Chapter 12

The Path I Choose

A/N: Welcome back, Shaiya fans. I'm not going to bother with much so that we can just jump into the story.

The section in italics is a flashback.

The attendant stepped lightly into the office. He stopped just inside the door and bowed.

"Enter."

He straightened and walked forward at the voice. The body was hidden behind a large chair.

He set a manila folder down onto the desk. "The Centurion complex is reporting that most of the Pokemon have been contained. But a great number of them have mysteriously vanished. A chopper took off from the facility without authorization. We believe they were taking the Pokemon."

"Are they also the ones responsible for Doctor Roth's death?"

"We believe so. One of them has been identified as former agent Braun."

Giovanni paused. He was well known to be an intelligent man, very well reserved and not one to go to extremes. So his next order came as a great shock to the attendant.

"Contact Echelon and Olympus. Send the Hunters."

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The air was cool, sending small shivers up her legs and arms. The fire added some warmth to the night, but the chill still permeated the space.

Adding to the cold was her sense of being alone. And yet she wasn't alone. Luca sat next to her. Across the fire was Braun. Wasser was off somewhere with his mate, recently reunited. And somewhere inside herself was her own mate, Feuer.

Her mind had been in a tumble the entire day. Discovering that Feuer still lived somewhere inside her gave her a new feeling of strength and comfort. But she also felt a deep betrayal. There was no way that she could deny her growing feelings for Luca.

She had to find some answers. If she didn't get this straightened out, how could she do anything? But she also knew that she couldn't straighten it out alone. She would need advice.

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"So what do you think you'll be doing now?" Luca asked to Braun.

"I never really know. I'll probably become a bounty hunter."

"That would certainly fit you." He looked over at Sam, who was just next to him. She was looking deep into the fire. She had held a similar look for most of the day. "What about you?"

For a moment, he thought she hadn't heard him. But then she answered, "I need to go home. There's someone I know that can help me."

Luca understood. Finding out that you dead mate was still alive, however slightly, would be enough to rattle anyone. "Ok. I'll go with you. We can leave tomorrow morning."

"No, Luca." She finally brought her eyes away from the fire. "I really need to do this alone."

He saw the pain in her eyes. It was hurting her just as much as it was he. But he loved her. And if she wanted to be alone, he would do that to make her happy. When he couldn't find the words to just say it, he nodded.

She leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek. After a second, she turned over the log and walked off into the woods.

Luca turned after her. "Be careful!" He watched until her silhouette vanished into the shadows.

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"The female is leaving. Should we follow?"

"Negative. Our focus is Braun. Keep the circle tight."

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The space became a little more silent after she left. Luca slowly turned back around, peering into the belly of the fire as she had done.

Braun eventually broke the silence. "You care for her."

It wasn't a question, but he felt like it needed to be answered, so he nodded, "Yes."

"You shouldn't. Emotions only get in your way."

"And how would you know?" Luca fired back. "It seems like you never felt any in the first place." The moment it was uttered, he wished he'd kept it to himself. He didn't need his aura to see the hurt hidden deep in the man's eye. "Forgive me. I didn't mean to be so harsh."

He was about to ask what he could have lived through that would make him into the man without emotion. But he saw that he didn't have to. It was written in Braun's very eyes.

The fire raged only feet in front of him. But he couldn't run back in because of the thick arms holding him back. Tears streamed down his face. He could hear the screams of his mother and father through the raging inferno.

He held her hand tightly, desperate to do anything, yet able to do nothing. He kissed her again, feeling her life fade before his tear-filled eyes.

A bloody knife was clutched in his hand. His breath was the only sound left in the club. His eyes drilled into the head of the man that now lay across the floor, pool of red blood spreading below him.

"When you've been through as much as I have, you know that emotions are a nuisance that shouldn't be felt."

That was enough to cause Luca to reenter their state of quietness.

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"It looks like they've entered Level 5."

"Get ready to move in."

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Braun spoke again after a few seconds, but this time it was in a whisper only just loud enough to carry over the fire. "Luca, don't get startled, but I don't think it's safe to be here anymore."

Luca straightened slightly. He started to turn and look through the woods.

"Don't alert them." Braun sent his senses through the trees. "We'll need to break for it as soon as they make their move."

"When is that?" he asked, keeping his voice just as low.

"I'll touch the log. Three seconds, and we go. My left. Just run as fast as you can and try to keep up."

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"Go. Fast and clean."

Jeff dropped from the tree without a sound. A small orb was pulled from a pocket that he quickly slapped against a tree.

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A pop came from the woods somewhere behind Luca. The sound almost scared him enough to send him running. But Braun gave a slight wave and he found the courage to stay put.

Braun's hand moved down to rest gently on the log. It was just a casual motion. Was that the signal? He said three seconds. His mind counted down.

2 one thousand.

1 one thousand.

He tore to his right, using his aura to send himself to top speed in less than a second. Braun matched him step for step. They quickly moved into the brush, crashing through the bushes. Luca had no clue who they were running from. But in the short time he'd known Braun, he knew that if he was scared, there was a reason to be. So he kept his mouth shut and just focused on running.

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The move completely caught them off guard. They had planned on a simple capture while their target was at ease. They hadn't expected them to suddenly run. They quickly managed to get outside of their circle.

"Follow them. Don't let them get away." He quickly jumped back up into the trees. Right now, he was playing catch-up. But that was fine. The other Hunters could care for themselves. The hunt would be more fun with only two hunters actually watching Braun. The hunt was all that mattered.

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They were still running when Wasser appeared from around a tree, another Buizel with him. "Hey. What's going on?"

"Don't ask. Just run." Luca grabbed his arm as they passed and pulled them both into the chase.

"Why are we running?" Aley, Wasser's mate, asked.

"I'll explain when we get the chance," Braun said without turning. "There's a river up ahead. We need to get as far upstream as possible without coming up for air."

"We can do that."

The trees parted twenty yards before the river. Everyone quickly dove in without pause. Wasser and Aley took to the front, and Braun and Luca grabbed onto each one. Holding their breath as much as possible, the group swam their way up river.

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They stopped at the treeline, overlooking the river. Jeff landed on a thick branch to the right. "Into the river. Very clever, Braun."

"They won't be able to stay under long. Two Buizel joined them," the one on the other side said. He didn't have a name that anyone knew; he was simply known as Black, the sniper.

"They are negligible," the one in the middle said. Lane was the rookie of them. He'd only been a Hunter for 2 years, liking to focus on heavy recon.

"Don't be so sure," Jeff reprimanded. "He has help. That changes the entire equation. Spread out along the river. Watch for him."

They spread out, keeping an eye along the river for their goal.