Ugh chapter four... thats one chapter more than I have reviews, I find that sad, Aww well, it teaches me stuff I guess. Strong words and stuff...

"Parker" Arthur said, holding an icepack to his head "Parker Leron, he was brought here with serious burns to his legs and chest"

"Their have been no emergencies tonight, no burns and no Parker Leron" The receptionist said, looking through his charts. "Are you sure he wasn't taken to another hospital?"

"This is the only hospital is Celadon, they wouldn't have taken him to Saffron city, that's ages away" Morgan said "

"Then I'm sorry, sir" he said "There is no Parker Leron in this hospital"

"Have you checked under John Doe?" Arthur asked "I never gave them his name"

"I have"

"And?"

"Nothing" He answered "I'm sorry, their must be some sort of mess up"

"I should say there is" Morgan said.

"Morgan, I know he isn't at any hospital" Arthur said "If he's not here, he's not anywhere, come on, we'll take a cab back to your house, then phone Saffron Emergency to make sure" The stepped in front of the automatic doors and they opened slowly.

"This place really is falling to pieces" Morgan shook his head, then looked across the street; there was a whole collection of beggars and peddlers, settling down for the night.

"The hospital?" Arthur asked.

"No" Morgan looked at the black sky "The whole city, you're casino is loosing money, Arthur. The streets are being overrun buy gypsies and the homeless, selling their flowers and their 'magical' ointments"

"There's nothing wrong with some flowers, Morgan" Arthur said "I don't like the invasion of the gypsies as much as you, but maybe the flowers will brighten this place up"

"I doubt that, this was once the capital of Kanto, the place of thriving business and where dreams come true" Morgan looked at the floor "I feel like this is just the beginning of something much worse, something so bad and wrong that no one else sees"

"Morgan, what could possibly be so bad?"

"Slavery" Morgan looked up again "Gladiatorial fights that destroy the lives of the innocent."

"Why do you say that?" Arthur asked.

"A feeling, the situation at Silph, Parker" He closed his eyes "Those creatures"

"The clones, the clones of that alien" Arthur said "I don't particularly want to get involved with that alien-"

"Mew" Morgan said "its name was Mew"

"…What?"

"That's why I was so shocked when your child said its name, it…it scared me" Morgan sat down on the curb "I don't know what your baby has to do with that creature, but don't involve your family, Arthur"

"I have no idea what you are talking about" Arthur said "Mew is a…it's a noise, it has nothing to do with that creature, and I have not said a single word to my family about this matter, not for three months"

"It was not a coincidence, Arthur" Morgan said "I felt, in my heart of hearts, your child knows something about that creature, knows about its powers"

"How?"

"I don't know" Morgan said "You think I'm crazy"

"I don't…"

"Yes you do" Morgan said darkly "Maybe not consciously, but in your subconscious, you think I should be locked up"

"No" Arthur sat down next to him "It's a lot to take in. You know what? Mark. Mark worked for Silph I bet he heard the creature, I bet he told it too Gevvy"

"No" Morgan said "Mark doesn't know a thing"

"But-"

"Trust me, I think I know a little too much about everyone, even you" Morgan said "You've kept some information from me"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about this power, this uncontrollable power I have. As soon as I look as someone, their deepest darkest desires, secrets and thoughts come out and blend into my memories. When I wake up in the morning, I have trouble remembering who I am, which memories are my own" Morgan closed his eyes again, a single tear rolled down his cheek "Yesterday. Yesterday I forgot my daughter's name; I got up, went to the nursery and paused, like I didn't even know who she was"

"You've had a hard few months, John; you're feeling stressed" Arthur said "But if you're telling that somehow, that creature's abilities were passed onto you…"

"Who's Lois?" Morgan turned to him, slightly spiteful eyed.

"One of my wife's friends, why?"

"I don't think she realises how much you despise her" Morgan said, there was a sudden silence between the pair of them "I think if she knew how much you secretly loathed her, she wouldn't ever turn her back on you"

"……wh…" Arthur struggled for a moment and then looked at the floor, keeping his eyes firmly on the ground. "If you knew her…how annoying she really is" Morgan smiled slightly at Arthur's comment.

