Chapter Eight
Vicky
"So how are we going to get more information?" I asked Faye. "If it means returning to the Colony, you can count me out." I wasn't returning to the Colony, no matter what. It wasn't what Faye had been saying but the threat of being caught that was the problem.
"Well, part of it means returning to the Colony," Faye replied. "But we'll also have to look at things like that cavern."
We were wondering how we were going to search almost all of Terranova when Emily came up with an idea. "Why don't we split up?"
Faye
"Split up?!" I exclaimed. "We could get lost, die, drown, get caught! There are too many things to risk!"
"Still, we might as well find out about our surroundings," Emily countered. "We don't need any more disadvantages than we already have."
"OK, that's a good idea," I admitted. "But we have to be careful. We'll need at least two people and a battle-ready Pokemon in each team. And food, a map and . . ."
Vicky laughed. "Wow, Faye! You are such a control freak!"
"Is that a compliment?" I grunted as I went through a mental list. "You lot, hold on; I'm trying to think."
Marle let out a guffaw. "Whatever, Faye!"
"You've been thinking enough for all of us," Ken said, rolling his eyes. "Let's get on with this."
"Well, Emily," I said. "What do you say?"
Max
Having escaped from the lake monster and made it out of the cavern, I ran, knowing Abra was too tired to Teleport, and kept going until I was about to collapse. I sat next to a tree and realised the ground was wet so it must have rained. I looked round for something familiar, but all I could see besides plants was a mountain in the distance; maybe I would be able to see the Colony from its peak.
I felt better, so I started walking. But it was getting dark, so I would have to find shelter soon.
Emily
It was all happening too fast. Faye's news that the powers that be had known about the comet all along and had kept the fact of its existence hidden until it was too late to try and destroy it had shocked me greatly. And, now, it seemed we were going to be used for something, but I didn't know exactly what. All I knew was that we had to break away from the main colony, at least for a while.
"Well I don't know about anyone else," I said carefully. "But I agree with Faye. Until we can be sure of their motives in bringing us here, we're better off avoiding them. Therefore, I propose that we . . ."
I broke off as I realised that everyone was staring at me as if I was some kind of freak. And, although, I wasn't conscious of it at first, I could feel a strange sensation, sort of like a warm lightbulb, in my forehead. But, then, my head began to ache so violently that I collapsed in waves of agony.
The next thing I remember is waking up to find Kate, Faye and Marle sitting beside me. "What happened?" I murmured drowsily, as Meowth and Eevee curled up on my lap. "How long have I been asleep?"
"All day," replied Faye. "And I think there's something you should know," she added, handing me a computer printout. "I hacked your files while I was on the Ark and it turns out that you . . . Well, see for yourself."
As I read the files Faye had given me, I felt shocked, shocked that this had been kept from me all my life.
Those files talked about how an alien race from the planet Valdas had come to Earth many centuries ago and interbred with humans until only a few pure Valdasians remained. But that wasn't all; it turned out that my own family were Valdasians and that I was, consequently, not fully human. Finally, there was some stuff that said Valdasians had the power to control the elements, kind of like different Pokemon Types. When I read that, my heart began to race as I thought of how my forehead had felt so sore moments before I collapsed.
"What did I do?" I asked, a note of fear in my voice.
Faye looked at me closely. "Scorched a small tree. And, from that, I'd say you were a Fire Valdasian . . ." She carried on talking, but I wasn't really listening. My mind was too caught up with the idea that I had the power to control fire, an exciting prospect but scary at the same time. If I ever lost control of it . . .
"So I'm not here just because I'm so good at problem solving?" I asked.
Faye was about to reply, but Marle butted in. "Hey! Has it occurred to anyone that there's still the small matter of what they have planned?"
Faye
I laughed. "I think having an alien among us is more important," I said. "I mean, Emily is still Emily, but this totally throws things out of the spectrum. Could there be more like her here?"
Emily blinked; the shock was still fresh for her.
"You're being totally unreasonable," Marle cut in. "Weren't you the one telling us about all this? Now, people will actually realise the group is gone, not just one or two people."
I looked at her, a growl rising from deep in my throat. "We're in way deeper than that; they'll know we're onto them as soon as Emily goes missing." I could see distrust in Marle's eyes and knew she didn't believe me. "You don't believe me," I told her.
