Dark followed the faint trail until late at night, when it disappeared among scents of exhaust from a truck. He snarled, annoyed that he had spent so much time on a dead end. He continued in the direction of the truck, hoping to find something he could use.
The wall of rain dissipated as he came to the edges of the Great Storm. He gladly walked out of the damp, relieved at an end to the rain. The trail of the truck was clear now, and he could also smell the scent of a Grovyle following it. He smiled to himself, glad that he had uncovered the trail, and loped onward into the darkness.
Behind him, hidden in the murk of the storm, a gem flashed as a dark creature followed a different trail. It shook off the water on it coat disdainfully as it emerged from the rain, sending a spray of wetness across the already damp soil. It stopped, in no apparent hurry, to groom it luxurious fur before finally jogging along the road in search of its chosen prey.
Aquamarine jogged down a faint path in the underbrush, thinking furiously. She knew that she had to free her friends, but she was puzzled at exactly how she could. The path widened and smoothed suddenly, revealing a set of tracks in the damp mud. The Grovyle stared curiously at the prints, wondering at the size of the claws, but looked up when she heard the leaves rustle in the bushes across the trail.
She found herself staring at a large, white, mongoose-like creature. The Pokemon had red stripes slashing down its face and torso, and its claws were wickedly curved. It looked at Aquamarine in surprise, freezing in place as both Pokemon studied each other.
"What are you?" asked Aquamarine.
"I'm a Zangoose, what are you?" said the Pokemon as she cleaned the dirt from her fur.
"I'm a Grovyle."
"Well met." said the Zangoose, nodding her head, "My name is Quicksilver."
"I'm Aquamarine"
"Well, this path will take you to Lilycove City if you continue. I made it myself," said the Zangoose, preening with pride.
"Thank you, I'm sure I can use it later."
"Why later?" asked Quicksilver, looking at Aquamarine curiously.
"Well, I-"
Suddenly, a large, black, snake-like Pokemon burst from the bushes. It hissed at Quicksilver, making the Zangoose jump back in surprise, and looked sidelong at Aquamarine.
"Is this vile creature bothering you, my lady?" it said, still hissing at the Zangoose.
Quicksilver growled and brandished her gleaming claws, fur rising on the nape of her neck. Aquamarine knew that she must do something to stop this, or a fight would be sure to follow.
"No, we were just talking." she said quickly.
"Talking? With a Zangoose?" asked the ebony snake, looking profoundly puzzled.
"Yes, she was." hissed Quicksilver.
The two Pokemon squared off again, glaring menacingly as each prepared for battle.
"What are you, anyway?" asked Aquamarine, looking at the snake.
"I'm a Seviper, and Zangoose are the scourge of my people," answered the Seviper, seeming very chastened that his help was not accepted.
"Why?"
"Umm..." stuttered the Seviper, looking unsure of the answer.
"I can answer that," said Quicksilver, beginning to relax, "there's been an ongoing feud between the two species for centuries. No one can remember what started it anymore."
"Well, it's a useless battle, then, isn't it?" stated Aquamarine matter-of-factly.
"I certainly think so, though the feud has been going on so long, it's an instinct now," said Quicksilver.
"Well, what was bothering you, umm-?"
"Aquamarine."
"Thank you. What was bothering you, Aquamarine?" finished the Seviper.
"My friends have been captured, and they're imprisoned in the Zoo!" blurted the blue Grovyle, relieved to have finally gotten to the point.
"Really? Couldn't you just sneak in there and unlock the doors?" asked Quicksilver.
"No, there's a security system, and an alarm went off when I touched it the lock."
"Security system, you say? Well, I'm pretty good at breaking into security systems. I can help!" exclaimed the Seviper, perking up a little.
"Are you sure? That would be a great favor," said Aquamarine.
"I don't trust this. I'm going with you," stated Quicksilver, looking around suspiciously.
"Fine, where is the Zoo?" asked the Seviper.
"It's this way," said Aquamarine. As she started to walk back down the path, she turned to make sure the others were coming, "by the way, what's your name?"
"My name is Mercury."
Dark came to a stop. The road here was scuffed with many different scents, all mingled together in a confusing mess. He could smell the scent of human, as well as Wingull. He groaned inwardly, thinking that Aquamarine must have been captured, but his heart leapt when he scented her trail moving down the road again.
Suddenly, he saw twin lights moving down the road at him. He only had a moment to think that was pervaded with a loud honking before the thing was upon him. He tried to leap away, but a crushing force rammed into him and sent him flying, broken and in agony, to the side of the road. He rolled along the ground, stopping in a dark, wet ditch. He faintly heard the sound of squealing tires and doors slamming before he was enveloped in darkness, releasing him from the pain of the collision.
The dark form in the woods watched coldly as the Grovyle was loaded into the truck. It sighed as the vehicle revved up and began to move away; down the road to a place the figure knew well. The creature stood and stretched, yawning and showing its needle-sharp teeth, before it trotted calmly down the side of the road.
Aquamarine and her two cohorts snuck quietly through the gates to the Zoo. Mercury separated from the group to disarm the system, moving silently through the shadows, and the others went into the building to open the door once he was finished.
"I don't trust him," mumbled Quicksilver as she watched for movement out the door.
"Whom can you trust?" asked Aquamarine softly as she checked the cage door again.
"You, for one."
"I'll give you that... Oh, the door's open!" exclaimed the Grovyle as she saw the red light on the door blink out of existence.
She and Quicksilver hurriedly picked the lock, releasing all of the Breloom and Slice. When Aquamarine's friends were out, all three went to search for the helpful Seviper. As they walked slowly through the rows of cages, Mercury suddenly materialized from the shadows before them.
