Chapter 5: Seeking Answers

Trance could hardly sleep. His anticipation grew as random dreams about what could have happened that following morning flew through his mind as he slept. He imagined finding the kid and seeing him asleep in the middle of the waiting room, awaking him as he entered. He also imagined having to look around the area, only to find him on top of a dumpster, hardly able to sleep due to the lack of hospitality that this town had to offer foreigners. At one point, he found himself imagining the boy dead in an alleyway behind the vet, but that was so ridiculous he woke up laughing. Trance could not help but contemplate every possibility of what to expect the next morning when he went seeking answers to questions he could conjure. He was unsure of what to ask this boy when he found him later that morning, assuming he actually manages to find him.

Trance awoke the next morning as early as he had planned. The sun was just rising, which meant that it was around 7:00. So far, everything seemed ideal for the miniature adventure on which he was about to embark. Surprisingly enough, his mother had not awakened yet. Obviously, he would have to move out silently as to avoid stirring up his plans. Trance changed quickly, and then equipped himself with his wallet as well as the unique sunglasses that his parents had sent him as an early graduation gift. What made these sunglasses so unique was that they contained built-in infrared scanners. Additionally, his name was engraved on the inside part of one of the earpieces. His grandparents had a knack for giving Trance the strangest gifts for the various occasions he had celebrated in his past. For some reason, they concluded that infrared sunglasses would somehow be useful for Trance to use in his everyday life. Sure, everyone has a pair of these on them when going to school; you never know when you will have to scan for heat signatures while learning algebra. Trance took these with him today because it was his only pair of sunglasses that was not lost or broken. On the bright side, the glasses were very stylish, the battery was weightless and lasted for hours, and they effectively doubled as expensive sunglasses anyway.

Heading out, Trance put on his stylish infrared sunglasses as if he were some important rich person on a business trip. Not intending to attract the attention of the neighbors who were retrieving the morning newspaper or doing some simple morning yard work, he heard calls of congratulations of his graduation as he walked down the sidewalk towards the vet.

The sun shone brightly that morning, signaling that it would be a beautiful day for the parade that would be occurring at noon. Trance soon entered the nicer part of town where there were no old houses that appeared to be victim of a depression, as there were back near his neighborhood. All of these buildings were professionally built and were in top condition, also infused with the latest technology. Even though Trance owned one of the nicer houses in the town, there were still many places in the bordering neighborhoods that could use some extreme renovation. He noticed that some streets were in the process of being blocked off and parade routes were being set up. Although nobody had yet arrived to get a decent spot, based on the number of people he saw getting ready on the way to the vet, there were certainly going to be quite a few people showing up within the next few hours. With the vet being very close to the parade route, Trance figured he would have to make this "interrogation" short if he was to avoid any trouble.

Approaching the entrance to the vet, Trance casually walked in as if he were just another customer. Inside, there were only two people waiting on business. Chairs lined the walls of the room, which was no bigger than half of a basketball court. In the center of the far end of the wall sat the receptionist desk. A young woman sat at the desk typing things on her computer. The soft clicks of the keys on the keyboard added an eerie ambience to the room. After quickly scanning the entire setup, he spied a third person in the back corner of the room. His head was hanging low and the brim to his hat was slightly covering his eyes. He closely resembled the boy that he could only vaguely remember the night before. There was no mistaking the red vest, unique cap, messy hair, and bright blue jeans. Although Trance never saw this person's face, it seemed to match his figure quite well. Trance was completely sure that this was who he was looking for. Not expecting this to be so easy, he smiled to himself and sauntered in the boy's direction. He sat down one chair apart from where the boy was located. This boy was either very shy, or a loner, or both, because he had no intention of making eye contact with Trance.

Before speaking, Trance eyed the other two people sitting across the room. Both were wearing business attire. One was reading the morning newspaper and the other was nervously looking around, catching a glimpse of his watch every few moments, and eagerly eyeing the receptionist. Trance innocently glanced at the boy next to him, then a few moments later, leaned in his direction.

"Um, excuse me..." Trance whispered in the boy's ear. He did not respond.

