A/N - Here's chapter 13! I hope you enjoy!

Who else is psyched for the new Mystery Dungeon game?! =D

Also - please review and let me know if two chapters a week is manageable or if you'd prefer just one a week? I'm happy to keep uploading two but I would like to know preferences.

Disclaimer - I do NOT own Pokemon or any of its critters!

13 – A New Mission

Night had fallen, casting the outskirts of the Moorland's Forest in shadows. Enigma preferred it this way. It meant he could travel unseen, a much better strategy for sneaking up on unsuspecting targets.

A shape came into view in the distance, a squat building with a dull light flickering in one of the windows. He span and warped closer to it, landing perched in the branches of a sturdy tree. Adorned over the door of the building was the crescent moon symbol the Heretics had adopted.

Enigma grinned widely. The Heretic lab. Finally.

He leapt into the air and twisted, vanishing and reappearing on the doorstep. It was common courtesy to knock, and Enigma considered it before deciding he'd much rather just slip through the door to the other side.

The Plusle and Minun standing guard on the other side leapt out of their skins with a squeal, their large eyes wide with fear. Enigma smirked at them and leant back against the wall with his arms crossed across his chest.

"So... this is a Heretic lab?" He looked up and down the hall with mock curiosity. "It doesn't look like much. Who's in charge here?"

"That would be Rio, sir," the Plusle spoke up. "I can go and get him-"

Enigma waved a paw at him. "That won't be necessary. I'll find him." He turned away from them.

"But he's in the laboratory," the Plusle explained. "It's authorised entry only."

Enigma glanced back at them. "Oh... I'm sure he wouldn't object to seeing me."

With that, he marched down the corridor, his feet resounding off the immaculate white tiles. With every step, his bell jingled, echoing off the empty walls. Curious eyes peered at him from one of the rooms as he passed by. The corridor wound sharply to the right and at the end was a large door with a large sign that read 'Authorised Pokemon Only'.

He let out a small laugh and slipped through the closed door, materialising on the other side with a light chime.

A male Meowstic leant over a desk, and his body froze as his ears twitched at the soft sound.

Enigma leant against the door and inclined his head on one side. "I trust I'm addressing Rio?"

The Meowstic looked back over his shoulder, meeting the Banette's crimson eyes. He wore a white medical mask over the lower half of his face. If he was afraid, he didn't show it.

"You shouldn't be in here. It's dangerous."

Enigma cast his eyes over the room, taking in the various bottles that adorned the shelves and the vast amount of paperwork filed away in neat little boxes. He wondered if the reason the Meowstic wore a mask was less for his own safety and more to block out the sharp, clinical smell that filled the room.

"Then we can keep this short," the Banette told him. He fixed the Meowstic with a half smile. "I do get incredibly bored when I'm forced to have long conversations."

Rio's mask of confidence seemed to fall at that remark. He turned back to his desk and rinsed his paws in a bowl of water, then turned back to Enigma and lowered the white mask around his neck.

"I guess you're here for more information?" He asked.

Enigma clicked his tongue. "So you are the ones who sent Boomer with a message?"

"Yes." Rio paused. "If Lord Hydreigon sent you back here, was it not enough information?"

"You could say that." The Banette smirked. "It never reached him."

The Meowstic looked worried, his eyes glancing from one side of the room to the next. After a brief moment he looked back at Enigma.

"How...?"

"He was killed," Enigma said flatly. "By a Whimsicott, I believe." He shook his head. "Who would have guessed it?"
"A Whimsicott?" Rio nibbled on his claw.

Enigma waited in the silence, staring at the Meowstic as he appeared to drift off into his own little world. Enigma had a lot of patience, but it was growing thin watching Rio stand there, thoughtfully nibbling his claw. He ran a paw over his face and chuckled.

"Starting to get a little peckish."

Rio froze and swiftly removed his paw from his mouth.

"I'm sorry, Enigma, I was just thinking."

Enigma fixed him with a glare. "Think on your own time. I'm trying to gather important information here."

"Yes certainly. It's just... the Whimsicott... I..." Rio paused and glanced away from Enigma. "Yes, well. The information I gave Boomer, it took a while to explain. Have you got a while?"

"No."

"Ah." Rio's eyes widened and he looked over to a closed door on the left wall. "Well, I can show you. It's something we've discovered, Enigma. Evolution is happening."