"Arthur the last thing I want is for us to be hostile towards each other, but I need you to believe me" Morgan turned his head back to the floor "Do you believe me?"

Arthur slammed the phone down "No record of Parker Leron"

"It seems you were right" Morgan said, entering the room, with Sabrina on his hip "Where do you think they took him?"

"Probably back to Silph, somewhere where he can die peacefully and silently" Arthur said "I think that information he had for us was a little too important"

"What could it have been?" Morgan asked.

"You read peoples minds, you tell me" Arthur said, there was no reply "It could have been any number of things"

"About Mew?"

"About anything" Arthur sat back in a chair and yawned "Did you see Parker?"

"When?"

"Before they carted him away?" Arthur said "Did you see what he was like, what they had done to him?"

"I did" Morgan kissed Sabrina on the head.

"You can't really imagine someone doing something like that" Arthur said "To another human being"

"If you knew what most 'normal' people thought, then you would know, most people would jump at the chance do wreak mindless destruction, over anything….and everything" Morgan sat down on his sofa, and rested Sabrina on his knee "The purest mind I've ever seen lies in this small girl"

"She's only a baby; she hasn't really seen the horrors of the world yet"

"She will soon enough" Morgan said "In eighteen years time or so, she'll have to look after her mentally insane father" He laughed slightly, the room then went silent, the almost silent noise of a dog barking in the background even stopped. The clock on the wall chimed, Arthur looked to it only to see that it was past one o'clock.

"Shit" He said "Gina is probably a little worried, I said I would be back by eleven at most"

"What do you think she'll make of this situation?" Morgan asked, moving to the bottom of the stairs "She's not exactly the calmest person on the world"

"She'll probably block it out, pretend it never happened and insist we get on with our lives" Arthur laughed "Which in the end, would probably the most sensible thing to do"

"But we both know, Arthur, that's no the way things will happen…"

Arthur opened the front door slowly, being careful not to make any noise. He looked around for a second, the lights had been turned off, and that strange empty, sickly feeling entered his stomach. He was alone, and any number of things could reach out and grab him from the shadows. Arthur wasn't one to be scared of the dark, but he just couldn't calm himself down, he felt nervous, more nervous than ever before. He walked into the kitchen and quickly drunk a glass of water.

He sat down at his kitchen table, sipping another glass of water slowly. What he had seen, what he had to do, it was like nothing he had ever down before, yet, with all his effort, with all his bravery and heart he didn't succeed.

"The way of life" He told himself "Put your heart into something…and it still always slips away"

"Here here" said a gravely voice from behind him.

"Damn it, Parker" Arthur said "What did you have to tell me?"

"Nothing very important" Parker said, sitting down comfortably at the table in no better shape than when Arthur had last seen him "Still, ugh!" He popped his shoulder back into place "I would have liked to tell you"

"Tell me what?" Arthur asked calmly, taking another sip of his drink.

"I can't tell you now, can I?" Parker said, wiping his broken glasses clean and putting them on "I'm dead"

"Good point" Arthur held up his glass, which was met sharply and loudly by Parker's glass, which appeared from nowhere.

"I'll drink to that" Parker said, taking a drink only to have it pour out of the bullet wounds in his chest "Refreshing"

"I'll drink to that" Arthur said raising his glass again, meeting once again with Parker's, and this time, with another glass.

"I will as well" said the stranger; he wore a strange, orange tinted suit with a black waistcoat and a pristine white shirt cut cleanly in half with a blood red tie. His eyes were covered with a pair of pitch black glasses and his hair was slipped back with the use of a lot of hair gel. "After all, we all tried didn't we?"

"All of us" Parker agreed, nodding slightly, taking another swig of his drink. "Even you, Arthur"

"Yep, you to" The stranger said. "You died trying, you both did"

"Really?" Arthur asked "I don't feel dead"

"Well" The stranger removed his glasses, to reveal weirdly red eyes, he smiled "I don't see everything…I might be wrong"

"I have faith in you" Arthur said "The utmost faith"

"I'll drink to that" The red-eyed stranger smiled again.

