"(This)" (italics and brackets in quotation marks) is when Pokémon speaks and I've translated what it's saying.
"This" (no italics, just quotation marks) is humans speaking or telepathy.
(This) (just italics and brackets) is used for thoughts, memories and other stuff that goes on inside the character's mind.
Author's Notes ~ School's picking up. Enough said about that. But the ideas are always engraved into my mind, so I'm anxious to type it all down. This weekend, I feel like writing two chapters.
Maybe yes, maybe no. But I'm glad you, a grateful reader, has taken their precious time to read my second work.
So, I present to you the next part of the story, "Into The Shadows." Enjoy.
Chapter VI ~ Immediate Response
Hunter
"Whoa, banned from Ecruteak City? Really?" I asked, scratching my head.
"Yes, really! What the hell happened?!" Perrit squawked. "There was also a Shadow Pokémon activity reading coming off from where you were! What happened?!"
"EX448 went on a rampage, Perrit. My bad, old timer. I thought that it would help the purification process if we decide to have a battle… it looked like she was about to literally murder that Blaziken we battled…" I sighed. Looking beside me, I noticed that Lucas was looking outside of the window (Private jet, nice huh? Courtesy of Team Savior), looking really depressed. He then lifted a small Ultra Ball, containing EX448 and stared at it for a while.
"Morty tried to lift the ban, but it appears that everyone in Ecruteak was enraged by EX448's out-of-control behavior. How ridiculous Hunter! How could you just let her out into battle?! Have you forgotten the reckless behavior of a Shadow Pokémon?!"
I remained silent. I'd rather not elaborate too much on that. Too many images, too many deaths…
"Well, forget about that. You're on your way to Slateport City. Word is right now, even as we speak, that a rampaging Metagross is destroying the entire harbor. I think you should notice it from the skies. I'm heading out. Be careful, and I will meet up with you with my superior." Perrit said.
"…You mean Lady Karen? She's coming to Slateport?" I asked.
This is worrisome.
"Yes, who else do I mean?! Now get geared up! Over and out!" Perrit shut off the conversation and I closed my laptop.
Lady Karen. Superior to Professor Perrit… why do I keep getting the visualization that she's just a rich, ugly old lady? Eh, sorry. It's just that no one has actually ever seen what she looks like. She's pretty much the main leader and founder of Team Savior. You'd think I would've seen her from time to time… in a way, yes, I am curious about what she looks like. But on the other hand, being the only Captor and arriving to see me in action…
That's nerve wreaking.
Lucas looked outside and motioned for me to look. From below, we could see smoke rising from the city, and small explosions going off in a specified path. No doubt, it was EX376's rampaging bombardment of the city. I quickly got out of my seat and changed quickly into my Mech-Suit, with Lucas continuing to look out into the window as we land.
Quickly turning around, I noticed EX448 standing before me. She wore a sad expression, and stared at me.
"Please Master, let me help you… I promise I will make you happy and eliminate the target this time-"
"Look, I don't want another screw-up with the public with. If you wouldn't listen to me, and Lucas had to stop you by almost giving up his arm… then the obvious answer is for you to stay out of this. Secondly, we're trying to help these Pokémon. They're like you, and must be saved." I finished, walking down the aisle with EX448 following.
"…Why do you want us to go back to the way we are? We'll be weak. We'll be useless to you. With no power to provide to you… won't you abandon me? If I was weak?" Amaya asked.
"Oh jeez, don't get me started with the whole 'With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility' thing. I hate talking like that. But what I will tell you that having friends around is always more powerful than anything else." I answered. "God, if Lucas heard me say something like that… ugh."
"I don't understand." EX448 said. I motioned for Lucas to follow, and he quickly grabbed a bag of Gummy Worms and exited off the plane, which has now landed.
"Of course you don't." I merely replied. "Now, stay here. I'll be tolerant and not just leave you inside the Pokéball. But don't try to follow. I'll know exactly where you are." I then looked toward Lucas, who gave an abrupt nod. I then took out a bag and tossed it to her. "There. Sweets always calm me down. Perhaps it might be the same for you."
I placed my helmet on and Lucas and I were off into Slateport, following a path of destruction that would lead us to EX
*~*~*
"Alrighty, so where to?" I asked, even though the path of explosions was really obvious. Lucas slapped his forehead and sighed, munching on another Gummy Worm.
"Hey, don't finish them all now." I said, continuing to run through. I looked around, and it appears that the entire town has been evacuated. All the more easier to hunt down this guy.
"Any details on this guy, Hunter?" Lucas asked. I quickly nodded, jumping over rubble and running through flames.
"An assassin. No big deal, I say." I said, opening my visor and eating another Gummy Worm.
"What kind of assassin?" Lucas asked.
"The kind that kills? Jeez, what's with you? You're asking as many questions as E44- I mean, Amaya." I asked.
Actually, it is something I should be concerned about. Doubt has never influenced Lucas before.
