This is the 2nd Arc of Midnight's Sky called Dawn's Light. If you have not read the first 20 chapters, I would suggest doing so now. If not, I give a recap of the most important tidbits of information in dialogue here.

Arc 2: Dawn's Light

Chapter 1: Pursuit

Not much has happened since that dreadful night. It's almost been a year since we escaped, and I still feel empty. I now work with the newly formed viridian guild. Me and Angi are both the top soldiers in the army, training nearly every day. David and Crimson are long gone, but that doesn't mean that the Pokémon of this village have forgotten the two. Dedicated to their honor and nobleness, a statue was set up in the middle of the village of the two side by side with the city's emblem on the post below. This is where all festivals concur, and town meetings. On the west side of the village, there is now a proper battlefield where Luke trains all soldiers coming into the guild on basic fighting techniques. We travel and trade with other villages and in trade we offer our protection. Not everything has been all cheery though...Soul has been missing since the night we escaped. When we all escaped, he stayed behind to hold everyone off. I tried to get him to stay, but he refused to put me in danger. And every minute of my free time, I dedicate myself to the search for him. Nothing has come up close to finding where he might have been that night. I don't think he gave in that easily fighting off all of those Hound-dooms and other monsters. But still I search in hope I find something that gives me a clue to his whereabouts. Not a day went by that I didn't think about him. His long and soft black fur, his golden rings, and his deep red eyes, his smile. I just miss him so much… it was all my fault. If I hadn't run off, David and Crimson would have been alive, Soul would still be here… but then Angi probably would've died all alone in that cage. What did I do to deserve the weight of atlas on my shoulders in the universe? Which decision was right? Run off, or to not take that situation like a drama queen? Now that I think about it, he was probably just as scared as I was that day. And the moment he tells me he feels the same, he has to go off and fight… why couldn't you have just stayed by my side, Soul? I find myself talking to you every night, but you are never there… am I losing it, or am I just… I don't know anymore. What I wouldn't give to see him one more time, just me cuddling right by him.

"Hey Spirit! What's up?" Angi screamed from across the hill. She was barreling down the hill at a blistering speed, like a stray rock rolling down a hill. "Spirit! Woah!" And then she tripped and fell down like a domino and I watched as she just flew down like a tumbleweed in a western town. "Ow...need to work on my landings." Angi said with a grin, ecstatic as ever. I'm surprised she made it out without a scratch. She slowly got up, adjusting her guild cloak so it wasn't all scrunched up.

Our guild cloaks were made as some sort of armor, but not enough to weigh us down. For us, they were a great bright blue and had a big symbol of Arcanine and a Zoroark on the back meant to symbolize the sacrifices both made for us. Even if the Zoroark never came to the village. I still felt guilty about the whole situation. "You look like you're getting lost in your thoughts again, Spirit. Is it about Soul again?" She knew me all too well. I slowly nodded and my eyes connected with the ground. "Don't worry! We will find him! We won't give up until we do. He has helped me in so many ways when we first met. He will turn up eventually, he's been through worse, right? He made a promise to you that he would come back." In the end she was right. He had been through worse, although no one knew what he was doing right now. And that really bothered me. She shook her body to get all the grass and dirt that collected on her cloak and head. "You know that if you need someone to talk to, I'm here right?" Angi was always trying to comfort me, but sometimes I just felt better on my own. "Yeah. I really do appreciate Angi." I put on a fake smile that way she would believe me. "Anyways...I have to go! Cinnamon wants me in the office." Cinnamon, that's a name I haven't heard in months. Ever since we got back, she has secluded herself in her office trying to create the perfect task force team. Making sure that no one ever goes through what Soul and Me went through ever again. Angi walked off into the distance. Figuring I would head home, or at least where I was staying time being, I started headed towards Souls place. It took me a few minutes, but his house was visible in the distance. The welcome mat worn out in front had seen better days, but it still did its job well. Always made sure to keep a supply of berries due to Souls pure love for them. House was pretty much empty besides the bed and mini kitchen. There was one photo on his nightstand I never moved though. It was of him, Jenny, David, and Luke at the festival held long before I first arrived. Fireworks lit up the background, you could see endless entrées of food, and Jenny rested her head on Soul's while he just gave a smile like he had no cares in the world. Often I find myself staring at the photo. I tried asking Luke and Jenny more about it, but they always seem to shut down the conversation. Figuring I would take a nap, but the idea didn't last very long as someone was at my doorstep.