Arthur woke up, his head resting against the kitchen table. His face felt wet, and when you sat up he realised he had spilt his water over the table. He got up and wiped up the water with a paper towel, then looked out the window. The sun was just rising, the sky was pink and yellow and bird song drifted through the air, everything seemed so still and so peaceful.

"Somewhere out there, Parker is dead" Arthur whispered, he walked over to the kitchen table and sat down again. "But everything is happening as it usually does, the sun rises, the birds sing, the tap drips. Like nothing ever happened at all"

"You were out all night" came a voice from the doorway "Gina is probably worried" Arthur turned around, it was Holly, hastily putting on her boots, her hair was a mess and her clothes were creased and backwards.

"Long night?" Arthur asked

"You could say that" She smiled and moved a straggling piece of hair behind her ear "I gotta rush" She got up quickly and ran home.

"The passion isn't dampened, not by horror, not by fire…not by death" Arthur got up and walked into the living room and looked around "Everything is as it should be, only now, a wisp of shadow hangs over everything, yes. Everything is a little darker than I remember it" Arthur sat down on the couch and looked at the large blank television screen; he picked up the remote and held it to the TV, pausing for a second before pressing the standby button. The room lit up dimply with the glow of the television, on it was a kid's show; Arthur raised an eyebrow, but didn't change the channel. He placed the remote down next to him and continued to watch.

The show seemed to have no dialogue and mainly consisted of two animals chasing each other, endlessly outsmarting the other, every scene ending in the pain, torture and mutilation of the one of the animals. One scene ended with a large dog setting fire to the smaller cat, and having the cat run around for bit before jumping into a pond and fizzling out.

"That would never happen" Arthur said silently to himself "The cat would be dead, or seriously injured" Arthur picked up the remote and changed channel again, this time it was a documentary male dominance in the natural world, it showed various clips of stags, zebras, rams and other creatures attacking one another, until one of them limped away in pain, the narrator ended the show with the words 'These animals have a long way to go before they become civilised'. Arthur raised an eyebrow at the show and tried to think of a criticism.

"Is this some attempt to show our superiority?" Arthur said "To show we're more civilised because we don't fight each other?"

"Arthur?" Gina asked from the doorway "Were you out all night?" Arthur nodded, and continued scowling at the screen as the credit rolled past.

"What were you doing?" She asked, folding her arms, leaning against the door frame.

"How many people do you think are murdered each year?" Arthur asked "How many lives are taken for no reason, no natural reason?"

"I don't know" Gina answered "You didn't answer my question, Arty"

"In Kanto, the total of gunshot victims is close to three thousand" He said, turning off the television and coming to meet his wife in the doorway "Isn't that just outrageous? Yet we brag and shout about how civilised we are. To animals we must look like such peculiar creatures. All this power all the land, yet we still kill our own, and for what?"

"Arty, no politics-"

"A few bucks in a cash register, a few thousand in a bank vault" Arthur looked to the floor "Or maybe just convenience. I don't rightly know why people do these things, but really, animals are so our superiors, they have the intelligence, the stamina and the evolutionary skills to stay alive and live as they should. But us…humans, we destroy, we corrupt and we murder" Arthur looked at his wife "This is a twisted world Gina, and one that I don't want our son to grow up in"

"What are you talking about, Arty?" Gina asked "Everything was the same as it was yesterday, nothing has changed, why are you suddenly like this?"

"Parker. Parker Leron, long time lawyer, financial expert…and friend" Arthur's face hardened "Dead"

"What?"

"Dead. Shot three times and abandoned in a burning building" Arthur sniffed "I saw what used to be my best friend, burnt, beaten and bruised…the smell of his burning flesh is still fresh on my clothes, the ash of his burnt skin is still stuck to my palm" He held up his hand to prove it.

"Oh my God…" Gina said, taking a few steps back "He was murdered?"

