Chapter 3: Can't See The Dark For The Light (Phenac City)

About half an hour later, Wes finally exited the Outskirt Stand diner. He had just eaten a good breakfast, and stocked up on supplies from Dusty as well. And just to make things sweeter, he had even seen a news report on TV about the discovery of the smoking, abandoned Team Snagem base he had left, which had made Wes grin despite himself. Things were looking good.

At least… They would be, had it not been for that person in the sack…

Why did it bother him so much, anyway? He had seen kidnapped people before; goodness knew how many people Team Snagem captured in order to gain rare Pokémon or at least money as ransom. But this person… that feeling…

Wes wished he could get a brain dump or something. That past of his just wouldn't let him be…

"Yo, Wes!" Willie called, snapping Wes out of his thoughts. "Ya leaving already?"

Wes nodded. "Can you tell me which way the closest city is?"

"Ya mean Phenac City?" asked Willie. He pointed in a westerly direction. "Twenty minutes that way. It's a big city, and beautiful as well. It's a good place to stop on your way to… wherever you're going."

"I'm not planning on going anywhere really," Wes replied, mounting his speeder and starting it. "Thanks, Willie. See you later."

"See ya, Wes, and watch your back out there. Team Snagem has been really cooking up trouble lately. I mean, really cooking up trouble."

"How so?" asked Wes, turning his head to his friend.

Willie shrugged. "I wouldn't know for sure, but I've heard the team's been all-out aggressive as of late. There are rumors of corruption courtesy of them in both Pyrite Town and The Under. And I've heard tell of rumors…" Willie suddenly lowered his voice, and got closer to Wes to whisper, "…that a few people—not a whole lot, maybe five or six—have turned up dead in those places as well."

"Really? That doesn't sound like Team Snagem," replied Wes, surprised. He knew Gonzap extremely well, and although he was quite capable of murder, just killing people here and there didn't sound like something he would do. It was too risky for him.

"You're telling me. It's almost like a whole different team. I mean… the attitude of the people working for them… Not like it was."

"You know Team Snagem members, Willie?"

The pink-haired teen shrugged again, looking around absently. "I've met up with a few people, who it was obvious were Team Snagem... But it's been changing lately… Can't explain it, but they are. Kinda like… they're coming out from the shadows at last, or something. And they use strange Pokémon nowadays too. They're really tough, and have some strange new attack as well."

"Strange Pokémon?"

"Mm-hm. Sometimes, the Pokémon even attack the opposing trainers in battle, something no Pokémon should ever do. I'm telling you Wes; the winds of change are blowing in Team Snagem… Has to do with its higher-ups, if you ask me. They say… there's a whole different organization pulling the strings or something. But… I wouldn't know…"

Wes frowned. This was more information than he had anticipated, and now he was unsure of what direction to take now. Gonzap hadn't really given any sign that things were changing in the corporate department of Team Snagem, but then again, he wouldn't have let it on to his subordinates anyway. Oh well. None of his concern. After all, Wes wasn't part of the team anymore.

"Thanks a lot, Willie. I'll be sure to be careful," he finally said, gunning the engine to his speeder and cruising off. "Take care."

"You too, Wes. See ya."

Willie watched the speeder pick up speed, and blaze off into the distance. Behind it, the lone Skarmory flew happily; a lot happier than Willie had ever seen it before. The teen smiled, before going back to his harmonica playing.

"You're a good guy, Wes… Whoever you are."

"Master Nascour?"

Sticking his head fearfully into the office room once more, poor Travis was wondering what curse had befallen him, to have to deal with Nascour again, and in the exact same day as well. And worst of all, Nascour knew his name clearly now, too, instead of just vaguely. That did not sit very well with Travis… But what was he going to do?

"Sir…?"

A swish, a swipe, and a thrust. Travis blinked in surprise to see Nascour whirl into view in the open floor area of the office before him, practicing with his rapier. The blade was almost invisible with the lightning-quick maneuvers Nascour executed flawlessly, and his stance, no matter what he did, was straight and perfect. No wonder even Master Gonzap hates to have to deal with him, Travis thought with awe. Master Nascour could kill anyone easily with that rapier, before they had time to blink.

Including me…

Finally, Nascour sheathed his sword in one easy move, and turned promptly to face Travis. His breathing was quick with exertion, but not heavy, indicating he was in a lot better shape than his slim figure would have one guess. "Ah, if it isn't my friend Travis again," he greeted, making Travis cringe. "How can I help you?"

"Greetings, my master," Travis managed to reply, bowing. "There is a visitor here to meet you."

"A visitor? Who?"

