Holy crap guys! I haven't published anything on this story since December of last year! I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! On to the Story!
The truth is we're all searching. We're all looking for guidance, for mentors, and I'm by no means someone to follow.
Jason Momoa
Chapter 3
Caleb's POV
"How are you holding up?" Lawrence asked as dawn began to break.
"I'm fine. Am getting a little hungry though." I admitted.
We had finally made it through the forest and to the outskirts of Catallia. From here, we would make our way through the city with me in my human form. Lawrence would be outside of his Pokéball to see if he could pick up any traces of Katlyn's scent. If luck was on our side, we would find Katlyn within the day.
"This place is pretty neat." Lawrence said as he looked around. "It kinda looks like Lavender Town with all these old buildings."
"Yeah, I guess." I mumbled as we continued walking. We decided to go through the older parts of town, thinking Katlyn may have avoided the newer, wider areas.
"Are you going to be like this the entire time we are looking?" Lawrence asked. "I get it, Katlyn is your sister and we are all worried about her. With that said, being a grouch about her running off isn't going to help you find her."
"I am not a grouch!" I yelled a little too loudly, eliciting stares from surrounding pedestrians. I looked down at my feet out of embarrassment and pushed my way through the crowd. "See what you did? You are drawing attention to us!"
"No, you are drawing attention. I am just a cute little Vulpix walking with my trainer."
I bit back a retort when I noticed all the people still staring as we walked. I lowered my head and stared at the ground as embarrassment burned in my cheeks. The stares subsided a little, but I was definitely on people's radar now. Seeing as how I wasn't exactly supposed to be by myself in public, that wasn't exactly a good thing.
"Hey you," a voice called out as we continued down the street.
"Crap, its the cops." I muttered to Lawrence as we continued walking.
"What do you want to do?" Lawrence asked as we slowed down a little.
"On the count of three, we run. If we can get enough distance between us, we can duck into an alley and I can transform into a Vulpix." I replied.
The police officer began to head in our direction. I was beginning to have flashbacks to when we were still trying to reverse my transformation. As the officer got closer I began to tense up. It was as if I was excited for the chase to begin. The cop was coming directly for us. We waited for him to come closer. Once he was within arm's reach, Lawrence and I leapt toward the nearby alley. The maneuver was executed flawlessly as we easily got out of the cop's path.
"Hey, guys break it up! This isn't the place for an after party nap!" the cop said as he walked right past the alley toward a pair of drunken college students passed out on the side walk. Maybe I wasn't the one attracting the crowd's attention!
"All that work and he wasn't even bothered to look in our direction." I muttered as heat filled my cheeks.
"That was embarrassing." Lawrence laughed as we exited the alley. "What were you saying about not drawing attention to us?"
"Shut up," I muttered as we continued down the street.
"I think I know where she is heading." Lawrence suddenly piped up.
"Where?"
"I think she is going to the airport. I can smell the fumes of jet exhaust nearby and the longer we walk down this street the stronger it gets."
"That's not good," I muttered. I ran up to a couple that was sitting on a nearby bench and put on my best 'I'm an innocent child' face. "Excuse me, but is the airport close to here?"
The couple looked at me for several seconds before smiling. "It's just up the road. If you keep going straight, you can't miss it."
"Thanks!" I said with a wave as I took off down the road.
It only took us another ten minutes before we found the airport. It wasn't the biggest one I had ever seen, but it was big enough to accommodate all of the larger airlines. Though it could only handle the smaller jets from those companies. Using Lawrence's nose, we were able to find the gate she had been at, but the plane was long gone. I should have guessed that this wouldn't be easy, but hope was an irrational thing.
"So, we are back to square one." Lawrence muttered as we sat outside the airport.
"How old do you think her scent trail was?" I asked as I pulled out my phone.
"I'd say at least ten hours old." Lawrence replied.
I quickly pulled up the airport's website up and began looking at today's schedule. Luckily, the website was fairly modern, making it easy to navigate. I quickly pulled up the specific gate and stared intently at the schedule. It looked like the plane had been destined for Golden Rod City. I couldn't help but groan. Even if we had the money to get a plane ticket, we wouldn't be able to make it to Golden Rod before tomorrow.
"What do we do now?" Lawrence asked.
"I don't have a clue. We could head to Cherrygrove or we could wait for the others to get here." I said with a sigh of defeat.
"It will take them awhile for them to get here." Lawrence answered. "If we wait too long, we may not find her at all."
"I don't know how we are going to get there! Golden Rod is literally hundreds of miles away! The only other option we have is catching a largish flying type but those are rare!" I shouted. I could feel Katlyn slipping away. It was a horrible, gut wrenching feeling.
