Alex's POV

So...this guy...he's the reason that girl and Pikachu's so abused? And she ran away at that. And now he's butting his nose in my chance at going back home. Damn...

The man in question, Philip Sing, was right in front of me, organizing his files as he got ready to leave the office for the night. During so, he was trying his best to answer my questions as vaguely as possible. He confirmed everything Tasha told us about him yesterday as true, sans anything regarding his business with Pokemon, but with him, he was more specific.

"...and when I say renovation, I mean sweeping the entire town for any flaws and replacing them entirely. The whole point of this project is to attract as many people back to Eglington. If you want to know more, check the pamphlets on the way out. We also a website with specifics if you need them. Learn from what you have before consulting the source directly please. Excuse me" he said chastely, and I got out of his way for the door.

Damn. I'm all this is good and all, but I already know everything down to the letter from the site and the pamphlets! I need to know more about him personally...especially about what he knows about his daughter, and her Pikachu...

Well, if that's the case, you can always beat the information out. Youarean ex-Aura Guardian, and you're tougher than any human can be. Also you can just kill him and...

No, no! Absolutely not! No way can I do that, especially in this situation! I got a name as a government official, and even if I do that with no witnesses or evidence, it would attract a lot of unnecessary attention to me and Nio, and that was the last thing I needed.

I decided to be more aggressive about this, and took a leap. "I'm sorry to bother you about something so trivial as the project, but...I heard about your daughter. She's missing right?"

He gave no reaction, but he said something that caught me off-guard. "Don't think of this project as trivial, Mr. Arlon. This project is just the beginning. It only matters if things go exactly as planned. As for my daughter," his voice took a lighter turn. "While I may be looking for her, she can come home whenever she wants to."

I was lucky he was facing the door instead of me, because my jaws opened in surprise at the answer. "What do you mean? Don't you care about her?"

"Of course I do." He said while marching to the door, me right behind. "I know my daughter's in this town, somewhere, and she knows I'm here as well. But I'm sure she's getting tired of all this running away. Young girls like her never learn until they've suffered the cruel world for what it is at least once. Every time I tried to grab a hold of her, she just finds new ways to escape. I'm just waiting for that moment when the whole world crashes on her, and then, she'll be begging to come back."

I couldn't keep my mouth closed as I heard his row. I kept close to him, digesting every word that came, but that just made my stomach sink deep and deeper. That was low. A very low blow to get her back. Chasing her down while she's suffering in homelessness just to get away from him. But she's a tough girl, and with her assisting her, she won't be caving in for long.

But I still couldn't believe what lengths he would do to get his hands on her, and especially her Pikachu.

"Well, then, sorry to bother you. But just out of curiosity, what phase are you at, in the rehabilitation project?" I asked him, trying to sound casual as possible.

He stopped walking and turned around, his eyes glaring. Crap...now I tipped him off. "Why do you want to know such trivial things, Mr. Arlon?" I bit my tongue in my mouth as he redirected my words back at me. I had to think of something fast!

"Well, it's just that, I uh...have a friend who lived there, and he was almost killed in school by some thugs. I just want to know if Eglington's going to make a change for the better, you know?" I said weakly. I hoped that this got me some sympathy points from him (it's a legitimate reason, isn't it?), otherwise I'm screwed!

"I understand. Have you been through such a childhood as him? Is that why you befriended such a person?" He questioned me, turning around and continuing to walk. This time, I didn't have to make up an answer, and I could explain without having his stare on me.

"Not really. Mine was more family-related. John's was just his school. But we face similar problems. I was threatened with death too." I said, remembering how my parents, how they wouldn't even look at me, much less feed me at regular meal times, just because I was...born differently than others. And that was the least of my problems.

More than that! Your birth parents were killed by White Crucifixion when they gave birth to you, didn't they? Because you were a monster, and your parents harboured such a monster!

At this point I wanted to run out of the building, but that would only attract attention. I just increase the speed of my pace a little and made it to the door before Sing. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Sing." I said monotonously without looking back.