"Hey Commander Spirit! Nice to see you!" Loud and shrieky like a banshee. Her flowing red hair fell over her electric green eyes. Scrunching her nose slightly as she smiled.

"How are you doing Scarlett?" She brought my head out of the clouds, startled, my mind took awhile to fully comprehend what was going on. "Good! Jenny wanted me to let you know that the guild requested you back at base. She also asked if you could come see her if you get time before you leave on the mission you're given." Scarlett informed me. Her smile just got bigger by the moment. "Tell Jenny sure thing. I'll be there in about an hour or so. You be careful on your way back!" I Made sure to tell her." Will do!" Scarlett's voice trailed off as she went down the road.

"Wonder what they want from me. It's my day off…" asking myself a question. Never mind that. I walked down the path to the guilds base of operations. Roses were blooming, and birds were singing, on days like this it would be perfect for an expedition to the forest. But instead, a trip to the guild would have to be done. "Hugh…. do I ever get a day off? This is unbearable. I'm gonna stop and see Luke before I go to the guild. It can't be that urgent of a message. Right?" I asked myself. Coming up on the battlefield, I saw the embers of a flame fall down from the sky like rain, coming from one of the trainees. "Hey Luke!" He's changed a lot since the battle between Soul and him. He now sports a stern look on his face when he greets everyone, and is usually harsh and argumentative. His hair falls back and his brown eyes reflect the sun. Right arm still somewhat mangled. "How are the trainees doing?" I look around to find a sandshrew, tyrogue, timbur, And his…. I don't really know the relationship between the two, but there's a Riolu living with him right now. Don't know if it's an adopted kid, or he's just opening his home up to him. Either way it's a nice change in Luke to see him open up in some way or another.

"Oh, hey Spirit. Nice to see you." His voice is quiet, dry, and weak. A scar remained on his back, just barely noticeable, from the battle with Soul. "What brings you here?" He asked me. "Oh, just wanted to stop by and say Hi. How are the new recruits doing?"

"Eh. Some of them are doing better than others, and the timbur is just a wannabe lone wolf, tyrogue depends too much on his team to help him land a blow, the sandshrew is a mixture of the two." Luke just sighed and put his paw on his head after seeing the three getting into a fight. "Guys stop arguing and just finish the task." Luke screamed at them. They all turned to use and then continued on to their

Task. "And what about the Riolu, doesn't he live with you now?" The Riolu sat on the benches just blatantly ignoring the fight going on. "Yeah, he stays in the hammock on the other side of my house. The only time we really talk is out here on the field during drills, and during dinner. I don't know much about him" Luke rolled his eyes back and leaned his head on his gigantic shoulders before continuing. "I really would like to know more, but I won't force him to speak to me. The only thing I can do is act like an older sibling to him." He was biting his lower lip for some reason. My guess would be to prevent him from saying more on the situation. "Look Luke, just drop the subject. You obviously don't want to talk about it. I know you. Anyways, you and Jenny, you still trying for her? The last time I saw you two together was at the restaurant." It had been awhile since everybody had met up in the restaurant. Luke had long since quit, but still we tried to go there. "Haven't seen her in about a week. Pretty much given up on it though. She hasn't been the same since David died which kinda proved to me she was more in Love with David than she ever was me. And I know I can't be what David was." Wow, I've never seen Luke so bothered like this. He's always been so calm and focused… well, except the battle. "I'll come back to you on that Luke. I have to go back to the guild and prepare for my next mission. Anything that gives me more insight on Soul is my utmost priority. It was nice to talk to you today. I'll see you when I get back!" I yelled, wagging my tail in the process. But I don't think he saw, he was already ranting about the fighting trainees. He was already screaming at them again about fighting.

