Chapter 8: Bounty

Riolu finished brushing Zorua's fur, and set the brush aside. Her clean, glossy coat shimmered in the sunlight which shown through the common room window. Since Luxio - no, Luxray now, Zorua corrected herself - had commandeered the common room as his headquarters, the two of them had taken to sleeping in an unused storeroom down the hall. It was small, really only a closet, but it had a window, and for the two of them, it was cozy but not cramped. Still, they both preferred the common room; it was always busy and well-lit, with other Pokémon to talk to and work to be done.

Zorua hadn't used her illusions since the night of the attack, three days ago. Whatever doubts the other Pokémon of Meadow Town had held about her were gone; she was not sure, now, whether they had ever been real, or just her own insecurities. She woke Pokémon for their watches, briefed and debriefed them between shifts when Luxray was busy or asleep, and walked the rounds to make sure no one had disappeared or fallen asleep, and they gave her the same respect they showed Luxray or Bayleef.

There was plenty of other work to be done as well; food to be gathered and dried to begin replacing the stores they had used over the winter, repairs to be made from the battle, trenches to be dug and timber to be gathered for Luxray's stockade, which had gained a surprising amount of support from the generally lackadaisical population of Meadow Town.

Only the mayor himself and a few of his friends were wary of her now; whether it was because Bayleef still held a grudge about Arcanine's roughness, or felt threatened by Luxray's new authority, or because Bayleef knew that she knew he was hiding something, Zorua didn't know.

Riolu wrapped the bright red Detect Scarf around her neck and tied it in the back so that it hung down under her neck like a bib. With his fingers, he made it look so easy, Zorua though, and it was much neater then when she tried to tie it herself.

"Thanks!" Zorua said.

"You'd better get going," Riolu said, ruffling the tuft of longer fur on her head, "if Natu's right about the weather. You two have fun, and don't forget to pick me up in the morning."

Zorua grinned, reaching up to lick him on the nose. "I won't."

It was late afternoon when Zorua left Meadow Town. The wind was cold, and the sky dark with storm clouds. Everyone had been doubtful when Natu predicted another snow; even the oldest Pokémon in Meadow Town could not remember seeing snow this late in the spring, but Natu was seldom wrong about the weather, and it appeared that he would be proven correct again. She walked quickly. It would be dark early tonight, and she wanted to be through the Haunted Forest shortcut well before then.

Zorua also hoped that she had left early enough to beat the snow. She had an unfortunate habit of showing up at Arcanine's cave dirty, disheveled, and in need of rescue, she thought, but tonight would be different. Hopefully he wasn't out exploring. Hopefully he hadn't already abandoned the cave above Haunted Forest and moved on, hoping to stay ahead of any bounty hunters who might come searching for him once the story of the attack on Meadow Town got out. Hopefully he had at least left a message, if he had gone.

It was snowing by the time Zorua came out of the trees at the base of Arcanine's mountain; heavy, wet spring snowflakes which stuck to her coat. Well, a little damp was okay, she though, at least she wasn't muddy or being chased by anything this time. She squinted up through the snow and wind, searching for Arcanine's outline at his customary place on the edge of the cliff, but in the evening gloom, she couldn't make out whether or not he was there.

As Zorua approached the ledge, she began to have doubts. Would Arcanine still be happy to see her? Fetching him to save the town had been the right choice, the only available choice, but Arcanine had a good arrangement here, presumed dead and safely hidden in the middle of Haunted Forest, before she barged in and messed things up for him. Now he was going to have to abandon it, and he had a right to be upset about that.

"Hey, big guy! Zorua called, tentatively, "mind if I come up?"

Seconds later, Arcanine's shaggy, grinning face emerged from the cave.

"Zorua! Come in," he said, not seeming to notice her hesitation. He didn't seem to notice the extra time she'd taken grooming this afternoon, either. Zorua was a little disappointed, but she figured that living alone on a mountain wasn't the best way to develop social skills.

Arcanine waited while Zorua shook herself off and settled on the floor next to him.

"No Riolu?" asked Arcanine

"He had to stand watch tonight. I showed him the trail, though. He'll probably join us in the morning."

"Glad you came, though," Arcanine said, "we need to talk."

