DISCLAIMER: There might be some stuff in this chapter that might make physics majors (especially those in electrical engineering) tear their hair out. I'm pretty sure it makes sense, but I'm probably never going to touch another electrical course at uni with a ten-foot pole ever again. God, I hate electric engineering. That and I suck at it.
"Aron! Isrea!" Morgan yelled, banging her fist on the glass door as the lights went out. Stepping back, she started letting out her pokemon. A short burst of fire from Drats briefly illuminated the scene inside. There were at least 5 policemen and policewomen who were trying to hold Aron and Isrea down while Sasha and Drats got swarmed by multiple houndoom.
'I….I can't do anything against that….I'm just a photographer, for crying out loud!'
Backing away from the muffled shouts coming from behind the door, Morgan turned around and ran.
Aron and Isrea had been quick to react, all things given. However, they could only release one pokemon each before they were restrained. Likewise, their surprised pokemon stood no chance against multiple houndoom fighting them in the dark. Isrea had only just registered Aron seizing up beside her before she was hit with a tremendous electrical shock. The hand covering her mouth muffled her scream as fire raced up her muscles for a split second, seemingly tearing her apart-
If Arceus could have done so, he would have blanched.
'That was not good. I need to talk to Lucas about this.'
Of all the emotions that Lucas was expecting to psychically sense while walking towards the police station, one of them was not panic. His psychic senses soon pinpointed the source of the emotion and he was surprised to see it travelling rather quickly away from the police station.
'Odd. What is going on over there?' Lucas picked up his pace.
Since reporting their failure to capture Firael to Saturn, Rynade and Kova had been told to stay put while Saturn re-evaluated their options. Suddenly, Rynade was distracted from that day's episode of Antique's Roadshow by a phonecall.
"Hello?"
"It's Saturn. We have acquired the chameleon that you have been looking for. Stay put for now; I'll probably get someone to send the charmeleon to you so that Kova can take her back to him."
'Thank god….' Rynade thought, the Rocket trainer had only gotten more surly as weeks went by without any communication from their superiors.
"Yes Sir."
"Very well, I shall speak with you soon. Goodbye." With that, Saturn hung up.
"Yo, Kova! You can tell Giovanni we got your charmeleon! Someone should be coming over with her sometime this week." Rynade yelled out.
Kova's response was unintelligible.
Morgan nearly ran into a trainer as he rounded the corner. Luckily for her, he seemed to expect her and had already moved to the side to avoid a potential collision.
"Hey, stop! What's going on?" He asked, holding out both his hands to get the message across as he slowly walked towards her.
Completely flustered, Morgan slid to a stop and turned round to face him. "M-My friends! They went to the police to report a missing person and the police attacked them! I saw it! I saw everything!" As the other trainer came closer, Morgan's eyes widened as she recognised who she was talking to. "Oh...oh. You're Lucas, aren't you? Please help me! They didn't do anything wrong!"
Lucas frowned. "Well...yes. I'm Lucas, but I'm not sure how much I can do. This is related to Galactic, isn't it? By the way, I'm afraid you know my name and…."
Morgan was speechless. "How did you know Galactic?" Remembering her manners, she added. "My name's Morgan, by the way."
"Anonymous tip. Well, Morgan, we can walk past the station, but if they're any good your friends will be nowhere to be seen - especially if they have ties with Galactic, which is looking increasingly likely. If that's the case, my hands are tied for now."
"Why? You're the champion! Can't you just go in and...you know…." Morgan violently gestured at the air.
Lucas' expression was forlorn. "Not quite. What would it look like if the Pokemon Champion suddenly attacked a police station? Firstly, it sets a terrible example. Secondly, I give away the fact that I am suspicious of them; it's easier to chase quarry that don't know you're hunting them. Finally, I have no idea what I'll be walking into - I'm not indestructible, you know. Before you ask, I can't attack Galactic's building either, since I need a warrant for that and I don't think the police are going to give me one, considering their present….allegiances. I'm still bound by most of the same laws that you are, you know. However, it seems like the tip was a legitimate one. It'll take some time, but I'll have to talk to the Elite four to see if we can get an idea of how bad this corruption is and whether it's only this particular branch that can't be trusted." He pulled a pen out of his bag and a scrap of paper out of his pocket.
"Here, this is my pokeGear number. I'll keep you updated with the situation. I'm sorry, but it's all I can do at the moment."
Morgan took the paper from Lucas, shaking her head. "I don't know if you'll be quick enough, but I guess it's better than nothing. Please try to get my friends back as quickly as possible! I don't know what to do..."
Lucas tapped his head before backing off, intending to go straight to his hotel room and send some messages to the Elite four before nodding off. "Sure thing. Liesel is going to be extremely annoyed though. Call me tomorrow if you have any more information, ok? Hey. Err...Morgan?"
Morgan had gone deathly pale.
"Morgan? What's wrong?"
"...Morgan?"
After what seemed an eternity for Lucas, Morgan spoke.
"Jirachi. They...they have Jirachi."
'My day just got a lot worse.' Lucas couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Jirachi? What on earth were your friends doing with-? Look, nevermind. You better come with me; we aren't talking with the Elite Four anymore."
'Oh man...muk just hit the fan.'
"Patrick!"
'Whuuuh...' Patrick slowly woke up to find his mother angrily staring him down from the side of his bed. He hadn't expected to fall asleep so quickly, but he quickly realised that it had been very easy for him to simply nod off whenever he wanted to when he was last with Aron and Isrea.
'I guess I can fall asleep easier because when I fall asleep there I'm actually waking up here, and waking up is easier than falling asleep….woah, that's deep.'
"Mornin'. What?" Patrick mumbled.
Then he looked down at Juka, cuddled in his arms.
Then back at his mother.
"Oh."
'My ears are gonna get chewed off for this, aren't they?'
Lucas and Morgan had returned to the hotel that Lucas had booked a room at and were currently standing in an elevator as Morgan fully explained her plight to Lucas while the latter listened intently.
"Wow, I can't believe Galactic managed to sneak so much under our noses. They've been working with Team Rocket this whole time?" Lucas shook his head as the elevator doors opened. "You first."
"Thanks." Morgan stepped through the threshold onto some thick red and gold carpet and looked around. The corridor had several furnishings along the walls, including gilt-edged portraits and mirrors framed in gold filligree, all set against red and gold streaked wallpaper to match the carpet. "Wow, this place is pretty flash. Sure beats our pokecenter rooms. All this glass and shiny stuff everywhere."
Lucas grinned as the padded along the corridor, passing several other rooms on the way. "Perks of being a champion. That being said, we had conducted several investigations to make sure that Galactic were not participating in any criminal activity of any sort, and they all came back clean. I don't know how they managed to hide their partnership with Team Rocket from us." Suddenly, he paused for a short moment and shook his head, chuckling. "Oh dear...we got the police to conduct the investigations into Galactic. Well. On an unrelated note, I'd like to meet this Sonya person one day though. She sounds like she's been through a lot."