"Hey," he said a bit louder. The boy jumped up, completely startled. "So, what are you here for?" The boy studied Trance for a moment and opened his mouth to respond. "I, uh, had a problem with my dog. He had... um, there was something wrong with his leg." Trance did not want to start off this conversation awkwardly. He had no intention of asking him something along the lines of whether or not he was sure that he has a dog, and maybe it's a "forbidden" creature. After all, that would be rather bogus. To steer this conversation effectively, he acted like he believed him and played along. "Oh, is it bad? I mean, my dog had to get one of her ribs fixed, as it was growing out of alignment, but… yours sounds worse, did he injure himself?"

"Um…" The boy tried to avoid further eye contact. "Kind of… I'd rather not talk about it." The boy's deep voice was somewhat intimidating, but Trance kept his ground. I can't let this go on too long. I might start looking suspicious. Damnit! I should just go for it…

This was a bad way to start, but he couldn't just turn back. Trance leaned over a tad bit more. He decided that if he were to get enough information out of this guy, he would need as much time as he could get, and he would have to start asking questions fast, so he took the risk:

Trance talked as quietly as he could without looking problematic. "Okay buddy, I know what kind of situation you're in right now. Believe me, I completely understand what is going on, and I can assure you that I know this is very serious." The boy stared at him in utter confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You aren't fooling anyone with your act. I see that belt of yours. It's unmistakably an authentic pokémon trainer belt. Although empty, those slots are used to hold those… um… compacting spheres of some sort." Trance said this in strong and bold manner, as if he knew exactly what he was talking about. Although, based on his knowledge of foreign technology, he had absolutely no idea what he was talking about; he knew nothing about trainer belts or the compacting technology used in pokéballs. Either way, his speaking was effective. The boy was convinced that Trance knew what he was hiding. It seemed as if there was nothing he could do to get out of it. Lying wouldn't work. If he tried to make it look as if he was starting a new fashion trend or something, Trance would just look at him as if he was an idiot. There was no fooling this guy. He turned his head forward and looked down.

"Alright, to tell you the truth, I am in one heck of a predicament right now," said the boy.

"I'll say. How did you get all the way out here? More importantly, how did you get in here, and convince the people here to care for your injured pokémon?"

"Really, it's a long story…" He paused for a second. "To make it short and simple, I was exploring the area, looking for that famous spot that was rumored to be one of the most beautiful places on Earth. As we were leaving, Pikachu stepped in some sort of clasping trap, which cut deep into his leg. Since I was so far from the border, I couldn't turn around without risking his life. Luckily for us, I found someone nice enough to escort me to this town. Then I found my own way to this vet." Trance stared at him in disbelief.

"It's incredible that you avoided attracting too much attention. You ran through most of the slums to get here, I can't believe nobody saw you." Trance did not realize that he was speaking at a normal volume again. The boy nodded slowly after hearing Trance say this. "So what's your name anyway?"

"Just call me Ash."

"Haha, like Ashley? Dang, you people really are backwards over there!" Trance laughed. "Sorry, just kidding. My name is Trance." Ash merely glared at him. He was not in a joking mood.

"Where was I? Oh yes, after I got here, I managed to convince that young woman over there to help me out. She said that I was lucky that the merciful veterinarian was working today. Apparently, pokémon are somewhat interesting to him, at least I think she said the mammals were what he was curious about. Does that sound weird to you?" Trance ignored that last remark, as if nobody around here really cared for pokémon anyway, mammal or not.

"So, let me guess, they reluctantly agreed to fix him up on the condition that you keep quiet about it?"

"Exactly. I also had to do a few… favors for the girl at the desk." Ash winked at Trance.

"You have got to be kidding me." Raising an eyebrow, Trance assumed the worst from that statement. Ash laughed Trance's reaction.

"Apparently I was really good at it, considering I had no experience with it before. She seemed to be very pleased."

"Wow, you're what… sixteen? Aren't you a little young for that?"

"Seventeen thank you very much. I'm old enough! Wait…" Ash's voice turned lower than it already was. "You're thinking… no way! Trance, I drove her to the store down the street!" Overhearing this rather odd conversation, the receptionist looked at Ash and Trance and laughed.

"Ash, you were the one who made it sound so wrong! Seriously though, I had my license suspended, and because everyone knows about it, and since there was nobody else who could drive, I figured Ash could do it for me. By the way, I'm Tanya. Nice to meet you Trance." Tanya directed a charming smile in Trance's direction.

"And you let him drive, having never driven before." Trance was in disbelief. "Wow, you people…" Suddenly, Trance heard footsteps approaching. This was another thing he could assume the worst about.

