I had this chapter almost done once or twice, but it never quite satisfied me, so I completely tore it up and started over. Sorry for the delay!
To my reviewers...
Wings of the Wolf - Yes, I suppose Umbreon is the (only?) comic relief of this story...Good for him, right? Heh. I'm actually glad that you weren't expecting the trap...Sometimes the story just seems to be a little to predictable to the author, you know? Thanks for continuing to review.
dot dot dot - My apologies for making you wait...May your confusion continue to lift. Heh.
Pokemon ranger Aunie - Ah, the evilness of Shady. Hah. Basically all of your questions are answered in this chapter, so read and enjoy. And I'm going to have to agree with you on that: Wes is definitely going to need some therapy. Or perhaps a really long vacation.
QUEEN EEVEE - Good guess! Glad I'm not the only one who pays attention to the finer details of the game. And Wes and Rui will have a hard time trying to piece everything together as well...Think you can beat them? I bet you can. Good luck!
DigitalXover-girl - Yes...but let's not get too caught up in the details, now...It'd be pretty strange if I described everyone having to go to the bathroom all the time (like normal people), too. Besides. No one ever eats or makes pit stops in the games. o.O It always makes me wonder...Hah. Only kidding.
Twanny Boy - Don't worry about not reviewing every chapter...Just drop by everyone once in awhile or something. Heh. Thanks!
Rikkun - It's understandable to get their Pokemon mixed up...I mean, there you are thinking that you've beaten the game (unless you have a guide or something) and then Es Cade walks up and turns into a little man who bounces up and down and is now named Evice. o.O Terrifying. Haha. But no, May and Brenden are not catching any kind of break at all...especially in this chapter.
Blaziken'sGirl - Like what I said to DigitalXover-girl...let's not get too caught up in the details, now...It'd be pretty strange if I described everyone having to go to the bathroom all the time (like normal people), too. Besides. No one ever eats or makes pit stops in the games. o.O Haha.
DragonGirl - I know that you hate waiting...and I'm sorry to make you wait so long...I hope you enjoy this chapter.
SkyMaster - Well I really have nothing to say to you...Except perhaps that all your reviews seem to be the same? Hah...
Sukoru - Yes, you were right! Haha. And don't worry about the Xatu; you'll find out once you read this chapter. And I don't mind that I have to "put up with" your reviews. Trust me, I enjoy them very much, so thank you!
Dark Angel of the Underworld - Updated at last. Sorry for the delay!
...I definitely need to get my act together for all of you guys. But school's almost out and I'll have all summer to come up with the next few chapters. Shall I be so bold as to say that the end is slowly coming into sight? Hah.
This chapter is shorter than the last (for those of you who care enough to be counting?), but I've said all I need to say for this part of the story. Heh heh.
Onward.
Wes watched as Rui practically inhaled the food they had been brought a good hour after he had been shoved back into the cell. It was just fast food of some kind, but he knew Rui was probably hungry enough to eat anything despite her usual efforts to eat only healthy foods.
"Take mine." He pushed his bag of greasy food towards her. He had lost all appetite after what had happened to May and Brenden had really sunken in. He didn't want to break it to Rui yet; he wanted her to eat first before…
…Before she became very, very upset.
She had just finished with her meal, and she looked up at him and blinked. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah. You know me. I'm never hungry." It was true, but he hoped he sounded convincing. "Besides, who knows when they'll remember to feed us again."
Rui looked as if she would like to argue with him and try to get him to eat, but something in his expression must have put her off; she took the bag from him and, much more slowly this time, began to munch on the fries.
"Are you okay?" she asked him, concerned. "You don't look so good..."
"Oh. Shady and the Grunts gave me a headache." It was becoming much too easy to lie. It was a half-lie, he argued half-heartedly with himself silently. The Grunts had been annoying…
Rui's expression flickered briefly at the mention of Shady, but she turned quickly back to her meal. "So what did you do in Phenac?" she asked carefully, keeping her eyes on the bag. "It seemed awfully important if Shady had to drag you along."
"We just had to pick up a package of some kind for Ein. Grunt work."
She looked at him, slightly confused. "Why'd they drag you along if it was only Grunt work like that?"
"Because…" He took a deep breath. "Rui...Did you e-mail May and Brenden and ask them to follow me in Phenac?" He already knew the answer, but he asked anyway.
"Um...Yes." She looked slightly guilty. "I did. But I just wanted to make sure that nothing happened to you..."
