Chapter 35

The group of four humans and five human Pokémon assembled outside of the warehouse that Shinobi had witnessed Lionel entering. They were eager and determined to track down Lionel and rescue their companions. They were prepared to do whatever it took and they felt ready for anything.

All of them, except for Maple. She was quiet and withdrawn. In fact, she hadn't made a sound since she had come to find Mark in Kim's hotel room. Mark found it unsettling, even disturbing to see her like this. Lionel would have to answer for that as well.

"Where did you say the switch was?" Silver asked. Rather than tell him, Shinobi ran his black-gloved hand along the railing and felt for the switch himself. Even though he had watched Lionel do it, it still took a few seconds for him to find it. Once he did, the panel next to the door flipped around and the keypad appeared.

Silver ascended the steps and peered at the panel. Kim and Volt followed him while the others stayed back. "You didn't see the code?" Silver asked his ninja.

Shinobi closed his eyes and shook his head, "my apologies. I should've been more alert."

"It's not your fault," Silver assured him as he considered what to do.

"Okay, Volt," Kim slapped the Raichu-boy on the back, "override it."

"What the hell do you mean 'override it'?" Volt snapped, "Do I look like a hacker to you?" His tail thrashed wildly and sparks arced across his cheeks in his indignation.

"I don't know," Kim snapped right back, "shock it, or something. Maybe you can fry the circuits and make the door open."

"Are you stupid?"

Ignoring the building argument, Lily meekly stepped forward and studied the panel.

"What do you think?" Silver asked his trainer.

"I need my laptop," Lily explained, "but it shouldn't be too difficult," she turned to her other human Pokémon, "Shinobi. Go back to the room and get my laptop. Hurry." Shinobi nodded, and then became a blur, moving towards the hotel.

"Well, that I didn't see coming," Volt grinned at Lily, dropping his argument with Kim.

"What?" Lily asked.

"You're a hacker?" Volt was flabbergasted, "sorry, but you don't look like the type."

"I'm sorry," Lily hung her head. She always felt embarrassed when other people found out that she was good with computers. Nobody seemed to think that she should be. Just because she liked Pokémon and computers, it didn't make her any less of a girl.

"Hey, I'm not complaining," Volt put up his hands, "it's just different, y'know?"

"Yes, I know," Lily admitted, but the look in her eyes didn't brighten at all.

"Why don't we just break it down?" Tsunami pointed out the obvious alternative, "We know why we're here. Let's just bust some heads already."

"You want the entire base to know we're here?" Silver argued, "We don't know what's in there. If we can do it quietly, we should."

"They probably know we're here already, anyway," Tsunami scoffed, "no point in sitting around doing nothing."

"Nah," Volt shook his head, "I already took care of that." Volt pointed over their heads to the ruined camera. The main body of it had been obliterated, but the small nub at the end still rotated; a sightless eye still searching for danger.

"Alright, fine," the human Swampert gritted his teeth in frustration, "I just can't stand waiting while Fernelia's in there…"

Next to him, Eric was chewing on his thumbnail. It was a habit that he had given up after Tsunami and Fernelia had turned human, but it was back again. The normally mature and composed ten-year-old boy was starting to come apart without having Fernelia nearby. Tsunami needed action. Not just for himself, but for Eric, as well.

Mark and Maple stood on the fringes of the group. Mark had never been good at assuming an assertive role in groups like these. He found it easy to become a follower, without really meaning to, and let other people make the decisions. Although, he supposed that Silver, Tsunami, Lily and Eric had much more at stake than he did. Mark had volunteered to help, but it was their friends and family that were on the line here.

He was also worried about Maple. She remained distant and he couldn't think of anything to say. It was taking her such a long time to recover from Lionel's attack on her. Mark had thought that she had been building up strength and confidence through training and battling, but it seemed like it didn't amount to anything after this latest attack. Maybe that was the real problem. She was scared that what she normally saw as strength was failing her. Did training really mean anything if it couldn't protect her from her enemies?

"Hey, it's okay," Mark put a hand on her shoulder, "you were tough enough to get away. And we're all together now, we'll keep you safe." He thought about taking her hand, but he was still confused about what that might lead to. In the end, he decided against it.

"Thank you," Maple whispered. But she didn't smile, like Mark was hoping she would.

Shinobi returned just a few minutes later with a laptop case slung over his shoulder. He presented it to Lily by kneeling on the ground and holding it out with both hands. Lily smiled gratefully and took it.

She unzipped it and began removing various cords and cables before taking out the laptop itself. She carefully examined the panel and each of her cords before selecting one. She powered up the laptop and connected it to a small slot in the base of the panel. She sat Indian-style on the ground as she focused on the laptop screen. A faint smile spread across her face as she set to work, typing rapidly before letting a pre-made program do the rest of the work.

"Geez, do you guys do this often?" Volt sneered.

