Fossils and Farewells
"Are you sure this is where the dig is supposed to be?" I asked. Maki was sitting on my shoulder, looking most subdued for one. He'd been like that ever since our adventure in the cave. I was starting to worry about him.
Kameron patted the map. "Of course, I'm an expert map-reader, it has to be here. If it isn't, then the map is wrong."
"Maki mak," Maki muttered, in complete disagreement.
I smiled. "Well, Mr Expert at everything. I guess you'll really good at reading maps, even when they're upside down."
He frowned at me, then hastefully turned the map over. "Oh look, its about another kilometre to the west."
"Great," I sighed. My legs ached, my shoes were filled with mud and water and Spike was limping after he'd tried playing with a Crabby. I was not, however, going to admit defeat yet. Lake Eerie was huge, it had taken us the better part of the day to walk this far around it, and we were still not where we were meant to be. I had gotten hardly any sleep lst night too, after the Haunter had pulled down our tent and we had discovered the strange tunnel leading to the great Leaf Stone, we had been all but unable to return to slumber. Kameron had been too excited about his new Pokemon – the Shrubslash and Florian, to sleep and his enthusiasm had rubbed off on me. Kameron had left Florian out of his Pokeball, and the green Eeveelution was loping along by his side, always staying near Kameron. It seemed his nervousness had not completely worn off after he evolved.
"You know," Kameron said, "if your packs too heavy for you, I'll carry it." He smiled in a way that was mildly condescending.
"I'll be fine," I snapped back. "Are you sure you can cope with your pack?"
We bickered a little as we walked along the lake shore. Maki rolled his eyes. A Redian skimmed past, and other, more typical, insects filled the air, falling prey to the larger, red bug Pokemon. Redian were not common, but both Kameron and I were too tired to try and capture it.
It seemed an eternity before we finally reached the broad road that led to the archaelogical site. The wheel ruts were filled with water, looking as though nothing had driven over it in weeks. A four-wheel drive truck was parked beside a small hut, a hut that seemed to be held together by nothing but luck. On its bonnet sat a relatively young woman, looking to be about in her mid twenties. She was clad in brown-coloured working clothes and wore a large brimmed, cowboy style hat. She was scrawling something in a notebook.
"Hiya," She said as we approached. "How can I help you?"
"We've been sent here to pick up a fossil for the Siryntown Museaum of natural history. Some dragonfly Pokemon, or something?"
"Ah, yes," she replied, "I received a message about your coming just a couple of days ago. However, your friends bet you here, they collected it yesterday afternoon."
"Our friends?" Kameron and I asked in unison.
"Yes," she looked puzzled, "a skinny young man with white hair and a short, somewhat attractive woman with four-toned hair, you don't know them? They were very clear as to why they were here."
Kameron and I shared a look. "Loki and Freyja," he hissed. "I can't believe they bet us here. I can't believe they stole the fossil."
The woman was growing increasingly perplexed. "You mean they're not your friends? Oh no, the Dr is going to kill me. I've given his fossil to the wrong people. They had all the forms and everything." She started figitting and looking horrified.
"How can they have the forms, we have the forms!" Kameron exclaimed, opening his bag and pulling out a pile of papers. "See here they are! Uh oh."
For instead of the papers being the official Siryntown Museum ones, they were pages with, scrawled on them in messy handwriting, "the Doc should never send kids to do adults work, F & L, TM RKT."
"They must have stolen them from your bag, but how?"
Kameron shrugged. "Probably when I accidently left it in the diner, back in the Eerie Village."
"We're most sorry," I muttered. "We should have kept a better eye on the papers. I don't suppose Loki and Freyja said where they were headed?"
The archaeologist shrugged. "Nope, they said they were going back to Siryntown, but I'd be willing to bet that they lied about that too. What can I do? That thing was worth a fortune. It had never been seen before!"
"You're the only one here, aren't you?" Kameron asked. "Where's everyone else, why is the site closed?"
"It was being funded by the Department of Natural History. Unfortunately, after digging for ages, excavating the ancient caverns, we didn't have that much to show for it, and they cut out grant. Without money, everyone left, except me. Then a kid got lost in the caverns – there's lots of them under Lake Eerie, a literal catacomb, and when he finally got out, he said he had a lump of amber, with a tiny, bizarre Pokemon trapped in it. We went back in, and found the dragonfly Pokemon fossil. If we could get the fossil to a museum, they could work out how much it was worth, and then perhaps the Department would give us more money. But now we've lost the fossil…" She began sobbing, and pulled out a much stained hankerchef. "They'll never give us money now," she sobbed.
"Sure they will, Kam and I'll find your fossil," I stated dramatically. "Never fear!"
"We will?" Kameron asked, a little bit reluctantly.
"Of course, it's the least we can do."
"Well," Kameron pointed out, "it isn't, it's the most we can do, the least we can do is absolutely nothing."
I frowned at him, even Maki pulled a face.
"That's wonderful," the woman replied. "My name is Charissa, Charissa Chapman, and I will be very grateful for any help you can give me. If there is anything I can do, just ask."
Something occurred to me, "in all your digging and so forth, have you ever found large stones, like a Leaf Stone?"
"Funny you should ask that," Charissa replied. "There are legends thad say that Lake Eerie formed in the crater of an extinct volcano, and that beneath its surface are giant stones – a fire stone, a water stone, a leaf stone, a thunder stone and a moon stone. When we started the dig we were hoping to find one of these, but so far, nothing but legends."
I glanced at Kameron, wondering if we should tell her.
She continued, "some say that these stones will remain hidden from any who seek them for profit or personal gain, and only those who stumble upon them by accident shall find them. I know some children have been lost in the caverns and come back telling tales of great glowing rocks. I've never seen one, nor shall I, as long as I keep looking."
I smiled grimly. It probably would be little point to tell her about the Leaf Stone. Let it stay hidden for now.
"I don't suppose you have a map of these caverns?" Kameron asked.
"Wait here," she replied. "We compiled quite a selection of maps of the caverns and joined them together – in case of us getting lost. I'm sure I'll find one that can be of use." She scurried away.
Kameron looked at me. "Why do you want to help her?" He asked, almost snidely.
"If you don't remember," I pointed out, "it's you that had the papers, you that lost them. Besides, I'm sure you know where Team Rocket's Headquarters are around here."
He nodded. "Yeah, that's why I need the maps."
"They're in the caverns?!"
"I think that would be the case. And I think Ozmos probably knows where the water stone is too."
I nodded. "I had guessed that, it's the feet that tipped me off."
Kameron's next sentence was disturbed by Charissa running back out, waving a yellowing sheet of paper.
"Here it is, a map of the northern caverns." She handed us the large piece of parchment. "The tunnels lined in red are places we could not go, for rockslides, or other dangerous obstacles. Stay away from those kids, and, in case you get lost." She handed us a small metal box with a red button on it, a short aerial and a speaker. "If you get lost, push this button and I'll be able to get a signal of where you are in the caverns. If you get in trouble, push it twice, fast, and I'll send help as soon as I hear it."
I accepted the box and handed Kameron the map, praying he wouldn't get it upside down this time. "Thanks," I replied, "we'll get your fossil back, never fear."
"Maki!" Maki agreed.
We leaned over the map, Maki sitting at one end, tracing his small black hand along the passageway.
