Chapter 33
Void's POV
Walking towards the guard post, I looked around, walking next to the disguised Christa and Abby. Turning to look at Abby, I could see she was stretching her senses out, trying to pinpoint if Team Lotus was nearby. "Any sign of them?" I asked, and she frowned.
"I can sense them a bit, they still seem to be watching the city." She said, and I nodded.
"What about up ahead? Is there anyone we should look out for on the other side of the post?" Christa asked, and Abby focused up ahead for a few seconds before shaking her head.
"Nobody that I could sense. A few people walking through the woods, but nobody bad as far as I can tell." She said, and Christa looked relieved. I nodded, continuing to look around, not all that sure.
"Let's still stay on guard. Like Abby said before, there are ways to hide your aura, and I doubt Team Lotus would give up that easy." I said, and Christa frowned, but continued to stay quiet as we walked. Looking around Abby sighed.
"You know, I can't wait for Team Lotus to just go away. It's beautiful out here, and it sucks not being able to enjoy it without the fear of running into them again." She said, and I nodded.
"Yeah, well hopefully we can once we get to Eterna City, now come on, let's go, we have about a day's walk until we get there, and I want to put as much distance between us and Hearthome City as possible for the moment." I said, and Abby nodded, falling behind us, beginning to stretch her senses out again, watching for anyone behind us.
?'s POV
The sun continued to slowly scale across the sky, the citizens of Hearthome City walking around, going about their business. As the hours ticked by, a man crouching in the window of an abandoned building sighed, pulling a pair of binoculars away from his eyes, before pulling out a walkie talkie of sorts. Taking a breath, he pressed a button. "Admin Eris, this is Head Grunt, reporting in! There has been no sign of the kid harboring the Mew, or any of his pokemon around Hearthome City. What would you have us do, Ma'am?" The man said, before releasing the button. A few seconds later, the walkie talkie crackled to life, a long drawn out sigh coming through.
"What did I tell you all about wasting my time! You call only when you have something to report, got it?" She snapped, and the grunt gulped.
"Y-yes ma'am!" He said, and Admin Eris sighed again.
"Besides wasting my time, do you have anything of interest to report?" She asked, her voice having a bit of an edge to it.
"Three people did exit from the pokécenter earlier..." The grunt said.
"And?"
"Well, we've been watching the pokécenter, and these same people hadn't entered." He said, and Admin Eris's line remained silent for a bit. "Ma'am?" He asked, checking his walkie talkie. After a minute, it crackled back to life.
"So... Let me get this straight... You saw three individuals who didn't enter, exit? And you didn't send anyone to keep track of them?!"
"N-no Ma'am..." The grunt stammered.
"Well do it! Did you forget that our target is Mew?! A pokemon who has the ability to disguise itself as something or someone else? Would it be such a stretch for something with that ability to disguise itself and anyone else?!" Admin Eris yelled, and the grunt fumbled the radio, before giving a determined nod.
"R-right away Ma'am!" He said, before switching frequencies, relaying the new information.
Christa's POV
Having walked for most of the day, we continued on down the path towards Eterna City, everyone undisguised and released from their pokeballs. Looking up at the sky, Void sighed, taking off his bag. "Looks like we're going to have to set up camp for now, it's starting to get late." He said, and I looked at him.
"How far are we from the city? Could we make it if we continued on?" I asked, and he shook his head.
"We could, but it's going to get pretty dark out soon, it would be better if we stopped for the night. Plus, we need our energy for Eterna City." He said, and I sighed.
"I'd rather put as much room between us and Hearthome as soon as we can, but I get where you're coming from. I'll go find us a clearing we can set up in for the night." I said, and Void nodded, before speaking up.
"Why don't you take Abby with you?" He asked, and I felt a twinge of annoyance, before turning back, looking him in the eyes.
"What, do you think I can't handle myself? I'm pretty sure if anything happened, I still have enough energy left to protect myself." I said, and he quickly shook his head.
"T-that's not it, I just thought that two pairs of eyes would make things a bit easier." He said, and I looked at him for a few seconds before sighing.
"Alright, well come on." I said, looking at Abby, before turning to head off into the woods. Abby quickly followed, while Void watched us for a few seconds, before beginning to look through his bag again.
"You know, Void's trying his best in this situation we've been placed in." Abby said, once we were out of view and earshot.
"What?" I asked, focusing on finding a clearing, only giving her a sideways look.
"I've never really been on a journey, so I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure they don't normally have people stalking you like this. He's been trying to think of ways to keep us, and especially you, safe on the fly. Whatever he's done that's upset you, I'm positive he didn't mean it." She said, looking at me, and I remained silent for a bit, before sighing and stopping.
"I get that, that's not really what has me like this. I just... I don't get why Lady Arceus sent me to you all. I mean, she told me to protect you guys, but you wouldn't even be of any interest to Team Lotus if it wasn't for me being here. All of this is getting me frustrated, and part of me wonders... Would you guys be better off if I just left? You probably wouldn't even have to deal with Team Lotus anymore." I said, and Abby froze.
"Oh come on, don't talk like that. Even if you were right, which you aren't, we know about them, and that is enough to keep them coming after us. But even if that wasn't the case, you may not realize, but you're a part of our little family, and we'd all miss you if you left." She said, and I gave her a small smile.
"Thanks for that, maybe you're right... Anyways, come on, let's keep looking for a clearing." I said, and Abby smiled, before helping me look. Pretty soon, we came across a decent looking clearing, maybe about a minute or two from the trail. Making note of it, we headed back to the others, who were sitting around. Looking up as we approached, Void stood up.
"Did you find a place we could set up for the night?" He asked, and Abby nodded.
"Yeah, there's a nice clearing a bit to the right that would make a good camp." She said, and Void nodded.