"Ah, yeah," Zorua said, "I'm sorry about getting you involved in all that…"

"Don't apologize, you were right. But, ah…I don't know what to do next."

"You have to leave, don't you."

"I should leave," Arcanine said, "word will get out, even if no one here recognizes me and turns me in. Arcanines are rare, and I'm fairly distinctive." Arcanine gestured to his scarred back.

"But…" Zorua prompted.

"But those Ice-types didn't get what they were looking for."

"You think they'll come back? You were pretty terrifying."

Arcanine sighed. "I don't know."

"We're better prepared now. Luxio - Luxray, I mean, he decided to evolve after you left the other day - Luxray has taken charge of the watch. He's even trying to have a wall built. So far, most Pokémon are cooperating.

"You are better prepared. I went down last night and looked around, and I think Luxray is doing a good job, but you just don't have enough strong Pokémon."

The two of them lay silently for several minutes, watching as the snow blew lazily past the entrance of the cave, barely visible in the dim evening light.

"You've lived here a lot longer than I have, Zorua. Normal to get snow this late in the spring?"

"No. This weather is really weird," Zorua said, "no one remembers ever having snow this late, not even Natu, and he's really old."

Arcanine grunted. "Strange."

"Natu's been worried about something, too. He's been talking to Luxi- Luxray, and Bayleef. I don't know what it is, but…Natu's almost always right."

"Zorua, what I really want to do is ask you and Riolu and maybe even Luxray to leave with me, go somewhere so far away that no one will ever come looking for me."

"But you know we can't do that."

"Yeah."

Zorua stood, stretched, jumped up onto the pile of branches which made Arcanine's bed, and wriggled her way between his front legs and into his mane.

"So I'm taking my chances here, I guess," Arcanine said, "we need a signal, though, so you can call me if there's trouble instead of having to run through Haunted Forest."

"You could just move into town," Zorua suggested, "I think most people would welcome you."

"No," Arcanine said, "out here, will take them time to find me. Never seen nor smelled anyone from Meadow Town on the shortcut, besides you. If they come searching with enough Pokémon to catch me, there's a pretty good chance I'll spot them first. In town, I'm an easy target."

"We could have a bonfire ready in the town square," Zorua said, "only me and Riolu and Luxray would need to know exactly what it was for."

"That would work."

"We'll light it and leave it burning if we need help. And if we light it and make a lot of smoke, it means you're in danger."

Arcanine nodded in agreement.

"So," Zorua said, "you wanna take me and Riolu to another mystery dungeon tomorrow? He's healed from last time, except one feeler is still shorter than the other, and he wants to get beat up again."

"Close one," Arcanine answered, "just in case."

"We could do Haunted Forest. I'm ready for a rematch with those Ghosts."

Arcanine shook his head. "No, Haunted Forest is…strange. Remember how I told you mystery dungeons never change while you're in them?"

"Yeah."

"Think Haunted Forest is an exception. Time does strange things in there, too. If we got separated, even for a few seconds, we might not find each other again."

"Oh, well, anywhere else is okay too," Zorua said.

Zorua rolled over onto her back, looking up into Arcanine's eyes. This was the best place in the world, she though, right between his big paws. No matter what else happened, she would always be warm and safe here.

"Do you think they're really still after you, after all this time?"

"I don't know, Zorua."

"It's not fair. You're a good Pokémon. I want to be with you all the time instead of having to sneak up here."

"I do, too," Arcanine said, bending down to lick her face.

"There's something else I wanted to ask you, though…"

"Oh?"

"So, I know it will be kind of awkward, 'cuz you're so much bigger than me, but…will you mate with me?"

Arcanine grinned. "I think we can make it work," he said, "but aren't you and Riolu…?"

"Not really like that," Zorua said, "we're super good friends. We've been together pretty much our whole lives; it's more like he's my brother. I mean, we've tried it a few times, and it was fun, but it's not really romantic or anything."

"And you two planned this; that's why he didn't come tonight?"

Zorua smiled.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mewtwo stood at the center of the gym, grinning in anticipation. Arcanine and five of the younger clones; Scyther, Hitmonlee, Sandslash, Psyduck, and Gyarados, stood arrayed around him in a rough circle. Other than Mewtwo, each of them wore a collar connected wirelessly to the gym computer. At intervals, each of their collars would issue a command, a move to use against Mewtwo. The tempo at which commands were issued would begin slowly, and gradually escalate until the assault on Mewtwo became continuous.

