Chapter 3: We've got a Problem Here
After the tour was over, Kevin immediately pulled a teacher from each school, away from the students and buses. Separating them from everyone else who was either part of the tour or visiting the museum in general, he formed an impromptu meeting with them.
"It's come to my attention that one of the adults, who was listed to come, did not show up here," he said, his expression grim. He held up the list and pointed to Jelza's name. "Can anyone explain why she wasn't here?"
"She called in sick yesterday, just before we left," one of the teachers replied. "She certainly wasn't sounding too well, either."
"Was she the only one gone?" Kevin asked.
The teachers looked at the attendance sheets. "According to this, every adult save for her and every student showed up for the trip," the second said.
Kevin growled. "Something's wrong, then," Kevin said. "I know Jelza, and she wouldn't miss this trip for fame and fortune."
"Wait, you know her?!?" the first teacher said, staring at Kevin in shock.
"She's my Pokémon Trainer tutor-in-training," Kevin said, nodding. "She mostly comes here because she enjoys helping out others in trips like this, with the exception that she can teach Pokémon Trainers while doing so." Kevin turned away from the teachers. "Regardless, it would seem strange that someone would become very ill after their name was sent here."
"I don't see how that could be very strange," the third teacher stated.
"Even so, I'm going to contact her personally," Kevin said. "An illness as such should not affect Pokémon, so I should be somewhat safe from anything contagious."
"What's with you?" the first teacher said, giving Kevin a funny look. "You seem like the population 15 years ago when that huge wave of darkness hit them and they thought the world was coming to an end."
"Well, to be honest, my Pokémon told me that while he was resting in his Pokéball, he suddenly sensed someone scream," Kevin admitted. "He doesn't even know why he heard it, or why he knew it was a woman's scream."
"Are you suggesting that your Scyther may have heard Jelza in some sort of trouble?" the third teacher asked.
Kevin began to lie to cover up for Entei. "Well, Cevan's Sense has gotten stronger over the years… And he does know Jelza as well as I. It may be possible that he can Sense danger to an individual as well as himself, even if they are hundreds of miles away. Regardless, she's pretty well known in Pallet Town, and if she's gone missing, imagine how many students are going to panic."
"Good point," the second teacher agreed. "Better to check the problem and stem it now than let it blossom to a good population of the students. There's no point in having a class if all the kids are too gloomy to learn."
"Don't you think you're overreacting just a little, Kevin?" the first teacher suddenly asked.
"If Ursarings are disappearing from Mt. Silver, then I have reason to overreact," Kevin concluded. "This meeting is dismissed."
Kevin let the teachers go back to the group. Maybe I am overreacting a little, Kevin thought to himself as he watched them get on the buses. However, with all the strange things going on now, I don't see why I shouldn't check in on this.
Other than maybe you really have feelings for her, Duo-Cevan joked.
Hey, I have reason to care for her, Kevin replied. She's my student. I wouldn't be a teacher if I didn't care for her.
As the buses began to start up, Kevin took off to the skies. Driving from Indigo Plateau was a little more than a day's travel for the schools to get back to Pallet Town. As for Kevin, flying from the same location to the same destination took a little less than 5 hours. That should leave me plenty of time to check on Jelza's condition, Kevin thought.
Meanwhile, as he flew, he quickly called in on Lance's number on his Pokedéx. Kevin knew the drill; the secretary, who normally took appointments for challenges and such, would answer, and all Kevin had to do was to tell her he needed Lance, on the double.
"Indigo Plateau Headquarters," a voice said as a secretary answered the call. "May I help you?"
Kevin's monitor flickered on, and Kevin stared at the secretary. "Give me Lance, on the double," Kevin said.
"One moment," the secretary replied. The monitor flickered off for a moment as he was being transferred. After a minute, the monitor flickered on again, and Lance's face showed up on the monitor.
"Hey Kevin," Lance said, once the voice portion of the connection was established. "So how did the tour go?"
"It went okay," Kevin said, "But that's not the reason I'm calling at the moment. Strange things have actually started occurring after I acquired the PokéRUS, or, to be precise, after you called me from my recovery with it."
"What strange things, exactly?" Lance asked, confused.
"Well, first off, the old scientist friend of mine, Warles, somehow managed to 'overhear' the number I gave you to contact me," Kevin explained. "After explaining that to me, he also told me that some people have begun to rebuild the mansion on Cinnabar Island."
"Really?" Lance said, saying the word as he was sincerely surprised. "I never heard of this. Are you sure your friend is telling the truth?"
"I'm not sure," Kevin answered. "But listen to this: Entei, before the schools arrived, told me that he heard a woman scream while he was in his Pokéball. When the group got here, I noticed that the only adult missing because of an illness, who was on the list of people who were supposed to come, was none other than my student, Jelza Caharsi."
