Finding You – Chapter 21

Trick

After escaping the temple, Luna and Grey headed back to Castelia to retrieve Luna's Pokemon from the Center, only to find that the area was heavily guarded by Tenebris goons. Unsure of what to do, Luna decided to dial Zoe and see if she could help – but then noticed that Zoe was among the members of Team Tenebris! It quickly became clear that Zoe was working undercover, however, and with a quickly formulated plan Zoe was able to steer the Tenebris team away from the Pokemon Center just long enough for Luna and Grey to get back the Pokemon. Now, Zoe thinks that Luna and Grey could do some undercover investigating of their own, but they have to meet Zoe at Chargestone Cave. When Luna called Touya for a ride, however, she discovered that things have drastically changed for the young Champion…

"W-what? Touya, you can't be—"

The boy had hung up, however, and Luna was left staring blanky at a dark screen.

"What's wrong?" Grey asked. "What happened? Can he come?"

"Y…yeah, he's coming," Luna said shakily. She pressed a button on her Xtransceiver to hang it up and let her hand fall to her side. "But…"

Grey's eyebrow shot up. "But what? Seriously, what's the matter?"

"Well…my friend's name is Touya Black," Luna said finally. "He's—well, he was the Champion of Unova—"

"Was?"

"—but today he lost his title."

Grey seemed skeptical. "You are actually acquainted with the Champion."

"Yes! I mean, I guess he's the former Champion now, but still. I know him. We're friends."

Grey stretched. "Well, whatever. Big titles don't impress me. Assuming he's coming from the Pokemon League, it could take him a good couple of hours to get here, depending on how fast his Pokemon can fly. We'll just have to hang tight. Call whats-her-face to tell her what the deal is."

Two long hours later, Touya Black landed on Route 4 where Luna and Grey were waiting. It was close to noon now, and the harsh environment of the desert sands only made the sweltering heat worse. It was better than the alternative, however; running into more Tenebris grunts undisguised would be a nightmare.

Luna ran to greet him as Grey approached more slowly. Touya dismounted from his Braviary and turned to her. "Hey."

"H-hi…" Luna gulped. "Um, Touya, I can't tell you how sorry I am—"

Touya shook his head. "Save it. It's alright. I just…" He blew a long breath of air from between his lips and ran his fingers through his hair. "I guess I'm just sort of numb right now. But you're more important. Tell me what's going on."

You're more important. Luna almost felt herself smiling at the words before Grey cut in.

"There's a group of organized terrorists who may or may not be connected to the disappearance of Luna's father who are currently out to get us and we're trying to infiltrate their group," Grey said rapidly. "If that makes any sense."

Touya blinked. "What?"

"You remember how Team Tenebris attacked Nimbasa, right?" Luna asked. "Well, my dad, Dominic Mond, helped take them down when they first came to Unova several years ago. Now there's a chance that his disappearance might be connected to them, and I…well, I want to find out for sure. My friend Zoe, she's a Pokemon Ranger, and she snuck into their group to find out more about them. They're after us right now, but she said the best place to hide AND get more information would be right within their own group, and I agree. That way, we could also find out more about their plans. I mean, they have to be doing all of this for a reason, right?"

Touya frowned. "Team Tenebris…haven't the police been taking care of them?"

"You ought to know better than anyone," Grey said. "The police around here are useless. Or did you just take down Team Plasma a couple years ago for bragging rights?"

Touya scrutinized Grey carefully – the slouched posture, the scruffy hair, the attitude. "I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Touya Black. I met Luna when she was starting her journey." He stuck out his hand. "What's your name?"

"Grey. I've traveled around Unova for most of my life. Nice to meet you." He didn't take the hand.

Touya's arm dropped to his side. "Well then. Uh, I guess I should say this first…Luna, are you sure about this? I may not be the Champion anymore, but I still have connections. We can try and get some other people in to handle this. League people."

"Up until now, Tenebris's crimes have been dangerous, but they're more like a gang than anything," Luna said. "I don't think the League will interfere until they do something big, something even bigger than they've already been doing. And I don't think we should wait for that to happen."

"Alright." Touya nodded. "Sounds like a plan then. Call…did you say her name is Zoe?"

