Hello readers! J and L here! Anyone else glad that summer is here, at least in the United States, and we all know what that means. School is almost out! That has both good and bad things thou. Good thing is that we will have more time for writing, since we won't have to sit at a desk for hours on end. Bad thing is that some of that time will be taken up by the summer jobs L and I will be getting. However, even with all that is going on, we should be able to keep releasing a chapter every Wednesday.

(Person's name POV) how the person who is talking sees things.

"Person talking"

[Telepathic speech]

'When a pokémon is talking in poké-speech'

{Anything written on paper, such as notes}

Disclaimer-neither of us have any claim on pokémon. Our claim is only on the characters we make up for this story.

Chapter 25

Phoenix

(Lilly's POV)

I woke up on my sleeping bag, and at first I couldn't remember how I got here, and then I remembered last night. A Gallade had tried to steal me away, and the last thing I remembered was Joey fighting with the Gallade.

'Hello there,' said a voice, and when I sat up I saw Joey sitting on his own sleeping bag, but next to him was a Gardevoir in a sky blue dress.

"How did you sleep?" Asked Joey.

[Ok, I guess,] I said, a little unsettled by the Gardevoir sitting next to Joey, [who is that?]

'I guess you haven't developed the skill to find family members,' said the Gardevoir.

"Lilly, this is Rose," said Joey, "your older sister."

[Wait, I don't understand,] I said, confused by what Joey just said, [my sister died, a long time ago. My mom told me that.]

'Well, mom was wrong,' said the Gardevoir as she held out her hand to show a picture of me, in my Ralts form, asleep in a crib. Where did she get this? 'I am not dead. I never died.'

"I think I will leave the two of you to get reacquainted," said Joey as he stood up and started towards the exit of the tent, "when the two of you are done, tell me. Once everything is done, we can get ready to go see your mom."

'So, how can I convince you I am your sister?' The Gardevoir, Rose, asked as Joey left.

'I'm not sure,' I said. What could I ask that only my family would know, 'tell me about our family.'

'Well, dad was always fun,' said Rose, 'whenever he wasn't working on a home improvement, or helping pokémon Rangers, he was playing with us. Hide and seek, tag, even fake battles where he would make sure not to hurt us and that we won. Unfortunately, you wouldn't of remembered any of this, seeing as we lose the memories of our first two years. By then, I was gone and you were their only child.'

'What about mom?' I asked, 'what can you tell me about her?'

'Well, mom was always so sweat and gentle,' replied Rose, tears starting to form in her eyes, 'she always made sure that we had what we needed, be it food, cloths, or just comfort us when we felt bad. You were always in her arms, pretending to be sad so she would sing her songs to you. Oh, how I miss those songs. So calming in nature, and everyone who heard them would stop to listen.'

'And then there was you,' added Rose, tears starting to roll down her face, 'my sweet baby sister. My best friend. The one who always followed me around, trying to do everything I did. The one who on her first birthday, ate a cake the size of herself, only afterwards to be found running around the house, more hyper then when you found, and drank, a bottle of soda pop that a passing trainer had given our parents as a gift. The one I cried for the most when I found out I might never see you again.'

Right as Rose said that, a rush of memories came flooding back to me. I saw myself following another Ralts, one a little older then me. We played games, danced, and just had fun. And the largest feeling that came over me was a feeling of love, love for the other Ralts.

'Rose,' I said as everything came back, 'is it really you?'

'Yes it is little sis,' said Rose, tears rolling down her face.

'It is you!' I cried as I launched myself off the sleeping bag, and embraced my big sister.

'Yes,' said Rose as we hugged for who knows how long, 'it is. I'm so glad to finally see you again.'

After Rose and I broke our embrace, we talked for what felt like hours. Everything from what we each had been doing since we got here, who we had made friends with, and most importantly, what we thought about the humans around us. Rose understood more then most, and I finally told her how I felt about Joey.

'Really, a human?' Rose said after I told her, 'well that's not surprising. He is handsome, and he has saved you multiple times. It only makes sense that you would develop feelings for him, but does is he developing them too?

'I don't know?' I admitted, 'but I'm afraid that if I tell him, he won't feel the same.'

'Well, the only way to know is to ask him,' replied Rose, 'and maybe he feels like you do, but the only way to know is to ask him.'

