Eltan studied the map carefully, and began his planning once more. While he was physically able to take over the Team Blizzard Base, he wanted to be sure that he had contingencies in place in case he failed. And for that, he needed to take into account the entire continent of Multipol.
It was truly an amazing place, he mused to himself, as it was the only continent in the world that had every major climate in the world. While the continent was mainly in the tropics, the elevation of the continent gave it numerous climates.
Acquar, the lowest country on the continent, was home to a desert, a mile below sea level. Very few people went to Acquar, or the Acquan Desert, but those that called it home enjoyed it very much. In addition, it was home to a Team Magma Primary Regional Base, and an Aquan Regional Secondary Base, as well as a relative newcomer to the scene, Team Solar, an off-shoot of Team Magma. Eltan smiled as he shook his head. He couldn't imagine living in such a place. The heat would truly be excruciating. That was probably why the Magmans, Solars, and Fire types thrived there, and the Aqua Base was on the tropical coastline.
The Acquarans were always a wild card. One never knew which way they'd go. Their tempers were as short as an Ursaring's tail, and packed about as much punch as one of their fists as well. They were masters of desert warfare, that much was certain, but they would be at a distinct disadvantage in the mountains. They had always been staunch opponents of Team Blizzard and its policies. Although Gertal had been working towards an understanding with them for quite some time, if he asked for their help when he made his move, they'd have to take to the open sea, of which they had always been terrified, or pass through one of the two countries separating them from Nuschantz—Sintaur or Effeular. And he had no doubt that if they came into his battles, they'd come in on the side of Gertal. So he had to plan to that effect.
Effeular was a truly unique country. It had a large swath of desert on its western side, bordering Acquar, and a large mountain range on the east, between which was a long stretch of prairie. Effeular had been in a civil war for years, and it showed no signs of ending anytime soon. The unique thing about this civil war, however, was that it was not humans against humans, but rather humans against Pokémon.
The Pokémon inhabited the mountains, the tropical jungles of the coastline, and the desert of the country, while the humans held onto the vast grassland in the middle of the country, with most of their population in heavily guarded forts. While they would not be any immediate threat, Eltar knew from experience that the Effeulans, both Pokémon and human, would slaughter any Pokémon trainer and all Pokémon that s/he carried, as they considered them to be traitors. So the Effeulan border was secure, unless the humans or the Pokémon decided to launch an assault onto Nuschantian soil.
While the Effeulans treated Pokémon as inferior beings to be wiped off the face of the planet, Sintaurans treated them nearly as their equals. They, like the humans of Effeular, had mainly plains, although near their Acquarran borders, they had stretches of desert.
Sintaurans were horse lords, master of the Pokémon Equus. They didn't really care what the Pokémon's type was, as long as it could be ridden, driven, or utilized in some equinnian way. Pokémon trainers came from all over the world to have their horses trained by the Sintaurans.
While their military power was nearly unmatched on the continent, Eltan wasn't worried about them. While they would let the Acquarrans pass through their lands, they themselves wouldn't take place in any war. They were a people that enjoyed peace, and didn't realize that the best defense was a surgical strike designed to bring enemies to their knees in one swift stroke.
That brought him around to his main concern. The Nuschantians themselves. While most of the dozens of resorts were pathetically weak, the main nine resorts were most definitely a force to be reckoned with. His main concerns were with the Hampton Haven, Hudson Resort, and the McRae Retreat.
The Hampton Haven and the Hudson Resort were the two resorts nearest the main Blizzard Fortress. Any major offensive move would give away the Fortress' location, as would any action against Gertal. Therefore, both an attack on the Hudson Resort and the strike against Gertal would have to take place at the same time.
The Hudson Resort was a primary target, as it was between the Blizzard Fortress and its Secondary Base, and was closest to the Fortress. The McRae Retreat was in between the Fortress and the Secondary as well, but was closer to the still-concealed Secondary, and so could wait until elements from the McRae Retreat sallied out to help the Hudson Resort. Then, the Secondary Base would disgorge its army, and take the McRae Retreat by storm.
Eltan wasn't sure yet if he wanted to keep the McRae Retreat, or raze it to the ground. He'd decide later.
Something was wrong. The Purple-haired woman frowned, and lowered her sword. She had been, a moment ago, about to be impaled by a Spectaero on the battlefields of Tintia, and now here she was, far from that warm place, on some kind of mountainside covered with snow blowing all around her.