"Well, since I have nothing else to do, I might as well receive my mission from base. Wonder what it is this time." My mind is still focusing on Soul. He was the reason I joined the guild. In hopes of finding him on or linked to a mission I was on. But I haven't found a single trace of him.

"Spirit! It's urgent!" My head spun around so fast that I was dizzy from it. "Woah, calm down Scarlett. What now?" Scarlett was breathing so heavy she might have hacked up a lung. "The mission is more important than she originally thought it would be! You need to get there now!" Sensing the urgency in her message, I dashed towards the guild. It wasn't that far from where we were then, maybe about ten minutes out. Wind whistled in my ear as I ran faster with each passing second. "This better be something really good for her to rush me around like a rapidash on a leash at the poke ranch." My voice worried and angered at the same time. Within ten minutes give or take, we had arrived at the magnificent guild. A great big wooden carve out of David hovered over the bushes surrounding the entrance. Him standing in all his glory. And next to him, stood Crimson as his long hair curved around him and his outstretched arm, depicting him as he took a devastating blow for Jenny. I really hope they're fine with Arceus.

"Spirit! Let's go!" Scarlett shouted at me for gazing at the statues.

"Jesus, I'm coming Scarlett, no need to get your hair all up in a bunch. Whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait for…" And just like that, Cinnamon had walked out onto the cobblestone path entrance to the guild.

"I'm afraid it can't Spirit, that five seconds could cost you great grief as far as I'm concerned. Come now, this is of utmost importance." Cinnamon commanded in her usual strict tone. "Now what? It was supposed to be a relaxing day for me" My voice raised a few octaves, signifying that I was a little miffed "The guild isn't my life. I will help you and that's just about it, Cinnamon." Cinnamon nodded, and she completely understood where she was coming from. We walked down the gloriously yellow draped halls of the guild. Mini monuments stood of the few that had to give their lives to finish the missions they had ensued. At the end stood a massive wooden door covered in red and black with two large gold handles. The door slowly opened revealing Cinnamon's den with a desk in the middle, a bed of bright yellow leaves in the corner, and shelves and drawers scattered around the room. "Well, if you're really that stubborn to take this mission you don't have to."

Thank god. I thought I'd be on an endless goose chase finding some low life criminal. Well I guess- "Guess you really don't want to find Soul then, do you?" My heart stopped as those words spilled out of her already grinning face. My tone switched from annoyed to angered in a matter of seconds.

"What do you know about him! Tell me or else…." she could sense my anger, so she immediately sputtered out what she had to say. "So, you do care enough… well, recent information has told me that an Umbreon has been traversing the next town over with a Ninetales. And they've supposedly been on the run. So if you want in, you'll need to catch the next train." I wasted no time in replying to her "Got it!" I darted out the door as fast as I could, but was grabbed by the cloak by a vine. "Not so fast Spirit. Remember, you cannot tell anyone about the possibility Soul is alive. It would cause great panic and everyone would start searching for him again. It would be complete and utter chaos. "Before you head out, I'm sending a team with you. The train won't be back for a few days and you might need back up. I'll be sending Lance, Tori, and Scarlett. She needs more experience and you would be the perfect candidate to show her the ropes." I could deal with a team of experienced people if I had to. But why a new recruit? "Woah. I can deal with a team, but I can't deal with a new recruit. Look, any other day I would be willing to do it, but if there is a chance of me finding Soul, I can't have her! She may be fast, but she will only slow me down!" My voice grew irate again. "Look Spirit, this is not an option!" Cinnamon retaliated. "Take her with you, or you won't be leaving." Then I knew she was serious. At first, I thought she was asking me, but she was actually telling me. "Cinnamon, if she is going to go she has to keep up with me. If she can't, then tell her to stay behind." I told her, making sure that she knew good and well if it came to it, I would leave Scarlett in a secure location and continue looking for Soul. Tension was rising and Cinnamon sat there, surprised that I would even do such a thing. Especially to Scarlett if need be. "Why would you do such a thing? You found her, and now you're going to turn your back on her?" My blood boiled from that statement." Look! I never said I'd leave her behind, I would put her in a secluded area and make sure she isn't taken. I need to find him. So don't put words in my mouth Cinnamon." I tugged my cloak along and started to head out of the door, while looking at her with a gleam of ferocity. "Fine then. I will take her. I'm going to see what Jenny wants, but tell everyone to meet me by the Viridian train station in an hour or else they will be left behind." She nodded her head and sent me on my way. My fur was standing on its end. I couldn't wait till I found the Umbreon. I headed back down the hall and immediately went to the left wing of the guild. Jenny was sitting out on the bench drenched in sweat as she lay there sleeping. Her cloak covering her head except for one eye that was half open.

