B.S.- Here we go! Round two! Thanks for the reveiws! Zarek and everyone else.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The sun was starting to rise. They were finally coming out of the dense forest that was between Elquadon and Belton. Most people called it the Greenwood Forest because the trees were so old that the moss on them made them all look green, even the youngest saplings.

They had been running most of the way after the "half-way mark." It was actually just an old Onix tunnel that was once connected to a cave, before an earth quake decided to collapse the caves and most of the old tunnels were deserted to find better soil to dig in by the rock Pokemon.

Lynn was looking at the city with wide eyes. She had never been permitted to travel so even a city as small as Elquadon was a huge surprise to her. Kyle began looking in the bushes for something.

"Kyle, what are you doing? This isn't exactly the perfect time to look for wild Pokemon."

"Lynn, stuff it. I'm looking for a mint berry tree. We can use the branches to sweep away our tracks and smell. It'll give us some time if they decide to use Growlithe or some other smell-detector Pokemon to find us." He handed her a branch that smelled strongly of the mint that gave the berries their name.

"Man, this stuff is so strong, it almost stinks! Kyle, I just got out of slavery. I didn't exactly plan on sweeping the road for a good while. Can't we just run for it?" He only had to glare at her before she shut up and began helping. "Do you think Basil could help? His leaf smells strong. It might help."

"He can help when we leave Elquadon. We don't want to use the same sent too much."

They arrived at Elquadon just as the bottom of the sun was rising over the horizon. Kyle and Lynn were both panting like crazy. They had made sure that no one could find their tracks. Kyle stopped at a ditch nearby and tossed the branches in the deepest part of it. "No sense in letting them find evidence that we were ever here."

When they reached the Pokemon Center, Lynn had never seen a more welcoming sight. Nurse Joy offered to let them rest for a while, but Kyle refused. He said that they only needed to eat and rest their legs before they started out again.

The whole time, Lynn's thoughts were circling around Clay and Sandy. They would be the ones to suffer from her decision. She had looked out for them ever since she could remember. She couldn't remember why. She was pretty sure that they weren't related, but what other explanation was there? She tried to think back. She barely remembered a white room and beds. The orphanage. That was probably the room she had stayed in. She could remember the day that she was adopted. The two people she now was running away from had come in and picked up two babies. Clay and Sandy were about 6 years younger than her. She wasn't for sure. They had always been happy to hear her voice, giggling and cooing when they were babies. Now that she thought about it, Clay and Sandy were the ones who taught her what a smile and laugh were. She tried to remember what the house had looked like when they first entered the door. It had always looked the same to her, even though she knew things were changed around over and over again.

She remembered all too well the threats that came when ever she tried to disobey. "Don't you care about Clay and Sandy, Lynn? They might get hurt if you don't do what your told." Clay and Sandy were the only family that Lynn had ever known. OF COURSE SHE DIDN'T WANT ANYTHING TO HAPPEN TO THEM! She remembered something that Sandy had asked when they had first started talking about getting a new home. "Are we a family?" No child should have to ask that question. They should always feel loved and protected. They were all each other had, though.

Wesley and Roxanne had never done anything truly drastic, Lynn thought. They had been beaten a lot, but that was normal, right? They had never done anything that would leave a permanent mark. No. The social workers would have noticed if they had. Most of the beatings left marks in places that were covered by clothing, usually belly or back, maybe even feet. Lynn had once or twice been locked in a low closet that was dark and didn't have a doorknob on her side. They had always called that closet the Dead Place. It was so dark and scary inside that it was always compared to a tomb. They had always thought that there were Raticate in that closet too, waiting for a victim to fall asleep in their dark and gloomy lair before ambushing them and biting and scratching them to death.

Kyle snapped his fingers in front of her again. "Hello? The lights are on but is anyone home?"

Lynn gasped and focused again. "Sorry, Kyle. I was thinking about Sandy and Clay. Did Professor Woods ever find information on their parents? I don't really care if mine are out there somewhere, but Clay and Sandy…they are still so young and can make a choice in the lives they lead. Maybe their past would help them with the future?"

"Lynn, their past already has an affect on their future. As long as you are alive, well, and free, there is still hope for them." He looked at the ground for a minute and then voiced his thoughts. "If it weren't for the fact that Wesley and Roxanne provide funding for most of the orphanages and police stations around here, we probably would have easily gotten you guys out of there earlier. But, since they didn't leave any marks on you and are considered 'Perfect Citizens'," he spat the words like a curse, "the police have no real evidence that you were being beaten. If only you could have said something…"

"If I had, Clay and Sandy would have paid the price. Heavily. They were mellow as far as slave drivers go, but if I would have said anything…Clay and Sandy would have been split from me and possibly each other if I had said anything anyway. We are the only family we've known. We don't want to lose that."

Nurse Joy came up to them, "You really should keep it down. I just talked to the Officer Jenny of Elquadon and an alert just went up for the returning of a 15-year old girl with lavender hair and honey brown eyes a little while ago. There's supposed to be some sort of reward, so keep your heads down, alright?"