Morgan shrugged. "I've never actually met her myself. I met Aron and Isrea after they'd talked with Sonya. Wonder where she is."
Lucas stopped at this last door and pressed his trainer ID against the card reader on the door. "Still, we've got a huge mess to sort out….At least Galactic don't know they've got Jirachi for a few more days." Lucas pushed open the door whilst looking at Morgan.
"Yeah, that's something, I gue- What, or who is that?" Morgan's jaw dropped. Lucas followed his gaze and saw-
"Hmm? Oh. Hi Arceus."
"Good evening, Lucas. I'm afraid I have some grave news about Jirachi."
Lucas tersely nodded as he dragged a slightly stunned Morgan into the room before shutting the door. "Yeah, I've just found out. Morgan, meet Arceus. Arceus, Morgan. Morgan had been travelling with the trainers who had Jirachi's rock before they got...arrested."
"Yes, that was unfortunate. However, it is good that you know of the situation. The question of what we are going to do with it, however, still remains."
"I assume we're going to go after her seeing as we don't want to give Galactic any wishes."
"We are thinking along the same lines then. I suspect we will need some extra firepower. Do you have anyone you can recommend?"
Lucas thought for a moment. "Hmm….hey, why not Sean? He also has Palkia and Celebi tagging along with him, and they'll be handy in a pinch."
"Yes, I remember Sean. I will fetch him tomorrow. I think I will also collect Myu as well; I think it might be better if you two swapped back for the duration of this conflict. However, I do not think that any direct action by any legendaries is a good idea. I do not want Galactic to find themselves in the possession of more than one legendary, as one is already too much."
"Well...I'd still recommend Sean. He looked like a powerful battler when I last met him-"
"He is. He got his last badge some weeks ago. Volkner was extremely pleased to meet him."
"Ha! Volkner's pleased to meet anyone these days, he gets so little traffic. I'm sure he'll be happy to help, and it helps that he's already met you and I, of course. Look, it's pretty late. We'll talk more in the morning."
"Very well."
"I need to wake up." Morgan weakly said.
Patrick's mother sighed. "Look, I know you love Juka, and I understand that, but you simply cannot have her in the bed because she keeps chewing holes in the sheets! Maybe when you're older and get a part-time job-"
"I want to join the army when I'm old enough, you know that!" Patrick angrily retorted.
His mother's face softened. 'Well….well, if you were to change your mind, you can sleep with Juka if you buy your own sheets, but we were actually buying a new set of bedsheets once every fortnight before we figured out what was causing the holes….I know we aren't poor, Patrick, but we can't just waste money like that."
Patrick dipped his head in shame. "Yes, mother."
"Look, I'll let you off this time - it's been a few years, but please don't do it again, ok? If you do I might have to force Juka to sleep outside your room, and I don't want to do that."
"Yes, I'm sorry. I won't do it again. Promise."
"Wake up, lovebirds! Brekky's here. Hey, Sonya, if it makes you feel any better, you'll be getting a….'special' visitor in a bit. I'm sure you'll get along just fine!" Sonya was stirred from her dreams by the flap on her cage getting pushed open as two packages of food fell through. As the two Galactic grunts who delivered the food walked off, Sonya glared at them.
Without further ado, the two grunts left the room and the door slid shut with a hiss. Sighing, Sonya started unwrapping her package while nudging the other one towards the sleeping raichu. Things had started to settle down over the past day or so, with both Sonya and the raichi to pass the time in a state of lassitude. 'I'm going to go mad if this continues for too much longer...I only get to go out whenever I need to go to the toilet - at least they spared me that privilege.'
She eyed the little red button on the roof of her cage. Pressing it simply called two grunts over so they could escort her to the bathroom. She had already considered escape through that option, but she was guarded so fiercely that it was a lost cause. 'Back and forth, back and forth….hey!'
Suddenly, she perked up. Maybe there was a method, but it would have to wake until Rai woke up; she didn't want to risk the tenuous relationship that she currently shared with the raichu.
"Wake up, lovebirds! Brekky's here!"
Aron stirred and then immediately regretted doing so. Every inch of his body hurt and his muscles felt like they were made out of hot water. The rational part of his mind reminded him that muscles were indeed mostly made out of water. Aron told the rational part of his mind to go stuff it where the sun didn't shine.
'Where am I?'
He felt two thumps near him as two plastic-wrapped packages dropped to the floor. To his side, Isrea moaned as she started coming to.
'I don't remember coming here...all I remember was….' Aron grunted as he struggled into a seated position and got a good chance to have a look around. He was inside a cage that looked like it was made for holding large pokemon. It was a lot taller than he was and it was large for both him and Isrea to lie down toe-to-toe. The lock looked to be a pretty hefty piece of metal, although Aron doubted it was easily crackable. Outside the cage were another two cages of a similar size, both of which were empty. Apart from that, the room that they were in held nothing else but a small camera positioned in front of the door, which also had no handle on the inside; it seemed to be activated by a keycard.
Still trying to remember the events of last night, Aron set to looking inside the brown food packages. He found some bread, crackers, jam, fruit, some cheese and a packet of fruit juice. Putting aside the food for a moment, he stretched out the packaging to read the small writing printed on it.
"Galactic ratpak bfast1 (Cold)"
Suddenly, the events of the past night came back to him.
'Oh, no. We got beaten up by the police and now we're with Team Galactic? Are the police working with Galactic?'
"Hnnnnnuh…." Aron was snapped out of his reverie as Isrea slowly opened her eyes before quickly shutting them again. "What happened?"
Aron could only shake his head in despair. "We're in a lot of trouble."
Just then, the door to their room slid open with a pneumatic hiss and an old man stumped in, carrying a small remote. He had a long white coat thrown over the top of a dress shirt with a bright red tie on it.
"Good morning. My name is Nikolai, and we shall be seeing a lot of each other over the next few days. Here," He threw the remote into Aron's cage. Press this if you need to go to the bathroom and we'll escort you there. You don't want to abuse this, okay? Have a nice morning." He made to leave.
"Wait!" Aron cried out. Nikolai stopped and slowly turned around.
"Yes?"
"Why...why did you lock us up? We haven't done anything!"
Nikolai smirked. "But that doesn't matter! You know too much!"
"What? We only wanted to report someone who we haven't seen in a while!"
"We might have let you go if that was all, but we've been trying to find Firael for a while."
Upon hearing Nikolai's response, Aron paled.