The game was a test of reaction speeds, both theirs and Mewtwo's. Mewtwo could not watch all of them at once with his eyes, and he would have to rely on psychic input to predict and block their attacks. A Pokémon who reacted quickly enough when Mewtwo was distracted from another direction could score a hit, winning the game. Mewtwo would win if he could avoid being hit until the timer ran out, without knocking out or disabling any of his opponents. The program would run for a minute, and by the end, all seven of them would be exhausted. Mewtwo adjusted the speed of the commands after each fight to allow himself to lose once in twenty matches; enough to keep the game fun for everyone without suffering unnecessary injury.

This was everyone's favorite part of their training routine, the chance to play with Mewtwo, and Mewtwo himself enjoyed it most of all. Arcanine could see how badly Mewtwo wished that he could battle with the others as equals, but he knew none of them would ever be strong enough. The rest of the clones abandoned their training and gathered around to watch.

The buzzer sounded and Hitmonlee opened with a Jump Kick toward Mewtwo's head. Scyther followed with a low Slash of his blades, as Psyduck flung a pawful of pebbles with Confusion. Sandslash Swiftly launched a volley of quills.

Mewtwo blocked or dodged each attack with ease, moving with a swift feline grace which even Arcanine envied. Despite his psychic talents, Mewtwo trained his body as thoroughly as he trained his mind. With the regular timing maintained by their collars, their battle felt more like a dance than a fight.

The game progressed, commands coming faster and faster until even Mewtwo's incredible reflexes had difficulty keeping up. He could have swept them all away with Psychic, of course, but that was not the point.

"ExtremeSpeed." Arcanine's collar commanded.

Mewtwo's back was turned toward him as Mewtwo Protected himself from Gyarados' Hydro Pump. Arcanine pounced, aiming low, hoping to get under Mewtwo's guard. Mewtwo spun around just in time, stumbling back as he lashed out with Psychic. The blow struck Arcanine squarely in the face and sent him tumbling into a stack of training dummies.

Arcanine tried to stand, but the world wavered unsteadily around him, and he found himself back on the floor.

#Stop.# Mewtwo commanded.

The other clones stopped fighting, allowing the last few seconds of the program to expire.

#I'm sorry, friend.# Mewtwo said, squatting in front of Arcanine, both panting from their exertion. #I lost control. Are you alright?#

Arcanine tried to laugh, but it came out as a choking, gurgling sound. He spat out some blood and grinned, nodding very slowly so that the world would not start spinning again

"I thing my nobe is broke."

Mewtwo lifted Arcanine's muzzle, fingertips stroking along the sides of his jaws and the bridge of his nose. #It is. It should be, after a hit like that. I'm glad I didn't break your jaw. I guess this makes it a draw, technically, but you were very close.#

Mewtwo moved aside to allow Wigglytuff to inspect Arcanine's face. The rotund Pokémon's stubby arms had difficulty reaching the top of Arcanine's head.

"Why is it always you?" Wigglytuff grumbled, "you get hurt more than any other Pokémon here. You just about bit off your tongue, too."

"I jutht enjoy your conthany."

"You're lucky there's nothing in your thick head to damage." Pink light outlined Wigglytuff's hands and spread across Arcanine's face. The pain subsided. "Now go lay down. You're done training today."

Arcanine stood, still a little dizzy, and headed for the exit. There were a few hours of daylight left, he thought. He would go up top and nap in the sun, and wait for the others to finish. Mewtwo reached out a hand as Arcanine passed, fingers brushing through Arcanine's mane, and Arcanine butted his head gently against Mewtwo's chest.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Come on, Arky," Vulpix said, "stop stuffing your big face and lets get up to the library. Ninetales is reading to us again tonight."

"What's she reading?"

Arcanine tore another chunk off the roasted Sawsbuck and gulped it down. The sun had felt so good that he had slept halfway through dinner; everyone else had already finished cleaning up and headed upstairs, only Vulpix staying behind to harass him. At least his head felt better, now.