"Ummmm... Jenny?" The reaction was almost immediate. She shot up flailing and her eyes bloodshot and wide open. So why did she want to see me?

"Oh. Hey Spirit…" Jenny slowly spoke as the drool hung down from her mouth. Jenny hadn't seen sleep in weeks. They kept putting her on night-shift since Lune was working them non-stop the past month.

"I just wanted to ask how your depression is? Is it….. getting any worse?" at this point she had fallen asleep again while still murmuring the words. I decided to wake her up one last time. This was a big mistake as she flipped over her table of paperwork. "Man… now I have to organize everything…. anyways…. When did you get here?" She asked me. "I've been here, you just asked me how my depression was going. It's not really getting any worse, but it's not really improving either. Well Jenny, I really have to go. I have a train to catch." Her eyes slowly shut while she was trying to scream out to me, but came out as a gargle murmur as her head hit the cot. Hopefully she gets some sleep. She needs it more than I do.

55 minutes later

Viridian City Train Station

"Come on Scarlett! Where the hell are you!" It's been 30 minutes since I got here and I've been nervous ever since. It requires me to slip by the city and head to the train tracks and hit a train. All which makes me nervous I will run into a human. If I don't get on this train, one won't show up for the next week because the holiday week. Humans were always finicky this time of the year.

"So. We're just going and searching for two pokemon? A Ninetales and an Umbreon to be exact?" This was Lance. He came to the village a few months ago and was quickly accepted into the guild because of his tactical prowess. He was a Vaporeon from Pewter city, so his knowledge actually came in handy since that's where we were headed. He didn't really talk about his past outside of that. "Yeah. We're just going out to investigate their possibilities of connection to someone missing." I scanned around the area but there was still no sight of the Vulpix.

"You are she's coming? She should have been here by now." Lance kept double taking between the forest path by the train and the railroad tracks itself.

"Yeah I can see her off in the distance." Tori said giggling, as she witnessed the Vulpix nearly tripping over her own cloak.

"Spirit! Are you here?" Scarlett yelled out to me. My fur stood up on its own as she came into my view. I swear, if I was a fire type, my looks would burn through her puny little head like a laser. "Sorry for being late. I thought I was being trailed by someone, but couldn't see the tracker. So I went around a few blocks just to make sure I lost him" in those words, I realized she was brighter than I originally thought. "Anyways, what's the mission this time? Did we find out any news about the whereabouts of your missing friend?" I stood there silently waiting for the train to show up. But it was nearly impossible with the chatterbox vulpix standing next to me. "Please! Just be quiet for a minute. The train is almost here so we should be good. Scarlett, I really do like you, but you can't just chat my ear off every time you see me…" I painfully watch as she drops her head down. "But hey, the trains finally here, get your stuff! It's about high and time we get out of here." Coming to a halt, I grabbed her by the scruff and threw her up on the train, and then she helped me onboard. Tori and Lance followed suit and hopped on the train a few seconds after. "Now we just have to wait until the train starts moving. We should be back to the village in about a week. Spend a few days out there looking for our suspects then we head back home. Think you can handle that? If not, just head back home." Her determined eyes met mine and told me otherwise. "Well okay then. I have to say, I'm surprised you didn't say no. Well, better rest up for tomorrow then." My hair slowly covered my eyes as I drifted off into my dreams.

