Wes tends to be a bit nutty, as you will soon see...


Ch 3

Rui rubbed at the sore spot in her side and hiccuped again. Her crying had stopped but she still felt hurt by the attack. What had she done? Did he find out about the necklace? She picked up the PDA as her grandfather rushed into the room.

"Rui! Come quickly!" he told her and hurried off again. Startled, Rui jumped from her bed, winced a bit, then followed him down to the front door of the house. Beluh stood there already, wringing her hands as she stared in shock at the red stain on the wall beside it, tiny rivulets running down and drying into a rust color.

"What is that?" Rui asked, peering at the stain. She sniffed and recoiled, "Ick! Blood! Yuck! Where did that come from?!"

"I heard something crack and came down to see what it was and Wes was gone. I saw that stain and ooooh!" Beluh wailed in worry, "What has that boy done to himself?!" Rui looked out the window and checked for the speeder as well as the Pokémon. There were no signs of them. Had he left after all? Had he finally given up on her and just left? She opened the PDA and checked the map, crossing her fingers that the tracker worked.

A blinking light on a rough map of Orre lit up almost the moment the function was activated. Every few seconds it would update itself, and the tiny spot moved closer to Phenac City. Rui switched to the e-mail function and typed one out quickly.

"Wes! Come back! Please!" she begged, "I'm fine! Really! I don't even feel it anymore!" She waited anxiously for a reply, but none came. The tracker continued on to Phenac, but began curving to the Outskirt Stand, a broken down locomotive engine that served as a diner and trade post. If he was headed there, he must be trying to stock up on supplies. For what, she didn't know. "Wes! Wes! Please! Reply! Come back!" she urged, feeling the hot tears returning to her eyes. Again, no reply. "Wes! Please! I promise I won't jump you for a hug again! It was a stupid move, okay? It's my fault I got hurt, so please come back!" The blip finally stopped moving.

"The attack was my fault. Not yours. Don't ever blame yourself for things that I do." a reply finally came as the tiny light remained motionless on the map.

"Then please come back and apologize, or something! What happened to the wall? Are you okay?" Rui answered with more questions, desperate to lead him back to Agate.

"That was nothing. Don't worry about it. I'm perfectly fine. And I don't deserve to come back. I'm not what you think I am." Wes replied.

"Yes, you are! You're my gallant prince! You protect me from all the mean Snagem and Cipher baddies!" Rui laughed forcefully as she typed the words.

"But there is no one to protect you from me. Rui, it's probably best this way. No, definitely. The longer I stay with you, the more dangers you'll be in. Trust me. You don't want me with you."

"You come back to me right now, or I'll tell Nett and Secc to keep bugging you with e-mails until you do!" Rui tried to threaten, realizing how weak it sounded even as she sent the message. Minutes passed as she watched the tracker, waiting for a response. It finally came.

"Fine. I forgot to eat dinner anyway, and you know how I feel about missing meals." The light began to zip back to Agate Village and she sat back in relief. Now all that was left was to figure out what to do about the shadow beast.

Wes showed up an hour or so later, right hand bandaged and a poker's face on. He wasn't going to be talking about it or the bloodstain anytime soon, so Rui was forced to drop the subject before she could even bring it up. He sat at the dinner table and propped his cheek on his injured fist, barely wincing at it. With the reflective visor still covering his eyes, Rui wasn't able to tell if he was watching her or not.

"Nett gave me a little chip he was working on to help deal with the monster." she started to say carefully.

"Does it have a homing ability?" Wes asked suddenly and she froze in the middle of serving him stew. Had he found out what she had done? Was he mad? What was going to happen now? She struggled to keep her voice steady as she finished pouring the portion out.

"Yes, actually. He thought that it would help to keep tabs on the monster if it got put on it." Rui answered and placed the bowl before him. The elders had decided to leave them alone, but were still somewhat wary of the events from earlier. They slept uneasily in the upstairs bedroom.

"Good. I came up with something while out in the desert. You seem to be good at crafts." Wes remarked and held up his arm, showing her the Snag Machine. "Do you think you could make something to look like this? A copy of this machine?" Rui paused in the middle of eating her own stew, staring at him in shock.

"Wh-what?! You want me to build a Snag Machine?!" she yelped. Wes shook his head.

"No, I just need a fake version, something that looks like the machine, but isn't." he explained and looked confused. She could tell that even with the visor hiding most of his expressions. He floundered for the right words between mouthfuls of beef and vegetables. "It should look like the Snag Machine on the outside, but it won't have anything on the inside. Like it's empty. It would be lighter, but that can't be helped." he went on and finally spread his hands in defeat. "Something made to look like it? Like out of things we can find or buy around here?" he finished lamely. Rui smiled and giggled. He immediately frowned, offended by the reaction. "I find very little humor in what it is I'm trying to say." he grumbled.

