Chapter 1

Data not found

"Dammit!" That word broke the silence. A man in a white lab coat sat at his desk. He ruffled his hair, the papers scattered over his desk were covered with autopsy reports, photos, and sketches. He sifted through them again, "What am I missing?" he thought, "This all doesn't add up." He sighed and sipped his coffee. Finally, he gave up he edited his search and fixed it. Two words leapt out at him, they were the words he refused to believe, but had no other choice.

Unknown Killer

The computer whirred back to life. Flashes of text appeared on the screen, finally the screen went blank. Three words flashed on the screen.

Data not found

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"Ash, Ash, wake up Ash."

"Huh? Wha?" Ash Ketchum sat up from his bed. Misty was next to him, she woke him up, her hair messy from barely waking up. She held the phone in her hand, "It's for you. He says it's important."

"Who is it?"

"You'll see." Misty handed Ash the phone and put on her bed robe.

"Hello?"

"Ash?"

"Speaking."

"Hey, it's Gary."

"Gary?! What do you want?"

"Well, hello to you too. Damn, its been 5 years and all you have to say is what do you want?"

"Sorry, it's just that I don't usually get calls this early in the morning."

"What? It's only 3 in the morning. I've been up since 1! Anyway, do you think you can meet me over here at Vermillion?"

"What? Why Vermillion?"

"I can't tell you over the phone. Just meet me over here later this afternoon. Bring Misty and Brock too. They need to hear this."

"Well, Misty and I can get there. I'll call up Brock and tell him, he can probably meet you sooner."

"Ok, I'll be waiting at the train station."

"Ok. See ya then." Ash hung up the phone. "Misty, get dressed, we're going to Vermillion."

"Umm...Ok.."

"Brock, master Pokemon breeder, speaking"

"Hey Brock, it's Ash."

"Oh, hey Ash! Pikachu is doing fine."

"That's good, but I want to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"I got a call from Gary. He wants us to meet him in Vermillion. It's important. Could you go?"

"Ah, I see. I'm over here in Pewter, so I can get there faster."

"Could you?"

"Sure, I'll be there, I'll take Pikachu along too. When are you guys going to leave Pallet?"

"Oh, in an hour or so. We need to get dressed, we'll take the next train there."

"Ok, I'll see you then."

------------2 hours later-----------------

The train screeched into Vermillion station. The gas breaks breathed their sigh of relief as the doors opened and people flooded out of the train. Ash walked out of the train, his duffel bag right next to him. Brock saw him and Misty, he shouted, "Ash! Misty! Over here!"

"Pika pi!" a familiar yellow rodent ran out of Brock's arms and straight to Ash's hat.

"Pikachu! How are ya buddy?" Pikachu dug his face into Ash's coat and found a comfortable place on his shoulder and lied down.

"Well, looks like you two still are pals." A young man, about 18 years old, stood up. His long, spiky brown hair was tied in a medium sized ponytail. He wore a pair of black jeans with a white shirt and a black vest over it. "So Ash, how've ya been?"

"Gary?"

"Yeah, surprised?"

"It's been so long..."

"Yeah I know. We can catch up on formalities later. Follow me." Gary turned around and started to walk towards the exit. Misty was having trouble carrying all her luggage. Stumbling around people she finally said, "Uhh guys, some help would be nice." Ash started to help Misty, but wasn't able to get much luggage. "Exactly how much luggage did you bring?"

"Oh, not much, just my clothes and other items."

"Damn," Gary sighed under his breath, "I hate to tell you this, but you're not gonna need all this tuff where we're going."

"What?"

"Never mind. Here, let me help you." Gary hurriedly took most of Misty's luggage, not appearing to be straining from the weight. "We're gonna go to this restaurant. Its part inn too. We'll just put these aside there for a while."

"Oh, ok. Brock, why have you been so quiet?" Ash asked.

"Oh, its nothing, just taking in the scenery."

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"When will they be here? We can't waste anymore time."

"Relax, I know Gary, he'll be here."

"Well, he better get here soon, along with that supposed psychic and private."

"Professor Grey, its Lieutenant. Lieutenant Surge." A behemoth of a man wearing a camouflage army suit sat down next to the Professor.

"Why Surge, its been a while."

"Nice to see you Oak, how've you been?"

"Oh, fine, fine. Care for a drink?" Professor Oak called a waitress.

"Uhh, I'll have a beer thank you," Surge said, "Ah, nice little joint ya picked. Why the small pub though?"

"With an operation like this, we need to draw as little attention as possible."

"Professor Grey, relax. No one really is going to care other than us," Oak said as he sipped his tea. The young man, Professor Gray, ruffled his hair and sighed.

"Gramps!"

"Gary! Over here!" Gary, Ash, Misty, and Brock strolled to the round table.

"Hey Gramps," Gary said, "We're all here."

"We're still waiting for Sabrina.," Professor Grey mumbled.

"Eh, she should be here soon. Ash, Gary, Misty, Brock, care for a drink?"

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"Marcos! Abrre este puerta!"

"Un momento, un momento!" The door opened after locks sounded their unlocking.

"Hmph. Took long enough."

"Sorry."

"Well, why are you here!? You should be outside helping your brother collecting the harvest."

"But dad, its early."

"The suns barely coming up, go help him before the sun burns us all. Also the animals are still sluggish waking up."

"Ok ok.." The Mexican youth put on a dirty muscle shirt and an old pair of khaki shorts.

"Oh yeah, take this just in case." His father handed him a machete, its long metallic blade glimmered in the early morning sun. The youth took the machete and trotted out to join his brother.

In the early morning, the rainforest was cool. All the predators were sluggish due to the medium temperatures. Here, the heat powered them, occasionally one would run across a stray Jaguar and get in a small skirmish. Every morning, the brothers would go out and chop wood and gather food for the day.

Marcos joined his brother about a mile away from the house. His brother was already busy chopping wood and hooking it up to the Tauros. "Hey Marcos, you're late."

"I know, I know.."

"Ya!" Juan patted the Tauros on the side, it trotted off towards the house. Juan wiped his brow with a dirty kerchif next to him. "So, you hear that old lady Macha saw it?"

"Saw what?"

"Don't act stupid. She saw it...Matarae."

"Shut up brother, you know Matarae is only a legend."

"Yeah, that's what they want you to think. They say its bigger than the biggest Tauros, and weighs twice as much! It prowls at night looking for its prey. Then, it lets out a howl and chases the prey! Awwwwwwwwwwwwoooooooooooooooooo!!!!"

"Stop that Juan. You'll scare the animals!"

"Yeah right, I'm scaring you, that's what I'm scaring."

"I'm not scared!" The two brothers started fighting with each other. The, a loud howl emitted from the rainforest.

"What was that!?"

"Hijo de Dios.." Snarling and growling could be heard around the kids. The ferns rattled and convulsed. A large reddish black blur leaped out and struck Juan down. Marcos only caught a glance at the beast. He threw a rock at it, trying to distract it. It gulped down half of Juan then stared at the boy. The bottom half of Juan still kicked and shook, blood squirted from the pair of legs. Marcos started to run back towards the house, splashing in puddles and cutting himself on branches. He could hear the beast behind him. It sounded like it was coming down fast. Suddenly, the Tauros that was carrying the wood tackled the beast. It started to protect Marcos, threatening the beast with its horns and sharp hooves. The beast lunged at the Tauros and retreated. A gunshot echoed through the rainforest. The beast turned and ran off into the brush.