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Chapter 4

Fellowship

Terron and Zekra thrashed around in their web prison atop the Ariados' back in an attempt to break free, but it didn't matter, for the webbing held fast. The more the two struggled, the more the silk stuck to their bodies and held them still. By the time the Ariados had escaped out the window of the room, Terron and Zekra were practically immobile. All they could do was watch as the Ariados towed them off to an unknown location.

"What do you want with us?!" Zekra shouted as she attempted to get her paw free.

"It's not me who wants to see you," the Ariados explained dully. "And quit trying to escape; you'll only make matters worse for yourself."

The two only continued to fight against the webbing, despite the Ariados's words. And just as they had been warned, their mouths soon became entangled with silk. The children cried out for help, but all that came out were muffled shrieks.

"Can't say I didn't warn you," the Ariados shrugged.

He took Terron and Zekra into the shadows, presumably hiding them from the eyes of residents that still lurked about the night. Once he had the cover of darkness, the Ariados continued on.

Just then, an idea formed in Terron's head. He realized he could use his bone weapons as a type of spear to stab the Ariados so that perhaps he and Zekra could escape. After thinking through the plan for a brief moment, the Cubone decided it go with it. However, he was quick to realize that he had left his bones in his room. He didn't have time to grab them before he had been kidnapped.

Terron growled irritably as he tried to figure out where he was being taken to. Even though it was dark outside, there were a few lit torches latched onto the sides of buildings. They didn't cover as much radius as electricity might have, but these ones were able make pathways visible at the very least. Terron was able to see that he and Zekra were passing by the town square at the moment and were being taken into the section of town that lead south.

The Ariados stepped out of the shadows after scanning his surroundings and then made his way to the destination in more of a hurry. Now that he had more visibility, Terron could see the southern section of town more clearly and saw how different it was compared to the rest of town.

While the rest of Aurora Town had regular buildings, even if they were in odd shapes, this end of town didn't have a single building in sight. The entire area had colossal trees firmly planted into the ground with their giant roots. Several holes were apparent throughout all of the trees' trunks and had light flooding out of each of them. Some were high above where only flying types could possibly reach it, while others were close enough to the ground that anybody could crawl through.

The branches of the trees stretched in many directions and were so thick that some served as bridges to connect some of the trees with the others at the openings from high up. Resting on the ground at the bases of the trees were many bowl-shaped cauldrons that were held up by stands with three legs. In each of the cauldrons was a bright fire that consumed large pieces of wood, making crackling sounds as they illuminated much of the area.

Terron and Zekra gazed at the wondrous sight.

"Alright, here we are," the Ariados announced. "Don't be alarmed by what I'm about to do."

Terron asked what the Ariados meant, but as to be expected, no words left his mouth thanks to the silk muzzling him. The Ariados made his way toward one of the trees that seemed to be the tallest and began crawling up its trunk. Terron cringed as he watched the ground leave him, fearing he and Zekra would fall off the Ariados's back, something that only intensified as the ground grew farther and farther away with each second. It didn't help that he was facing toward the ground and couldn't look away. He felt a sickening feeling build in his stomach.

Thankfully, the Ariados came to a hole not much later that served as a window for an apparent hollow space in the tree. Terron sighed in relief as the giant creature took him and Zekra inside the hole and brought them into a bright room that was lit with many scattered candles. The Ariados took them off his back and removed the webbing from their bodies before discarding it out the tree.

Terron had only turned his head slight to find another Pokémon sitting in the background of the room.

It was a Luxray. Yet, this Luxray had a slight difference when compared to other Luxray. This one seemed to have eyes fixed in blandness rather than the usual fierceness known to be in Luxray. It was a very subtle difference, but Terron nonetheless noticed it.

"I've brought them here," the Ariados said humbly. "They might be a little shaken up, but they're unharmed as you wanted."

"Excellent, Garter," the Luxray said in low, distinctively male voice. "You may go now."

The Ariados named Garter gave a small bow of his head. He turned around and then crawled out the window, disappearing elsewhere. The Luxray looked back at Terron and Zekra and cast them a strange stare, seemingly studying them. Terron wanted to ask why he had been brought to the Luxray, but he found that words weren't coming out of his mouth. The eyes of the Luxray were paralyzing to him.

It was at this moment that Terron saw more of his surroundings. He was in what appeared to be some kind of office. A few shelves lined the walls, filled with numerous books of all sizes. The Luxray sat behind a wooden desk of sorts near the back of the room, large enough to have many Pokémon gather around it. The Luxray was lightly tapping his claws against the surface of the desk.

