Chapter 17: New Horizons (Finding the Windmill Gear)

"…Kinda a light packer, aren't you? I mean, for all that being everything you own."

Tucking the last of her clothing articles into her one suitcase, Kimberly turned and gave a slight smile at Sierra's comment. What was once her bedroom within the dusty and unkempt Team Snagem Hideout was now completely empty, save for the sparse pieces of furniture tucked forlornly into various room corners. This was it, then. Her whole life as she knew it was going to change, just like it had for Wes and Travis. She was going to leave Team Snagem, and join Team Cipher.

Should she feel anxious about it? Kimberly wasn't entirely sure.

Sierra shifted her position where she sat upon the back of a chair, and regarded the four pieces of luggage that consisted of Kimberly's belongings. A suitcase, to hold her clothing. A shoulder bag, to hold her few personal belongings and accessories. One steel briefcase that seemed to hold guns or some such weaponry. And a particularly long case that seemed a mystery, even to Sierra. Another weapon of sorts, she assumed? Travis said Kimberly owned a variety of weaponry…

Sierra was quite curious as to what they could consist of.

"Miss Kimberly, you must show me your artillery collection when you are settled in at Realgam Tower," she chirped excitedly, unable to rein in her enthusiasm. "I would love to see what you have."

"Oh, of course," Kimberly replied, smiling a little more. "It would be a pleasure."

Sierra clapped her hands in faux delight. "Thank you," she grinned. "…I think you'll enjoy Realgam Tower, it's a lovely place. Construction of the lobby, entertainment areas, and the front entryway hasn't been quite completed, but that's only to deter people from coming by before we want them to. Other than that, the living quarters have just been completely finished, the office and training areas have been in use for a few months now, and the Colosseum on the top is receiving the final touches. And it all looks great. I think you'll appreciate it."

Kimberly shifted nervously, not entirely sure of how to react. Of course, a clean, neat, newly-built tower sponsored by the rich and pristine criminal syndicate Team Cipher sounded wonderful. Surely it would be better to live in than this grungy dump. But then again… she had never lived anywhere else before. Would she be comfortable in Cipher? Would Master Nascour be pleased with her? She hoped that he would. As much as Kimberly disliked Gonzap for his cruelty, she still looked up to him, in a way. How could she not? He had practically raised her. Leaving his side to go to a new team was a bit intimidating…

"You look a little pale," Sierra noted, as if picking up on Kimberly's anxiety. "Worried about the new experience?"

The red-headed young woman looked up a bit warily at Sierra's question. "…Perhaps."

"Aw… I understand. Don't worry. It's natural to be a bit uneasy about something like this," Sierra assured. "But it'll be ok."

"…I'm sure it will be…"

A brief knock came at the door, and Travis hesitantly poked his head inside the room. "Is everything ready…?" he asked. "Our vehicle's ready to go, unless somebody's screwing with the engine or something right now as I speak…" He frowned slightly at his own words, as if afraid he had just jinxed it.

Sierra laughed dryly. "Let's hope not; the sooner we're out of this place, the better. Any minute now I expect Gonzap to just come up behind me and break my neck. He looked pissed again when I first saw him this morning."

"Probably having some regrets about letting Miss Kimberly go," Travis explained. "As much as he loves money, he's going to be sorry when he realizes he can't snap his fingers and summon her anymore."

Sierra looked a bit surprised at that. "Are you really at Gonzap's beck and call like that?" she couldn't help but ask.

"…It's what I've been trained to do," Kimberly murmured softly, indifference seeping back into her face once again. "I only have one thing to live for, and that is my master's call."

Travis and Sierra exchanged a brief glance. "…Well, I guess… that's good to hear…" murmured Sierra quietly. "I guess Master Nascour will like that." To be honest, she had no idea what Nascour was looking for in a direct subordinate. All of his previous ones had died by his hand, after all.

…Awkward silence…

"Um… so… Would you like me to carry some of your bags, Miss Kimberly?" Travis asked, attempting to break the uncomfortable moment.

Kimberly lowered her eyes and nodded. "Yes, please…" she murmured, staring at the tips of her boots.

Kimberly's such a strange person… Sierra mused, watching Travis grab the two largest bags and stagger out the door with them awkwardly, presumably under the colossal weight of whatever was inside. I mean… she's obviously a very intelligent and talented person… that much I can see… But she's so… submissive. She has no real drive to do anything of her own free will. If we let her, she'd probably live and die serving Gonzap here on Team Snagem…

…Is this what brainwashing is?