She frowned as she shivered, and looked around for the others in her team. "Muscos?" she said softly, but couldn't see the equine anywhere. That was odd. It was usually within visual range. Her hand fell to the reassuring butt of her whip, and she smiled. Wherever she was, she'd get through it, and find some way back to help get Gerahid out of his jam.
She glanced around, and plunged her sword into the snow. She didn't recognize where she was, but that wasn't THAT odd, since she had never gone more than a couple hundred miles from her home island of Alto in her life.
Well, she amended silently, except for that one trip to the Orange Islands when she had been a sailor. She grinned as she remembered the storms, and the struggles to survive. She brought her sword up to her face, and wiped the crimson-stained snow off of her sword, and put it back into its scabbard.
It didn't look like there were any enemies around here, but one never knew. Then she felt the cold. She had felt it before, but its sheer frigidness struck her almost like a physical blow. Suddenly, she was shivering uncontrollably, and she knew she had to find some sort of shelter, and soon.
She looked around, and spotted smoke. She turned around and ran for it, ignoring the cold on her bare feet. She knew that she didn't have long. She needed to get warm soon. Or she'd never survive to see old Skin and Bones Muscos, or her beloved Gerahid again.
As she ran, the tattered ruins of her once beautiful dress flared out behind her like a shroud.
Bugsy smiled at Yachne Prito, trying to hide his confusion. He knew for a fact that Lorelei had died. Or, at least, he was fairly certain that she had died. But had she really died? If she hadn't, how had she possibly survived?
Bugsy shook his head and started off towards the frozen lake, and the waiting plane. He'd be flown to the Davison's next. And from there to the Duvalle's, then the Hampton's. he smiled slightly. Just a little bit longer, and he'd be sitting down enjoying one of the Davison's legendary pies.
He was still smiling when he was struck from the side, and everything turned black.
Gertal was finishing reading messages he had received from the Acquarrians while he had been captured by the Nuschantians, when the noise startled him. He looked up, and looked around his massive control room, but didn't see anything wrong. He frowned. Something was wrong. He wasn't sure what it was, but there was something amiss.
His men had been giving him a wide berth all day, and now there was that strange clang, just as quickly silenced. The leader of Team Blizzard frowned. Something was wrong. Very wrong. He hit a few keys, and the view from the camera outside his control room appeared on the monitor. Except, it didn't. The computer told him that he was seeing what was outside his room, but the monitor was black.
Immediately, he leapt into action. He hadn't gotten to where he was by taking a lot of time to analyze things. It felt like an assassination attempt—a hit. He pushed his chair back and pulled open a drawer. He grabbed his emergency escape pack, and stood up, grabbing that one other piece of technology—if you could call it that—from the drawer, and kicked it shut.
On the slab of metal that he'd taken, he pushed on a particular point with just enough pressure. Immediately, bands of metal popped loose, and the device's twin wings shot out. He ducked down, and began moving backwards, towards the emergency escape hatch.
Then the door blew open. Gertal rose slightly, bringing the fully automatic crossbow to bear, and triggered two darts. A figure that was moving through the smoke staggered backwards, and another figure took his place, and Gertal heard the report of a handgun. He dropped to the ground and rolled backwards, and the bullet missed him by inches.
Gertal continued his roll, then came up, and fired quickly at the figure. There was a feminine scream, and his attacker dropped its weapon. Another report, and it struck him in his right shoulder, sending him to the back of the room, and directly onto the platform. Gritting his teeth, he slammed his hand down onto the control panel. The dropped crossbow was only a few feet in front of him, but he didn't have time to go for it now.
The experimental remote teleporter whirred, and suddenly, he was in the stables. It had been an acceptable risk, taking the remote teleporter out for a test run. Of course, if whoever was in charge of the attempt had access to the Alakazam that allowed its function, they would know where he was. He ran for the nearest Arcteron, and leaped aboard. He ran for the door, and entered his override codes, and spurred his steed out into the cold that was Nuschantz.
He felt a sudden chill run through him that had nothing to do with the weather around him as he replayed his escape. He had recognized the woman and the man behind her that had entered the room just as he had teleported away.
It was Eltan, and his most trusted friend, Ghrenda.
The Team Blizzard Fortress was no longer a safe place for him to be. He had to reach the Secondary Base on the Effeulan Border. It would take him days on his Arcteron, but a secondary Jynx teleportation stable run by Team Blizzard Operatives was just ahead. From there, he'd be able to get to the Secondary Base much faster. That is, if they weren't working against him as well. If he got to the Secondary Base safely, he could safely plan his retaliation on Eltan.