"No kidding! I've placed all my hopes in the Ark. I trusted them and mean to continue trusting them until I know for sure. But you're asking us to place our lives - which, whatever way you look at it, we destined to lead us to this planet - in your trust when we've only known you for a short time."
Marle
I'd survived too much to let the wool be pulled over my eyes. I didn't known who the heck this girl thought she was, but she wasn't going to sucker me into her scheme, whatever it was. Still, I had to admit she'd described me to a T. The nerve of her, I thought - sneaking into my personal files! I couldn't believe the others weren't as offended as I was at this breach of privacy. And then there was that business with Emily . . .
Well, whatever lay ahead, we were going to have to be ready and that meant having some good Pokemon on your side. That I could handle.
"Well, I don't know about the rest of you," I said. "But I'm getting out of here. No matter what is coming, I plan to be ready for it."
Faye
Marle fastened a determined stare on the group My heart clenched as I knew what she was going to do and what the result would be. If she was caught, she would be forced to tell all and that would mean the end of our resistance. I didn't care what happened to her, but I wasn't going to let personal feelings get in the way of what we had to do as a group.
"Don't go, Marle!" Emily pleaded. "They're probably looking for us specifically now that I know about that fire thing! It's too dangerous! Please, just stay for a bit longer, until you know what's going on!"
Marle kept on going.
DS picked up her Cyndaquil and held him close. "Marle, if you do this we could all die," she pleaded. "I'm willing to take the risk that Faye is right; she has enough friggin' evidence for the time being. Trust us, Marle. Please, trust us."
Marle
I paused. Could it be that Faye might actually be telling the truth?
No, but, if I left and no-one else followed, it would be over. I would have lost them to her and she would have won. On the other hand, if I stayed, I might be able to talk some sense back into them and turn them back to my side. Then, when I left, they would come with me and Faye would lose what power she had over them.
I hung my head slowly and shuffled back. "I'll come back for you, DS," I said. "But I won't trust her."
Emily
I knew my life would never be the same again after what Faye told me. For days afterwards, I was afraid to do anything in case I set something on fire. And then there was the question of how I'd managed to scorch that tree in the first place. How had I lived out my life on Earth without showing any signs of what I truly was?
On the surface, I carried on as normal. I still trained Meowth and Eevee, grateful for the unconditional love of my Pokemon; they didn't care if I was descended from an alien race. But, deep inside, I felt betrayed, betrayed by my family, who I felt should have told me the truth before I got taken away.
I understood why they might not have wanted me to know while I was growing up, but, had the comet not destroyed everything I used to know, I was sure the subject would have been raised sooner or later. I swallowed hard and tried to stop myself from thinking about things that might have been. I had been chosen to survive the comet, but the rest of my family had not - and that was all there was to it.
Faye
On my hands and knees, I picked a small fruit from a plant and began to dig out the root. This plant was very sour and its fruits were unusually minty. Eventually, I decided that I couldn't get the sour taste out of the roots, so I settled for some of the leaves (which we used for garnish) and the fruit.
I was loading my basket when Flaaffy began bleating in terror. "What is it?" I asked her. But she only continued bleating. I laughed and patted her on the head. "Calm down," I told her soothingly. "There's nothing wrong . . ."
As if on cue, the ground began to tremble below me.
Ken
"Any luck?" asked Jack.
"Not yet, but I'll soon have some. How've you been and what brings you down to my little corner?"
"Oh, me and Wobbuffet . . ."
"Wobba!" piped up Jack's Wobbuffet.
". . . were checking up on your morale."
I glanced at the duo. "Er, I'm fine morale-wise," I said, shaking my head. They certainly had their eccentricities. "Hold on; I think I've got it now," I added as I pressed the new transistor into the radio's circuits. "Let's see if we can catch some airwaves . . ." I scanned the frequencies until some garbled talk came through. I recognised the voice as belonging to one of the Ark's bridge Crew, but couldn't discern what was being said apart from a few random words. It seemed to be a transmission to an exploration team, but I couldn't be sure. "No good, still needs tweaking," I said. "Hey, Jack . . ."