"You see, we noticed that you stopped using your trainer ID at pokemon centres. This meant that you knew we were chasing you and that you suspected who was chasing you. This, compounded with the fact that you seem to know Rob reasonably well means that you were too dangerous to leave out in the public. Galactic hasn't managed to keep it's shadier dealings secret without having to arrange a few disappearances. By the way, who was that charming young woman outside the police station when you came to report Rob's missing status?"
Aron had instantly resolved to stay silent, but Isrea was a faster thinker. "Who?"
Nikolai raised an eyebrow. "We caught her on camera hammering on the door when we caught you. We were about to go after her but," he winced. "...extenuating circumstances intervened with that process."
Isrea's reply was deadpan. "One would assume that you would panic if you saw the police suddenly shut down a station and attack two relatively defenceless trainers. I would have done the same. We don't know who you're talking about, although I'm happy for her."
When Nikolai replied, there was a hint of steel in his voice. "Oh, so you're sure you don't know her? We do have footage of you walking up to the station together, you know. Still, if you refuse to coorporate, it will only turn out worse for you. Goodbye." With that, he brushed out of the room and the door slid shut, leaving Isrea and Aron alone save for the ever-watching glint of the camera lens.
"Good riddance." Isrea whispered. "At least Morgan's okay. I hope she can get to someone before that man is finished with us. I'd hate to think of what he's got planned."
Aron had already figured that part out. "Unless something amazing happnes, it looks like Firael won't be as unique as she was before...It's over."
'It's been a long day...I hate mondays. Whole day's been a bloody nightmare what with Juka getting caught and that extra homework AND Steve getting mad at us during training...' Patrick thought as he got back home late. Training had been brutal as always, and there was nothing Patrick wanted more than a long hot shower, dinner and a warm and welcoming bed.
'Well….I guess my day isn't over when I go to sleep, huh. Pity I can't take Juka with me any more.'
In his room, Lucas clapped his hands as Morgan finished the last of their breakfast. Lucas had ordered room service so they could get more privacy as they discussed their plans. "So, we're going to just run in and try getting Jirachi out then? Can't we at least try doing it with one legendary? It'll make the fighting a lot easier."
"I will now contact Sean and ask him to come over. I will then teleport to Iron Island and retrieve Myu. As I have said last night, I am not willing to risk any more legendaries in this endeavour. However, if Myu wishes to join in then she may do so; she is the only pokemon I have little to no say over. Farewell."
With that, Arceus vanished. Morgan downed the last of her juice before speaking. "Huh. You'd think we'd have more of a plan before Arceus goes and calls in the calvary."
Lucas chuckled. "I guess Arceus just wants to get as many people working on the problem as possible. There are going to be a few hurdles."
"You bet. How do we get in? Galactica Veilstone Building is extremely well guarded. Where do we go? I don't think any of us knows where to go. When do we attack?" Morgan set down her cup and stood up. "The doors will be open during the day, but there'll be less people around at night. What do we do if someone gets caught? We're going to have to do a lot of thinking. What about Aron and Isrea?"
"Yeah, I know. This is not going to be easy. As for your two friends, I'm afraid that their safety isn't a priority at the moment. I know it sounds harsh, but it's going to be nigh impossible to find and get both them and Jirachi out of Galactica."
As soon as the raichu woke up, Sonya (very carefully) pitched her idea for escape.
"Hey...errr….Rob? Rai? I've got an idea and it might get us out, but it'll need you to do all of the work." She recieved a glare for her efforts. Swallowing her fear, Sonya pressed on. "First, I have to ask, when you shoot out an electric attack, can you control it's direction? What I mean, can you make electricity flow into you as well as out of you?"
The raichu looked at her as if she had gone crazy for a few moments before nodding.
"Well…can you change between absorbing electricity and shooting it out really quickly?"
Another tentative nod. Sonya allowed herself to feel a small smidgen of hope.
"Well, can you try doing that at the cage? If you keep changing the direction of a current you put through the cage, you should be able to heat it up. If we get it hot enough we can kick or iron tail our way out through the mesh. It might not work, but any idea's worth a shot, you know?"
The raichu looked dubious, but he walked over to a wall and started preparing himself. After a minute, he brought his face close to the mesh and sparks began to fly. Sonya waited with baited breath.
'Please work….'
After a minute of charging, Rai staggered back and toppled onto the ground, gasping for breath. Sonya moved a hand close to where Rai had been standing and was elated to feel heat radiating out from the mesh. However, after several forceful kicks at the mesh, she realised it wasn't enough. She placed a hand on Rai's heaving flank.
"It wasn't enough. You did good, but the wires conducted electricity too well…there wasn't enough resistance. I'm so sorry…"
Several minutes later, the door glided open and Nikolai walked in with a pokeball in one hand. Sonya cried out in frustration.
"What now? Can't you just leave me alone? Also, didn't you wear that silly tie yesterday as well?"
Nikolai leered at her, before brandishing the pokeball. "I would, but I've found another pokemon that would simply kill to meet you. Here, say hello to Firael. I'm sure you two have a lot to catch up on."
The bottom dropped out of Sonya's stomach. 'Firael? Oh, please no….'
Nikolai cheerfully walked up to her cage, pressed the ball against the wall, ('Thank god it's cooled back down,' Sonya thought) and let a charmeleon out.
"Have a nice day! I'll see you tomorrow...if you can make it, that is."
"Hey, Palkia. Arceus wants a word with all of us." Celebi tugged at Palkia's trousers.
"Huh?" Palkia asked, tearing her eyes away from a row of delicious smelling kebabs lying on a reed mat. The street vendor behind the kebabs didn't bat an eye and instantly started trying to sell a kebab to someone else.
"Sharon, did you say something?" Sean asked, looking at her.
"Err….no, but Celebi did. What did'cha say?"
Celebi sighed. "Arceus wants a word with all of us in private."
"Oh." Palkia turned around and pulled Sean along with her. Some shouting started up behind them, and Sean could pick up phases like 'personal space' and 'always kebabs'. "We need to go back to our place at the hotel. Someone wants to talk to us."
"Uh...ok."
'Where am I? This isn't Aron's room.'
When Patrick opened his eyes, he thought they were malfunctioning as he couldn't see anything. Slowly, he started inching along with outstretched arms, trying to find his bearings. After several steps, his hands touched a metallic wall. He then worked along the wall, looking for a light switch or a door. His hands found a doorknob first and he instantly turned it.
'Arrgh, that's bright!'
Blinding light poured in and Patrick reflexively shut the door, blanketing the room in darkness once again.
'Ok, slowly this time….'
Patrick reached for the handle once more and opened the door a crack, letting a small silver of light into the room. Once this was done, he scanned around in the murky shadows for a light switch. It didn't take long for him to find and turn it on.
He seemed to be in a small storeroom, about 10 steps across and 30 steps deep. The room was filled with 5 rows of pigeon-hole cabinets, all filled with various bits and pieces of training paraphernalia.
