For some reason, my section breaks haven't been showing up in the chapters once I upload them. So from here on, I'm trying something else. All caps words show section breaks (hopefully).
Chapter 10
Preparation
Carlos shut the door calmly behind him. Or he tried to make it seem calm, at least. His mind wasn't the least bit calm.
A psychic was already waiting in the corner of the room, a tall, thin, and elegant Gardevoir. Without needing to be told, she bowed her head and began a soft chant.
The large Raichu could feel her mental energy flow over his body, but just let it go. The sooner this was done, the better.
Around him, the room seemed to fade into a black emptiness. It was still there, but he was now incapable of seeing it because of the link. The psychic in his room was transmitting his mind to another room. It was quite useful, but only used for special matters because of the strain it put on the psychics.
Another room appeared, this one of perfectly round stone. Before him sat a row of twelve beings behind a long, curved table. This was the Council, the collection of the most powerful beings on the planet. This was the reason for his fears. As was customary, he bowed, placing his fingertips to his forehead. "Naris."
"Fan," the one at the center spoke. The woman's face and body was covered in fine white fur; behind her gently waved nine tails. She was the voted head of the Council. "We are anxious to meet the human. Have you prepared her?"
Carlos looked up, scanning each member of the council in turn. Several of them were paranoid enough to jump at any hint of weakness. He would have compassion from some, but would it be enough to help him? "Sadly, no. We have yet to properly prepared her."
"I sense hesitation," another one said. That one was avian, with long feathers sprouting and flowing back along his head. "What could be taking so long?"
"Do not lie to us, Fan."
He couldn't help but fidget. They would tell if he was lying. "The human… The human is no longer under our care." A gentle whisper of murmurs rose from the Council. "She was taken by several men earlier today, "he clarified. "We are still in the process of locating her."
"Were they human?" the Ninetails asked plainly.
"I thank the Spirits they were not," Carlos answered. This seemed to draw a sigh of relief from them. "We are close to discovering their identity, and once we do, we will have her back within our custody."
The Ninetails turned and whispered some words to the Luxray next to her. The whispers continued down the line as they each consulted each other.
In the silence, Carlos could sense his chances whither away. They would not take too kindly to his losing the one human that could see them all for what they truly were. It was now only a question of how mad they were.
After several anxious minutes, they turned towards him. "It has been decided," the Ninetails said. "You have three days to retrieve her. If you have failed to do so within that time, we will find other methods of retrieving her."
The large man repressed his own sigh of relief. That should be enough time. He bowed again. "Thank you, Naris. May the Spirits above watch over you."
"And over you."
The room faded and his office returned to view. The psychic slipped through the door silently, leaving him to his thoughts for a moment.
Carlos's mind instantly began calculating. Three days should be more than enough time. But what would happen if he couldn't get them? He didn't really want to think about that.
A knock rang at his door. "Sir, we've found them."
THE SILENCE WAS starting to get to Chloe. But she still couldn't get herself to talk after the horror she had witness only minutes ago.
Anai, who was walking beside her, sensed the girl's turmoil. "You are curious, aren't you?" she asked softly. Chloe nodded. Anai looked at Scott for a moment, but he was still leading with his back turned to them. "Sain and I, we are twins. Among the Eon's, that creates a special bond between us. We are able to combine our powers in order to do things that ordinary beings would find impossible."
"But you killed them," she said suddenly. The vision of the bodies bleeding on the ground caused her to shake.
Anai grew silent. "It was not my wish. But those things happen."
"We should get her ready," Scott suddenly said, effectively ending the conversation. "She needs to blend in somehow."
"We could pretend she were marked," Anai suggested. "As long as she acts well, she should go unnoticed."
Scott nodded. "Works for me."
Chloe was beginning to accept that these two knew what was best to keep her safe, so just nodded and waited for Anai to explain. But she couldn't help but notice that Scott was becoming more and more withdrawn the further they went.
"Among our people, we have humans that do work for us. They are a sort of slave, but they are mindless and incapable of their own thoughts." Anai looked down at her. "If this is to work, you will have to pretend as if you aren't thinking anything. No emotions, no feelings. Nothing."
"I'm not sure I can do that."
"You'll have to," Scott said.
CARLOS BURST INTO the control room. "Where is she?"
"We don't know, sir," one of the men at the monitor said.
He stopped, his face growing red. "I thought you said we had them!"
"Sir." Carlos turned at the voice. His lead Commander, the Arcanine Jaruk, stood by the door. A good portion of his arms were covered in medical tape. "Forgive me, sir. They managed to escape. But we do know who they are."
A bit of Carlos's anger subsided. "Go on."
"There are two helping her. Both of them are Eons, one fire and one water."
Carlos nodded with a smile. This was good. "Where is the nearest Eon village?" he asked to no one in particular.
"Approximately seven miles south of the city," someone answered.
Again, Carlos nodded as everything began to fit. "They'll take her to their village, try to hide her away." He scanned the room, finding Hung. "How long will it take you?"
The man thought silently. "A day of preparation. Perhaps an hour of execution."
"Go."
And that was all. The man had his own way of working and Carlos knew better than to go against his way.
Yes, three days would be more than enough.
CHLOE STOOD IN suppressed awe, her eyes looking up into the trees. Scott and Anai stood on either side of her, looking up at the same sight. The very trees grew into bulbs just below the canopy. Limbs spread and melded together, creating bridges between the massive trunks. And the entire scene was aglow with yellow light that spilled from hundreds of windows in the trees.
"Welcome to the Village of the Forest."
End Part I
A/N: Wow. What a trip. But this is only half of the story. We will now take a (hopefully) brief intermission. But make sure you keep your eyes open for Part II. Until then, don't forget those reviews that you all love so much and Tata For Now.