Chapter 9: Peepin Pond

I stared at the walkie-talkie.

A child's toy really.

And yet this mere toy would enact my brilliant plan.

I pressed the green button.

"Yes, Master?" my assistant answered.

I spoke quietly into the toy. "The detective has been dispatched. My plan has begun. Remember my warnings."

"Of course, Master."

"Nothing more. Master out." I ended the transmission and grinned.

If my calculations on Miss Parkwood's location were correct, she would soon be meeting someone quite special.

Now things would really start to get interesting.

o o o o o o o o o o o o

Ladies and gentleman, the Master has left the building.

I smiled widely. The past twenty-four hours had easily been the happiest hours of my life. By some stroke of luck, or perhaps G-d's will, it was finally my turn to shine. I was in charge of Team Glop'emm. I was in control.

And yet… there was still work to be done.

For though I was in command now, as long as the young Master lived, my position was not permanent.

Furthermore, the Master had succeeded in disappearing, and this would be the perfect opportunity to eliminate the brat if I could find a way to identify him. I had seen his luminescent eyes a thousand times, and I could probably estimate how tall he was, but that would not be enough to recognize the snotty teen if I ever saw him in broad daylight.

I fiddled with my Pokeballs, thinking.

I had searched through everything he left behind for any clue; the desk I now sat at, his private quarters, the library, and the labs. I found nothing.

All I had was the little information the boy had told me, and my own experience with the boy and his father.

But if I could kill the previous Master without getting caught, I could certainly find the man's teenage son.

BZZZT

I looked down at the Master's desk… no, my desk… and saw the talkie the boy had given me vibrating.

Speak of the devil.

I pressed the green button.

"Yes, Master?" I answered tiredly.

"The detective has been dispatched. My plan has begun. Remember my warnings," the boy replied coldly.

Whoopee, I thought sarcastically, though I responded with an "Of course, Master."

"Nothing more. Master out."

How tiresome that boy could be.

Even if the boy wasn't the Master, I would want to eliminate the child because of how he flaunted his arrogant attitude.

The boy simply had to be destroyed. I sighed as I racked my brilliant brain for vital details that could help me identify the teen.

Mendol.

That was one detail I had— the name Mendol. That was the name written on the gym door. It was the name the boy's father went by, and the name the boy was called. Master Mendol. The father had become a gym leader before he joined Team Glop'emm. Thus, when the name was engraved, there would have been no reason for him to hide his identity.

The name was a possible lead. It couldn't hurt to check it out.

Then there was this detective, the man the boy had sent after Anita Parkwood. He had said the detective was a relative. The boy was probably lying, but either way, it would be useful to have someone watching the detective. Maybe this "relative" would let something slip.

Plus, I needed to make sure I was getting all the information the Master was getting about Pokemon X. If I could figure out a way to find and capture it before he did…

I smiled wickedly.

Well, then it would be a lot easier to take him down.

o o o o o o o o o o o o

I ran a hand through my dark hair as I stared at the walkie-talkie. It was silent now.

I had my mission.

I was in position.

Now all I could do was wait.

o o o o o o o o o o o o

The first four times I woke up, it was still raining.

The fifth time, the sun was blazing into my eyes.

I blinked, and looked around me, confused. Erin was laying a little ways away, still fast asleep under the protection of the ledge. I was barely under the ledge, and my clothes were still damp. The air was a lot warmer than it had been before. I looked around for Apple, and finally spotted her bathing in the sunlight.

After stretching, I looked at my watch.

3:41 p.m.

That couldn't be right.

I shook my head and blinked a couple of times.

3:41 p.m.

I jumped up and ran into the sunlight. The sun was high in the sky, and there wasn't a cloud in sight.

{Apple,} I growled.

{Nya?} Apple answered groggily. Her body remained motionless, sprawled in the sunlight.

{Why didn't you wake me up when it stopped raining?}

Apple finally got up and yawned. {I thought I deserved some rest.}

{You realize if we had left as soon as it stopped raining, we could have reached Tinted Town before the sun went down. Now that we've wasted most of the day, we'll have to camp out again.}

{Na,} Apple argued, {It didn't stop raining till noon. No way would we have reached Tinted Town. We would have to camp out anyway.}

{Maybe, but now we're going to have to start setting up for camp in just two or three hours before it starts getting dark! We're not going to make any progress. The day was completely wasted!}

{Whatever.}

I walked over to Erin and shook her with a foot. "Wake up!"

