Chapter Five

Alana

As Tanya led us through the backstreets of Petalburg, we were constantly on the alert.

My Mightyena ears were pretty sharp, so I listened out for signs that someone was following us. Meanwhile, Crystal, Alex and Luke used their Psychic abilities to scan the area, searching for anything that didn't sound right, anything that might mean trouble for us. As for the others, they just did what they could to keep an eye out for trouble. I suppose Atsuto could have scouted from the air, but we didn't want to draw attention to ourselves. But all we heard was the screeching of cat Pokemon fighting over territory.

Presently, we reached an old building with a metal fire escape down the side. Tanya promptly darted up it, seemingly oblivious to the clanging of her footsteps. "Come on!" she called to us from the half-landing. "Do you want to stay out here and be found?"

We all knew the answer to that, so we elected to follow her up the fire escape. Most of us moved as quietly as we could on a metal staircase, but, no matter how hard he tried not to make any noise, Zeod's hooves couldn't help clanging on each step. I held my breath, hoping no-one would hear him. Luckily, no-one did.

After climbing up another flight of stairs, we reached a rather nondescript door. Being a Dark Pokemon hybrid, I was able to see fairly well in low light conditions and I could make out that the door was painted a dark colour - I couldn't tell what colour it was - and had a wooden board nailed over where a pane of glass was usually placed. Tanya stepped forward, kicked the door four times with her left foot, paused and followed with three kicks with her right.

"Our secret knock," she told us. "Or secret kick in my case." She looked down at the Dewgong flippers that were her hands.

Moments later, the door opened and a girl peered through the crack. The first thing I noticed about her was that she was part Ledian; she even had an extra pair of limbs growing out of her waist.

Matt

"Why can't anything ever be on the ground?" I said, after having climbed up the steps to the second storey like everyone else.

I looked forward to see the girl kick on the door a few times with one foot, then kick it again with the other. Finally, the door opened up, revealing a girl that looked fairly normal. But, after looking down, I noticed she had a couple of arms at her waist. And I worked out that she must be the part Ledian girl.

After everyone had gotten into the room, I made sure to stay back. The room appeared to be kind of cramped, especially considering there were now over ten people present.

Checking out the rest of the room, I could see what appeared to be some sort of oven. In other parts of the room, there were cots set up with sheets on , I realised how tired I was. We had been flying for the past several hours and we had not slept through any of it.

"So how long have you guys been here?" I asked.

Alana

The Ledian girl was called Esther and she looked fairly normal; her face was still recognisibly human. But her head was slightly elongated, her eyes were Ledian eyes and, when she removed the baseball cap she was wearing, I saw that she had a red helmet-like thing instead of hair. Her hands (all four of them) were Ledian hands and she had a pair of red wing cases growing from her shoulders.

Anyway, when Matt asked how long she had been here, she paused for a moment before replying. "Since we broke out," she told us. "This whole place is so rundown no-one ever comes here. So we figured we should be able to hide out here for a while."

"But what if you get caught?" I asked. Someone was bound to notice if four Pokemon hybrids moved in next door, especially if those hybrids did so without permission.

"We make sure no-one sees us." Esther looked at us all seriously. "We stay in here during the day and only go out at night if we can help it."

"And, if we do have to go out in daylight, we wear special cloaks," added Tanya. "When Belinda and Ruby get back, I'll . . ." The sound of someone knocking on the door seven times interrupted her. "And there they are now," she added. "Esther, get the door."

Esther did so and two more hybrid girls entered. The taller of the two would have looked human had her skin not been the blue-green colour of an Ivysaur. She had shoulder length brown hair with two triangular Ivysaur ears sticking up; her human ears had, like mine, disappeared. She had Ivysaur eyes, but her face was otherwise normal. And, on her back, she carried the distinctive flower of an Ivysaur. The other was part Swellow. She had feathers instead of hair, wings instead of arms and a beak instead of a mouth and nose. She also had the distinctive forked tail of a Swellow and her feet - she was wearing sandals - resembled talons.