"This is where we are at the moment," Kameron pointed, "and this, I believe is where Team Rocket's Headquarters are." He pointed at a patch beyond a red barrier line and just below a small hillock. "I guess that's where we go," he sighed tiredly. "I really wish I didn't have to do this," he muttered, almost to himself.
"Do what?" I asked.
He shrugged, "face Team Rocket again."
"Well, no point in hanging around getting maudlin. Let's get going, before they move the fossil out of here. Come on Maki, come on Spike." Maki sprang to my shoulder and Spike stopped teasing another Crabby. He just didn't seem to learn his lesson, the thing was twice his size, after all. He trotted dutifully after me.
Kameron pushed his way into the thicket, the thorns speared through my thin, sweat-soaked clothing, and caused beadlets of blood to form. Maki took cover inside my backpack. Kameron, at least, had his ever present trench coat and Spike had his tough hide. Eventually the thicket opened into a path. It was plainly a relatively well-used path, for it was flattened, and mostly dry, unlike the surrounding soil. Kameron followed this for a while, oddly quiet, and we came to a staircase hewn up the side of the hill. It was oddly quiet here, there was no noise except for a Venonat somewhere in the distance, that we could just hear. Even Maki stayed close to me, seemingly unwilling to venture further in exploration. It was probably getting on to late afternoon now.
"These headquaters are not commonly used," Kameron hissed at me, as though scared to speak aloud. "They are only temporary ones for Rocket members visiting Lake Eerie or lying low for a while. There will probably only be Loki and Freyja here, maybe a couple of others, waiting for a helicopter to lift out the fossil. If we're lucky, they'll keep it here until tomorrow."
I nodded. "I better give my Pokemon a rest, we might need them, Spike, return." Spike disappeared into his Pokeball. Maki, of course, was resting on my shoulder.
Suddenly we reached the top of the hill, and the path terminated at a tiny wooden cottage. It appeared to have been here for centuries, and not be around for much longer. It somewhat reminded me of the gingerbread cottage where the wicked witch lived. It was dark colours, with white frillings painted around the windows. Most of the glass appeared to be broken, and the front lawn had apparently not been mowed in the last century.
"Makimur," Maki muttered in a worried tone. I glanced at Kameron.
"This is it, yes?" I asked.
He nodded mutely.
We continued up the staircase and I peered in the window. Suddenly something swooped down from the roof in an easy soar.
"Fearowwww!" It screeched, flapping its wings at me so hard that I was blown backwards and tumbled down the staircase. Maki screamed and leapt from my shoulder. Pain flowered down my spine and limbs as I managed to halt my tumble. Kameron stood at the top of the staircase, his face pale, concerned.
"Kat," he cried almost pitifully. "Are you ok?"
I tried to nod, but my head was throbbing too badly. The Fearow swooped on me again. My hand fumbled at my belt, freeing one of my Pokeballs, "go whomever you are!" I cried, praying it was vaporeon or flareon.
"Seadraaa!" Razor cried, flapping into the air for a few feet before tumbling into the dirt. "Seadra, sea dra dra." He muttered.
It was too late, the Fearow was upon me, pumelling me with its huge, powerful wings. "Kameron, save Razor!" I shrieked, unable to scoop him up. The pain was immense, red flashes appeared in front of my eyes.
"Maki!!!" Maki shrieked, from somewhere behind the Fearow.
"Florion!!!" I heard Kameron's Florion cry, followed by the sound of a series of small objects being hurtled through the air.
"Fearowww!" Fearow shrieked in pain, drawing back and trying to shake off the Makimur that clung to its back. Maki had gripped its neck firmly in his sharp little canine teeth, and appeared to be trying to tear it apart. Feathers drifted down. Protuding from the Fearow's wings and back were small needle-like spines, the skin around them turning pinker and pinker. Suddenly the Fearow lurched into the air, and Maki dropped off, landing delicately on his feet. Florion rushed over to sniff him, but the Makimur rushed to my side.
"Maki maki murr?" He asked, his voice filled with concern. He tried to make my wounds better by touching them with his hands.
"Oh, isn't this sweet?" Came a voice from above and I could see why Kameron had not rushed to help me, for Freyja was holding him tightly. Kameron fumed and glared.
"Fearow, return," Loki called, coming up beside him. The Fearow had made it into the branches of the tree then collapsed, stretched across the branches like a macabre kite. "Go Kadabra, paralyze them."
"Kadabra!" The Psychic Pokemon waved his spoon and I felt my body stiffen, more than it already was. My muscles felt as though they were made of lead.
"No," Kameron whispered, as Maki collapsed onto my chest.
Loki strode down and scooped the little Pokemon up. Beadlets of sweat were trickling down Maki's face.
"MaKI!" He shrieked, twisting around in Loki's hand and clamping on to his thumb. His eyes glowed for a minute and Loki staggered backwards. But even that had little effect on the Rocket, he pulled a drawstring bag from his pocket and dumped Maki in there, stopping to scoop up Razor, who still lay on the ground, wiggling feebly. He must have tried a watergun attack, for a small pond had formed about him, but not enough to swim in.
"Two for the price of one," Loki said cheerfully. "Good job Kameron!"
"What?" My lips tried to form the words, but I couldn't say them. I could not even see up to the top of the staircase, where Kameron was being held captive. I didn't have to, for a moment later, Freyja came skipping cheerfully down.
She reached down and removed the Pokeballs from my belt, dropping them into a burlap bag of her own. "I guess you're wondering why you're hair, girlie," she said, nicely enough. "See, your little boyfriend has been working for us all along. So now we've got the Makimur, we've got your Seadra, your Vaporeon, your Nidoran and your Flareon. The boss will be proud of us. He'll be especially proud of Kameron, the kid'll probably get a raise."
"And to think that he actually convinced you he was your friend," Loki chuckled. "Good little actor isn't he. He left the bag behind at the diner so that Abra could sneak in and change the papers, and then delayed your trip around the lakeside so that we could get the fossil, and a very nice fossil it is too."
My heart had all but shattered. Why had I trusted him? How could I have been so blind, so stupid? Now I was going to be left here, broken and bleeding at the bottom of a staircase in a place noone knew about. I think I'd cracked a couple of ribs on the tumble down. And I'd lost my Pokemon, my friend, everything. The bastard. The depression almost overwelmed me. I could feel the paralysis wearing off, but could not put in any effort to speak.
Loki loomed over me, his long silver hair hanging across his eyes. "Are we just going to leave her here, Freyja?" He queried. "I think she might be dying."
"Does it matter?" Freyja asked, "one less squirt to worry about."
Loki shrugged. "But in case she does manage to get up and walk away, Kadabra, amnesia attack."
"Ka-da-braaaa!" Kadabra muttered, staddling me, its large tail pressed against my chest. It placed its spoon on my forehead. The spoon was cold, chilling. I could not do anything. "Ka-dab- BRA!" It shouted, and I felt the psychic waves bore into my head.
"Not everything," Loki shouted. "Leave in her memories of the betrayal, just take out those that could lead her here. Make her forget this place!"
"Kadabra dabra."
And then everything went black, black and red.
Bright lights blazed against my pupils as I forced my eyes open. They felt as though they were made of lead. Something was tight about my chest and it took me a moment to realise that my ribs were bandaged up tightly. I was in hospital.
"She's awake," a hoarse voice whispered. A familiar voice.