Erin sat up quickly, her hair a complete mess. "Huh?" She blinked. "Whoa. How long did we sleep?"

"It's already mid-afternoon! We have to get going!"

Erin stretched. "What about breakfast?"

"Ugh. Come on!" I grabbed her arm and started exasperatedly marching through the lightly wooded area. Apple followed.

So we walked… and walked… and walked….

Did I mention we kept walking?

"Huh. There are more trees here," I noted dully after half an hour of— you guessed it— walking. We had eaten as we traveled.

Erin nodded. "It's because there is more water here. About half a mile to our left is Peepin Pond, and four miles to our right is Lemon Lake."

"And how far until we reach Tinted Town?"

"You really don't want to know. Too far."

I frowned and grumbled to myself. Then suddenly, I remembered Fiery was still in his Pokeball. "Oh!" I exclaimed as I released him. "Sorry, I forgot about you."

{Darn, I was hoping you wouldn't remember,} Apple pouted.

{Under normal circumstances, I would be offended that you forgot me. However, I already told you, I like my Pokeball!} Fiery growled.

{I think you only like it because I said Pokemon don't like being confined in them,} I replied.

{Yeah, no normal Pokemon would like being stuck in that thing!} Apple added.

{Have you ever considered the possibility that you're the abnormal one, Apple?}

{No.} Apple smirked.

Fiery chose to ignore Apple. {Anita, just because Apple does not like her Pokeball does not mean all Pokemon dislike Pokeballs. Some of us actually enjoy resting and being away from you crazies.}

{Well, you need the exercise,} I argued. I already knew I had lost; I was just being stubborn. Abruptly, I realized Fiery and Apple had stopped walking.

{What's up?}

Apple and Fiery were staring into the sky.

Erin stopped behind the Eevees. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not—" I stopped speaking as I followed the Eevees' gazes.

SPLAT

All was suddenly dark.

And wet.

Three different laughs came from beyond the wet darkness.

{Whew, I feel much better,} an unfamiliar voice said.

I wiped the wetness from my eyes and saw a large Fearow flapping away above me.

It occurred to me what the wet goo covering me was.

"EWWWWWWW!" I yelled.

Fiery snorted. {Now you know how I feel!}

"This is so not funny!" I gave the three giggling hyenas my fiercest glare.

It was ruined when a bit of… crap… fell from my hair to my nose.

{It wouldn't have happened if you had listened psychically or had better normal hearing,} Apple commented.

"It's supposed to be good luck when a bird poops on you," Erin remarked.

"Yeah right," I grumbled. "So far, today might qualify in the top ten worst days of my life." I unsuccessfully tried to wipe the crud from my face; it just ended up smearing.

And now my hands were covered in sh*t too. Great.

Apple joked to Fiery, {I bet it was related to the Spearow you battled.}

"Which way is Peepin Pond?" I asked. I spat as… you really don't want to know.

Erin pointed.

"I'm going to go wash up. Erin, can you take my pack if it's not already disgusting? I don't want to drip on it…"

"I'm not touching that thing if there is a single drop of crap on it," Erin answered. She inspected my pack carefully before removing it from my back. "We'll start setting up camp here. No way will we have time to keep moving by the time you're done."

{What a waste of a day,} I thought to myself…

… or not. {Maybe it just wasn't meant to be,} Apple replied.

{You stink,} Fiery put in while wrinkling his nose.

"I'll be by the pond—" I said to Erin.

{Hopefully in it,} Apple interjected, though only I could hear.

"Make sure you give these two some daunting task." I waved to the Eevees.

"Don't worry. They'll be fetching firewood!" Erin replied.

{Oooh. So daunting. I couldn't possibly handle that,} Apple snickered.

Fiery chuckled.

I left.

The walk to the pond was quiet, and I probably would have enjoyed it if it weren't for the awful stench and disgusting goop on my face.

The trees became denser as I neared the pond, and the shade sent a shiver down my back.

The first thing I did when I reached the pond was splash the pond's warm water on my face to scrub the crap off. As I squatted by the pond, I made a mental note to buy soap when I reached Tinted Town.