"I guess we have yet another reason to take you in now," said a voice from right beside them. One of the men who used to be sitting had gotten up and walked over to Trance and Ash's location without the two noticing until it was too late. "My name is Inspector Raymond. I'm from the National Investigations Department, and I'm here to take you in." Apparently someone had seen Ash after all. Either that or someone didn't like his hanging around the vet all night. Either way, one of the nation's top law enforcers was standing right in front of him.

Trance immediately stood up to face the man. "The National Investigations Department: a cheap spin-off of The United State's CIA, that's all it is, but with a whole lot less power. I didn't think you people had authority in public areas."

"What do you know about the law?" said the agent in a deep tone of voice.

"I know enough to know that you can't take him just like that. He's my brother and he's done nothing wrong. I came here to pick him up from—" said Trance. He was interrupted in mid-sentence.

"Step aside young man or you're going to join him. With reasonable suspicion, we can arrest anyone here with or without a warrant. Also, your alibis are bullshit. I was listening to your entire conversation. Plus…" He pulled out a device from under the cushion of the chair next to Trance. "I have it all on tape." Trance slowly stepped aside.

The agent then focused on Ash. "You're under arrest for illegal trespassing, unauthorized possession of illegal animals, and, according to your previous story, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle." Without hesitating, Ash jumped up, avoided the agent by dashing behind Trance, and raced out the door. The second man who was sitting down quickly got to his feet and both agents withdrew concealed handguns from inside the coat pockets of their suits. One of them also withdrew an earpiece from his collar and muttered something into a hidden microphone. Both agents then headed out the door. As they ran out the door, Trance saw both agents turn invisible. It was stealth camouflage. He had seen it before in school. One could embed this technology into any piece of clothing. Although since this specific design was meant for suits, Trance predicted that the agent's cloak would only last for a few minutes before having to recharge. He noted that it would be much harder to keep track of where the agents were. Trance quickly grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil from the receptionist desk and ran outside after them.

Seeing Ash run one way around the building with the invisible agents following him, Trance took the other way around. Since the building was square and surrounded by a six foot high wall on all sides but the front, Trance predicted he could intercept Ash on the closest rear corner of the building. He sprinted down the side of the building. Since he arrived before Ash, he took the time to write on the piece of paper that he took from the desk. He nearly finished his incredibly cursory sketch of the street path to his house when he saw Ash dart around the corner. He signaled Ash to meet up with him, holding out the sheet of paper. Ash ran up to Trance as fast as he could. As Ash was running, Trance put on his stylish infrared sunglasses and turned them on. He could barely see the two agents running behind the far wall. He had only a few seconds to get out of there. Ash made it to Trance's location in just a matter of seconds. Out of breath, he could hardly hear Trance's voice.

"Quick! Take this; it's directions to my house from here. If you make it, I'll meet you there late tonight. Don't worry about your pet. I'll take care of him." Ash responded affirmatively and nearly ripped the paper out of Trance's hand in haste. At this point, Trance saw that the two agents had come around the corner and aimed their guns while yelling "stop." At the same time, Trance made a run for the front of the building. Ash then made a giant leap and climbed over the wall. Bullets flew, nearly hitting both of them, and puncturing two holes in Trance's sleeve. He barely made it back the front of the building unscathed.

Looking back, he saw one of the agents climbing over the wall after Ash and another one coming in Trance's direction, attempting to go around the wall and intercept Ash's path if he decided to run back that direction as well. Hardly breaking a sweat, Trance headed back inside as he saw the agent run past Trance, glaring at him. "I'll be back for you," he said. Trance didn't give him a chance to suddenly turn around and get a hold of him. When he was certain the agent did not have him in his sight, he dashed back inside the veterinary office. He took off his sunglasses and ran up to the desk.

"Quick, I need that boy's pokémon," Trance said to Tanya.

Tanya quickly got out of her chair and approached Trance. "What are you thinking? You'll be caught! There are authorities everywhere! You can't run around the city carrying that thing!"

"I don't want them to have evidence of you breaking the law. Let me hide it in a backpack or something. I don't know what I will do with it then, but at least it will keep you and the company out of trouble."

"That boy Ash is probably never coming back. Let's just not take the risk, put it down, and be done with it. I'll bury it somewhere in the wilderness outside."

"Kill it? You've got to be joking."