They stood staring speechlessly at us for a moment. Then, Ruby (the Swellow girl) spoke. "What's going on?"

I elected to speak for the group. "We've escaped from Proteus, just like you," I explained. "I'm Alana and this is Zeod, Crystal, Atsuto, Jason, Matt, Heather, James, Alex and Luke." As I said each name, I pointed to the hybrid in question. "You know Tanya and Esther, of course."

So all fourteen of Proteus' Pokemon hybrids were together again. But making plans for the long term future would have to wait until morning.

Zeod

There came a knock at the door. "Is there anybody in there? I heard the sound of hooves on the steps!" said a voice from outside.

The others all glared at me.

"I couldn't help it," I whispered.

Matt

After listening for a moment, I walked over to the corner and leaned against it. I lay down on the floor in the corner, closing my eyes and trying to go to sleep. It had been a big day. We had gone on a trans-regional flight, escaped from Proteus and come all the way here, all in a days work. Considering everything that had happened, it would be even more work trying to get to sleep.

Looking over to the rest of the group, I hoped everyone would be all right. This was serious; we could die or get killed.

Alana

I wondered what was going to become of us. We couldn't stay here forever, but where were we going to go? And would we ever be truly be free of Proteus?

Those questions and many others circulated through my mind all night. I longed to lead a normal life again, but I knew that would be impossible as long as we were hybrids. Proteus would not give up on us easily and, even if they did, even if we managed somehow to get away from them, the whole cycle would only start over. A new batch of kids would be kidnapped and turned into half-Pokemon freaks. I was not about to let that happen to anyone.

But what could we do? What chance did we have against an organisation like Proteus? "Very little," I thought grimly as I struggled to get to sleep. Unless, of course, we actively turned on Proteus, using the abilities they had given us to bring about the organisation's downfall.

"Poetic justice, eh?" I whispered to myself. I could just picture myself advancing on Number 1, ready to give him a taste of the Mightyena Attacks his scientists had given me.

Zeod

I could tell what Alana were thinking by the expression on her face.

"I'm going to go ahead and stake out their moves. You guys would be better off without me anyways. My hooves are always making a noise and that would get you caught. If I somehow get captured, I will tell them that you went to Lavaridge Town, so don't go there. Plus, I have Pony to watch my back," I said, getting ready to leave.

Alana

I saw Zeod get up to leave.

Something told me he was making a mistake, that I had to stop him. I got to my feet and ran after him. "Zeod, wait!" I called. "Look, are you sure about this?"

He nodded. "My hooves are too noisy; I'd just be a liability to you all."

"That can't be helped," I told him. "What's important right now is taking care of Proteus - and we can't do that unless all of us work together. Besides, how long do you think you'd last on your own?"

"As long as I'm watching his back."

I jumped back with a start; in all the recent excitement, I had forgotten about Pony. But, if Pony was a part of Zeod . . . "Pony," I said levelly, "if anything happens to Zeod, it'll happen to you too. We can't risk losing anyone. Look, we'll have a meeting in the morning to discuss our plans and decide what to do then."

"OK," Zeod said doubtfully.

I could see he didn't like this any more than I did, but there was no alternative. Only if we all stuck together would we stand any chance against Proteus. "Besides," I added, "it's late. Whoever knocked on the door a few minutes ago probably thinks they were imagining things." At least I hoped so.

Zeod

"I don't see how I could help! The only things I'm good at are heating things or setting stuff on fire!" I snapped.

"You would be putting us in more danger by leaving now," Alana said.

"Fine! I'll wait for the meeting," I said, crossing my fingers. "But I need to go get some air. My flames need oxygen to survive." I said, heading towards the door. When I got onto the ledge, I shut the door and jumped off. Then I broke into a gallop.

"What are you doing? You told Alana you would wait," Pony said.

