A/N: Whoot! On a Roll now!
Did you guys like that bit with the Founders? Good, because it's what made me stumble to a stop. It was originally going to be the beginning of Twenty-Seven, but I couldn't think of how to write it, and then I ranted about it at my friend HiddenByFaeries and BAM! Instant realization and inspiration. So, kudos to her! (Applauds)
R&R!
Wizard: (Claps) You helps bring us back!
Rage: As well as the random people who kept PMing Author and asking when she was going to update…
Wizard: Yes, and claps for them! (Applauds)
Rage: (Smacks her) Stop that! You're giving innocents the clap! (Snickers)
Mary: What's that?
Wizard & Rage: … Grown-up stuff.
Mary: Ah.
A/N2: Also, HiddenByFaeries, your character arrives in this chapter, as you hoped in that PM when you helped me figure out what to write next!
THANK YOU AGAIN!
"Talking"
"Pokémon Talking"
Thinking
"PokéDex Talking"
"PokéGaze Talking"
"Egg-Reader Info"
Chapter Twenty-Nine
"What do you mean Cyndie's missing?" Harry said, staring at Ric blankly in surprise as they finished giving the Pokémon their lunch outside in the bright sunshine. Ric looked panic, and Lyn was searching with Marley and Web already, along with Ric's Pokémon.
"I mean," He said, "she's gone! I left her in my backpack because she was sleeping, and when I came to check on her half and hour later, she wasn't there anymore! She wasn't anywhere in the room, and I searched everywhere in the house that she could have gone!" He was wringing his hands, and looking like he was about to have a panic attack.
"Okay, just calm down," Harry soothed. "We'll get everyone to look, and we'll find her in no time, okay? She's probably hiding somewhere asleep or something right now." Ric took a few deep breaths and nodded, shoulders slumping slightly.
"I'm worried," he said; Harry patted his shoulder reassuringly.
"Don't be," he said calmly. "Though, I fully expect you're going to ignore that bit of advice and worry yourself gray prematurely," he said dryly, making his friend give a weary chuckle. Harry turned and stalked over to where the Pokémon were still all gathered, climbing up onto a sunbathing rock.
"Listen up!" He shouted out to the crowd; forty Pokémon (not counting his own) looked towards him. "We have an emergency. A baby Cyndaquil, named Cyndie, has gone missing. We need everyone's help in trying to find her and making sure she is safe, alright? I want everyone to make a team of two or three, and start looking! Only twelve Pokémon inside the house, the rest of you out here, understand? It's much more dangerous out here then inside, and I don't want everyone focused in one area." There were murmurs of worry and the Pokémon shifted around, getting into groups, usually with friends or Pokémon they knew. Harry glared at Alysha and Pirate, until they moved away from each other and grouped up with other Pokémon, the Pidgeotto pairing up with a Raticate named Huey, and Pirate paired up with a pair of Sentrets named Nicole and Louis, who were siblings from two twin Trainers. Donner had paired up with Eli the Eevee and Ferdinand.
"Everyone look for half-an-hour," Harry ordered, stepping forward to stand beside a strange looking Pokémon called Dunsparce, who hadn't moved to get himself a partner. He gently picked the snakish-looking Pokémon up to cradle in his arms, making him give a steady hum, small wings flapping lightly. "Once the half-an-hour is up, if you haven't found something, come back here. We don't want to have to go searching for more Pokémon, understand?" He stared sternly out into the crowd, and quickly received nods of agreement. "Alright everyone, move out! Come on, Dunsparce, you're with me." He carried the Pokémon out of the backyard and through the house, where, already, Pokémon and the other Trickster (Lyn and Thad) were rushing around, calling Cyndie's name.
Harry carried the Dunsparce out front, and set him on the ground. They began to slowly move around, calling Cyndie's name and peering through the bushes and flowers in front of the fence. Just in case the baby Cyndaquil had not only gotten outside, but had somehow gotten out through some small hole under the fence. (A/N: Hey, babies are resourceful little buggers! It could happen!)
"Um, are you okay?" a voice asked; Harry looked up to see a girl standing a few feet away, frowning worriedly at him. She had dark red hair, with lilac streaks in it, that was a bit wavy. Her eyes were a mix between blue-gray and blue-green (or was it gray-green and grey-blue? Oh well.) and were hidden slightly behind black rectangular glasses, that were just a tad to large to be considered totally stylish (or maybe Harry was just channeling his Giovanni-senses…). She was about five-foot, with a bit of a curve to her, though still in good shape from what obviously looked like a lot of traveling. She looked about seventeen or eighteen, and was wearing black semi-skinny jeans, held in place by two belts (one black with silver studs, the other dark purple with similar studs), a teal tank-top, and black tennis shoes. Her right ear was pierced five times, Harry noticed (three times in the lobe, twice in the cartilage, and he wondered briefly which one hurt worse). She was also wearing a silver-chain necklace, which had three different kinds of key pendants on them (two normal, though in silver and gold, and one copper skeleton key).