"The Paramedics rushed him off to the hospital, or so they say" Arthur wandered into the kitchen and started mopping up the water he had spilt on the table "Me and Morgan rushed there ourselves only to find that no record of Parker Leron was there, or at Saffron"

"Then where is he?" Gina asked "he might not even be dead"

"He's dead" Arthur said "And it's all because of my curiosity"

"Doe he have any family?" Gina asked "Because if he does we should probably inform his family, we wouldn't want his family getting worried or something, would we? His family should know"

"His parents are dead, his sister is in Hoenn, and they haven't spoken for twenty years"Arthur shed a single tear "He didn't have anyone" Gina gasped and started crying, Arthur reached over and patted her shoulder gently.

"Are we making the funeral arrangements then?" Gina asked, taking her hands away from her mouth "Because we need to know who to invite"

"Gina, stop trying to prepare things, finding things to fix up so you don't have to deal with the problem" Arthur said "We have to get leg documents…saying he's dead, otherwise there's no point t in having a funeral" As he said that the phone rang, he let go of his wife's shoulder and went to answer it.

"Hello" He said quietly "Blazer speaking"

"Hello Arthur we regret to inform you that early this morning you're friend, Parker was brought in with serious burn injuries on his legs and chest. His injuries were too severe and he died little after half an hour after he arrived, I'm sorry. The body is waiting for collection in the Viridian hospital morgue"

"Viridian city?" Arthur asked "Why was he taken there, why not Celadon, where he was injured?"

"All I know is, sir, that the body was brought in here, the paramedics quickly left, saying they had another emergency" The person on the other end of the line said quickly, like he was in a rush.

"What time did he arrive?" Arthur looked at his watch; it was just going eight o'clock. "Because the ambulance took him away at about half-past ten last night"

"Really?" There was a moment's silence "He arrived at seven fifteen this morning "Are you sure he was injured last night?"

"Are you joking? You saw what his condition was; I am not likely to forget what time I saw that" Arthur said firmly "Did you recognize the paramedic that brought him in?"

"No, I didn't see them personally" He said "Though the receptionist said they had no emblem to any region, unlike most paramedics"

"Then you agree that something is going on, some sort of conspiracy murder" Arthur said "What about the gun shots?"

"There were no gunshot injuries, sir, burns only" He said.

"The gun shot marks on his chest, three on them" Arthur said "You couldn't have missed them"

"His chest was too badly burnt to see anything, and the absence of autopsy has limited our knowledge of his injuries"

"No autopsy?" Arthur asked "He's a science man; he would have wanted an autopsy"

"I can't take your word that's what he would want, plus the instruction for cremation has been given" He said nervously.

"By who?" Arthur asked.

"I'm sorry" The phone went dead.

"It was the hospital?" Gina asked, her hands entwined together hopefully.

"Yes" Arthur said, putting the phone down lightly "The Viridian City Emergency Hospital"

"Viridian city?" Gina looked puzzled "What he doing there? They'd have to go over the Cerulean Bridge, through Pewter to the dirt track road track in the forest, it's miles away"

"Because they needed a bit of time before he died" Arthur said walking to the door and putting on his jacket "Are you coming?"

"We're going to Viridian?" Gina asked "Just a minute, I'll mark we're leaving"

"…knock first, Gina" Arthur said calmly.

Gina didn't really know what to think about the situation, she hadn't ever truly liked Parker, she found him overly demanding and the fact that nearly everyone he met just did as he asked made her hate him more. Though Arthur had liked him, and she respected that and stayed silent the way she thought someone should.

To be honest Gina had admired Parker's admiral self confidence, she found it refreshing compared to the spineless people she is forced into meeting. But with Parker everything was a demand, no questions asked, Gina get me a jack and coke, don't forget the coaster, you don't want water rings on your coffee table and I guarantee that, he could guarantee nearly everything, though sometimes what he guaranteed wasn't necessarily what the actual reality, he still acted as if it was, he was a lawyer after all. A damn fine lawyer, Gina thought. Never lost a case, never lost his nerve, he always stayed cool under pressure, someone sued for a million and he would rap up the case in a matter of minutes, he amazed her in that respect. He's a remarkable person. Was a remarkable person. Because now he's dead.