'This is an odd place.' Patrick mused. 'I wonder where Aron and Isrea are.'
A bag suddenly started shaking and fell to the floor. Wondering why it fell down, Patrick moved to investigate. Upon reaching the bag, he realised it was Aron's bag.
'Oh, they must be round here somewhere. Maybe this is where you leave your bags before you visit a museum or a hologramphic stadium.'
"Help!" Said the bag, as bags are sometimes wont to do. Patrick obeyed all the generally accepted laws of common sense and unzipped the bag.
He did not expect anything to come flying out of the bag, whack him on the chin, before profusely apologising for doing so then thanking him for letting her out of the bag. As a result, when all of this happened, Patrick was suitably surprised. And sore.
Alexa looked around as soon as she was let out, trying to figure out where she was. She first saw a human whom she instantly recognised as Sonya cowering up against the other side of the cage….
'Cage? I'm in a cage? What in the world is Sonya doing in here with me? Wasn't she in Unova?'
Then her eyes fell upon the raichu lying on the ground. Alexa felt Firael's growing presence in her mind.
'Is...Is that Rai?'
Alexa didn't say anything as she let Firael take over.
Firael ran over to the raichu. "Rai?"
The raichu lifted his head and blearily stared at her. "Firael? Is that you? Is that really you?"
Firael didn't say anything in response and just hugged him, burying her head in the raichu's fur.
"Oh, it's been so long! You're a raichu now!"
Rai laughed and playfully batted her away with a paw. "And you're still a charmander? We've both gotten older and we've both been through a lot….especially Rob." Suddenly, the raichu didn't look so happy.
Firael's eyes widened. "Rob? Where is he?"
Rai shook his head. "We know what they did with you, you and that human you're with."
A sense of absolute dread descended upon Firael. She could already guess what had happened, but she had to ask, if only so that she could cling onto the hope that the inevitable had yet to happen. "...and?"
"He's here, Firael. They did the same thing with us."
Firael slowly felt her world fall apart. "No! They can't have done this to you! It's…" For the first time in her life, words failed her.
'Alexa, please take over. I need some time to myself.'
'Sure. Just remember that I'm still for you as well.'
'I know, and I really appreciate it, but this time...'
'Yeah, I understand. Just don't get too worked up.'
Alexa smoothly completed the transition and clamped her mouth shut. "Sorry, Firael's a bit emotional right now. She'd been looking forward to meeting back up with you ever since we last ran into him...err...you. I guess it was a bit too much for her. I'm Alexa, by the way."
Rai's ears perked up. "Ah, so you're the human they...y'know? To be honest, I'm not sure if Firael is going to like what Rob has become...losing her really shook him up once things started falling apart for him and now he's lost everything. His pokemon, his possessions and his humanity. Then again, I'm sure the same happened to you."
"I'm not sure what is going on here." Alexa heard Sonya mutter. She pointed at her before looking back at Rai.
"Do you know who she is? She was the one responsible for our merge, but somehow I don't think that's the case here."
"No," Rai waved the question away with a paw. "She got dragged over from Unova where she was hiding out and forced into building another machine against her will, one which was eventually used on us. She tried to sneak us out by faking the transfer, but Nikolai and Saturn somehow caught on, so we're stuck here together. As you can expect, Rob hates her guts after what she'd done to you and us. Personally? I'm not a big fan either, although at least she's trying to fix things. The situation here's turned into a bit of a stalemate. Rob still wants her dead, but I'm not letting him do so."
"Hm. She met Aron, you know, the kid who found us after we got let out of the Team Rocket facility. She met him when he went on a holiday to Unova before setting out on his journey. Gave him a serum that she says can reverse the process, but you need the original body and a really powerful psychic pokemon to do it as well. I know she's done some bad stuff, but she's tried a lot harder than most to fix her mistakes." Alexa gave Sonya a grin and a thumbs up, the latter visibly relaxing at Alexa's gesture. "Sometimes you just gotta forgive, although most people have trouble with that."
"Ok Sharon, what's this all about?" Sean demanded as Palkia shut the door.
"I don't know! Celebi was the one who told me to get somewhere private. I don't know who was talking to him - it could have been anyone!" Palkia shrugged.
"Hello."
Palkia recovered from her shock extremely quickly. "Nevermind, I know who it was."
"Hey, Arceus! What's happened?" Celebi cheerily said.
"We have foreseen a potentially dangerous situation and would like to defuse it before it occurs. I fear that we are already too late, but the issue still warrants extensive discussion. I would have you join Lucas, possibly Myu and I in plotting out a plan of action."
Sean blinked. "Did Arceus just appear in my room again?!"
"You'll get used to it; he's got no sense of timing. Anyway, why just us? Why not the other legendaries? Also, mind actually telling us what happened?" Palkia replied, setting a hand on Sean's shoulder.
"As you well know, the Millenium Festival is now less than 6 months away, and while this isn't common knowledge, the come-"
Celebi explosively swore.
"Ah, I see Celebi has grasped the gravity of the situation. The nature of the comet is such that it will be passing in the near future, and unfortunately for us, Jirachi's stone has fallen into the possession of Team Galactic. Hopefully, they currently do not know what they possess, but I doubt Jirachi will remain hidden for long when she does decide to wake up."
Celebi shook his head. "No, I'm pretty sure Jirachi has just appeared. I can track her because of the time displacement relationship between her and her rock 1000 years into the future, and someone is either waving the stone around extremely erratically or Jirachi has awoken. The good news is that I'll know where she is at all times."
Arceus paused for a moment. "Thus. We need a way to get her out of Team Galactic's possession before the comet passes or we'll be giving everyone in Team Galactic free wishes, which could potentially turn out badly."
Palkia's brows scrunched. "A bit of an understatement there. We'll be over soon, right Sean?"
Sean nodded, although his face still looked a little blank. "Yeah, sure. Sharon, you're going to have to do some explaining after, but if Arceus wants us somewhere, I think I should listen. Do we fly there or do you have another method of transport?"
Arceus shook his head. "I can teleport you directly, but your sudden disappearance from the hotel will cause consternation among the hotel staff. I think it safest that you fly there with Palkia and Celebi. You should make it to Veilstone by evening. Celebi knows the address. Farewell."
"OhI'msosorryIdidn'tmeantodothatIjustwantedtogetou tandbythewaythanksforgettingmeoutitwas-", the creature exclaimed, grabbing Patrick's head with her paws.
Patrick interrupted while massaging his chin. "Woah, slow down! Also, why can I understand you without my translator, and who are you? In fact, I have a few more quest-...oh, you're Jirachi, aren't you?" As the pokemon nodded gleefully, Patrick groaned. "Well, pleased to meet ya. I'm Patrick."
"I'm Jirachi!"
"...yes, I already know that."
