Chapter Five
DS
It was my parents who pushed me into stowing away on the Ark, insisting I must be saved even if I hadn't been chosen. I said I'd rather die with them than lived knowing they were doomed, but they refused to listen and made plans to sneak me on board with help from my mother's Espeon and my father's Alakazam.
I brought my Charmander, two unhatched eggs and a gold pendant with what looked like a cross between a Dragonite and a Charizard etched in it. It was a family treasure, generations old, with what my parents said was an ancient blessing for good luck etched on the back.
My parents managed to locate the launch area and, with help from Alakazam's mental capabilities, figured out exactly where I was going to hide. Alakazam and Espeon Teleported me onto the Ark and I stayed in that area throughout the trip, with my Charmander sneaking food in every so often. I was glad she had enough battle experience to be an expert at avoiding trouble. Even when that alien got onboard, I didn't leave my hiding place, knowing Charmander would protect me against anything.
When we finally landed, I managed to sneak off without attracting attention. The problem was that the people organising the Ark had planned everything according to registered information and all the people who had come on the journey legally had been assigned stuff. I had nothing, not even a cabin assignment. If I snuck into a cabin and someone realised I wasn't supposed to be there, I would be questioned and they'd find out I didn't belong anywhere. And I couldn't hide forever and expect myself and my Charmander to live.
I wandered through a wooded area of Terranova, wondering what to do next. Suddenly my Charmander let off a warning cry.
Vicky
I was looking for a soft spot to sit down when I heard someone. I looked around, trying to see this person.
"Who's there?!"
Emily
As far as we knew, only those chosen to come on the Ark had survived the comet. I sat outside my cabin with Meowth at my feet, pondering over the events that had led to my being here. Was everything that happened to us pre-ordained? Was there some divine being that had chosen us to be spared when Earth was destroyed? I simply didn't know and I've never been into that philosophical junk. All I knew was that Earth had become an uninhabitable wasteland and it was up to us on Terranova to keep the human race going.
Nearby, I could see Kate, Marle and Bianca swimming in Lake Arrival, looking happy and carefree as if they were on holiday or something. But surely holidays were a thing of the past now that we had to shift for ourselves, I mused as I watched them. Part of me longed to join them, but I didn't seem to have the energy to get up from where I was sitting. Maybe, I should stop dwelling on things so much and get on with my life.
"Hey, Emily!" Marle called. "Aren't you coming in?"
"In a minute!" I called back. "Just let me run inside and get my swimsuit!"
Just as I returned wearing the swimsuit I'd brought from Earth - there was a pool on board the Ark, but I'd never used it much, what with that business with the alien - I heard Marle's Ninetales give a startled yelp. Ninetales was snarling, her hackles raised by someone (or something) lurking out there. I walked over to her and began to stroke her in an effort to calm her down.
"What's going on?" Marle asked as she emerged from the water with Kate and Bianca close behind. "Why's Ninetales acting that way?"
"I don't know," I replied in a nervous whisper. "but I think there's someone out there."
The others looked at me sceptically. "How could there be?" asked Kate. "We're the only people on this planet."
"The only people from Earth, yes," I told her. "But who's to say . . .?"
At that moment, Vicky came running towards us, cutting off further conversation. "Quick, you guys!" she gasped once she had her breath back. "There's a girl in the forest and she looks hurt!"
"Girl?" echoed Marle. "Who is it? Where did she come from?"
"It's not one of our group; I've never seen her before," Vicky told us as we headed into the forest. Vicky and Marle, with the latter's Ninetales walking to heel, took the lead and the rest of us followed. As I walked behind Kate, I wondered who this girl could be and how, if she wasn't from the Ark, she came to be here.
Ken
Pads was bouncing around on the spot, yapping excitedly as we caught up. "What's going on, Pads?" I asked.
Pads gave three quick barks before dashing off deeper into the forest, suddenly skidding to a halt in front of a massive tree. At first, I couldn't find anything of interest, but, on closer inspection, I found a small hole in the ground next to one of the roots.
Trent shrugged. "It's a burrow, no big deal," he said.
I shone my torch into it, revealing that the small hole was the entrance to a large tunnel leading straight down. "Trent, check this out," I whispered.
He crouched next to me and looked down the hole. Then he pulled out a radio. "Base, this is Echo Two. We have a find."
"Go ahead, Echo Two."
"We've found a long tunnel, grid reference 312441, depth unknown." We sat waiting for a reply.
Finally, one came. "Echo Two, all recon units are currently deployed. Are you survival rated?"
"Affirmative. Both of us are," replied Trent.
"Then proceed to explore. Bring weapons if you deem them necessary and record observations in your audio logs. We will send a recon squad when one becomes available. Base out."
Five minutes later, I was lowering Trent into the tunnel. The log was recording, receiving an audio feed from Trent's PokeGear. "Investigating tunnel at grid reference 312441, still no sign of bottom . . ." Trent remained silent as I continued to lower him. Then, he reported back once more. "Whoa, Ken! You have got to see this! It's a massive cavern at least fifty metres high and a hundred metres across! There are caves leading into adjoining caverns, I think. I can hear an underground waterfall. Keep lowering; there's a patch of ground that I can land on . . . That's it. I've hit the deck . . . Wait a minute . . ."