"Um… well… Miss Kimberly…" she murmured. "Guess we ought to get going ourselves. I'm sure Master Nascour will be happy to meet you. He seems to have taken to you already, after all."

The soon-to-be former Team Snagem member looked up slowly, her green eyes soft with indifference and deep thought at the same time. "Ah… of course, Miss Sierra. Let us go." She slowly bent and picked up her shoulder bag, slinging the strap across her body in one easy move. Sierra quickly moved to pick up her own bag lying on the table beside her, and then grabbed Kimberly's suitcase in her free hand. Kimberly's slight frown reflected her worry at the gesture. "Oh… Miss Sierra… you don't have to…" she began.

Sierra laughed. "Oh, it's fine," she assured, shifting her own bag to one shoulder and hefting the suitcase up in both hands, so she wouldn't fall over. "Travis and I, we're technically supposed to be subservient to you, after all… He's Master Nascour's peon, and I'm Ein's direct subordinate." She laughed at herself. "Well… I guess that technically would mean I'm below Travis, but I guess me being on the team since the beginning gives me more clout… So I guess that means I'm still above most people on the team then, despite my title… Heh… um… sorry… Never mind, I still wanna carry your stuff now!"

Kimberly couldn't help but giggle a little. "Miss Sierra… you're very amusing. And such a nice person. Thank you."

The younger girl blushed deeply, and laughed. "Amusing, huh? Master Nascour always says that. And… nice?" Sierra paused, remembering that cute red-headed girl back in Phenac City who had said that… What was her name? Err… um… ack. The name escaped her. Something short and sweet, but it just didn't come to mind at that moment. "…Heh. Well, I suppose I can be…"

"Better than some…" Kimberly murmured, almost bitterly.

Sierra glanced up in surprise. "What?"

"Err… nothing. Nothing at all. Let's not waste any more time here, if you please…"

Sierra blinked warily up at the older teen, but nodded. "All right, if you say so. Let's go." With a huff of endurance, she lugged Kimberly's suitcase out of the room and down the hall as fast and as graceful as her small frame plus the large, unwieldy baggage would allow.

With a last look back at the room that had been hers since her childhood, Kimberly slowly turned and faced the doorway, her green eyes set fiercely. She knew what was expected of her. And she would follow through on it to the best of her abilities. She was Team Snagem's Valkyrie, after all… Compared to some of her overt and dangerous jobs, changing teams was cake.

Of course… Kimberly Van Kai had never tasted of the luxuries of such cake as Team Cipher.

"Win our way in…" Rui murmured, as if she still couldn't fathom the idea of it an hour and twenty minutes later. She and Wes, along with the Eevee-lutions, were now standing outside Duking's house, staring at the Pyrite Colosseum dome that attempted to rise over the city. Marcia and Secc were hovering just behind them, looking impressed at the bold plan Wes had explained to them.

"It does make sense," Secc acknowledged cheerfully. "All the winners are taken to that building in order to receive their prize."

"And once I'm inside, I won't be leaving, not until we get some answers," Wes finished. A tiny smirk curled the corner of his lip. "Hopefully we'll be able to take them by surprise."

Marcia tugged on Wes's arm pleadingly. "You'll get Plusle back too, won't you?" she asked. "She'll be safe?"

Wes nodded, patting her shoulder. "Of course. I'm not about to let anything happen to an innocent little Pokémon."

"Oh, thank you!" Marcia exclaimed joyfully.

Secc glanced idly at a watch on his left wrist. "The finals of the last Colosseum tournament ended last night. You'd be best registering for this one quick, before all the slots are filled up."

"Cail's been talking about some particularly tough competition in this tournament too, so please be careful," Marcia urged.

"Can do," Wes assured, taking a few steps forward to leave. "Don't worry about a thing. We'll break this Miror B.'s hold on Pyrite, and we'll get Plusle back, too."

"Good luck, Wes; good luck, Rui! Bye!" Secc and Marcia waved to their newfound friends as the two teens, Espeon, and Umbreon continued down the street, ready to face Pyrite Colosseum.

After a few quiet moments, Wes gave Rui a perplexed look. "Well, someone's been unusually quiet. What's up?"

A small blush spread across Rui's cheeks as she looked up. "Oh! I'm sorry, I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Well… remember back in Phenac City, when we went to the mayor's house a second time?"

Wes winced at the memory. "How could I forget?"

"Well… I was just wondering why Miror B.'s name sounded so familiar to me… and I remembered. When we went in the mayor's house, that weird man with the red and white afro and the strange music talked to us about Cipher. And if I recall correctly… I think those people with him called him Miror B.!"