"Rowan?" I whispered. It felt as though my throat had been drained of all moisture.
"Yep," he replied, sounding more cheerful, but there was still a quiver in his voice. "Kat, are you ok? You've been out of it for about two days."
"Two days? What happened?" I tried to pull myself into a sitting position, and my head spun and my chest ached. "I remember someone stealing my Pokemon."
Rowan nodded. "You were found at the dig on the northern shore of Lake Eerie, a woman named Charissa Chapman brought you in. She said you were delirious and kept muttering about betrayal and how you had been hurt and how you wanted to see Maki. But all your belongings and Pokemon had been stolen. You had injured ribs, concussion and mild amnesia, as well as more bruises than they could count. Do you remember what happened?"
"It was them, Spaceship or Rocket or something. A giant bird knocked me down some stairs, then a weird looking person stole my memories and my Pokemon. Kameron, where's Kameron?"
"Kameron's gone, noone knows where. Was he with you at the time?" Rowan had been told only a little about Kameron and had never met him.
"He, he, gave me to them, led me to them, betrayed me," a tear trickled down my cheek, Rowan dabbed it away with a piece of cloth.
"Don't cry," he whispered, "I'm here and everything will be alright." He kissed me on the cheek. "Now, I've brought someone I'd like you to meet."
"Maki?" I whispered.
"I'm afraid not," he replied, "but I'm sure you're want to meet this fellow. Come on Electra, I'd like you to meet Kataryna."
"Jolteon!" The golden yellow Eeveelution jumped onto the bed and licked me. Her tongue tickled slightly, as though a very small voltage was pressed agaisnt my skin.
I almost smiled. "I see you evolved her after all," I replied, patting the Jolteon's furry chest. She lay down and nudged me with her spiky ruff. "Kameron had a Florion," I continued. "It was green, now between us we have the whole set." Then reality dawned on me again, "except now he's got them all and I have nothing, not even him!"
Rowan sat on the bed and put his arm around my shoulders. "He meant a lot to you didn't he," he said, it wasn't a question.
"We were friends," I muttered, realising that in my heart I had wanted to be more, "I trusted him. He failed me."
"I'll get him for you," Rowan replied sweetly, "noone hurts my friend Kataryna and gets away with it."
Suddenly something occurred to me. "Why are you here? How did you know I was in hospital?"
"Charissa knew your name, so they called your mother. Unfortunately, she was too busy to come visit you, so I came instead."
That brought on a new rush of tears. My mother didn't care enough to visit me. She hadn't cared when I went off on my adventures, and didn't care enough to come and visit me now I was in hospital with injured ribs. But Rowan had came, even though his father was still ailing, he had come the long distance from Derriby Island to Eerie Village. My mother had not cared. Kameron did not care. Only Rowan cared, and, it seemed, Electra the Jolteon. "Thank you," I whispered.
He smiled. "I've missed you Kat, I've missed our adventures. I've even missed little Maki."
"I missed you too," I replied. "How's your father?"
"Not good," he said. "The doctor doesn't think he'll make it through the next winter. It's his lungs. I can't run off on an adventure again, mother needs me, but why don't you come home with me – if you don't get your Pokemon back, that is."
I smiled grimly. "I can't go home Rowan," I replied, in all honesty, "I can't go back to my mother with her multitude of male friends and her controlling attitude. I don't want to go back and be a servant in my own home, as much as I would like to spend more time with you."
Rowan sighed. He knew all about my mother of course, how she made me do all the household chores from the time I was old enough to push a broom, how she refused to let me go out after nine at night. Everything. It was a miracle she had even allowed me to go off to search for Pokemon, but I suspected the reason for that was she had wanted me out of the house for a while. She certainly did not seem worried that I was in hospital, I had not received even a card from her. "I guess I expected that," he replied, sadly.
I noticed two bouquets of flowers on my bedside table, and a card. "Who are those from?" I asked.
Rowan picked one up, "this is from me," he said, "and the card is," he peered at it, "from, well, I'll let you read it. I think this bunch is from the same person" He handed it to me.
It was written in that neat, painstaking printing that was quite familiar to me. It said: "I'm so sorry Kat, I never meant to hurt you, they tricked me. I don't expect I'll ever see you again, but I hope that one day, you might forgive me, love, Kameron." Tears streaming down my face, I tore it in half and threw it across the room.
"Jolteon?" Electra seemed puzzled. "Jolt eon, eon."
"I know," Rowan said, patting the Jolteon on her head. "I know."
"Know what?" I asked, "you can understand her?"
"Of course," he replied. "It's easy to understand Pokemon, you just have to listen with your heart instead of your mind."
I gave him a puzzled look. "What does that mean exactly?"
"Jolt, jolteon jolt jolt eon eon," the Jolteon continued.
Rowan nodded again. "Think with your heart, ok," he said, "now, do you think Kameron would betray you?"
I paused. I thought. Certainly it looked as though Kameron had betrayed me, and as though he had never felt anything for me, beyond getting his job done, but… I was sure he liked me. I thought about the way he had helped me save Maki from Team Rocket, with the aid of the Cloud Wolf, how he had smiled at me the night before the betrayal, a smile of excitement and joy, and I didn't know. I shrugged. "I don't know, I don't think so, but he could just be a very good actor."
"And the note?"
"Could mean anything, could be a cruel joke!"
"He wrote "love"," Rowan continued mercilessly. "How many men do you think would do that?"
"I don't know," I snapped. "And I don't care, he betrayed me and left me to die!"
Rowan shrugged. "I think you have your answer then. So, when do you think we'll be up to getting your Pokemon back?"
I gave him an incredulous look. "How? It's been two days, they could be anywhere by now. I'd love to get them back, Maki, Ozmos, Spike and Razor, I miss them all, even Flareon and I didn't really do enough with him. Not nearly enough at all." I lost it again, and Electra nuzzled me.
"I'll do my best to find where they could be," Rowan grinned. "I do have contacts you know, not many, but… I just want you to be happy," he muttered.
"I'm glad you're here," I said, giving him a hug. He hugged me so hard that I worried for my ribs. "I don't know how I'd be without you. Probably a wreck."
"Nah," he replied. "You could never be a nervous wreck, Kat, you're too stubborn, too determined, you've got a fire in you that can't be drenched. Now, what do these Rockets look like?"
I described them in as much detail as I could remember, and memories flooded back to me properly now. The only thing that I could not recall, no matter how hard I tried, was where the cottage had been, or even what it looked like. There just seemed to be a hole in my memories.
"Don't worry," Rowan patted me on the shoulder. "We'll find them, and you'll get back your Maki."
I smiled, although it almost hurt. "I hope I'm up and able to walk soon."
I was, within the next couple of days. It turned out my ribs had not been broken at all, merely badly bruised, and although still painful to the touch, I could walk comfortably. Rowan had some good news for me too.
"Kat, we have had some luck tracking down your Team Rocket fiends – apparently they've been seen about 100 kms of here. They tried to snatch a little girl's pikachu. Don't ask me what a little girl was doing with a Pikachu, it's probably shocking." He chuckled a little at his own lame joke.
"Well, where's the place? Let's go!"
"It's a small village known as Serenti, up in the mountains. Why they're there, who knows? Maybe they're trying to hide out. Anyway, I've booked us bus tickets and all." He waved two slips of paper at me. "So, let's get you discharged and out of here."
