Whew, 8 pages later…

Did I say Friday? I meant Saturday XD. Sorry I'm 17 hours late, but in my defense I had completely forgotten about everything I already had planned to do yesterday. But, here it is, as promised.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Still don't own em.

Chapter 14

Prepare for Trouble

When morning dawned on Celestic town, the sky was clear. The early sunlight shone off the raindrops still clinging to blades of grass, creating a field of diamonds beyond the doors of the Pokémon Center. It was peaceful.

But that wouldn't last, for on the horizon was a familiar hot-air balloon with three familiarly annoying passengers.

"But Jessie, I'm tired," James wined, leaning lazily with his back against the basket of their ride.

"And hungry!" Meowth chimed in, sitting in similar fashion beside James.

"Stop complaining!" Jessie snapped. "We won't get any food unless we do something to make money, and the boss won't give us money if we don't nab something with actual value, and we won't nab anything of value unless you two get off your lazy butts and HELP ME STEAL SOME POKÉMON!"

The self-appointed leader of the inept trio pressed the set of binoculars to her eyes once again, setting her sights on the fast-approaching Pokémon Center; in particular, on the variety of Pokémon sitting outside of it. She was always like this after an embarrassing failure—ergo, she was ALWAYS like this.

Jessie sighed, turning back to her odd crew. "Look, I know that yesterday was a bit of a disappointment—"

"Just a bit?" James interrupted sarcastically. "We let an undiscovered Pokémon get away. We could have been famous!"

"The boss would have been so proud," Meowth added with a sigh.

"—but," Jessie continued, "this will be easy. Small town, early morning nabbing, no one around to stop us…We'll be in and out with the mother-load before you know it."

If she only knew.

. . .

The dawn found Tails and Professor Oak mulling over the contents of a large, worn out, leather-bound book with faded pages—the same one given to the kit by the kind and mysterious Rosa Thorn. The morning sunlight poured through the recently replaced window, but most of the residents of the Center had yet to wake.

"So you say this woman told you that this particular page was meant for you to read?" Professor Oak asked, stroking his chin thoughtfully as he stared at the faded message.

A ti wh n all is we nd pe il fl e ,
S x will c e, w eded.
Lo t po er mu t be ca tu e again.
The s ve th m st be fo n .
A h rl s turns ag t,
nd anot er must t e th ir pl e to ad.
T ra ny r ses, p in and be ra al re gn.
B tt es for the p er ra e.
But h ro s fa l,
And d ne s is a l that c n save
W en the haos ove he ms an al y.
Ch os br ngs dar ess,
Da k ess ret ns c aos.
Ch es d st uc ion,
B t chaos al ne can re to e the peace.

"Yeah," Tails replied, scratching his head.

"…But you can't read it."

"There's the rub." Tails sighed. "If only I had a computer, something to scan and render the image, maybe some of the lettering would be clearer…"

"A computer?" the Professor repeated, a smile mirroring the idea forming in his mind.

Tails looked to him quizzically and followed his gaze to the corner of the lobby. There, next to the reception desk, was a computer. Hopeful, the fox approached it with Oak, who booted it up.

"This is made to electronically store Pokémon captured by trainers," Oak explained, "as well as extra items. I also use it to communicate with trainers like Ash. He started his Pokémon journey with my help, you know," he added proudly.

"Well he doesn't seem to have come very far, does he?" a familiar female voice asked cynically.

The pair of nerds turned to find Rouge leaning cooly against the wall, arms folded in front of her chest.

The professor frowned. "You'll have to forgive Ash…he's not usually like that."

"Could have fooled me," the bat scoffed.

Oak sighed. "I don't know what has gotten into him. Despite what your impressions of him are, Ash is an excellent trainer who respects his Pokémon and, in turn, they respect him. He has travelled a long way and encountered many Pokémon and made many friends," he continued, then added, "And he's even saved the world a few times."

Rouge rolled her eyes. "That's hardly impressive—we do that pretty much on a daily basis."

It was obvious that neither party would relent their stance on the matter, so to save an argument, the fox cleared his throat.

"Rouge," Tails interjected, partly to change the uncomfortable subject and partly because he was curious. "…How's Shadow?"

Rouge met his bright blue eyes for just a moment before turning her discouraged gaze to the ground. "No change."

The fox's ears drooped in disappointment. "Well, it's early."

After a moment's pause, Oak and Tails turned their attention back to the PC. No sense dwelling on what they couldn't change, after all.