"No one else was missing?" Lance asked.
"Not even a student that signed up."
"Sounds pretty odd," Lance said. "Usually, you'd expect more than just one adult missing for the trip, if any."
"Regardless, I'm going to check in on her," Kevin said. "If she's fine and just feeling ill, I'll call you back. If she's missing, though, I won't be available for anything until I find out what's going on."
"All right then," Lance said, nodding. "I'll see to it that until you call me back, there won't be anything with you arranged in it." Lance then gave Kevin a funny look. "Aren't you overreacting just—"
"The teachers I pulled into a meeting said that, as well," Kevin interrupted. "And personally, I'm thinking my friend is sane. If Ursaring can disappear from Mt. Silver without notice, then a person could also disappear from their house."
"Well, hopefully this is a false alarm," Lance concluded. "Keep me notified." With that, Lance hung up.
* * *
Kevin could already guess something was horribly wrong when he got to Pallet Town. A congregation of people stood around one house, the police keeping them from entering.
Kevin examined the home. Flying Magikarp! He thought in alarm. That's Jelza's house! Tucking back his wings to act as a glider, Kevin did a full speed dive at the crowd.
"Everyone, calm down!" Officer Jenny shouted at the concerned crowd. "If there was no one seen leaving her house, then whoever it is with her is still inside." As she said that, other officers were beginning to approach the front door.
"I'll take it from here!" Kevin shouted from above. He zoomed in over the audience and landed in the clearing which Jenny and some other officers were providing for those about to enter the house.
Everyone gasped at Kevin's arrival. Officer Jenny was surprised herself. "Kevin!" she exclaimed. "Why are you here?"
"I heard that Jelza Caharsi was sick, so I came to check in on my student," Kevin answered coldly. "Apparently, this is a little more than I bargained for. What's the situation?"
"Two men were walking by this house when they heard Jelza scream," Jenny explained. "One man went to watch the back of the house while the other kept an eye at the front as they told someone else to call us. No one left the house, however."
No, Kevin thought. They couldn't have taken her.
"Something wrong?" Jenny asked.
"Just trying to remember if she had any trap doors or secret entrances to her house," Kevin fibbed. "Now cover me… I'm going in!"
"You heard the hybrid!" Jenny yelled to the other officers at the entrance.
Kevin calmly walked up to the front door and flung it open, causing it to rattle on its own hinges. "All right, kidnapper!" Kevin shouted as he walked in. "You may as well give up now!"
Officer Jenny watched the scene. Always acting as the hero, she thought, sighing. I don't blame him, though. He has quite a reputation to live up to.
Kevin took only a minute to look in the open areas, and a full half-hour to explore for possible ways to get in through the floor, ceiling, or walls. The house was clean of secret entrances and, save for him and the other officers, was empty of people.
Kevin slammed his fist in the floor he finished examining. "No!" he shouted. "I don't believe it! Warles was right again!"
"Warles?" one of the officers asked. "Who's Warles?"
"The very one who created, helped, and guided me 15 years ago," Kevin said. He growled as he dialed Warles's number. "Somehow he has the ability to eavesdrop and sneak about without being noticed."
"He probably doesn't know about this," the officer suggested as the Pokégear began signaling Warles.
I bet he does, Kevin thought as he heard the connection pick up. "Hi there Kevin," Warles said. "Something up?"
"Yeah," Kevin answered. "Jelza's been kidnapped."
"I figured something was wrong when I heard about it," Warles said. "I've figured out how they're getting about, however."
"Once again, your knowledge in this baffles me," Kevin sighed. "But onto the subject. How do you propose that they're getting about?"
"I did some research," Warles began, "And it looks like that these people are not of our world."
"Huh?"
"I know it's confusing, but I'm beginning to believe that these people, who were involved in the rebuilding of the Cinnabar Mansion and the taking of the Ursaring and Jelza, are using portals to get from one place to another," Warles explained. "Meaning that these people are from some new world, or from some new dimension."
Kevin just stared. The information was as hard to absorb as the sunlight in a cloudy day. "I almost want to disbelieve you, Warles, but it seems that your information supports Jelza's disappearance," Kevin said.
"There's just no other explanation, Kevin," Warles said. "Regardless, all isn't lost. The mansion they rebuilt could be just an outpost for them. With their portal technology, it's most likely that there's a permanent entrance there to our world."
"You mean you want me to go back to that ruined island?" Kevin asked.
"Yeah," Warles said, nodding. "However, I highly recommend that you don't take any Pokémon with you. If you lose Cevan in their world, it's most likely that you will never get him back!"
Kevin's heart froze for a moment. I lost Cevan forever before… or so I thought, he thought. I couldn't stand losing him a second time…
"All right then," Kevin said, recovering from the shock. "I'll drop off my Pokémon at home and then get going."