Surprised, Wes stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. "Really…?" His mind raced back to that moment. Before he had engaged in the battle against Folly, Trudly, and their dangerous Shadow Makuhita. Before his lovely little near-death experience… "You just might be right, Rui…"

Rui grinned widely at that. "Really? Oh, so I did help?"

"You always help," Wes laughed, a soft smile accompanying his words. "So this Miror B. guy from Team Cipher is running operations here in Pyrite… Interesting. So that's who we have to contend with? An overgrown hair job with an outfit that'd blind a Zubat? Pffft. If that's the best Cipher can come up with, then this'll be a breeze."

Rui burst into giggles at Wes's humorous comment. "Hehe! Yeah, you're right, we can take that jerk down no problem!" she exclaimed. "To the Colosseum!"

Espeon and Umbreon both gave cries of excitement, and before Wes could even nod his affirmation the two were already bounding down the street through Duel Square, zipping through people's legs, bouncing off a random Pokémon's head, and dodging a battle attack here and there as they went. The two were well-rested and definitely pumped for action!

"Whoa, wait up you two!" Wes called, grabbing Rui's hand and running off after them. "Espeon, Umbreon, stop!"

"Hehe, come on, you have to at least wait for your trainer!" Rui laughed, clutching tight to Wes's hand as they passed several irate Duel Square trainers still miffed from yesterday's Snagging spree.

Up ahead, near the bridge that spanned across the chasm to Pyrite Colosseum, Espeon and Umbreon had stopped running and were sniffing something on the ground. As Wes and Rui approached, they could see a figure lying on the ground, clutching his head. Rui gasped and ran to the groaning man's side.

"Sir?" she asked, helping him to sit up. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

The man, a researcher of some sort judging by his gray lab coat, nodded and touched a large lump on his head gingerly. "I'm all right… but oh… that… Silva…"

Wes raised an eyebrow curiously. "Silva?" he repeated, remembering the young teen from yesterday, arguing with Duking. "What about him?"

"He came rushing into the windmill about ten minutes ago, yelling something about stopping the corruption no matter what it took. Or something like that," the researcher explained, motioning to the building behind him. "Anyway, he demanded that we turn the windmill off. Apparently, he wanted to cut power to the Colosseum, cause, well, that's what the windmill is mainly for. Of course, we said no, so… Silva instead broke through by force and stole a gear from the windmill before we could stop him! I tried to block his way, but he just bonked me in the head with the thing and ran off! I don't know where he could have gone…"

"You mean, Silva did all that?" Rui asked. "That's terrible!"

Wes glanced up at the windmill, and, sure enough, the blades had ceased movement. "So… without that gear, there's no power?"

"That's right. And without power, the Colosseum can't run its computers, power doors, lights, or air conditioning. Heh, you think that Colosseum's hot as is? Wait until all the air conditioning is cut completely! There's no way anyone, human or Pokémon alike, will be able to stand it in there for too long!"

That was a problem all right. If the Colosseum couldn't be run, there was no way Wes and Rui could enter the tournament and infiltrate Miror B.'s headquarters! Their plan would be ruined. So now what could they do…?

"Do you think you have any idea of where Silva might have taken that gear?" Wes asked. "Maybe we can get it back so the windmill will be up and running again."

The researcher shook his head. "Haven't a clue," he sighed. "He could have dumped it in the middle of the desert, for all I know. Oh… Silva… I know you want to help, but the Colosseum just can't die like this! It's the livelihood of Pyrite Town!"

Rui looked up at Wes desperately. "Maybe… someone saw Silva leave town, or something. We could track it down."

Wes sighed deeply; he had no intention of running willy-nilly over Orre trying to find some stupid gear. But it didn't seem like he had a choice. "All right… I guess we can check with Cail and Willie. If they didn't see Silva leaving town, then no one did. Come on, Rui, the faster we find the damn thing, the faster we can enter the tournament and get to the bottom of this headache."

"We'll be back with the gear, sir, don't worry," Rui assured the researcher, as Wes helped her up and started back towards Pyrite's entrance once again. "You can count on us!"

Does she have to say that…? Wes wondered irritably.

Headache, indeed. This whole adventure was turning into an annoying nightmare.