"Now, it's not really made for this sort of thing," the Professor explained, "but it is able to read the information of Pokémon from within their pokéballs and display it in digital format, so maybe with a little rewiring…"

Tails perked up—computers were a language he spoke with ease.

While the young genius worked away with the Professor at his side, the Pokémon Center began to awake. Soon, Brock and Dawn were in the center's kitchen making breakfast, Nurse Joy was bustling around between paper work and checking on her patients, Rouge was teasing/pestering Knuckles, Knuckles had gone red in the face, and Sonic was busying himself with exploration of the town. The Pokémon—Ninetales, Persian, Mime Jr., and Hoothoot—were satisfied to sit in front of the center and watch the blue blur as he zipped back and forth across the town.

As for Ash Ketchum, it was some time before anyone even wondered where he was. Sleep having been evasive the night before, he had left the Pokémon Center and made his way to the Historical Research Center.

Not that there was anything of particular interest there—he just needed a break from the judging eyes of his companions and the strange Mobians.

Ash walked the corridors and hallways of the familiar building without a destination in mind. He went where his feet wanted, and strangely, his feet seemed to know where they were going. He passed room after room mechanically, receiving a few odd glances from researchers and janitors alike but otherwise receiving little attention. Very soon, the young trainer found himself standing in front of the Lustrous Orb's case.

It was beautiful—pale blue with purple reflections, smooth and perfectly rounded. A historical artifact, he recalled, but something more than that. This orb was connected to the origin of life and the world, connected to Palkia. As he watched it today, however, he noticed that something had changed about it. At first, Ash though he was mistaken, but there was no mistake.

"Pikachu…" said his electric mouse companion, watching its trainer with concern. Ash's eyes were glued to the orb, glazed as he was drawn in by its strange energy.

"It's shining," Ash said absently. His hand lifted, stretched towards the relic. "It's…calling me…"

"Pika!"

Something was wrong, and the little creature could feel it. Pikachu leapt from his place beside Ash and onto the table where the orb rested, coming between his master's hand and its destination. It tenderly placed its front paws on Ash's palm, trying to bring him back to reality.

Ash paused but did not break his focus on the orb. "Pikachu…" Expression darkened, voice carrying a strange, cold authority, he simply said, "Move."

Pikachu shook its head adamantly, silently begging Ash to leave it alone, to go back to the others.

Something dark was rising, however, and before either party knew what was happening, the boy's hand raised, flew, and suddenly Pikachu was falling.

It seemed to happen in slow motion. The sting on the back of Ash's hand brought him back to himself at the same moment that his beloved friend landed hard on the floor, a brightening mark outlined on its yellow cheek. Pikachu lay where it landed, looking up at Ash with terror and hurt in its eyes. Ash's eyes widened in horror as his stared between Pikachu and his incriminating hand.

"Pikachu, I—I" he stuttered, "I—I didn't mean—"

He reached an apologetic hand for his companion, but Pikachu shrank away from his touch, tears in its eyes. "Pika pi…" it whispered shakily, backing away from him. "Pika…chu…"

"Pikachu…"

The electric mouse took a last heartbroken look at Ash. Then it ran.

Ash stared after his friend, crystal droplets finding their way down his cheeks. "What have I done?" he whispered. What is wrong with me? In a moment he was after Pikachu, shouting apologies and begging forgiveness, but Pikachu would not stop. The chase lasted through the building and to the doors, but once outside, both Pokémon and trainer froze. There, entering the airspace over Celestic Town, was the all-too-familiar hot-air balloon with the all-too-annoying trio at the helm.

"Oh no."

. . .

Meanwhile, back in the Pokémon Center, Tails was making excellent progress with his project.

"I think I'm almost done, Professor!" he said excitedly from behind the PC. "Just a little more…There!"

The PC booted up, but the screen was full of programming mumbo-jumbo that even the professor could not read.

"Uh, Tails," Sonic said, having returned to the center after exhausting all things remotely tourist-attractiony in the town, "I think you broke the internet."

"Not at all, Sonic," Tails replied, moving out from behind and coming around to the keyboard. "I just have to type in a few commands and…" His new friend watched curiously, amazed at the speed with which the fox's fingers could glide across the keys. "…Voila!"

The screen went black, then lit up again. It didn't look much different than it had before, except it had more options. Aside from being able to access the Pokémon Storage System and the Item Storage System, it now had the option to scan.

Smiling triumphantly, Tails selected the latter and placed the page of the leather-bound book of legends into a new compartment that he had installed next to the pokéball slot.