He didn't say "You're welcome", which was good for me, who was hurrying to get back home. I walked back home quickly as I could, striding me feet instead of running to keep my composure.

Oh, don't be so grumpy!The voice in my head-no, my soul-laughed at me. But what the hell was that? Letting a high-priority target get away like that! You could have killed him, taken his information by force, and get him out of the equation, and that would stop any noses sniffing out Nio's portal. That's the most important thing.

Why won't you accept my help? Everything would be so much easier-

"Shut up!" I said aloud, even though it was unnecessary. The voice originated from my soul, so there was no need, but I had to get my point across. Luckily, it was late at night, so no one was around looking at me talking to myself. "You're the reason why I'm a monster, why I've been so hated! But when I get back home, you won't be a problem to me anymore." I rubbed my shoulder, where Morris managed to get a clean shot through my shoulder at the mall. While it was due to this voice in my soul that I healed so quickly, it was the reason why I was so horrified back home.

Yeah right!The voice kept egging on. Arceus is the only one would can remove me from you, my host, and I don't think he would keep his end of the deal if you don't kill Nio soon.

My feet stopped midway through a step, and I thought the idea over. That was the deal. I kill Nio, and Arceus gets rid of this...this monster in me. But I still need to secure way a back home. And if this portal actually works, then I need to know more about it.

"Besides...I need to send Light back home, at least."

Ahh, but isn't he your only friend? He's been with you ever since, taking care of you, being your first Pokemon, hell, the only one who really ever loved you, and keepingmein check. You sure that's a good idea? What would you do after all this is over?

"I do." and I continued walking. "He's getting too old for battling with, and when he dies, I want to bury him back home with the other Lucario that worked with Aura Guardians. He deserves that much of an honour, after all he's done for me."

"And after all this, I'm taking you to the grave with me, Virus." I promised it, balling my hands in my pockets as I walked through the laughter in my head.

Sounds like a plan. Can't wait to see how it turns out!

...

Maria's POV

I couldn't believe it at first, but after Tasha talked it over and explained herself to John's parents, it was understandable, her situation. But I didn't like it one bit. Apparently, her father's been sending more and more people to look for her, including himself. And with the number of eyes watching the people outside, it's become impossible for her to live alone in peace outside, and she decided to take shelter.

"Why don't you go live with Nio or Alex?" I asked her.

"No." She shook hers. "If he finds out about this, he'll just kick me out to save himself."

"That's ridiculous." John said. "Mr. Arlon's a nice man, he's helping to keep all of this Pokemon business hushed up."

"That's not happening." Tasha countered with surprising volume, just below a scream. "Didn't you see all those videos surfing the web? Every one of them's real! Even if no one talks about it, they still know! Anyways, I'm going off-topic. Nio's a no-go, because I do notwant some old guy taking pity on me and treating me like a kid!" she said with a pout.

"You are a kid." John pointed out, a slick smirk on his face.

"Shut up!"

John's parents, though, were a lot harder to convince. They wanted a legitimate reason to why she's visiting us. She must have been an expert on lying, because she simply said that her parents were having a big fight and ran away, and was looking for a place to stay for the night.

"Oh, you poor girl." Helen cooed, looking as if she was ready to hug her right then. "Of course you can stay the night."

"But only for today. As soon as you wake up, I'm expecting you to leave." Chris barked next to her.

Helen looked scandalous. "Oh honey, please! She's just staying for a night, don't be so hard on her!"

And that was that, and while Chris and Helen were finishing dinner and arguing amongst themselves about Tasha's stay here, we made it upstairs to John's and did thought of the obvious:

"Who's sleeping on the bed?" I asked in a deadpan voice. This would have been a great time for a laugh, but I held back because my brain was too busy thinking. If John was as polite as he was to me, than naturally, he would offer the bed to Tasha and he would sleep on the floor. But if Tasha decided to get assertive with John, than somehow wouldn't she get John to sleep with her on the same bed?