'But what if I tell him, and he says that he doesn't feel that way? What do I do then?'

'Your thinking to far ahead. First tell him, then figure the rest out. Don't make plans for something that might happen, see what does happen and react to it.'

.

'Wait, I don't understand,' I said, confused about something as Rose and I continued to talk, 'if you disappeared when I was so young, why did I just get sent through from our old world a few months ago? How long has this been going on?'

'Pokémon have been being sent to this world for over thirty years,' explained Rose, 'The darkness has been around for a while, longer then you or I have been alive. Your sixteen now, I'm twenty two, but this darkness has been around for almost thirty five years. It wasn't until two years after that we were able to escape to this world.'

"Um, girls," said Joey as he stuck his head through the tent flap, "I know I said I would leave the two of you to get reacquainted with each other, but we have a situation out here."

[What is it?] I asked as Rose and I came out of the tent, only to find the camp surrounded by Gallade, some glowing slightly as they prepared moves, others holding what looked like guns make of wood and glass, [oh.]

'What are all of you doing here?' Rose asked.

'I told then to come here,' said a voice and then a male Gardevoir, with what looked like a gold crown on his head, came out from behind the Gallade, 'so we would have no trouble arresting this group.'

'Why would you arrest us?' I asked, only to have a mind splitting headache accrue.

'You will only speak when spoken to,' said the Gardevoir, 'as for why you are being arrested, we have orders for trainer Joey's arrest, and anyone who travels with him.'

"Will the three of you please speak telepathically?" asked Joey from where he stood with two Gallade pointing guns at him, "I would like to know what is going on."

Right as Joey said that, the Gardevoir turned and fired a purple energy beam at Joey, sending him to his knees, [silence prisoner.]

[Joey!] I cried as I ran to Joey's side, only to have a Gallade grab me and hold me still, 'Let me go!'

'Silence,' said the Gallade as he smacked me, sending me to the ground.

'Gather the prisoners!' Called the Gardevoir, 'including the traitor! We will take them and their things back to the city.'

'No, let me go!' I cried as the Gallade that had a hold of me tried to pull me away from where Joey was laying on the ground, blood pooling from his noise.

'Stop struggling,' replied the Gallade as something sharp went into my neck, causing me to feel drowsy, and after a moment I passed out.

.

I woke with a mind splitting headache, and the sound of voices around me.

'Who do you think she is?' Asked a male voice.

'I don't know, but whatever she did must of been huge,' said a female voice, 'she is in here with us.'

'Who knows,' said a second male voice, 'but she is waking up, so why don't we ask her.'

I opened my eyes, to find two Kirlia and a Ralts standing over me, looking at me funny.

'Um, hello,' I said as I sat up, to find that we were in some type of cell, 'where am I?'

'You are in the detention center,' said the Ralts, 'so, what did you do?'

'I don't understand,' I said as my headache started to lessen, 'why am I here?'

'Why are we all here?' Asked the male Kirlia, 'we did something wrong. I was caught trying to steal one of the Gallade's guns from the armory.'

'I tried to get my hands on some of the royal Psychic Cloth,' added the female Kirlia, 'it is said to be the best, even compared to what we have.'

'All I did was stumble into the Royal garden,' said the Ralts, 'I was lost, and looking for directions.'

'So, tell us hot stuff,' said the male Kirlia, 'what did you do?'

'Well, first my name is Lilly, not hot stuff,' I said, 'and I didn't do anything. My trainer is being hunted by pokémon Rangers because he refused to stop being a trainer after his parents told him to. On this world, until you reach a curtain age, if your parents don't say they are fine with it, you can't become a trainer, no matter how many pokémon you have with you.'

'Wait, your the shiny Kirlia that travels with the fugitive trainer,' said the female Kirlia, shock running across her face, 'I heard about you.'

'Yeah, so have I,' added the male Ralts, 'it's said you fought alongside the legendary exploration team, team Charm. And that your mother is the only survivor of the darkness. Are those things true?'

'They are,' I answered, 'in fact, we were coming to this city so I could see my mother.'

'Hot and a rebel,' said the male Kirlia, a smile on his face, 'the perfect combo. If only we were alone.'

'I don't know what your trying to do, but stop,' I said, looking at the male Kirlia as he licked his lips, 'you aren't my type, and even if you were, all you have done so far is creep me out.'