"Honey, it's lost a lot of blood. If it runs around during recovery it will just die anyway. Besides, who's to say it won't be blown apart by some person's shotgun if you let it go?" Trance stopped, he couldn't think of any way to convince this person that her logic was in some way flawed. At this point, he had not been able to ask Ash any questions about his life, so this was as good an opportunity as he will be able to get. Maybe if he was able to find something about this creature, he would still be able to understand both sides of the story. It was his best shot without risking never seeing either Ash or his pokémon again

"You still haven't convinced me that carrying it in a sack is a bad idea," said Trance.

"… Fine! Do whatever! It's not like it's my responsibility or anything." Tanya motioned Trance to follow her. They quickly made their way to one the clinic rooms beyond the waiting room. Inside the clinic room was a collection of cages stacked from floor to ceiling along the entire wall. Putting on a pair of rubber gloves, Tanya opened one of the top ones and pulled out a large yellow rodent with a well applied bandage on its leg. Half asleep, it hardly realized what was going on. Trance was startled at the sparks of electricity that emitted from its cheeks.

"This is a pikachu. Handle it with rubber gloves when it's sick or injured or it will most likely kill you," explained Tanya in a hurried manner, "I'll have to let Dr. Kim know that you're taking off with this guy. I don't think he's expecting any payment, as this was more of a research thing for his own benefit than anything else." Trance nodded. Tanya reached under the nearby examination table and pulled out a rubber sheet. She put the sheet on the table and set Pikachu on top. She told Trance to stay as she walked out of the room. Trance looked over at Pikachu, who was sitting, wobbling back and forth with his eyes half open.

"Wow, this is going to be interesting. Um, hey little guy…" He reached out to pet him. Tanya reentered the room holding a backpack. She quickly grabbed Trance's arm. "Don't touch it without antistatic shielding! Electricity runs throughout his body. You don't want to risk a massive shock to your system." Letting go, she jammed the rubber sheet into the backpack so that it lined the entire bag as if it were an extra layer.

"Hey Pikachu," she said in a docile yet comforting tone, "this is Trance. He's going to help you get out of here. But if we are going to save you, you're going to have to ride in this." Pikachu nodded. Trance nearly toppled over. "It's as if he understood you or something!"

"Oh, right! Yeah, he understands English. Feel free to talk to him whenever you feel like talking." She laughed, "Ash was teaching me how to encourage the little guy last night. It's actually rather interesting… and amusing. You can talk to him as if he was another human, but all he can do to respond is with dialogue consisting of his name, or parts of it. So don't be surprised when he starts saying 'Pika' or whatever, because it sure surprised me!" Trance grinned at this. He certainly never expected to witness an animal speak something.

Tanya gently placed Pikachu into the backpack, who fit inside quite easily. Tanya zipped up the bag and left a little room for air. She then gave it to Trance, who struggled to put it on, being careful not to squeeze or bump anything too hard. Thanking Tanya profusely, he stepped out into the waiting room. Tanya did not follow. Instead, she headed further back into the building, probably where the head doctor's office was located. Trance headed outside and took cover in the corner of the outside wall. He made sure that nobody saw him leave the building by checking the entirety of his surroundings before heading out or moving to the next location.

Trance carefully made his way to the street where he could blend in with the various people beginning to assemble for the parade. Before he could make it, however, he heard the squeal of tires pulling up near the entrance of the veterinary building. He was far enough from the scene that if he turned away and walked casually, he would most likely go unnoticed. He saw many police officers emerge as four police vehicles parked in front of the building. Making sure not to act suspicious, Trance quickly made his way to the street and headed for his house. He got out with just enough time to spare, for if he had taken another minute in leaving, he would have been caught. This could have meant the end of his entire future. A ranger, even one in training, being found helping a foreigner escape the law and saving a pokémon was unheard of in Gallaway. Trance was putting his entire reputation on the line by doing what he was doing.

Even though he had evaded the wave of police and federal agents, Trance was not completely safe yet. He still had to arrive safely at his home. What's more, he had to explain to his mother where he had been all morning, and then he had manage to hide the pokémon and keep it alive for an indefinite amount of time. This would not be an easy task. The next few days would require extensive amounts of discipline. Although at this point in time, Trance felt ready to take on the world, so he was up for the challenge. Reaching for his sunglasses, he realized that they were not in his shirt pocket where he thought he had placed them. They weren't in any of his other pockets either. It was then that Trance realized that he had made a very grave mistake. He had left them in the veterinary clinic.