"Evolution?" Enigma chuckled and shook his head. "Do you have berries for brains? Pokemon evolve. I used to be a Shuppet once. Did you hatch as a Meowstic?"

"Not that kind!" Rio narrowed his eyes, then took a step back at the look on Enigma's face. Wise choice. Getting short tempered with an assassin wasn't the best idea.

Rio shook his head and mumbled an apology, looking back at the door. "The evolution I'm talking about is not the kind from Espurr to Meowstic, or Onix to Steelix. This is more complex. This is evolution on a different scale. A slower one. A natural one designed for survival." He shot Enigma a sideways glance. "It's a new type."

Enigma felt a jolt of surprise. A new type? This was going to be more interesting than he thought. He grinned and crossed his arms.

"Go on."

"We've not named it yet," Rio told him. "It's just codenamed Type 18. It cropped up in our labs three seasons ago, one of our... participants... happened to have a child that carried this type. An Azurill."

Enigma raised an eyebrow. "And how did you discover it?"

"Quite by accident." Rio scratched his head. "As you know there are outlaws from the Shadow Lands. A couple of them have ended up in our labs and we have two Axew here. The Azurill was at the age where he would make quite a nuisance of himself and the Axew duo were unimpressed. One of them fired a Dragon Rage at him, but the move didn't even phase him. Washed over him like water off a Ducklett's back."

Enigma's crimson eyes widened. "So he resisted a dragon attack?"

"He didn't resist it. He was immune to it."

Enigma didn't know what to say. This was big news. He wasn't even entirely sure he believed it.

"This is why we requested Boomer," Rio explained. "So he could see it for himself."

Enigma stared at him. Of course. You could only really believe something like this if you saw it with your own eyes. There was every possibility Hydreigon wouldn't believe it, so having a dragon Pokemon see it for themselves would solidify the evidence significantly.

Boomer wouldn't have outright lied to Hydreigon. He would have had to believe him.

"We ran some tests when Boomer was here," Rio went on. "He brought Murkrow with him, as requested. So using those Murkrow we tested how the type fared against dark, since we don't have any dark Pokemon in our laboratories." Rio paused, reading Enigma's expression. Satisfied that the Banette was clearly interested, he went on. "It turns out that Type 18 is resistant to dark types. Not immune, but resistant."

"Hmm." Enigma inclined his head on one side. "Does this mysterious new type possess any attacks?"

"Unfortunately the Azurill didn't know any attacks." Rio began to appear on edge, fidgeting his paws together as he refused to look the Banette in the eye. "You see, several years ago these strange attacks started cropping up. New ones. We didn't know what they were, we assumed they were psychic since they were so effective against our fighting participants."

Enigma narrowed his eyes.

"You can't fault us on that!" Rio raised his paws. "We weren't expecting a new Pokemon type to appear out of the blue like that."

Enigma shrugged. "I suppose."

"When we explained this to Boomer, he wanted to see if these attacks were linked to this new type. Fortunately some of our exp – I mean participants – still have these attacks, so we ran some in depth tests on them. After seeing these rays of purple light defeat the Axew with one deft hit, he decided to face against them himself, accusing the Axew of being mere weaklings. He took one of the attacks and was aghast."

"And what of the Murkrow?"

"Wiped out in one hit."

Enigma scratched his head and sighed. This was big news. If Hydreigon heard of this, he'd probably cause an uproar. Or an all out war.

A war that would wipe out all types except dragon and dark Pokemon.

Enigma chuckled. And where would that leave him?

"Has something amused you?" Rio asked.

Enigma fixed his eyes on the Meowstic and grinned. "Have you thought of the repercussions of telling this news to a powerful Pokemon that is both dark and dragon type?"

"I thought it would leave us in his favour, actually."

Enigma chuckled again and shook his head. "Oh you poor, pathetic creature."

Rio stared at him blankly, still fidgeting his paws together.

Enigma gazed thoughtfully at the ceiling. "Picture this. Boomer was slaughtered while delivering this message to Hydreigon by a Whimsicott. You know, the little grass pompom that likes to pull pranks? Not much of a threat, but he faced off against a Noivern, a feared dragon that is a nightmare to battle in the dark and no easy feat to face in the day either. He was taken down and mutilated. Not just knocked unconscious, we're talking being reduced to a bloody pulp here. This Whimsicott could only have done this to a Noivern if he was exceptionally powerful. A Whimsicott is not that big a threat to a dragon, not a pure grass type. So, explain to me how this little puny creature could take down a powerful Noivern, and not just any, but Hydreigon's number one ace?" He turned his attention back to the Meowstic.