No way! No no no no no! John's not that type of guy! At least...I don'tthink he is. But who the hell knows what she's been doing with John ever since I left the 2 of them in the room to find Nio and Alex! ...Now that I think about it, I could have just called them! Oh wait, John has them in his PokeNav, not me, and I was so angry at her that I just flew out the door! Damn, I'm dumb...

While I was busy planting myself on the table to get a hold of myself, I heard John speak. "You sleep on the bed. I'll sleep downstairs."

Both Tasha and I yelped out "Hah?" at this. "What's wrong? I'm not saying that I thought we were going to sleep on the same bed or anything, but...why the couch? Why don't you just sleep on the floor? You can just lay down some blankets and sleep here."

"Okay, first off, no, I'm not laying down clean blankets on a permanently dirty floor like mine" I gave a loud "Ugh" in disgust when I heard that. Thankfully, I don't think I ever touched the floor. "and second, the floor's too hard, so I won't be able to sleep. The couch downstairs on the other hand, is perfect."

"Oh." Tasha said with a disheartened tone. "Uh, okay then."

"Now excuse me, but I'll be taking this." John said happily, and took the blanket on the bed. "There's more in the closet there." He said, pointing to the door on the other side of the room, exited the room and closed the door behind him.

Leaving Tasha and I alone.

Wait, what I am thinking! It shouldn't be like this! I should be together with John, while that girl should be downstairs instead! No way am I letting this go!

"Soooo, I guess we're sleeping together?" Tasha asked reluctantly.

I was in no emotional state to answer her gently. "Sleeping? Yes. Together? No. Just sleep by yourself. I'm going to talk with John about this."

And with any further words spoken, I phased through the door and left Tasha alone.

...

"John, you there?" I whispered into the dimly lit living room. It was night time, and I could see fine in the dark, so making my way through was easy. John was on the orange couch, lying down wrapped in the blanket, but even with the dark outside and lights turned off, he had his eyes open.

"Wh-what? Who's there?" He asked alertly, as if expecting an attack, and shook his head everywhere. Then I realized-he can't see me in the dark.

"John, calm down, it's me." With that, he stopped shaking around and took a deep sigh.

"Don't scare me like that." I hovered over to him, and I started to feel the chill of the night for once, and shivered mid-air. John must have noticed this despite the dark, because he opened the blanket for me to land comfortably between it and...his chest.

Oh no...it's just like my first night here. Us, in the same bed (in this case, couch) together, wrapped in a warm blanket...oh, it's making my whole body burn up!

"Maria. You still awake?" John whispered to me, just enough for me to make out his voice. I snapped back to reality, and looked up into his face. It was surprisingly tense, definitely not how someone ready to fall asleep.

"Yeah. What's up?" I responded with equal volume, following his lead.

"It's about Tasha." I would have groaned at this, but something about how he said it caught my attention. "What do you think she's reallyhere for?"

"What? You think she's here for something else?"

"Yes. Think about it. We didn't see her for days, and now all of a sudden, she comes in front of our door asking to stay here, even when she's fine about living alone. Isn't there something strange with that?" John urged on, making me see the point of it all.

"Well, it does sound a bit weird, and her excuses were weak as hell, but what do you think she's up to?"

"That's what I asked you." John gently snickered, making his chest shake and sending me up and down into the blanket, making me blush a little at my repetition. "But seriously speaking, keep an eye on her. She attacked you, Jess, and Mitsune, and she almost attacked me during her stay here last time. Sorry, but I'm having a hard time trusting her after all that."

I chuckled to myself at his timid nature. "Can you get any more paranoid? You sound like she's going to slit your throat in your sleep."

"Oh great, thanks for that visual." John remarked. He looked around, refusing to get up on the couch. "You planning on sleeping here, or would you keep an eye out in the attic?"