So Eltan wanted to play hardball? Gertal smiled softly, ignoring the pain that coursed through him from his shoulder wound. If his lieutenant wanted to play that way, he'd have to show him how hard he could throw.
"Are you just going to stand there and wait for a Polleen to fly in," Lorelei asked pointedly, breaking a long pause that had settled in, "Or are you going to answer my question?" She stared up at the trainer in front of her.
"Sorry," he apologized quickly. He'd had so much on his mind. He hadn't expected to see Lorelei. "It's good to see you," he said softly. There was nothing like a close brush with death, he mused, to bring home what was really important.
Lorelei stared up at him, and Falkner realized that she had no idea what he had gone through. "It's good to see you too, at least, if you answer my question, it will be, or you won't be seeing anyone for a while through your black eyes!"
Falkner smiled, "Lorelei," he said quietly, "Can we talk, privately? Maybe the food court?"
"Ya call that private?" the girl demanded, but nodded tightly anyway.
Eltan stared at the dark figure that was his commander in the Specter Shadow Guards. "Gertal," he said, more than a little nervous, "has escaped. He was able to teleport away before we could stop him. He's more than likely heading to the Secondary Base."
The dark figure shifted slightly. The angle of the lighting was such that Eltan couldn't see his face. "So you'll be able to capture him when he reaches the base?" came the question Eltan had been dreading.
"I'm afraid," Eltan said quietly, "That the Secondary Base supported Gertal more than I expected. Team Blizzard is in for a long war, sir. I can't see us completing our objectives within five years, sir."
The figure leaned forward menacingly, "Then it's time that I step in. I'm sending five AA squads, as well as the 'Three Squad. The invasion will take place in sixteen hours, Eltan, or you're a dead man. I want you to have completed your goals by then. Or I'll have you brought here so I can kill you myself." The leader of one of the most powerful organized crime organizations slapped a button, and the screen went dark.
The boy stepped off the plane, and walked towards the Verin Retreat's main Lodge. His overseers had informed him that this was the place. That this was the time. He narrowed his eyes. It wouldn't be too long, and he'd be able to complete his objectives. True, then he'd cease to exist, because he had changed the past, or, from this perspective, the present.
But that didn't matter. All that mattered was that he completed his mission. If he did not, then he was ruined. He glanced down to check on his Pokeballs. Hideous contraptions, he and his Pokémon had agreed. But they had also agreed that if they were out of their Pokeballs, they'd attract unwanted attention.
The boy breezed through the rest of the required stops for out of country visitors, and started walking into the countryside. Few glanced his way, because, he assumed, it happened all the time.
What separated him from the masses, however, was his mission. He had to change the future. He had done it before in this relative time period, and he would do it again. As soon as he was out of sight, he released his Dragonite, Houndoom, Mightyena, Hypno, and Raichu.
The Dragonite wheeled into the sky, spreading its dark wings, and sped ahead of the boy like some kind of twisted carrion bird. The dragon was his best scout, as well as one of his best fighters. He needed to know the best route to Sheer Cliff.
The person who was going to be there would get there soon. It wouldn't be good if he missed them because he was too slow. The boy smiled. Soon, she'd be dead, and the hopes of those whom he had fought his entire life would be dashed.
Bugsy woke up to a throbbing headache. "Where am I?" Bugsy asked. He glanced around, and realized that he was still at the Prito Resort. Then he remembered what had happened. Or, rather, he didn't. Something had hit him. He wasn't sure what, but it had apparently knocked him out cold.
He tried to sat up, and grimaced as pain shot through his back. He glanced around the room, and saw that his Pokémon were scattered around, all sleeping. Except for Scyther. Scyther was watching him in that cold, calculating manner that he was so good at doing. His first Pokémon slapped Pinsir, who was sleeping next to the hovering bug, and the beetle squealed, waking the rest of his Pokémon up. Bugsy smiled. Somehow he felt better just knowing that they were all with him.
Bugsy glanced out the window, and saw that there was still daylight outside. The door opened, and Yachne Prito stepped through. "Oh," she said, "You're awake! Thank goodness! Professor Elm has been trying to get through to you for several hours now. He says it's an emergency."
Falkner smiled at Lorelei, "Thanks for the Double Deluxe," he said, glancing around, then staring at the burger in front of him, "I just need someone to talk to." He took a deep breath, then began. "Do you remember the attack on Violet City?" he asked quietly, "What am I talking about, of course you remember it. How could you go through something like that and forget it so quickly?"