Rio stuttered for a moment and glanced at the floor. "I suppose," he finally said, slowly, "that this Whimsicott must have carried this new type."

"Exactly. And not just carried it, but used its attacks." Enigma gave him a wicked grin. "So knowing that, Hydreigon is not going to be impressed to learn of this new 'Type 18' as you so proudly put it. This type has not just manifested in your labs, little Meowstic, no. This type is running wild out there." He gestured to the door. "It's out there, it's real, and it's posing a threat. Now... how do you think Hydreigon is going to react to this news?"

Rio's face fell and he placed his paws on the desk to steady himself. "He's... going to start a war..."

Enigma nodded. "He's going to start a war."

"But... we're on his side," Rio told him. "We'll be okay, right?"

"What? A laboratory that's been nurturing this type for goodness knows how long?" Enigma chuckled and gave the Meowstic a terrifying glare. "I wouldn't count your blessings."

Enigma turned to the door and paused with his paw above the handle, looking back at the shaking Meowstic.

"I'm going to do some more sniffing around to see how big a threat this new type really is before I report back to my boss. Do you want to make yourself useful?"

Rio nodded slowly. "Yes. Yes, anything."

"Okay. If you want to save your hide, then prove your loyalty. I want you to find this Whimsicott, and the female Meowstic and Dedenne he's travelling with, and hold them here. I'll take them back to Hydreigon myself, and put in a good word for you."

Rio's eyes widened. "You'd do that?"

Enigma grinned. "If you play your cards right."

With that, he swung the door open and strolled out of the lab. He glanced back at the Meowstic and gave him an unnerving grin.

"Don't let me down, Rio."

He shut the door behind him and marched down the hallway, chuckling to himself as he left the laboratory.

...

When Cleo awoke the next morning, her fur was oddly damp and she felt cold. She opened her eyes and found herself on a medical bench in a quiet room, identical benches on either side free from any patients. The nurse was nowhere to be seen.

With a groan, Cleo flipped herself off the bench and strolled towards the door. Her head felt heavy and she couldn't shake the grogginess. Maybe some breakfast would help? She covered her mouth with a paw. Scratch that, she felt sick.

She opened the door and was greeted by that musty, damp smell. Of course, she was still in the cells. It was coming back to her now.

Tinker was explaining their situation to her and Spark... then everything went hazy.

Where was he? Were they alone? Surely they wouldn't have left her alone in the cells?

She opened the door to the staff room. Sure enough, Tinker was sat at a table talking to Spark and two guards – a Meinfoo and Combusken – over a large tray of berries and meats.

"Ah Cleo!" Tinker beamed. "You're up!" His face fell. "My, you look terrible."

Cleo's shoulders slumped. "Thanks."

"Are you sick?" The Meinfoo asked. He looked at Tinker. "You shouldn't keep someone here when they're sick. The air's not good for them."

Tinker stood up and placed his glass on the table. "She's not sick, she fainted. She was resting." He looked at Cleo. "How are you? Rose told me you were having feverish nightmares."

Cleo shrugged. "Well, that explains the damp fur."

"Certainly. You're probably dehydrated. Have some water." He poured her a glass.

Cleo thanked him and took the glass, sipping it gratefully. She was happy to find that it seemed to relieve her nausea.

Spark handed her an Oran berry which Cleo nibbled at cautiously while she sat next to Tinker.

"Have you managed to get any information out of Harlequin?" She asked.

He shook his head. "No. We left him be overnight. He seemed to tire himself with that hysteria."

Cleo took a more confident bite of her berry. "Should we go and see him... her?"

"If you want to get things moving sooner rather than later?"

Cleo crinkled her nose and stared into her glass. She just wanted to get out of these stagnant cells, but dragging a Zorua around wasn't a welcome situation.

Then something sparked in her mind and she looked at Tinker. "How's Mischief? He wasn't in the medical room."

"Oh! The Whimsicott!" Tinker flashed her a smile. "He's helping Rose. He was adamant he was going to return the favour of her looking after him. I think he's rather taken with her to be honest."

The two guards chuckled.