After inspecting the jeep ever so carefully to make sure it hadn't been sabotaged or anything (it hadn't), Travis heaved a grateful sigh, wiping the sweat from his brow for the millionth time. Oh, how he hated the desert heat… He had been born and raised in Hoenn's mild climate for most of his childhood; this dry, blistering heat had always been particularly rough on him. Ugh… He just wanted out of here now…

"I guess this is it, then," Gonzap stated harshly, making Travis turn around. The burly Team Snagem Head stomped on over to the jeep and leaned against the hood as he spoke, one finger jabbed accusingly at the former Snagem member. "You listen here, Travis, make sure that bastard takes good care of Miss Kimberly, you got that?"

"You mean, Master Nascour?" Travis asked, glancing over at Kimberly seated quietly in the front seat, awaiting departure.

"Exactly. Don't let that arrogant asshole so much as touch her."

From behind the jeep where she had been loading Kimberly's luggage, Sierra glanced out at Gonzap and frowned. "What's it to you what Nascour does with her?" she asked skeptically.

Gonzap's evil stare quickly silenced her. "Shut your trap," he snarled. To Travis, he continued, "You know perfectly well I've raised Miss Kimberly in this team since she was a baby. I'll not see her die by Nascour's hand along with the rest of his worthless subordinates."

Travis nodded slowly. "I don't think you need to worry, sir," he assured. "Miss Kimberly can take care of herself quite fine."

"But he could—"

"He won't. He won't harm her. I'll make sure of it."

Sierra raised an eyebrow with surprise. What was this? Was Gonzap actually worried about Kimberly? Perhaps she'd had the wrong idea of him… He might have been a crude and vulgar man, but apparently Gonzap had a sense of caring for Kimberly as well. How odd… Did he see her as a daughter somehow? Sierra would never have thought.

And yet he sold her off to Cipher anyway…

Gonzap finally looked darkly at Sierra. "Give Nascour my regards. And don't let him think he's gotten the better of me with this, cause he hasn't."

What would make him think that? Sierra wondered. "I shall give him your regards," she replied with an icy glare. "Good day to you, Master Gonzap."

"Good day."

Travis glanced at Sierra as she planted herself in the driver's seat with a huff of impatience, and then turned back to Gonzap and bowed slightly. "Good day, Master Gonzap," he said softly. "Until we meet again."

Gonzap nodded. "Until then. And Travis…" His voice lowered to a whisper. "…Have you considered what I have asked?"

"I have… and I must refuse."

The Snagem Head's face reddened with anger. "Why?"

"I… have pledged my allegiance to Team Cipher. No matter my previous loyalties to you, sir… I must honor my word and not betray the team I am now a part of." Travis looked up at Gonzap nervously. "But as to my promise to watch out for Miss Kimberly… I'll keep that. I swear upon my life."

"Heh." Gonzap sounded somewhere between disgusted and amused. "Very well. I should know you better, I suppose…" He stroked his mustache thoughtfully, before bringing his hand down on Travis's shoulder so hard the poor teen winced, fearing for a moment his arm had suddenly dislocated. "…You're a good kid, Travis. Too good, if you ask me. Shoulda stayed the hell where you were before coming out here to Orre. Dumbass. Fucking waste."

Travis smiled. "If you say so, sir."

"I do. Now get the hell out of my face and back to your precious Team Cipher. It's obvious you're no good to me anymore."

"My apologizes…" With another slight bow, Travis turned away from the Snagem Hideout for the last time, his footsteps sounding hollow and loud as they crunched their way across the gravelly sand. He swung himself into the back of the jeep just as Sierra started it up. But before Sierra could tear away and leave the Snagem Hideout far, far behind, Gonzap leaned against the jeep again, noticeably shifting the vehicle a little closer to the ground as he hovered over Kimberly's window.

"Farewell, Miss Kimberly. Don't forget us," he snarled, in a rather threatening manner.

Kimberly barely flinched at Gonzap's severe tone. "Farewell, sir," she replied calmly, glancing up at him. "I thank you for your kindness to me these past years."

From where she was seated next to Kimberly, Sierra couldn't help but think that kindness was a rather odd word to associate with Gonzap.

"Heh. Yeah, don't fucking forget any of it. Remember who raised you, taught you all you know."

"You did, sir. I could not forget."

Gonzap frowned slightly, as if he wanted to say more but had completely run out of words to say. "Eh… Well, off you go, then. Farewell." He paused slightly, and then quickly snuck in a peck on Kimberly's cheek that made Sierra cringe and Travis sweatdrop.

Once again, Kimberly barely seemed fazed, her vacant green eyes watching her former master as he stepped away. Sierra quickly lost no time in throwing the jeep in reverse, pulling out, and then turning around and speeding out into the blinding desert at last.