"Who cares? She could read one of your boring biology textbooks and make it sound amazing."

"Well, go save us a spot," Arcanine told her, "I'll be up in a few minutes."

Arcanine finished eating and added his femur to the pile containing the Sawsbuck's other large bones. In the morning when he went out hunting again, Arcanine would return them to the spot where he had made the kill. It was impossible to prove that legend true or false, but all of the carnivores in the group had agreed to observe the tradition. Arcanine would have preferred to take the bone up to the library to gnaw while they listened to Ninetales, but Mewtwo enforced a strict no-food-in-the-library policy ever since Squirtle had gotten berry juice all over his signed first edition of Seven Pillars of Wisdom back on Cinnabar.

"Look what the fox dragged in," Pidgeot commented as Arcanine entered the library.

A dozen king-sized mattresses were scattered in a rough semicircle in the center of the library. Since many of them were the wrong size or shape to fit comfortably on ordinary Human furniture, Mewtwo had stolen a whole Conex of them to serve as beds and couches throughout their island home. Nidoqueen and Ryhorn were at the front, surrounded by their cubs. Charizard and Blastoise lay side by side on one, the former careful to keep his tail on the stone floor. Venusaur occupied another, Pikachu and Meowth between his front legs. Rapidash stood in the back, safely away from anything flammable.

Arcanine settled in between Vaporeon and Sandslash on the last mattress, and Vulpix stretched out beside him, her chin on one of his forepaws. Many of the other clones were there as well. Mewtwo and Golduck pushed their chairs back from the table where they were playing chess, and turned toward Ninetales.

"Now that all of you illiterate peasants are present," Ninetales said, "can we begin?"

Ninetales slid a tattered paperback onto the table in front of her, still carefully concealing the cover from the rest of the group, and began to read.

"Jack Holloway found himself squinting, the orange sun full in his eyes…"

Ninetales' voice was enchanting, like listening to a symphony or a choir of angels. There was a brief pause as she carefully turned each page; though her touch was delicate, her paws were inadequate to the task. The scents and sounds of all of his friends wrapped around him like a blanket, and Arcanine soon found himself getting sleepy. It wasn't a lack of interest; like many of the other clones and Mewtwo himself, he enjoyed old science fiction, and Ninetale's voice was wonderful to listen to. It was just that he also very much enjoyed sleeping…

Arcanine woke hours later. He could feel Vulpix's warm back against his chest, and someone else, Vaporeon, he though, leaned against his back. He could smell several other Pokémon still in the library with them; Bulbasaur, Ninetales, Pikachu, Sandslash, their sleeping bodies visible as dark outlines in the moonlight. Not knowing what had woken him, Arcanine lay still for several minutes, taking in the sounds of the night; the gentle breathing of the others, the fans of the library's several computers, hibernating against the far wall, the hum and chirp of Bug-types outside the open windows.

Arcanine wriggled free of his companions. It was a pleasant night, he thought, and he would go watch the stars from the top of Mount Quena until he fell asleep again. The rising sun would wake him in the morning, and he could get an early start on his chores.

As he passed, Arcanine saw a bar of light from under Mewtwo's closed door and heard the hum of his computer. Was he still awake? He stopped, wondering whether to risk waking their leader.

#Come in, old friend#

Arcanine nosed the door open and slipped inside, pushing it closed again behind him. Mewtwo sat at his desk, hunched over, both elbows on the desk and his forehead resting on his hands. The monitor was covered in Human news stories.

#Don't apologize,# Mewtwo said, before Arcanine could begin, #I'm not making any progress here, and I could use some company.#

Arcanine wanted to run to Mewtwo, to sniff him and lick his face and put his head in Mewtwo's lap, but Mewtwo was uncomfortable with such physical intimacy. Instead he lay down on the stone floor beside Mewtwo's chair, leaning his muzzle against Mewtwo's leg.

#I don't understand Humans,# Mewtwo confided, #no matter how much I study them. They think so differently from us.#

Mewtwo reached down, scratching the bases of Arcanine's ears. Arcanine lifted his head, pushing back against Mewtwo's fingers.