Tinker seemed too elated about that. Was he trying to test her reaction? She was too tired to be bothered with this nonsense. She pushed her chair back and stood up.

"I'm going to question Harlequin."

Tinker raised an eyebrow. "Alone?"

"You can come with me if you want? You're the one who wants me to lug her around."

The two guards let out gasps and the Combusken dropped his glass.

Tinker let out a hiss and waved a frantic paw at Cleo. He turned to the guards and smiled.

"I'm sorry," he told them. "This is a confidential Elite investigation, so if you could keep this quiet it would be appreciated?"

The two guards nodded sullenly.

Tinker made for the door with Cleo and Spark in tow.

"You are aware," the Combusken said, "that Pokemon will find out about this anyway?"

"Yes." Tinker glanced back at him. "But if this gets out in less than two full days I will know to trace it back to you, and you will lose your rank."

The Combusken licked his beak. "I won't say a word."
The Meinfoo shook his head sharply.

Tinker smiled. "Good. I'll see you later."

The door closed behind them and Tinker rummaged through his bag for the keys to Harlequin's cell. He paused and nudged the door. It was open. He let out a sigh of relief when he spotted Rose and Mischief crouching by the Zorua's cell.

"What are you doing?" Tinker asked them.

Rose looked up at him. "He's not touched the mixed berries I made him."

Cleo followed Tinker's gaze into the cell. Harlequin was crouching against the farthest wall, fixing Rose with a vicious glare.

Tinker turned his gaze to the Audino. "If he's not going to eat it then leave him."

"You know I can't do that," she said. "The paralysis isn't going to fully wear off if he doesn't take something to relieve it."

"That's his choice."

Rose stood up and dusted herself down. "You need to have a little more sympathy, Tinker."

"What? Towards someone who is hired to assassinate my friends?" He crossed his arms.

"He might be an assassin, but he's still a Pokemon." She turned to leave the cell and glanced back at the Riolu. "Given the chance, anyone can change. But for some reason you can't see that."

She closed the door before Tinker could respond.

"Wow," said Spark. "So is she...?"

"A peace maker?" Mischief beamed at her. "Yup!"

Tinker sighed and shook his head, turning back to the cell. "It's peace enthusiast, Mischief. No one's managed to make peace with any of Hydreigon's warped minds yet."

Spark looked up at him. "Yet?"

Tinker waved a paw at her and bared his canines. "That Audino can get under your skin, okay? Drop it!"

Spark's mouth snapped shut and she took a step back.

Tinker shook his head again and turned back to the cell.

"Harlequin! Are you ready to answer some questions?"

The Zorua stared back at him with livid sapphire eyes. Not a word came from her, and Cleo wondered what was worse. Her silence, or the risk of another rampage.

Getting information out of dark Pokemon had never been an easy task, but once behind bars with their comforts taken away they were usually more willing to speak. Yet Harlequin was silent. No bargaining for her freedom, no bargaining to get her belongings back...

Cleo jumped at the memory and stuffed her paw into her bag, whipping out the odd sphere that had prompted the Zorua's frantic maniacal rage the night before.

Harlequin's glare shot from Tinker to the item in Cleo's paws. Her demeanour changed slightly, unreadable. Cleo wasn't sure if it was rage, fear, or something else entirely but a reaction was still a reaction.

"What is this?" Cleo asked.

Harlequin said nothing, but her eyes didn't leave that unusual sphere.

"If you tell me," Cleo spoke slowly, "I might give it back."

The Zorua's eyes shot to Cleo's, hard and cold as ice. She licked her lips a few times and struggled to push herself up into a sitting position with her forepaws. She cleared her throat and her voice came out hoarse.

"I don't know what it is. It belonged to a friend." She paused, her icy stare boring into Cleo. "It's value is purely sentimental, now give it back."
Cleo stared back, unfazed by the Zorua's intimidating glare. "Not just yet. I have more questions for you. Why were you targeting us?"

Harlequin snickered. "It's my mission! Why else? Do you think I have a personal grudge or something?" She grinned and inclined her head on one side. "I do now."

Spark cut in front of Cleo and waved a paw at the Zorua. "You can't intimidate us! Your attempts will just be met with another jolt of electricity, Zorua!"

Harlequin chuckled and leered at the Dedenne. "Bring it on, pipsqueak."

"Enough!" Tinker barked. "This is not productive!"

