Chapter 12

The Lamp and the Lighthouse!

Kazo and Felix walked into the pokecenter. They decided that if they were to find Nicolas O'Dell, they would have to start asking around. Kazo walked up to Nurse Joy.

"Excuse me ma'am, but I'm looking for someone by the name of Nicolas O'Dell." He said.

"Nicolas O'Dell? He's the owner of the museum, collects priceless artifacts and items. Most of them are on display behind the glass cases right now in the museum." Kazo thanked her and walked away.

A kid sitting at a table happened to hear the conversation. As Kazo and Felix walked out of the center, the kid followed them, and began spying on their conversation. Once he realized nothing exciting was going to happen, he got up and decided to join in.

"Hello." He started, surprisingly casually. "Um… Hi." Felix said, raising an eyebrow. "Can we help you?" offered Kazo, also thinking he was suspicious.

"My name is Connor O'Dell. I happened to overhear your conversation in the pokemon center, and I have something to tell you… about my father."

"We're listening." Felix said, not seeming at all phased that they found Mr. O'Dell's son.

"He's been acting very strange lately. Ever since this one man by the name of Eli came to town, he's been awfully quiet and it's kinda creepy. He always seems to be hiding something in his office, and I'm dying to find out, but he keeps it under lock and key all the time."

"Is Eli still here?" Kazo asked, pretty sure this was the same Eli from Verdanturf.

"Yes. Well, I think. He was working at the museum as a tour guide but left earlier this morning, a few hours ago."

"Where would he be?"

"Most likely the market place. If anyone's planning to leave by boat -or by foot- they always stock up on supplies there. Most people don't leave for a good five or six hours."

"Thanks, Connor. We'll try to get to the bottom of this."

"Um… Yeah, but don't get hurt. Okay?"

"Fine, I'll try not to!" Kazo said. He grabbed Felix and they both began running towards the marketplace.

Connor pulled a wireless communication device out of his pocket. "The targets are in the zone." He whispered into the talkie. "Excellent… Come to the Lighthouse as soon as possible." The transmitter turned itself off, and Connor began running to the towering Lighthouse near the Docks.

Selena was looking for a rare candy. Lotad needed to evolve, and as far as she could tell, he was pretty close to evolution. But then something caught her eye. But it was a someone. A man with a beard and a familiar face was shopping in the fuel item district, right beside her. He appeared to be buying a lemonade. She was sure she recognized the face, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Just as she was deciding not to dwell on it, she heard the cashier give him back a credit card and speak.

"There you go, Mr. Eli."

He thanked her and began moving along the paved streets of the marketplace. Selena chased after him, remembering who he was.

"Mr. Eli!" She called. He turned around briskly and his eyes opened wide.

"Selena! I have no time. I must return to Verdanturf. Just remember to meet Mr. O'Dell! Oh, and take this lantern!" He passed her a pocket sized lamp with a candle wick inside and a glass casing. "It will keep you safe, but light it only when you truly need it. I must be off now, Selena." He fled into the mob of people, and Selena had no chance to say anything. She just stuffed the lantern into her pocket, and met back with Kari, who had apparently found Kazo and Felix.

"Got it Kazo. Personal office? Key? Damn. Well, we'll try." Xero hung up his pokenav.

"What's the deal?" Asked Leo.

"Mr. O'Dell is hiding something in his office, but it's under lock and key. How do we get in?"

"Hmm…" Leo pondered. "Let's check out the office itself."

"Locked." Xero said jiggling the handle to a room labeled: "Manager's office."

"There's got to be a skeleton key somewhere… Most janitors have one."

"Unless you haven't noticed, we're not janitors. And, come to think of it, I haven't seen any."

"Yet this place is spotless." Leo retorted, rubbing his index across a glass case, and showing Xero that there was no dust on it at all.

"Now you're saying they have invisible janitors?"

"No." he paused. "It's basic really. They work night shift."

"That's it!"

Leo nodded.

"Oh, well, okay. What now, then?"

"Well, the museum closes in fifteen minutes. We could hide in the storage closet until everyone but the janitor's gone."

"Sure. Get in, then." Xero pushed Leo into the small, slightly cramped closet.

---

"It's time." Leo opened the door cautiously, and, as he suspected, there was a man spinning a set of keys on his fingers, whistling and mopping at the same time.

"Xero! We have to get those keys."