"You haven't said anything for the whole journey" Arthur said, not turning his head "That's very unlike you, Gina"

"I haven't got much to talk about. Nothing appropriate for now anyway" She raised her hand and bit her nail, she used to bite her nails when she was younger, he mother used to tell her off horribly for the state of her finger nails, though, when something came up, whether it was sad, romantic or embarrassing she bit them, sometimes till they bled.

"Don't bite your nails" Arthur pushed her hand down from her mouth, keeping his eyes firmly on the road "And what do you mean appropriate, Parker wouldn't care what you had to say, he probably doesn't even care that he's dead" Arthur had known Parker since he graduated from Viridian University, he was his 'Business Anatomy' tutor, and taught him everything he needed to know about the companies of the regions, Silph being the biggest back then, before the Alien, before the it's downfall, when Arthur used to think Silph was a business to above all other, a business he would happily own, and business to aim his dreams at. A lot changed though.

" Do you really think that?" Gina asked, pulling of the frayed and chewed bits of nail off her finger "Do you think he cares where he's gone? Maybe he's happier there, he never did seem very happy to me"

"Because he was the type to be happy" Arthur said "He was the type that wanted to be happy, but saw that it got in the way. That's why he never got married, or had any children"

Gina looked out the window, they were just entering Viridian forest, one of the only nature preserves left in Kanto, it went on for miles in all directions and many rumours have been started that their a strange creatures living deep within the cursed woods. Many constriction companies had planned to remove some of the forest, too extend Viridian, and make more housing. Viridian forest is a landmark though, and no one can destroy it. A simple dirt track had been marked so cars can travel much faster from Pewter City to Viridian, other than that, Viridian is almost cut off from the rest of Kanto, the only civilised settlement anywhere nearby was a small town called Pallet, which was more of a country club than an actual town, it was the home to most of the rich names on Kanto and did not like to trade with or haven much to do with the poorer places in the region.

"This brings back memories" Arthur said, peering out his window into the darkness of the trees, they had been travelling for a good seven hours now "I still remember when I first left this place"

"Viridian City" Gina said "Not a nice place. I don't know why you even went to school here, it's a violent city, one that I wish not to spend too much time in"

"We won't be too long" Arthur said.

"Hide in your shell, now!" Shouted a stern looking man, his face was wrinkled into a permanent expression of puzzlement, nonetheless, the small reptilian creature did as he was told and he tucked his head into his shell, his arms and legs following soon after.

"He did it!" The man shouted "He did it this time, what did you do?" Warren ivy stepped out of a doorway and wrote something down quickly.

"Nothing much, I just increased the obedience modifier. He should do what ever you tell him too, as long as he understands the command. One problem I think we might be facing is the orders, the long strings of words I think they find hard to understand. Which is why I suggest creating a specific word learning scheme, where if you say 'hide' he will do, automatically on hearing that word" Ivy got out a rod which unfolded one into a protective stick, he went over to the animals and poked in sharply "Though if we plan to sell, we should probably create some sort of manual, listing the names of the phrases they understand"

"They need to be catchy then?" The man said, looking at the pathetic creature on the ground, it was still residing in it's smooth shell, since the prototype they had managed to smooth out 'Squirtle's' shell so it wasn't so threatening to look at. Ivy poked the creature again this time harder.

"Obedience still needs to be analysed" He said, flicking a switch on his stick making the end spark slightly, he poked the creature one more time, making it yelp out slightly in pain, it shot out of it's shell and ran quickly into the corner of the room, recoiling more and more as Ivy stepped closer.

"The real problem is getting them to stay put, if we sell one of these creatures to a child, the creature will simply run away, they won't stay, and they certainly won't fight" Ivy poked the creature again, making it yelp once more "I have no idea where to start"

"Perhaps sheer fear of what will happen to them will be enough" the man said "If they disobey, they get punished, like what you're doing now"

"Possibly, but it wouldn't be a certain fix to the problem" Warren collected the shivering creature in his arms, walking slowly to the room he had just exited from "Plus who says that the creature won't fight back once the owner punishes them, the powers these creatures have could cause lots of injury" Ivy, placed the scared creature in a glass cage that was filled with water.