"I'm fine," Harry replied, belatedly remembering she had asked a question, and smiling at her. "My friends and I are volunteering at this Daycare Center for the day, but my friend Ric's baby Cyndaquil Cyndie wondered off, so everyone's trying to find her. Me and this Dunsparce are looking out here to see if she pulled a Houdini and managed to escape." The girl smiled slightly and nodded, reaching up with he left hand to push some hair from her face, and the silver bangles on her wrist jingled pleasantly.
"I'll help," she told him, smiling. "I was going to stop by and pick up my Bellossom, Anthea, anyways, so this is like killing two birds with one stone, right?" She smiled. "My name's Melantha Darach, by the way," she said, offering him her right hand, which he took, his Giovanni-trained eye catching on the silver ring with a green stone imbedded in it on her middle finger. "Pokémon sketch artist, at your service."
"Charmed," he said charmingly, smiling. "Harry Morsinger. Perfume Master and Pokémon Trainer, at yours." Her eyes widened slightly at his name, but she didn't otherwise react, and released his hand when he released her. Harry continued to smile, a little relieved. Fans were great, and he'd never really turn the less-stalkerish-ones away, but fame got tiring after a little while. He was only an eleven-year-old boy, after all. Who wanted strangers climbing all over you all the time, anyways? Weirdos, that's who!
"So," Melantha said, pointing towards the opposite direction, "how about I take my Pokémon and look over there, while you and your buddy Dunsparce stay keep looking over here?"
"Sounds good," Harry agreed. "More ground covered faster that way, too." They nodded at one another, and the girl pulled out two pokeballs.
"Calypso, Yasahiro, come on out!" she called, throwing the balls; an Umbreon and Espeon appeared, tossing their heads at the exact same times.
"Yo," the Espeon said.
"What's shakin'?" the Umbreon asked, cocking her head with a curious gleam in her red eyes as she looked Harry over.
"Meet my Pokémon," Melantha said. "That's Calypso," she pointed at the Umbreon, who bobbed her head and winked. "And that's Yasahiro," she said, pointing at the Espeon, who yawned lazily. "They're twins." Harry smiled, amused.
"Harry Morsinger," he introduced himself. "And my friend, the Daycare Pokémon Dunsparce, who's helping me right now." Dunsparce waved the rattle-like drill on its tail, and hummed.
"Pleasure," he said, idly. Melantha quickly explained the situation to her Pokémon and, after a few more words to Harry, who told her about the time-limit given to the Daycare Pokémon; they split up, calling Cyndie's name and searching the bushes once more.
Half-an-hour Later…
"Did anyone find her?" Ric asked anxiously of the Pokémon who'd gathered in the backyard; all he received were apologetic shakes of the heads. No one had found her yet. He dragged a hand roughly through his hair; stress straining his face as his sister took his free hand and held it tightly, trying to soothe him. Harry suddenly came walking out of the Daycare from where he was searching the front, and with him came a strange girl none of them knew.
"She wasn't up front," he said apologetically, shoving his hands in his pockets. Ric let out a sound that was close to that of a moan, low and pitiful and agonized, and slumped further. If Harry hadn't known better, he would have sworn the boy had lost weight in the thirty minutes since he'd last seen him. Maybe he should go inside and get some air… he thought, then paused, blinking.
"Did anyone check the ventilation shaft?" he asked; they all stared at him. "Eli got stuck in it earlier today. Maybe Cyndie crawled inside and is stuck now…?" Eyes lighting up with hope, Ric lead the way inside they Daycare at a sprint, heading for the ventilation shaft and all but ripping the door open.
"Cyndie?" He called loudly, voice echoing strangely down the metal tunnel. "Cyndie, are you down there?" There was silence.
"Cyndaquil!" echoed out at them, sounding faint and scared and far away. Ric cried out with a mix of relief and despair. They had found her, but she was too far in for them to see her, and the shaft was too narrow for a human to crawl through. They'd have to send a Pokémon, but that could mean two Pokémon getting stuck down there…
"Let me get her," Harry told his friend soothingly, smiling kindly. "Don't worry, Ric," he reminded and, with a glow of green, transformed into Mischief.