When my face was wiped off and I could finally see clearly, my reflection in the pond revealed that I was covered in even more poo than I had imagined.

And I have a big imagination.

Not only was my hair streaked with brown and white, but so was the top of my long-sleeve t-shirt. Even my pants had some crap on them; I must have accidently put my hands on them when I squatted down.

I glanced to my left and right to make sure the pond was abandoned.

Seeing no other signs of life, I sighed and carefully stripped off my pants, shirt, and shoes.

While leaning over the pond, I dipped the shirt in the water and began scrubbing it with my hands.

A soft cool breeze sent a chill down my spine.

"That's a nice look for you."

I fell into the water, surprised by the voice.

The pond was shallow. I swerved around and squatted so only my head was above the water, while I clutched my shirt tightly to my chest.

My heartbeat quickened when I saw the speaker.

"Reece," I hissed.

"Ah, Anita, it's been a while," Reece said casually, leaning against a tree.

{Apple? Fiery? Erin? Anyone!} I called out psychically.

I held my breath hopefully.

No answer. I was out of range.

Reece strolled toward the pond smirking nastily. I backed into the pond's reeds nervously, my feet getting tangled in the roots.

Reece stopped by my pants. He nonchalantly bent down and picked them up, seemingly inspecting them.

"Back off my pants you pervert!" I called.

Reece's amber eyes met mine. "Anita, I thought you were going to be a Pokemon trainer."

"I am! Back off!"

Reece smiled and put the pants down. "So where are your Pokeballs?"

"Nearby," I answered hastily, fear accelerating through my veins.

"Is that so?"

{APPLE!} I strained.

Still no answer.

Holy crap, I was alone.

The creeper took a step closer to the pond.

"Stay back, or I'll…" my mind came up blank.

"Or you'll what?" Reece spoke softly. "Scream? No one will hear."

He lifted his foot slightly.

I was frozen with fright. Reece chuckled and started to take another step.

That perv had to stay the hell away from me! I automatically thrust my mind at the hated boy.

"Ow! What the—" Reece looked around blankly for the source of his pain. He tried to step forward again…

And hit an invisible wall. Again.

"Huh? What—"

"I said, back off Reece!" I hollered fiercely. I sent another psychic pulse to my barrier. Reece was repelled backwards.

Now, Reece's eyes were widened with fear. "Anita—" he started.

"AWAY!"

He flew back again. The pervert carefully treaded backwards while watching me. Then he turned and fled through the thin layer of trees.

I sank back in the reeds as relief flooded through me, still clutching the poop-stained shirt to my chest. Slowly, my fear trickled away into the pond. For fifteen minutes, I watched from the reeds to make sure the boy didn't come back. I sent my mind out to make sure there was truly nobody there.

When I finally felt it was safe, I began lifting myself from the water plants. I scanned the shore just to double check…

There was someone by the edge of the pond! I quickly ducked back into the reeds.

How hadn't I sensed this person?

I sent my mind out again, but found nothing.

I peeked through the reeds.

A dark haired young man was crouched by the pond. The setting sun made it difficult to make out any exact details, but I could see he was scooping up the pond's clear water and drinking it.

How long had he been there?

Suddenly, the young man looked straight at me. The fact that I could see his eyes shocked me. They were green and luminescent, shining like the moon.

"I can see you in there," the kid said quietly, his voice sending chills up my spine.

Okay, today definitely qualified as the worst day of my life.

The strange adolescent got up and started walking down shore towards where my pants were laying. He watched me the entire time.

"What are you doing?" he asked, stopping just before my pants.

My fear had returned. My heart had to be going a hundred miles an hour.

"Get away," I warned, mustering up my mind. I was exhausted, but fear powered me.

The boy began to take another step.

I threw a barrier in front of him.

He walked right through it.

The young man suddenly looked down. He had stepped on my pants.

"Oh…" he said. He stared at my pants and then called vaguely, "C'mon. Even I know better than to do that!"

What the heck?

The teen spun on the spot and stalked into the woods.

I determined waiting was a bad idea. I quickly scrubbed my hair as best I could and got out of the water. I decided washing my pants wasn't worth the risk of yet another person finding me in only my bra and underwear.

Because I was wet, my pants and shirt clung to my body. The air was a lot cooler now, but all I cared about was getting away from the stupid pond.

As soon as I began marching away from the pond, I called out to Apple with my mind.