Ivy was a scientist, and cared little for anything that wasn't the assignment he had been given, his sole purpose at the moment was to supply to creatures with full obedience, so that it would do anything that the owner had asked him to do. Though the creatures he was experimenting on obviously were obviously in a great deal of fear and pain, he saw past that, and focused on what would happen when he succeeded. He watched the shark eyed creature swim for a moment before being distracted by his new friend and co-worker, Edward.

"What's this new creature here?" He asked, looking at some photos and notes on Ivy's desk. The creature was an overgrown worm; its head was almost grotesquely large compared with the rest of its body. On its head were two long segmented antennas which curled right round, close to its strong crushing mandibles, it had large, circular patterns on either side of its forehead, which were black with colourful rings around them that picked up the light just enough to make the rest of the patch look like an eye though the actual eyes were smaller and much lower down, nearly covered completely by the thick, wiry sensory hairs that covered its entire body, it looked obscene, yet the green and gold patterns that curled gracefully across its back made it look so majestic and beautiful as well.

"It's a creature that another department is working on, they're trying to get it to evolve like a regular caterpillar" Ivy opened another cage, letting a small green amphibian sheepishly crawl out looking around in wonder "So far they've had no luck" Ivy struck the creature harshly in it's left thigh, pointing to the door. The creature recoiled slightly before limping slightly to the door, and looking behind itself to see if Ivy was following.

"Poison gas, now" Ivy said simply, a gas mask fastened securely round his mouth and nose, Edward stood watching interestingly from the opposite side if Ivy's office where a thick Perspex window had been placed for viewings "Bulbasaur"

The creature turned around quickly and stared at Ivy, its red eyes blinking continually in confusion, it turned around again and gazed at Edward through the window, it turned it's head to the side before turning again and again, examining the room.

"What's it doing?" Edward asked through an intercom "Why is it just looking around?"

"It's examining the room for ways out" Ivy answered "It won't find any. Bulbasaur, poison gas, now!" The leaves on the creature's back unfurled slightly, and released a silent unscented substance that melted seamlessly into the air.

"The trouble is, with this one" Ivy started "We want to make the gas only effective against the other creatures, we have a long way to go yet, but we're getting there, come out here for a second and bring out subject two" Edward nodded and disappeared for a second, he came out wearing a gas mask and carrying a fiery orange lizard in his arms, it was the previously named Charmander.

"Now so far we've had little problem with this one, but we haven't yet tried him in combat, give him an order, Edward" Ivy said "fire breath or flame burst"

"Okay. Fire breath now!" Edward ordered "on Bulbasaur" The creature looked inquisitive for a second, before curling itself up on the floor and closing its yellow glowing eyes.

"What do I do, now?" Edward asked, looking across at "Shall I punish it?"

"Kick it, slap it do anything" Ivy said growing impatient "Bulbasaur, attack that creature now!" Bulbasaur looked puzzled for second before charging the towards the creature and ramming into it using its shoulder, the orange lizard rolled over quickly looking up in shock and worry. It locked onto Bulbasaur and breathed in deeply.

"This should be monitored closely" Ivy said, reaching into his pocket to receive a small handheld video camera "Watch, now, Edward" Charmander breathed our heavily igniting it's breath with it's platinum teeth and covering the other creature in a cloak of fire, it screamed out in pain and kept doing so. When the flames stopped emerging from Charmander's mouth, Bulbasaur still remained alight, moving quickly around whining loudly in hysterics before crumpling to the floor in the corner of the room, dead. The flames were put out to reveal the charred, dried out remains of Bulbasaur's body; the leaves on its back flaked down off its body and disintegrated into ash on contact with the floor. Its eyes were closed.

"Hmm" Ivy said thoughtfully "I think we need to work on that"

The car stopped. They had reached the Viridian City Emergency Room, being such a secluded city, it was the only source of medical treatment, and viridian was far from small. In and out, in and out. The patients flowed like water, going in one door as another comes out the opposite one. Arthur looked at the building for a few minutes, before opening his door and getting out slowly.

