Hey Everyone. This week has been a weird one for me. Sorry for the late posting.

Now, on with the story.

Chapter 5: Investigating

(Inside a Laboratory, Unknown)

"How is the plan proceeding?" Said a Chief Scientist. "Everything is going according to plan, however…" Said a lower ranking scientist. "However, what?!" "I fear that the International Police is beginning close in on us. They have reason to charge us, as someone was injured in the last kidnapping, and they've been patrolling the Kalos Region for the past few days." The Chief Scientist then angrily slams his hand on the table. "We have little time! Tell the teams to take precaution when proceeding with the operations! Her orders are absolute!" "Yes sir."

(Inside a plane flying to Kalos.)

"All these people, missing. All these families and loved ones, worried. This situation is never a pleasant one, no matter the scale. All I can do is keep working and hoping for the best." Thought Mateus to himself. "Eye?" Cried Decidueye. "Oh. I'm just thinking about the case. That's all." "Decidueye." Mateus then turns his attention to Decidueye. "Look. I know that my work takes up a lot of my time, and that it may not seem like I care about you all, but I really do. You're all my family, and if it weren't for all of you, I don't know what would happen. Decidueye silently smiles and gives his trainer a hug using his wings. Looking at the two rows to his right, Mateus saw Ash, Serena, as well as their Pokémon in a video chat with Grace and Charles in the closer four seat row and on the three seated row on the far right, he could see Hilbert, Rosa, and Prof. Alva sleeping.

(Hours Later, At Lumiose Airport)

"If all goes well, today should be the end of this, or at least, the beginning of the end." Thought Mateus to himself. Mateus then sees Rosa slowly waving her hand in his face. "Ah, Rosa! Sorry for dozing off there, what's on your mind?" Asked Mateus. "I'm wondering, where are we going to be working at?" Asked Rosa. "We be at the Kalos branch headquarters, it's only a ten minute drive there." "I see."

(Ten Minutes Later, At the Headquarters of the International Police's Kalos Branch)

"From what I've been told, there will be patrols tonight again. If all goes well, we'll catch anything that happens at the moment it begins." Said Mateus. "We've analyzed the data more before we left, we found that the disappearances usually are reported from the hours of 6:00 to 9:00 in the morning or between 2:00 to 5:00 in the afternoon." Said Rosa. "So it's a possibility that they're not leaving out of their own volition?" Asked Prof. Alva. Rosa then turned to her father. "Yes Dad." Mateus then turns to Rosa. "I am beginning to think that these are no longer disappearances, however, there is no definitive link to kidnapping as of yet, despite the evidence suggesting it. What happens tonight will either prove or disprove of our suspicions and thoughts. Though the tension of the situation is high, it is important to be calm and keep an open mind. A lot can happen in these situations, and not all of the outcomes are ideal. Let's go to work."

(Mateus then begins to leave to begin working, before being stopped by Ash.)

"Mateus." Called Ash. "Yes, Ash?" Asked Mateus. "If things don't go well tonight, I'm thinking of contacting a few friends to help with the case." Mateus then sighs. "Ash, I had second thoughts about you and Serena taking part of the case since you two are parents now. I know you two have the best interests at heart and want to help, but…" "Right now Mateus, we're the only six people working on the combined case and we've already gotten our hands full. There are risks, I know that, but we desperately need all the help we can get. There could be lives on the line." "You do make a valid point. I'll contact Blake and see what I can do, but I cannot guarantee anything. Just be sure to send me the list of people you want to help with the case.

(Hours Later)

Mateus was watching the patrols on a massive screen, keeping track of anything that could happen. "Six hours of keeping track and nothing so far." Said Mateus. "We have the entire region on a screen. Just like you said earlier, anything that happens, we'll be sure to catch it." Said Prof. Alva. Mateus then turns around to Prof. Alva. "I know that, Professor. When I joined this case, I thought it was just your eldest daughter that was missing. Come to find out that, it's a lot more people on a significantly larger scale than expected. I know you, Hilbert, Rosa, and all of the other families haven't said anything significant about it yet, but I feel the pressure of it all, I've only felt said pressure three times in my life. And it's very hard to not let said pressure break you." "Detective Cobalt, you are widely regarded as the best in your field. But, you are still a human, and it is normal for one to feel this way at times. It's part of what makes us that, human." "Thank you, Professor Alva." "Meow." Cried a female Meowstic.

(Mateus then turns around to see that Mirai had let herself out of her own Poké Ball.)

"Again?!" Asked a shocked Mateus. Mateus then saw that Mirai was pointing at the screen. "That's odd." "What?" Said Prof. Alva. "One of the patrol cars has stopped. I'm closing in on the location now." Mateus closes in the location of the patrol car. "Laverre City. Professor Alva, tell everyone to get ready to fly. We're heading there right now." "I will, Detective."