Gonzap watched the rapidly disappearing vehicle, his frown deepening at the realization that Kimberly was gone for good. It was an odd feeling, he noted. That feeling when someone you've always taken for granted to be there suddenly leaves. Someone whom you've watched grow from a baby into a beautiful young woman.

But nothing stays the same forever…

"All right, you Slugmas, enough standing around. Our work with Cipher may be nearly at an end, but we've still got work enough!" he bellowed, turning around and pointing at the startled Snagem members watching their much-adored Valkyrie disappear off into the horizon. "There's still Pokémon to process for Master Ein! Supplies to purchase! Operations to complete! Move your asses, all of you!"

As one, the Team Snagem members hurriedly scrabbled to get to work.

No regrets. Just business.

Back in Pyrite Town, Rui was… shall we say… more than a little distressed upon finding out that no one could recall seeing Silva slip out of town with the windmill gear.

If you don't mind understatement.

"Waaaaaaaaaah! How are we ever going to battle in the Colosseum now!" she sobbed from where she had plunked herself down in the middle of the street, amidst stares from the passerby.

Wes, Espeon, and Umbreon were trying—with little success—to get Rui to stop crying or get out of the street, whichever happened to come first. "Rui, come on… Crying's not going help a thing!" Wes told her, tugging on her arm gently.

"B-but without the gear, w-we can't battle in the C-Colosseum," she explained thickly, through brimming blue eyes. "And if w-we can't battle in the Colosseum, then w-we can't work our way to M-Miror B. and save all t-the Shadow P-Pokémon."

Wes rolled his eyes and sighed loudly. "Rui, we'll find a way to save the Shadow Pokémon with or without the gear, I promise! But please stop crying! You're making a huge scene!"

"Never a good thing in Pyrite," Cail muttered from several feet away, conveniently being in the right place at the right time to pop in.

Rui stopped crying for a moment to look up at Cail, her eyes widening hopefully. "Oh, Cail!" she exclaimed. "Do you know where Silva went?"

Cail sweatdropped at her excited question. "Err… well… no. I don't, I'm afraid," he admitted.

"Y-you… don't…?"

"Oh sweet Lugia, no… Don't give me that face!" Cail begged, his face paling at Rui's suddenly heartbroken expression. "I hate it when girls do that…!"

Wes quickly pulled Rui to her feet and covered her mouth so she wouldn't let out another anguished wail. "Sorry," he apologized to Cail, looking embarrassed. "She's a touch disappointed."

"So I see…" Cail gave a weak smile, before turning his gaze eastward, towards the desert. "Sorry I couldn't be a help this time around."

"Not a problem… Oh, hey, where's Willie?"

"Eh, left. He does that quite a bit… drifts in and out of town like a breeze. One of those sorts. Anyways, he wished you two luck, and said if ya need any Pokéballs, he's at your service. Then drove away rather abruptly on his motorcycle."

Wes smiled gratefully. "Nice guy…" he noted, with a hint of admiration. "But where does he even go?"

"Beats the hell out of me. Outskirt Stand, I suppose, but why he'd rather be there than here is beyond me. Who knows…"

"Hm." Wes considered for a bit, ignoring Rui squirming in his arms as he did so, before venturing forth another question. "What would Silva have left on if he skipped town, if I may ask? I mean, I doubt he drove away or walked away into the desert…"

Cail laughed, but quickly stopped himself. "You know… I really haven't the slightest idea. I mean, I know he likes to leave town every so often, for whatever reason, but I couldn't even begin to guess what transportation he uses."

Rui finally wiggled free. "A Pokémon, maybe?" she asked.

Wes and Cail both gave her an odd expression. "What makes you say that?" Cail asked skeptically. "Silva ain't got enough room boarding with Duking and those kids in that house to raise a big enough Pokémon for transportation purposes."

"Um… I dunno. I just saw a Pokémon up there, so I said it."

As one, the two young men followed her pointed finger, fixating their gazes on a large Skarmory preening its underfeathers on top of the item shop. Wes sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of it. "No way! That's… the Skarmory from before! Am I right, guys?" He turned to Espeon and Umbreon for guidance, and the two nodded their affirmations in response.

"So you know this Skarmory?" Cail asked, frowning up at the Steel/Flying-type. "Kinda an annoying thing, really. Has a nasty habit of sharpening his wings on the roofs of the buildings here."