"Whoa!" Melantha cried, gaping at him in shock, before whipping out a dark blue sketchbook, flipping to a blank page somewhere in the middle, and beginning to sketch, her three Pokémon (Anthea the Bellossom having joined her at first sight of her Trainer) all sweat-dropping lightly. Harry twirled his tail in a wave at the redheaded sketch artist, and then proceeded to glide down into the shaft, using his powers to make a small glowing ball of green light.
"Careful, Harry!" Lyn called down after him as his friends, Wilma, and Melantha all gathered around the small rectangle, trying to watch him. He waved his tail and called up an easy "Mew!" before he had to bend and take a turn, following it along carefully.
"Cyndie," he called gently. "Cyndie, it's uncle Harry. It's okay sweetie, we're going to get you out." He followed the steadily growing cries around several more turns, until he reached another drop. Peering over the edge, he found the baby Cyndaquil not three feet from him, sitting on top of a thick grill, over a fan. That would have been horrible, he thought with a burst of horror, sliding over the edge and picking the shivering baby up.
"It's okay, honey," he cooed at her lovingly. "Uncle Harry's gotcha!" With that, he began the careful way back towards the others, baby in tow, though he had to make several backtracks due to wrong turns and dead-ends. When they lifted up out of the vent, Cyndie leaped from his arms into Ric's, trilling and crying loudly for her Papa as she called him, her first word, and Harry shifted back, smiling slightly as he smacked cobwebs and dust from his hair with Lyn's help as they watched Ric coo and cuddle and fuss over his baby, leaving the happy and relieved Pokémon-and-people-filled room to hide in a back room to be alone with her to recuperate from their scare.
"That was horrible," Lyn declared; Harry nodded.
"Wilma, I strongly suggest a baby-knob for this door," Harry told the Daycare Lady. "And a sign that warns about it, and about the dangers of getting stuck and not found. That should prevent more instances like this one." The old woman nodded, and went to find Henry (who stood outside with any random eggs they found and handed them out to complete strangers. Sometimes people sent them eggs, just so the poor man had something to do, apparently). Harry turned to Melantha.
"I hope you understand when I ask you not to tell everybody about my ability," he said quietly, seriously, and the sketch artist nodded quickly.
"Tell you what," she said, smiling. "I've already gotten inspired for at least seven new drawings in the last ten minutes. So we'll make a deal. You let me travel around with your group, and I won't go and blab about your transformation abilities." Thad and Lyn stared at her, dumbfounded.
"That's blackmail," Harry said, and slowly smiled. "I like it. Welcome to the Team Trickster, Melantha Darach." They shook hands.
"It's not a cult, is it?" The older girl asked with a straight face. "Because that's just not healthy." Harry face-faulted, before jumping back to his feet.
"We are not a cult!" He cried, insulted. "We are a Team of people who help Pokémon and people who help them or need assistance! Our motto is 'anyone can play the game', because we believe that no matter how big or small,"
"Short or tall," Lyn chimed in,
"Smart or not," Thad added,
"Thin or fat," Harry continued, "everyone has a right to free will, happiness, and to live life peacefully in general. We are not," here he glared at her, and she smiled sheepishly, "a cult. We are a Team." Lyn and Thad nodded behind him firmly. "And you have just joined our ranks as the first artist. You'll be able to help in different circles then we will, and spread the word through your art about what we do and what we're trying to stop." Melantha held up her hands in a gesture for peace.
"Okay, okay," she said, smiling. "I'm totally in," she agreed, and Harry brightened, smiling.
"Fantastic," he said, nodding and relaxing. "Now, we're on our way to Goldenrod next to fight Whitney for the Plain Badge." The redhead shook her head, hair flying up slightly.
"Nope, not me!" she said cheerfully. "I'll be on the sidelines, filming the battle scenes for sketching later, though! And cheering you all on, of course." Harry grinned and nodded.
"Then, my friend, we have a deal," he said cheerfully, then clapped his hands. "Right," he said, "lets get all of these Pokémon outside and cleaned up. Someone has to cleanup the mud they and we tracked in as well…" Thad sighed and went to get a mop, while Harry and the two girls headed into the backyard, herding all of the Pokémon, to give them all some much-deserved baths.
A new Trickster had joined the Team, and who knows what adventure next awaits our young heroes!
A/N: Well, I know, but you all have to read to find out more! HiddenByFaeries, I hope you like you character! Melantha turned out rather well, I thought…
R&R peoples!
