Chapter 9: Run for Your Lives!
Eris, Crystal, Krishna, Johnnie, and their fearless leader left behind the little house that was their refuge and took off to an undisclosed destination. As they were traveling, one couldn't help but feel that they were being followed. Johnnie was the paranoid one, and she decided to wait until they reached a checkpoint to get Doctor Doctor's attention.
"Leader?" Johnnie asked out of fear.
"Johnnie, do you mind? I'm thinking of where we should go next." Doctor Doctor sighed.
"Something's been bothering me for a while now, and I think I'm sensing that someone or something is hunting us." Johnnie said out of improvisement.
"I thought I was the one who had psychic powers?" Crystal questioned.
"Please!" Krishna shouted out. "Let's not have this escalate into bickering."
"Yes, let's not." Doctor Doctor groaned. "I already do enough of that back home."
Everyone shut up and they resumed travel. Johnnie got that sensation again and now she was even more paranoid. Every hour or so, the psychic feeling gave her a headache and spread dizziness from her head to her feet. In one of the stops, Crystal finally paid attention to the paranoia.
"You're right, Johnnie," Crystal exclaimed out of realization. "I, too, have a feeling we're being followed, not by the native creatures of Plit."
"Then who is following us?" Krishna asked beyond a reasonable doubt.
"I'm sensing a kind of Pokémon, specifically a pack of them, that came to Plit years ago and has adjusted to life on this planet. The Pokémon I'm talking about are Mightyena." Crystal answered, using all of her psychic abilities to support it.
"Hold on," Eris paused for a moment. "You mean there are more of them? I honestly thought you were the only one."
"No, Eris." Krishna assured her. "There are more of them."
Suddenly, they heard a noise that sounded like a low growl in the distance. At first, it was indistinguishable, but then it was obviously getting closer. Closer and closer it came, until figures of a wolf-like creature with black and purplish-gray fur appeared.
"Mightyena!" Crystal screamed.
The Mightyena walked very uncomfortably close to Eris and growled in hatred.
"Oh my," Eris gasped, looking down at the fiercesome Pokémon. "They're on to me. What should I do?"
"Silhaeng geogiseo. Nan dangsin-eul myeonglyeong!" the fearless leader shouted in Korean.
"I can't understand. In English, please."
"You have to get out. I demand it, Eris!"
"Okay!"
Eris ran on swift feet as the Mightyena chased after her. She hopped on Johnnie's back and Johnnie started running.
"Let's run, like she says." Eris said in a scared voice.
The Mightyena insisted on chasing Eris and Johnnie for a few hours until they were isolated from their team.
Immediately, the rest of the team started searching for their lost comrades. Little did they know, an anonymous was following them. It hadn't even been a few seconds when someone threw a sack over Doctor Doctor's head.
"Augh!" Doctor Doctor shouted in shock.
Krishna and Crystal slowly and awkwardly approached the assailant, thinking he was alone. Suddenly, there were more. All of them appeared to be Koopa Troopas. However, there was a difference. These Koopas were wearing metal armor that covered their faces, hands and feet, much like a knight's armor. They had regular turtle shells, but they were darker in color and thus looked much gloomier. It took what seemed like an eternity but was actually only just about fifty-five milliseconds for Krishna and Crystal to register in their brains the fact that they were surrounded and that if they tried to escape, they would very possibly be killed.
"We heard you had one of our escaped prisoners…" one of the Koopa Troopas said in a calm manner. "Is this true?"
"Yes, it is." Crystal admitted in defeat.
"Aha! What were you doing with her?"
"We were trying to stop you…."
"Yeah, right. Just a bunch of whiny, screaming kids with a babysitter were plotting an uprising against us."
"We're not kids!" Crystal replied angrily.
"Oh, of course you are. You couldn't possibly stop us."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah."
"We've got a cat and we're not afraid to use her. Isn't that right, Krishna?"
Krishna broke down into tears.
"Krishna?" Crystal asked, expecting an answer.
"Crystal, don't do it!" Krishna pleaded. "They'll kill us!"
"See, kid? Even that cat has common sense." the Koopa Troopa said. "Now take us to the others!"
"No! I won't let you!" the human-Gardevoir hybrid Crystal screamed.
"Alright, kid." the Troopa said again. "You asked for it."
The Koopa Troopa pulled out a pen-like device and placed it harshly on the girl's neck. He then proceeded to click on a button. As soon as he did, electrical currents emerged and consumed Crystal's entire body.
"STOP IT!" Crystal was screaming at the top of her lungs as she was being electrocuted. "STOP IT!"
"You heard her!" Krishna shouted. "Stop this madness!"
The pleas fell on deaf ears. The Koopa Troopa continued to torture Crystal until she squealed that she didn't want to fight them anymore. Upon hearing this, the Koopa Troopa Solomon turned off the device and let Crystal fall to the ground.
"That's a good girl…" Solomon said. "Troops, seek out the others! NOW!"