It was another five minutes of walking before I finally contacted her.

{Apple!}

{Anita, what took you so long? I was about to come looking for you. Why didn't you contact me earlier?}

{I was out of range,} I muttered, and then I showed her what had just occurred.

{Congratulations on making a barrier!} Apple replied when I was finished.

I rolled my eyes. Should have known I'd get that response.

{And…} Apple continued. {Well, erm, then you're not going to be very happy when you get here.} She showed me an image of Erin talking to the dark haired boy I had just seen by a fire.

{Oh, she is so dead.} I could see a dim light up ahead. {I'll be at the camp in less than five minutes.}

{You know what that guy is?} Apple asked suddenly.

{No.}

{C'mon, you should know this.}

{Well, I don't.}

{He's gifted. He has a dark type gift!}

Oh, wow. That was obvious now that I thought about it.

I finally burst through a bush into the firelight.

I must have been a sight because Erin yelped. The strange young man, however, didn't seem phased at all.

"Oh, Anita. You nearly gave me a heart attack! This here is—"

"GET OUT!" I yelled.

"Anita, he's just—"

"OUT!" I barked.

Erin sighed and reached into her pack. The kid didn't move.

"I don't know how you got so soaked, but go put these on." Erin handed me dry pants and a shirt she had pulled out of her bag. "Then maybe we can have an actual discussion."

I put on the clothes behind a tree and heard Erin mutter, "I am so sorry. She's—"

I tuned out the rest. I didn't want to hear.

{I think you may be overreacting,} Apple said calmly.

{But he's a perv!}

{From what you showed me, I'm not—} I angrily shoved Apple from my mind.

I came out from behind the tree and laid my disgusting clothes out to dry. I sat down by the fire across from Erin and the perv.

"He can't stay," I said unwaveringly.

"Anita, he's just—"

"HE'S A PERV!"

I looked straight at the dark haired young man. Now that I could see him properly, he looked about my age, maybe a bit older. His bright eyes gazed at me from under his spiky jet black hair.

"I am not. You are simply stupid," he replied stoically.

"What! I was nearly naked and you kept walking toward me!" I yelled.

"Whoa!" Erin scooted away from the boy.

"Oh, excuse me," the kid started sarcastically. "First off, I had no idea you didn't have clothes on. Before today, I believed nobody would be stupid enough to do such a thing."

"I was pooped on by a bird! What else was I supposed to do?"

"Oh, so that's what happened?" The boy smirked. "Still, it's a pretty popular pond; you're lucky there wasn't anyone fishing."

"Yeah, real lucky!" I groaned, irritated. "How was I supposed to know Peepin Pond was popular?"

"You are in Acceber. Everyone knows."

Erin nodded. She was siding with him! What?

"Even if you didn't know, who would undress by a pond named Peepin Pond? As in, people peep. Really, how brainless can you get?"

I didn't have a reply so I blushed, took in a deep breath, and turned to Erin. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Erin shrugged. "I assumed you knew! It is a pretty common vacation spot. Plus, I didn't actually think you would undress in the wilderness. Eww."

I took another breathe and then asked, "What do you want?" I met the boy's odd gaze again.

Erin answered for the kid. "Before you so rudely interrupted, we were just discussing the possibility of traveling together—"

"NO!" I yelled stubbornly. What in the world was she thinking? What happened to not giving half a thought about a guy? We didn't even know this person, and I couldn't read his intentions. He could be dangerous.

"Will you let me finish? He's a Pokemon researcher like me and is very interested in my area of study."

Erin caught the boy's eye and grinned.

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at the boy. {I don't like this one bit,} I told Apple.

{I don't like him either. There's no way of telling what his true purpose is.}

"Since we share interests, I believe it would be beneficial to travel together," the young man added. Then he continued, "As a researcher, I am also intrigued by the evolution Pokemon, Eevee. Erin, here, told me you have quite a few of those."

{Oh, sure. This guy just happens to be interested in exactly what Erin is researching and the Pokemon I have. Why does he want to travel with us so much?} I wondered to Apple.

{He can't know what I am. Maybe he knows you're gifted,} Apple thought.

{Whatever the case, he can't travel with us. I'll tell Erin of the situation psychically.}

{Careful, you've never actually spoken to her through your head. You don't know how she'll react,} Apple warned.