Scarlett P.O.V

As the rest of the group slowly drifted off, my thoughts went back to when I first met Spirit. That day in the lab. The day my life ended and began.

*Flashback*

Testing Laboratory Escape

1 Year Ago

"Little girl, are you alright?" The mysterious Umbreon asked me as I cried over my mother's corpse. Her blood ran down the floor in a stream all connecting into one giant puddle beneath my feet. I still didn't understand why she had to die. She was one of their own experiments. I never had the easiest life. She managed to hide me after I was born. I loved my life in the shadows of the wall, with no one to talk to except for my mom on the other side. They had found me the day before, and she had planned a breakout for the both of us from word around that an Espeon was breaking out as well tomorrow. When we got out she was immediately shot among many other escaped Pokémon. For 3 years, she was the only person that I could talk to, and now I was all alone. He came closer and put his paw on my shoulder. "Little girl, we have to get out of here. I'm sorry about your mother." He had started to leave me behind until I took off my mother's experiment band and ran off with tears dripping down my face, chasing the mysterious Umbreon.

"So I guess you've decided to join me and Soul. Do you talk?" The Espeon spoke in small, waited out tones. I nodded to her question but remained silent.

"I see. Top shaken up about it? That's alright. Let's get you out of here." And with the Umbreon words, I walked with them down the hall, hoping for an exit beyond the horizon.

*Real Time*

I don't understand why it had to happen, nor do I understand why Spirit would waste her time to save me. The thought comes across my mind often. Looking down at my paw, I saw my mother's bracelet next to mine. Thoughts of my mother slowly entered my mind as I cried myself to sleep.

Morning

Pewter City

6:37 AM

Spirits P.O.V

Sunlight peeped in between the holes in the wall. Just enough to wake Spirit up to realize the train was just about to reach the station. "Lance...Tori...Scarlett...we're near the station" I struggled to stay awake. Spending all night on an uncomfortable hay-stack wasn't really my forte.

"Scarlett, wake up…." Tori beckoned. My eyes were still adjusting to the bright fiery rays of the sun.

"Just 5 more minutes…" I poked my head out of the train and saw the beautiful pewter city waters below. Wingulls skimmed the surface with their wings, and the sun cast a gleam on its crystal clear surface. "No…GET UP!" Using my psychic powers, I picked her up and slammed her into the stack of hay next to me. An explosion of hay rushed into the air and softly landed on her head.

"Fine. I'm up. Happy now?" Still giggling even though her hair was full of hay and messed up. The train pulled up to the station and a huge screeching sound was heard as they abruptly stopped. "Alright. Now is our chance to get off." Lance had pointed out to us. Lance had lived here for awhile, so we followed his footsteps to a t. Bolting to the nearest cover, we avoided the contact of trainers and others. "Right now it looks like we are by the city park. We should probably split up for the time being." Lance was already five steps ahead of us by hatching out a plan. "Great. Lance you're with me. Tori, you take Scarlett and head to the other side of town. If you find anything, be sure to tell us." Tori nodded her head. "Good thinking Spirit. Come on Scarlett, let's move into the city before anyone is really awake and find these guys." Scarlett blew her hair out of her face and headed out to the street. Lance and I started asking questions about the duo and got some answers out of the local Pokémon. Some said they always hung out around town square, and some heard they always came out at night. With this knowledge, we could assume that they wouldn't be out at this time of day so Lance decided that we should just head to the plaza and find somewhere to rest our heads for a little bit. He knew a little cafe that made food for Pokemon run by city pokemon. Perfect for not making me stick out in a city full of Pokemon with trainers.

"Scarlett…" I contacted her through the microphone in my cloak. A few seconds later, a staticy voice managed to find its way to my ears.

"Yeah Spirit? Did you find anything?" Scarlett's words poured out of the speaker in a gargled mess. "No not much. I'll keep looking around. I'll tell you if I find anything." I clicked on the end call button. Me and Lance walked inside the cafe and sat down at the farthest table from the counter. It was very quiet even this early in the morning. It was approaching winter time, and all the humans were still sleeping.

