THE SAME CLOTH

Chaos:  *taps foot and looks round* well… *Continues tapping foot* I've just seen the reviews. Not good people. THREE reviews. Where are all the characters? Out of all the problems I'd thought we face when we decided to do an interfic, this was not one of them. So, now that the next chapter has been posted and the title and summary both say INTERACTVE FIC, hopefully we'll get some more characters submitted. Thanks to those who did submit by the way.  Here's the first real chapter, only starring our guys, as they were the only people we could use without picking the REST of the CAST.

Turmoil:  *Shakes her head disappointedly*

Chapter One

          Loki circled the area around the ATM machine impatiently, coming to rest against a lamppost that was a small way from it, just waiting for his first victim of the day. He rolled a cigarette between his fingers and licked the gummed paper like an envelope before sticking it down.

Loki was a wiry, but muscled thirteen-year-old. He had a softly rounded face, which narrowed towards his chin. His eyes were a greeny-blue colour and always looked sad, as they were large and slightly oval, giving him an illusory look of innocence. He had fairly short, spiky black hair, which was infested with random blonde streaks. He wore a baggy, white t-shirt, which was stained with dirt and blood. It looked more brown than white as a result of many failed attempts to try and wash it clean. It sagged slightly off his right shoulder as the collar was stretched and the t-shirt was too big for him anyway. He wore faded blue jeans which had a hole in the left knee and was completely cut off from the knee down on the other, making it look like half a pair of shorts. He wore a pair of cream suede shoes, that were brown and muddy from travelling, which he had stolen from one person or the other along his travels. He also wore a denim waistcoat that has the sleeves ripped off. Loki had a number of chains around his neck, which, again, he had stolen off other people. All up each arm he had strapped numerous, stolen watches, which all told different times, and bracelets that he sold off to anyone and everyone. He sported a deep scar across his left eye and on his right leg, a scar that looked as if a dog had tried to bite a chunk out of him. He wore a black backpack, which contained some "clean" clothes, which he hardly ever changed into, cash and other stolen items such as jewellery and food.

He cupped his cigarette to protect it from the occasional breeze, lit it and took a long drag from it before resting his arm at his side and exhaling the smoke through his nostrils. Loki made it a priority to look as innocent as possible so as not to blow his cover. His patience paid off as a wealthy looking woman approached the machine and took out her credit card. She was quite a large lady and had a pink, feather scarf wrapped around her podgy neck. She wore a large fur coat, which only exaggerated her size even more. Hooked on her left arm was a ridiculously small purse, just large enough to put a small wallet inside. Loki straightened up and flicked his cigarette onto the floor, walking casually towards the woman. He watched as she inserted her card into the slot in the machine and waited for the screen to change. It read, "Please insert your card and enter your pin". The woman angrily punched random keys trying to get the machine to work. Luckily for her there was a young gentleman at her side more then willing to lend her a hand.

            "Having a bit of trouble ma'am?" Loki asked as politely as possible, trying not to agitate the woman further.

            "This bloody machine's gone and eaten up my card!" She yelled. Loki put on a convincing look of surprise, this wasn't the first time he has done this and had mastered the art of deception.

            "Try putting your number in again," he suggested. The woman entered her number while Loki peered over her shoulder and memorised the four-digit code she had keyed in.

            "This is ridiculous," she said getting into a fluster and making all sorts of gestures with her hands as she spoke, "I have used machines like this all over the world and I have never once had this problem! Thank you for your help young man," She took out a single coin from her coat pocket and flipped it in the air so that Loki caught it, "I'm going to complain to the management!" and with that she stormed off, flicking her scarf over her shoulder as she went.

            "Oh no," Loki smiled mischievously, as he pried the card out of the slot and pocketed it, "Thank you". He went on his way, flipping the coin in the air and catching it behind his back, when he heard the sound of police sirens. It wasn't uncommon to hear sirens around the busy town, but this time Loki could hear the sirens getting louder and closer to where he was. He dropped the coin and ran as fast as he could, searching for a place to hide. In desperation, the boy headed for the closest place that could offer him safety, the back of an old truck. The door was slightly ajar, so Loki slipped in quietly. The door slammed shut as the vehicle jolted abruptly, and started moving.