"Oh, thank you so much Rowan," I replied gratefully. This was a side of Rowan I hadn't seen before, the reckless side, yes, but the thoughtful side… Probably the years at home had done him good.
"Oh yeah," he said with a grin, "guess what, Flame evolved! I now have a Nine-tails and I call her Mercury, because she's quick and silver. She's beautiful, but occasionally a little spiteful."
I grinned, no wonder Maki did not want to evolve, his personality would change too. I liked him as he was, just right. He was wilfull enough as it was, and if he evolved he would probably be near nigh impossible to train.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
"Um, Rowan," I said, fingering the bus ticket. "The bus doesn't leave until tomorrow morning."
He rolled his eyes. "I know that, I thought that we could take a walk in the woods near the archaelogical site and see if you could remember anything."
"I haven't forgotten much," I replied. "Just where the place is."
"That's all you have found that you can't remember," Rowan reminded me, "there may be other things we just haven't tried to work out yet. Besides, maybe they'll have left something behind."
I shrugged. We might as well do something, and this seemed a better idea then sitting around getting anxious. I did not like to tell Rowan, but my ribs hurt a bit as well. But I could not hang around doing nothing anymore. "Let's go."
I got myself discharged and we left, walking towards the archaelogical site.
"How ya doing girl?" Charissa asked. "I was rather concerned when you turned up here. Strange too, because you appeared to have been carried here by a big bird, and dumped on my doorstep."
"A Fearow?" I asked, since it was the only big bird I had seen recently. Perhaps Team Rocket hadn't cared to leave me to die after all.
Charissa shrugged. "Could've been, I didn't really see it too well. Oh yes, this little critter turned up about two days ago, I was wondering if you knew where it came from."
My heart jumped, had one of my Pokemon escaped? Charissa gestured and called, and out bounded a familiar beast.
"Flori florion!"
Florion leapt enthusiastically into my arms and nuzzled me, his leave-like ruff surprisingly soft against my neck. The impact hurt my ribs somewhat though.
"What is that?" Rowan asked, and I forgot I hadn't told him.
"This is Eevee evolved with a Leaf Stone," I replied. "It calls itself Florion. It's one of Kameron's Pokemon."
"Perhaps he let it go to find you?" Rowan, the optomist, suggested.
I shook my head, "no, more likely it just managed to escape after it attacked Fearow. It's good to see you Florion."
"Flor Flor florion!"
"Do you know what that means?" Rowan asked me.
"It's good to see you too?" I hazarded a guess.
"Flor i on!" Florion agreed.
Rowan chuckled. "It's a little sweetie, perhaps it can show us the cottage. Florion, can you?"
Florion shivered a bit, it looked as though his personality had not changed that much when he evolved. Finally he nodded. "Flori!"
"Ok, bye Charissa, thanks for looking after him! Come on, show us!"
Florion leapt up and bounded across the dirt and into the forest. We pushed after it and eventually found ourselves at the cottage. It shuddered as I remembered my horrible experience there and gritted my teeth against the growing pain in my chest. It was not pleasant, not pleasant at all, but I didn't like to tell Rowan. I'd cope, I had to find my Pokemon!
"Come on Mercury," Rowan said, and the beautiful Nine-tails appeared, waving her nine tails.
"Nine, nine!" She yipped.
"Mercury," he instructed, "could you find a scent here, there should be three – a lady, a man and a boy, about my age. Do you think you can find them?"
"Nine tails, nine!" She replied haughtily ("of course I can, I can do anything"?). Mercury began sniffing around. Suddenly she shuddered.
"Nine!"
"Let me guess," I said, "you don't like the smell of Kadabra?"
"Tails!" She nodded. "Nine, nine tails tails."
"You've got the scents?" Rowan asked. "Good, remember them, and we'll use them later to track Team Rocket in Sereniti. Come on, let's have a look at this cottage."
The door was locked, but one of the windows did not shut properly and Rowan had it open in no time. Inside, the place was small and sparsely furnished. A couch that looked to be on the verge of death, a tv so old-fashioned it was a wonder it even worked, if it did, a stereo which played vinyl. There was a kitchen, with the usual mixed assortment of plates, bowls and cutlery generally found in places where the inhabitants constantly changed. Nothing matched. The larder was empty save for a few tins of beans, soup and spaghetti. There were two bedrooms, both with two bunkbeds in them, also worn and looked to be on the verge of extinction, and a door leading down into the basement.
The basement was much more interesting. A large metal cage stood against one wall, with a large padlock shoved through the door. There was a machine here to transport Pokeballs and this I switched on, making sure to leave the visuals off.
Rowan stood beside me. "You want to see where your Pokemon have got to, don't you?" He replied. "Let me have a look, I've been practising with these things." He leaned over and started pushing buttons. I sat there anxiously, half hoping he would find my Pokemon so I would at least know where they were, half hoping he didn't, because I didn't know how to get them back. "I found one," he said, "a vaporeon, transported just a couple of days ago. Does that sound like the one?"
I nodded. "Can you get her back?"
"I can try," he pushed some buttons and the machine started beeping. "I guess not… The password can't be cracked and I don't think I'll be able to easily guess what it is. I suppose we go on to Sereniti and do our best there."
I sighed. So Vaporeon was at some other Team Rocket base somewhere, and we could not reach her. "Come on, let's get out of here," I was on the verge of tears, my ribs ached and my heart throbbed with the pain of losing my Pokemon. Florion licked my face. We couldn't even put him away in a Pokeball for a rest, as I did not have his ball, or a spare one. Team Rocket had taken them all. I stroked his head. "You want to find Vaporeon too, don't you?" I asked him.
"Flor!" He nodded.
Suddenly I heard a noise upstairs.
"Oh cripes!" Rowan exclaimed. "Someone's come in!"
The machine was still beeping. "Let's get out of here."
"How? The only way is up the stairs!"
"Then up the stairs we go!"
"FloriON!" We charged up the stairs in a mass, shocking the elderly man who was about to investigate.
"Intruders!" He shouted, "stop them Machoke!"
"MA-choke!" The fighting Pokemon jumped in front of us, punching out with its massive fist. Florion intercepted before I could shout anything.
The Eeveelution shook his head swiftly, sending leaves from his ruff flying into the air and lodging into the Machoke's hide. The act of shaking leaves did not seem to deplete the Pokemon's ruff in anyway. It did, however, cause the Machoke to stumble backwards.
"Karate chop!" The man shouted.
"Go Mercury!" Rowan shouted.
"Nine!"
Mercury exhaled sharply, sending a huge plume of fire spinning at the Machoke. It punched through the flame, sending Mercury tumbling backwards a few paces, then sunk to its knees.
"Florion, finish it off with your Poison Needle's attack!" I shouted. Florion flicked his tail in the air, sending the needles spinning into the Machoke, which collapsed.
The elderly man backed up. "Please don't hurt me," he pleaded. "I'm just the caretaker. I'm just making sure everything's ok in here. Don't hurt me."
His fear got to me. "Everything is just fine, as you can see," I replied, trying to ignore the pain in my ribs, "so collect your Machoke and return back to your home, safe in the knowledge that you've done oyur job properly."
He backed up, plainly scared of Florion and Nine-tails, who had just staggered to her feet. She looked bet.