"So. Why exactly are we searching for this Ninetales and Umbreon? I'm assuming you have relation to at least one of them. Pardon me asking, haven't been in town that long." Lance took off his cloak and placed it on the chair behind him.

"It's a really long story." I said. "Well, I happen to have time for this. Might help out as well." Lance really wanted me to tell him about it... "Well...about a year ago I first came to the village after falling down a cliff. I managed to land close to the umbreons house. He took me in and made sure I was ok…" it was really hard to speak about it. It all happened so long ago...why did I still get emotional about it? "Sounds like a good guy. I can see why you would want to find him. Any idea why he went missing?" Lance signaled for a waiter to come to the table. When the waiter did come over, he put two menus on the table. "You can order whatever. My treat." Lance put his wallet on the table.

"Thanks. Anyways...we got captured by Team Rocket. We were stuck there for god knows how long...then we had a group of our friends come from the village to try and rescue us. Cinnamon, Jenny, David, and Luke."

"So the guild leader, the nurse, and the guild trainer. Who was David though? I haven't heard the name around the village." Lance called the waiter over to take his menu, he ordered a medium coffee to wake himself up. "I'll take one as well sir." he picked up both the menus and told us that they would be ready in a few minutes. "David was the closest thing to a guild member we had at the time. Sadly he died trying to save us all in the Rocket base. He's the reason there is an Arcanine design on your cloak" Lance looked at his cloak on the chair. "And the Zoroark was Crimson. He was never a Villager, but he was someone in the base looking for Angi. He also gave his life to save the others…" both of us just sat there in silence for a few. It felt right to give a moment of silence for all our fallen comrades.

"Here are your coffees." the waiter set the coffees on the table in front of us. Lance made sure to pay the waiter a generous tip for the politeness of the waiter. After that, he took a long sip of his coffee.

"I'm sorry to hear about those two. They sounded like great people. Admirable." He set his coffee down. "And Soul was next...when we all were escaping from the facility, I stayed behind to look for him. I got separated from the group but found him. We then got ambushed by a whole search party of Rockets squadron. He….stayed behind to fend them off. He's been missing ever since." I decided to just stay quiet and continue drinking my coffee. "I can see this weighs a lot on you. You feel it's your fault for leaving Soul behind. For David's death. Just know it's not your fault Spirit." he said while finishing his coffee. "Just thought you should know that. When you're done let's get back to searching for that Umbreon." We cleaned up our mess and had headed back out onto the streets of Pewter City. It was still pretty early on in the day, so we didn't expect to find much. Lance grabbed the microphone hidden in the fabric of his cloak and turned it on.

"Hey Tori, have you and Scarlett found anything yet? We're still searching but it's kinda dry over here. Might head over to another section of the city." While I was filling Scarlett and Tori on what information we gathered and what we were planning, Lance had gotten curious and looked around the corner. "Lance? Where are you going?" As I followed, a giant silver tail was shoved in my face. Around the corner was a gorgeous Ninetales with long and luscious silver hair that cascaded like a waterfall down his back. I was supposed to be looking for a silver ninetales, and he managed to fit the description perfectly. This peaked my suspicion, and acting upon my instincts, I trailed him off to a small alley and watched him heading towards a little alcove. "Hey, is everything alright?" Lance had asked the suspect. His head turned around to meet Lance's intense stare. Either he had not heard him, or was just ignoring him. "I was just wondering if everything was alright. You were headed into a dark alley…" Lance asked him again, and his red ruby eyes grew wide. Slowly he started backing up. "Is something wrong? Did we do something?" I said getting quieter. He started running ahead to the end of the alley before I even finished my sentence. "Hey! Get back here!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