'Ignore him,' said the female Kirlia before he could respond, 'all he cares about is how to get you to sleep with him. So it's better to ignore him.'

'Thanks,' I replied as I got up, 'what's your name?'

'I'm Tris,' said the female Kirlia, 'the Ralts is Dan, and Mr. Inappropriate is Jacob.'

'It's nice to meet you,' I said, shaking Tris' hand, and then Dan's.

'You too Lilly,' said Tris.

'It really is,' added Dan.

'Thanks,' I replied as an idea entered my head, 'now what can the two of you tell me about this cell.'

'Why do you ask?' Dan asked.

'Because I'm planning a jailbreak,' I answered, 'I'm not going to be stuck in here while who knows what is happening to Joey.'

.

(Joey's POV)

I woke up in a wooden chair, hands bound to the table in front of me. The room I was in was simple, no windows, a door, a large mirror across the table from me, and a second chair in between the table and the mirror. I had seen enough cop movies and tv show to know what this was, an interrogation room. Well, if the citizens of this city wanted to interrogate me, might as well put on a show for them.

"Pretty nice setup you have here," I said, even thou there wasn't anyone in the room, "but how about you send someone in here. I'd hate to think you all were so scared of me that even thou I am bound that you wouldn't come in and say hello."

Nothing happened, and I expected as much. The mirror across from me was most likely a one sided window, and that whoever they had watching me was gauging my reactions. Well, that wouldn't do much for them.

"This isn't the first interrogation room I've seen," I said, "but anyone who has seen a cop show would tell you that you need an interrogator, and I don't see one."

Still nothing happened. Ok, let's try this like a game show. That ought to get there attention.

"Interrogator number one, come on down!" I said, trying to sound like the guy from the price is right show, "you are the first contestant on the new hit game show, Interrogation!"

Still nothing happened. This was starting to get annoying, and my hands were starting to hurt. Maybe if I got my hands free then someone would come here.

I still had my watch, a simple metal analog model with a metal band, my blue paracord bracelet, and from the weight in my right boot, they had forgotten my emergency pocket knife. It was small, and of cheap construction, but it was still a blade that could cut the rope binds.

Right before I could get my leg up on the table thou, the door opened, and in came two Gallade and a pokémon Ranger.

"Trainer Joey," said the Ranger as he sat across from me, "you have made quite a name for yourself."

"Really?" I asked as the Ranger put a folder in front of me, which showed the picture of me and Lilly when we registered at the gym, "the Rangers keeping a file on me? I would think you would have better things to use your resources on."

"It is true that we could use our resources elsewhere," agreed the Ranger, "but if a trainer like yourself breaks the law and gets away with it, there could become chaos in the pokémon community."

"You mean if a trainer who is in the public eye," I corrected, remembering what a girl had told me in Augusta, "the Ash Ketchum of this world, breaking the laws for his pokémon."

"Exactly, you are viewed by all trainers as an example," agreed the Ranger, "if you can do it, others may think they can too. And if every trainer breaks the laws, then everything we have built will fall."

"Well, it seams like you have a problem," I said, "because while I never asked to be the Ash Ketchum of this world, I will use that if needed. What do you think the pokémon trainer community will think when they read in the news that Joey was forced by the Rangers to abandon his pokémon, and when he tried to refuse, then hunted him, his pokémon, and their friends down? You think that it was bad with the FOH, try fighting them, Rocket, Plasma, Galactic, and every rouge pokémon trainer that will stand beside me."

"You are right," said the Ranger, which confused me. He should be saying that nothing of the sort would happen, "and that is why we need you to surrender to us freely. Otherwise, it may be the same as if you never got the president to help with pokémon."

"I won't surrender," I replied, "I won't abandon my friends, and I won't let Lilly be sent to another trainer. And if the Rangers don't like that, then screw what they like."

"That's a shame," said the Ranger as he closed the folder and stood up, "if you surrendered, then you could have left here peacefully, but you chose otherwise. Take him away."

The two Gallade came over from where they had been standing in the corners, and each grabbed me by the shoulder, lifting me out of the chair.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked as the Ranger put a cloth sack over my head, so now I couldn't see where we were going.