Luna nodded.

"Okay. Call Zoe and tell her we're on our way to Chargestone Cave."

Touya had brought three Bird Pokemon, and all three of them landed a short distance away from Chargestone Cave. The area was thickly surrounded by trees, so the clearing where they managed to land felt exposed and open.

Moments after the three Trainers dismounted their rides, Zoe emerged from the thick woods and hurried towards them.

"All right," Zoe said. "Team Tenebris is battling some police officers right now. Looks like the officers are losing, though, or at least they were when I left. We have to hurry if we're going to get in there, though, because that distraction won't last too long."

Zoe dug into her bag and threw out various dark-colored clothing. "There isn't really an official uniform; you just have to wear dark colors, especially black, so that you can go by unnoticed at night." She pulled out two hats, a baseball cap and and conductor-like cap. "Grey, Luna, you guys should wear these. The more of your hair that's covered, the better."

Luna looked around the clearing. "Should we just…change here?"

"Probably. If we get any closer then we'll risk being seen." Zoe glared at the boys. "Don't either of you dare take a look!"

"No way!" both boys blurted. Both turned abruptly away. Flustered, Luna grabbed her things and began to change.

"Everyone ready?"

Cautiously Luna turned around. Grey looked almost unrecognizeable. Almost all of his hair was covered by the dark baseball cap Zoe had given him, and in his new dark clothes – a black, baggy sweatshirt and dark jeans – even his sense of style was different.

Touya, however, hadn't changed at all.

"Touya?" she asked. "Why aren't you…"

"I have an idea," he said. "In order for you guys to get in, maybe I could create a distraction. Battle some of them. While I'm doing that, you guys could sneak in. I'll just keep battling my way through the grunts as far in as I can, and while they all rush out to defeat me you can sneak in and see what you can find out about what they're doing in the Cave."

"I like that idea," Zoe said. "It'll definitely be easier to get in with all the commotion. And if someone sees us, I can just say we're going to get help." She turned to Luna. "I think you're good. Maybe just tuck in your hair a little more here. I've never seen you in a hat before…honestly, you look pretty different."

Self-consciously Luna poked a few strands of white hair underneath the dark cap.

Touya swept the group with his eyes. "Is everyone ready?"

They nodded.

"Then let's go."

Touya led the way as the four left the clearing and headed towards Chargestone Cave. Luna's heart pounded.

What in the world am I doing? Sneaking right into the cave like this? What if I get caught? I guess I was thinking too much about Dad…no. I wasn't thinking clearly at all.

But it's too late to back out now.

I just hope that whatever we find out in there will be worth it…

Luna heard a smattering of voices a short distance away. She, Grey and Zoe quickly crouched in the brush as Touya stood in front of them.

"You ready?" he asked.

Luna nodded, her throat too dry to speak.

"Okay. I'm going out to distract them now. Wish me luck!"

With a quick rustle of foliage, he was gone, striding confidently toward the group of Tenebris grunts hovering near the cave.

Luna watched in awe as Touya released his Braviary, the grunts immediately on the defensive.

"Team Tenebris," Touya said with a yawn. "What a group." His hand reached to his bag strap and he took out another Pokeball.

"You burn down forests…"

He released his Emboar.

"…you destroy cities…"

Reuniclus materialized next to him.

"…and you don't care who or what gets hurt along the way." Simisage and Seismitoad were released from yet more Pokeballs. "What are you guys thinking?"

"You'd never understand," one of the grunts snapped. "This is for the good of mankind!" Slowly several members trickled out of the cave and surrounded the former Champion as he let out his final Pokemon, Beartic.

Touya held up his hands in a gesture of denial. "No, no, please. I'd love to hear your line of thinking. Enlighten me."

Grey gently elbowed Luna in the ribs. "Get ready."

Luna nodded, but her eyes never left Touya. "Is he going to be okay?"

Grey grinned. "He'll be fine. Focus on getting in."

"Allow me." The grunt leader nodded, and the Tenebris grunts surrounding Touya let out numerous Pokemon of varying shapes and sizes. "Attack!"

"Now!" Zoe hissed. The three disguised teens stood and scurried around the commotion and into the cave.