"I say we run to Cherrygrove then to Violet City. If we can get there we can talk to the gym leader there." Lawrence suggested.
"What good will that do?" I muttered glumly.
"Dude, Falkner is a flying type specialist. If we talk to him he may be willing to fly us to Golden Rod. Besides, you said it before, we don't have the money for a plane ticket."
"Alright, let's do that then. How long do you think it will take to get to Violet City?"
"I'd say we can make it there in three days. Just don't expect to be human until we get there."
"Assuming we don't run into any trouble, and if Falkner is willing to take us, we could be in Golden Rod in four or five days." I calculated. "Do you think you will be able to pick up Katlyn's scent?"
"I should be able to if we can get to the gate that she arrived at."
"Alright then, it looks like we have a plan. As soon as we get out of town, I'll transform and we'll take off!" I said my determination rekindled.
Sam's POV
"I still can't believe you just let them go!" Austin shouted as we walked down the road toward Catallia.
The morning had not been kind to me. While Elweard and Teresa had not strangled me out right, they didn't refrain Austin and the others from nearly killing me. If MK hadn't of performed some of his magic, I probably would have been six feet under right now. MK did seem to care about me, I realized. Unfortunately, that seemed to be shown in a multitude of irritating ways. At the moment, I was grateful.
"I told you before, I was going to stop them. It just felt like I shouldn't. I think I would have regretted it if I had stopped them." I explained for what felt like the millionth time.
"You could have at least told us sooner." Devin muttered as he dragged behind. He never was much for all of this traveling. Especially since he had shorter legs than everyone else.
"If I had done that then you guys would have chased after them." I replied with a sigh.
"At least we would have been closer to them by now. Who knows where they could be! Hell, they could already be on the other side of Johto by now!" Emily spat.
Of our group, she was probably the most responsible. Of course this made her the most nagging of the group as well. Not to mention her over protectiveness was on par with my mother. I could see so many similarities between the two that it felt like I was traveling with a younger version of my mother. Needless to say, it got very annoying very fast.
The next several hours consisted of us walking through a semi forested area. The trees were too far apart to be considered a forest. There were several very large clearings between equally large clumps of trees. The route we were taking was easy to follow and was well maintained. On any other day, this would be an awesome time for a morning hike.
"Have any ideas what we are going to do next?" Austin asked gruffly.
"I figured we would just keep heading towards the first gym." I replied.
"What are you going to do if we don't find Katlyn and Caleb before we get to Ilex forest?" Devin asked quietly. That was obviously the question Austin wanted to ask.
"I figure I can continue on my gym challenge and keep looking for clues. It's a small world after all, and those two are bound to continue traveling. I'm sure that I will run into them sometime. Besides, traveling by myself has a few perks too." I said cheerily, though I was hurting inwardly.
"You don't have to fake it. We can tell that their leaving hurt you." Emily said quietly.
"I'm not faking it! Seriously, there are some awesome advantages to traveling alone. I won't have to worry about other people, I can travel to where I want, heck I can even travel at my own pace. I don't have to rush to save someone or get someone home! It sounds pretty amazing if you ask me." I continued with a nonchalant smile.
"Sam," Emily whispered quietly as she put her arm around my shoulder.
The dam burst. All of my pent up emotions I had been hiding since Katlyn disappeared seemed to lash out all at once. Tears streamed down my face no matter how hard I tried to hold them back. I was hurt. Katlyn was my best friend, we had been traveling together ever since we became trainers. We had been through so much together that I thought we would never be separate. Then she disappeared with no explanation aside from a piece of paper that no one could read.
Then there was Caleb. He was the reason I had even met Katlyn. If he hadn't of gotten himself cursed, Katlyn would still be in college and I would be traveling around Kanto by myself. His misadventure had caused a lot of good things to happen. Then he left. He didn't even bother with a letter. It was almost like everything we had gone through didn't mean a single thing to him. His leaving was like swimming in the ocean after cutting open your foot on a rock. It hurt more than anything else on the planet.
"It's ok, we'll find them." Emily comforted.
"No," I replied through my tears. "You three need to go home. I will looking for them after Celebi takes you home."
"They're our friends too, you know." Devin piped up.
"Look, you guys haven't been home in a long time. If anyone deserves to get what they want, it's you guys." I replied.
"I tell you what, we can look for them until we make it to the Ilex Forest. I don't think a few extra weeks of traveling will matter to a Pokémon like Celebi." Austin said with a smile.
Katlyn's POV
"This facility is one of the most advanced research institutions in the world. While it is used mostly for aeronautics, we also have a few labs set aside for other projects." Giovanni explained as he led the way through the building.