Then, Terron saw something else about the room. Standing next to the only door in the room was a Bisharp. It appeared to be guarding the exit, staring at Terron, seemingly never blinking. Terron immediately turned away.

"So, Garter told me about you children," the Luxray stated. "He says that he heard you at the police station, talking about a little incident that happened at Blackoak Town."

"Yeah, we were," Zekra admitted shyly, shifting around uncomfortably.

"And he says you know about the existence of certain creatures," the Luxray added before staring directly at Zekra. "He said that you, little Zorua, were a survivor of their assault on Blackoak Town. You saw them first hand and somehow managed to live despite not a single other Pokémon managing to escape."

Zekra didn't say anything, but her retreating eyes said everything that needed to be known. Terron wasn't pleased with seeing this.

"Why are you asking us about that?" Terron asked lowly.

The Luxray glanced over at Terron.

"I need to know what your friend knows about those Pokémon-like creatures," the Luxray replied calmly. "It's a rather important piece of information I'd like to have."

"So, you kidnapped us in order to do that?" Terron asked incredulously.

"Perhaps doing that was a bit too extreme, now that you mention it," the Luxray admitted, surprising Terron at those words being spoken. "But I will give you a good reason for why your friend should tell me what she saw: it's because this very place that you stand in is a place created for the purpose of eliminating those creatures. And if I'm not mistaken, you have valuable information that can help with that."

Terron saw Zekra's eyes widen as her mouth opened slightly ajar. He, too, felt a twinge of surprise inside him.

"You can get rid of them? So this is like a resistance place?" Zekra asked breathlessly.

"Well, somewhat," the Luxray explained. "My name is Len. I, along with the rest of my team, are the leaders of this particular association, as you may call it. There are actually four other associations exactly like this one, but we're scattered throughout the region. In this one, however, my team of ten Pokémon are all in charge and we have sixty-two other teams working here as well. Publicly, we are known as the Special Tasks Fellowship, known as the Fellowship for short, where we perform missions that otherwise couldn't be done by regular Pokémon such as a wide variety of rescue missions, acting as search parties, and sometimes bringing criminals to justice.

"While we do those jobs in reality and we do want to help Pokémon, we have another separate goal that only those within this organization know about. We want to cleanse the world of those creatures you've seen, young Zorua. The Plagued Ones, as we call them. No one knows what they are, but we do know of their actions. They kill everyone they see on sight. Entire populations have been consumed by them. Families, children, the weak… none are spared. They are literally a disease that spreads through the lands, wiping out all life. They are death incarnated, which is why we want to eliminate them. Of course, this will take time and money to do so. So, this entire organization was made to build an army and fund research so that somehow we may find a way to eliminate the Plagued Ones... one day."

"That's amazing," Zekra said in an awed tone. "You really think that you can get rid of the Plagued Ones?"

"With a large amount of effort, maybe," Len replied. "And of course, by gathering information from those who have seen them. So, would you be so kind as to tell me what you saw? And be as descriptive as possible. I know it's painful to look back on those memories, but what you've seen could contribute to the end of those demons."

Terron glanced over at Zekra and saw that she was heavily considering Len's words. She spent about a minute thinking, seemingly deciding if Len really would listen to her, unlike what the police had done.

"Alright, I'll tell you," Zekra finally said.

The Zorua then told Len the same information she had said to the police, but was slightly calmer about explaining it this time around. At Len's request, she added more detail into her story than, such as describing exactly what the Plagued Ones looked like and the abilities they had. She still drifted off at times in the story, especially during the tenser parts, but managed to continue eventually. Len would nod occasionally throughout the story, but otherwise said nothing. By the time she had said all that needed to be said, her eyes were dim, but she wasn't on the verge of tears.

"Garter says he found you telling this story to the police," Len stated. "Did you tell anyone besides them?"

"No, not really," Zekra answered sadly. "I only thought they needed to know since they'd know what to do."

"Under normal circumstances, perhaps. But with this kind of information, you don't tell anyone else about it. We don't want the public knowing about the Plagued Ones since it will cause mass hysteria. The world isn't ready to know about them yet. Even though you told the police about your story, they most likely won't believe you for a variety of reasons. But, despite that, don't tell anyone else about what you saw."

"But, what about all of Blackoak Town's citizens disappearing? You can't hide that. Pokémon are going to question that."

"You let them wonder what happened," the Bisharp spoke, his sudden voice startling Terron and Zekra. "You don't tell them what happened. It's better to let their theories become their idea of the truth rather than have the actual truth haunt the rest of their days. Sometimes, a lie is more desirable than the truth. It keeps others at peace."