"Nothing. Let's just get this over with." Lucas sighed.
"…Alright-"
"Stop. It's close-by…" Lucas grabbed my hand and allowed me to stop with him. He closed his eyes, sensing for EX376's Aura. I pulled my hand away from Lucas to draw out my sword, pulling down my visor and using radar.
"Oh yeah, they're around alright. The explosions stopped…" I whispered. Flames surrounded the both of us, and the crunching of rubble beneath our feet made the both of us flinch.
How hard could it be to find a stupid Metagross?!
A sudden explosion was heard behind us, and the loud, metallic roar of EX376 shook the mechanics in my suit. The Metagross leered at Lucas, while it's trainer riding above it had his eyes on me.
"About time. I was getting impatient. My name is Xerxes, and I will enjoy cutting both you and your Lucario apart… limb by limb." Xerxes laughed, the flames dancing within his cold, dark stare.
"Flashy." I complimented, raising my visor and eating another Gummy Worm. "Now, is your little entrance just about done yet? Because I'm on a tight schedule here."
"Y-you dare-?! You dare mock me?!"
"You catch on quick." I said, continuing to eat the Gummy Worms, obviously not afraid of whatever he has to say.
"Stop eating in my presence!"
"Why? I'm hungry."
"You'll regret it!"
"Hmm. No, sorry, I'm enjoying these at the moment."
"Grah!" Xerxes shouted, jumping off EX376 and pulling out a sword.
"Hunter, I think the plan is obvious, correct? You go after him, and I'll deal with the Shadow Pokémon." Lucas asked.
"Sounds about right." I said, handing him a Gummy Worm.
"I told you to stop eating." Xerxes said, standing in front of me with his sword raised.
How did he-?!
His slicing blade made contact.
Lucas
"Hunter!" I shouted, moving out of the way of Xerxes' quick attack.
"I'm… fine?!" Hunter replied back, his voice breaking off. I looked down and noticed that all the Gummy Worms were on the ground, with Hunter merely holding onto a portion of the bag.
Oh no.
For what felt like an eternity, Hunter merely stared at the mess of Gummy Worms, with one hand balled up into a fist and the other clenching the sword tightly.
"You. Did. Not! Just! Do that!" Hunter shouted, taking his sword and swiping at Xerxes. He blocked the attack with his own sword, and backed away quickly laughing.
"Let's get this started! Lucas! Waste that damn Shadow Pokémon!" Hunter screamed.
"R-right." I answered back.
Only once, did such an event like this happen. While back at the Academy, Hunter and I were practicing Snagging and we took a quick break, eating Gummy Worms. Some bully came along and practically ripped the bag away from him… the next thing I knew, the bully was on the ground, with Hunter eating Gummy Worms while sitting top of his fat belly.
It all happened so quick. And he was only seven years of age! Now here he is. More than twice his age and determined to take this guy out.
Apparently, the Metagross was already planning to attack me anyways. It stomped to my direction quickly, roaring in pure rage. I materialized a Bone Rush attack, and aimed at one of it's four legs.
"Take this!" I shouted. But just before my attack could land, the Metagross compacted all four of it's legs and actually hovered above me! It soared high above me, utilizing the move ElectroLevitate to avoid my Bone Rush attack.
Damn, this just got a bit harder.
EX376's Aura then started to grow a lot more stronger, to levels that made me shiver with slight fear. One of it's arms suddenly popped out of it's compacted position and dark, silvery matter began to form in it's claws, forming a circular ball of dark shapes and stars.
Meteor Mash.
Unfortunately, it's far too slow to be able to hit me. I jumped away, but noticed that it started glowing blue. With a sudden flash, it appeared right above me, and slammed me back down into the ground.
"(You're too weak. I imagined the top Captor and his Lucario would be stronger than the others we killed.)" The Metagross bellowed.
"Well now, you're talkative." I sneered, straining to get up only to be pushed back into the ground by one of it's massive steel-bodied arms. The concrete began to crack at it's intense weight, but I kept his claw from crushing me by using both my paws to fight back.
"(Weak. Why don't you do the world a favor and just disappear? The world is only for the strongest. The strong feed on the weak. You are weak.)" EX376 grumbled, putting more pressure on his claw.
"Yeah well, there must be an equilibrium between the two. If you don't fight to protect the weak, what are you fighting for?!" I strained.
"(Enough of your nonsense. You shall die right here.)" The Metagross bellowed.
"You sure about that?" I asked, my palms lighting up with a light blue Aura. EX376 noticed this, and tried to lift his arm away from me. I gripped one of it's claws, holding him down while using one paw to send a Force Palm on his underside.
EX376 flew up into the air, but hovered and shook off the attack. Blood was running down my paw. It roared and head butted me into a nearby wall. When I tried to wake up, I heard a shouting noise and then something slammed into me.
"Ow! You and your stupid chest spike! Watch the machinery, Lucas!" Hunter shouted, lifting himself off of me. He looked really beat up, slash marks against the metal parts of his Mech-Suit, and part of his visor shattered, revealing one of his dark red irises peering into my own.