"Since you won't surrender, you will be detained here," said the Ranger as my hands were freed from the table and I was pushed towards somewhere, "you and your friends. I hope you enjoy your stay thou, because this will be your home until further notice."

.

I was led down more hallways then I could count, and after what felt like forever in this sack, it was removed and my hands were freed, and I found myself in a cell with two Kirlias, a Ralts, and Lilly.

[Joey!] Called Lilly in my mind as she jumped off the small cot by the wall and ran over, [your ok!]

"Yes, I'm fine," I said as I squatted down so Lilly could hug me, which she did, "how about you?"

[Nothing has happened to me, say for me making friends,] said Lilly as she let go of my neck, [I would like you to meet Tris and Dan.]

[It's nice to meet you Joey,] said a female voice as one of the Kirlia shook my hand, [Lilly has said much about you.]

"I would take it you are Tris," I said as the male Ralts shook my hand, "and your Dan?"

[That's right sir,] said a small male voice, which I assumed was the Ralts.

"It's Joey, not sir," I replied as I looked at the other Kirlia, who was still sitting by the wall, "what about you. Who are you?"

[That's Jacob,] said Lilly, [he isn't happy with me. Apparently he was hitting on me, and when I shot him down he didn't like it.]

"Did he now?" I said, "Jacob! Stop mopping over there and come here, that is if you would like to leave this cell."

[Who do you think you are, telling me what to do,] growled Jacob as he slowly looked up at me.

"I think I'm the guy who can pick a lock," I replied as I took my pocket knife out of my boot, shocking everyone, "and has the tool to do it."

[Where did you get that?] Tris asked as I went over to the cell door and examined the locking mechanism.

"Your kind is smart," I replied, "but you guys don't check boots. I kept a knife in my boot in case I lost my other two."

[So you can get us out?] asked Lilly as I started to pick the lock.

"Not only can I, but I just did," I replied as the lock clicked and the cell door swung open, "everyone out."

.

Lilly, Tris and I left the cell and started looking for our friends. Dan said he had to get home, and Jacob just muttered something before teleporting away. He wasn't a very happy character, but I had bigger fish to fry. As soon as the three of us left, Tris showed us to where the guards kept their guns in the guard station, but there were no guards. Where were the guards? They should be watching the cells, someone could escape otherwise. And wouldn't that be a shame.

"This is a sweet gun," I said as I picked up a long barreled gun with a scope on the top, kinda like a sniper rifle "but where is all the ammo?"

[I don't know much about the guns the guards use,] said Tris, [but I think they don't need ammo. They run off of the gems inside on the gun.]

"Well that should make this easier," I replied as I slung the gun onto my back, and then grabbed a gun that kinda looked like a cross between an m16 and an ak47, "let's bring the heat, and rescue our friends."

[Oh yeah,] agreed Lilly as she grabbed a small gun for herself, [this will be fun.]

[You don't plan on just busting into every building and start shooting?] Tris asked, [do you?]

"Of course not," I said as a plan came together in my mind, "when we were captured, there was a Gardevoir with a gold crown on his head. Where could we find him?"

[Your gonna shoot the city leader?] asked Tris, so shocked she dropped the gun she was holding, which fired a short blue energy burst at a wall, taking out a baseball sized chunk.

"No, only threaten him," I corrected as I slowly picked up the dropped gun before it could discharge again, "and maybe shoot him in the leg, but otherwise no."

[I won't help you shoot the city leader,] said Tris as she sat down in a chair, [If I do, I will be sentenced to death. I don't want to die.]

Before I could say anything, Lilly started talking in pokémon speech. She said something, Tris answered, and from her shaking her head, Tris wasn't going to do anything more for us.

[She is too stubborn,] said Lilly quietly in my mind, [If we are gonna do as you plan, she won't help us.]

"Very well then," I said as I got down to look Tris straight in the face, "if you don't want to help us, fine. Then you should get yourself out of here as fast as possible, but before you do, will you at least show us the way out of this prison?"

[Fine,] said Tris as she got up out of the chair, [I'll steer you out of here, but then I'm gone. I won't be part of this.]

"That's all we ask," I said as we left the guard station. Time to get out of here.

.

(Normal POV)

'Fellow legendary and mythical pokémon, we have a grave situation,' said Arceus as he stood in front of all the other pokémon, 'the city of Phoenix is under attack!'