"Nine-tails, return," Rowan scooped her up. The caretaker took another step back.
"Since everything is well here, I'll just leave and lock the door as soon as the place is empty then," he muttered.
"It's ok, " Rowan said. "We were just leaving anyway, see you!" And we walked out, Florion watching him over my shoulder as I carried it out.
"That's a pretty cool Pokemon," Rowan said, once we were safely outside and walking down the hated staircase. "It's a shame its not yours – it seems to like you."
"Flori-on!" Florion noded.
"I think it is mine now," I replied. "I'm just glad to have a Pokemon of my own. But what I can't figure out, is if Kameron double crossed me, how come he didn't bother looking for his Florion? It was very fond of him, if I do recall."
Rowan shrugged. "Isn't it just remotely possible that Kameron did not double cross you?" He asked. "That it's all a ploy by Team Rocket to split you two up."
"Everything fits so neatly into place though," I argued. "He's still with Team Rocket, I know it!"
The bus trip to Sereniti was picturesque, but I was hardly in the mood for scenary. The road wound up through mountain passes, and above the snowline, where the trees were topped with white, like icing on a cake. Florion, sitting on my lap, seemed to enjoy it, but I was too busy taking panadol for the pain and trying to get some sleep that it was much harder for me.
Suddenly the bus stopped. We were outside a small village that the sign said was called "Fernbarrow." A sign by the road read "The High Mountain Road is CLOSED due to extremem snowfall."
The bus driver cursed to himself and spoke over the loudspeaker. "Due to unforseen snowfall in the last few days, the road from Fernbarrow to Sereniti is currently impassable. Hopefully it will be cleared in the next day or two, until then, I'm afraid you shall have to stay here."
Beside me, Rowan cursed. I hadn't heard him curse before. It was only us and two other people left in the bus. On of them was a young woman about our age. I smiled at her.
"This is a real pain," she muttered. "I was supposed to visit my boyfriend in Sereniti and try out in the gym there."
"There's a gym in Sereniti?" I asked, somewhat awed.
"Yeah, only a small one, it's a flying Pokemon gym. I wanted to try and get my Air Badge. I guess I'll just have to wait though."
"We have to go to Sereniti to get back my Pokemon," I said. "I can't wait here for a few days. I'll go crazy with worry."
Rowan looked at me, "at least you know that they won't be able to get out if we can't get in."
"But they can put the Pokeballs in the Transportation machine." I replied. "We have to go up there today!"
Rowan pulled the two of us outside. "We can do it," he said. He looked at the girl, "what's your name and how many Pokemon do you have?"
"I'm Stephanie," she replied. "I have a Charmeleon, a Bulbasaur, a Pidgeotto, a Raticate and a Beedrill," she smiled. "I've got two flying types so I thought I'd do quite well in the gym. What is that by the way?" She asked, looking at Florion. "It looks a little like Jolteon, but green…"
"This is Florion," I replied, "a grass Eeveelution. I'm Kataryna, but everyone calls me Kat, and this is Rowan. We're heading up the mountain now, do you want to join us? You Charmeleon will be useful."
She shrugged. "It's better than hanging around here in the snow, waiting. Come on, let's go!" We all clothed ourselves in our warmest clothing and set off up the road leading to Sereniti.
"It's only about five kilometres," Stephanie informed us, "so we shouldn't take too long."
The snow was horrible thick, I could see why the roads were closed, and it was incredibly cold. Mercury and Charmeleon were brought out of their Pokeballs and they melted a path for us. I was kept warm by Florion, who despite his size, insisted on being carried. By the time we had travelled about a kilometre, my arms were sore, my eyes wept from the sunlight shining off the snow and I was rather cold. We were making good time though, because if things got too difficult, the Fire Pokemon merely melted the snow with their flaming breath. Luckily we had the road to follow, some of the road markers still peered above the snow, otherwise we would surely have got lost.
We had just reached a sign that said "Sereniti 1 km" when I heard something snarling.
"What's that?" I asked. Florion leapt out of my arms.
"Flori, flori!" He cried, excitedly.
Crouching against a tree was a strange dog-like Pokemon. It looked savage but had backed up against the tree and had its strange flap-like ears down with fear. Snarling at it, was a purplish rabbit-like Pokemon, who turned to greet me.
"Nido nidoran!" Spike shouted joyeously, throwing himself into my arms. He licked my face. The bulldog Pokemon took the chance to retreat around the tree, and suddenly squealed.
"Buru!" It was high pitched, almost yipping.
I patted Spike on the head and put him down, walking around the tree to investigate. The snow had covered a hole in the ground, possibly a nidoran burrow, and it was into this the strange Pokemon was sinking. It was already up to its neck.
"Stay calm," I whispered to it, leaning over and picking it up under the arms. As soon as I had a grip on it, it went limp.
"Buru," it whimpered pathetically.
I showed it to Rowan and Stephanie.
"What in Hades is that?" Rowan asked, but Stephanie had already pulled out a small electronic device.
"Buru," it said in a tinny voice, "the bulldog Pokemon. This Pokemon is very savage and will do anything to protect its home." I looked at the Buru that hung in my hands.
"Oh, very savage," I said. Buru whimpered.
Rowan chuckled. "What an apt description for something that was fazed by a Nidoran."
Spike rubbed his ears against my leg. "Nido, nid, nid o rannn!"
"BuRU!" The Buru barked.
"What am I going to do with it?" I asked. "I can't catch it, cos I haven't any Pokeballs, but the poor thing is lost, cold and afraid."
Rowan shrugged. I set the Bulldog Pokemon down.
"Buru," I asked, "do you want to come with us? We won't hurt you, and we'll take you into town because you might belong to someone."
The Buru pondered for a moment. "BuRU!" It barked, "bu ruru."
"Is that a yes?"
It nodded.
"Ok," I said, "but I'm afraid you're going to have to walk, I can't carry all of you."
Stephanie smiled. "I have a spare Pokeball you can have, if you like." She said, throwing it at me.
I caught it with ease, despite the chill in my chest. "But don't you want Buru?" I asked.
She shook her head. "I want to be a master Trainer, and that thing is scared of Nidorans, imagine what it'd be like in a tournament."
I had to agree there, but a nervous Buru seemed to fit in well with my collection – an overly aggressive Nidoran, an overweight Vaporeon, a Makimur with a two second attention span… It had never really occurred to me that I could fight in a tournament, sure, my Pokemon listened to me when it was important, but I remembered the near disaster of the fight against Maria. I wouldn't last five minutes in a stadium battle. "Buru, take a rest in my Pokeball," I said, and the Buru allowed itself to be scooped up.
"Wow," exclaimed Stephanie, "that's the first time I've ever seen someone capture a Pokemon without fighting it first! You must be good at something, Pokemon seem to like you!" The girl spoke with way too many exclaimation marks for me.
"Spike," I said, "you escaped Team Rocket, didn't you?"
"Nido," he agreed.
"So you could lead us to their Headquaters?"
"Nido."
"Are Razor, Maki and the others still there?"
"Nidd," Spike shook his head.
"So Ozmos is missing, how about the others?"
Spike tried to shrug.
"Well," I informed the others, "we can at least try. I'm afraid you'll have to walk Spike, unless you happen to have brought your Pokeball with you."
Spike gave me a puzzled look.
"I'm getting cold," Rowan muttered, "can we move on please?"