"Calm down!" I shouted into my PokeGear. "You're getting hysterical down there!"
"This ain't a rock floor; it's metal! I dunno. It almost looks . . . artificial . . . Whoa! Whoa, Ken! Pull me up! Get me out of here! Hurry, damn it! There . . ." Abruptly, the recording log made a popping sound and reverted to static.
"Trent! Come in!" I shouted. But only the hiss of the static replied.
Suddenly, the rope became lighter and I realised it had been severed. Without even thinking, I tied my end around one of the tree roots and spoke into the PokeGear. "This is Ken. I have lost contact with Trent. Time of last contact twenty seconds ago. I'm going in."
Before beginning the descent, I punched a few buttons on the log and activated my PokeGear's transmitter. "Stay here, Pads," I told my Growlithe. "If anyone comes by, point them to the log."
Emily
It was Kate who found the girl slumped against a tree, a Charmander at her side and two unhatched Pokemon eggs in her hands.
"My God!" gasped Marle when she saw who it was. "DS!"
"Who?" I asked with a puzzled frown on my face.
"Diamond Star," Marle explained. "I used to live near her back on Earth. Her parents are . . . were into all this New Age stuff. The question is, how did she get here?"
"Maybe we'd better ask her," suggested Bianca.
I agreed that was the best thing to do, but I also thought we'd better get her back to the camp first. "Hello?" I said, kneeling down beside her. "Diamond Star, can you here me? You're on Terranova. Could you tell me what happened?"
Her eyes flickered open and she smiled when she saw Marle standing beside me. "Please, call me DS," she said. "Diamond Star was my parents' crazy idea of a name."
"Sorry, DS," I corrected myself. "Anyway, I'm Emily and the others are Kate, Bianca, Vicky and Marle. Can you walk a little way?"
DS
"Yeah, I'll manage," I replied. I didn't know whether to be happy or worried that my presence had been confirmed by someone who recognised me. But, even if I got busted, I wouldn't blame Marle and the other girls seemed like pretty decent people too, so I'd leave them out of any attempt at saving my own butt from the authorities. "As for what happened, it's a long story . . ."
"Oh, I think we've got enough time," Emily answered.
"If you really want to know . . ." I proceeded to relate my rather bizarre story to the girls.
Emily
Diamond Star (or DS as she liked to be called) had plenty to tell us about how she had stowed away on the Ark. "It was my parents' idea," she explained. "They tried for a baby for years and, when I was born, it was like a really special present; that's why they couldn't let me die on Earth when the comet struck." She patted her Charmander on the head and continued. "My parents' Alakazam and Espeon Teleported me on board while they were loading up and I stayed in the cargo bay the whole time. "I kept Charmander and myself alive by sneaking food out of the galley . . ."
She told us about how she had longed to join in the activities on the Ark, but did not dare to in case one of the Crew caught her. Not that there was much they could have done; it wasn't like they could take her straight back to Earth. But that did not stop her from wondering if she would ever be able to mingle freely with everyone else.
We decided we'd better inform the Captain of DS's existence. He frowned a bit, but, under the circumstances, there wasn't much he could do about her; her presence on Terranova was a fait accompli, something neither he nor anyone else could reverse. "It looks like she's part of the Colony now whether we like it or not," he said.
We cheered and I took DS off to meet a few people. Before long, we came across Jack and his Wobbuffet.
DS
Filled with ineffable relief that I had been accepted into the Colony, I followed Emily. Still, I didn't let my guard down; there would certainly be those who would resent me for surviving illegally while their loved ones had to stay behind and die. In fact, I would have hated myself for it too, except I knew I couldn't deny my parents' last request. I couldn't resent them for it either because they did it out of love . . . Suddenly, I regretted thinking about them because the inevitable feelings of guilt and sorrow began crowding into my mind.
"Hey, look! There's Jack!" Emily called, distracting me from my morbid thoughts.
"Jack? Who's that?"
Emily
"One of the boys from the Ark," I replied. With a bit of persuading, I managed to get DS to come and meet him.
"That's a nice Wobbuffet," DS commented as she watched Jack's Wobbuffet standing there with a spaced-out expression on his face.
"Is it?" Jack said sceptically. "All I can see is a great blue blob."
"Yeah, but I bet you didn't know that a Wobbuffet can use a move that enables it to take its opponent down with it. I read about it somewhere. I think it's called "Destiny Bond"."
Jack admitted that he hadn't. But, then again, he'd never actually used his Wobbuffet in battle so the question of what Attacks the patient Pokemon could do never came up.
DS smiled lightly and patted her Charmander, who was trotting obediently by her side. "Hey, why don't we battle some time and you can try it out then?" she suggested.
We would have carried on talking had Kate, Max and Vicky not come running up and told us there was trouble over at one of the caves.
