varying lengths, and also thought he'd spotted a redhead sitting arms-folded next to a bulky Dragonite, and also a blue-haired trainer with high boots.

As soon as Shadow had managed to regain her balance perching on the ceiling edge, one of the Dragyn Elders - the one with the longest beard - stood up, cleared his throat, and began to speak.