"Sorry," I replied. So now I had a Buru, whatever that did, not that I imagined mine would do much of anything. I did not collect Pokemon for their fighting skills though, I collected them because I liked them and they were my friends. I'd never had many friends, and there was something about the loyalty showed by Spike, Maki and the others, that made me feel happy inside. It did not seem right to put them against each other in battle, unless it was absolutely necessary.
We got into Sereniti less than an hour later. It had started snowing, which made it difficult to see, and my ribs were hurting. Plus, Spike's short legs had trouble with the snowdrifts and Florion insisted on being carried, although Rowan had taken that burden off me when it became obvious I was in pain. We stumbled into a quaint Olde World Inne and ordered hot soup.
Sereniti was a fairly old-fashioned looking town, with its quaint Old-style villas, and with the Inn. It was like stepping back in time. It was hard to believe that this was where the thieves were hiding away, it was hard to believe that this was a world of technology and noise. If there was any place that was laid back, it was Sereniti. The name said it all. The village was surrounded by pine trees, their leaves weighed down with snow. Beneath the round wooden table, Spike and Florion slurped away at a bowl of chicken and corn soup, which seemed an unusual diet for them, but I wasn't about to complain. Beside the table, Rowan's Nine-tails gnawed on a beef leg bone and the Charmeleon sat at the table, eating thick soup with surprising dexterity. We had decided to feed them before putting them into their Pokeballs, it seemed only fair, after all the hard-work they'd done.
"You really walked into town from Fernbarrow?" The waitress, a girl in her mid teens clad in Ye Olde Style uniform, asked Rowan. She seemed suitably impressed by this.
"Of course," Stephanie replied, "I'd hate to miss visiting your fine gym."
The waitress smiled, "so you're all Pokemon trainers, good on you." Then she was called away by another table.
Rowan grinned at us, "I think she likes me," he said, "isn't she pretty?"
Stephanie, who had short, mousy hair and lots of freckles blushed. She like's him too, I thought to myself. Poor girl.
Spike had finished his soup and clambered up into my lap, resting his head on the table. "Nido?" He asked.
I handed him one of my fries, which he snapped eagerly, licking my fingers.
"That Nidoran is such a sweetie," Stephanie said.
I chuckled. "When I first got him he was the most vicious thing on four legs. He almost maimed someone's Eevee when I was walking him and I used to have to keep him on a lead."
Stephanie looked at me as if I were mad. "???"
I explained Spike's background to her. She nodded. "Poor thing," and reached out to pat him. Spike lowered his ears but bore it with surprising patience.
"That's really the same Nidoran you told me about?" Rowan asked.
I nodded.
"Wow," he said, "I think we've underestimated this girl's skills."
I blushed, and continued feeding fries to the Nidoran. I didn't think I'd done anything amazing, I'd just treated my Pokemon with respect and love. Surely that was typical of all trainers?
"Come on out and have something to eat, Buru," I said, bringing out its ball. It seemed cruel to deprive it of food when the others were eating.
"Bururu," it cried, and cowered under the chair until I put Spike on the floor and picked it up. It helped itself to a fry and curled up in my lap, head resting on my shoulder.
"You're just a snuggler, aren't you?" I said to it, and Rowan chuckled.
"Vicious, my foot!" He said. "You might as well call it Snuggles."
"Ru!" Buru agreed, and after that, the name sort of stuck.
That evening, as the sky was approaching twilight, Spike led us to the headquaters of Team Rocket. It was a rather large mansion on the outskirts of the quaint village. It appeared to have once been something like a castle, for it even had gargoyles adoring the roof, suffocating under the snow.
"Now what?" I asked.
"Well, we can hardly storm in there and demand your Pokemon back, can we?" Rowan pointed out. "We need a plan."
"Well, we have six Pokemon to fight with – Ninetails, Pidgeotto, Jolteon, Florion, Nidoran and Buru, although I doubt the latter will fight and they're no match for that horrible Kadabra anyway. I wasn't even a match for Fearow. So we can't challenge them to a battle. We can't go to the police without evidence, and besides, surely Team Rocket are protected against that. What we really need to do is distract them."
"But how? I mean, if we set the building on fire the snow will put it out, and besides, it could hurt my Pokemon inside."
Rowan paused. "We could pretend that we want to join Team Rocket."
"Hah, like they just take kids off the street, no, that'd never work. We could just try and sneak in."
"Too risky."
Suddenly Rowan grinned. "Or maybe not, I have an idea, come with me."
Rowan stood before the door, holding the box in one one hand, knocking with the other. The door was answered by none other than Loki, but he couldn't see me and he didn't recognise Rowan.
"Your pizza, sir?" Rowan asked.
"I didn't order any pizza," Loki mumbled.
"Well, someone here did, it says," he fumbled with a miscellanious piece of paper. "Two chicken pizzas, with no anchovies, to 141 Highstead Ave. This is the right place, yes?"
"Hang on," he said, "I'll go check. Freyja, Jeremy! Did you order pizza?"
"Go Spike," I whispered, pushing the Nidoran through the door, which Loki had left open."
"I think you've got the wrong place, kid," he said. "But we'll take the pizza anyway." He handed Rowan some money and took the pizza off him. "We could do with some food around here, pity about the lack of anchovies though."
Rowan shrugged. "Sorry to disturb you sir. Thanks!" He waved the money.
A moment later we heard a crash as Spike toppled something or another.
"What's that Nidoran doing lose?" A muffled voice shouted. "Catch it."
"Oh, now it's gone under the couch. I can hear it ripping the fabric with its horn. You idiot!"
Rowan looked at me. "Let's go!"
We darted around the building whilst they were distracted trying to extract Spike from their lounge suite and around to a back window. It was closed of course, but with all the noise the Nidoran was making, it would not be for long.
We squeezed through the broken window and into a room probably used for sleeping. It was empty, although the bed showed sure signs of having been used recently. A bag of clothing lay scattered across the floor.
"Come on," I whispered to Rowan and we opened the door, peering out into the hallway. It was deserted, shouts and bangs suggested that the Rockets were still involved in trying to catch Spike. We moved right down the hallway, away from the noise and had got part way down the hall when someone came out of one of the side rooms.
"Hey, what are you kids doing in here?" She bellowed. "Get them."
Instantly the door on the other side opened and out burst a man with shoulder length blue hair. "What is it, Jessie?" He asked.
"Help me catch these twirps!" She shouted, as Rowan and I both made a dash for it.
"We can't allow that," the man shouted, "go Wheezing, smog attack."
"Wheezing, wheeze," the two headed gas ball wheezed in a sort of bored fashion.
I fell to my knees, choking as I wiped my streaming eyes. I could see Rowan was having the same problem.
"Goldflash," he said, calling out his Pidgeotto, "blow the smog back, hurry!"
"Pidgeoooo!" Goldflash shrieked, flapping its wings and blowing the smoke back towards them.
"Flori!" Florion shrieked in joy, biting the woman on the hand.
But the Rockets were not done for yet. "Go Arbok, go Lickitung!" The woman shrieked, bringing out two Pokeballs.
"Arrrrbok!" The cobra hissed.
"Licki licki!" The pink creature came towards us.
"Florion, do your stuff!" I shouted, as Florion lowered his head and shook his tail sending sharp, poisonous needles into the snake Pokemon. Arbok stopped suddenly, and Lickitung, who was too close behind it, stumbled into it. The hallway was way too crowded. Goldflash's wingspan took up most of the space.