"No, no! I'm sorry. What you want is a cast made to resemble the Snag Machine." Rui told him. He nodded. "That's easy! I can make that! I just need some things from Phenac to make it work. I don't have all the paints and supplies for it here and it'll take too long to go to my house in Zirconia City." she added brightly and clapped her hands together, "So tomorrow, let's go to Phenac City!" Wes shrugged and resumed digging into the stew.


The trip to Phenac City was rather uneventful. Seth caught sight of a Skarmory flying overhead, following the two of them across the desert. He had seen a similar one, or perhaps they were the same, at the Snagem Hideout a year before, the same day he blew up the base and made off with the machine he wore on his arm. It was a bit of a comfort to see the old Pokémon still facing the desert's wraths. It was like a kindred spirit for him and made him reminisce about that day...

Seth had his reasons for abandoning Team Snagem. They had tried to take his Pokémon, Jupiter and Pluto, and make them into Shadow Pokémon. On top of that, they had brought in the larger Snag Machines from Cipher, designed to snag Pokémon en masse. In other words, they were to replace him. Seth didn't like the idea of being replaced by the ugly orange machines. They had been field tested, he was there to watch, and they had snagged close to a dozen Pokémon before running out of Snag Balls or getting kicked over by angry trainers. The balls were altered to go straight to Snagem's PC database upon capture, so kicking it to get them back did nothing, just wrecked the mechanical Snaggers.

Gonzap had grinned and elbowed him, snickering about how Seth would be outdated and, upon replacement, available to the same treatment the other members got. Seth had noticed the number of Snagger members dwindling, until he was the only one left. Machines came to take the place of the 'missing' Snaggers, all of their personal Snag Machines coming up destroyed completely. He made sure to keep his on him at all times.

"I don't see how these things will outperform me." Seth had growled in irritation, "Look at them. They take everything, even the weak ones. Have I ever come back to base with a dozen Wurmples? No. These machines won't be the end of me. Not by a long shot." That earned him a beating from Gonzap, all right, but then didn't everything else he did?

"Think you're hot stuff, don'tcha, kid?! I'm still your boss, no, your master!, and until you drop dead from work and heat, you're mine to do with as I please!" the hulking man had shouted, stomping his boot into his back as he struggled to pull away from the rock he had been thrown against. Seth had come away from that experience with a cheek rubbed raw from the sedimentary boulder, and a broken rib or two. He'd had a feeling that if Gonzap had done anything truly serious to him, Cipher would be all too willing to blow him away with extreme prejudice.

Hence, Gonzap's tough love for him.

Then the day came when the impossible had happened. Gonzap had personally ripped the Snag Machine from his arm, that stupid leering face breathing into his own, and would probably have killed him with his bare hands if it hadn't been for Jupiter and Pluto breaking free of their Poké Balls and biting his ass. Scrambling out of the room and to his own quarters, the Eons hot on his heels, Seth planned quickly. He had been expecting retribution for some time now, always pushing the limits around the roach known as Gonzap, seeing how much he could get away with before the man would snap and start thrashing him, and how bad the beatings would get before he'd halt abruptly and kick him away, resuming the abuse on some inanimate object or, better yet, some hapless Snagem member that had wanted to watch for a laugh. Now was the time to cut loose from the group. Team Snagem had been 'fun' for a while, but now that his limited guarantee at living had expired, it was time to look at other options.

Seth managed to sneak around that night and set up the explosives on the machines that were freshly shipped in from Cipher. He located the room that held his personal Snag Machine and marked it mentally. He'd have a chance at it soon enough. After that, it was only a matter of pulling together funds, Gonzap never knew that Seth had discovered the pass-code to the Snagem's safe; a ride outta there, the speeder bike was the best one in their arsenal of transportation units and his favorite; and supplies, stowed in a duffel bag in the side car.

The next morning went as normal, until that one Snagem member told him that Gonzap wanted him and his Pokémon in the office, ASAP. Seth knew right away what that meant; death for himself and Shadow slavery for his best friends, the twins. Instead of obeying, he made for the outer wall of the hideout, chucking a small dynamite pack wrapped in plastique at the marked spot and blowing it open. He could only imagine the looks on the gang's faces at the force that shook the hideout to the core, and upon making off with the Snag Machine and blowing to bits the others in storage, laughed in sheer, unbridled joy at having pulled one over on Gonzap.

How Seth had wished to see him pull out the elongated, roach antennae of a mustache he was so fond of wearing or the similarly styled hair on his nearly-bald head...