Matt

I pretended to be asleep as I listened to the conversation between Alana and Zeod. Something about him wanting to leave, and her not wanting him to yet . . . I rolled over as Zeod walked out the door. I could hear the sound of hooves stomping across the ground. I figured he was just going for a run.

The next day, when Zeod still hadn't returned, people were starting to get worried. But we couldn't go looking for him now; if we went out in the day, we'd surely be found out.

Zeod

I passed the lake where we had first met Tanya.

"I used to love swimming, but I can't now. That's one more thing to go after Proteus for," I said, stopping at the lake to watch the Water Pokemon. That was the one mistake that caused all the problems. A tranquilizer dart seeped into my shoulder and I fell in a heap.

"Zeod!" Pony yelled. "Alana!"

Alana

After Zeod left, I grew anxious, fearing that something was going to happen to him. I just had to follow him and I told Belinda as much. She disappeared into the next room and returned minutes later with a wide-brimmed hat and a coat.

"Put these on," she told me. "It'll hide your Pokemon features."

I did as she told me, but I still felt as though people were staring at me as I slipped through the streets of Petalburg. I remembered my previous visit to this city, when I was still fully human and training my Pokemon, the Pokemon I had lost when Proteus caught me. Now, however, I was a freak hiding in shadows, fearing discovery. Still, at least people weren't staring at my hybrid features.

Nonetheless, it was an unnerving experience. I feared that, at any moment, someone would yank off my disguise and expose me for what I was. By mid-morning, I still hadn't found any trace of Zeod and that worried me. I was still humanoid in appearance, so it was easier to hide the parts of me that had changed when I was injected. Zeod, however, had been turned into a centaur, meaning there was no concealing what he was.

"Zeod, you idiot!" I muttered. "If you get yourself caught . . ."

At that moment, my sharp Mightyena hearing picked up the sound of someone calling my name. It was coming from the direction of the park where we met Tanya, but it wasn't a human voice. It was Pony. And that could mean only one thing.

"Oh, my God!" I thought. Zeod was in trouble. I had to race back and warn the others, hopefully without being caught myself.

Matt

Morning had come and there was still no sign of Zeod or Alana. Almost everybody was getting anxious and hungry, not a good combination when you're part Pokemon. Though Ruby brought out some of their stores of food, I soon realised that there wouldn't be enough for everyone. There was plenty of food for four, but not now there were so many of us.

"We need to go," I said. "There's not nearly enough food for everyone here. And we need to find Alana and Zeod."

So a party was formed. Only three people that could blend in easily would be allowed to go, two to get food and one to get Alana and Zeod. I immediately stepped forward and volunteered to look for Zeod and Alana.

As the three of us set out, I dove into the river. After floating and watching the other two walk away, I dove under the water and began my search. I could use the attuned sense of weather from my Swampert side to find them.

Minutes passed and still nothing. But, then, there was something. A boy ran over to the edge of the river and began pointing straight at me. I quickly tried to hide as a tall girl walked up behind the boy and plucked a Poke Ball from her belt. I guessed she was a trainer and she must be challenging him.

Now trying to swim away even faster, I detected a pulse of electricity pass by him. Even though I was part Ground, I could still feel electricity. But this had gone too far. Floating to the surface, I faced the trainer and leapt out of the water. On the ground before the girl sat a Jolteon.

"It's so ugly! It must be some deformed Swampert," the boy said.

"It's those fucking nuclear power plant guys! I knew they were making the water radioactive," the girl said. "We better catch it and show it to the mayor. Jolteon, return! Go, Pidgeot!"

I knew what to do. I reared back and shot a stream of mud at the Pidgeot, causing it to lose altitude. Now it was on the ground, I quickly fired an Ice Beam, freezing the mud and immobilizing the Pidgeot. While the girl and the boy stood dumbfounded, I jumped back into the river and swam away.

But what I didn't see was the girl plucking a Ball from her bag and tossing it at me. Before I knew what was happening, I was floating down the river, trapped in a Poke Ball.