"I am assuming that these labs are underground?" I asked.
"That is a very good guess, Miss Katlyn." Giovanni praised. "Having the labs underground makes them easier to keep secure. After all, we wouldn't want rivals to get a hold of our research."
"Are you talking about business rivals, or the underground fanatics? After all, I'm sure that the other teams out there would love to get a hold of your tech."
"The other teams? Pah! The others teams hold too many fantasies. Some want to make more land or water, others want to rewrite the universe. The reason they are always close to disappearing is that they stretch themselves thin for an impossible goal." Giovanni said with a frown.
"But your goals aren't fantasy?" I asked sarcastically.
"Tell me, who controls an election? Why do nations go to war? How do some people go from having nothing to being powerful? The answer is simple if you think about it." Giovanni said as we entered an elevator. He typed in a pass code and the elevator began its descent. "Money. Money is able to get you anything you can desire. If you want to win an election, you pay off the right people and you win. Countries go to war for the riches. In years past that was gold, jewels, and land. Now it is oil. Those that start with nothing earn a little money then they are shrewd with it. Many times, those who had only a little now own half the world."
"I take it that you are that last example."
"That is an excellent guess."
"What more do you want?" I asked, hoping he would let something useful slip.
"To leave a mark. One that will never be forgotten." Giovanni replied simply. His eyes were strangely sad.
His answer felt different than I expected. It felt genuine, almost painful. Was I starting to empathizes with the leader of Team Rocket? I quickly dumped those thoughts from my memory. I would never see Giovanni as anything more than a monster in human form.
"Now that we are in private," Giovanni began as he tapped a button on the elevator panel. I felt my ears pop suddenly and it felt like the air was compressing my skull. "I apologize for the discomfort. The privacy field in the elevator is a new piece of tech we are testing. It unfortunately causes some minor side effects to those who have never used one before. You will get used to it in a minute or two."
"I will kill you," I grated out as my skull throbbed. Slowly the pain began to subside and I was able to regain my composure.
"I want you to show me your transformation ability." Giovanni said much more forcefully than before. His entire demeanor had changed. The Giovanni I had been talking to was looking to be amused. The Giovanni before me now was the one that wouldn't hesitate to shoot someone who failed him.
I took out my pendant and stared at it for several seconds before I focused on the little trinket. I felt the glow of heat radiate from the core of my body. The prickling sensation of feathers growing and the crackling of my bones reshaping was almost exhilarating. There was something freeing when I was transforming. It was as if I were a phoenix in the middle of rebirth. These feelings subsided and I was left on the ground. My clothes and other belongs winked from existence as they entered the pocket dimension Mew had created for the pendants. My pendant shrunk to accommodate my small size. I couldn't help but wonder briefly if I could evolve like a regular Pokémon. It would definitely be an interesting experience.
"I must admit that I am thoroughly impressed." Giovanni said as he slowly clapped. "Though, I am disappointed that you fell for such an obvious trap."
Suddenly, the bottom of the elevator began to fill up with a white gas. I stared up at the mob boss in shock and anger. The man only smirked as he watched me become drowsy. I couldn't fight the tiredness for long.
"I am sure you are wondering why this compound is not working on me. It is quite simple really. The gas is heavier than air, therefore it does not reach high enough to affect me. Had you waited until our elevator reached the bottom floor, I would have had to use more drastic methods." he explained as I passed out.
Third Person POV
The elevator slowed to a halt and opened up. The Team Rocket boss stepped off with his prize firmly but carefully in hand. The man was pleased with how well his plan had worked out. Though he originally planned for the girl to have been subdued in the limousine, the girl had proven to have been shrewder than he had given her credit for. Had the elevator plan failed, he would have had to resort to mind control or other invasive procedures in order to get what he wanted. Said procedures drastically reduced the chances of Katlyn being able to activate the amulet. Once they retrieved the amulet and did some tests on the girl, she would be disposed of properly. Though, he was tempted to keep her as a pet. A bird locked in a cage in his office, the thought made him smile.
"Dr. Carp, I have the subject in my care. I will make the delivery in person. Do not keep me waiting." Giovanni said into his comm, a little device he had on his wrist.
"This is Dr. Carp. I will be in the laboratory by the time you arrive."
With that out of the way, Giovanni took a stroll through the base. While it was important that the doctor began his tests immediately, the mob boss wanted to savor his success for a little while longer. Suddenly, an idea struck him. Giovanni saw several grunts doing maintenance on what looked to be a water line. He smiled and approached the minions.
"How are the maintenance checks going gentlemen?"
The three grunts spun around faster than a Hitmontop. "Boss!"
"Do not fret, I am here to see if you can help me with something. Do any of you have a spare Pokéball?" Giovanni asked patiently.