Wes snickered. "That's the one, all right… Hey buddy, what say you and me talk, hm?" he asked, directing his question to the Skarmory. The silvery bird angled his head slightly towards Wes, seeming to frown. "If you help me and my friends, I'll treat you to as much Pokémon food as you like."

Cail sweatdropped again. "I can't believe this…" he muttered to Rui. "He's making a deal with a wild Pokémon."

Rui giggled. "Shh… let's see if it works," she suggested.

The Skarmory looked a bit skeptical. Sure, he thought this kid was all right; after all, Wes did blow up Snagem Hideout. But still… making a deal with a human seemed a bit much. Skarmory didn't care too much for the idea of dallying with humans. But that food sounded tempting…

"Here buddy, I even got some right here." Wes reached into a pocket within his trenchcoat and pulled out a tin of Pokéchow (garnering evil stares from Espeon and Umbreon as he did so). He shook out a piece and waved it at the Armor Bird Pokémon enticingly. "Want it?"

Skarmory shuffled nervously. He didn't want to be fooled, but that food sure looked tasty… and he was hungry. "Skarrraaaa…" he screeched softly, opening his beak wide.

Wes tossed the food up into the air into Skarmory's waiting mouth, allowing the Pokémon to savor it for a few moments. "Good?" he asked, watching Skarmory gulp it down.

Skarmory flapped his wings happily. "Skraaa!" he exclaimed.

"All right, buddy, here's what I want in return, if you want the rest of this food. There's a kid with silver hair who took something very important to us. Silva is his name. Do you think you can help us find him? We think he left town to hide the thing he took, but we don't know where he could have gone."

The Steel/Flying-type considered the request thoughtfully, before giving a shrill keen and taking off into the sky. Wes, Rui, Cail, Espeon, and Umbreon all watched as he flapped his way east, into the desert skies.

"Do you think he's off to help us?" Cail asked uncertainly.

"Hope so…" Wes sighed, kneeling down and giving both indignant Eevee-lutions a piece of Pokéchow. "Otherwise, we'll be stuck having to search all of Orre by ourselves."

Rui and Cail sighed deeply, and sat down alongside their friend to—hopefully—wait for Skarmory's return.

About an hour and a half later, during which Cail had ever so kindly taken Wes and Rui out to lunch, before they all went back to waiting sleepily in the shade of the item shop once more… the Skarmory came back.

He landed with a loud CLANG on top of the item shop that startled everyone within earshot.

"What the—" Cail yelped, whirling around so fast on the crate he had been sitting on that he nearly fell off.

From where she had been dozing in Wes's lap nearby, Rui jumped, and Wes opened one eye warily. "What's going on?" he asked, placing his head on her shoulder defensively.

Rui looked up and smiled. "Wes, Skarmory came back!" she exclaimed, pointing up at the Steel/Flying-type preening himself on the rooftop. She quickly got up to allow Wes to stand.

Wes smirked and craned his neck up to see. "Well, looks like you came back after all," he said to Skarmory. "What's up?"

Skarmory flapped his wings eagerly and pointed his beak towards the desert. "Skraaa!"

"Did you find where Silva went?"

"Skraa, skraaa!" An eager nod.

Wes grinned triumphantly. "Can you show us?"

The Steel/Flying-type huffed impatiently and pecked the edge of the gutter.

"Don't think he's going anywhere unless he gets his pay," Cail laughed, straightening his goggles on his forehead absently. "Heh. Definitely a Pokémon of Orre, that's for sure."

Rui prodded Wes anxiously. "Give him the food," she insisted. "We have to find that gear quick!"

Wes nodded, and dug out the tin of Pokéchow. "All right… here. The food, as promised—ow!" He winced as Umbreon bit him in the ankle. "What?"

"Umbri um umbreon um! (That's our food!)" the Dark-type growled indignantly.

Espeon frowned as well. "Espi espeon espi esp! (You can't give it away like that!)"

Wes groaned. "Oh, come on… This is important, guys! Please…?"

Rui laughed, and gathered the two unhappy Pokémon into her arms. "Aww… don't be so upset! We'll buy you some new food right after we get the gear back, promise! We'll even let you pick it out yourself! What do you say?"

Espeon and Umbreon glanced at one another and purred to themselves for several moments, before nodding slowly. "Espi…" "Umbri…"

"Regular Pokémon charmer, you are…" Cail murmured, hiding a smirk at the two Pokémon cuddling into Rui's arms.

With a soft laugh, Wes emptied the rest of the Pokéchow into his hand and held it out to Skarmory. "Come and get it, pal. After this, you're taking us to the gear!"