This caught me off-guard. Was he actually letting me sleep with him again? I've never heard him voluntarily ask that before. I don't know if he's been noticing me much, from the time at the hospital to the day we met Nio at the playground, but...maybe?

No, no, no! Don't think like that! Don't be silly! He's just being a really good guy. Besides, I'm Pokemon, and he's human. It could never work.

"You better go upstairs, as you clearly can't make a decision on your own." John interrupted my thought. I opened my mouth to object, but nothing came out. I couldn't believe it! Here was the perfect chance for me to sleep with John (that just sounds dirty, for some reason, now that I think about it), and I let it slip by!

"Turn yourself invisible on your way up. Don't make any noise, in case you wake her up."

I kept on opening my mouth to retort, but I gave up at the loss of words and sighed. "Okay..." And with that, I got out of the blanket and turned transparent.

I went up the stairs and phased through the door. The lights were off, and I saw a lump on the bed covered in a red blanket, so I guessed Tasha was asleep already covered head to toe.

Must have been a while since she slept on a bed. Be grateful for this, at least, Tasha.

I was careful not to make a sound like John said when I flew up to my attic. I saw my impromptu mattress, and remembered that it was just a blanket folded onto itself to act as one. I looked around and noticed for the first time just how empty it was, and how lonely I felt. I wanted John to sleep up her with me, just once, but how can he sleep in such conditions? He's not a Pokemon like me, and he wouldn't want to sleep in such cramped spaces.

Hmm...maybe I should get a few cushions in here to liven it up a bit. An air freshener in the corners too, and maybe even lamp. It's getting pretty depressing, living in such conditions every day. I should ask for some tomorrow after Tasha leaves.

I landed on the blanket, and buried myself in its many folds, letting the furry cloth rub me all over. That was enough to get me drowsy, and I smiled at the incoming sleep falling over me.

This is nice.

But...I really wish I could have slept with him instead...

...

Bmp.

Hmm...hm? What was that?

My question was answered for me when I heard the creaking of a door. Unfortunately, I was too tired from waking up to care much. I looked up at the window and saw white light entering from it.

Oh, the moon, that's nice...

Wait, what? The moon, which means it's still night time, which means no one should be up yet, which means...

I gave a quiet groan and I stood up in my blanket. I shook my head like a dog before realizing what was going on-Tasha.

Ugh, what's she doing up so late? Gone to the bathroom or something (which, when I found out what it was for, I couldn't believe it! Humans dothat?)

I got off the blanket and phased through the attic door, and the first thing I noticed was that the bed was empty. I saw the door open, and I could see fine in the dark, but oddly, the room wasn't filled with the bathroom lights like I expected. The bathroom was right across room, so I should see light if Tasha went to the bathroom, so what was going on?

Suddenly, I heard the short but abrupt CRIK! of wood outside, making my breath stop halfway. My first thought was a burglar, and he was making sure that he didn't forget anything on the second floor. At this point, with the dark, weird noises, and the general creepy atmosphere, I was ready to hide back in the attic.

But wait! What about John! He's still downstairs!

The thought of a robber in the same house with John made me even more terrified of the sounds, but I had to check on whoever it was. If it was a burglar, than I could easily take him out with Confuse Ray and alert the rest of the family.

Come on, Maria! Show them what you're made of! It's been too long since your last fight! Time the save the day...or night, in this case.

Nervously, I turned myself invisible I went out of the room, and what I saw explained it.

What you would see as a black silhouette of a person, I saw clearly as day Tasha, at the foot of the stairs. I hovered silently over to her, but not to close so that she could somehow sense me. She was on her tippy-toes, trying her best not to make a sound. Her face, however, showed a look not of fear, but a strange determination.

What is she up to?

Tasha continued to prowl under the dark, and dug her hands into her hoodie's pockets, pulling out a small flashlight and a small Ziploc bag, filled with what looked like green glitter, or sequins. She held the flashlight in her left hand, and turned it on. She drifted across the floor and stopped in front of the door, turning the flashlight on and off.