"Hush," Lily whispered, calmly. Just a few minutes later, a satisfying click came from the door. "We're in," Lily announced cheerfully.

Silver pulled open the door and cautiously peered inside. The light of the sun coming through the door was the only help he had to see into the pitch darkness, but it was enough. The inside of the warehouse was exactly what the outside suggested it would look like. Row after row of cardboard boxes and boating equipment filled the building. It was just a storage station, a warehouse where equipment was stored until it needed to be shipped.

It was just a warehouse, like any other.

"Sinister, isn't it?" Kim smirked.

Nevertheless, Silver led all of them inside. He found a light switch near the door that activated a few lights. The massive space became only dimly lit, but it was better than the near-total darkness they had before. Mark was the last in and he gently closed the door without letting it latch. If they needed to make a quick retreat, Lily wouldn't have time to re-hack the door.

"Yeah, I'm looking for the evil stuff, and I'm not seeing it," Volt shook his head, frustrated. Another dead-end. They were wasting their time.

"There," Shinobi's sharp eyes caught something out of place and he darted over to it. The rapid flutter of his wings kicked up a dust cloud as he darted towards the center of the building. He ran his hand along the ground, tracing the edges of what appeared to be a hidden floor panel.

"Heheh," Silver chuckled, coming up to kneel next to Shinobi, "this is why I like you." He helped the human Ninjask trace out the rest of the panel. The outside rectangle was roughly five feet wide and twelve feet long. There was a split down the center, indicating that it was two separate panels that came together. Silver tapped on one of them and discovered it was metal. It was merely painted to look like the concrete floor around it.

"There must be a switch nearby," Kim deduced and began checking along the nearby walls. She found a circuit breaker with at least twenty different switches in it. She started flipping them at random. Most of them seemed to do nothing, or just added more lights to the room.

"Uhh…maybe this?" Volt pressed a large red button next to the panel and a metallic grinding sound began emanating from the center panels.

"Smart ass," Kim scowled, but then she smiled and went to stand with the others.

A few minutes later, the two panels swung outward and a service elevator rose into place. They might be a little uncomfortable, but all nine of them would be able to fit onto the elevator.

Grinning, Silver turned to look back at the others, "you guys coming?"

"Wait," Kim suddenly called out, "just a second." She removed a Pokéball that she had attached at her hip and motioned for them all to wait.

If they really were going to go through with this, they would need all the help they could get. She already felt guilty for leaving Sprinkle behind, but Volt wasn't the only human Pokémon she had with her.

Cotton, the small, timid Jumpluff-girl appeared in front of her with a flash of light. She stood just five feet high and she was petite in every sense of the word. She wore a small, strapless, sky-blue dress that stopped around mid-thigh. Her hair which was colored a similar shade of blue was thick and silky and reached down to the middle of her back. Her eyes were big and scared and never seemed to stop moving. Atop her head and on each of her wrists, a short stem topped with a large cotton-ball like flower extended, showing what she really was.

"Cotton," Kim said, kneeling down on the ground to get a bit closer to eye-level with her. Her voice was suddenly more commanding than Mark had ever heard before, "look at me."

"Uh, o-okay," it took a lot of effort for the small girl to force herself to calm down and focus on Kim. Even then, her eyes still quivered as if she was afraid of what might creep into her vision while she talked to Kim.

"Now, I know you're scared," Cotton nodded violently and everyone else in the warehouse knew it, too, "but we might need you soon."

"I don't wanna," Cotton shook her head, "can I go back in?"

"No, Cotton," Kim inhaled and exhaled deeply, "you can't. I'm serious. Our lives could depend on this."

Cotton gave a small squeak as the weight of this statement settled on her shoulders.

"Ugh…" Kim fought to control herself, "you're a Pokémon! If we need you to fight, then you should fight. Why do we have to do this every time?"

Cotton squeaked again, in response.

"Hey, Cotton," Volt knelt down next to Kim, his voice uncharacteristically gentle, "we won't need you to do much. Not with me around," his grin had a profound steadying effect on Cotton, "but we'll probably need to stay quiet and hidden. That's where you come in."

The small Jumpluff-girl paused and peered at Volt.

"That's right," Volt nodded, "if you can use Sleep Powder on some people then we might not have to fight at all. Do you think you can help with that?"

She nodded.

"Okay," Volt gently patted her head, avoiding the giant flower, "you can go back in until we need you, then." Cotton smiled and then promptly vanished. Volt turned to Kim who was wordlessly staring at the unoccupied space where Cotton had been standing, "you gotta be more gentle with her."

"Go to hell," Kim spat. Abruptly, she stood up and looked around at the others, "well? Let's get going."

For a moment, they all stared at her.

Mark couldn't believe it. At first he was even confused about what to make of what he had just seen. Cotton clearly wasn't a fighter. She lacked the attitude and the will to do it. She wanted to hide in her Pokéball and never fight. Was Kim forcing her to fight against her will?