Kyle nodded and pulled Lynn up by the hand. "We need to leave now. If there's already an alert out, they might be on their way here." They grabbed their stuff and walked out, running all the way out of town and a good ways down the road before coming to a cross road. Kyle studied the signs for a minute, then looked at the map.

"The quickest way to the Velvet Mountains is…," he pointed to the left, " that way. You rest here for a minute, I'm going back a ways to cover up our tracks." He picked up a pine branch and started down the road.

It didn't take long in the heat of the sun for Lynn to start swaying drowsily from her place beneath the sign. The heat was hypnotizing and she started drifting off when Kyle got back to see her nearly asleep, propped up on the bags beneath the sign. 'I really should let her sleep a while. We WERE up jogging most of the night. A little cat nap might do her some good. Besides, this seems like the perfect time to sleep.' He looked up at the noon sun. Not even the craziest traveler would run at their pace this time of day. He checked the map again. Just more than half way there. Once they got to the top of these hills, it was just a hike up into the mountains and down the other side until they were in Valley Grove. What would he do then? He had thought about going into the Hando League to exercise his skills. He wondered what Lynn had thought of doing with the time she had to hide and prepare to go get the other two.

~*~

Lynn woke up after a little while of Basil jumping on her stomach. She yawned and looked around. Kyle was sitting nearby and looking at her with a smile on his face. "Are you ready to go now? You've only been asleep for an hour now." She almost knocked him over with her sports bag when she remembered that they couldn't afford any more "Down time" because of concussions. She stood up and dusted herself off.

"Come on, Basil. I bet we can beat the knot on a log over there to Valley Grove. Don't you think so?" She got a happy, "Chica-chica (I'm game!)" from Basil before they broke out in an all out run towards the foot hills.

Kyle chuckled at their antics. "Michelle was right. She's really nice inside when she's not being forced into something." He started after them. "Hey, You two whirl-winds up there! Slow down! Basil should be covering our sent, not making it more noticeable!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~Back in Belton~

"CLAY! SANDY! GET YOUR LAZY KEESTERS DOWN HERE!" Roxanne sputtered and fumed. "LYNN! YOU'D BETTER GET DOWN HERE OR THESE TWO LAZY BUMS WILL…LYNN? LYNN!? LYNN!!! WESLEY! WHERE IS THAT GIRL?! WESLEY!!!! SHE'S GONE! That little tramp! After all we've done for her! Wesley, see. She left us a note. That's it. Dear Roxy and Wes, Please leave Sandy and Clay alone. I will be back as soon as I can take some more little brats off of your hands Don't forget me. I will be back. P.s sorry I took Wesley's hand held. It'll be of more use to me than it will to either of you, anyway. Good bye, Lynn."

"She won't get far. I'll alert the police."

"Wait. I have an idea. Sandy, Clay. Come here for a minute. Miss Roxy wants to talk to you." They came in with heads down and sad faces. " Did you know that Lynn abandoned you?"

"No, Miss Roxanne ma'am, we didn't" Sandy was almost in tears.

"Well, she did. But we can bring her back to you. All you have to do is tell us when she left and where she is going."

"We don't know anything about where she went. Honest." Clay was trying to keep Roxanne from seeing that Sandy was upset, so he took a step closer.

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear. If you don't tell me where she went I'll make sure that everyday that she is gone is a living nightmare for the both of you." She grabbed Clay's shirt and pulled him close so she could look in his eyes. "Now, one more time, WHERE IS SHE?"

"I. Don't Know!" he yelled back at her. She dropped him and he stomped on her foot and ran to the barn, dragging Sandy with him.

"Yow! Those little brats never were respectful. That'll change now that the she is gone for a while. Sandy will be easy to break but that Clay, he's going to be like breaking a wild Rapidash into a child's saddle. It will take some time, but it's not impossible." Wesley had grabbed his cell phone and started dialing.

"We might as well call the police and the agency."

"What agency? You don't mean the adoption agency do you?"

"No. I mean OUR agency. The one that's funded this…project. The one that just got away. They will be on the look out for her. She's far too valuable to them for them to lose. After all the research that went into her and the lab experiment time…even Giovanni himself can't control a genetically created creature like we can. Of course, he made the stupid mistake of telling Mew's clone that he was an experiment. We have been training this one since she was born. She has no idea what went on before she came here. She also doesn't realise that she's only a fraction of the age she looks. So far she's been a total success. I always expected her to try something like this. She actually believes she's a normal 'human' child. It's far better than we could have hoped. Sticking her with those two when she was born was brilliant." He pointed to the barn.

"Yes, but she must be returned before her true identity is found out or the experiment would be a total waste. No better than that crack pot, Giovanni's, work." Roxanne grabbed the phone away from Wesley. "Hello? Yes this is about project L.Y.N.N. Yes, I'll hold. The pass-code is Celestial might in the dead of night. Hello, Boss. The girl is getting some unusual attributes. Yes, she has escaped. How did you know? So you're going to get the Team Meteor on it? Perfect! How long until we can start the real training of our little monster? Great! We'd be glad to help. No? You're sure? What about the other two? Affirmative, I understand. Yes, right away. Does Giovanni suspect anything? No sir! We have had no interruptions in her development until now. Yes, I understand. Good day to you too, sir." She hung up the phone. "Call the police, Wesley. If we find her first, I'll wring her neck! She just cheated us out of ten times the pay we get now! All we had to do was convince the Boss that we were doing the best possible with her and then we would have been permanently on the training committee! We could have gotten spoils of what she took over!" She rampaged downstairs while Wesley made the call, never suspecting 3 weary spies spying on him. A Fearow was sitting on a tree just outside with a strange object around it's neck and a processed look in it's eyes and two small children were in the closet ears pressed to the door. They ran outside and out to the barn.