One of the grunts rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a standard Pokéball the size of a marble. Giovanni accepted the ball and enlarged it. He was about to tap the sleeping Fletchling with orb but quickly thought better of it. Instead, he shrunk the Pokéball back to its marble size and placed it in his pocket. He decided to let the scientist run their tests before he punished the traitor in his hand he didn't want to cause errant results.
"Giovanni, sir. We are ready to receive the subject at your earliest convenience." his comm chimed.
"I am on my way." Giovanni replied as he started toward the lab.
Dr. Carp was a very brilliant man, but he lacked imagination. If Dr. Mitchel had not disappeared during the fighting in Kanto, Giovanni would have handed over this project to him. Alas, you take what you can get.
"Doctor," Giovanni said curtly as he entered the lab.
"Ah, Mr. Giovanni. I must admit, I am excited to begin this project. If we can harness the power this subject has, it will be a technological breakthrough! Just the ability to store items in a separate dimension without the need of enormous amounts of power, would change the very way we look at the world."
"Do not get ahead of yourself Doctor. First, I want to know whether or not the pendants are matched to their owners or if they can be swapped. Once you find that out, I want you to give the subject back to me unharmed. I have plans for her. She has caused us more than a few setbacks."
"Yes, yes, yes," the doctor said as he began preparations of the different pieces of equipment he would need. "I believe we will have our answer in the next hour or so."
"If we do need her specifically to activate the pendant, what do suggest going forward?"
"If we do need her. We could use clones, however that would take much longer than I would like. Personally, I would suggest gene therapy. If we do gene therapy, it would would be limited to females. However, it would take much less time than cloning and finding volunteers should be a simple task."
"I see," Giovanni said thoughtfully. "I want your preliminary findings as soon as you have them. If you succeed, you will find yourself generously rewarded. Do not fail me."
"I will do my absolute best." the scientist said as Giovanni left the laboratory.
Sam's POV
We made it to Catallia just before sun down. Most of the crowds were slowly dispersing, leaving the sidewalks and roads clear. The group's first order of business was finding lodging. That was simple enough as all we had to do was check in with the local Pokémon center.
"Can we please stop?" Devin whined. He had nearly fallen asleep while walking. A very easy thing to do when you were as young as Devin was.
"Look, we are almost there. Once we get to the Pokémon center, you can go to sleep." Austin said.
"I'm not tired, I just need to sit down for a minute!" Devin replied animatedly, though his short burst of energy lasted for only a second.
"Guys, I'm gonna look around town to see if I can find any clues on where Caleb could be," I said as I broke away from the group. I pulled out Marik's Pokéball and released the Luxio from his confines.
"Let me guess, you want to look for Caleb?" the electric type asked.
"Yeah," I said quietly.
We wondered around Catallia for several hours. We would meet people from time to time, but it was mostly just stragglers running home for the night. As we passed by the airport, Marik finally found their sent. The trail led to the airport but then back to the main road. I was relieved when we found this. It meant that we really could catch up to Caleb if we hurried. We followed the trail until we hit the city limits. In all we had walked nearly nine miles throughout the city.
Once we confirmed his direction, we turned back and made our way to the Pokémon center. Austin and Emily were still awake, while Devin was curled up in bed. I conveyed what we had learned. Austin seemed indifferent to the news while Emily seemed relieved. I couldn't blame Austin for his indifference. He was tired, and ready to go home. On top of that, Caleb and Lawrence made the choice to leave. As far as Austin was concerned his job had ended once Caleb was human and somewhat back to normal.
"When do you want to head out tomorrow?" I asked as I finished getting ready for bed.
"I figure we can get breakfast from the cafeteria tomorrow morning then head out straight after." Austin said as he crawled into bed. "Why do you care so much about finding Caleb and Katlyn? I get that you three have traveled together for the last year, but that isn't enough time to really build a relationship."
"Because they are family to me. We literally haven't been apart since we became trainers. We literally walked through hell and back. That's all there really is to it."
"I'm sorry," Austin said suddenly.
"For what?"
"I have been pretty callous about all of this. We are so close to home and we are so burned out that I have been thinking about nothing else except for getting Devin and Emily home."
"I can't blame you for that." I said. "We will talk about this tomorrow. I really need to get some sleep."
Man guys, I had to brush the dust off the cogs for this one. I have had a lot of new things happen in my life and this story kind of got forgotten. I can't say that I will be very consistent with new chapters but I really hope to get back into the swing of things. As always, if you have anything to say be sure to leave a comment or pm me. If you really liked the story be sure to smash that favorite/follow button! This is shieldliger001 signing off!