"King's correct," Len added. "That's why we don't let anyone know about the Plagued Ones. It hurts to know that we have to hide the truth, and it may feel wrong, but it's necessary. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I guess," Zekra said with a sigh.

Terron wanted to disagree with Len and King at first, but he saw that they were right. He was, after all, doing the same exact thing with his true identity, if for the safety of himself rather than others. If he told anyone besides Zekra that he was human, they would all see him in a completely different light and that could have several kinds of outcomes that Terron didn't want.

"Alright, well now that's settled…" Len said in a satisfied tone. "You two may go. I appreciate the information you gave me. It gives us a better understanding of the creatures. We'll try to find a new home for you children since your old one was destroyed. Just give us a day to find one. In the meantime, just stay around town. We'll track you down somehow after we find a place."

King opened the door for the two, but otherwise said nothing. Terron began to walk out the door so that he could go back to the inn he was staying at and hopefully get some sleep. He didn't know how late it was now, but he wanted to get as much rest as he could before the sun came up.

"Actually, I have a favor to ask," Zekra said.

Terron turned around to find that Zekra was still standing in the room, not appearing to leave at all. She no longer seemed depressed, but rather more hopeful. Terron stopped in the doorway and waited to see what she had to say.

"Yes, what is it?" Len asked.

"I was wondering if maybe you would let my friend and I join the Fellowship," Zekra said bashfully. "You know, let us join you in getting rid of the Plagued Ones."

Len's eyes grew as he took a step back. He opened his mouth to gasp or say something, but silence was all that followed. It took a moment to recompose himself, but Len eventually seemed to find words to express what was on his mind.

"You really want to join?" the Luxray managed to say. "But... why?"

"Because the Plagued Ones ruined my life," Zekra answered boldly. "They took everything I know, and they'll do it with everybody else eventually. They can't get away with murdering everyone I know and I won't let them do the exact same thing to anyone else's life. I want to kill them. All of them."

Terron was taken aback by Zekra's determination and the hate that burned in her eyes like tiny flames. He had never seen her like this and never thought she was capable of being this way. However, it was Len who seemed more surprised than Terron. The Luxray had a mix of disbelief and anxiousness in his eyes.

"I see you're determined to fight as a way to avenge those you've lost as well as to protect others from your fate," Len said hesitantly. "I've never had children work for me in the Special Task Fellowship, as every team is composed of adults, but if you truly insist on joining, I could let you two become one of us. We've always accepted members who were willing to join our cause, even if they were never as young as you two are. But, there are no rules against letting you be here.

"I must warn you though; if you choose to join our cause, you must be willing to work hard and never waiver in your commitments. Once you join us, your life is dedicated to our cause. Every day you will doing some kind work that will contribute to eliminating the Plagued Ones in one form or another. It will be difficult, you will battle for your life countless times, and you will no doubt exhaust yourself to the core by the end of each day. We usually have adults because they know how to handle the stress put on them and are capable of taking care of themselves. But... you still want to join?"

"Yeah!" Zekra cried. "I wanna join! I don't care how hard you make it sound! Just let me join so I can kill all of those Plagued Ones!"

"Very well then," Len said with a sigh before bringing his gaze over to Terron. "And what about you? Your friend seems to have made up her mind. What do you want to do?"

Terron felt an uncomfortable shiver go up his spine as he looked over at Zekra. She was smiling giddily and nodded repeated toward him, as if to encourage him to join this organization as well. Zekra was in no way anxious like he was.

She really wants me to join. Terron thought uneasily. She wants revenge and it's justified... but what about me? What about helping me in figuring out who I am? If we join this club, then how will I ever be able to remember anything about me?

"If you join, Terron…" Zekra said in the middle of Terron pondering. "Maybe you can find out more about yourself. I mean, we don't know where to even start with figuring out who you are. So maybe if we stay here, it'll somehow lead us to what you're looking for. Plus, maybe being here will help you understand yourself better. What do you say?"

Well, if I come, we can still be together. Terron reasoned. I'd like to stay with her and I'm sure she'd want the same with me. And maybe she's right about staying here. I don't have anywhere else to go... I don't know anyone else... and I don't know anything about this world. Maybe joining this Fellowship will help me understand this world better along with myself after all. And if I can learn enough, then maybe it'll be easier to get answers. Yeah. That sounds like a good enough reason.

"Alright, I'll join with her as well," Terron finally answered.

"You will?" Zekra asked joyfully. "Awesome! Yaaaaay!"