'How can it be under attack?' asked Zapdos, who stood in a nearby tree with his fellow legendary bird pokémon, 'we haven't received a distress signal.'

'The city is being blocked,' answered Mint as the green Celebi held up the gem she and her sister had found, 'these gems block large amounts of telepathy. The whole city could be calling for help, we wouldn't know it.'

'We must make a choice,' said Arceus as the rest of the gathered pokémon became unsettled, 'either we leave the Hidden Land to rescue the Phoenix and be exposed to the rest of humanity, or we can stay here and risk the distraction of the first pokémon city on this world.'

'If we lose the Phoenix, then thousands will die!' called Ho-oh, 'and we will need every willing body to fight the FOH.'

'But we have a no interference policy,' interjected Raikou, 'if any of us interfere, then there may be consequences of disastrous proportions.'

'We need a vote!' cried Cobalion, 'do we rescue Phoenix or not!'

'It is risky, no matter what we do,' warned Dialga, 'I have seen a great battle between pokémon, trainers, and Rangers against FOH soldiers. This may be the battle, or it may not be.'

'Lord Arceus, we have a situation,' said Mew as he flew over to Arceus from where he had been standing, 'I just received word that the FOH have started their assault. If we don't act, with the amount of men and weapons they have, Phoenix will fall in three days at most.'

'So we have our timeframe,' said Arceus as the other pokémon became to mutter to each other, 'We have a day to argue amongst ourselves, but then we must choose.'

'Isn't that human trainer there?' Asked Zekrom, 'What's his name, Joey? The one some of us think is the chosen one? If he is, can't he just save the city himself?'

'Joey is not old enough to have his powers, that is if he is the chosen one,' said Latias, 'not until he reaches what the humans call eighteen years old will they develop. Until then, he is but a simple human.'

'I say we let Joey have a chance to fix this,' said Heatran, 'if he is the chosen one, then even without his powers he should be able to do the impossible. And if he can't fix it in a timely fashion, then we go in.'

'And risk the destruction of the city?' asked Regirock, 'that is, unwise.'

'How about this, those of us who want to go, do,' suggested Cresselia, 'and those who don't want to, don't. That way, only some of us would be seen, and in a way we are still keeping the no interference policy.'

'That seems like a good idea,' agreed Arceus, 'so those who want to go rescue Phoenix, head for the Rainbow Stoneship. The rest of you, go to the viewing pool, to watch how things go. And if necessary, to help if things still go bad.'

.

(Joey's POV)

Tris showed us the way out of the prison, and when we got outside we found out why there were no guards in the prison. They were all dead.

There had been a battle, that much was clear. There were slain Gardevoir and Gallade everywhere, and even Kirlia and Ralts. Blood was also everywhere, along with a few human bodies as well. It would appear that the humans had appeared and just started shooting everyone and everything in sight.

"Oh my," I muttered as I checked the pulse of one of the Gallade with a large hole in his chest that near the door. He was dead, but I might as well check. One may still be alive.

[What happened,] muttered Lilly as she took the hand of a dead Ralts, [this one wasn't even three years old.]

"It was a slaughter," I said as I turned to look at Tris, who was frozen in terror, "Tris, check to see if anyone near here is alive. If they are, get them and yourself inside the prison, and then blow up the door. Keep yourself inside, got it?"

[Yeah, sure,] said Tris as she went over and started checking the pluses of pokémon nearby.

"Lilly, stay with her," I said as I cocked the gun, so it was ready to fire if needed, "I'm gonna go see if anyone near here can help."

[No, I'm coming with you,] said Lilly, [from now on, where you go, I go. We aren't gonna be separated again.]

"I guess I can't argue with you," I said, shaking my head. When Lilly made up her mind, her mind was made up, "just stay behind me. Got it? Otherwise I will bind you to a chair, and go off on my own to keep you safe."

[Ok then,] said Lilly, [let's get a move on and go find someone to tell us what happened here.]

.

[Look, over there!] Cried Lilly as we turned the corner to the third block we had walked since we left the prison, [I think that guy is still alive!]

"I see him," I replied as I ran over to a wounded Gallade, to find its eyes open, but full of pain, "it's ok. I'm here to help."