"Do you want to wait here?" Arthur asked, leaning into the car slightly "He looks a mess, Gina, I think it might shock you"

"I'm a strong, gal, Arty" She answered "I can handle a few burns"

"If you say so"

They walked in through the double doors, it was hectic alright. People spewing up blood in one corner, while another scratches his skin through, letting it bleed, and still scratching.

"There's nothing like this in Celadon" Gina said, a man with a quickly bandaged wrist rushed through the doors; he was holding a bag, which contained red ice and something else…that twitched.

"Is that his hand?" Gina asked, moving closer to her husband.

"Let's go to the front desk" They walked quickly

"Why are there so many accidents here?" Gina asked, looking round at the mayhem "So much pain in one room, it hurts just to see it"

"Viridian is a violent place, Gina, death is not unusual here, I think that's one reason they brought him here, instead of anywhere else" Arthur approached the desk "Parker Leron, we hear he died, we're here to see the body"

"Leron, okay" The receptionist opened up a folder, and scrolled down a long list of names "I'm sorry, did you say were hear to see the body?"

"Yes"

"His body cremated early this morning" he said "Arthur Blazer, right? Yeah, a doctor phoned you this morning, I remember"

"He said to come and view the body, are you sure you're looking at the right person?" Arthur asked, impatience and stress getting to him.

"Sorry. Parker Leron, fifty three years old, born August 3rd 2123, cremation issued at ten O'clock this morning, a DNR order and no permission for autopsy" The receptionist closed his folder "It's the right name"

"We live in Celadon city; it took us eight hours to get here, we came to see the body under the doctor's advice, and Parker was cremated no more that two hours after I talked to him"

"This is really nothing to do with me, you can speak to the doctor if you want" The receptionist put the folder away in a filing cabinet "I'm sure he'll clear this up for you"

"I'm sure he will"

"I can assure you sir; I said he would be cremated this morning. I waited for a good while for you to show up" The doctor said.

"Two hours. We live in Celadon!" Arthur said "I wanted to discuss his autopsy"

"There was nothing to discuss, there was no permission given for one and it's not within your power to give it" The doctor began to walk away.

"Listen! I know there's something going on-" Arthur started.

"Arty-" Gina said quickly.

"And I know this hospital has something to do with it" Arthur walked closer to the doctor and stared right into his eyes "I will find out, and then I will sue you for malpractice, Dr…"

"Dr. Fuji and, please sir, calm down" The doctor said "The Ashes are in the morgue, collect them if you wish" He turned and left.

Arthur had a furious look on his face, he was breathing heavily and his throat was dry, a rasping sound came out of his mouth with each breath. His breathing became slower and more croaky.

"Arty" Gina said "Perhaps we should go home now" Arthur made no comment, and for the first time fell to his knees and wept.

It was a small ceremony, held in the Celadon graveyard, a handful of people arrived, few of them Parker knew well. The vicar said his piece then left without a second thought, the crowd dissipated when the rain started till only five remained. Arthur, Gina, Morgan, Mark and the baby.

"His sister didn't show up" Arthur said holding an umbrella.

"Maybe the letter got lost in the mail, Ecruteak is a long way away" Gina said "I can't imagine she wouldn't show"

"They haven't spoken for a long time" Arthur said "She was probably busy, you guys wait in the car, I'll be along in a minute" They did so, but Morgan stayed.

"We still don't know what he wanted to tell us" Morgan said "He died. Trying to tell us, it must have been important"

"Why?" Arthur said, turning to face Morgan "It probably wasn't anything special. A bit of news on Silph, maybe the creature wasn't dead, maybe the clones were getting more advanced, maybe they died as well. It could have been any number things, but I cannot imagine anything that could be said, that would be worth dying over"

"Do you think they will come after me?" Morgan asked "Parker was the only person keeping them from killing me, probably, if they think I killed this creature then they will kill me, I can assure it, I can feel it"

"I don't know what I can say, no one is going to believe us" Arthur turned back to the plaque in the ground "I could hire a bodyguard for you"

"I don't want that, having my life forever followed by a stranger" Morgan shook his head "I don't want that. I didn't tell you this before, Arthur, but if one person in particular was too blame for this…I know who it would be"

"Who?"

