Chapter Ten-Searching

"Hey, Lucy," Leaf greeted as her boss appeared on the screen of her communicator.

The older woman looked at Leaf with surprise. "Leaf, what's wrong? Aren't you and your team supposed to be on your mission?"

After Drew and Paul had left the group, they had discussed it and decided to call Lucy and Steven respectively to let them in on their recent discovery of the Timeless Claw. Though Dawn wasn't too fond of the idea because she was sure they weren't going to be pleased to hear such news, she was outvoted.

"We're calling it off," May answered from the right of Leaf. "And before you freak out, there's a reason why we're calling it off."

So from there, they started from the beginning to end of what happened. They explained how they found it, how it had worked, how they had been discovered, everything. Throughout the story, Lucy's face changed from curious, to bewilderment, and to disapproving, her current expression.

"How are you all so sure that it's the real claw, to begin with?" she questioned. "What if it was all a set-up from those assassins to make you believe it's real so your guards would be down long enough for them to attack you? How is there any proof that they won't attack you guys when you're not looking?"

"But I was the one who found it," Ash commented. "How would they have put it there if I didn't see anyone put it there? Besides, at that time that we found it, they didn't know our identities yet. It was just recently that they found out."

The older bandit looked at the group in front of her. They all had a look in their eyes that told her that they trusted the assassins completely. They all had determination on their faces and it was as if they knew they were going to live. Lucy didn't know what else to say. She had tried to think of the worst case scenario, but from what they had told her, there was no way that was a set-up.

"Okay, fine," she finally said with a defeated sigh. "You guys win. As of now, the assassination mission will be called off; but be careful, alright? I don't want to see anyone reporting that one of you guys are dead, am I clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," they all chorused together.

And with that, she was gone, along with the bright screen of the communicator.

"Are you two sure these bandits are to be trusted?" Steven asked for what seemed to be the thousandth time.

Misty and Gary rolled their eyes. "Yes, Steven, they are to be trusted. Leaf, one of the members, was the one who came up with the plan and was even willing to give up her weapons to me," Gary informed. "I didn't want to trust her either, but there was something persuading about her tone that made me want to believe her."

"Have you forgotten, Auburn, that's their specialty? They're known for being conniving and they would go to lengths in order to get what they want. Don't be a fool, Auburn. Don't forget what you are. You're an assassin; a cold heartless assassin."

At that, Gary grinded his teeth together. He desperately wanted to go on with the plan because he wanted to see if that was really Leaf. And that meant that he had to get his leader to go along with it. The problem was that he held a huge grudge against the bandits and would find any way to get them out from going on with the plan.

"Look, Leaf and I came up with the idea," Gary started. "That means there are no other plans in store for us. We both explained it to Aqua and she had agreed with it too."

The orange-headed assassin nodded in response. "The plan seems like it could work," she inputted. "Right now, both teams have lost their respective orbs and that's because the thieves believe that the strongest members are out trying to kill each other. Though that is true, we can still change that. They may think that we're still trying to murder each other, but while they think that, we can find out who they are and attack."

"Besides, they can't summon the legendary Groudon and Kyogre without the proper instruments," Gary added cockily, a complete change from his mood just moments ago. "As long as we stop them in time, the people of Hoenn will be safe."

The room was quiet for some time as Steven thought about the plan. It wasn't as if it was a bad plan. It was a pretty good plan, if he had to say so himself. His only problem was the bandits.

"And you're sure they won't betray you guys?" he asked one last time.

Misty and Gary exchanged a look and nodded at each other. They knew that they were walking on thin water here, but if it included saving the world from evil, they'd risk their lives.

The silver-headed man sighed. "Alright, then be safe. I'll be sure to keep an out for Forest and Shadow. Once they return, they'll get assigned a different mission. Remember, return safely, okay? I don't want to replace my number one team with morons."

And with that, his face was gone from the screen of the PC.

Once the PC screen was gone blank, the bandits arrived into the room the assassins were in. It was strange, they thought. No one in the Weather Institute seemed to spare them a second glance. They seemed to be too busy with their work to mind the group of the teenagers walking their halls.

"So how did it go?" Dawn asked the other two when they arrived.

The bandits had taken the liberty to take a seat on the couch set up on the other side of the room as the two assassins made their way over to them.

"He really doesn't like the idea," Misty answered with a tired sigh. "He believes that this is all a trick to kill us."

"What does he have against us?" Leaf inquired, arms crossed at her chest. "I mean, if he doesn't trust us like how Lucy trusts you guys, then there must be something that's happened to him to not like us."

"We'd tell you, but it's not in our position to do that," Gary responded. "All we can tell you is that he's had bad experiences with them."

The room fell into silence right afterwards as they tried to think of what to do next. They'd agreed to tell their leaders that they were calling off the mission, but they had yet to discuss what to do afterwards. It was still pouring outside, and they didn't know what else to do with the claw since there was so little information about it.

"Should we do more investigating?" May piped. "Though it's still raining, I think it'd be better than just sitting here doing nothing."

After a couple of minutes of discussion, they had decided to leave the institute and investigate. Like May had said, it was surely better than staying indoors and doing nothing.

Once they were outside, Ash led the way to the place where he had found the claw. From the slope of the hill they stood on, Leaf estimated the height of it and decided that they'd need their Pokémon's help to get down there, which was what they did.

With the help of their team, the six of them reached down safely and was now looking for any trace of recent visit, which wasn't so easy considering how heavy the rain fell.

