A/N
Japaneserockergirl - You're observant and good at drawing conclusions from known facts. Thanks for realizing that! (I feel bad for her, too, by the way.)
On another note, I love the title for this chapter. I don't really know why, but I just love it!
Disclaimer: Don't own Pokemon and all that jazz.
-Catnip for the Mouse-
It was too hot. Kim knew that on a day like this, Tanner would have much rather stayed in his den. She clung to the hope that that was the reason he hadn't shown up, even though the sun was well on its way across the sky. Sweat made her fur cling to her body as she trudged through the forest, making slow progress. The Pichu's blood felt sluggish and thick, even though she walked along the creek and took drinks frequently. It wasn't as if she could wade through the creek; even though the recent heat had dried it up a little, it was still a good foot-and-a-half deep, which was taller than Kim.
The yellow rodent was going to Tanner's den for once. He lived a good, long walk from Kim's home, on the very edge of the woods where the humans teemed. Needless to say, she wasn't too keen on going there.
More than once Kim stopped to think how stupid it was to walk all this way when Tanner was probably perfectly fine, curled up and lazing the day away. She almost always nearly turned back, but when she remembered the words of the Butterfree, renewed worry kept her paws moving toward Tanner's den.
"Ugh…" For the umpteenth time, Kim paused, paw resting on her belly. Her stomach snarled viciously, protesting against the hot, sweaty walk. She stooped down to glug more water from the creek, which had widened a bit. Didn't that mean that the lake was coming up? Didn't Tanner live near the lakeside? Swallowing, the Pichu's ears perked up. Now that she was finally near the Meowth's home, an awful terror had worked its way into Kim's head.
Taking off at a stumbling run, she scrambled to find the Sandshrew burrow that Tanner had battled for, simply because he liked the space.
"Oh… Crud."
Scratch marks were carved into the ground, and everything was mildly scorched. An acrid scent wafted through the air. A bit of pale-cream fur was caught on some bushes. It looked like the site of a battle, but not just any battle. This battle had included a fire-type, which were not native to the forest.
Blood roared in Kim's ears. Had Tanner been… captured? By a human? Unthinkable. He was undoubtedly the strongest Meowth in the area; how could he get caught?
Pokemon did get captured. That was only natural. It happened rarely in this forest, though, because the human trainers were such bumbling idiots. They didn't understand the meaning of 'quiet' and lumbered around like Venusaur. It was a wonder if they saw any Pokemon.
Yesterday's conversation with the Butterfree rang back to Kim. 'Not captured… Kidnapped?' She wondered, anger suffusing into her blood. Who would dare kidnap her friend? Who would dare kidnap anybody in this forest, her home?
Her sudden rage was enough to get her sprinting back toward her home on all fours, regardless of the heat. No… Not her home. She wanted to run to the one Pokemon who might know something about the incident. The one Pokemon who knew about everything. There was only one place where that Pokemon would be: the Rocks. Kim changed her path a little so that she was crashing through the underbrush, heading away from the banks of the creek.
It did not feel like a particularly long run, although the sun had nearly set by the time she was nearing the Rocks. When she entered the clearing, she was the immediate center of attention for every Pokemon draped over a warm stone. Kim was quite a sight; sweaty, with electricity crackling from her cheeks and murder in her eyes, though she was panting. "Where is she?" The Pichu demanded angrily, loud enough for the whole clearing to hear. "Where's Clarimonde?"
Mutters broke out among the group while one highly aristocratic, smooth voice said back, "I'm right here, darling. No need to shout."
Kim whipped her head to the left, where the voice had come from. Stretched out across the biggest, flattest rock was a Medicham. Stalking up to this Medicham, the yellow rodent growled more quietly, "Do you know who committed the kidnappings, Clarimonde? Tanner's gone."
Clarimonde's eyes widened theatrically. "Tanner? Oh, the poor little kitty!" She shook her head, overly regretful. "I'm afraid, darling, that you'll need to calm down. We don't even know what these incidents are," Then she seemed to ponder something, tapping her chin. "Well, actually, a Rattata started that kidnapping rumor, and she seemed to know what she was talking about…" The Medicham looked around for a moment. "Where did that sweet little rodent go so that this other little rodent can talk to her?"
Kim's eye twitched furiously. Now she needed to find some Rattata? Okay. She could do that if it meant finding Tanner.
"Like, Madam Clarimonde? That Rattata, like, left a minute ago," One of the Rocks' regular customers chimed in.
Clapping a three-fingered hand over her mouth, Clarimonde gasped. "Oh dear! Which way did she go?"
"I think, like, toward the Heart."
Kim was already running before the irritating group could say anymore. The Heart was as its name implied; the heart of the forest. If that's where she'd find the Rattata who knew how to find Tanner, how to stop the disappearances, so be it. Determination and fury had made the Pichu unstoppable.
The Rattata's scent was not hard to pick up. It was quite fresh, and running at the speed she was, Kim soon found the other rodent. "Hey!" She called, her voice hard. Whipping around, the Rattata's eyes widened in pure shock, which quickly morphed into something near panic.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" She shrieked, terror in every syllable. The small Pokemon backed away, preparing to run off. "GET AWAY! GET AWAY!"
To say Kim was startled by this reaction was an understatement. She was stupefied right out of her angry state of mind. "Hey. Calm down. I'm not gonna hurt you…"
The Rattata shook her head. "No," She breathed, unfathomable sadness in her voice, "but they will. They'll get you too."
"Who's they?"
Too late! Kim felt a sharp sting in her back, and an awful, terrible, tear-jerking, mind-rending pained washed over her body. Her mouth gaped, but only a low moan came out. She hit the ground, her world fading to black…
Well, not black, really. It faded to emerald green.
Her vision was a green splotch. Everything pieced together slowly. Some of the green became rolling hills, while other parts of it became darkly-hued trees. The sky became a most peculiar shade of pale lime with almost-white clouds drifting in it. There was still a rush of water behind her. She didn't turn to look. From some somewhere deep in the world of green, a quiet, wry voice laughed.
"Welcome to hell."