APPARENTLY NECESSARY DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon Colosseum. If I did, I wouldn't need to write an AU fanfic of it, now would I?

Chapter 7: A Dancing Fiend

Pain.

Pain rushed through her head. And screaming. Someone-or something- was screaming. Rhythmically.

Rui woke up. Normally, this would be a good thing. Normally, she didn't feel like throwing up and would be able to see where she was.

It was bright. Really bright. She was sitting on the ground, with her back against what certainly felt like a rough stone wall of some sort. Her hands and feet were still bound (of course), and she still had tape on her mouth, but it felt like the sack was gone.

Thank goodness.

The screaming, however, was not.

It sounded like someone was torturing a herd of Donphan or something, while they were sitting on a whole bunch of Chatot. It was just really loud, okay?

A voice somehow made it through the noise.

"Hey! Boss! I think she's awake!"

"Huh? Already? Alright party people, STOP THE MUSIC!"

There was a loud click and what had sounded like screaming finally stopped.

Rui closed her eyes for a bit and tried to look towards the ground, hoping her eyes would adjust and she could see. A large shadow appeared. It looked something like those giant mushroom pokémon... Breloom, was it?

"So this is the girl who can see Shadow Pokémon. I can't really understand how you two had so much trouble with her."

"Well, boss, you see..."

"Not important right now."

The strange mushroom-shaped person turned towards Rui.

"Why hello there, young lady. A bit of a mess, aren't you? I suppose I should introduce myself."

Oh, yes, please do. I don't know enough homicidal lunatics yet.

"The name is Miror B.!"

"Miror B."? Seriously? thought Rui. What kind of a name is Miror B.? Does it stand for something, like "M.I.R.O.R. B."? "Massive Irritating Rambling Order Robot, Bravo?" Okay, so I'm not good at acronyms, it's still a weird name.

"And, of course, you've met Folly and Trudly."

She could see a little better now. There were two guys flanking Miror B, the same two guys who had kidnapped her.

And, oddly enough, they had shut up for the first time since she'd met them (and been conscious).

"I must apologize for the rough way they treated you" said Miror B. "But we really weren't at liberty to keep you at liberty, little lady."

For some reason, Rui got the feeling he had spent several minutes coming up with that.

"But, you see, you could totally interfere with our Shadow Pokémon plan, and that just wouldn't do."

This was the part where Rui would ask the question: "What on earth are 'Shadow Pokémon', and what is your plan, you lunatic!" That is, if there wasn't tape over her mouth. That was getting very irritating.

"As much as I am for... direct solutions to things, Einie back at the lab has asked that we send you over to him. He's very interested in your... abilities."

My... abilities? I guess I can see auras, but that's not really all that special, is it? I mean there are psychics like Sabrina who can see the future and move things with their minds and stuff, but aura-reading doesn't really tell you anything about a pokémon, just if they're hostile or something. And all auras look different... don't they?

Her eyes adjusted a bit more to the light, which seemed to be coming from spotlights on poles. There were several shorter shapes behind the odd mushroom-man and his goons. And one of them had a black aura around it. Just like that fighting type.

Rui shivered instinctively.

So... is this a Shadow Pokémon? One with a black aura? But what do they do, and why are they a secret?

"So, until Einie's guys come over and pick you up, you're a guest of the awesome Miror B., master of music. Boys, take that tape off her mouth. It's not good for her vocal cords."

"But boss! What if she screams?"

"Who will hear her, Trudly? No one other than us. And a two-sided conversation is so much more interesting."

One of the goons (the one in the hat, "Trudly," aparently) walked over to Rui, bent down and ripped the tape off. Not gently.

"Better?" asked the goon.

Rui leaned over to her side and threw up. Twice.

No.

"So, little lady" asked Miror B. "What's your name?"

Rui gasped for a second and tried to get her nausea under control again.

"I'm waiting..." continued the Breloom man, with a hint of mock impatience.

"Go. To. Hell." she growled, as intimidating as she could while tied up, disoriented and trying not to vomit again. So, not especially intimidating.

"Well, well. It seems you aren't in a talkative mood, then. Aw, well. It's not especially important."

Someone else entered the room. It looked like... a woman? Red hair? Really? It was so hard to see anything with the spotlights that Rui figured she might just be hallucinating.

"Boss. Bluno's signaled us. He says your trap is in play."

"Oh, excellent. I guess I better get right on that. Thanks, Reathy."

'Reathy'?

"Okay. Folly, Trudley, would you two be so kind as to take our guest to the back room?"

"Uh, yeah, sure, whatever, boss."

"Good. Einie's people should be here for her soon. Until then, come on, my party pokémon! It's curtain time!"

The mushroom man vanished, as did the pokémon that had been standing behind him. Rui almost breathed a sigh of relief to be away from that black aura.

Almost.

The two male goons (Folly and Trudly, was it?) grabbed her by the shoulders and started to drag her across the rough stone floor. The new angle on the spotlights blinded her. Again. That was getting very annoying, somewhere up on the list with being stuffed in a sack, feeling like she was going to throw up (again), having tape over her mouth and just generally being kidnapped.

Yeah, not one of my better days.


They pulled her into another room, which was also carved out of rock. While the other one had been overly bright, this one was dark.

"Alright, now stay here, okay?" said one of the goons. He and his partner cracked up, like that was the funniest thing they had ever said. In fact, knowing them, it probably was.

The two 'men' finished snickering and left. There was a loud click as the lights in the other room were turned off. She was alone. Great.

Rui lay on her back, trying to steady her breathing so she wouldn't throw up or pass out again. In a way, the darkness was a little relaxing, or at least better than blinding light. She tried to collect her thoughts again. Whoever this "Einie" person was, she didn't want to meet them. She was going to have to escape. Again.

Well, at least I don't have a sack to worry about.

First, she'd need to untie her hands, which where still pinned behind her back. She pulled on the ropes, but it seemed that the knots were tied a little tighter this time. Well, she was in a room, which by the looks of it was full of junk.

Might as well see what else is in here. Maybe something useful.

"Plu... plah?"

There was a soft call through the darkness. Rui squinted, her night vision slowly coming into focus. There was something in a small cage on the table next to her. It was... redish? With long ears. Definitely a pokémon. It had a pleasant, orange aura.

It's one of those Hoenn... 'Plusle,' I think?

"Plaah?"

The tiny pokémon poked the side of its cage. It then sat down again, dejected.

It looks like it's a prisoner to thought Rui.

"Don't worry, little pokémon. I'll get us out of here. Somehow."

Rui sat up, carefully. She was right by a long table, which had all sorts of junk on it. She carefully scooted over towards the first thing she could find.

It was a square metal box with a latch on it. It was unlocked, and based on the goons she'd seen so far, that didn't seem too odd. Rui felt around inside it (carefully) and poked something sharp. Then she smiled. Maybe she was getting out of here after all.


Sorry I haven't posted in a while, promising to do so soon is the perfect way to ensure that you won't.

The different pieces are starting to come together...