"Licki, Licki!" The Lickitung proceeded to walk over the stunned Arbok, and lashed at Florion with its tongue. Florion was thrown backwards.
"Flor!" He cried as he hit the wall and stared out, eyes glazed.
Rowan rolled his eyes. "Go Electra," he cried.
"Jolt!"
"Electra, thunder shock them all please." He said tiredly.
"Jolt-e-ON!" Electra shrieked as Team Rocket were thrown backwards against the wall.
Applause came from behind us. "Oh, very nice, very nice," said a familiar voice. "What a shame all the commotion just alerted us to your presence." Loki smiled at us. His eyes had a feral, dangerous glint to them. "Go on Kadabra, psyshock them all, would you be so kind."
That bloody Kadabra, again. One day I'd just love to beat him. We tried to run, but behind us was Jessy and the blue-haired man, and the stunned Arbok and Lickitung. There was to be no retreating.
"Go on Jolteon!" Rowan encouraged her, "get the Kadabra now!"
Electra leapt, and was suddenly thrown back with some force and into Rowan. She barely managed to hold the electric shock back.
"Kadabraa!" Kadabra said haughtily.
"FloriON!" Florion had obviously recovered somewhat. He shook his head sending razor leaves sizzling through the air at the Kadabra.
Which blocked them easily with a psychic shield.
I was prepared for this however, and threw myself through the air and at Loki. The force of impact made my ribs ache, but Kadabra was too occupied to interfere and Loki was distracted by the attack. He fell against the wall, banging his head.
"Call it off!" I shouted in his ear. "Or I'll get the Florion to poison you, and that wouldn't be too pleasant, no?"
"Wouldn't that be lovely," said Freyja, walking up behind him. "Foolish child. Your Pokemon, feeble as they are, are no match for our Psychic Pokemon and you're vastly outnumbered. I suggest you surrender now, child, before it's too late."
"Never," I shouted, half-dragging Loki across the floor. The pain was unbearable, but I clenched my teeth against it.
"You really are a stupid little girl, aren't you?" Said another voice, and I saw that the woman could Jessie was advancing on Rowan. Rowan was pulling out a Pokeball.
"Goldflash!" He cried, "Whirlwind now!"
"Pidgeooo!" Unfortunately, the hallway was small and the bird could not fully unfurl its wings. It flapped them as best it could, sending everybody, except the man who was behind it, into a heap against the wall.
"Meowth, no birdies going to get the best of me," something yowled, as something small and furry sprang onto the back of Goldflash. The Pidgeotto yoweld, and struggled madly, trying to knock Meowth off.
"Pidgeotto, return," Rowan shouted, scooping up Goldflash.
"Meouch," the talking cat yowled as it hit the floor.
It was too late to try any tricks, because Team Rocket had us now. Loki grabbed me about the wrists, twisting my arms painfully behind my back and the blue-haired man, whom I guess was called James, because my cousin Ash had talked about Jessie, James and their talking Meowth often enough, had Rowan.
Meowth looked at Jessie in astonishment. "Meowth, we actually caught them," it said in disbelief. "Not like those twirps Ash and Misty. Maybe this vacation is doing us some good."
Jessie grinned. "Now let's throw them in the cells and find out why they're here."
We were dragged downstairs and thrown into large cages that looked a lot like strange bird cages. This time they didn't hide our Pokeballs but left them sitting on a shelf outside the cage. Florion, they threw in with us. He whimpered and curled up close to my leg, battered and bruised and not much use at the moment.
"Oh yeah," said Loki, "I forgot this fellow. Guess we better take more care with him this time." He tied a thick rope about Spike's neck so that the poor creature was bound to a table leg. The table was covered in books and old newspapers. Spike crouched there and muttered to himself.
"Nido, nido, nido."
"Don't tell me you've come to rescue that brainless little snit, Kameron," Loki said sitting on a stool near the cage. "He works for us you know, he did all along. Don't let your foolish little romantic thoughts distract you from that truth." He was not looking at Spike, who was crouching, lips curled back in a growl.
"Where are my Pokemon?" I asked, hoping to distract him from Nidoran, in case he kicked the poor thing. If there was one thing Spike hated, it was being tied up. At least on his lead he'd had some freedom, here the lead was so short he could barely walk two paces.
Loki sighed. "Let's see, the Vaporeon's been sent to Headquaters. Makimur caused a bit of difficulty, so we're having to transport him separately, see," he walked over to a cupboard and pulled out a glass container with a very small air vent at the top. Maki sat dejectedly in the bottom. "See, he kept escaping from cages, so we decided to put him in Jessie and James's Pikachu bottle and I think that's working nicely, don't you?"
"Maki," Maki muttered darkly.
"And, well, the Seadra wasn't a lot of use to us, so we're trying to sell it via the internet. If it makes you feel better though, we let Kameron keep the Flareon, since it appears he lost his Florion."
"Flori-ON!" Florion spat at him, his quilled tail rattling in an annoyed fashion.
"Interesting little guy that," he replied. "I guess we'll have to take him off you sooner or later. We would've been out of here today if it wasn't for the snowfall. Can't even fly a helicopter in this weather." He sighed melodramatically. "Anyway, let's have a look at your Pokemon."
He reached out to grab a Pokeball, when suddenly, something happened. A glowing light surrounded Spike, and suddenly he started to grow, and grow to almost twice his initial size. He scuffed his foot against the ground and charged straight at Loki, taking the table with him.
"Nido-riNO!" He shrieked as he knocked the somewhat frightened Rocket to the ground, kicking him.
"Call it off!" Loki shrieked, "please, it's going to kill me!"
"Spike," I shouted, hoping he was listening, "stop it, don't hurt him too much." I didn't know how much control I had over the Nidorino. He had been aggressive enough as a Nidoran, and now he was so much bigger and so much more aggressive. Nidorans were not noted for their savagery, but Nidorinos were.
Much to my surprise, Spike did stop. He turned around and glared at with with his reddish eyes. "Nido?" He asked, and walked over to the bars of the cage, rubbing his head against it to be scratched behind the ears. I was amazed. Being a Nidorino seemed to have calmed him down! I suppose Professor Oak was right, all Pokemon did have different personalities. Loki clambered to his feet, and reached for his Pokeball, hoping to bring Kadabra out, I'm sure.
"Maki!" Makimur leapt across the floor and stared Loki in the eyes. Loki froze, confused, as many others had when faced by the tiny Pokemon. A blaze of light shot from the star on Maki's head, somewhat weakly because he had been inside and not absorbing sunlight, but it was enough to blind Loki. Maki jumped over to the Pokeball that Loki had dropped of ours, and pointed it at the floor.
"Maki!" He shouted.
"Bururu!" Snuggles cried, taking one look at the situation and darting to hide behind the upturned table, to which Spike was still tied.
"Maki-murr?" Maki asked, puzzled, and then noticed that Loki was holding that dreaded Pokeball once again. "MaKI!" He shouted, and Loki's hand suddenly stiffened, opening and dropping the Pokeball, which Maki picked up and rolled into the corner, as though it were a bowling ball. He then faced Loki, standing upright, one hand on his hips the other ticking back and forth.