"If they find Lynn, she could be in real danger! Someone's got to warn Professor Woods!"

"Let's hope she reaches Elquadon. I bet she knows that there is danger. Your right, though. Professor Woods does deserve to know about the happenings here. How are we supposed to get a message to her?"

"We can run down there now. We'll be back before they miss us. It's not that far." Clay reached for the barn door, only to realize that it was locked. "Oh, no! What if Roxanne heard us?! LET US OUT! WE"LL TELL IF YOU DON"T LET US OUT NOW!" He sat down dejectedly, holding his head in his hands, "If she gets caught, it'll be all our fault." He put his face down and continued sobbing. Sandy joined him after a while of searching the barn for any escape route. Roxy hadn't left anything to chance. What they didn't know was that Roxy had no idea where they were and neither did Wesley. They were both running around the house seeking the two little rats.

"They have to be here somewhere! Wesley! You did check the barn, right?"

"Yah, right after I called the police. No one was in there."

"Something strange is going on here. I bet they went to find Lynn. Right when the police are due in too!"

The doorbell rang and the two ran for the door. "We just tell them that they went missing right after the girl did. That will keep us safe for a little while. Ready?" She opened the door to allow Jenny and some other officers in and explained there sad story. "So you see," Roxy mustered up the fake tears, " They must have been standing in for her and then made a get away-I mean run for it."

The police took a look around and at the revised note that Roxy had laid out before deciding that the children wouldn't phone home anytime soon. "We'll let you know when we get a lead." Officer Jenny was sincere with that. The moment they got a lead they would let them know that they had it, not what the lead was. She'd seen too many cases like this. It's not likely that the kids would all just up and run away without a reason.

Clay and Sandy had decided to hide in the hayloft until Roxy came back. When she unlocked the door, they would climb down the rope by the door and lock her in and see how she liked it.

~*~

Lynn and Kyle were sitting on a boulder by the path. Basil was laying in Lynn's lap, fast asleep. Kyle looked around and at the map for the millionth time. "Kyle, what's the matter? Are we lost or something?"

"No, we are getting there abnormally fast. That's what's worrying me. We should have had some sort of trouble by now. Why hasn't anyone tried to stop us from getting to Valley Grove? Maybe we should go back and take the North road to Opalson. Then we could've caught a boat to Johto. I don't like the silience in these mountains. As quite as it is, there should be wild Pokemon about."

"So? Don't jinx us, Kyle. We are getting away fine because we are good and have a good cause. What more reason do you need? Don't be suspicious of every blade of grass. That's what makes one paranoid."

"If you say so. Let's keep moving anyway. The sooner we are out of these mountains and in Valley Grove, the better!"

"What's in Valley Grove anyway?" Lynn asked while picking up Basil and walking again. "Why is it so safe?"

"It's surrounded by mountains, for one. It has most things that a normal town has. A Pokemon Center, a Mart, a police station, no gym though. They say a Pokemon Prodigy is training there. Have you ever heard of Molly Hale? She's about Sandy and Clay's age. She looks a lot like them too. If I'm right, she is now about 8. She has Sandy's blonde colored hair and Clay's blue eyes. Her hair comes back a bit though."

"You seem to know a lot about her. The only thing I know is that she had something to do with that Unown thing 3 years ago and the only reason I know about that is because of internet clippings of the amazing sight, quote unquote."

"You liked the crystal fortress, huh?" _

"Ya, something like that." ^_^()

"Well, maybe we really should have gone to Johto. That is where her home town is, you know."

"WE aren't going anywhere except to Valley Grove. Then YOU are going on with your life and letting me fend for myself, understood?"

"Sure, IF you can stand being without my company." ~_^

"Alright, smart-aleck! You're asking for it!" L

"I'm asking for what?" He put on an innocent look that was nearly knocked off by a rock flying at his head. "Why did you throw that at me?"

"I didn't through anything at you,…Yet. I should have though."

"Lynn, I'm serious. Something just through a rock at my head." They looked around briefly before Lynn noticed a Geodude climbing up the mountain face.

"He probably didn't mean to, Kyle. He's in just as much of a hurry as we are."

They walked a bit further and realized that the path was a dead end. "Hold on, Kyle. Look." She uncovered an old sign that said. Valley Grove: across the bridge. "What bridge is it talking about?"

Kyle picked up some pegs that had been torn out of the ground. "The one that used to be here. He picked up more pegs and rope and some wood. "Someone completely destroyed the bridge! Who would have done it, though? Everyone who comes by here needs to use this bridge!"