Not that long ago Mark had wondered if it was cruel to make human Pokémon fight. Most of the ones that he had come across enjoyed fighting. It had been difficult to accept that Maple was one of them. But Cotton wasn't.

Had she hated it when she was a Jumpluff? Or did the instinct fade away once she evolved? Either way, she hated it now.

In fact, she seemed afraid of almost everything. Did that mean that Kim was being cruel in forcing her to do something she didn't want to? Or was it the right thing to do to get Cotton to come out and build up confidence?

Mark didn't know the answers to those questions and he didn't have time to consider them. He would have to add it to the growing list of Things to Think about Later.

"Well," shaking his head, Silver was the first to move, "let's go, then." He stepped onto the service elevator.

An instant later, Shinobi was on it with him. The others followed their lead. When they were all on, Silver pressed a green button on the elevator panel. The elevator lurched a bit before the metallic grinding started again and they descended down below the warehouse.

"Damn, how far down does this thing go?" Volt asked no one in particular. The elevator had been moving steadily downward for at least a full minute. It was slow and needed some maintenance, but the elevator had carried them at least fifty feet below the surface and it still hadn't stopped.

"Are you okay, Maple?" Mark tried again to get the old Maple back. He tried a more direct approach this time. They were running out of time and he needed her. Just like Kim and Volt had persuaded Cotton to fight, he needed to get Maple ready. They would need all the help they could get. And Maple was likely to be one of the strongest in the group.

"Huh?" Maple hadn't been paying attention, "oh, I'm okay."

"Are you sure?" Mark asked. Where was the real Maple?

"Yes, I'm sure," Maple nodded. She didn't really know how to explain to Mark what she was feeling. At first, it had been fear and panic. Lionel had nearly caught her and she felt like a fool for letting him get that close. She didn't like Lionel from the moment she had met him and yet she had let her guard down. That was stupid and she hated herself for letting it happen. She knew better than that.

She knew how to explain that. Like Mark had already said, what mattered was that she had gotten away. But what bothered her was what had happened after that. She had run to Mark and what had happened while she fled? Fernelia had been caught. Just for wanting to help out and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. If Maple had been stronger, if she had fought back against Lionel and not run for help, then maybe Fernelia never would've been dragged into this.

Maple looked over at Eric and Tsunami. Tsunami was gritting his teeth and wringing his hands. He would probably tear Lionel limb from limb if he saw him. Eric was the opposite. He was becoming even more withdrawn than Maple. He had always been so calm and grown-up and now he was shaking like a leaf in a tornado. Maple desperately wanted to apologize, but she didn't think it would do much good. They had to get Fernelia back. It was the only way to repair their broken family.

She stopped to think about what their family was. Tsunami and Fernelia had assumed the role of Eric's parents, but Maple knew that that wasn't the whole truth. If they were his parents now, what had happened to his real ones?

The words "parents" and "family" left a sinking feeling in the pit of Maple's stomach when she thought about it. She used to know what those words meant, but evolving had changed that. All she had was Mark and even the two of them fought a lot. She tried to remember what having a family had felt like, but she couldn't.

But what about Eric himself? He was incredibly grown-up for being just ten years old. She remembered how Ian was thirteen. He was three years older than Eric, and yet it seemed like the reverse would make more sense. What had happened to make Eric grow up so fast?

She wanted to ask all of these questions and apologize to them. They had been so good to her. They had been kind, understanding and accepting, especially Fernelia. The least she could do was try to return their kindness. She couldn't apologize until they had rescued Fernelia. Once they accomplished that, then Maple felt like she could be herself again.

The elevator finally ground to a halt in a large rectangular room with a set of double-doors on the opposite side. Two guards, both human, stood watch outside. But they weren't paying attention. They had no reason to believe that whoever was coming down the elevator didn't belong there.

Shinobi was a blur. Before the guards could even look up, he was on top of them. He knocked the head of the first one against the wall, just hard enough to knock the man unconscious. The second had a split second to react, but he hesitated and wasted the moment. Shinobi was on top of him in the next instant. The human Ninjask knocked his head into the ground and the second of the guards was taken care of.

"Sweet Arceus," Volt swore, "we don't even need Sleep Powder!"

"That's not going to work every time," Silver admitted, reluctantly. Still, Shinobi's quick-thinking and ruthless tactics had probably saved them all. But Silver wasn't worried about getting in. He was worried about getting out.

"Everybody ready?" he asked. One by one, each member of the group said that they were. Maple was the last. But Mark was glad to see some of that old battle-lust shining in her eyes.

AN: lots going on in this chapter. Shinobi's a beast, Lily's a nerd, and Kim may be too much of a bitch for her own good.

I don't know if you can tell, but I've never been much a computer nerd. I'm a nerd in a lot of other ways, but for some reason I never put much effort into computers and hacking and all that. I can use the internet and that's been good enough for me, so far. Although, every now and then I'm tempted to try using Linux...

As always, thanks for reading!