*        *          *

            The sun shone watery in through the small window in the hayloft. It hit the slumbering thirteen year old directly in the face, causing him to overheat and eventually wake up, groaning and grumbling softly as he did so. He put a hand out and sat up quickly, alarmed to notice that his brother had gone. And then he woke up properly and remembered that his brother had been gone for the past two years.

            Ravyn Crowe was small and scrawnily built, his bony shoulders, hips and chest testament to the fact that he hadn't eaten well for a very long time. His face was fine-boned and had high delicate cheekbones and a slightly pointed chin. His ears, which were also point-tipped, coupled with these facial features, gave him a very fey appearance, as did his eyes, which were large, vaguely triangular shaped and a striking, deep shade of purple. He was 5'2" and had scruffily cut blond hair that came down to chin-length.

            He suddenly realised how high in the sky the sun was and knew that he had overslept and would probably now be too late to make his dad breakfast. This was a baaaaad mistake.

            *Dammitdammitdammit. * He thought to himself as he ran down the hayloft ladder, out of the barn and towards the house. He heard the sound of shouting as he got near to the kitchen window, and slowed so that he could peep in over the sill. He saw his dad inside, lumbering around with a bottle of something, that was probably alcohol, in his hand and yelling as he did so, calling for his 'No good lazy kid' to 'come and fix me breakfast, or I'll break yer legs, so help me.' Ravyn sank into a crouch beneath the windowsill and put his head in his hands. He had finally had enough.

            When, two years ago, his twin had left without saying goodbye, even without waking him, Ravyn had stayed behind to see if he would return for him. And after a while, he had become too afraid to run off, leaving his dad on his own too fall down the well, or set the house on fire or something. But it had finally become too much and Ravyn realised, in a moment of clarity, that he no longer cared if his dad did fall down the well and die, or if he set himself on fire, or if he fell down the basement stairs and broke his neck. He didn't care anymore, and, he decided, he was going to leave before something happened and he wound up buried under the barn floor like his meowth after his dad had drowned it.

            "There y'are." A voice came from above him and a large meaty hand reached down and grabbed Ravyn by the hair, pulling him up and then over the windowsill. Ravyn grabbed the man's hands in pain as he was lifted bodily by his hair and then dropped to the floor.

            "So, you been hiding hey? Not doin' your chores. You've been a bad boy, a very bad boy."

            Ravyn closed his eyes and thought about his new resolve.

*          *            *

            Once the noises from downstairs had stopped, signalling that his dad had either fallen asleep or passed out, Ravyn picked up his tiny silver rucksack, with some clothes and cash in it, and crept down the stairs and out of the window. He had a new bruise on his cheekbone and his eye was slightly swollen and painful. He took one last look at his home of thirteen years, then spat on the floor and left for the last time.

*          *            *

            Loki awoke with a start as the lorry halted suddenly. He had fallen asleep after many attempts to try and open the door. His throat was hoarse from yelling, nobody had heard him. It was too dark to see what cargo the lorry was carrying. He had bumped and smashed into numerous boxes before deciding he should sit in one place before he hurt himself even more. Loki heard voices outside so he quickly scrambled behind a large crate so he was out of sight. He could hear some men unloading boxes from the back of the lorry, and when he thought they had gone he hopped off the back and ran into the shadow where he wouldn't be seen. He watched the men unload the rest of the boxes and crates. They all had "FRAGILE" and "THIS WAY UP" written on the side. Loki was quite amused to see that a number of the boxes had been unloaded up side down. He smiled before pressing his body flat against the wall as he heard yelling.

"You stupid moron! Can't you bloody read! If you've broken anything it'll be my head on a platter!" The man cursed at the workers unloading the lorry. Then Loki heard a different voice that sounded slightly nervous and scared.

"Alright mate, calm down, everyone makes mistakes." Loki then heard the sound of a gun being cocked as the first voice spoke again.

"Well 'mate', this'll be the last mistake you'll ever make." The boy sensed what was coming, so he hurriedly covered his ears as the trigger was pulled and a deafening bang echoed and rebounded off the walls. Loki peered around the corner and his jaw dropped as his eyes set upon the sight of a limp and lifeless body lying on the floor. Blood was trickling from the man's head, a man Loki had seen, or at least heard alive, just moments before. Of all the things he had seen in his life, the boy had never seen a dead body before…well, a human body anyway. He froze as if he was glued to the spot, his eyes fixated on the bleeding corpse. An angry voice brought him back to his senses.