After a few more blinking of blinking lights, she pointed the flashlight onto the living room. The circle of light traced across the couch, until it shone onto John's face (which I thought I could see a trail of saliva across his cheek. Tasha covering her mouth with her hands helped.)She then put the flashlight on a table nearby and opened the plastic bag. The green powder glittered a bit, even with the only source of light pointing in the opposite direction. She dipped her hand into it and extracted a pinch of the powder. She then sprinkled it directly onto John's face. I could see his face twitch a little, and Tasha smiled at whatever she just did.

What the hell are you, a witch? Turning him into a frog or something?

Her smile, however, was quickly displaced by fear when John gave a moderate, but abrupt "ATCHOO!"

Tasha took a step back in alarm, and she ended up tripping over one of the table legs, keeping a surprising grip on the plastic bag. I would have done the same except I don't have legs, so I ended up flying into the air in my shock. Luckily, I stopped myself just in time to prevent crashing into the ceiling. I took a few gasps to calm my systems, and looked down at John and Tasha.

Tasha, instead of falling flat on her hindquarters like I expected, grabbed onto the table in the nick of time, saving herself from making a scene. However, as she regained her footing, I heard groaning from the couch and looked at John rubbing his face of the powder.

"Ugh...the hell's this? Make-up?" I heard him groan out. But not for long, Tasha hurried over and without warning and dumped the whole contents of the bag onto his face. With the excessive amount of powder on him, he took a moment to spit out most of which got in his mouth and rub it out of his eyes. He gasped for air but as fast as he emptied his mouth of the green, he fell limp.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. John was...dead?

My whole body was shaking at the revelation, but my focus was not on John's still body, but Tasha.

"You...you..." I managed to whisper, but before I let out the loudest scream I could, Tasha ran out of the room.

What the...where the hell's she going now!

All caution gone, Tasha unlocked the front door and swung it open not caring about the sound of it creaking. Behind the door was a man in his 20s, wearing a black suit and horned glasses. He had blond hair reaching his neck and ears, but it was the figure behind that grabbed most of my attention. At first I thought it was yellow, but then I noticed that its chest was covered in a sort of brown armor, and about a metre high. It had 3 fingers on each spindly hand, one of them holding a spoon. A long yellow mustache was on his rather vulpine face below a pink star on his forehead. What surprised me the most, however, was the huge thick tail with a brown stripe on it, about the same size, but wider, as his main body.

The appearance alone was enough to send a sprawling as far as I could to the back of the room.

"Right. I saw your flashing out the door. So, the boy's ready?" the blond man said in a gruff voice. He had fatigue in his eyes and slurred his words from exhaustion. Both figures stepped in the house and looked around in the darkness.

"Yeah, he's asleep" Tasha told them, using the flashlight to guide them. I quickly hid behind the far end of the couch, hoping they wouldn't see me, even with my invisibily.

"How much of that Sleep Powder did you use, girl?" I heard a deep but clear voice ask, and I figured it was the Kadabra.

"Sorry." Tasha replied, regrettably. "I used a pinch of it each on his parents so they won't wake up, so thought a pinch would be enough, but then he sneezed, and I got scared, so I just dumped all of it on him."

"Silly girl. What a waste." The Kadabra tutted.

"Hey, come on. She got her job done, and the powder's non-toxic. Now let's go, Kilik. Telekinesis." With those words, I saw a green light emanating from above the couch, and slowly, John was levitating in mid-air enveloped in the light!

Oh shit! This isnotgood!

"Let's get out of here, come on." I heard the man order the Kadabra.

"Do not boss me around like that, Jobe." I heard footsteps across the room, and John's frozen body in a planking position hovered across the room, his blanket slipping off, while I just froze at the sight slack-jawed.

"A shame you can't teleport all of us back home. But even your teleporting skills have its limits." I heard Tasha talk over Kilik.

"I am still practicing. But 2 people, including myself, is the limit so far."

What the fuck!? They're kidnapping John!