"BREAKFAST!" Brock called, marching into the room with apron on, balancing two plates stacked high with steaming pancakes.

There was no response, and his comportment fell. "I see how it is… No one likes my cooking after all!" he wailed exaggeratedly.

Dawn followed him out into the lobby carrying two pitchers of oran berry Juice and, noticing that a small crowd had gathered, asked, "What's going on?"

Brock, having not previously been aware of everyone's preoccupation, quickly forgot his discouragement and, setting down the pancakes on a nearby end table, joined Dawn in approaching the group of four Mobians and Professor Oak around the computer. "What's that?" he asked upon seeing the faded prophesy, now having been scanned neatly into the PC.

"That's what we're hoping to find out," Professor Oak replied.

"Hold on, it's rendering…" Tails said, tapping away at the keys of the computer.

In another few moments, the image cleared.

Brock whistled. "Hey, that's pretty impressive."

Sonic, beaming with pride, gave the kit a noogie. "Way to go, little buddy, you genius you."

Tails smiled sheepishly, embarrassed at the attention, and cleared his throat. "Okay so, according to this, the passage reads:

A time when all is well and peril flees,

Six will come, with seven needed.

Lost power must be captured again.

The seventh must be found.

A hero of worlds turns against,

And another must take their place to lead.

Tyranny rises, pain and betrayal reign.

Battles for the power rage.

But heroes fail,

And darkness is all that can save

When the chaos overwhelms an ally.

Chaos brings darkness,

Darkness returns chaos.

Chaos causes destruction,

But chaos alone can restore the peace."

When he finished, there was a moment's pause, then an eruption of "What does that mean", "That makes no sense", and "gee, that's helpful" broke out.

The Professor stared at it, puzzled, but Tails' mind was already trying to work out some of the cryptic details. He was just about to dictate his hypothesis when an out-of-breath Pikachu ran through the doors of the center, fear in its eyes. Ash Ketchum was right on its tail, gasping for breath.

Immediately the pair had the attention of everyone in the room.

"Ash, what's wrong?" Dawn asked, instantly concerned.

"It's—" he gasped, "Team Rock—"

Before he could finish, there was an ear-splitting crack as the roof of the Pokémon Center above him exploded. Ash and Pikachu were tossed clear by the force and somehow managed to avoid being hit by debris. Oak was not as lucky, for the blast had thrown the end table holding breakfast, sending Brock's confectionary delights sailing through the air—one of which found its resting place on the unimpressed face of the Professor.

As the dust cleared, a familiar rhyme scheme rang from somewhere above.

"Listen! Is that a voice I hear?"

"It speaks to me loud and clear."

"On the wind," the woman's voice continued.

"Past the stars," said the man.

"In your ear!"

Tails grew pale. He recognized those three voices. "Oh no," he said quietly, fearfully. "Not these guys again…"

Ninetales growled and Sonic, rather unnecessarily loud, asked, "Who are these weirdos?"

"Hey!" Jessie interjected, obviously offended.

"We can hear you, you know!" James added. Then something caught his eye—something orange and furry. "Hey Jessie, isn't that…?" He pointed straight to Tails, who cowered behind Professor Oak.

Jessie recognizes Tails right away and laughed maniacally. "See, James?" she said proudly. "I told you this heist be worth it!"

"But look dere," Meowth said, leaning over the hole they had made in the roof and peering at the group gathered by the PC. "Dere's a whole slew of 'em!"

Dreams of fortune and recognition filled the three villains till they saw stars.

"I've underestimated you three!" James said, imagining the words their boss would say.

"You deserve a promotion!" Meowth continued the guise.

They carried on for several moments before being interrupted by a disgruntled Ash. "Team Rocket!"

Jessie, James, and Meowth, pulled out of their fantasy, turned their attention back to the task at hand. "The twerps?" James clarified. "What are they doing here?"

"Stopping you, that's what!" Dawn exclaimed, stepping forward and releasing Piplup from its pokéball. "Piplup, use Bubble—"

"Oh no you don't, little girl!" Jessie interrupted as James pulled out something that looked remarkably like a bazooka. In the same moment, James fired his launcher and sent a chain net flying directly at the little bird Pokémon, entangling it.

"Piplup!" Dawn cried as the cable connecting projector and net began dragging her Pokémon away. She leapt after it, catching hold of the net and being pulled along with it.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded desperately.