"Great! I did a supply check to see what we could have to eat tonight, and how does Tamato Berry stew sound?" He asked, and I gave a small smile and nod.
"That sounds great!" I said, and he smiled back. After he picked up his bag, he looked back over to me and Abby.
"So, the clearing is that way?" He asked, gesturing towards the right, and I nodded.
"Right, follow me, and I'll lead you there." I said, and he and the others fell in behind me, Abby slowing to fall in step beside Void. After a minute or two, we had arrived at the soon to be campsite, and Void began to set up tents and a fire, while Mitsuki and I started setting up an illusion barrier to keep the camp hidden from anyone passing by.
"Do you really think we need this barrier? I'm pretty sure we're far enough from Hearthome City to where we wouldn't have to worry, at least for one night." Mitsuki asked, as we finished setting it up.
"Do you really want to take the chance? We're only about a minute away from the path, and Team Lotus doesn't strike me as the kind of people to stop just because it's dark." I said, and she sighed.
"I guess you're right. I assume one of us is going to have to stay up to keep the barrier maintained, right?" She asked, and I nodded.
"I'll do it, you all can get some rest. You're going to need it for tomorrow." I said, and she frowned.
"Are you sure? I'm used to staying up, I can do it if you want to get some sleep." She said, and I shook my head.
"I'm sure. You get some sleep." I said, before flying up to a nearby tree, resting on a branch. Mitsuki just watched for a few seconds, before shrugging, going off to to the others. Sitting up on the branch for a bit, the scent of Void's stew soon filled the air, and he looked around.
"Ok everyone, if you're hungry and would like some stew, it's ready, come and get it while it's hot!" He said, looking around as everyone gathered around. Looking up to where I was, he gave me a curious look. "Christa, don't you want any?" He asked, and I sighed, before nodding and floating down.
"Sure, it smells delicious by the way." I said, and he smiled. Picking up a small wooden bowl that Void had set out, holding it out for a bit of help. Grabbing a ladle, Void scooped some stew into it, as well as into the other bowls. Holding it closer, I waited for it to cool a bit, before taking a sip, my eyes closing in enjoyment at the taste.
"How is it? I added a bit of flaked Oran Berries to it to add flavour contrast." He said, and I flashed him a thumbs up.
"It tastes great! You really did a great job on this." I said, and the others hummed in agreement. Void smiled, and we continued to eat, remaining quiet as we did. After a while, everyone had finished, heading off to go and sleep. Heading for the branch I had been sitting on before, I was stopped.
"Hey, Christa?" I turned around, only to see Void. "I just wanted to apologise." He said, and I looked at him in confusion.
"Apologize? Why, what are you apologizing for?" I asked, and he frowned.
"I've noticed you've been upset, and I assumed it was because of putting you in a pokéball and asking you to disguise us all. So I just wanted to apologise, and say that I understand if I've lost your trust." He said, and I blinked, before sighing and shaking my head.
"It's not you that has me upset, I've just had a lot on my mind lately. Just thinking some things through, that's all." I said, and he. looked at me for a few seconds, before continuing on.
"Just know, if you want me to get rid of the pokéball, I can, no questions asked, ok?" He asked, and I gave a small smile, before floating over close to him, giving him a peck on the cheek. He looked at me in surprise, eyes wide, and I giggled.
"Relax, it's just my way of saying thanks. I know how hard you are trying to keep us safe, and I appreciate it. You, don't have to worry about losing my trust, alright?" I asked, and he quickly nodded, causing me to smile. "Well anyways, we should all get some sleep if we are going to be enjoying ourselves in Eterna City tomorrow." I said, before turning around and beginning to float back towards my perch in the tree. "Night, Void." I said, before taking my spot. Watching him go for his tent, I looked towards the sky, looking up at the moon. Why did you really send me, Lady Arceus? I wondered, before relaxing, getting comfortable.
A few hours later, I blinked open my eyes, apparently having dosed off. My ears twitched, and I looked around, something having snapped me awake. Continuing to look around, I eventually caught sight of movement. Angling my ears, I could just pick up a low voice. "Do this, do that, grunt. Why is it always me who has to do all her errands, I'm her head grunt, dammit, not some damn errand boy! I'll show her I'm more than that!" A man said, walking through the woods. As he walked closer, I scowled, recognizing the outfit he was wearing. Eyes glowing as I prepared a psychic attack, I stopped as a beeping suddenly began to fill the air. The grunt froze, before reaching into his pocket, pulling out a rectangular device. "Hm? Close, but where?" He mumbled, before holding the device up. Holding it up in different directions, he seemed to follow the beeping, before grinning when it was held up in the direction of camp. "There." He said, before beginning to walk closer. Eyes once again glowing, I held up my hand, before sending him flying into a nearby tree with a crash, where he slumped over, out cold. Floating down, I cautiously got closer to him, ready to attack again if he moved. The beeping got faster the closer I got. Picking up the device, I looked at it, my eyes widening as I did. Footsteps quickly making their way closer snapped me out of my shocked stupor.
"Christa! What's going-" Void began as everybody ran over, before freezing when he saw the grunt. I slowly turned around, holding the beeping device, a screen on it showing a digital map, a single unmoving blip flashing on it. Looking at it for a second or two, he looked back at me, face grim. "Is that..." He began, and I nodded.
In my hand, I held a tracker... A tracker somehow seemingly set to track me...
Hello everybody, long time no see. I hope everyone is doing well. I'm sorry for disappearing for so long, but I finally got a new Kindle, or well, found my old one. It may have a severely cracked screen, but it still works. Hopefully I'll be able to continue writing again. Anyways, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, and if you don't celebrate Christmas, then a Happy Holidays ^^
~spudbud16