#When I first met Giovanni, after I destroyed the lab on Cinnabar, he told me that I was the strongest Pokémon, but there was something stronger; Humans.#

Arcanine listened intently; his own past, before he had begun creating the rest of them, was something that Mewtwo seldom spoke about.

#I didn't understand what he meant. I could have destroyed him with a thought. Maybe I should have, but I was curious. I asked him to train me. I thought that he would teach me, the way I've tried to teach all of you. I though…I thought we would be friends.#

Mewtwo was silent for several minutes, lost in thought. His fingers stroked absently through Arcanine's mane.

#He showed me all the things Humans had built,# Mewtwo continued, #their cities, their machines, their weapons. The Balls. He showed me billions of humans, and billions of Pokémon serving them, and I though that he must be right.#

Mewtwo paused again. Arcanine waited, knowing he would continue in his own time.

#For Pokémon, strength is an individual quality; when I say that I am stronger than you, I mean that if we battled, I would probably win. For Humans, strength is a collective quality, measured in how many other Humans and Pokémon one controls. A Human becomes stronger not by training, but by forcing others to serve him. For years, I did everything he demanded of me. Eventually I admitted that he had never cared about me. I believed that I had learned everything that I could from him, so I left, and returned to Cinnabar. I thought that it was over; we had battled, a battle of wills, and I had won. That it how a Pokémon would think, is it not?#

Arcanine nodded in agreement.

#Arcanine, what if I was wrong?#

Arcanine looked up at Mewtwo quizzically. It was not a line of thought that he had ever considered before, and it took him a moment to figure out what Mewtwo meant.

"You mean, what if Giovanni comes after you?"

#That's exactly what I mean.#

"I've read everything I can find about him, and his team. Most of us have," Arcanine said, "he's a strong man, as Humans count. What are the odds that he would find us in his remaining lifespan? I don't know. What would he do when he did find us?"

Mewtwo said nothing, waiting for Arcanine to continue.

"We have no practical defense against a sufficiently large bomb, but would that satisfy him? After all that effort, he would want you back, or at least see you face-to-face, wouldn't he?"

#I don't know,# Mewtwo said, #but, I think so. He is a very proud man; if he couldn't have me, he would still want to know that I knew he had beaten me.#

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Zorua looked so happy like that, Arcanine thought, curled up against his chest with her tail over her face. Her legs twitched occasionally, and Arcanine wondered whether she was dreaming. What did other Pokémon dream? How much did they remember? Arcanine wished that he could remember his own dreams; there were answers there, he was sure, keys that would unlock the memories of how he had come to be in the hills near Treasure Town that day, confused and alone, covered in fresh wounds and barely alive.

He didn't want to wake Zorua, but Arcanine badly needed to stretch and relieve himself. He stood as carefully as he could, but at nearly two hundred kilos, there was a limit to how subtly he could move. Zorua rolled over, yawned, and opened her eyes, which shown softly in the dim predawn light.

"Where are you going, big guy?" Zorua asked sleepily, "it's not even light yet."

"Stay there. Back in a few minutes."

Several inches of snow had fallen overnight, the kind of wet spring snow that stuck to the fur between one's pads. The air was still, somewhat below freezing, and his breath rose in clouds. Arcanine relieved himself over the ledge; one day, he thought, he was going to get lucky and hit some unsuspecting Pokémon on the trail below. He sat down to scratch himself, then rolled over onto his back, wriggling side to side in the snow. He couldn't really feel the cold through his thick coat, and he lay there for several minutes, thinking.

Whatever options he'd had before, he was definitely stuck here, now, Arcanine thought. There was no chance that Zorua had his egg; if she'd been in heat, he would have smelled it. Before last night, though, he hadn't thought about how badly he wanted her to. She made a great partner. She wasn't very strong, but that was okay; he was strong enough for both of them. She was smart, and knew quite a bit about the world that he'd forgotten or never learned. Most importantly, she was loyal; not just to him, but all her friends down in Meadow Town. Arcanine didn't just want a partner, though, or even a team; he wanted a family.

Was that what Zorua wanted, too, or was it just a game for her, or a way to comfort herself after Treecko's death? Arcanine didn't think she was manipulating him, despite her species' reputation, but that didn't mean she wanted a permanent relationship, either.