Zekra started jumping up and down out of pure happiness. Terron heart felt lighter at seeing her so full of vim, but he expressed his feelings in a simple and quick smile rather than a full-blown explosion of energy. Len started to exit the room with King following behind him.

"Alright, children," Len said as he stopped at the doorway. "Come along. You'll have to stay with us for tonight until we register you two as a team in the morning."

Terron and Zekra nodded and followed after the two leaders outside. Once they had exited the room, the children were able to see exactly what the rest of the base looked like. The entire tree had been hollowed out from the inside and constructed masterfully. Multiple flights of wooden stairs ran throughout the place. The entire inside was lit by hundreds of small candles that were all sitting on top of small platforms. Many rooms were constructed inside of the wood that had been within the tree and were all at different heights. Some were at the very bottom where the entrance was while others were towards the very top. Terron and Zekra marveled at the sight, but found that no one was awake. Not a single Pokémon was roaming through the place.

Everyone else was either sleeping at such a late hour or simply was not around.

"Where's your room?" Zekra asked.

"It's two flights of stairs upward," Len answered. "This way."

Terron and Zekra followed close behind the Luxray while King took up the back as Len climbed the many steps of the staircase. The steps didn't creak, thankfully, so Terron wasn't too worried about them collapsing beneath his feet and sending him falling downwards. Even still, he chose not to look down.

After climbing for a while, the four came to a walkway that led to a particular room. Somehow, the walkway and room were held in place by having one side attached to the walls of the tree and by having some aid of ropes for the other side that were also attached to the wall. The room also had a platform underneath it to add even more support. It looked secure, but it still made Terron feel uneasy about how it was constructed. He felt that it might all collapse if a powerful earthquake were to ravage through the place.

"Don't worry about how it looks," Len assured, as if he could sense Terron's anxiety. "Everything is tested to make sure that nothing will fall apart. Took a lot of work to make the base like this, but it's possibly one of the safest places I can think of. It has shelter for everything, and everything built here is perfectly stable. The rooms, the stairs, these little paths, even the branches you walk along when going to other sections of this base are all stable. You never have to worry about falling to your death."

"I guess that makes me feel better..." Terron muttered.

"Well, come along then," Len said. "I'd like to get some sleep myself you know."

The four went down the walkway and just like the stairs, it was stable and silent. There were no sounds to suggest that it would collapse. Eventually, they came to the door of Len and King's room, which was shut tight and marked with a strange paw print of sorts.

"Alright here we are," Len said. "Try not to make too much noise. My team likes to get their sleep… especially if they've had a long and hard mission, like earlier today."

"Wait, don't you have like ten members on your team?" Zekra asked. "I mean, how many Pokémon are in this room? I don't think you can fit that many Pokémon in there! It seems so small!"

"As if," King scoffed. "We split up everyone so that we all don't have to be cramped in there. No, you can't fit all ten of us in there. This is just where Len, Éclair, and I sleep. The other seven members have other joint rooms in the other trees of the base. That way we can keep order throughout the entire system here."

"Oh," Zekra said.

Len gently opened the door and walked inside along with King. Terron and Zekra glanced at each other for a moment before stepping inside as well. The room was somewhat smaller than the room they had previously been in, but not by much. The floor was mostly a large blue rug with strange patterns. It was made of mostly wool-like material that Terron assumed came from the pelts of certain Pokémon. Along the walls hung a couple of lanterns to add minimal light to the room. Shelves stood about the room with various items and what appeared to be scarves and bandanas hung on small hooks embedded into the walls.

However, what caught his attention most was the single Pokémon resting on the rug. It was a creature with golden-white fur and nine beautiful tails that curled in several directions on the ground.

A Ninetales.

No sooner had the four entered the room did the Ninetales open one of its eyes and looked at them sleepily.

"Why are you two still awake?" it asked in an almost mystic feminine voice.

"We had some business to take care of with these two," Len answered as he gestured to Terron and Zekra. "Sorry to bother you, Éclair. We didn't think you'd wake up."

"I can always tell when someone enters my presence, even while I'm resting," Éclair smiled. "But it's fine. I will see you two in the morning along with you children. Then hopefully I can give a better introduction of myself than I could possibly now. I have had a long day is all and I am much too tired to speak..."

Éclair's eyes closed once more before her head slumped back onto the carpet. She had fallen asleep once again.

"Alright, sleep wherever you want," Len said to Terron and Zekra. "Tomorrow I'll get you two your own room right after your registration. For now though, get some rest."

Terron and Zekra nodded in approval and wandered onto the rug. Then, once they found a comfortable spot to rest, they went to sleep.