"I know you know, but I couldn't think of anything else to say. Where are we? Place could use a little painting." Jirachi finally seemed to take note of her surroundings.
Patrick shrugged. "I actually have no idea. I appeared here before I found you. I'm from the future, and apparently it's because of you I appeared here, so I kinda hoped you'd know where we were. This bag, however," Patrick lifted Aron's bag, "belongs to the trainer who had your stone...Aron. I think they left their stuff here and went elsewhere in the building, but I'm not sure."
Jirachi perked up, before drooping down shortly after. "Ah, yes. I remember him! I'm sorry I don't know where we were. What do you say we go look for them?"
Patrick saluted. "Yes sir!"
Jirachi laughed. "Haha, you're much funnier than Aron! Let's go!" With that, she perched herself on Patrick's head.
A little unsteady, Patrick opened the door and stepped out.
"Hey! Who the bloody hell are you?" Patrick turned at the shout to see a Galactic grunt run at him, tugging a pokeball from his belt. Patrick paled. 'Yikes.'
"Jirachi?"
"Yes? We're in trouble, aren't we?" Jirachi replied nonchalantly.
"Yes. I don't think Aron and Jirachi are sightseeing."
"No, they probably aren't. Say, that person is closing in on us pretty quickly."
"Yes. We should probably run."
"That's a good idea. Oh, look, he's only a few steps away. I'll slow him a bit, but yes, we should both run." With that, Jirachi lifted off Patrick's head and sped off down the corridor, away from the grunt, who was now writhing on the ground, clutching his head.
"Hey!" Patrick shouted as he set off after the jirachi. "Wait for me!"
After the chameleon and the raichu had stopped talking to each other, Sonya plucked up the courage to say something.
"Err...Firael? Alexa? It's just Firael now, right? You've used the solution to return Alexa back to her body?"
The charmeleon looked a little confused before comprehension dawned in her eyes. Then she shook her head. Beside her, Rai perked up and asked the charmeleon a question which was quickly deflected.
Sonya cocked an eyebrow. "Wait, Alexa's still in there with you?"
"Char." Alexa pointed at herself.
"Oh, you're Alexa." Alexa nodded. "I see….why haven't you used the solution? I...I don't think it will work on you now...you two have been together for too long for you to maintain completely separate personalities. I mean, if you'd used it when I had given you the solution, you would have still had a little bit of overlap between your personalities...again, why didn't you use the solution? All you needed was a psychic pokemon and Alexa's body." Comprehension dawned on Sonya as she shut her eyes in defeat. "You don't know where Alexa's body is, do you?"
The charmeleon morosely shook her head.
"Well….I guess you're stuck this way now. If you were to try using the serum, it'd still work by stopping brain functions so that the psychic can get to your consciousnesses, but no psychic would likely be able to unravel your twin personalities. It's kinda like a knot that has started to fuse, making it untieable unless you snap it. Trust me, you wouldn't want to snap it."
Alexa shrugged as Rai tried to talk to her again. Sonya watched the two pokemon briefly talk for a moment before Alexa stared at Sonya and pointed at Rai.
"What does Rai have to do with th- oh. Yes, I suppose the serum would work on him, but you'd still need a good psychic pokemon. I guess his body is around here as well. Of course, this all implies we get out and somehow gain access to Rob's body and a powerful psychic pokemon." Sonya slumped back against the walls of the cage.
In anger, Alexa loosed a flamethrower at the side of a cage, filling the room in a thin film of smoke.
Arceus found Myu in Solaceon Town, attending to some baby aipom.
"Well," Arceus said telepathically."Rayquaza won't be too happy when he finds out you didn't stay on Iron Island."
He saw Myu visibly stiffen before she abruptly stood up and told another handler that she had to leave since a family issue had come up. As she walked out of the daycare, she used her limited telepathy to reply back.
"Wow, that was very rude. Couldn't you have said something nicer like 'good morning' or 'oh Mew, how I've missed your charming demeanor'? I don't think Rayquaza actually expected me to stay on that island, did he? All I had to do was ask one of the water pokemon to give me a lift off the island."
Arceus fought back a chuckle as Mew slid into a grove of trees nearby. "Unfortunately, an issue has come up regarding Jirachi, and I'd appreciate your input. Unless you strongly object, I will teleport you to Veilstone where Lucas is waiting. Celebi and Palkia will also be along shortly."
Myu sighed. "So be it. Must be bad if you're coming to me for help. Let's go. You know, why don't you actually visit me once when there's no business that I need to attend to? That'd be nice."
"I did visit you recently with nothing of importance. Do you not remember that time I came over 12 millennia ago?"
"Jirachi, we need to split! That way you might be able to get away; I'm too slow to keep up with you, but so are they!" Patrick gasped as he rounded a corner. His atheletc training had allowed him to stay moving for a lot longer than the grunt that originally discovered them, but said guard had simply raised the alarm and now the entire facility seemed to be looking for them.
"There! Go, Luxray!" Patrick saw a grunt appear down a corridor on his right. Wheezing, he pressed on.
"Yeah, ok. Just try not to get hurt too bad, ok?" Jirachi said, before flying off in the other direction.
'At least she's got a chance without me slowing her down. I'm knackered…'
He considered trying to hide, but hadn't taken another step when he felt sharp claws sink into his back, knocking him forwards.
"Ooof!" Patrick made to get up, but the prickling at the nape of his neck made him change his mind rather quickly.
"Lux!"
"Good job! That kid's pretty fast, but four legs are still faster, aren't they!" Patrick heard the luxray's owner walk up behind him and snap a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. "Now, you have got some explaining to do."
Myu shook her head as Lucas finished explaining the situation to her. Lucas had also had the presence of mind to let his pokemon up so that they could be brought up to speed. "My, you've certainly found yourself in a bit of a bind. What have you guys come up with so far?"
Lucas shrugged. "All we've come up with are all the hurdles that we'll face. We haven't got any solutions yet."
A knocking came from the door. "Yo, Lucas! Open the door! I got us some lunch!"
"Yeah, ok Morgan." Lucas got up to open the door. Morgan walked in with a few boxes of pizza and two bottles of lemonade.
"I feel that we should take a methodical approach to this problem. Start at the beginning, so to speak. The first question posed is that of entry. How do we propose to get in?"
"Why, I was just thinking of barging in with all my pokemon." Lucas shrugged. "Between Sean and I, we should be able to hold our own."
"Hmm, if you want, if you're willing to let me be a mew again, I can come with you two and fight. I certainly know how to fight better than you in that body." Myu was looking thoughtful.
Arceus cleared its throat. "Ah, Myu, I haven't informed you of my decision yet. I don't wish to involve any more legendaires directly. It is too risky and Galactic are already in a very dangerous position when they discover they have Jirachi."