"Wes! We're here! Slow down!" Rui screamed and snapped him out of his reverie. He slammed the brake, spinning the bike aside and skidding to a halt just outside the city. Heart racing, he laughed, the near collision an exhilarating experience he wouldn't have missed for anything. Boredom never suited Seth.

Rui looked at him strangely as she climbed out of the bike's side seat. He didn't care, he was alive, he was free, he was a living insult and reminder to Gonzap, wherever the man may be rotting, that he was the victor in their long-standing feud! He whooped and howled and nearly fell over when Rui shook him forcefully.

"Wes! Stop it! You're acting insane! Now come on! We have to book a hotel room and get to work! I'm going to have to do the work here!" she yelled at him and yelped when he did fall, taking her along with him. "Wes?! What is the matter with you?!"

"Nothing. Just enjoying myself." Seth murmured between chuckles as he rolled aside and got to his feet, dusting off the trench coat. He helped her stand and walked on to the city, still smiling at the wonderful, wonderful memories.


Rui selected the proper paints after comparing them to the machine on Wes's arm. She added them to the basket, along with plaster of paris and the strips of wood and metal she had picked out earlier. Wes's earlier insanity had passed and he now looked as if nothing had ever happened, waiting almost impatiently for her to finish gathering the materials. She didn't know what caused the temporary lunacy, but she was glad it was over. The sight of him laughing like that had scared her.

"Okay, that should do it. Let's get to the hotel." she said brightly as she took the items to the cashier. Wes paid for the art supplies and led her back to the Phenac Hotel. It was a new addition to the town, and a welcome one at that. Trainers from the other regions were coming in for registration and to participate in the colosseums. The city needed room for them all and business was booming for those who dabbled in Pokémon supplies and necessities. Rui beamed happily at the sight of the people flocking in from Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn, their Pokémon completely healthy and happy and trusting of the people around them.

"I'd like for us to see those lands one day." Rui murmured wistfully, "Think of all the new kinds of Pokémon that could be out there! Oh, look at that! It's a funny looking Beautifly!"

"Butterfree." Wes muttered and entered a room with the key the front desk clerk had given him. Rui blinked and followed him in.

"How do you know that?" she asked, setting the supplies down and looking around for a basin of water.

"I just do. I'm heading out to see what the word on the street is about the shadow beast. I'll be back whenever." Wes replied and handed her the key, "Keep the door locked." After a moment of hesitation, he stripped off the Snag Machine and set it beside her. She stared at it in disbelief, perhaps that act of God wasn't so farfetched? "Take care of this. It's your model to work with." he added and headed for the door.

Sighing in exasperation after he left, Rui set to work on her new project. The water helped to soften the wooden strips, which she bent into the proper shapes after examining the machine. The plaster of paris went to making a base to help the strips stay in place, after which she molded the remainder onto the skeleton. Rui then proceeded to do the same for a second molding, creating plaster copies of the shoulder-pad and forearm device of the Snag Machine. While waiting for the copies to dry, she ordered room service for lunch and looked out the window at the city. She could just about make out Wes's figure amidst the crowds of people, an easier feat once the crowd suddenly parted in a circle to surround him and a second young man. Obviously, he wasn't able to stay out of the spotlight and a trainer battle.

Interest piqued by this, Rui watched the battle, silently cheering her gallant desert prince to victory as the twin Eons faced off against two Pokémon that were new to her. One was a huge dog, red and regal with black stripes and a gorgeous crop of fur on its head and chest. The other was a ghostly Pokémon with hands that floated unattached from its main body and the body, if it could be called that, was shaped somewhat like a cat's head.

The battle began with the dog emitting a scorching hot Flamethrower at Pluto, who easily dodged it and darted in to bite the Pokemon. The ghost had tried to swoop in and lick at Jupiter with a ridiculously long tongue, only to faint at the first shot of Psychic the Eon sent back. Wes merely stood aside, watching his friends battle, calling out commands as he saw fit.

"Good going with the Haunter, Jupiter! Pluto! I expect less playing about with the Arcanine! Finish it quickly so we can get on with our job!" he declared. Pluto leaped back from a Slash attempt and looked up at the creature, eyes glowing bright. Confuse Ray. Rui laughed as the Arcanine began to run in circles, yipping and chasing its tail, unable to battle any further. It was recalled and the losing trainer, amidst his own laughter, thanked Wes for the entertaining warm-up, handed him a few bills and made a beeline to the Center with a few of his friends, chatting excitedly about the battle and the ones yet to come.

The doorbell rang and, after checking the plaster to be sure it was dry, Rui made her way over to enjoy a nice lunch. Wes was having fun, she was sure, and with the tracking device still hanging from his neck, she was content with his roaming about the city. After all, what could possibly happen to him in the beautifully opulent city of water?