The Pokémon glanced at Ash hesitantly, but obliged—to no avail. The bolt hit the three villains, but instead of frying them, the electricity travelled down the metal cable and shocked Piplup and Dawn—both of whom cried out in surprise and pain.

The trio laughed. "That little trick won't work anymore!" Jessie exclaimed triumphantly. "You see, we have taken special precautions and developed an addition to our uniforms, just for when we run into you and that adorable little Pikachu or yours."

"We've got rubbah boots now!" Meowth explained.

And they did. Brightly coloured ones, too. How this fashion statement had gone unnoticed to this point is beyond understanding.

"Now," Jessie continued, "If you don't mind—"

"And even if you do," James interrupted.

"—we'll just take all these lovely Pokémon off your hands."

With the press of a button, their hot-air balloon landed on a part of the roof that hadn't been blown to smithereens and several metallic claws extended from the basket, snatching at Pokémon left and right. The first to be grabbed was Hoothoot.

"Hey! That is not cool on sooooo many levels!" Sonic exclaimed. "It's time someone teaches you a lesson!" He prepared to leap after his Pokéfriend, but was forced to change tactics when two of the metal claws began pursuing him. "Yikes!" he cried, narrowly missing one headed straight between his legs.

"SONIC!" the voice of the kit rang out—one of the arms had caught him by the tails so he could neither reach it to fight back or fly away.

Knuckles punched through one of the claws, but another found its way around his ankle while a third grabbed his hair. "That's dirty!" he yelled angrily, trying to untangle himself.

Mime Jr., who had been following Knuckles obnoxiously, was very distressed by this turn of events and floated quickly up to James.

"Mimey! You came back!" In his excitement, James dropped his bazooka net and tried to hug his Pokémon. However, Mime Jr. evaded his embrace and proceeded to yell at him, gesturing to the raging Knuckles and the entire scene spread before them.

"Mimemime mimemimemime, mime mimemimemime, miiiiiime mimemime!" The creature folded its arms crossly.

James, getting the picture, simply muttered, "Traitor."

Nurse joy, having been absent from the scene, entered the lobby from the left wing in a hurry and, seeing the sight, screamed in horror.

Ninetales sent a fire blast towards Team Rocket, but wobuffet protected them with a psychic shield.

James watched in surprise. "Hey, Jessie, we're not blasting off yet," he observed.

"You'd better find some wood ta knock on," Meowth warned.

Unfortunately, there was no wood within his reach—not that it would have done much good against what was about to happen.

Jessie, who had been dancing gleefully at their apparent success—or at least, their lack of failure just yet—suddenly stopped and perked her ears. "James, do you hear something?"

James paused to listen, and sure enough…

"Chaos…"

James frowned. "Who do you think that—"

"Spear!"

From out of nowhere, bolts of gold and red energy flashed through the air, severing the mechanical claws from the balloon's basket and the cable holding Piplup's prison. Pokémon and Mobians alike scrambled to their feet, looking around for the only one who could have been responsible for such an act.

Jessie, James, and Meowth were looking around too, when suddenly they felt a presence appear behind them. Suddenly gripped with dread, the three turned slowly to find a menacing black figure with angry crimson eyes glowering at them.

"Cowards," the creature said, its voice hard and dangerous.

The trio jumped back in dread, frightened by the cold authority with which the figure accused them. Jessie, James, and Meowth clung to each other with wide eyes, sensing what was coming.

"Chaos…" A red force formed around the black creature and its eyes glowed. With clenched fists, it crossed its arms in front of its chest, gathered energy, and released. "BLAST!"

There was an explosion of light and sound.

Exactly how they ended up in flying through the air, battered and barely clinging to each other and their balloon, the thieves may never be sure of, but it didn't matter.

"I said ya shoulda knocked on some wood!" Meowth called over the wind rushing by their ears. "Now it looks like Team Rocket's—"

"Blasting off again!"

They disappeared in a blink.

As the dust settled and the smoke cleared, only one figure was left standing on the edge of the hole in the Poké-Center roof: a figure with ebony quills and crimson eyes—eyes with a little too much water to contain. Mobians, Pokémon, and humans stared in wonder at the two things they expected to see the very least of anything.

Shadow the Hedgehog was back.

And he was crying.

Ta-dahh! See? Nobody died. I couldn't kill Shadow :p (though that was a serious concern for many a reviewer…)

Speaking of reviewers, here's a special shout out to ToxicTreacle for being #400!

Seriously, you guys are awesome. Thanks for holding out faith in this.