There was no response from the Gallade, but I then saw that he was clutching a gunshot wound in his abdomen, and there was lots of blood coming from the wound.

"Let me take a look at that," I said, pointing at the wound, "I can help you."

The Gallade nodded, and then slowly let go of the wound. I took out my pocket knife to take a look at the wound, and I saw that it was ugly. There were multiple entry wounds, and from the amount of blood that was coming out, internal bleeding.

"This is going to hurt for a moment," I warned, "but I will need to cut you open to remove the bullets. Then I can try to heal you. Do you understand?"

The Gallade nodded, but I could tell that he was starting to loose consciousness. I would have to work fast if I was to save him.

"Lilly, pass me some cloth," I said as I started an incision above the wound, "and that gun you have."

[Here,] Lilly said as she passed me some of the Psychic Cloth from her dress, [why do you need the gun?]

"I will need to close the wound somehow," I said as I started looking for the bullets, careful not to damage anything, "and for me to do that, I will need your gun."

[Here,] replied Lilly as she gave me the gun, [why can't I just heal him with Healing Hand?]

"I read about a guy who had a misfire with a shotgun," I explained, still trying to work as I did, "back before we were on the run. This guy had a psychic pokémon, who tried to heal his trainer. Unfortunately, bullet wounds can't be healed by a pokémon, yes! Here is the little devil!"

[What is that?] Lilly asked as I pulled a odd shape of metal out of the Gallade.

"That is what happens to a bullet when it impacts a living creature," I said as I put the bullet in my pocket. This was only one thou, and from the wound, there should be six, but there was too much blood for me to do anymore. If I was to save this Gallade, I would need someone who knows there anatomy.

I quickly took Lilly's small gun, and started pounding on the end of the barrel with a large nearby rock. I had seen a movie, where a guy had been injured, and another guy had beat the end of a laser gun so he could heat up a piece of metal. So that was what I was doing.

"This is gonna hurt," I said as I fired the tight beam at my knife, till the metal blade was red hot, "but it's either this or death."

[What are you doing?] Muttered a slow voice in my head. The wounded Gallade.

"Saving your life," I replied as I picked up the knife with the cloth, which made it so I wouldn't burn my hand off, "brace yourself."

I put the blade against the wound, and immediately the Gallade tensed up from the pain. Luckily the pain quickly faded as the nerves in the skin were burned away, but that didn't lessen the sound his flesh was making, similar to when you throw meat onto a pan that had been preheated. I pulled the knife away after a moment, which broke as soon as I put it down, to find the wound closed up, but we weren't out of the woods yet. I had only stoped the external bleeding, but he had lots of wounds under the surface.

"I've done all I can," I said as I picked up the Gallade and draped him over my shoulders, "now we need to find you a doctor."

[Will he be alright?] Lilly asked as we started off to find a doctor.

"If we can find a doctor, maybe," I said as the sound of gun fire cracked through the air. Why did I have a bad feeling this was a bad time to be in this city?

Right as I said that, I felt the mind of the Gallade enter my mind, and then I saw a map of the city, our location on the map, and a building that was lit up, [go here.]

"Is that where we can get you help?" I asked, only to get no response, "I'll take that as a yes."

[What did he say?] Asked Lilly. She must not of seen what I had seen.

"He showed me a map of the city," I explained, "now we know where to go."

.

(Lilly's POV)

[Look!] I cried as we turned a corner and saw two Gardevoir standing outside the building Joey had seen, [people!]

"Good," replied Joey as a Gardevoir noticed us, and pointed a gun towards us, "maybe they can help us."

'Halt!' Called one of the Gardevoir as they pointed there guns at us, 'or we will open fire!'

'We have a wounded Gallade!' I called, 'he needs immediate medical attention!'

"Can one of you two help me with this guy?" Asked Joey, referring to the Gallade who was draped over his shoulders.

[I'll come to help,] said a Gardevoir as he put his gun away, 'cover me.'

'On it,' replied the other Gardevoir as he kept hit gun pointed at us.

"I was able to remove a bullet from him, but he still has some in him," explained Joey as the Gardevoir helped the Gallade off his shoulders, "everyone else was dead."

[Follow us,] said the Gardevoir as he took the Gallade, and then turned to the other guard, 'take them to the leader, I will take this guy to the medics.'