May and Dawn were searching the area for any footprints, while Ash and Misty were examining the spot of the claw, trying to figure out how it had gotten here. Lastly, Leaf and Gary were looking for any trace of a hideout.

The brunette had decided to wander away from the assassin, partly because she wanted to see if there was anything behind the waterfall, and also because she felt awkward around him ever since she found out that the boy in her dreams could possibly be him.

The waterfall wasn't anything she hadn't seen before. From all her missions, she had learned that most waterfalls had a secret base behind it due to the space it left, and this was no different. Though the pathway behind the waterfall was narrower than the other ones she'd been to, it wasn't difficult for her to maneuver through.

Once there, she had begun to search for any switches that could trigger the secret door, but with no such luck.

"Having a little trouble there, Green?"

She turned and met the auburn teen she had so badly wanted to avoid. Up close, he wasn't so bad looking, she thought. If it weren't for the mission, she'd probably start flirting with him.

"Just a little," she replied dryly. "As cliché as it may be, I believe that there's a secret base behind it. All the evil villains have it behind a waterfall."

At that, Gary chuckled and shook his head before walking up to help her. "I believe you have watched way too many movies. Are you sure you're a top bandit?"

She shrugged and stuck her tongue out at him. "Whatever, just press against spot and maybe a secret door will open up," she ordered.

He rolled his eyes, but complied nonetheless.

"How are we supposed to find footprints?" Dawn complained as she tried to move her bangs away from her eyes. "It's pouring out here! There's no way in hell are we ever going to find anything!"

May sighed and rolled her eyes. "Dawn, it doesn't matter. There should still be some sort of evidence. If anything, we'll just go back and help the others if we don't find anything."

The bluenette sighed in frustration but agreed to the idea, nonetheless. She hated that her clothes were stuck on her body like glue, but she had no choice but to leave the place with what she was wearing. Besides, she was a trained bandit who had to go through rigorous training, and that involved being in the rain.

After searching around at their designated spot, the two bandits meandered off farther away from the group and only realized it when May almost slipped into the water, thanks to the wet grass.

"Are you okay, May?"

The brunette smiled sheepishly and nodded. "I'm fine, Dawn." She paused and looked around, spotting the group at least a mile away. "Where are we?"

"I'm assuming, not far from the group," Dawn guessed. "Whatever, maybe there would be something here that will help us."

From there, the two girls started to look around. As the rain kept pouring down, it made it harder to look for any evidence. No matter how much they tried, the rain wasn't helping in the case, which resulted in Dawn to accidently slip this time. Luckily, she was next to the slope and pulled on a piece of loose rock to keep her balance.

May, who noticed, rushed over to her teammate to check if she was alright, unaware of the groaning noise that rang through the place.

"Dawn, you have to watch where you're going or you're really going to hurt yourself."

Dawn turned to May to reply back when something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. Turning her full attention to her left, Dawn let out a gasp as she stared at the slope that had been there just moments ago. May looked at where she was looking, and stared in shock. How it had gotten there had surprised her as well.

The rocky place mountain had been gone and was now replaced with a cave. It was dark, and due to the rain, it made it look as if it was just a mirage.

"May, get the rest. I need to stay to make sure it's still here when they're here."

Silently, the brunette complied and sprinted to get everyone else.

"What do you mean you approve of them calling off the mission?!" Drew snapped.

He and Paul had recently arrived back to Rustburo, only to find out that their leader had approved of such an action. Wasn't Steven the one who despised bandits the most? Why was he actually allowing the mission to be canceled?

Steven sighed and leaned back to his chair. "What part of that didn't you understand, Forest? They told me their plan and it seems like it could actually work. Besides, if the Timeless Claw really was stolen from someone who wasn't a bandit, we can actually mend the broken relationship."

"I thought you didn't like the bandits because of what they did to your family," Paul stated from the chair next to Drew. "Why the sudden change in heart?"

Upon hearing this, the silver-headed assassin casted him a glare before saying, "I don't think this is any of your business, Shadow. Bottom line is, the mission is called off and you two are to train the new recruits that came in this morning."

There was a loud slam that rang through the room, and the source of it all was Drew. He had slammed his two hands onto the table and was currently having a glaring competition with Steven, who didn't seemed fazed at all.

"Do you think this is a joke? Those bandits could be planning to kill Aqua and Auburn and you're just going to let them?! I don't care if there's a plan, it could all be a set-up! Aren't you supposed to stop them from doing something stupid that could potentially get them killed?! Just what kind of leader are you!?"

Drew had lost it. The fact that their high-esteemed leader could easily let the two of them do something as risky as this had really snapped him. He had always looked up to Steven from all the obstacles he had to jump through, along with the fool-proof plans he always had. But this…this was definitely not the leader who had taught him to be ruthless.

"Forest—" Paul started.

Before he was able to finish what he had planned to say, something had stopped him. In front of him, just three feet away, was their calm leader, holding Drew's arms back, and a throwing star in hand, near the green-headed assassin's throat.

"You wanted to know where that leader is? Well, this leader is over here," he whispered deadly. "I'll teach you how to be really ruthless."

WOOOO, I FINALLY UPDATED AND LEFT YOU GUYS WITH A TERRIBLE CHAPTER.

Yeah, I'm like really rusty, but I really I hope you won't hold it against me.

Anyway, review and let me know how it was! :3 I'll talk to you guys soon!