"Samuel Oak. A detestably charming young man, he's manipulative, twists your words against you, and enjoys doing it" Morgan closed his eyes "Something is wrong inside him, something that doesn't recognize what most people do"

"He's a psychopath?" Arthur asked.

"He's more than that, he's capable of so much, he knows what he wants and he knows he'll get it. He has a tight vision, he sees only what he wants to, and if he sees something different, then he gets of rid of it" Morgan breathed out heavily "He is going to kill me. I know it"

"Then why won't you accept my help?" Arthur asked.

"Because I know he will, it's not an inkling, it's not an almost certainty, I know I will die. And there's nothing I can do about it" Morgan didn't look worried or nervous about this, he said it naturally "I've accepted it. My wife's folks live two blocks down from me. When I die, Sabrina will stay with them"

"You can't just accept it, it hasn't happened yet, and there must be a way to stop it" Arthur said "You can't just give up…"

"I don't want to sound hostile here, Arthur" Morgan turned away and started to walk away "But this is my business… and you're not apart of it"

Arthur was now left alone in the rain; the wind blew strongly, tearing the umbrella out of his grasp and high into the air. Arthur didn't chase it around; instead he lowered his arms and walked towards his car.

Arthur didn't know what to think, his best friend had died not two days ago and another had informed him that he also was doomed for death. Arthur had never faced anything like this before, the worst problem he had ever had was not making enough money last year, which risked his casino not having any pool tables. He had never encountered death in his life, his parents were living a pleasant life in Fuchsia City, his grandparents were both dead before he was born, he never had any pets, so death was pretty much a new road for him, one which he was unprepared for.

"Do you think you could drop me off outside Holly's house?" Mark asked, putting Giovanni in the baby seat and tightening his seatbelt. "We agreed to spend the day together"

"Nice weather for it" Gina said looking out the window "I'm sure we can"

"Thank you" Mark said, and said nothing else for the rest of the journey

The car pulled up outside Holly's house, a Mark quickly got out, kissing Giovanni's head before hand. Holly was sitting on the steps to her house, her face lit up when she saw the car stop, Mark greeted Holly with a passionate kiss, which Gina and Arthur both raised an eyebrow to.

"Should they be allowed to do that in public?" Gina asked, waving goodbye to Mark as the car sped away "It was almost as if they were having sex there and then"

"It's just their way of saying hello" Arthur said, keeping his eyes on the road. He was a careful driver, a little too precautious some people thought "Times have changed, Gina, that's normal behaviour now"

"Well it shouldn't be" Gina said "I enjoy sex as much as the next woman, but having it paraded through the streets…"

"They weren't parading through the streets, Gina" Arthur said "No one was even there"

"We were"

"Yes, but, we're like family to them now" Arthur smiled "They're our best friends really"

"Oh, that's okay then" Gina said smiling "Next time your loving mother comes to visit what say get hot busy right in front of her?"

"That's not what I meant" Arthur said laughing slightly "It's different when you know them, and they weren't exactly having sex, they were both dressed"

"Pfft. Did you see what Holly was wearing?" Gina chuckled "I could've sworn she was a prostitute"

"Maybe she is" Arthur said "I mean, before Mark came along. A guy here, a guy there. Everyday you'd come home and find her under another one, maybe she was trying to raise a little extra cash" Gina looked very un-amused.

"Holly is not a prostitute" Gina said "If she was… well, we would know"

"I don't actually think she is a prostitute, Gina" Arthur said "I was joking, can't you tell?"

"I didn't think you made jokes anymore" Gina said "You've taken Parker's death really hard"

"Well, now I know what I've got to do" Arthur said "And while I'm doing it I'm going to enjoy my life, spend time with my family. Loosen up a little, I have to be prepared for that fact I might get murdered at anytime"

Gina went completely silent for a few seconds.

"Murdered?" She asked "What is it you plan on doing, Arty?" Gina looked deathly worried.

"I need to find the truth" Arthur said "Gina, there's something I really need to tell you, about Silph, and about what they're doing"

So, basically, Arthur tells Gina about whats going on in the next chapter and a little discovery is made.