Luna glanced over her shoulder. Touya stood perfectly cool and collected as his Pokemon battled all around him. He didn't even need to give them commands. A warm blush crept into her cheeks – a feeling she was growing used to. Forcing her eyes away, she turned back to look ahead as the three intruders plunged into the Tenebris operations.

Wordlessly they ran until they reached a large rock, where they stopped to catch their breath. Luna took a moment to take in her surroundings. Chargestone Cave was truly beautiful. The iridescent glow of the electrified rocks pulsed in varying intensities from each stone, lighting up the cave a lot better than one might anticipate.

Upon looking back at her friends, Luna noticed Grey staring at her. The blush stared to creep into her cheeks again. "What?"

"Your eyes are really blue," he said. "Well, I mean, so's your hair…like, the light makes it look blue too, but your eyes…uh…hmph. Nevermind."

Zoe cut in, all business. "Okay, here's the deal. I'm not entirely sure what Tenebris is doing in the cave. They call it "Operation Thunder", but I haven't been able to learn what exactly this Operation Thunder is – everyone was briefed before I infiltrated them, so I've just had to play along without knowing what exactly it means. This cave is big – huge, in fact. It goes miles underground. They've decided to set up here for a few days until they achieve…whatever the objective of Operation Thunder is.

"The goal here is to figure out, ultimately, what it is Team Tenebris wants to achieve by their actions. You'd think that going around destroying places would be useless, but…apparently there's reasoning behind it. So figure out what they're ultimately trying to do. If you can find out what they're doing in the cave, do that too.

"And finally, see if it's possible to figure out where they're headed next. If we can prevent the next attack, maybe we can slow them down enough to put a stop to their actions altogether."

"So we're just going to split up?" Grey asked. "Is that really a good idea?"

Zoe bit her lip. "I think it's the best thing to do for now, but I am concerned about what could happen if one of us was to be found out…so just keep your Xtransceivers on. Service isn't good inside the cave for contacting the outside, but between phones in the same vicinity it should be good." She gave a small smile. "You guys good to go?"

They both nodded.

"Okay. Go."

Zoe stepped out first. She left the shelter of the boulder and broke into a jog, moving quickly until she disappeared into a maze of glowing stones.

It was just Luna and Grey. Grey gave her a slight push. "You go next."

Perhaps it was due to the cave's enormity, but Luna felt exposed stepping out from behind the rock. She glanced in the direction Zoe had gone. I can't go there… She glanced back at the entrance. I wonder if Touya's okay…

Out of nowhere Luna was suddenly knocked over to the ground. Panic seized her as she scrambled to see what was happening.

It was another girl who appeared to be roughly a few years older than Luna. She was rubbing her head, covered in wavy blonde hair, from the pain of the impact. When she looked up, Luna noticed her blue eyes and freckles.

"What are you doing?" the girl snapped. "Don't you know what's happening outside? The Champion is here, and he's trying to stop Operation Thunder!"

Luna thought fast. "I…I know," she said. "I was going back to get more help."

The girl relaxed. "Oh, good. No one else can spare to go back in and get more people. Go through the tunnels and find where the latest search team went. Tell them what's happening and bring them up here."

But which tunnels? The whole cave is huge! "A-All right. I'll come back with the help as soon as I can."

What should I do, what should I do…I guess I'll just walk in a random direction?

Luna turned away from the girl and vaguely headed towards the right of the cave, where it appeared to narrow off into a tunnel.

The girl's voice sounded behind her. "Whoa, wait, what are you doing?"

Luna winced. "Going…to get help?"

The girl signed impatiently. "The search tunnels go straight in. You were heading back to camp." She studied Luna curiously. "Are you new?"

Luna nodded.

The girl's expression softened. "Well, it's alright. Just don't get lost. And go as fast as you can!"

Luna nodded and left again, this time jogging straight into the cave. As she went further in, less and less stones dotted the walls, while more and more seemed to be sprouting from the floor. Some even floated in the air, sustained by the electromagnetic waves that emanated from the rocks.

She paused for a moment and looked back across the cave to see if the blonde girl was gone. Sure enough, she had already headed outside. Luna changed directions again and this time headed toward the right side of the cave, where she had been heading before – the campsite. Maybe if I go there, I can figure out what they're doing.