"Hey, you told us that the kid had a Misdreavus. Where is she?" The man named Jobe asked Tasha.

I peeped above the couch and saw Tasha hesitating a bit, her hands behind her back. "She's upstairs, in the attic. Using the Sleep Powder on her would only wake her up, so I left her alone. If you're wondering about his Pokemon wristwatch thingy, then I couldn't find it in his room, that's for sure."

"Damn." Kilik cursed. "All the more reason to get out of here quicker."

And with that, I saw them sneak out of the room in silence, not muttering another word, while John's petrified body followed behind.

...

At this point, I was truly horrified at what just happened. Tasha drugged John, and she let a stranger and a Kadabra in to kidnap him! What the hell was going on! I felt weak at the thought of what was going to happen to him. With that phrase in mind, my brain was flooded with all kinds of possibilities, none of them pretty. Tortured with knives, fire, strapped to a chair helpless, threatened with death...

No! Oh no please no! Not that! Like that'll ever happen! He's already gone through so much as a kid! Why's he got to suffer like that again!

I didn't realize that tears were falling down when a small voice popped in my head.

What are you doing? Crying? If you have time to cry, then go after them!

I gasped at the harshness of the words I conceived. The voice was enough to stop my weeping, but I was hiccupping on my sobs instead this time. But, but, but-

No buts! Either call for help, or go after them yourself! You saw what they did; you think they're going to stop with just this! You need to save him!

I stopped hiccupping, and with a minute of panting, I managed to calm myself enough to talk straight. "But...but what can I do? That Kadabra's so powerful I could feel him across the room. What am I supposed to do!"

You're supposed to protect John. You know this better than anyone.

I took a deep breath, and another.

"You're right." I finally said after a moment. I floated back up in the air. "It's risky, but John's in danger, and as his Pokemon, I need to protect him, don't I?"

Don't you?

"Yeah!" I reaffirmed myself. If I had hands, I would have balled them into fists and punched in the air. Suddenly, I could hear the faint noise of a car engine revving up outside.

Damn it! They're making a run for it! Hurry!

Immediately, I flew out of the room and out the door (closing it after exiting-those guys didn't it behind them). I turned myself invisible again, and instantly I saw the source of the noises. A long black truck, light shining down from a streetlight like a sign from the heavens, was vibrating as its engine was warming up. Behind the window, although I could barely make it out from the distance, were Tasha, and that stranger.

So, no turning back now. You better be ready to risk your life if you're going to save John. My conscience warned me with a playful tone. I smiled devilishly in agreement as I dashed across the road to phase through the car.

I know, but first, I need to know where this car's going, so I can contact everyone else when I get the chance.

Besides, I want to deal with Tasha for kidnapping John first.

...

Hot damn!

Did I get your attention? Good.

Sorry I couldn't post a new chapter in a couple weeks, but damn, I surprised myself with this one! Tasha planning a kidnapping for John, and Maria hot on their tails! I'm going to have a field day trying to come up with an explanation to top this in the next chapter!

In terms of progress to the story, I like to think that I'm about 3/5 complete. I already have a sequel going underway in my imagination, and it's turning out great! Won't tell you about it though until this fic's finished!

While I think this chapter's a step in the right direction, I can't help but feel that it's too rushed. Tasha appearing out of nowhere to kidnap John? Wasn't expecting that, were you? Neither was I, but I had to leave a cliffhanger for you readers, because with high school exams coming up at the end of the month, I need to study my ass offawayfrom the computer.

So please, during my absence, write as many reviews as you can! For the last chapter, I only got one (thank you anonymous reviewe!), and I want more. Want to guess how the ending's going to go? Write it! Thought of an OC to fit this story? Go ahead! I encourage all of you to send me your ideas, and maybe you can see them in future updates!

Thank you for all who read this bottom section! I hope you enjoyed the story so far, and as to the next chapter...expect Maria to start kicking some ass!

(edited: March 30, 2013)