(Fifteen Minutes Later)

"So the car has been like this for little over fifteen minutes, am I correct?" Asked Mateus. "Yes. Though it could be almost twenty." Said a Kalosian Citizen. "Sir, you also said you found the officers asleep, was there any sign of suspicious activity?" "I did find a bit of sleep powder on the dashboard, Detective, but I don't know if that qualifies as such." "In our case, it does. Did you see anything else or even a person?" I couldn't find anything else and I didn't see anyone." "Very well then. Thank you for taking the time for answering any questions for us today, sir." "You're welcome Detective."

(The Kalosian Citizen then leaves.)

"Anything?" Asked Prof. Alva. "From what it looks, the citizen only found the car." Said Mateus. "If who or what ever did this, then they know that we're on to them, Mateus." "If that's the case, Professor Alva, any precaution we take will obviously be met with some resistance from their end." "It's surprising that an accident didn't happen." "Not really, they likely waited until our patrol car in the city, stopped at an intersection to powder our officers. With the fan or A/C on, the powder circulated around the car and in a matter of minutes, they were out counting Mareep." "Why though?" "Simple, from the data we looked at, they operate while leaving as little of a trace as possible. A crashed automobile with two people inside not only leaves a big trace, but it also creates a distraction large enough for anyone to be interested." "Effectively hindering their operation and forcing them to improvise." "Exactly."

(Meanwhile, with Hilbert and Rosa.)

Rosa and Hilbert were questioning a man and his wife. "Did your wife find anything suspicious going on in the next house?" Asked Rosa. "Amour, la fille demande si tu as trouvé quelque chose de suspect dans la maison voisine. As tu? (Love, the girl is asking if you found anything suspicious in the next house over. Did you?)" Said The Man, relaying Rosa's question to his wife. "Non, je ne l'ai pas fait. le voisin d'à côté s'est réveillé et a ouvert la porte et a confirmé qu'ils allaient bien. Ces disparitions ont mis beaucoup de gens sur les nerfs. Cependant, je ne m'attendais pas à ce que la Police Internationale soit également sur les nerfs. (No, I did not. the next door neighbor did wake up and open the door and confirmed that they were alright. These disappearances have placed many people on edge. Though, I wouldn't have expected the International Police to be on edge as well.)" Said the man's wife. "My wife says that there was nothing suspicious going on and that all is well next door" "I see. If that's the case, thank you for taking the time for allowing us to ask some questions. "It's fine. Amour, le garçon nous remercie d'avoir pris le temps de les laisser nous poser quelques questions. (Love, the boy is thanking us for taking the time to let them ask us some questions.)" "À tout moment. Nous soucions des autres et espérons que vos efforts ramèneront les enfants disparus à la maison. (Anytime. We care about others, and hope that your efforts will bring the disappeared children back home.)

(Hilbert and Rosa give their good nights, and then leave the household.)

"Nothing so far. I really hope we can find Hilda and Bianca." Said Rosa. "We will. It may hurt now, but sooner or later, we'll find a lead and get Hilda, Bianca, and all the others." Said Hilbert, who comforted Rosa. Rosa then turned to Hilbert. "I wonder how Ash and Serena are doing."

(Hilbert's Rotom Phone then goes off.)

Hilbert then answers the call. "Hello? Detective? Uh-huh, uh-huh. We'll be there." Said Hilbert. "What happened?" Asked Rosa. "Ash and Serena found a disappearance scene.

(Ten Minutes Later)

"The home in question is that of the Aquatique Family. Husband's name is Jacques, Wife's name is Corail, and they are both researchers that specialize in water types and marine habitats. They have a son named Azur, who is our missing child. The Sleep Powder is still fresh in the area of the house, so keep your Fire Types either away or in check, one flame could send us to a slumber we won't wake up from. Also, keep your eyes peeled for any evidence.

(The group then goes inside the House.)

Everyone was carefully looking around the scene for some evidence or trace. Serena was in the room of the missing child when something caught her eye. With her enhanced vision, Serena found a round object and used her feelers to pick it up. Upon further examination, she saw that it slightly resembled a Poké Ball, but not completely, as some of indicators was missing and that it was completely clear. Feeling suspicious, Serena decided to go downstairs to show Mateus. "Detective, I think I found something that could help our case. Eon." Said Serena. "What is it?" Asked Mateus. "It caught my eye and it looks like a Poké Ball but, it looks rather strange for one. You have a good eye Serena. This must have either been used, but didn't go off or it was simply dropped. Either way, the light blue color confirms that this is Sleep Powder, and that we're officially dealing with a kidnapping case."

*End of Chapter 5*

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I hope you all have a nice weekend. See you all next Friday.