"Hey guys! Come on, let's get out of here before we're caught!"
The reformed group sped towards the entrance, but when they came within sight of the gate, twin headlights stopped them in their tracks. They hid in the deep shadow behind a shed.
The truck stopped before the gate, and the doors slammed as the same humans who had captured Aquamarine's friends stepped out. The younger of the two punched some numbers into a consol on the gate, but it didn't open.
"It's dead!" he exclaimed.
"What're ya talking about? It was working fine when we left!"
"Well it's not now!" said the man as he slid the door open, "There must have been a power outage."
"Just hurry up, this Grovyle here needs treatment!" grumbled the older of the two as he jumped in the truck again.
'Grovyle?' thought Aquamarine, 'What Grovyle?'
The truck sped through the manually opened gate, and Aquamarine glimpsed a still form lying in the back among the sacks of food. She thought she recognized the Pokemon, but the truck was going too fast to be sure.
"Come on, let's get going before they come back!"
"Yeah..." said Aquamarine as she slipped noiselessly through the still open gate.
The lithe form slunk through the darkness, trotting silently on its padded feet. It had come to the twin gates of the Zoo, and it shuddered as it scented that the truck had gone inside. Suddenly, it noticed a different trail, a fresher trail.
There were traces of many different Pokemon, but the scent that caught the dark figure more was that of a Breloom, its natural, and largest, prey. It licked its chops, thinking of the wonderful meal that was sure to await it if it followed, and turned from the Zoos confines. The footprints here were very fresh; it would only be a matter of time before it caught its food.
Dark came to consciousness slowly. At first, he was confused at where he was, and then the pain started in. He groaned as he felt at least one broken rib throbbing in his side, and when he tried to move, he found another broken bone in his leg.
He stuck to lying still, looking around his field of vision curiously at the shiny white and silver floors and shelves. He could just barely see the door out of the corner of his eye, and as he watched it swung slowly open. A human came in the room, and Dark growled faintly.
"Hey, there," said the human "are you feeling any better?"
Dark just glared at the man with his eyes flaming disgust.
"Okay, I get it. We will let you go later, you know, we just can't while you have all these injuries. You were hit by a truck, big guy," the man said softly.
Dark sighed; at least they were helping him. He muttered quietly and closed his eyes as the human left, closing the door behind him. Things had definitely taken a turn for the worst.
Aquamarine and her friends walked slowly through the faint trail, following Quicksilver. The Zangoose moved noiselessly through the thick brush, stopping occasionally to let the others catch up. They were all very tired, and needed to find a place to rest soon; most of them would collapse from exhaustion of they couldn't.
Soon, they came to a treeless dell. Quicksilver announced it as a safe haven, and the group lay down in the center. Slice, Powder, and Mercury were soon asleep, but Aquamarine and Quicksilver stood watch together. Before long, Aquamarine could hear the soft snoring of the Zangoose breaking the relative silence.
As the Grovyle stared into the dark night, drowsiness began to overtake her. She looked up at the stars, and saw that there seemed to be more than usual. She realized dimly that the stars were drifting slowly, and then that the stars were not stars but dust. She grasped what it was just before she fell to the ground, fast asleep.
In the bushes around the clearing, many pairs of faintly glowing red eyes came into the light. They wrapped their vines around the sleeping forms of the Pokemon, and dragged their captives into the waiting shadows.
"Well, big guy, I have good news!" said the man as he moved Dark from the critical care room, "The new healing technology just came in, so you're not going to have to be here as long as we thought!"
Dark chirped gladly, wishing he could be healed faster than it was taking. The last few hours had been complete agony for him, and the thought of a few weeks with those injuries made him feel sick.
He was wheeled into a dim room, a contrast to the brightly lit care units. He could see a large machine sitting in the center, and a control panel rested against the wall. The man brought him to the huge machine, and Dark could see an entrance into it. The injured Grovyle was place into the machine, and the door was closed after the man left.
Dark could hear human voices echoing metallically through the system, and he saw the lights on the mechanism illuminate as it powered up. A warning sound resonated throughout the chamber as the machine reached full power.
A blinding red light washed over the Grovyle, and he cried out as a few seconds of searing pain hit him full force. The intense pain stopped almost as soon as it had started, and Dark lifted his head curiously. The pain in his leg and ribs seemed to have disappeared, so he gingerly stepped off the table. Amazingly, nothing seemed to be wrong, only a rapidly fading ache remained of his wounds.
The door opened slowly, and the man peered around the edge. Dark watched quietly, waiting for the human to release him.
"We're going to let you go now, but you have to follow us until you're out of the Zoo; otherwise you'll probably get lost. If you don't agree, we'll be forced to tranquilize you."
Dark considered the options and nodded curtly, walking to the man as tamely as he could. The man smiled and led him out, where he saw the other Zoo workers watching cautiously from a distance. They walked down the hallway, and soon came to large double doors leading outside.
The sun seemed unnaturally bright after the darkness of the building, and Dark had to blink his eyes many times before they adjusted. The man paused until the Grovyle could get his bearings, and then continued at a brisk walk.
Dark looked all around the Zoo, staring in wonder at the many species in the numerous cages. He wondered why they looked so happy with their lives, but a stray scent stopped him in his tracks.
"What's wrong?" asked the man, halting to look back at the Grovyle, "What have you found?"
Dark lowered his head and shook slightly, though there was no water or dust on his skin. He looked innocently at the man, who sighed and continued on. Dark smiled to himself; Aquamarine had been here...