But he had vanished. Then, just as I was reaching for the radio again, the small grenade Jack had left on the desk went off so violently that I fell off the stool I was sitting on. Landing on the stone floor, I swore very loudly. Then I saw Jack dashing out of the shadows and sprinting outside, laughing his head off.
"You . . .!" I yelled. I had begun to chase after him when the ground shook and a faint rumbling could be heard.
Faye
The shaking began to get louder, sounds screeching at my ears like metal being shaped from below.
"Flaaffy, let's get out of here," I said as I began to walk backwards.
Suddenly, a huge explosion shot out from below and everything around me seemed to fall to pieces like puzzles that could not be put back together again. The ground began to implode and the screaming sounds continued to nearly shatter my eardrums. I had never been in an earthquake before, but this didn't seem like any sort of earthquake I'd ever heard of. My feet began to fall from beneath as dirt and rocks were swallowed up and spat out again.
"Flaa!" Flaaffy cried out suddenly. I turned my head to the side just in time to see the tree root Flaaffy was clinging to become detached.
"Flaaffy!" I screamed to no avail as my bleating Pokemon was hurled into the dirt. Without thinking, I let go of the tree root I was clinging to and dived in after her.
Suddenly, the shaking stopped and a few hunks of dirt fell upon my feet. The earthquake was over and the ground that had swallowed up my Pokemon looked just as it had before. Surely, this had been some sort of bad dream . . .
"Please wake up," I murmuring, closing my eyes and not daring to open them until I could feel a soft blanket at my feet and a pillow at my head. But it didn't come so I just kept my eyes shut until a soft blanket of sleep wrapped itself around me.
Jack
"No! For the love of God, take the Wobbuffet! Not me!"
Suddenly the ground stopped behaving like an A-bomb had just gone off under it and I was left clinging to my Wobbuffet. He was holding onto a tree which had miraculously survived the shake-up. I wondered if he'd heard any of the comments I'd been screaming at the top of my voice. "Did you hear any of what I just said?" I asked.
"Wobb!"
"Let's just see if we can find the others, OK?"
"Wobb!"
"Look, we'll talk later. Right now we have to find out who's dead and who isn't."
"Wobb!"
"We can go hunting for berries afterwards if you like."
Faye
My eyelids flickered as the moonlight cast eerie shadows over my face. "It's not real. None of it's real," I told myself as I opened my eyes . . .
"Why? Why does it always have to be real?" I whispered softly, my hands falling across the tree trunk. The rough bark broke in chunks as I felt round the tree, trying to grab a handhold to pick myself up. A tear began to fall from my eye and I blinked, trying to hold them back. Crying relieves pain - that was what they told me - and sometimes you have to let it all out. But it hurts because, when you cry, you have to admit that you're there, that it is really happening.
It had been a long time, so long that I wondered why I hadn't come to this realisation earlier. The shell I'd formed around myself was thinning and letting things in. I buried my head in my arms.
"I don't want to let you go," I sobbed through my salty tears. But, as soon as the words came from my mouth, I knew it was time to face the future. I turned my head to the place where Flaaffy had disappeared and a realisation came to me. I could feel a strange, indecipherable feeling that there was more to this spot than there seemed to be.
I swept my hand over the spot, wiping away the dusty layer and began to dig into the dirt with my bare hands. I kept on digging until about two feet had been cleared. I banged my hands on the dirt below and it immediately began disappearing, falling. I recoiled, but nothing began to shake.
Peering over the side, I saw a strange wire mesh, big enough for dirt to fall through but strong enough to support a two-foot layer of crusty dirt. I stood up with a weak sort of satisfaction. I had to go tell the others so they could help me find out what this was all about.
I knew that, like the earthquake, that was something I didn't know that was vital to know. Beneath my feet lay the mysterious Tunnels of Terranova and I wanted to find out their secret
Max
I looked round and saw footprints. "Ha! I'll catch up with them yet!" I told myself.
Then, the ground began to shake and I groaned at my luck. I saw some dirt start falling underground, but I was all right where I was. It stopped abruptly. "That was odd," I thought out loud.
I followed the faintly visible footprints until I saw the others spread around a wide area. I was on high ground so I could see them all. "Hey, guys!" I called. "Up here!"