"It's okay. It's just that..." He hesitated, unsure of how to put it.
Rui looked up at him, suddenly worried; his voice had changed so suddenly. "What's wrong?"
"They brought me along because they somehow knew that May and Brenden would show up too—someone knows that you have a PDA. But Nascour's Xatu was waiting for them." Wes hadn't kept eye-contact with Rui up until now. He made himself look up into her worried blue eyes. "It took them."
May was still screaming when she hit the ground hard, and her scream turned abruptly into a cry of pain. Brenden landed somewhere beside her with a sharp cough. The Xatu gave one last shrill squawk before flapping away from them to perch on the edge of a large desk, folding its strangely-patterned wings carefully.
"Brenden, are you okay?" May whispered as she pushed herself to her knees. For some reason, whispering seemed like a better idea than a normal voice-level. "Brenden?"
"I think that stupid bird broke my ribs..." Brenden moaned, curled up tight as if to protect himself from further damage.
May sat back on her knees, relieved; she could tell he was only being dramatic. "Oh. You're okay then."
Brenden sat up, straightening his sweat-band, which had slipped down his forehead slightly. "Thanks for your concern."
"So." An icily calm voice broke in. "You're the brats from Hoenn that my subordinates have been complaining about?"
May looked up fully to see a tall man standing near the Xatu, smoothing down its lime green feathers absently as he surveyed them with flinty gray eyes. "Who are you?" she demanded. "And is that your Pokémon? It's illegal to attack people with Pokémon."
The man laughed, and it was mirthless and clipped, throwing May off a bit. "My dear, in Orre, there is no such thing as illegal. Just ask your little playmate Wes. You are friends with him, correct?" He used the word "friends" mockingly, as if he doubted it.
"Yeah there is," Brenden shot back, "but a lot of you Orre people just do all the illegal stuff anyway, so to you it probably doesn't matter."
"Who are you?" repeated May, though there was a slight falter in her voice. Something about the man before them made every nerve in her body freeze—she didn't like him at all.
"I could ask the same of you," he pointed out calmly. He had a certain air of superiority; he seemed to consider himself well above them. "Foreigners were never welcome in Orre, and they never will be: what gives you two the right to stick your noses into our affairs?"
"Because Wes is our friend," Brenden snapped, "and Rui too. We're not just going to sit back while our friends disappear just because we're not from here."
"Yeah," May added, emboldened a little by Brenden. "I'm one of Hoenn's Top Coordinators and he's the Champion of the League, so know who you're dealing with here. We will help our friends."
The man merely gave another one of his mirthless laughs. "I don't care who you are. But you are intruding on my—Cipher's—business and we cannot afford any loose rats running around, especially with what happened the last time."He means Wes and Rui, Brenden thought in the back of his mind briefly. Aloud, he said, "You're Nascour, aren't you? Wes and Rui told us about you."
"Correct. But my name hardly matters to you." Nascour's glance flickered to the Xatu. "Hypnosis."
The Xatu spread its wings wide. Both Brenden and May had seen the attack Hypnosis before; it was nothing new to them. But what was new was how they both slumped to the floor and the world flickered out of view as the attack hit them; both deeply asleep.
Ein surveyed the contents of his package once more, shaking his head slightly. It was merely a Master Ball from Sliph Co. in Kanto. Evice must have spent millions in order to get the famous company to send one of its greatest inventions over; just so the other Admins would be fooled into thinking that he really did want Wes to make him a Snag. It was all one great, big, fabricated lie.
...The truth was that he would have been the same, had not Nascour come to him with a plot of his own.
Oh well. Perhaps when he had spare time he could pick the Master Ball apart and learn its mechanisms, and reproduce it millions of times over. Then all he had to do was sell them at the price of a regular old Ultra Ball; maybe a little bit more expensive. That ought to make Sliph Co. gag on one of their Sliph Scopes, he thought, briefly amused.
The door to his lab room opened, and Ein pushed the package back on the counter absently, only so that it wouldn't take up too much of his counter-space. Then he turned to see who entered.
"Ah. Welcome." He remained seated.
One of Nascour's personal Peons entered the room, waiting for the door to slide shut before speaking. "Master Ein." He gave a brief, jerky bow. "I am to tell you that Master Nascour was successful in capturing the Hoenn intruders."
"Am I to take one of them for tests?" Ein asked, slightly eager. He was a scientist; he loved to experiment.
"Master Nascour assures you that one of them will be yours in the near future." The Peon paused. "He wishes to know more of the boy Shady."