Zeod

I woke up in a dark room with a light shining right over my head. There were Proteus agents surrounding me, with guns ready if I tried to escape. My arms and legs were tied to the chair. Then I noticed something; it was a wooden chair.

"This will be easy to burn through," I thought. Then, I realized that I should wait for a good moment.

"Zeod Suriyamma, we have been looking for you since your escape. With your training, you would be able to help the others. So, tell us what we want to know or we will make this as painful as possible," the group's leader said, stepping out of the shadows.

"Sure, whatever you want," I said, acting scared.

"Good. First question, where are the others?"

"What others?"

"You know damn well who the others are!"

"Watch your language. That kind of talk makes me angry. You won't like me when I'm angry."

"Get angry; I want to see your fire."

"Fine," I said. I gave a loud cackle.

Then, my flames leaped into the air and engulfed the room. When they died down, a pile of ask stood where the chair was and I was in a big fire ball. This soon died and they opened fire on me as I rushed towards the door. I got hit in the leg twice.

I ran down the hall and used my fire to blast down guards that blocked my path. I soon found the way out. It was on the outskirts of town and I could see our building. Instead, I ran the other way so the others wouldn't be put in danger by my trail of blood.

Alana

Could things get any worse? We had barely escaped from Proteus and Zeod's decision to leave the group could land us all in trouble. I knew we had to find him, but I didn't know where to look. Then, as I passed the river, I saw something caught in the reeds.

I looked closely. It seemed to be a Poke Ball, but what was it doing here? Had someone tried to catch a Water Pokemon only to miss and see their Poke Ball get stuck in the reeds? And what would happen if I, a Pokemon hybrid, touched it? Would I get sucked inside?

I did not want to take that chance, but something told me I had to get it out. Fortunately, there was a large branch on the bank, so I picked it up and used it to push the reeds aside. Then, I grabbed the Poke Ball, feeling its weight in my hand. I had not held a Poke Ball since my days as a human trainer . . .

Suddenly, it vibrated in my hand and Matt burst out of it in a flash of light. I jumped, startled. "M - Matt?!" I stammered. "W - what's going on?!"

"Long story," he told me. "But, basically, some kid threw a Poke Ball at me. Luckily, it floated away."

"And, luckily, I came along," I added. "But what were you doing out here anyway?"

"Looking for you and Zeod." Matt looked at me for a moment. "You haven't seen him have you?"

"No. I heard Pony calling my name, but that's about it."

"You think he's in trouble?"

"I can't say. Pony sounded kind of frightened, as if Zeod was in danger," I explained. "I was just heading back to tell the others."

"Well, now that I've found you, let's get back," said Matt. "We can discuss what to do about Zeod later."

I hesitated, fearing it might already be too late. I don't know how, but I somehow knew that Proteus had taken Zeod. But did they still have him and, if not, where was he? This would take time; we would need to make a plan of action. But I wasn't about to give up.

"OK," I agreed. "We'll discuss this as soon as we get back."

Fortunately, Matt and I didn't run into anyone on the way back to our hiding place, which gave me time to think. If Matt had been caught in a Poke Ball, it must mean he had the Poke Gene. I didn't quite understand how that worked, only that it was what enabled Pokemon to be caught in Poke Balls. So did that mean we all had the Poke Gene? And what would happen if Proteus figured that out? I shuddered at the thought.

When we arrived at our hiding place, we gave the secret knock and Belinda let us in. Everyone else (except Zeod, of course) was here and I could see that someone had been for pizza; my guess was Crystal and/or Jason, who were both fairly human-looking. Grabbing a slice of Vegetarian Deluxe (my favourite) I sat down. It didn't occur to me to wonder where they got it from or how they paid for it; I suppose I was too hungry.

Once we had all eaten our fill, we sat down to discuss what to do next.

Zeod

I ran towards the woods. There, I would be somewhat harder to find.

I made a sling from vines and leaves. "There. That will stop the bleeding. Now, let's get back to town," I said, running towards the building.

I got there without any problems. "Hi, guys," I said, limping in.