'On it,' said the guard as he open the door to the building, [this way.]

We entered the building, which except for the little light that was coming through the boarded up windows, was almost pitch black.

"Would it of killed you to turn on a light?" Joey asked as we were led down the hallway to a large room with thirty some odd people there, and we saw why the lights were out. Most of them were injured in some way or another, and while there were a few that looked uninjured, most looked like they had been beat up, shot, stabbed, or some combination of the three.

'What do we have here?' asked a Gallade near the door as we walked in.

'These two saved one of our soldiers,' explained the Gardevoir, 'I'm taking them to the leader.'

'I'll have to take their weapons,' said the Gallade, [please hand over all your weapons.]

"Here," said Joey as he took off the gun from his back and passed it and his other gun to the Gallade, "I suggest you send somebody over to the prison thou. There might be a few survivors, and I know there are more weapons."

[I'll take that under advisement,] replied the Gallade, who then turned to me, 'you should go over to where the rest of the Kirlia are. You should be safe there.'

'I'm going with Joey,' I said, 'but thanks for the offer.'

'Very well,' replied the Gallade, 'you can go.'

'This way,' said the Gardevoir as he led us through the roof, and as he did I could feel the eyes of everyone watching us. Whoever had hurt these people had also made them weary of strangers, and that was bad.

.

'Sir, I have someone for you,' said the Gardevoir as he led us to a smaller room where two Gallade and the Gardevoir with the gold crown stood around a large table.

'I told you not to disturb us,' said the Gardevoir as he turned towards us, [You!]

"That's right, me," said Joey as he started towards the Gardevoir, "looks like you have a predicament on your hands."

[How did you get out of your cell?] asked the Gardevoir as the one who had led us here left.

"Your race is smart, but not about boots," explain Joey, "I had a knife in my boot, and I used it to pick the lock."

[Either way, you are still our prisoners,] said the Gardevoir as he pointed at Joey, 'arrest him, and make sure to remove his boots.'

'No!' I cried as the two Gallade advanced on Joey, but before they could get to him, an explosion went off from the wall behind them that sent them to the ground. I then saw a man, holding large black guns and wearing camouflage patterned clothing walk in.

"Death to pokémon!" Cried the man as he started firing his gun at a Gallade, who had started to draw a weapon, and then turned to fire at Joey!

'No!' I cried as the gun open fire, but Joey never moved, even thou the gun eventually ran out of bullets from firing.

"What the," started the man, it before he could finish, Joey lunged and grabbed the gun the fallen Gallade had started to grab, and then pulled the trigger. Time slowed down, and I watched as a bolt of energy launched from the gun, and blew a hole in the man's forehead.

[How?] Stammered the Gardevoir as he and the Gallade that hadn't been fired on stood up slowly, [How are you not dead?]

"I'm guessing it would have something to do with this," said Joey as he reached down his hoodie and pulled out the silver amulet he had, which was now glowing a bright green, "I got it from Arceus."

[You have met Lord Arceus?] I asked, completely shocked. How could Joey have met our great Lord, [when?]

"You remember that night I told you the man I was talking with was asking for directions, well that was him," explained Joey, "I guess he saw what was going to happen, and wanted to prevent it."

[Amazing,] muttered the Gardevoir, as he took off his crown, [it is said that Lord Arceus only gives a gift to a person when they are destined to do great things. This crown was given to us by him, almost five thousand years ago.]

[You must be the one the prophets told of,] said the Gallade, [the one who will save the city from a great evil.]

"What do you mean?" Asked Joey.

[When our city was first built twenty years ago, it was told that a great danger would come,] explained the Gardevoir, [and that only one chosen by Arceus could save it.]

Why do I have a bad feeling about this? First, Joey and Lilly are arrested, then they escape from prison to find the citizens of Phoenix dead, or at least some of them. Then, after Joey takes a wounded Gallade to get help, we find out that Joey is somehow part of some prophecy about the city. Is this part of that "chosen one" business, we don't know. Are we going to see Rose again, or find Lilly's mom for that matter, we don't know. Did Arceus know that this would happen, and gave Joey that amulet for protection, we don't know. What we do know is that the next few chapters should be very good, not to toot our own horn.

But until those chapters are uploaded, we will all just have to ponder these questions. So until then, this is J and L saying, Bye!