I reached out to Erin psychically. {Erin, there is—}

Erin snapped her head to me, her eyes flashing with anger. "Anita, is that you?"

I spoke aloud, "What are you talking about?" but psychically said, {Yes.}

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD, ANITA!"

{Well, if he didn't know you were gifted before, he knows now,} Apple groaned.

{Erin, I'm not even listening to your thoughts. I just need to tell—}

"STOP! If you have something to say, say it out loud," Erin snarled at me. Wow, and she said I had a temper.

The kid was watching me, as if he was analyzing my every move.

"You're gifted," he said coolly. It wasn't a question.

"Yes," I answered.

I turned back to Erin. "Now what I'm try—"

"Psychic?"

I looked at the boy irritably. "Yes." He gazed thoughtfully at the fire.

"Erin," I said curtly. "This kid, like me, is gifted."

"So what?" Erin frowned at me. "You just don't want to be shown up!" Erin accused.

Geeze, why was she getting all uptight about this one boy?

{Must be that time of month.} Apple rolled her eyes.

"He's a dark type." I glanced at the boy to see his reaction. He had none.

"And?" Erin led.

"And therefore I can't read his thoughts, making him dangerous to us."

{Actually, technically you can read the thoughts he wants you to hear,} Apple put in.

{What?} I looked quizzically at Apple. {Ugh, never mind. I'll ask later.}

"Just because you think he is dangerous doesn't mean he is dangerous to us," Erin answered. She glanced at the boy and muttered, "You'll have to give me some tips on keeping her out of my head."

"Erin, be serious for a moment!"

Erin stood up. "I am serious. If he wants to travel with us, let him travel with us. If you can't read his mind to discover his intentions, sucks to be you. I can't read anybody's mind; for all I know, you could be planning to steal my Pokemon."

What was she really thinking? Why was she so trusting?

I carefully crept into her mind.

{—just hates him because he caught her doing something stupid. There's really nothing wrong with him at all. And he seems validly interested in my research without one hint of flirting! It will be nice to have someone to bounce research theories off of. Plus, Anita needs someone to put her in her place, balance all that psychic crap out so it doesn't get to her head. Huh, I wonder why she stopped talking—}

I jumped out of her mind before she could become suspicious.

{I still think it's that time of month.}

{This is really a pointless argument. Can we eat dinner now?} Fiery requested.

"How long?" I asked.

"Huh?" came Erin's reply.

I looked at the boy. "Supposing we allow you to stay, how long will you be traveling with us?" Erin threw me a dirty glare.

The boy shrugged carelessly. "Until I find a more interesting topic of research."

{I really don't like his attitude,} I told Apple. {But Erin already has her mind made up. I could always leave them if things get too horrible… though the company is kinda nice, as much as I don't want to admit it.}

Fiery spoke up. {I have an idea. Why don't you challenge him to a battle? He wins, he can stay. You win, he leaves.}

I grinned. {I like it.}

"Alright then," I started. Erin smiled— she thought I had given up. I looked at the boy squarely and gave him my best challenging gaze. "I'll battle you. You win, you can stay. I win, you leave."

Erin frowned.

The corners of the boy's mouth rose. "No."

"Then you forfeit. You can leave now."

"No, I decline the challenge."

"What, scared you're going to lose?" I taunted.

The boy seemed amused. "No. I won't accept your challenge because I know I would win."

Great, another cocky smart-*ss to put up with.

I glared into the boy's green eyes. "Listen up. I am only putting up with you because at the moment Erin sees some imaginary good in you, and I owe her. If you slip up even once, do something suspicious, or cause harm to any of my friends, you are dead meat. Got it creepy-eyes?"

Fiery was shocked. {Did Anita just call Erin a friend?}

Apple nodded. {She did. Knew this was coming.}

The boy snickered, "Ooh. I'm real scared now." Then as an afterthought, he added, "And I wouldn't be accusing other people of having weird eyes. Yours are purple." The boy gazed into my eyes for a moment, making me shift uncomfortably.

Erin clapped happily. "Well, now that that's settled. Let's get some dinner!" She started shuffling through her bag for food.

The boy got up and walked around the fire until he was in front of me. He held out his hand.

"We never got to introduce ourselves properly—

"I'm Liam.

"Liam Mendol."