Cleo turned to look at him. "Actually it was until Spark cut in."

Spark crossed her paws and looked up at Cleo. "Hey!"
Cleo looked down at the Dedenne and pointed at Harlequin. "She's behind bars."

"Actually..." Mischief nodded at Tinker.

The Riolu was opening the heavy, iron door. He glanced back at Cleo.

"When I instruct you, put that bracelet on."

Harlequin had stood up now, and was pacing back and forth, watching Tinker intensely. Her movements were stiff and she had a slight limp on her right paw, likely the remaining effects from Spark's thunderwave.

This didn't hinder her though. Tinker threw the iron door open and within seconds, Harlequin lunged towards him.

"Now-!"

She struck him with a full-body tackle, sending the Riolu flying backwards across the room to land against the wall.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Cleo whisked the bracelet from her bag as Harlequin fixed her livid eyes on her. Baring her white canines, she shot across the room towards Cleo. The Meowstic snapped the bracelet around her wrist with a loud click. Before Harlequin's teeth could connect with her neck, the Zorua was sent reeling away from her, sprawling across the floor.

She stood and shook her head, turned to face Cleo and launched another attack.

The same thing happened again, only with less ferocity. Harlequin was bounced back, skidding slightly on her paws.

Her attention snapped from Cleo to the bracelet on her wrist.

"What is that? Some kind of shield?" She shook her head and turned to face Tinker who was now using the table to pull himself back up. With a grin she lunged for him. Her head snapped back viciously and she yelped, her back legs flying too far forwards causing her to land heavily on her back.

Tinker laughed, his eyes sparkling with glee.

"It works!"

Cleo looked up from the snarling Zorua, fixing Tinker with a look of surprise.

"It works? You mean you never tested this thing?"

Tinker scratched his head. "Not extensively."

"How extensively?"

"Well, I used a chair, a tree branch, a door..."

"But no living Pokemon?"

Tinker waved his paw in dismissal. "Regardless, it works. You, and anyone who stays outside of the two foot radius – or in Spark's case, within it –," He nodded to Spark who was standing proudly on Cleo's shoulder, "are safe from Harlequin's physical attacks. And all special attacks are restrained by that collar, rendering her helpless."

Harlequin snarled. "What?!"

Cleo stared at Tinker, aghast. "Tinker, I've not agreed to this."

Mischief looked from Tinker to Cleo. "Agreed to what?"

Tinker shrugged. "My request is that you find more of this new type of Pokemon."
"But I'm not taking her! She's a danger, not to mention that she makes us a massive target to other members of Hydreigon's armies!"

"Wait!" Harlequin sat bolt upright, looking from one Pokemon to the next. "I am not going anywhere with you!"

Tinker grinned menacingly at the Zorua. "You don't have much choice."

"I do. I just don't have to move." She closed her eyes. "If I can't leave the two foot radius, then you can't move while I'm inside it."

"Cleo?" Tinker looked up at her. "Come here."

Cleo shrugged and moved towards Tinker. He reversed backwards towards the door, leading her away from the Zorua. She felt a tug at her bracelet but nothing more.

"Argh!"

The exclamation had come from Harlequin. She looked back over her shoulder to find the Zorua struggling against the bracelet, dragged along against her will.

"Like I said." Tinker flashed her a smirk. "You don't have much choice."

Cleo looked down at her bracelet then back at Harlequin. Her struggles could barely be felt by Cleo. It seemed the device only worked one way. Cleo felt her heart sink. She might be able to remove the bracelet, but she felt Tinker's words were not just aimed at the Zorua.

...

Harbinger looked down at the river flowing down the mountain side. The water rushed forwards over rocks and twisted around bends, casting a frothy surf into the air as it vanished into the distance.

Just like any other river, it flowed away from the Shadow Lands.

No river led to them, all of them led away, almost as though the water itself didn't want to stay there.

Just like he didn't want to stay there.

The Absol narrowed his red eyes at the thought and turned his attention back to the flowing river.

"They got it going again then?"

He looked down at the speaker. Claw. One of the two Pawniard twins he worked with. The other Pawniard, Scratch, rubbed his blades together nervously as he looked around the mountain.

Just like him, they were outlaws.

Feared.

Unwanted.

He looked away from the Pawniard to watch the rushing river.

"Yes. Yes, it would seem they have."

...

Please R&R! =D