He paused for a moment, and took a sip of the soda sitting in front of him. Lorelei looked beyond Falkner, at her team keeping watch over Frocarin. Junior was stretched over a nearby garbage can, watching everything lazily, while Senior was standing over him, his arms crossed. Frocarin had managed to make friends with Smoochum and Vulithe, and the three were playing some kind of variant of tag. Haunter and Duskull, meanwhile, kept an eye on the trio, and Golem guarded a soft drink dispensr that Frocarin had already Ice Beamed three times.
Lorelei sighed, and fidgeted. She glanced around. They were on the highest floor of the Itale Retreat. They could look down all thirty-seven floors at all the other stores, and people shopping. She needed to get going to Sheer Cliff. And she needed to get there quickly.
"Well," Falkner began again, and Lorelei brought her attention back to the teen across the small table from her, "Sprout Tower was hit—no surprise there, it's the biggest thing in the whole town, aside from the gym—and, to put things simply, it's going to collapse in two weeks unless I find some way to heal the Bellsprout inside of it. The collapse of the Tower will destroy the rest of Violet City. What doesn't get destroyed will die soon enough, because all plant life within a two-mile radius of Sprout Tower will die."
Lorelei felt a stab of pity for the young man. He was barely a teenager and he already had to deal with things like this. But she really needed to get going so that she could take care of her own problems. Falkner shook his head as if trying to clear bad memories and continued, "Well," he said, "I guess the pressure got to me, because I found a gun somewhere and tried to kill myself."
Lorelei froze, one of her Johto fries halfway to her mouth. Falkner looked up at her, "Yeah," he said quietly, "I did. The gun didn't have any bullets in it, though." He sighed, "Then I remembered what you had said about Allnian. How it could heal anything living." He smiled, "After I pulled myself together enough to travel, I came here. I want to find Allnian, and I want Allnian to heal Sprout Tower. Because if Allnian doesn't, my entire town will be destroyed, and hundreds of Pokémon will die."
Bugsy squinted at the video phone's screen, and yawned. He'd just woken up from being asleep for several hours. Something had knocked him out. He wasn't sure what it was, but he knew that it would come to him later. For now, he had to talk to Professor Elm. The good Professor had insisted on talking to him at that very moment, even though he was half a world away.
Bugsy looked at the chronometer in the upper-left corner of the display, and shook his head. It was nearly midnight back in Johto. Whatever he was calling about, Professor Elm must certainly have deemed very important.
The screen flickered as the connection was made, and Elm's wearied visage appeared on the screen, his brown hair ruffled, as if he had been in some sort of a fight. "Professor?" Bugsy asked, "What's happening over there? What's so important that you call me over here in the middle of the night?"
The professor's grave face turned sour. "Things are happening all over Johto. All the different teams are acting up at the same time. The Global Police are overwhelmed. There simply aren't enough of them to keep everyone at bay. They're screaming for reinforcements from other countries, but they're all over there in Nuschantz! Besides, even if they all came back, I'm not sure that that'd be enough."
Bugsy frowned, and rubbed his eyes, "What exactly has been happening?" he asked.
The Pokémon Professor sighed. "Where do I start? Team Rocket's taken over the Radio Tower, Team Flora's taken control of Ilex Forest and won't let anyone pass through, Team Aqua's seized control of Cianwood, Team Magma's taken control of Mount Silver, a part of Team Blizzard's taken control of the Ice Caves…" Elm trailed off, "Need I go on? We've got eighteen teams, not including one that hasn't identified itself yet taking control of the Slowpoke Well, taking various locations hostage. Johto's economy has ground to a halt. Nobody can go anywhere anymore. New Bark Town is the last town in Johto that doesn't have a team attacking it. I'm certain that it's only a matter of time, though. Get back here! We need your help! You're the only gym leader that hasn't been captured. Well, Falkner hasn't been captured, but no one knows where he is. Meet with Professor Oak in Pallet Town. He's been assembling a strike team of the best trainers in Kanto to help free us over here!"
Bugsy sat there, slowly digesting all that he'd been told. He nodded slowly, then he heard a dull pounding in the background of Elm's feed. Elm looked at Bugsy nervously, gave him a weak smile in apology, then moved out of camera range.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang, Bugsy heard Elm shouting, and then something hit the cid-phone camera. The camera toppled to the floor, and Bugsy found himself looking at a white wall.
He gritted his teeth and cut the feed. "Scyther!" he yelled. He needed to get to Kanto. He had to help his home country. He had to do it now.