Zorua was plenty clever, but so far, she'd always been very direct when she wanted something. Wash me, talk to me, take me to a mystery dungeon, save my town. Arcanine appreciated that kind of openness; he hated trying to guess what other Pokémon really wanted, and had little use for social subtleties. Anyway, he'd already decided on staying.

He would have to be very careful for a while, he thought. No more mystery dungeons, after today; he would patrol Haunted Forest and the surrounding mountains, and the valley around Meadow Town. If the Pokémon from Treasure Town came for him, they would come in force. He was fast, and he knew the area well, and if necessary, he could lose himself in Haunted Forest. Unlike most mystery dungeons, it had multiple exits, and a continuous entrance around the entire perimeter. He would never leave the ledge without the treasure bag again.

The pool by his cave was frozen over; Arcanine smashed through the ice and drank deeply before going back inside. Zorua hadn't moved.

"How much snow did we get?" Zorua asked.

"Few inches."

"Don't make me get up yet, big guy. Come lay back down."

"Not in a hurry." Arcanine settled back down on the bed beside Zorua.

"You done this before, haven't you?" Zorua asked, "with someone my size, I mean."

"I'm not sure," Arcanine admitted.

"I'm sure. I had some theories, but you knew exactly what positions and stuff would work."

Zorua was right, he though; it had felt very familiar. What had that other Pokemon been like, he wondered. Where was she now? Had they had cubs together?

"Remembering anything, big guy?"

Arcanine shook his head. "Know there's something I should remember. It's just not there."

"We'll just have to keep trying until you do," Zorua said, giggling, "I guess we should get going, though; Riolu might start to think you squashed me or something."

Arcanine grinned. "Guess so. Want to stop and gather food on the way. Someone ate all my berries."

"There's somewhere else I want to stop first, too," Zorua said, "Arcanine, we…we buried Treecko by the stream, where we used to play when we were little. I know you didn't know him, but I want to show you."

"I want to see it, too," Arcanine said. He didn't have any feelings about Treecko himself, having never known the Grass-type as anything but a sad, bloody body on the floor, but if it was important to Zorua, he wanted to be a part of the mourning for her sake.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Halfway through the shortcut, Arcanine began to feel uneasy. The snow on the ground around them was unmarred by any tracks other than their own. The forest around them was silent save for the rustling of the trees in the breeze, but still, Arcanine felt as if something was out of place.

Arcanine stopped. "Something's not right."

He raised his head, drawing in a deep breath. His ears swiveled, searching for unexpected sounds, and his eyes scanned the forest around them. All along the path this morning, he had smelled the ordinary scents of the forest; cold snow and wet earth, pine and grass and decaying wood, the trails of Ghost-types from the mystery dungeon, Pachirisu and Hoppip and Pidgey and other small, wild Pokémon who lived on the outskirts of Haunted Forest. Now, all those scents seemed strangely dulled to his sensitive nose, as if something where interfering with them.

"What is it? Zorua whispered.

"Get on my back." Arcanine said, crouching to allow her to mount.

#Don't try to run,# a voice spoke within their minds.

The world around them shimmered with purple light, and they were no longer alone. The snow around them was no longer clean, but crisscrossed with muddy footprints. Charizard and Tyranitar stood blocking the trail ahead. Alakazam floated in the air above and behind them, legs crossed and eyes closed.

"Zoroark," Zorua whispered. The effect was unmistakable; no other Pokemon created such a broad illusion.

Arcanine spun around to find the path blocked behind him as well; three Mightyena stood in front, and behind them, a pair of Eevee and Aromatisse. So, that was why he hadn't been able to smell them. He thought he could hear movement in the bushes to either side of the trail as well, but with Aromatisse's Aroma Veil still in effect, he couldn't identify them.

"All this for me?" Arcanine laughed, turning back to face Alakazam. "You're not scared, are you?"

"Thank you, Zorua," Alakazam said, speaking verbally this time, "you led us right to him."

"What?" Zorua objected, shocked, "I didn't-"

"Don't listen to them," Arcanine said, "Alakazam! Let Zorua leave. This isn't her fight."

"If we let her go, you'll cooperate?"

Arcanine hesitated a moment. He wasn't sure how much of his thoughts Alakazam could read. He had no intention of cooperating, of course, but he had to get Zorua safely away.