Myu threw her hands up in the air. "Well, then why did you bring me here? Did you actually think I would come up with any helpful suggestions? If you want my input, you let me fight with Lucas and this Sean person." To Lucas, she added, "Oh, and you need to tell me who Sean is."
Arceus sighed. "I had planned to make you mew so that Lucas can fight without risking the capture of a legendary. You could still help from outside. Transmit directions and the such."
Myu wagged a finger at Arceus. "Nuh uh. If I get involved, I get completely involved. You know I'm not one for half measures."
"Fine, so be it. While we're at it, let's perform the transfer of...mewship across. Lucas, if you would be so kind as to do the honours. We can discuss plans after this is done."
Patrick grunted as he was shoved into a room with some cages inside it. Looking around, he noticed that one of the cages held Aron and Isrea. He was about to greet them, but Isrea reacted first.
"Who's that?"
'What do you mean by that have you gone crazy you know who I am you dingus.'
The person guarding him chose not to respond, instead opening the cage next to Aron and Isrea's before pushing Patrick into it. Once the cage was locked, the guard unlocked Patrick's handcuffs before leaving the room, the door hissing shut behind her.
Rubbing his hands, Patrick turned on Isrea in the neighbouring cage. "You don't remember me? I-"
"Shhhhhhh…." Isrea hushed him. "You want them to ask you more questions than before? I'm just making life easier for you when they come."
Patrick shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. I can just go to sleep and go back to my world. Personally, I think that's the best thing to do right now. It's actually really easy for me to go to sleep when I'm in this time period. I think it's because it's because I'm waking up in my time, so...yeah. Still….what happened to you two?"
Isrea was about to reply when Aron called out from his position behind Isrea. "Wait….you know how you brought Juka into this world?"
"...yeah?"
"D'you think it works both ways?"
"Well...I don't see why not." Patrick responeded before he realised what was being asked of him. Eyes wide, he stepped back from the cage walls. "Wait. No, no. Nononononononononono. My mum will kill me. Kill me! She'll kill me and then skin me alive! Do you know how painful that is?"
Isrea raised an eyebrow. "How can she skin you alive after kil- Nevermind! You know, Aron's actually got a good idea for once-"
"Hey! I resent that!"
"For once, and it's probably the only way we're going to get out of this place. Pat, if you haven't figured it out yet, we're in Team Galactic's headquarters and if you don't want to risk getting caught by your mother, Aron and I are going to get...'removed'." She mimed quotation marks around the last word.
Patrick clenched his fists. "You mean they'll kill you? You've done nothing!"
"Since when has that meant anything? Firael, Alexa, Rob….none of them have done anything, and what have they got to show for such indifference? Ok, Rob kinda got himself involved, but my point still stands. From what our captors have told us, it seems that we'll both be getting the Firael treatment. You know..." Isrea spread her hands and pointed them at each other, palms facing towards her body, before pushing them towards each other, interlacing the fingers above and beneath each other.
Patrick leant his head on a cage bar. "You've got a point. Still, what happens if it does work? If you get caught, you're not going to be able to make it back and you'll be stuck in the future with nothing except your clothes."
"We're willing to take that risk. Anyway, can't you just go straight back to sleep, effectively teleporting us to where Jirachi's rock is?" Aron said.
Patrick held up a finger. "Err...about that."
"What?"
"She's appeared and Galactic are currently chasing her everywhere."
Aron and Isrea looked at each other."That's not good."
"No, it isn't."
"If they catch her, we're going to get a lot of uncomfortable questions. We need to try leaving now! Jirachi can be caught at any moment, and once she's identified you can be sure that this room is going to get a lot more crowded.
"Ok. I'm going to lie on my back and put my arms through the bars of my cage. Just reach through and touch them. I don't know if you have to be asleep to go through, but try falling asleep with me." With that said, Partick laid down and reached through the cage. Once he felt Aron and Isrea grasp his hands, he shut his eyes and tried to go to sleep.
"It doesn't matter what happens when we get in if we don't know how to enter their base." Lucas said. They had spent the past hour or so discussing possible strategies, but none of them were easily executable and were unlikely to work.
Nara spoke up, Lucas' flygon having chosen to curl up on the carpet next to the television. "Well, if only they know how to get in, then maybe we could trick them into telling us how to get in!"
Lucas shook his head. "How would that work anyway? They're not stupid, you-"
"Actually", Myu interjected, "it's got some merit. Maybe we could slip a tracker onto one of the grunts and follow where the grunt goes."
"It relies heavily on luck - I don't like it. I doubt that most of the people in the Galactic Coorporation have access or even know the location of wherever Jirachi is being held." Lear replied. The gallade strode over to where a street map of the area around the Galactica building was placed on the coffee table. Tapping the police station with the tip of his blade-shaped paw, Lear started speaking again. "Still, if we were going to try the tracker idea, I think it would be better to focus our efforts on the police station, not the building next door. What about getting a ghost pokemon to scout the place out?"
"Yes. The police station has less security than the Galatica building. It would be prudent to focus our efforts on the police station. It is obvious that they must have some sort of access to wherever Aron and Isrea are being held since Lucas and Morgan did not report seeing anyone leave the building. However, sending in a ghost pokemon is unlikely to work since there are a lot of houndoom in police stations." Arceus mused.
"Wait, how large is the tracker?" Morgan queried.
Lucas shrugged. "Well, the only tracker of any sort I've got on me is the GPS on my phone, but Rowan's lab has got some tags with tracker chips that are about the size of a thumbtack that we use for tagging pokemon. Why?"
Morgan leaned forward. "I've got an idea…"
Jirachi had accidentally flown into a dead end. Behind her, the door slammed shut.
'Oh no….'
Gritting her teeth, she backed up across the room and flew across the room, ramming the door with her head. She ran into the door with a loud whamming noise and felt the door slightly buckle under the force. Moving away for another crack at the door, Jirachi felt a little confidence creep in.
'Hah! I've still got this. A few more shots and I'll be back out!"
She quickly went about slowly battering the door down, pausing a few times to meditate shortly, making the pain in her head go away. Eventually, she saw one of the hinges give away.
'Last one….'
Jirachi was dimly aware of a popping sound as the other hinges in the door gave away and she flew out of the room across the corridor. She was acutely aware of the dozen attacks that hit her just as she emerged. Losing height, she whirled around to see a veritable army of pokemon arrayed along both corridors. She tried to prepare a psychic attack, but was blasted from both sides by multiple attacks.
When the smoke cleared, Jirachi was lying on the ground, with the walls around her bulging outwards from the combined forces of the pokemons' attacks. A grunt nervously walked up to get a closer look.
"And what in heaven's name are you supposed to be?"
"Wow."
Patrick blearily opened his eyes. Realising it was nearly dawn, he looked around to see Aron and Isrea looking around his room.