Twenty minutes later, Wes, Rui, and Cail were speeding across the desert after Skarmory, Wes and Rui on Wes's speeder, and Cail on his motorcycle.

"Slick ride ya got there, Wes," Cail yelled to his companion, over the roar of their engines and the desert wind.

"Thanks, you too," Wes yelled back. He adjusted his shades slightly on his nose and looked up, frowning at a strange sight rapidly getting larger and larger ahead of them. "What's that…?"

Rui squinted against the wind and sand and sun. "It looks… like an enormous tower!"

And so it was. The tower, surrounded by smaller spires and buildings interconnected by glass tunnels, stretched several stories into the blinding blue sky, gleaming brightly in the sunlight. It looked entirely brand-new, save for several scaffolds still evident here and there, and the entire entrance of the complex still in construction. A crane beeped as it moved steel beams around, and the buzz and clang of power tools echoed through the empty air.

"What the hell…?" Cail whispered, as he and Wes slowed their vehicles to a halt several yards away from the front of the complex. "Is it really this close to being completed…?"

Wes removed his shades from his face and hopped off his vehicle, giving Cail a quizzical look. "Hm? What's that?"

"Huh? Oh… nothing."

Rui climbed out of the speeder and gaped up at the magnificent tower. "Wow… what is this?" she asked, sounding awestruck. "Do you know, Cail?"

"Not really…" Cail murmured, pulling his goggles from his face. "I mean, I'm pretty sure it has something to do with Team Cipher, but as to what it's for, I haven't a clue."

"Weird…" Wes took Rui's hand and started for the front of the building, where Skarmory had perched himself on a beam. Cail continued after them a bit reluctantly, looking around here and there.

"Lying through your teeth, Cail," he muttered, for once hoping he wouldn't see Sierra. "Don't you feel good…?"

"This the place, Skarmory?" Wes asked, looking up at the Pokémon.

"Skar," the Armor Bird nodded, pointing his beak into the construction site.

Rui clung to Wes's arm fearfully. "I'm scared… What if it's dangerous?"

"Hey, I'll protect you. Promise." Wes led the way boldly into the construction site, alive with the roars of heavy machinery and screams of welding equipment. "Stay close, though."

Cail looked around, his brow crinkling. "Silva came here to hide the gear…?"

"Hey! You, kids! What are you doing here?" The three turned to see a construction worker in a yellow helmet and worn jumpsuit running over to them, shaking his head. "You can't be here! This is a construction site! It's dangerous!"

"We're sorry…" Wes replied. "We're kinda lost, is all. Can you point us towards the nearest town?"

"Welllll…" The man crossed his arms and thought. "I guess the closest town from here is Phenac. Or is it Pyrite? Which one would be closer, I wonder…? Well, if you go this way, you'll get to Phenac." He pointed east. "On the other hand, going this way takes you to Pyrite. Drive a ways, and you'll get there."

Wes smiled sweetly and stepped closer, conveniently blotting Rui and Cail from sight. "Oh… um… well, see, directions like that are what got us lost in the first place. Don't you have better ones than just 'this way' and 'that way'?"

The man frowned. "Um… well… er… Hey, Jim! Come're!"

Wes glanced behind him slightly. "Go and look for the gear, while I've got him busy," he whispered. "These guys won't be letting us poke around, that's for sure."

Cail nodded. "Gotcha." He nodded at Rui, and the two quickly ran off further into the construction site.

"So, uh… Jim. Give'im directions to the closest town."

"Well… southwest about twenty minutes takes ya to Crysala Town…"

"What, ya dense? We're not that close to Crysala! It's more like half an hour to drive there."

"I'm not dense! Crysala's closer than Phenac by three miles!"

"You're all messed up, Crysala's further west than that!"

"You've got no sense of direction as is; don't tell me I'm wrong!"

"I'm telling ya…!"

Wes smirked and calmly crossed his arms. Oh yes, this was way too easy.

Meanwhile, Cail and Rui were poking into every conceivable corner of the construction site, searching futilely for the missing gear. But no luck.

"We don't have much time," Cail hissed, pulling Rui behind a beam as a bulldozer drove by. "Wes is smart, but he can't keep those two talking forever. See anything?"

Rui shook her head with a sigh. "No… I wonder, did Skarmory really see Silva put it here? Maybe he meant Silva came here… but didn't leave the gear."