"She… wouldn't give her name."

Nascour smiled broadly. "Ah, that's all right. Show her in."

Travis nodded quickly and left, eager to get out of the room. A few moments later, a young woman entered the room in his place, closing the door behind her.

"Well, look who decided to come to Orre," Nascour said, smiling at her.

"Nascour, dear. How good it is to see you," the woman replied with a smile in return, approaching him and holding out her hands. Nascour took both and kissed each one tenderly, eyeing her as he did so. She was a beautiful young woman, only 20-years old; with long, silky-black hair in a ponytail, and dark green eyes. She wore a gold-colored headband, and a purple tank top with silver-colored pants and black-heeled boots. A belt around her waist held a long, smooth sheath, with a beautiful but deadly katana within.

"How was your trip here?" Nascour questioned, as the woman began to take off the pair of fingerless black gloves she was wearing. "You ought to have told me you were coming, I would have prepared for you."

The woman laughed. "Darling, you needn't prepare for me! I'm fine, the journey was fine. I have some news, however…"

Nascour nodded, and motioned to a chair nearby. "Sit, my love, and tell me all."

"Certainly." The woman sat down, and began to finger one of her gold earrings absently. "Well, first off, our plans for Team Cipher are working far better than I could have imagined. My dear grandmother is doing all the work for us."

"How so?"

"She's the one organizing everything! Recruiting minions, training up powerful Pokémon… I'm just giving a little nudge or two here and there, is all."

"Give her my regards, then," Nascour chuckled. "Fera is playing into our hands perfectly."

"But it's soooo irritating," the woman whined. "She treats me and Saatian like we're her underlings. Imagine that! Of course, I've given her no reason to do otherwise, but still… it's the principle."

"Ah, love, calm yourself," Nascour soothed, leaning over the back of the chair and kissing the side of her neck. "Have patience. When Fera has everything ready for us, we'll simply take the power out of her hands…"

"…And place it where it rightfully belongs!" she exclaimed. "With you and me!"

"Of course… And speaking of Saatian, how is he?"

The woman snorted. "That brother of mine? As well as one can be, who's almost never set foot outside our home and seen the sunlight. Still… I can't help but respect him… He's so quiet and obedient… And his powers…"

"Are they strong enough yet?"

"Not quite, but it won't be long now. He meditates every day. I wouldn't be surprised if he's started talking to spirits about now, he's so powerful…"

Nascour nodded at her words, very pleased. "That's excellent… Once his powers come into play, our Shadow Pokémon will become invincible. Team Cipher will rise to where it was meant to be all along." He suddenly glowered. "And then I can get rid of those fools… those fools who treat me as if I am subordinate to them."

"Darling, don't fret. Soon…"

"I know…"

The woman giggled, and placed a kiss on the corner of Nascour's lips, inviting him to kiss her back. However, before he could, her smile faded, and she turned away. "Ah… I almost forgot…"

"Forgot what, my dear?"

"The bad news." Her eyes narrowed, and hate filled her face. "Alexander has finally gotten it into his head to come back to Orre."

At those words, Nascour's face darkened. "Alexander?"

"You remember well what he said he was always going to do someday… Now is that day, I surmise."

Nascour growled. "Damn him! Of all times, he had to come now! If he ever found out you or I are dealing with Team Snagem… he could ruin our plans!"

"Calm down… Leave Alexander to me. I know for a fact that he hates me far more than he hates you. And I have every reason to want to get rid of him, too."

The Team Cipher member frowned, brushing some of his light blue hair from his eyes. "I know you do, but… How will you handle him? His sword has a weight advantage against both your katana and my rapier… You remember what happened when you two fought before…"

She nodded at him. "I know. My sword broke. But I've devised a style to lessen the time our swords come in contact with one another, and hopefully avoid that happening again."

"You actually remember Alexander's style after all this time?"

"I'd never forget..." For a moment, her voice seemed to take on an almost wistful tone. "I… I thought I was in love with him all those years ago… I knew everything about him… But he… he… he betrayed me!" She burst into a brief flurry of tears. "He tried to kill me!"

Nascour's face grew pained. "Ah… love… Don't… I know how upset thinking about him gets you…" he whispered.

The young woman took a deep breath, as if gathering her strength, and wiped the tears away. "…Don't worry. I'm all right," she assured. "I have you now, and this time… I won't fail in killing him this time."

Nascour smiled and took her hand, pulling her from her seat into an embrace. "Of course you won't. Nothing can stop us now. Once, he might have had a chance to join us… before the betrayal… Now he will die by our hands."