"Hey, you two!" He hissed. "Get under the bed before my mother comes! Quick!"
The two quickly did as they were told. Patrick got up and got changed for school when his mother knocked on his door. "Patrick?"
"Yeah?"
"Oh, you're awake. Well, I'm just reminding you to hand in that excursion form today. You'll have to make your own way to school today; I can't drive you because I've got to leave early."
"Yep, no problem."
As his mother's footsteps subsided, Patrick let out a sigh of relief and looked under his bed. Two sets of eyes glinted back at him.
"Phew, she didn't come in this time. My mother always likes to wake me up if I sleep in. I swear she gets a kick from watching me struggle out of bed every morning. Well, I've got to rush off to school since I don't get a ride. I strongly suggest waiting in my room until I come back. It'll be boring, but I'm sure it beats sitting in a cage."
"Yeah, sure….could you just bring some food before you go? I assume the tap water is drinkable here." Isrea whispered back.
"Yeah, it's potable. I'll bring you some stuff to eat, no worries." With that, Patrick left the room for the kitchen.
There was a knock at the door. "Hey, Lucas, you there? This is the address we were told to go to! It's Sean."
"Lucas isn't here at the moment, but I'll let you in. Just give me a sec!" Morgan said as she strode over to the door.
As soon as the door opened, Myu recognised Palkia and Celebi. "Oh hey Palkia! How's Celebi holding up with you?"
Palkia hugged Myu as Celebi sullenly watched from the shadows. "Pretty good, but Celebi's a tough customer all the time. Oh," Palkia turned to Morgan and held out a hand. "Who are you? I'm Sha-...wait, I'm guessing you know everyone here, don't you? I'm Palkia and this axew here is Celebi."
Morgan nodded and shook the proffered hand. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Morgan. Lucas and Arceus are just off getting something from Rowan. They should be back soon. Err….I didn't think you'd be a human though….what's up with that? Also, why is Celebi an axew?"
Palkia shrugged. "Long story. I guess I can tell it to you after this is all over. So, what have we done so far?"
Morgan sat down and leaned back. "We've figured out a way of finding out how to get into secret Galactic area, but that's about it. I think Lucas plans to just go in once we know the way. We don't know enough to sneak in."
Celebi piped up. "If it helps, I know roughly where Jirachi is. Since appearing, she spent most of her time in one spot pretty far underground, so we can assume she's either hiding or caught. Also, Jirachi's time-travelling partner has just taken two humans back with him to the future, so if they do come back it'll be sometime tomorrow morning near where Jirachi is being kept."
Seeing Morgan's quizzical look, Palkia took the cue and translated for her. "Basically, Celebi says that Jirachi is quite far underground and is either hiding or has been caught. Pretty much, it means that Celebi can guide us to Jirachi once we're in, although he can only give us a direction in which to go. Also, apparently Jirachi's time-travelling partner has just taken two humans into the future and will come back tomorrow morning wherever Jirachi is, whatever that means."
"It's still something, but Arceus doesn't want any direct legendary involvement, so you'll have to find a way to communicate with us remotely. That being said, Myu's still joining us. As for that time-travelling guy, that's probably Patrick. Maybe he's managed to make contact with Aron and Isrea and take them with him into the future. Oh….Aron and Isrea were the trainers Myu travelled with for some time and they had Jirachi's rock before getting caught." Morgan replied.
"Celebi can just tell me where to go using telepathy. It's not too complicated." Myu said.
"Hmm, well…." Morgan sighed. "When Lucas and Arceus come back, we can start working out the timing of the plan. I reckon we should set it in motion tonight, but we'll wait for Lucas and Arceus to come back before finalising that, I think."
In the Containment Chamber, Saturn stared at the pokemon inside the airtight cubic box. "So. This is Jirachi, the wish pokemon?"
Beside him, Nikolai nodded. "Yes sir. We found her and a boy walking around the base. We don't know how either got there, but the boy has also been caught and has been placed with the other two trainers. We postponed questioning him since we devoted all our resources to catching Jirachi, but I've ordered him to be taken in for an interview now. Do you know the lore surrounding Jirachi?"
"Yes, I do, and I intend to make use of it. Go and requisition some of those ice and electricity cannons - the ones we didn't use at Spear Pillar - and set them up in this room."
"Sir, you do realise that those cannons were not designed to be kept running for long periods of time, do you?"
"I do. Install them but don't activate them until I tell you to do so. Do this as quickly as possible. Speed is imperative."
"Sir. Where are they supposed to point? At Jirachi?"
"No. Point them at the door and along the middle of the room."
"Sir?"
"Jirachi is too important of a pokemon to be left here. Someone is bound to come after her. Personally, I'm hoping Arceus shows its head, but it's all academic. All I need is Jirachi, although Arceus is preferred. Increase security in the Inner Sanctum. Nobody enters this room and only personnel with the second highest level of clearance can enter the Inner Sanctum. Call all our grunts in. We might have a fight on our hands soon."
At that moment, a grunt approached the containment chamber. "Sir! The three trainers have escaped!"
"What?"
"They….they've just disappeared. Nobody knows where they went. Cameras have them there one moment and gone the next!"
Saturn shook his head irritably. "No matter. None of this will matter in a few days anyway. If you apprehend anyone, don't put them in those cages again. I don't know how they got out, but it's better to be safe rather than sorry." Saturn strode out of the Containment Chamber into the Inner Sanctum, a network of rooms surrounding the Containment Chamber. "Nikolai, go get those cannons for me. You." Saturn motioned the grunt over. "Go to the control room and change clearance requirements for the Inner Sanctum to 'Level 8'. Change clearance requirements for the Containment Chamber to 'Level 9'. After this, you are to leave the Inner Sanctum and inform as many of your colleagues of this change as possible. Inform them that it shouldn't last more than a week or two."
"Sir!"
Saturn watched both Nikolai and the grunt leave before turning back to regard the fainted legendary with a cool gaze.
'All I need is a wish…I won't need Arceus now that I have Jirachi.'
'Air!'
'I need air!'
Jirachi's back arched up as she gasped out for air and found little to breathe, streamers reaching out like the fingers of a drowning swimmer. She tried to get up but had to stop when spots started to swim before her eyes. Flopping back onto the floor, she tried to see where she was. Even the turning of her head left her dizzy, her vision blurring as she tried to make sense of her surroundings.
'Air….there's not enough to breathe….'
She was in a large room...in a glass box….
Jirachi blacked out again.
Kova and Rynade were both packing their belongings when Rynade got a call.
"Hello? It's Rynade. Hmmm? Ok." Rynade walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
His interest piqued, Kova moved closer to the door, edging it open before leaning against the gap.
"Hello? It's Rynade."
"This is a call from Galactic - I've received orders to call all of our operators in."
"All of them? Really? What's happened?"