"He seems to be doing just fine," Ein replied, "I was going to call him in here later and run some tests to see how his new Shadow-properties are holding up."
"Master Nascour looks forward to hearing the results of the tests. He wishes to remind you that not even a hint of this must get out. Evice has suspicions."
Ein's eyebrows rose slightly. "What kind of suspicions does he have, exactly?"
"I am not sure exactly, Master Ein. But Master Nascour was clear on this subject."
"So let's not give Evice reason to suspect further." Ein looked thoughtful.
"Yes, Master Ein." The Peon nodded stiffly. "If you will excuse me, I shall take my leave. I must go question Master Gonzap. Evice wishes to know how the newest recruit is doing now that he's back on Team Snagem, and Master Nascour wishes me to make a report."
"Wes?" Ein asked absently. "Oh, how I would love to use him..." Shady was only a clone; Wes was the real thing. There was no telling what kind of different reactions he could prod from the both of them. Just speculating about it made Ein's scientifically-orientated imagination almost get away from him.
"Master Nascour reminds you of the virtue of patience."
"Of course." Ein came out of thought abruptly. "Send word when I can have one of the Hoenn brats. I'd like another subject soon so I can compare results."
"Of course, Master Ein." The Peon bowed once more and then left.
Ein twisted in his chair, shutting his eyes briefly as he thought. As soon as he received permission to use either one of the Hoenn Trainers or Wes...
He snatched the speaker to the intercom of the lab. "Shady, get in here."
Rui traced her finger slowly across the floor of the cell, still left in shocked silence. It was all her fault—even though Wes had been trying to convince her otherwise—that May and Brenden had been captured by Nascour. Her eyes were slightly watery with unshed tears, and the silence in the room was heavy.
Wes had tried to tell her that it wasn't her fault at all, but after a very uncharacteristic lack of response from the normally optimistic red-head, he had given up, sensing that she was a bit beyond comforting at the moment and had quietly gone to the other end of their cell to give her time and space to think. She could see him slumped against the wall, eyes shut; but whether he was really asleep or not was another story.
She felt absolutely horrible that she had—unknowingly or not—lured May and Brenden into a trap. Now they were at the mercy of Nascour…who had no mercy to begin with. She was afraid for them, she was afraid for Wes, and she was afraid for herself. This already tangled mess of events was steadily getting worse.
"Wes?" Her voice sounded small and weak in the heavy silence.
One golden eye cracked open to look at her in response. He was listening.
"There's something I have to tell you about Shady." Rui watched the other eye open as well, blinking wearily. "It might sound strange at first, but I know what I saw and you have to believe me. Okay?" By the end of her request, she almost sounded desperate.
"I believe you, Rui." He had opened both eyes, and they were trained on her unblinkingly; golden wells of calm.
It was Rui's turn to take a deep breath. "Shady has been turned Shadow."
Dakim, Venus, and Miror B. crowded around Ein's counter, each of them eyeing the half-open package while trying to seem as if they weren't interested in it at all. Ein let them simmer like that for a few silent minutes. He needed a good two or three minutes of observing idiots in their natural state.
"What's in the package, Ein?" Venus asked at last, batting her eyelashes in what she must have considered a seductive way.
He had figured that she would be the first to ask. "The very tool we need in order to complete our mission for Master Evice," he answered easily. "I'm sure you've all heard rumors that Evice desires Wes to make a special Snag for him before carrying out full revenge."
Something about the way Ein had said "full revenge" made Miror B. give a tiny shudder, though he wasn't exactly sure why. He breezily passed it off as excitement, but he wasn't even close to fooling himself.
…Ein was getting to be downright creepy.
"The rumors are true." Ein produced a genuine Master Ball from the little package, causing Venus to giggle and clap her hands, and Dakim give a gruff snort. "Master Evice has generously gone through the trouble of purchasing a Master Ball for the Snag—just like the one Wes used to Snag the Shadow Tyrannitar."
"So we have our materials." Dakim's deep voice sounded as if he were in the process of puzzling things out. "The kid, the Snag Machine, and the Master Ball."
"All that's left is the who, what, when, and where!" Venus giggled. "Are we going to be able to watch Wes's last Snag? He's so cute when he gets all serious!"
No wonder you lost your Suicune to him so easily. "Master Evice has yet to inform us of the formal details, but I expect you all to be standing by." Ein gave Venus a brief distasteful look. "We can hand Wes the Master Ball, but that will not completely ensure victory. He must make a successful Snag no matter what, and it will be our job, as Admins, to make sure of that."