The woman laughed gleefully. "My dearest Nascour…"

"My lovely Koyasha…"

The two paused to kiss one another tenderly, before gazing into one another's eyes again. "The dawning of Team Cipher's time is nigh…"

Before Wes had even finished pulling up to the entrance of Phenac City, he could already tell there was trouble.

Near the entrance, as best as he could see, was some sort of a commotion. Wes quickly cut the engine to his speeder and hopped out, curious to see what was going on. The Skarmory, who kept following him no matter how much he yelled at it to shoo, landed lightly on the arch over the entrance of the city and peered down at the scene below. To Wes's surprise, the entrance was blocked off by the same truck he had seen nearly an hour ago at Outskirt Stand. He climbed over the back of it and entered the city, taking in the situation at hand.

Surprise, surprise. The same two men he had seen before were there, trying vainly to carry the sack with the kidnapped person inside quietly into the city. It wasn't really working. The sack was struggling furiously, and no matter how hard the two men tried, it wouldn't stop. "Cut your squirming!" one of them hissed, and promptly got clunked in the face with one end of the bag as the person within either kicked or headbutted him.

Two people walking by, a teenage athlete with a Castform floating near his head and a young woman, stopped to stare. The teen was immediately suspicious. "What's going on here?" he asked.

"None of your business," the green-haired man retorted back.

The woman clutched her purse in her hands; ready to whack the two men silly if they tried something. "What's in that sack?" she asked. "Are you two up to something?"

"It's a Pokémon," the blonde man lied. "It's sick, and we need to get it somewhere it can rest. But it won't stop squirming. So… if you would please step aside…"

"You're lying."

Everyone turned around to see Wes standing there, glaring accusingly at the two men. The green-haired man frowned. "You again? What do you want?" he asked.

"You're lying about that sack. That has a human being in it, not a Pokémon," Wes retorted calmly.

The teen and woman gasped. "You mean, there's a person in that?" the teen asked. "That means you two are kidnappers!"

The criminal duo immediately knew they were in trouble. "Back off!" threatened the blond man. "We're not afraid to use force to get past you!"

"Oh yeah? Castform, get ready!" the teen said, backing away from the men. The tiny, white Pokémon floated forward, ready to fight.

"Heh, just that little squirt? I'll take this easily!" the blond man said, grabbing two Pokéballs from his belt. The teen looked a little nervous at that, since it meant his Castform would be outnumbered.

"Hold on!" Wes said, stepping forward. "2-on-1 isn't a fair fight. Battle me instead."

The two criminals glanced at one other uncertainly. "Why should we?" asked the green-haired man, trying—and failing—to sound confident. He didn't want to seem scared, but he didn't want to jump from an almost certain win against a lone Castform to Mew knew what this mysterious young teenager had up his sleeve.

Wes shrugged. "What, don't have enough confidence in yourselves to face me?" he asked evenly, a way in which he knew from experience pissed off everyone he said it to. And it worked. The blond man laughed, and turned to face Wes.

"It seems you don't know who you're messing with," he said. "We're Team Snagem! Aren't you scared your Pokémon might disappear forever?"

The woman gasped again. "Team Snagem?" she exclaimed. "That horrible criminal team that goes around Snagging Pokémon from trainers?"

"The very one, lady," the blond man answered. "So, you still want to battle?"

"Of course," Wes responded, taking Espeon and Umbreon's Pokéballs off his belt. "I'm not afraid of Team Snagem."

"Wow, so brave," sighed the woman, causing the teen with the Castform to sweatdrop at her comment.

Wes and the shady men squared off, backing away to form a space for an arena between them. "This is too funny!" the blond man laughed, as he chose his two Pokéballs as well. "Name's Folly, what's yours?"

"You can call me Wes," was Wes's quiet response.

The green-haired man frowned from where he was standing on the sidelines, guarding the sack. "Wes? Where have I heard that name before?" he wondered to himself.

"Wes? Heh, all right then, Wes. Time to lose!" Folly crowed. "Go, Whismur!" As he said this, he threw the pair of Pokéballs into the area before him, revealing a pair of Whismur. The two small, pink Pokémon with long ears gave tiny, cute cries as they made their entrance.

Wes just stared. He's kidding, right? he thought in disbelief. This guy really thinks he's tough with just two Whismur? "That's it? All right. Go, Espeon and Umbreon!" Wes's loyal Eevee evolutions appeared in two flashes of light, primed for battle.

"Whismur! Go!" yelled Folly. "You, use Growl! The other, use Pound!" He pointed at each to show which one did what.