"Damn… I hope not," Cail grumbled. "Wasted valuable gas driving across this fucking sandpit…"

"Skraa." Rui looked up sharply in the midst of Cail's swearing to see Skarmory perched on a dump truck parked nearby, tilting his head curiously. "Skraa skar…"

"Skarmory! I'm sorry, can you help us?" Rui asked. "We can't find what we're looking for… A gear. A machine part. Do you know if Silva left it here?"

"Skraa…" The Steel/Flying-type considered, before fluttering down to the ground and pointing his beak towards a corner of the site. "Skarmorr."

Rui looked excited. "Really? Over here?" Without thinking, she ran out and to the corner Skarmory had indicated, completely forgetting they were supposed to be hiding from the construction workers.

"Rui!" Cail hissed, eyes widening in disbelief. "Agh, dammit! Come back!"

Heedless of her companion's profane protests to her actions, Rui began moving rubble and supplies around, hoping that maybe… "Yes! I found it!" she exclaimed, pushing aside a wood plank to reveal a large gear tucked neatly away underneath. "Cail! Look!"

"Hey, girl, what the hell are you doing here?" a burly construction worker yelled, running towards her with anger in his eyes. "No trespassers! And what the hell is that? Our supplies! You a thief?"

Rui's eyes widened in fear. "Um, no, I…"

"You're coming with me; I think our employers would like to have a word with you!" The man reached out to grab her.

"Get the hell away from her!" Cail shouted, rushing forward and slamming his shoulder into the larger man. As the construction worker staggered for an instant, Cail ran over to Rui attempting to pick up the gear. "Come on, I think we'd better get out of here!"

"I can't… pick up the gear!" she wailed. "It's heavy!"

"Damn—!" Cail gritted his teeth as he glanced over at the angry worker behind him. "Here, take this!" He grabbed a Pokéball off his belt and gave it to Rui. "I've got the gear!"

Rui pushed the button on the Pokéball, releasing Cail's Snubbull. "Um… Snubbull, use Bite!" She pointed at the man lunging at them.

"Snub-bull!" The pink, dog-like Pokémon bounded forward with a cry… and gleefully sank his teeth into the man's leg.

"OOOOOWWW!" he howled, dancing around wildly with the Normal-type still clamped onto his leg. "Get it off, get it off!"

Cail nudged Rui. "Let's move it, babe!"

The two, with Skarmory flying in tow, quickly beat a hasty exit.

"Moron! Look at this!" The two construction workers had, by this point, pulled out an entire map of Orre and a ruler and were now comparing miles by the map scale.

Wes was starting to get a little weirded out.

"You see? Crysala is closer than Phenac! By .8 inches!"

"You're using the wrong point! You have to start from zero, not the end of the ruler!"

"I am starting at zero!"

"Give me that ruler—!"

Big, big sweatdrop on Wes's part. "The hell…?"

The strangeness was interrupted, however, by Cail and Rui dashing madly back towards him with the gear in hand. "We found it! Wesley!" Rui shouted, pointing at the gear.

"You did? Awesome!" Wes congratulated. "Now, uh… let's move it."

The two bickering construction workers looked up sharply from their map. "Wha—? Hey, what's all this about?"

"Err… thanks for the directions, boys. But now, I think we'll be leaving. Hurry, Rui, make for the speeder." Wes turned to Cail as Rui took off running. "You all right, Cail?"

Cail nodded. "Yeah… but here, take this." He handed off the gear to Wes, and quickly turned. "Hey, Snubbull! We're leaving! Come on!"

With a tattered piece of pant fabric in its mouth, Snubbull obediently came scampering up, with the burly construction worker limping along after it. "Come back!" the man yelled.

"Good boy!" Cail congratulated, catching Snubbull as he leaped into his trainer's arms. "All right, Wes, let's fly."

"Can do." The two young men took off running to their vehicles as well, leaving the three confused and/or angry construction workers staring after them helplessly. Within moments, they heard the engines gun, and the two vehicles rumbled off into the distance, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake. Behind them, Skarmory screeched happily and flew off after them, until they were all out of sight.

There was silence for several long moments, a mixture of shock and disbelief.

Then—

"…I still say Phenac's closer."

"Shut up."

Notes: Once again, as of right now (7/1/2017), I have no plans to update this story. I do hope to possibly rewrite the story, but I won't be continuing this. I know that is disappointing, but my vision for my story as well as my writing skills/style no longer work with this story, and I want to do better. Please respect my wishes, and do not harass, complain, or beg for updates.

I thank all of you for reading and hope you enjoyed my work from 10 years ago. Please consider reading my other current fanfics if you liked what you saw, and I hope you all have a lovely day!