"I don't think you're having much luck against Xerxes?" I asked, being lifted up.
"He's a pain in the butt. You're not doing much better." Hunter joked.
"…Hunter, is it just me, or is this Shadow Pokémona lot stronger than the Dragonite and Tyranitar?" I asked.
"Let's not forget about that 'fail-safe system' that Ardos put into these guys."
"Enough of your blabbering. Prepare to die." Xerxes said, pointing his sword at our direction while riding on top of EX376. It was preparing another Meteor Mash, ready to crush us into pancakes.
"Not yet." Hunter breathed, pulling out tiny smoke bombs and throwing it downward. A blue colored smoke enveloped around us, confusing Xerxes.
"What?! Where the hell are you?!" Xerxes shouted, looking left and right. Hunter jumped up and tackled him off of EX376, now enabling me to attack. I formed a large Aura Sphere and launched it at the Metagross, disorienting it as it roared in pain.
"How did you sneak up on me?! Grah-" Xerxes grunted, swiftly knocked out by Hunter.
"We… didn't move at all." Hunter laughed. "Now that he's out of the way, let's catch this guy and get some more Gummy Worms."
"(Grah! You'll pay for that!)" EX376 shouted. It quickly stomped toward me in a blind rage, destroying obscuring rubble. I awaited a command, and quickly responded to a quick nod by Hunter.
Once the Pokémon got close enough, I quickly whipped out a Bone Rush attack and hit him upwards, once again sending him flying into the air. It utilized Magnet Rise one more time, noticing that I was using a Ground-type move. I took a deep breath and stretched both arms outwards to my sides, conjuring two Aura Sphere attacks.
I then proceeded to combine the two Aura Sphere attacks, making a large spiraling circle of dark blue aura, ready to attack. The Metagross, instead of charging at me, waited to see what I was up to. I took another deep breath and shouted as I hurled the attack toward it.
Trying to dodge the attack, he didn't expect the large Aura Sphere to split into two, attacking from whatever side he's going to go. A large explosion filled the air above us, as the Aura Spheres collided with their target. A thin line of smoke flew downward, and crashed into the ground.
"Now Hunter!" I shouted, motioning him toward the straining Metagross.
"Way ahead of you." Hunter said, making an Ultra Ball appear from the Snag Machine. He threw it and the hand-looking light encased EX376, and a satisfactory click of the Ultra Ball signified it's capture.
Hunter
"About time! Jeez, I was afraid that I was going to starve during that fight…" I whined, looking at my messed up Mech-Suit.
Perrit is going to chew me up for this.
"Are you hurt?" A feminine voice from behind asked.
"Who the hell-" I turned around and noticed a young, black haired girl, around my age, standing before me, "Heh-heh-hello!"
She was pretty. No, pretty is an understatement. She's beautiful. Apparently, I was too busy noticing her face instead of noticing that she wore a Mech-Suit just like mine.
"Well, no. I feel better already." I smirked, removing the helmet. She gave me a quizzical look and laughed.
"I wasn't asking you, Captor Hunter. I was asking your Lucario, Lucas."
…Cold.
"Oh, I'm fine." Lucas said, waving his paw. "May I ask who you are? You seem to be part of Team Savior."
"The commanding officer, Lady Karen." Perrit said, suddenly walking up to us from behind.
"What?! Really?!" I said.
That was a surprise. I always envisioned her to be a rich, old lady. No, she's this young and beautiful girl…
"Respect your superiors, Hunter!" Perrit squawked. I sighed, nodding.
"Now, I thank you for the capture of EX376. I wanted to see our finest Captor in action. However…" Karen then walked toward me, placing a hand on my chest and inspected the Mech-Suit. I couldn't help but feel a little warm when she was this close. "Please be careful with this suit. Research would fix this up for you, along with Slateport… but don't be so reckless. This suit costs a lot of money."
Jeez, she cares more about Lucas and the Suit!
"Y-yes Karen-"
"Don't call her by her name!" Perrit snapped.
"No, that's alright. I'm sick of people referring me as Lady and Commander." Karen then walked away, and suddenly stopped to say something, "Besides… he's kind of cute."
Score.
"Now… a 'gummy for the dummy'… if you will…" She suddenly tossed a bag of Gummy Worms to me, and continued to walk off with Perrit.
"Your vacation starts in Lilycove. Your suit would take at least a day or two till it gets fixed. Oh, and don't forget about EX448... She's waiting in the jet. Champion Wallace sent word that he's thankful for your help. And my funds will help rebuild Slateport. So, rest up, and prepare for your next assignment for EX445." And with that said, Karen walked away into the distance.
"I think I'm in love." I sighed.
"With her?!" Lucas asked, bewildered.
"What? No! I was talking about the Gummy Worms!"
"…Ugh, Hunter…" Lucas sighed.
Though, she is cute. I don't know. Maybe, just maybe.