"Oi! Who's there?" Loki gasped and quickly got out of view. Someone's footsteps could be heard approaching his position. The boy scaled the wall and spun around panicked as he hit something cool and metal. He let out a sigh of relief as he saw that it was just a dumpster. The footsteps got louder, so did the angry yelling, "If there's anyone there you'd better start saying your prayers!" He yelled. Loki had to think fast. He felt a cool breeze coming from somewhere above him. He looked up and saw an open air vent that lead into the building. Stuck for ideas, Loki clambered up the dumpster and climbed into the air vent as quickly and quietly as possible. He listened attentively as he heard the man, frustrated that an intruder had slipped his grasp, kick the dumpster, letting out a yell of rage as his foot connected with the iron. A few gunshots were let off, making Loki flinch and cover his ears. The man swore and walked off. Probably to unload the rest of the lorry, Loki thought. The smart thing to do at that moment would be to get the hell out of there, but curiosity tempted Loki to carry on crawling through the air vent. He did this, pausing whenever he heard signs that there were people in the corridors or rooms below him.

He was continuing to travel along the vents that ran through the building when his trousers snagged on something sharp. He struggled to try and free his leg, but a creaking sound made him pause. He tried to turn around slowly, which made the creaking sound get louder. His leg came free with one last tug. This caused him to fall back, falling through the thin metal of the vent and land on a hard, cold marble floor.

"Ow, dammit," he whispered in aggravation. He slowly sat up and winced in pain as he moved his arm. Loki cradled his arm as he stood up and wobbled back and fourth, dazed by his fall, making his way across the room. The pain in his elbow ran through his whole body until he could hardly stand it any more. He fell forward and hit what felt like a large glass cylinder. He pressed his face against it and peered in to see what was inside. It was dark, but there was a light at the base of the cylinder, which lit it up like a halogen light. He gasped and jumped back, horrified at what he saw. There, suspended in liquid, was a Cubone. It was curled up in a foetal position, eyes closed, like it was sleeping or something. As he edged backwards he saw that the Cubone wasn't the only Pokemon there. There were two more cylinders. In one there was a Ponyta and the other a Jolteon. Loki was saddened at the way these Pokemon were stuck in those tubes, probably part of some wacky experiment. He continued to back away, staring the three immobile Pokemon. He reached behind him and grabbed some papers to wrap his arm in, so as to stop the bleeding, accidentally knocking over a beaker of liquid which was resting on it. The sound of the beaker falling over broke the silence as Loki observed each of the Pokemon awakening in turn. The liquid ran over the desk and seeped into the backs of the computers, which were set up all over the lab. The wires fizzed and crackled angrily before one of the computer blew up, causing a small explosion. Loki panicked and looked about wildly like a trapped animal as he heard alarms and sirens go off and sound throughout the building.

*ALL PERSONNEL, INTRUDER ALERT IN SECTOR 5. ALL PERSONNEL, INTRUDER ALERT…*

The sirens were deafening. With Loki's good arm, he groped around for something to use to smash open the tubes. He picked up a chair and lifted it above his head, bringing it down on one of the cylinders. The glass smashed and liquid came gushing out of the tank. With the rest of his strength he managed to break open the remaining two. Red lights were flashing code red all over the lab.

*ALL PERSONNEL, INTRUDER ALERT IN SECTOR 5*

The sound echoed in Loki's mind, almost muffling the sound of the door being kicked down as rounds of bullets were let off.

"Come on, this way!" He beckoned for the Pokemon to follow him. They gratefully obliged, as he had freed them from their prison and realised that he was helping them to escape. Loki ran behind a crate, frantically looking for a way out. Suddenly there was a massive explosion caused by the disruption of the main computer. The force of this blew a small hole in the wall next to it… Loki's way out!

"Come on guys, let's get out of here, RUN!" The boy and the three Pokemon made a break for it, running as fast as they could. Loki was finding it difficult to carry on, as his was in agonising pain due to his arm. He slowed down. A bullet zipped past his ear, narrowly missing him, another, piercing his shoulder, causing him to scream in agony before collapsing on the floor. The last thing he knew he was being lifted up onto the back of a steed and carried out of the lab…

Chaos: That's all for now beautiful peeps. Please enter characters so that we can actually write this fic. Thankies.

Turmoil: Yea, please send in your characters ASAP! We wanna carry on with the fic so you guys can find out what happens next!