"I will."

"No!" Zorua said, "I won't leave you."

"We can't win here, Zorua. Take the bag and run," Arcanine said, lowering his head and allowing the treasure bag to slip off. He leaned close to Zorua and whispered, "Remember the plan. If I get away, I'll meet you there. If not…I love you."

"I remember," Zorua said. Her eyes stinging with tears, she reached up to rub the the side of her face against Arcanine's muzzle. "I love you, too."

Zorua pulled the strap on the bag to shorten it, and slipped her head though; it was still too large for her, leaving the bag dragging on the ground. She picked it up in her jaws and turned toward town.

"Wait," Alakazam said, suspiciously, "leave the bag."

Zorua looked to Arcanine for direction, and he nodded. There were valuable items in the bag, but nothing worth risking Zorua's escape. As she slipped out of the carrying strap, it somehow became tangled around her front legs. Arcanine watched her hook a claw through the drawstring and pull the bag open as she pretended to struggle with it. A careful footstep pushed an Orb to the mouth of the bag, and then she was free.

Clever girl, Arcanine thought, keeping his face neutral. With the bag facing toward him, and his body blocking the view of the Pokémon behind him, he didn't think anyone else could see. Zorua winked at him and walked away, passing between Charizard and Tyranitar, and directly beneath Alakazam, without looking at any of them.

What now, Arcanine wondered. The longer he could stall, the less chance they could capture Zorua if he managed to escape. He couldn't tell from here which Orb Zorua had given him She would not have known either; it had been a random selection, whichever had happened to be on top. There was an Escape Orb in there, but Arcanine didn't know whether it would work at all on the shortcut; a Luminous Orb which, in addition to it's use at a lantern, when shattered would produce a blinding flash of light which might give him an opportunity to make it through the cordon and into Haunted Forest; and a One-Shot Orb, which also might buy him a little time, but which, unlike the Escape Orb, he definitely did not want to use on himself.

"Now, will you come with us peacefully?" Alakazam asked.

Tyranitar was Rock and Dark, Arcanine thought, so he would have a type disadvantage, there. Alakazam was Psychic, and Charizard Fire, like himself, both neutral matchups. The three of them were obviously a team, and probably respected veterans, given how all of the others were deferring to Alakazam. Perhaps he could play on their pride?

"You don't need the whole gang just for me, do you?" Arcanine asked, forcing a grin, "let's see if the three of you can take me yourselves."

Alakazam frowned, and Arcanine could tell immediately that this wasn't going to work.

"No more games-" Alakazam began, but Arcanine was already moving.

He faked a charge toward Alakazam, stopping at the dropped adventure bag. Two jets of water arced from the bushes on either side of the trail, crossing where Arcanine would have been had he continued his charge. Charizard and Tyranitar closed together protectively in front of their leader, the three of them forming a single, easy target. Arcanine kicked the treasure bag away and swatted the orb toward them in a single motion.

The One-Shot Orb hit Tyranitar in the chest. The huge Pokémon swayed briefly, suddenly no longer conscious, and tipped over, crashing to the ground on his back. Arcanine sprinted for the gap where Tyranitar had stood.

Weight slammed into Arcanine's flank, and he stumbled. Fangs sank into the flesh of his shoulder and hip. Arcanine kept going, dragging both the Mighyenas with him. The third landed on Arcanine's back, his teeth seeking a hold through Arcanine's mane. The Mightyenas excelled at Pursuit, and Arcanine realized too late that he had underestimated them.

The combined weight of the Mighyenas drove Arcanine to the ground. Arcanine prepared to unleash Heat Wave. Blastoise emerged from the bushes beside him, water cannons firing. One of the high-pressure jets hit the Mightyena on Arcanine's back, knocking him free, but the other caught Arcanine in the face, blinding him and forcing water into his mouth and nose. Arcanine choked, spitting a cloud of steam and he tried to shake the water from his eyes.

The Mightyenas tore into Arcanine mercilessly, ripping chunks of flesh from his back and legs, and he howled in pain and rage. He flailed, trying desperately to dislodge them, but Arcanine knew it was hopeless.