The three other Cipher Admins each nodded, looking serious.
"We'll meet again when Master Evice has disclosed the finer details of the Snag."
Ein watched them leave, shaking his head slightly. Fools. They were all fools.
"Ein must have figured out a way to put a person in that machine," Rui finished, watching Wes anxiously, "to turn them Shadow."
"It has to be fairly recent, though." Wes was beyond shock over anything by about now. Shady being turned Shadow like some kind of Pokemon was just another obstacle Cipher was throwing at him—it made no difference anymore. "Or you would have noticed it right away."
Rui nodded. From her viewpoint, Wes was taking all of this rather well. "Right. The first time I ever noticed was when he came in and made you go with him to Phenac. The aura of Shadow was very strong."
No wonder Shady's mood and temper had been nastier than ever lately. "That means that Ein is still playing around with this," Wes reasoned wearily. "He isn't exactly sure what the full-effects are yet…He's in the 'testing' stage of his sick little experiment."
"What could Cipher want with Shadow humans?" Rui asked nervously.
"Who knows?" Wes's voice took on a hint of sarcasm. "Probably another 'take over the world' scheme like last time."
"We won't let them get away with it, will we?" Rui looked worried.
He shook his head. "Of course not. But before we worry about the welfare of the world, I think we should concentrate on May and Brenden."
Rui nodded determinedly. "We've got to get Nascour to let them go."
"I could threaten to kill myself again," Wes answered absently, too tired to think straight. "Or something…"
"No," Rui replied at once; forcefully. "Don't you ever do that again."
Wes eyed her for a moment. "Scared that they'll take me up on the offer?"
She hesitated, before nodding. "It'd be stupid of you to die," she whispered, blue eyes huge.
To her surprise, Wes nodded wearily in agreement. "I guess it'd be rather narrow-minded."
Rui smiled faintly. "I'm certain we'll think of something."
Wes didn't answer. The future was too murky as of right now to be certain about anything.
Nascour sat behind his wide desk, drumming his fingers slowly on the surface, deep in thought. His Xatu perched silently on the edge of the desk still, its eyes blank and far-away; perhaps it was catching glimpses of the future. He wondered briefly what the future held for Cipher, but then he dismissed the thought.
One of his Peons entered the room, giving him a bow. "Master Nascour. We have finished going through the belongings of the Hoenn children."
Nascour eyed the Peon expressionlessly. "And?"
"They were not lying. The boy really is the Hoenn Champion and the girl is a Top Coordinator." The Peon placed two Trainer Cards on the desk, along with a handful of Pokeballs.
"Interesting." Nascour examined the cards briefly. "We can use them to our advantage, then."
"Yes sir."
"If the boy is the Champion of Hoenn, then it will cause great disrupt in that region if it comes out that he is a hostage."
"Shall I place a call to their police force?"
"No. We don't want more foreigners in Orre, and Cipher is not ready for the attention of the do-gooders." Nascour allowed a smirk to creep slowly across his face. "Find Maxie of Team Magma and Archie of Team Aqua, and tell them that we have…interesting…things to offer."
"Yes sir. And what of the girl?"
"She is meaningless." Nascour answered dismissively. "Ein wants another subject. Give her to Ein, and tell him to immediately turn her Shadow."
Something sharp was being jabbed into her arm, and she blinked awake groggily—it stung. She tried to push it away, but strong hands held her back, pinning her down uncomfortably and mercilessly.
She tried to say something; she tried to tell them to stop, but her mouth wouldn't work right for some reason. Strange.
She was being picked up now, and someone was carrying her. Where was she? Who was carrying her? She didn't know.
Suddenly she was dropped, but she was unable to cry out in pain when her shoulder hit the ground. Loud humming filled her ears— where was she?
May tried to sit up, and get her bearings, willing her vision to clear...
Everything clouded over with shadows and went dark.
Uh-oh. This isn't going to be pretty, now, is it?
This chapter was named as it is because if you look hard enough, no one is quite too sure about what might happen next.
...Fortunately for you all, I do. (sweat-drop) Really, I promise.
So when I uploaded this chapter, it randomly came in fragments and everything was messed up...I think I fixed it all, but please let me know if there's any part of this chapter that doesn't make sense or anything...it would be greatly appreciated; thanks much.
Hopefully I shall be back again soon. 8D