The tunnel wound deeper and deeper. Every step echoed loudly off the cave walls. Luna wondered if perhaps she was even heading in the right direction; the last thing she wanted to do was become lost.

After a few more turns, the narrowing tunnel suddenly grew wider again until its mouth opened into a huge cavernous space, similar to the one near the entrance. Now, so many of the blue gems dotted the top of the ceiling that they looked like stars in a night sky.

A cluster of sleeping bags and general camping commodities were grouped near the center of the cave.

Good, Luna thought. I found where they've set up camp. Maybe if I look around there a bit, I can figure out what they're doing. With a quick glance around her to make sure she was alone, she hurried out of the tunnel and darted to the campsite to search.

Sleeping bags, flashlights, backpacks, tools. It all looked like ordinary gear. There were no mysterious trinkets, no messages with hidden meaning…nothing. Luna sighed. I hope Grey and Zoe have been doing better than me. Looking around once more to make sure no one was around, she grabbed the nearest backpack and sifted through it.

Huh...it's just more…stuff. Team Tenebris has always seemed so terrible, it's easy to forget that the members in it are people too…this guy even uses the same toothpaste I do. She kept digging. Wait, what's this?

She pulled a small bag out of the backpack and unzipped it. Inside, there were various tools – a magnifying glass, a duster, and smaller tools for picking and digging.

These look like…excavation tools! Don't tell me they're trying to destroy some historical thing –

"Hello, Miss Mond."

Luna jumped. The backpack dropped to the floor with a loud thunk, spilling its contents onto the cave floor. She whipped her head around.

The man who stood before her had been silent; she hadn't heard him come in at all. The first thing her eyes darted to were his mesmerizing green eyes. They were so vivid that they didn't look real – perhaps they were contacts, even. His hair was unusually a long for a man of his age – he seemed to be approaching middle-aged – tumbling around his shoulders in a thick sheet.

Overall, he had a strange, otherworldly look to him that made Luna feel very uncomfortable.

The man spoke again. "Are you a new recruit?" he asked warmly. "It's so nice to know that the youth of today are interested in making a difference. I'm glad we've been getting some younger members."

Did I just imagine that he said my name? Luna thought. "Uh, um, yes, I'm new. B-but, there isn't any time! The Champion of Unova is in the front of the cave, he's trying to get in…"

"You seem quite distressed about it," the man commented. "Which is surprising, since he must have served as a distraction to let you sneak in."

He knows. A wave of fear washed over Luna's body. How does he know? What about Zoe and Grey? Does that mean they've been found out too?

Luna swallowed. "How did you know?"

The man fiddled with the collar of his shirt, which seemed only slightly pale in comparison to his light gray suit. "Ah, so you really are her. Thanks for the confirmation."

Oh no oh no oh no… It was all Luna could do to not run right then and there. She studied the man carefully. He didn't seem sinister or even evil, which made his presence almost more terrifying.

"You know, Miss Mond, we were searching for you for quite awhile," the man said casually. He pulled a Pokeball from a pocket inside his suit and rolled it over his fingers. "So what compelled you to walk right back into the lion's den?"

Luna inhaled slowly. "I need answers," she said. "About what Team Tenebris wants to accomplish. Who you are. Where my dad is."

"Interesting," the man commented. "So you expect that by sneaking into our base of operations and digging through a few members' backpacks you'll find out all that?"

"I-I didn't…I just…"

The man glanced at his watch. "If you want to get back to Castelia by sundown, you ought to leave soon. The flight takes a couple of hours." He smiled and nodded his head to Luna.

"My name is Alistair. It's been a pleasure, Miss Mond. Now…if you'll excuse me."

Without another word, he turned and began to walk away.

What just…no! He wasn't like the other grunts. Is he their leader? I could get information! I can't just let him leave!

Without much thought, Luna suddenly blurted out, "What are the whereabouts of Dominic Mond? What are you trying to do? Why are you here?"

Alistair paused for a moment, but didn't turn around. "If you want answers," he said, "you'll have to keep digging." He continued walking.

"Just remember, though, that if one digs too deep…their mine collapses. So decide now how much you want to insert yourself before it's too late to back down."

To be continued…