Lorelei looked up from her Pokedex, and frowned. "That isn't Sheer Cliff, is it?" she asked, pointing at a gently sloping hill. They were out traveling, heading for Sheer Cliff. They had been wandering for hours, having lost all of their bearings in an hour long snowstorm.
Lorelei scowled again and looked at her Pokedex as she heard a chorus of negatives from behind her. Trust the little bugger who called himself her guide to get the whole group lost. Her Pokedex was a prototype that her brother, CEO of the Altan branch of Silph company, had given her nearly a week before.
A week? Had it really been that long? Lorelei shook her head. She'd been on the road a week, and look at the messes she'd gotten herself into. When this was all over, it would be nice to have a normal journey.
She smiled and looked at the two-dimensional map in front of her. If it was correct, and they'd been following the path, and hadn't gotten lost, Sheer Cliff should have been directly in front of her. Her smile faded. If only the Pokedex had a GPS unit, then she would have been able to pinpoint her position, and go directly to Sheer Cliff.
She sighed. While the special features that were installed in the piece of hardware were very nice, she had detected enough bugs in it—both in the software and hardware—that she would suggest to her brother that they abandon the entire line.
She sighed as she felt her backpack shift slightly. Her injured Sneasel rode on her back, acting as a lookout. The poor little guy had had his Carentamous Assembly crushed by a very large, very powerful Mightyena. He hadn't had a chance. Even if he'd been able to defeat the Mightyena, there would have been three additional Pokémon for him to defeat as well. Frocarin had proven to be an admirable scout, and had actually predicted the blizzard that had gotten them off track. If he'd been able to communicate that clearly to them, however, she would have been more impressed. As it was, everything was covered with a fresh layer of snow, and no one could spot any landmarks.
Vulithe, on the other hand, stayed with her, and had proven to be the most vital element of her team. Time and again it had defeated Pokemon that threatened her, and time and again they came back in larger numbers. Duskull, Haunter, and Golem had all been recalled, as they all couldn't stand the cold.
She sighed and shook her head, and squinted at the map again. "Lukas!" she called behind her, "Come up here!" the little brat was at her side in an instant.
Here they were. Four lost and weary souls, looking for a tall cliff that went straight up nearly a mile into the air. Lost, without food, water, other supplies, and the knowledge of where exactly they were. Or, at least, Lorelei didn't know.
"Where are we?" she demanded, pointing at the Pokedex's map. Lukas swiped at his nose, and studied the map intently for a moment.
After a long pause, Lukas looked up at her sheepishly and said, "I don't know."
It took every ounce of willpower that she had not to strangle the little bugger.
Eltan looked at the figure in front of him, this time with Ghrenda at his side. "Sir," he said, "My troops are preparing to launch an assault on the objective. It'll take less than a day. Give us thirteen hours, and we'll have completed our objective." He smiled. He knew that it would take less than that, but as it was, he'd get points for having done his job ahead of schedule.
"Good," the figure said, then turned his attention to his partner, "Ghrenda. I don't need to remind you the importance of your mission. The Board of Directors chose you personally. Do not fail us. You know the consequences if you do."
Eltan stared at his partner in shock. This whole time, Ghrenda had been hired by the Shadow Warriors? Had she been reporting to them about him behind his back? He shivered as he thought about what she must be capable of. "Yes sir," Ghrenda said quietly, bowing her head slightly before returning to her standard, completely rigid posture.
"Eltan," the figure said, turning its attention back to him, "You are hereby recalled. Go to your teleporter, and select destination Alpha Sigma Omega 9873984. They are our allies. We need you here. Something's been leaked. The rest of the major teams have laid claim to various portions of Johto. This will make our further invasion more difficult, but not yet impossible. That is all. Specter Shadow Warriors Command out." The hologram in front of Eltan winked out.
Eltan felt his knees begin to shake. He'd been a pawn. That was all. He'd only been a pawn. And now he'd be a hostage. A hostage forcing his men to comply with the Shadow Warriors, or he would die. That was what he would be. He wondered if he'd be able to escape—make it to the meeting room, where his men were waiting for him. He sneaked a glance over at Ghrenda, and found her staring at him coolly, as if reading his mind.
His heart sank. There went his last hope of escape. If he tried, Ghrenda would most likely kill him, if she were indeed a Shadow Warrior. He swallowed and went to the teleporter. Ghrenda stayed beside him the entire way, and got onto the transporter with him. He swallowed hard again. There went any chance of selecting the wrong site.