I could see the Ninetales running off in the distance. He dashed off towards the end of the alleyway trying to get away from me. Before Lance even knew what had happened, I was bolting in the alleyway. "Scarlett! I found the Ninetails! I'm trailing him right now. I don't know where we are, but you're going to have to find us and…" silver streaks blurred as he weaved in-between the cans in the alley, trying to escape. I nimbly jumped off the cans and proceeded to follow him. Knocked a few garbage cans over in the process. "Hey hold up! I just want to talk to you!" The culprit was still wanting to run away from me, and was starting to lose me. He was abnormally fast for a Ninetales. He was my only source of intel, and I was not about to let him get away from me that easy. We raced down the alleyway like race-cars. He was too fast for me, but Lance had managed to get ahead of me and trail the Ninetales. "Come on Spirit think!" I shouted to myself. Then I noticed some wooden planks hanging from the stairwell in the alley. "Lance watch out!", Using my psychic powers to have them fall over block the way, but it failed. I was too late and he was already out of the alley. He had gone through a tiny hole in the gate behind. I had blocked myself from continuing after him. So stupid thinking to myself. "Damn. Can't let him get away." You could barely see him and Lance at this point, he was way too fast to catch normally. He was just so quick. If I wanted to catch him, I needed to outsmart him. "Spirit come in" Lance's staticy voice on the radio spoke pierced through. "I'm trailing him right now. He's really fast. We are cutting through the park and headed north. This means we will be around the train station momentarily."

"Ok, I'll start heading towards the station. We can flank him off there." That's it, he was headed towards the station to hit the next train out. "Come in Scarlett, I need you to head back over to the train station. Suspect is headed that way. Try to stop him from advancing from any means necessary." She did not respond sadly. It was all just me and Lance. Since I already knew where he was headed, I ran back the path I was originally trailing the culprit. Someway or another he was going to come with me. If he didn't, we probably wouldn't find any information on Soul. "Scarlett! Tori! Come in! The suspect is headed back towards the train!" Ranting to my radio as it shook all over the place. "Damnit Scarlett...of all times you could have done this." All I could think about was just finding that Ninetales. With or without them. Running past the knocked over trash-cans in the alley. Why was he so fast? Why was he running from me? All questions that needed to be answered. Coming up on the train station, nobody was there or walking in the vicinity. Totally empty of people. "Good. Now I just need to figure out where this guy is coming from." Off in the distance, I could make out a silver figure running. I Needed a way to be able to stop him in his tracks. Psychic powers might work, but Ninetales do have some of their own, so he might be able to negate it. "What if I just blinded him and took him down?" That was it. Putting my plan into action, bright gleaming lights surrounded the area, blinding everyone in the vicinity. The Ninetales stopped in his tracks and looked away from the bright flash in the sky. Lance came from behind and soaked him with a splurge of water. The Ninetales still stumbling over himself, I took the opportunity and charged forward to tackle him to the ground. Before he could do anything, I pinned his arms down just to make sure he wouldn't try anything. Lance went over to contact Tori and Scarlett over the radio while I dealt with him in the mean-time. "Why were you running? Did I do something to scare you off?" I demanded an answer. "Ugh...why does my mind feel so fuzzy…" a sudden rush of dizziness came over me, making me lose all balance. It felt like I was just forgetting something, something I needed to remember. Couldn't deal with it right now, so it needed to be brushed off to the side. Collecting myself again, we continued with the interrogation.

"I don't know what you're talking about...wait" He took a few seconds to really look at my face. Was he looking for something? His eyes widened when he looked into mine. "Spirit?" The Ninetales sounded surprised to see me, like he knew me from somewhere. "What? Am I supposed to know you?" My mind just kept bringing up blurs. Empty memories, white static, nothing came up Obviously something was missing. Was I supposed to know him? I felt dizzy...I lost all strength in my limbs. "Oh I don't feel so good…" those were the last words I said before I hit the ground. Still fighting to keep myself awake I could hear Lance rush over to me. "Spirit? Spirit! Are you" his voice was replaced by a ringing in my ear. It became so loud that it actually started to hurt my brain. "What did you do to her?" Lance demanded an answer from the Ninetales. His gaze penetrated his soul. "I promise you that I didn't do anything to her. For now you need to help her" the Ninetales got up and walked over to me. He had picked me up by the scruff of my neck and put me on his shoulder. "Trust me when I say I'm not going to hurt her." He told Lance. Still skeptical about the whole situation, he had many questions, but little time for answers as the Ninetales ran off. The pain had grown to unbearable proportions that I had passed out.