Ken
I turned my torch upwards to reveal an awesome sight. Trent's description of the cave had been accurate and this was easily the largest cave I'd ever been in. I could make out two large exits, one leading to another huge cavern, the other to what sounded like an underground waterfall. The roof had beautiful crystal shards that looked like flash-frozen ice and the floor . . . I blinked in disbelief; the floor was metal. I could see blood, but I didn't know if it was Trent's and a low, rumbling growl from the lake made me think twice about diving in and investigating.
I thumbed on my PokeGear and began transmitting. "Have found no sign of Trent, aside from a few flecks of blood. I believe there is grave danger down here . . ."
At that precise moment, something slammed into the side of the platform, throwing me into the water. I tried to get back out, but the current from the waterfall had already taken hold and I felt myself drawn inexorably towards the gaping hole at the end of the cavern. I tried swimming against it, but the current was too strong. That was when I caught sight of some massive creature breaking the water, fangs outstretched. I didn't bother staring or gaping; I just swam for the waterfall, hoping I could survive the fall and find a way to escape that monster in the next cave.
I shot through the entrance and felt myself falling before painfully plunging into another river below. Then, I swam, hard.
Jack
"Blood? Grave danger?" DS asked as we crowded round the entrance to the cave. "What does that mean? What's going on here?"
"I Have no idea," Emily said in a worried tone. "Jack, what exactly has been happening here?"
I couldn't help but notice that everyone was staring at me with polite curiosity etched into their expressions. "Why ask me?" I demanded. "I don't know anything about what's going on down there."
"Jack, you've been out here; you must have seen something," Emily persisted.
"Why are Ken and Trent down there?" It was Kate's turn to ask a question I couldn't answer.
"They must've . . . er . . ." I started hesitantly.
"And why's he going on about blood and danger and Trent being missing?" Max saw an opening to fit in yet another unanswerable question.
"Jack, work with us here, please," said Emily. "We need answers, preferably some time this week." She seemed determined to make my life as difficult as possible.
"Look, I've already told you, I don't know anything about this!" I shot back. "If you want to find out what's going on, why don't you pull on the rope and see what comes up?!"
I braced myself for the argument I was sure would follow, but it never came. The others had all turned in unison and dived towards the hole in the ground, each determined to be the first to pull the rope back up and solve the mystery of Trent's disappearance.
Vicky
My hands vainly tried to get through everyone else's hands and, in all the pushing, I was accidentally knocked down into the cave. I screamed, but everyone was too busy to hear me.
I jumped down onto what turned out to be a metal floor. I looked around and saw blood, but I didn't know if it was Trent's or Ken's and I wasn't going to stay here to find out. I got out my PokeGear and was about to ring Emily when I saw it. I couldn't see it too well because of all the splashing it was causing. Then, as I looked closer, I saw something else in the water, something that looked like Ken. I picked out Emily on my PokeGear and dialled.
"Please answer! Please answer!" I whispered to myself. I waited until I heard a click, telling me that she had answered.
"Vicky, why are you ringing me? You're up here, aren't you?" she asked.
"Um, well, no. I'm not up there; I fell into the cavern," I told her. After that, all I heard was silence coming down the phone, so I decided I should talk again. "By the way, I think you should get help because Ken is getting chased by a lake monster."
DS
Apparently, something was going on in that hole and it wasn't good. According to Vicky, some guy named Ken had gone down there and was now in danger of being eaten by a lake monster.
Emily had gone to find help almost immediately after Vicky gave her the news, but not before leaving some parting instructions. "OK, I'm going to get the others," she said. "You guys must stay here - and don't go into the hole; we don't need any more problems. Here's Vicky's PokeGear number . . ." She pulled out a marker, but there was no paper handy.
"Just write it on Wobbuffet," suggested Jack.
I'd rather not . . . er . . . mark your Wobbuffet."
"Aw! Just . . . let me do it!" Jack took the marker and poised it over his Wobbuffet's head, as Emily gave in with a mildly exasperated sigh and told him the number. "There," he said when he was done. "Now, Wobbuffet, guard it with your life, OK? At least until we don't need it any more."
"Well, maybe it would be a good idea to call Vicky and give her one of our PokeGear numbers so she can call us if something happens," Kate suggested.
"Well, seeing as I've got her number, I might as well give her mine," Jack said as he dialled up Vicky.
We waited a few seconds before Vicky's voice came through. "Emily . . . you . . . ack . . . soon . . . Did . . . you fi . . . elp?"
We hadn't expected the reception to be so poor; all that static was making it difficult to figure out what she was saying. "Vicky! Hey, Vicky!" Jack called. "This is Jack. Emily's not back yet and I'm calling to give you my number so you can call us if you have to."
"What? Can't . . . too . . . much . . . atic. Message not get . . ."
"Looks like we're not coming over any better," I observed.
"Maybe if we got closer to the hole . . ." Jack suggested. He moved right to the lip of the hole and tried again. Then, his Wobbuffet crashed into me, knocking one of the eggs out of the crook of my arm and straight into the hole. My Charmander caught up to it in one leap, but couldn't prevent herself from falling down the hole with her cargo. "Charmander!" I yelled, turning to Kate. "Look, I know Emily said not to go down there, but I have to," I told her. "My Pokemon just went down there!"