He entered the correct site and pressed the teleportation activation button. His world swirled around him in a veritable rainbow, and then there was darkness.
Steven looked up at the countryside surrounding him. It was beautiful. He'd come all the way from Johto with his Junior Trainers to help out Nuschantz, but he hadn't expected it to be this beautiful. It had pained him, leaving his gym in Claire's hands, but at least she wasn't going to take it over. Well, if she did, he'd just have to take it back when he returned to Blackthorne City.
Steven pushed his jet-black hair out of his face, and walked forward, glancing around, trying to find the person he'd been told to meet. A somebody Verin? What was it, Lefar Verin? Yeah, that was it. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that his Aggron had grabbed the last of his stuff, and his junior trainers had their baggage. He gestured towards the terminal, and hurried in, lugging three of his bags.
He frowned as he entered the building. There was the usual array of chairs, tables, and other things, but nobody was there. Well, Steven considered, that wasn't exactly true. Over in that corner was—
Steven stopped. What was Bugsy doing in Nuschantz? He'd heard that the Azalean had gone on vacation, but to Nuschantz? Didn't he realize how expensive tickets to this place were, especially now, in the tourist off-season? Well, especially now that there was an almost state of war in the country.
Bugsy looked up and spotted him, and hurried over to him. "Hey Steven," he said, "Good to see you." He paused, and glanced up at one of the many TVs that were hung in strategic places around what Steven could see of the room. "It's crazy, isn't it?"
Steven glanced up at the television, and froze. There was a map of Johto on it, and was colored in seventeen different colors. And each color corresponded to a particular team, whose insignia was placed as close as possible to the center of each team's area of influence.
"I hadn't heard anything," he said, "What's going on?"
Bugsy shook his head, "Teams are popping up all over Johto, and taking over various parts. Everybody's taking something. Even part of Team Blizzard is over there."
Steven's eyes narrowed, then grinned, "Blackthorne hasn't been overrun yet, I see," he said, glancing up at the map on the screen. "I guess that we're just better defenders than you Azaleans are."
Bugsy grinned back, and shook his head, "You know as well as I do how hard it is to get up there. I bet that whoever you've left up there is just keeping ahold of the choke points."
Steven froze, then groaned. "I left Claire in charge of defenses. If I know her, she'll be launching a counter-attack that'll leave Blackthorne pretty much defenseless I've gotta get back there." He turned back towards the door, but Bugsy's hand on his arm stopped him.
"Look," Bugsy said, "I'm going home. I can't go back to Azalea, it's being controlled by Team Terra. Even if I wanted to get back there, I'd have to face Team Geode or Team Flora. Those scientists aren't letting anyone through Ilex Forest until the battle's over. Something about protecting some kind of tree moss. I'll go straight to Blackthorne, all right? It's the only city in Johto that still has a runway and hasn't been overrun yet. New Bark Town was taken over just under an hour ago."
Steven shook his head, "Yeah, that sounds good," he muttered. "but I need to go back. The people are depending on me."
Bugsy narrowed his eyes, "People here are depending on you, too. I told them that I'd get a gym leader, and his Junior Trainers over here to defend them. If you abandon them now, I don't know what will happen. But I've got to go back. I can't leave the twins to be prisoners in Azalea. I have family at stake, Steven."
The steel-type gym leader sighed, and brushed his hair out of his face again, "Fine," he muttered, "But then you'll owe me one. By the way," he asked, "Do you know where a Lefar Verin is?"
Bugsy grinned, and pointed at a squat, balding man who was conversing with several men in Nuschantian military uniforms. "That's him. Have fun." With that, Bugsy ran out the door and onto the waiting plane.
Steven felt someone tap him on one shoulder. "Was that Bugsy?" AJ asked. The kid had volunteered to come, and had said that he'd come one way or another. When Steven had expressed doubts about how well his Sandshrew and Weedles would do, the boy had simply grinned at him.
Steven nodded slowly, "That was Bugsy. He's going back to Johto."
AJ frowned. "Too bad," Steven heard him mutter as he moved towards the Verin man, "We could have used him."
sorry it took so long, guys. I know that you (Redemmo, anyway) were really looking forward to this. Well, I've finished it over on SPP Forums forums), and I'm more than halfway through the next fic in the series, and there's also a spin-off to this going. Not sure if I mentioned the Bugsy Spin-off over here, but no, it's not that one.
hopefully this time I'll be able to get a journey fic going that'll stay a journey fic for most of it. Unlike this little attempt at journey ficdom...:D
