"Professor!," Ripley shouted, busting through the doors; "Is everything okay? Are you hurt? Are you bleeding internally? Hemorrhaging?"
She sprinted to the man, slipping once or twice on the fine polished floor. The girl fell forward, grabbing onto Elm's arms to balance herself.
"Ripley!," he exclaimed, holding her in place. She shook her head to gather her wits, then looked around. Everything seemed to be in place. Everyone looked okay, excluding the fact they stared at her like she had lost her mind.
She blushed, then stood up straight. "Uh," Ripley began; "So... What was the big emergency?"
There was a presence behind her. Suddenly, her hands were bound to her back by something cold, followed by a few soft clicks.
Handcuffs.
Her eyes widened, looking behind her as well as she could to stare at the restraints, bewildered and confused. Her head shot up to gaze at a Police Officer who gave her a stony look.
"Miss, you are under arrest for the theft of Professor Elm's Pokemon."
...
What.
Her mouth hung open. Then, her heart fell. Her eyes welled a little with the feeling of betrayal. Was this really a set up? What the Hell!? She thought Elm trusted her! Why was he having her arrested! Her eyes narrowed, "The Hell are you talking about?! I just got here!"
"Rule no. 1. It's always possible for the criminal to always come back to the crime scene to either finish what they started or just out of pure guilt. And seeing as you are the only one who arrived. I'm suspecting you are the one who did it."
He then jerked his head to the snarling Chikorita, "And you have a pokemon with you."
Her eyebrow twitched.
He must be new.
"For the record, dumbass," she growled; "The last pokemon Elm owned that was just on that table was a Cyndaquil. A FIRE pokemon. Does mine honestly look like a damn fire-type to you when he's all green and has an Arceus forsaken LEAF on his head!?"
He shook his head, "Insulting an officer. That's an offence." The man took out a pokeball of his own, releasing a Growlithe.
"Growlithe, apprehend the pokemon."
The fire pokemon jumped forward, while Chikorita shifted back with a tremble. It was using Intimidate.
"Don't you dare touch him!," Ripley shrieked, her arms restricted by the vice grip of the man. She struggled, but to no avail of escaping. He was clearly stronger than she was.
"Resisting. Second offence."
"I swear to Arceus if you don't let me go-"
"Threatening an Officer. Third offence."
Elm stepped forward, feebily attempting to intervene, "Uhm, Officer. She wasn't the one who did it... She is right when she said the pokemon was-"
The Police Officer held up a hand, "There's no need, Professor, to defend this criminal. It's obvious she's the one who did it. An innocent never gets this defensive when accused. She's hiding something. Even though what she has now is clearly a grass type. She could have hidden the other somewhere. I will organize a search for your pokemon."
Ripley's face expressed as if she just got slapped in the face. "Really?!," she snapped; "What would you do if all of a sudden you had your hands tied behind your back without as MUCH of a warning?! I bet you would be completely beside yourself! What kind of cop are you!?"
"Be quiet, thief."
Ethan had slammed open the door, all eyes were on him. "Damnit, Ripley! What the Hell did you leave me for-," he paused, staring stupidly at the scene before him. Lyra appeared behind him not too long after, panting heavily.
"What..," he breathed; "Is going on here?" Lyra blinked, regaining composure. "Ripley?," she questioned, almost not believing what she was seeing herself; "Why are you being handcuffed? And what's going on with Chikorita?"
The man scoffed, "This girl is being compromised for the disappearance of the pokemon Cyndaquil."
Ethan grew furious. "What!?," he screamed; "She would never do anything like that! Ripley was with us the whole time! Lyra here will even vouch for her!"
Lyra nodded, glaring daggers, "Let her go you bully!"
He sneered, "If she didn't do it, who did?"
"Tch," Ethan replied; "I'll be happy to tell you. But not until you let Ripley go."
"Young man, I can't-"
"Then you won't get your prime suspect out of me. So I guess your shit outta luck, pal."
The Officer growled, forcing the cuffs off of the girl's wrist with a harsh yank. Ripley rubbed at her wrists gingerly, swearing under her breath.
"Growlithe, stand down," he ordered. The pokemon looked at him in almost disbelief. Then, retreated, eyeing Chikorita. The grass pokemon whimpered a little, hopping into the safety of his trainer's arms.
Lyra automatically went to her side, hugging onto her arm, protectively. Ethan stood before the two girls, arms crossed with a look that gave the message, 'Touch her again, I fucking dare you'.
The older male stored his cuffs away.
"So," he grumbled; "Are you going to give me some answers, kid?"
Ethan gave a victorious smirk, "Gladly."
After a while of questioning and interviewing. It seemed that the Officer was finally satisfied with the answers he got. He stood, dusting off his uniform. He observed the boy that stood in front of him, still holding the same protective stance in front of his two friends.
"So, let me get this straight," he began; "The culprit was a boy, about your age. He had red hair. And you said he was looking through the lab window?"
Ethan nodded, "Yes. I approached him, asking what the Hell he thought he was doing spying. He glared at me then demanded what 'I was staring at' and pushed me out of the way before running off like the coward he was."
"I see, did you happen to get his name?"
There was silence.
"I know his name," Ripley spoke up. Everyone's attention was on her now.
"Do you now?," the man raised a 'brow; "What is it, then?"
She looked at him, straight in the eye, "His name is Silver."
...
"Silver, eh? Well, I guess I better gather a search party for this red-headed individual. I apologize for taking your time."
He turned to leave, then craned his head to the pinkette with a narrowed stare. "You better watch yourself, Missy," he growled; "You're on my Shit List." With that said, he left, Growlithe bounding behind him with a bark. Ripley rolled her eyes.
What an ass.