Morning

Pewter City

8:28 AM

Lance's P.O.V

"What happened? You know something about her that you aren't telling me." my frustration towards the Ninetales was clearly evident. You don't just pass out like that when you were fine the moment before I thought to myself. "Scarlett, Tori, I apprehended the suspect. Spirit however went down in the process and I'm trailing him behind. Please come help us." the static started to pick up, indicating I had finally received a transmission.

"Got it. Me and Scarlett are on our way right now, we just need a location." Where exactly were we even headed? "Hey! Where are we headed?" The Ninetales looked back at me and looked up ahead.

"We're headed into the forest. Humans usually come out at around 10 near holidays. Too risky to stay out in the open." Ninetales shifted his shoulder to reposition the passed out Espeon on his back. "We're headed into the forest. You can meet us out there." I hung up on them, and decided to question the Ninetales more. "You obviously know who Spirit is. How do you know her and why did she pass out?" Calming my voice, the more I think about it, she was acting funny earlier. Maybe he wasn't the one to do it.

"Look, it doesn't concern you how and why I know her. That's between Spirit and me." Ninetales sounded a bit angry that it was brought up. But one way or another I had to get him to speak. "Look, me and a team were sent to find a Ninetales and an Umbreon that had been traveling around. Ninetales aren't a common sight in Pewter City," Maybe if I couldn't force an answer out of him, I could get him to at least sympathize with me and help us. "Any information you would be able to give to us about a rogue Umbreon that supposedly has been seen with or without you would be greatly appreciated." I pleaded with him to just give us a small bit of information. "Alright. I'll tell you when we get her better." he complied with me. I don't know what it was about him, but he definitely wasn't an average Ninetales. He seemed different. Faster, stronger, sturdy, if he wanted to fight us he definitely would have when he had us in a cramped space with those fire attacks.

Two Hours Later

It wasn't long before we had a camp set up. It wasn't night time, but something told me we shouldn't move yet with Spirit just having passed out.

"Hey Tori, you mind going and grabbing firewood for tonight? We shouldn't move her for the rest of the day, it was pretty bad." I asked Tori.

"Yeah, I'll go ahead and find some wood. Scarlett, you stay here and keep an eye on Spirit" Tori headed out into the dark woods. The Ninetales and Scarlett were both looking over Spirit, while I just couldn't stop wondering where did he build up that much speed? I was trained for several years in speed and tactics, yet he was able to nearly lose him. No Ninetales I've ever seen has been that fast. They are pretty fast, but he was unnaturally fast.

"Is Spirit gonna be ok Lance?" Scarlett asked me worriedly. "Don't worry, she's gonna be fine, she's just tired. If you give her some time to rest she'll be back in no time."

"ugh…" Spirit moaned, waking up from the long cat nap she just had. "Where am I? Why aren't we in Pewter City?" Confused, she tried standing up, but stumbled upon trying.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you. You passed out pretty hard back there." The Ninetales teased her. "How do you know me? Why does it feel like I forgot something." She asked him as she stared into his ruby eyes. "Wow...that fall made you lose some memories I see...I can see why you don't remember me…" A saddened look came across his face, but he tried his best not to openly show his sadness. "But no matter. It's good to see you again, Spirit. It's been awhile…"

And there ends the first chapter of the new Arc. I've had this chapter in my documents for a while, along with the ending of Arc 1. It just took me a bit to put more dialogue in so it wasn't so short. This chapter without any sub-text is around 7,000 words. I tried to make it a bit longer seeing it was the beginning of a new Arc. We introduced a few new characters as well, along with tying in a character from Fragmented Memories (Also updated to fix some grammar errors and plot-holes). I hope you enjoyed these two chapters + plot updates over a two year wait. I'm working on trying to get these chapters out more consistently and fixing bad grammar and adding dialogue to fill in plot-holes (and add length).