Xero got out of the cramped space, raising an eyebrow. "As if I didn't know that. How are we going to, though?"

"Simple… Well, not really. I have no clue. We could just sneak up to him."

"Well, maybe, but I have a better idea."

---

The night Janitor was whistling, and put his master keys of a glass case that he was polishing. As he looked up, he saw a shadow propped against a far wall, and a steel type bird was creating it. With the help of a Combusken, the shadow looked very much like a vicious, fire breathing dragon.

One glimpse was enough to make the Janitor turn away and flee.

Leo got up. He took the rack of keys, and followed by Xero, walked towards the locked office door.

There was a click, as one of the keys slid itself into the key slot in the doorknob. The door opened quietly as the office was revealed, and it was beautiful.

Blue, for one thing, was everywhere. On the walls, the ceiling and the floor! There were neon blue lights streamed across the room walls. There was a tank choc-full of Goldeen, Feebas and Magikarp against one of the walls. Xero seemed awed while Leo kept his mind on the current task. He walked over to a crystal desk and opened a drawer. There were several file folders lined against each other. One of them was highlighted on the name. Leo picked it up and read it aloud.

"Catastrophe" Xero got out of his trance and walked over to the desk. He snatched the folder out of Leo's hands and opened it, awed at what was inside.

There were hundreds of small pockets. Transparent, rubbery pockets with labeled specimens inside. All of which have some relation to Parukia. He continued flipping through the pages until he came to a strange document that he read in his head, as Leo flipped through some other file folders.

April 5th-

I have made the ultimate discovery. I have found out how to channel Parukia's energy, and then proceed to capture it!

Parukia's ability to control space is channeled through energy. Lots of energy. Here is how it works:

When anything happens, Parukia is somehow behind it. It is essentially a god! But whenever it chooses to do something, it must first be supplied with enough energy, or else it will be drained of power.

Parukia can channel energy through a strange glowing orb under the sea directly under my feet as I stand writing this on my desk. This orb can generate an infinite amount of energy and it is rumored that it is supplied by all the Chinchou and Lanturn in the sea.

I will retrieve this orb and in doing so, capture the ultamite prize!

He put the folder down when he heard a noise he looked up and saw a beacon in a tower. The Slateport lighthouse! There was a figure in it controlling the beacon at the tip of the tower… but its form was way too shaded to make out. Suddenly Leo realized something. It wasn't being used as a beacon to ships… but as a searchlight! Someone was looking for someone else.

Selena noticed it too. In the pokemon center, Kari, Kazo, she and Felix were waiting anxiously for the results of Leo and Xero's little expedition. But as she saw the beacon moving around awkwardly, she knew something was off. Kazo must have sensed it too, because he was getting up to go outside.

Selena opened the doors after Kazo and a familiar chime rang above her head as she left. The winds were blowing very strongly and almost knocked her off her feet. She caught up to Kazo, who was starting to run.

"Something weird is going on…" He said out loud.

"I'll say." Selena answered, managing to get beside him. Kazo didn't seem at all surprised that Selena was behind him.

"Look at the top of the lighthouse." He said, pointing at the beacon. What she saw surprised her. The light bulb at the top wasn't lit! There was a strange dog-like creature sending out light from the peak. Kazo took out his pokedex. He pointed it at the electric canine, but he was too far away for the pokedex to recognize it. He began creeping closer until he got a reception. Selena read it out loud.

"Rukushio-The Electric Dog pokemon

Rukushio is the evolved form of Korinku. They are new pokemon to be discovered, and have a peculiar trait. They can shoot light that is visible for miles of end and extremely bright. Looking into a Rukushio's light form closer than 3 feet for more than a few seconds could blind you."

Kazo raised an eyebrow. There was someone up there looking for something. Not thinking, he began running to the lighthouse. Selena followed him to the silo-like tower.

The small door to the lighthouse was wide open. Kazo took the stairs two at a time, and eventually managed to make it up to the top.

What he saw there was strange. There was a small boy and a taller man standing side by side in back of the Rukushio. The older one was talking, and the boy was nodding like a robot, programmed to listen. Kazo tried creeping closer, but therein laid his mistake. His sneaker screeched against the marble floor and immediately drew the attention of the two people, who turned around. The small boy, whose face, was lit up by a startled Rukushio, smirked. It was the face of Connor O'Dell. Kazo gulped in recognition of the older man's face…

In front of him lay the unsmiling face of Steven Stone.