That's just sad, Wes sighed to himself. Unevolved, low-level Normal-types… using attacks like Pound? Team Snagem needs to give its members better Pokémon than that… Not like I care, though… "Espeon, go with Confusion on the first. Umbreon, use Secret Power!" he commanded.

As was expected, Espeon and Umbreon got the first move. Espeon succeeded in a one-hit KO thanks to its excellent special attack power, and Umbreon did a great deal of damage as well, even paralyzing its target to boot with Secret Power's effect. The remaining Whismur Pounded Umbreon in return but did very little damage, since Umbreon had exceptional defense.

"Finish it, you two," Wes commanded next, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. This battle was over. In a synchronized move, one that made full use of the bond shared between both the Pokémon and their trainer, Espeon and Umbreon attacked at the same time with Return and Bite, knocking the Whismur out before Folly could even issue a second command.

"Gah! Oh no, my Whismur!" Folly cried, quickly recalling the two unconscious Pokémon. "You jerk! How dare you!"

His companion hit Folly in the back of the head. "You idiot! I knew we shouldn't have accepted his challenge! Now look what you did, you lost!"

"Ouch! Well, how was I supposed to know he had an Espeon and an Umbreon? I didn't even know you could get them here in Orre!"

"That doesn't matter, Folly, we lost!"

"Shut up, Trudly! Why didn't you battle with that awesome Pokémon that Master Ein issued to you?"

"Why don't you—?"

"Excuse me," Wes interrupted, growing impatient. "You two can argue all you like, but the truth of the matter is that you lost. So get lost, the both of you."

Grumbling, Folly and Trudly both turned to pick up the still-struggling sack and return to the truck. "And you can leave whoever's in that sack here, too," Wes added.

"What? No way! We kidnapped her fair and square!" Folly cried.

"Shut up, you idiot! Now you've let them know we're kidnappers!" Trudly berated.

"Both of you. Get out of my sight now, or you'll regret it," Wes threatened more forcefully. "I don't know where you caught her, or who she is, but she's staying here."

Folly marched up to Wes, glaring eye-to-eye with the teen. "Oh yeah? And what if we don't, punk?" he retorted, grabbing Wes's collar.

Wes's yellow-gold eyes flared with anger, and before Folly knew it he was doubled over in pain, winded from the retaliation punch received in the stomach. He was suddenly jerked back up to his feet by the collar and shoved backwards into Trudly. "Don't make me mad," Wes insisted. "Get out of this city now, or you'll wish you'd never even heard of it. Understand?" Espeon and Umbreon both growled and stepped forward, showing they were ready to follow through with their trainer's threat.

Frightened, Folly and Trudly turned tail and ran, clumsily tripping all over themselves in their haste to get in the truck and escape. Wes watched the truck as it sped away from Phenac City, with Skarmory sending a few Swift attacks to make sure they got the message. With a satisfied smile, he turned and found the teen and young woman struggling with the knot on the end of the sack, as they tried to free the person inside.

"Don't struggle, we'll get you out," assured the woman, patting the sack comfortingly.

"Man, this is one weird knot," complained the teen.

Wes stepped forward. "Let me try," he offered, kneeling down and taking a look at it. The knot was a very complicated one, but Wes knew it well. It was a type of knot known only to those within the ranks of Team Snagem. Since the team often kidnapped people, it was a benefit to know a knot that few people could untie. Fortunately, although Wes had never been assigned to abduct someone, he knew how to undo it. With a few tugs and pulls, he undid it easily.

"Nice," the teen commented, helping to pull away the rope and open up the sack. As soon as he did, however, a pair of feet with pink boots on flew out and practically kicked the poor guy in the face, making him fall backwards. "Gah! Hold on, I'm not a bad guy!" he cried.

"Hold still," Wes soothed, and, with the woman's help, he pulled the rest of the sack off to reveal a teenage girl. She had reddish-orange hair and wide blue eyes, and wore a pink and blue jacket, purple tank top, and a white skirt. Her hands and feet were tied, and a gag was tied tightly around her mouth, making it impossible for her to speak.

The woman immediately went about undoing the suffocating gag. "You poor girl! Let me get that off of you," she said.

"Castform! Help get that rope off!" commanded the teen. The tiny Normal-type floated down eagerly and began to chew at the thinner rope binding the girl. In several minutes, she was free.

"I… Thank you…" the girl gasped, breathing in some fresh air for the first time in a while. "I…" Her lip trembled, and she burst into tears, covering her face and sitting back down on the ground.

The woman shook her head. "Oh, don't cry! You're safe now!"

"Yeah! This guy got rid of those guys who kidnapped you," the teen added.