"Omigod!" Rowan shouted, pulling me to the ground so roughly my chest exploded with pain. "He's using Metronome, who knows what might happen!"
Loki cowered back, hands upright, pressing himself against the door. "No," he whispered hoarsely. "No…" He slid down the door, covering his face with his hands.
Maki looked puzzled, he dropped his hand and turned to look at us. "Maki?" He asked. "Makimur?"
Loki took the opportunity to open the door and dart outside into the corridor. Maki shrugged then bounded over to us. His fur was bloodied slightly, from the glass that had shattered when it fell off the table.
"Maki!" I shrieked, as he leapt into my arms. I chuckled slightly. As if my Maki would know metronome, one of the most powerful, unpredictable attacks! What a ridiculous thought. Rowan looked abashed.
"It looked like metronome," he muttered.
"Maki, ki, ki, ki," Maki chuckled.
"Nido-rino," even Spike seemed amused.
"Come on Maki, get us out of here before Loki returns with his friends."
"Makimurr!" Maki went back through the bars and grabbed something from the mess on the floor. He then climbed up the Nidorino, who took it all in good humour, and set about fiddling with the lock. A moment later there was a click.
"Maki!" Maki said proudly.
Rowan shook his head in amazement, "that little guy has certainly changed," he said. "Is there anything he can't do?"
"Oh yes," I replied, "he can't swim. Or metronome."
"But try telling Loki that."
We swung open the door and I collected up my Pokeballs, including my Seadra, which was tucked away at the back of the shelf. There were a number of other Pokeballs too, including a strange, almost translucent one.
"What's in this one?" I asked, pointing it and pushing the button. A strange thing indeed materialised on the ground. It appeared to be a golden rock with some large type of insect trapped within it. "It's the dragonfly Pokemon fossil!" I exclaimed. "This must be some sort of carrying Pokeball for inanimate Pokemon. Return!" The light consumed the fossil once more.
"What shall I do with this?" Rowan asked, holding up the Kadabra ball.
"I don't want to keep it," I said, "as much as I want to keep it away from Team Rocket, I don't want it anywhere near me, in case it gets out. I hate that thing."
Rowan nodded. "Fair enough, then how about I drop it out this window here… within an hour it will be covered in snow and they won't find it for months."
"It won't kill it, will it?" I asked. As much as I hated it, I did not wish to condemn it to death.
Rowan shrugged, "I shouldn't imagine so, it's just pure energy at the moment anyway." He dropped it out the window. "Oops, looks like there was a bit off a drop there, don't worry, only eight or so feet, nothing to bother about." He smiled. "Why hasn't Loki come back yet? With friends?"
As if on cue, the door swung open, and standing there, resplendent in his horrible trenchcoat, was…. Kameron. He looked abashed. Florion, much to my surprise, darted across the floor and leapt into his arms.
I glared at him. "They sent you to sort us out?" I hissed. "Nidorino will sort you out, if I ask him to. And don't think I won't, traitor."
Rowan grabbed my arm and Spike gave me a puzzled look, shaking his head. "RiNO," he said, very assuredly. He would not attack Kameron. So much for Nidorino's being aggressive. I looked at Snuggles, shivering behind the table. So much for Burus being aggressive. Were all the books wrong?
"Let him explain," Rowan cautioned. I glared at him.
"You can talk," I spat out, "you weren't left alone on the marshy ground to die by someone you thought was your trusted friend. You didn't have all your prized Pokemon stolen by some charlatan. I hate him." I turned my glare back to Kameron. "I hate you," I hissed.
"I'm sorry," Kameron stuttered, pulling a Pokeball from his pocket. I knew what was going to happen, he was going to bring out Cubone, or Flareon, or maybe even Dancer and turn it on me. Well, that wasn't going to happen. Unfortunately, I didn't really have any Pokemon worth fighting with. Maki was worn out, Spike had already refused to fight and Razor was not much good on land and I couldn't even consider Snuggles. I glared at Florion. Little traitor. Well, I'd just have to face whatever Pokemon he threw at me alone. If it was Flareon or Cubone, I could pull out Seadra, who wasn't completely useless, and maybe Spike would defend me. I steadied myself, ignoring the pain throbbing in my chest.
And Kameron threw the ball at me. I caught it completely by reflex. "What?"
"It's your Vaporeon," Kameron replied.
"But she was sent away to headquarters…" I muttered.
"I'm in Team Rocket, remember, I simply broke into the computer, typed in Freyja's code name and password, and got it sent back as soon as I heard the commotion downstairs. They'd locked me in my room, but fortunately I learnt a couple of tricks form Maki here."
"Makimur," Maki said happily.
I stroked Ozmos's Pokeball. "So where are they now?" I asked. "Why are you here?"
He grinned. "Once they had fought you in the hallway, I got Dancer to put them to sleep."
"And Loki?"
"Oh, he's cowering under a bed now, nursing crushed ribs and terrified of Maki." He shook his head. "As if the little guy would know how to use metronome."
"Maki," Maki said innocently.
"Anyway," Kameron said. "I'm going to give you Flareon back now, although the little guy seems to like me." He tossed the ball at me. I caught it with a wince of pain. "I don't suppose I'll see either of you again. I'm sorry Kat. Yes, I led Team Rocket to the fossil, but I didn't mean to lead you to them. You decided to get the fossil back, and I helped, and they blamed me. I thought if they had the fossil, they'd leave you and Maki alone. I guess they were wrong." He sighed, and shook his head. "I'm really sorry."
I was still mad at him, but I had something to ask anyway. "Umm, Kameron, I was wondering if you'd like to keep Flareon, he makes Maki nervous and I've grown rather fond of Florion."
"Really?" He looked at Florion. "What do you think boy?" I remembered how attached the Eevee had been to Kameron.
"Flori florion, flori flor, ion, ion." Florion looked at me, and then nuzzled Kameron and darted across the floor to me, nudging me with his bullet shaped head. He then looked forlornly at Kameron. "Florion," he said dejectedly.
"I'll miss you too boy," Kameron replied, "but Kat's a better grass trainer than I am, and anyway, I've still got Shrubslash."
"Makimur, maki maki-mur mur!" Maki said, leaping across the room (much to my surprise and hugging Kameron's leg. My Pokemon seemed to be unoffended by his betrayal of me. I felt almost hurt at it. I called Flareon out of his ball. Flareon seemed already to know what was going on. He nuzzled me, then darted across to Kameron, who picked him up and stroked his golden mane.
"Flare-eon," he said.
"Come on guys," I said, picking up my empty Pokeballs. "Spike, Florion, Snuggles, return." I scooped them all up, except Maki who resumed his usual perch on my shoulder.
"You called that bulldog-thing Snuggles?" Kameron sounded incredulous, shaking his head.
I shrugged. "I once called you friend."
And saying that, I clambered out the window, without looking over my shoulder, carefully avoiding the drop and making sure to kick some snow over the Kadabra ball. Rowan followed me, and Maki sat on my shoulder muttering to himself. I had done what Rowan said, I had listened to my heart, and I had understood my Pokemon. They had wanted me to stay with Kameron, but I couldn't. Even if he had not betrayed me, he had still lied to me, and taken part in stealing the fossil. I would not forgive him, no matter how much I cared for him. I never wanted to see him again, but I could still remember what Florion had said when making his decision:
"I'll go with her, for now, but I'd rather you two were together."