"We're Team Mighty!" Arcanine could hear them cheering, "We chase and chase and chase…"

I'm sorry, Arcanine though, as his consciousness faded, I wasn't strong enough.

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Zorua could hear Arcanine's howls of pain behind her as she ran, rising in volume, growing more panicked, and then fading to silence. She knew that Arcanine was correct, that there was nothing she could have done to help him here, but still, she hated herself for abandoning him.

How had they gotten four high-level teams out here so quickly, she wondered. How had they known exactly where to ambush Arcanine, and what had Alakazam meant about leading them to him? Alakazam, Charizard, and Tyranitar had to be Team ACT from Pokémon Square. She'd never seen them before, but the trio were famous; she'd heard plenty of stories. If a message had gone out by Pelipper the day of the attack, while she and Arcanine and Riolu were still searching for the mayor, that would have given them less than four days for the message to travel to Pokémon Square, and for them to assemble everyone, travel here, locate Arcanine, and set up their ambush.

Pokémon Square was a week's walk, for her. Some of the other Pokémon could move faster, of course, but not all of them. Charizard could have flown here, but Alakazam must have shuttled the others with Teleport. Safe long-distance teleporting required either a very detailed memory of the target location, or another psychic at the receiving end to guide the teleporter in; that meant someone in Meadow Town had almost certainly betrayed them.

Zorua was certain that no one had followed her here last night; her first few visits to Arcanine, though, before she knew he was hiding from something, she had not been as careful as she should have been. Someone else from town could have seen where she was going, and made the connection.

Zorua rounded a bend in the trail, and there was Luxray, running toward her, breathing heavily and tongue hanging out. Riolu trailed behind him.

"Where's Arcanine," Luxray panted, "warn him…bounty hunters…"

"It's too late." Zorua said, as Luxray came to a stop in front of her.

"What?" Luxray asked, sitting down in the snow to catch his breath, "how did they-"

"I don't know, but they were waiting for us on the shortcut. We walked right into it."

"How did…you get away?" Riolu asked, catching up to Luxray, even more out of breath.

"They let me go."

Riolu sat too, leaning against Luxray's flank. Zorua paced in front of them as she explained the situation, too angry to sit still.

"I'm sure you've noticed Ralts and Snivy spending a lot of time with Bayleef, the last few days," Riolu said once she had finished.

Zorua nodded, sitting down beside the others.

"The two of them traded shifts to be on the north watch together this morning," Riolu said, "they snuck Team ACT in early to meet with Bayleef while I was still asleep and Luxray was out to check on the south watch."

"We came as fast as we could. We thought we could take the shortcut and reach you first." Luxray shook his head. "Bayleef was quite proud of himself. Zorua, someone is offering a million Poké for him."

"A million?" Zorua stared for a moment in shock. "What would anyone even do with a million Poké?"

Luxray shrugged. None of them could imagine that much money, or a use for it.

"So, what are we going to do now?" asked Riolu.

"I'm going to Pokémon Square," Zorua said, " I owe him my life. Twice."

Riolu and Luxray looked at each other. "We all owe him our lives," Luxray said, speaking for both of them, "we'll come too."

"I really want you guys to come too," Zorua said, "but you can't.

They both stared at her, confused.

"Luxray, you're the one holding Meadow Town together right now. Everyone who isn't Bayleef's minion respects you, and you need a partner you can trust." Zorua looked to Riolu. "You two are also the strongest Pokémon in Meadow Town. If those ice-types come back, you're the only ones who have any chance at stopping them."

"You're going to need help breaking him out, though." Riolu objected.

"We don't know where he is or how he's guarded," Zorua said, "no one will recognize me, and Alakazam can't read me. I'm going to scout around, and when I know what we're up against, I'll Pelipper Mail you.

"I don't like this plan," Riolu said, "but I can't argue with your logic. You were always the smart one of us."

When Riolu said 'us', they all knew knew he didn't mean himself, Zorua, and Luxray, he meant himself, Zorua, and Treecko. Zorua went to him, putting her head on his shoulder, and Riolu wrapped his arms around her neck. Luxray's forelegs wrapped around them both, pulling the three Pokémon together.

"I love you guys," Zorua said, "please, be careful."

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1. Little Fuzzy, H. Beam Piper, Berkely Pub. Group, 1962.