The girl sniffed, looking up at Wes for the first time. She smiled a little bit. "You did that? Really?"

Wes couldn't speak at first. He couldn't; that tight feeling had gotten into his chest again, the same feeling that he got when he was remembering… Can it be…? he thought. No, it can't. If it were her, she'd remember me, wouldn't she? She couldn't forget someone who… "Um… yes. I had a hand in helping you. They won't bother you again," he replied quietly, backing away.

"Thank you so much," the girl said with a bow. "I… I was so scared… Thank you…" She took a deep breath. "Can I have the name of my rescuer?"

"…Wes. My name's Wes. And yours?"

"I'm Rui." She wiped her eyes and looked up to the other two standing nearby. "And who are you?"

"Oh, we were just standing on the sidelines," the teen laughed. "My name's Bryan. And this is my Castform."

"My name is Arianna, Anna for short," the young woman said. "So… are you all right, Rui? Are you hurt in any way?"

Rui shook her head. "I'm fine, thank you. All I need now is to know where I am."

"You're in beautiful Phenac City," Bryan said. "Where were you when those two snatched you?"

"In Pyrite Town… I was on my way to visit my grandparents in Agate Village… And then…" She shook her head. "I don't know. I just…"

"It's ok, calm down now," Anna reassured. "Phenac is a safe city, and those criminals won't be coming back anytime soon."

Wes took a deep breath. "It's good to hear you're well," he said softly, turning to go. "Now, I'll be on my way."

Rui took a step towards him. "But wait! You saved me. There must be something I can do to repay you…"

He shook his head. "Forget it. It was nothing."

"But…" Rui paused, and then added, "May I… ask you a favor then?"

"A favor?"

"Can you… escort me? At least around this city?" she asked nervously. "See… I'm nervous about being by myself, even more so after this…"

Wes glanced down at Espeon and Umbreon. "I don't know…"

Bryan snorted. "You just stopped in. There's no reason you can't at least walk her round the city."

"Why don't you do it?" Anna questioned, poking him in the shoulder.

"I'm not the strong, heroic guy who saved her life, is why," he retorted.

Wes sighed. He supposed there wasn't a problem with it; after all, he didn't have anything better to be doing. And maybe he could find out more about this girl. She looked so much like… that one girl… But if it were truly her, why didn't she recognize him as well? There were few people that looked like Wes, to be sure. And also, he didn't really want those Team Snagem guys capturing her again. He wasn't sure why, but… he had a feeling it was best to keep her out of their hands.

"All right, Rui," he replied, interrupting Bryan and Anna's argument, "I'll escort you around the city. I don't have anywhere else I need to be, so I guess it's ok…"

At that, Rui's face broke into a beautiful smile. "Really? Oh, thank you, Wes! Thank you! I promise I'll make all of this up to you someday!"

"Looks like you're in good hands," Anna remarked. "I'll be on my way then. If you need anything from me, ask."

"Same here," Bryan said, smoothing back his hair. "Ready for a workout, Castform?"

"Cast! Cast-form!"

"Bye," called Rui, as the two left. She then turned to Wes once more. "I guess it's just us. Where should we go first?"

"I don't know. This is my first time in Phenac," he replied. "Wherever you want."

"Can we go somewhere to eat?" she asked.

"I suppose we could," Wes answered with another careless shrug. "I already ate before I got here, but if you're hungry, it's fine with me."

Rui giggled. "Ok, let's go find a restaurant," she said, skipping on ahead cheerfully, with Espeon and Umbreon chasing her playfully.

I can't believe this, Wes thought, watching Rui. Only about ten minutes ago she was being held by Team Snagem kidnappers. Now she's skipping down the street like nothing happened. Is this girl really from Orre? She's way too innocent and naïve…

But then… so was she…

Skipping ahead happily, Rui couldn't have been more overjoyed with her life now if she tried.

I'm so lucky, being saved by Wes! she thought. I would have been in trouble for sure if those two took me to… wherever they were taking me. But it's fine now. And now I have Wes to look out for me!

However… in the back of her mind, something stirred with concern. Just thinking about Wes, looking at him… brought a strange feeling that Rui just couldn't place. Like he was someone she should know…

A gentle rub at her ankle from Umbreon snapped her to her senses again, and she giggled, stopping to pet the two Pokémon. Whatever the feeling was, it was wrong. Wes was nice. She had just met him, but he couldn't be all that bad. After all, he had saved her life. Right?

So why was she getting such mixed emotions deep down inside?

Notes: Koyasha Shinigaru is my own original character. Please do not use her without permission, or derive ideas from her for use in your own characters.