"I...I'm afraid I'm not allowed to say that, sir."
"Not allowed? I've got level 7 clearance! You're telling me that the third highest level of clearance isn't high enough?"
"Errr...let me check." Rynade tapped his feet in frustration as the sound of ruffling paper fizzed out of the speaker. "I guess I could tell you…"
"Go on, out with it! I haven't got all day!"
"Sorry sir. I can't quite say everything since I don't have the clearance for that, but we've captured a powerful pokemon and need your help guarding it."
"Powerful? You mean legendary. No need for Saturn to want to capture and protect a normal pokemon."
"Well, yeah."
"So you do know! Why didn't you tell me then?" Rynade grinned as he imagined the caller wince over the phone.
"Well sir...there are all these rumours going around….For Mew's sake! I don't actually know if it's a legendary! It's just what I've heard!"
"Huh. I'll be there by tomorrow morning then."
Kova moved away from the door.
'So Galactic have captured a legendary, have they? It could be Mew; I should tell Giovanni.'
When Rynade reentered the room, Kova had gone back to trying to squeeze his belongings back into his backpack. As he finally shoved his toothbrush down the side pocket, Kova clapped his hands together and strolled out the door. "I'm going out to get dinner. You want anything?"
"Nah."
"Eh, suit yourself."
As soon as he was out of the hotel, Kova pulled out his phone and phoned Giovanni.
"Yes? What is it, Kova?"
"Sir, I've just received news that Galactic have just captured a very powerful pokemon and are guarding it with most or all of their staff. I have it on very good faith that it's a legendary pokemon."
A moment's pause on the line. Then, "I see."
"Sir?"
"I am very disappointed that Saturn has not informed me of this development. After all, are we not partners in this? If it happens to be mew, I will be even more disappointed. Thank you for your information. I will arrange a trip to Sinnoh immediately - arriving there by tomorrow morning if I use my fastest pokemon. In the meantime, try finding out the location of their headquarters by following Ryrainde there."
"Err...I think it's Rynade, not Ryrainde."
"Whatever. Good Evening." With that, Giovanni hung up.
Rynade grinned as he pulled his phone away from his ear.
'I knew my phone tap would come in handy someday. So, Giovanni's paying us a visit, eh? Guess it's rude if we don't welcome him.'
Rynade gave Saturn a call.
"Yes Rynade? I don't quite have the time for this right now, just get back to base."
"Yes sir, I know. I would just like to tell you that Giovanni has gotten wind of your….recent acquisition. He's planning on following me to your headquarters by using the Rocket agent that I'm currently working with. He'll arrive at Sinnoh tomorrow, so I won't have much time to get away, if that's what you want me to do-"
A hearty chuckle came over the line. "He thinks I have mew! Oh, this is delightful. I don't think I want you to lead Giovanni away; quite the contrary. Does Kova have a way of tracking you remotely?"
Rynade thought for a moment. "No, I don't think - wait, yes, he does! I gave him my GPS link data so we could meet near Eterna City. If he's any smart, he still has it. I can cancel the connection if you want me to, since I was going to do so tomorrow anyway."
"No, leave it. Try to delay Kova's departure as long as possible while leaving as soon as possible. I want Giovanni here, but I don't want him here too soon."
"Got it. I'll try getting there before tomorrow morning." With that, Rynade hung up.
'Looks like a trip to the pharmacy is in store for me.'
The room smelled of smoke. Sonya was listlessly picking at the fine mesh of her cage while Firael leaned her head against a wall on the other side of the cage. Rai curled up was beside her, sleeping. The charmeleon had unleashed large bursts of flame at the cage wall to no avail, succeeding only in filling the room up in dark grey smoke, the remnants of Firael's last attempt still lingering.
Firael felt the raichu beside her stir slowly.
"Firael?"
Firael turned to face Rai. "Yeah?"
"It's…..it's Rob, at the moment. I...I don't know what to say. I'm sorry. Sorry for losing you." Upon closer inspection, Firael noticed that Rob was tearing up.
"You don't need to say anything." Firael forced a small smile before sighing. "What good would it do?" Upon seeing Rob flatten his ears, Firael realised that what she had just said had not come across as she had intended. "No, not like that! I know you tried your best to save me, and I had no idea you were still looking for me when you ran into us in Sinnoh. What I was trying to say was that there is no point in harbouring regrets. What's done is done, and nothing can change it. Why mope about the past when you can change the future?"
"No, you don't understand! Everything fell apart before I found you again! Two of my pokemon left me! Firael, they left me!" Sonya, hearing Rob's sniffling, put an extremely tentative hand on the raichu's back. "Do you know what that says about me as a trainer?"
Firael waved her paws, shaking her head. "No, no, it's not as bad as you put it. They probably left in a fit of anger." Inside her head, Alexa voiced a small question,
'From what Drats and Vaiel told us, he got pretty impossible to deal with before they left. Besides, are you going to mention that we've got all of his other pokemon? Well….they're with Galactic now, but...y'know.'
Rob was shaking his head. "No, I now realise that I had changed. For the worse. Firael, I'm not who I once was, and that scares me."
Firael shut her eyes. "Everyone changes. I've actually got some news for you as well. We, uh, ran into your dragonair and vaporeon a few months ago. We've also got your ninjask and scizor from when you fought Kova near Eterna. Of course, they're all in Galactic's possession now."
Rob gave a wry grin. "Earlier on, you spoke about changing the future. I guess we aren't exactly in a position to do that now, are we?"
"No. I guess we aren't." Firael slumped into a seating position. "I guess we aren't."
With dinner still settling in her stomach, Morgan stepped through the threshold and into the reception area.
"Welcome to Veilstone City Police Center! What can the VCPD do for you?"
Morgan took a deep breath. "Well, I'd like to file 2 or 3 missing persons reports…"
Whew! Thus ends another giant chapter. Google docs actually starts doing weird stuff when you start hitting such high word counts in one doc file. I might have to start writing chapters in two halves if I'm going to keep writing stuff of this length. I know it's bloody long, but this was the only place I could think of which provided a good place for the chapter to end. On another note, I've been actively trying to add more descriptive language in my recent writing so the dialogue doesn't seem so 'ping-pongy'. I'm never going to end up with purple prose, but my writing feels extremely spartan at the moment.
Rush: Wow, Firael. You really screwed up that happy reunion part.
Firael: I want to hit you extremely hard.
Steven: Care to quantify that?
Firael: Huh, what do you mean?
Steven: Well, basically, how hard do you want to hit him? Give me a number.
Vendel: He wants force in Newtons.
Firael: What? What was wrong with the old ones?
Rush: Really? I told you she's a lost cause, Steven.
Firael: Right, that's it. Steven, how about you measure how many tonnes of force I'm about to apply to this bird?
Steven: YOU HAVE THE WRONG UNITS.