Note: First Multi-Part chapter. Huge thanks to Jphyper for helping me with a grammatical error he found concerning multiple speakers in paragraphs, it should be much easier to know who is talking at what time now. If anyone else notices any more spelling and/or grammer mistakes in the future, please let me know! Thanks! -Orthros

=== PART I: A Potential Ally ===

-Terry POV, FP-

"Ace, duck!" I yelled.

Ace slams into the cobbles as a thunderbolt flies over him, crashing into the ground nearby. The Bolts creator, Shinx, growls in annoyance. It's trainer, Callen, on the other hand, smiles. "Now, Shinx! Bite!"

Shinx bears its fangs and runs at Ace, but I counter. "Ace, Quick Attack!" Faster than the eye could follow, Ace jumped up and smashed into the Shinx, sending it crashing into the ground. "Finish it with tackle!" Ace slams into the Shinx once more, and next time it hits the ground, it doesn't try to get up. Callen walks over to the Shinx, who woke as he crouched next to it.

"You did great, Shinx. Take a long rest." He returns Shinx to it's pokeball and returns his gaze to me, as I crouch down to pet Ace somewhat awkwardly through my crutches. "You two are incredible, but mark my words, Shinx and I will destroy you next time."

I smile and shake hands with Callen. "I wouldn't have it any other way," I reply. We were standing outside the Nacrene Museum, after a bit of trashtalk from both sides had provoked a fun but challenging and entertaining battle. Alex and Nicky, along with Angel, had gone on to the Pokemon Center to get healed. As the crowd that had gathered to watch cheered and dispersed, I returned Ace to his pokeball. I waved my hand, beckoning to the 13 year old to walk with me, before setting off in the direction of the Pokemon Center.

Inside the Pokemon Center, Callen and I walked to the counter to hand over Ace and Shinx to Nurse Joy. After grabbing a meal apiece from the Centers' kitchen, I spoke to Callen. "Why don't you hang with me? I'm sure my buddy Alex would want to meet you, and the more the merrier, right?" At Callens nod, we headed to the back of the Center, towards the room allowed to Alex and I When I tried the door, however, it was locked. I knocked, muttering distractedly to myself. "Good, he took precautions." Ignoring Callens confused look, I nodded to Alex and introduced Callen to him.

As the three of us settled on the couches, Nicky came running up to Alex. After telepathically conversing for a moment, Nicky teleports onto Alex's head to shake hands with Callen.

Alex turns to me. "Angel is doing alright, although further travel is probably a bad idea. As for battling the Gym, the leader's name is Lenora. She's a Normal-Type Specialist. We should wait a couple days for your challenge though, I doubt Angel could go very far right now."

"I agree," I respond, nodding. I walked into a corner of the room, where my backpack was. Moving it out of the way, I discovered Angel sleeping on her blanket, a book titled "The History and Hells of Unova," laying beside her. Callens eyes widened, but Alex put a finger to his lips. I gently lifted the Kirlia and cradled her on my chest, moving back over to the couch. As I was sitting down, she awoke, rubbing her eyes.

While I stroked Angel's head, I spoke quietly to Callen. "This is Angel, my partner. Yes, she's shiny, no, there aren't any other shiny Kirlia in the world, at least known ones, and I would prefer if you keep quiet about it, we have enough on our plate with Team Plasma, we don't need any trouble with thieves." Callen nods.

"It's great to meet you, Angel," says Callen. He turns his gaze on Alex. "What you were saying earlier… Is she injured too?" Alex nods, before taking a seat and beckoning for Callen to do the same. When the pair had made themselves comfortable, Alex explained the events at the Dreamyard.

Callen was shaking his head, looking dumbstruck. "I'm glad you guys survived. I ran into trouble with them as well. They stole several pokemon fossils from the museum. Shinx and I tried to stop them, but we would be dead right now if Lenora hadn't saved us… Even so, they still got away with several. Rumor has it they are hiding in Wellspring Cave, but no one knows for sure." Callen sighed, muffled slightly by his hands rubbing his face. "I don't want to run across them again, I know that for sure. Their brutal."

Alex and I just nodded, the mood had become rather unpleasant after Callen's story. And yet, as I sat on the couch, Angel laying peacefully in my arms, a spark ignited in my heart. Emotion caught fire in my mind, fierce flames begging for a chance at revenge. The small part of my brain that tried to rally with caution at the possibility of fighting a cruel, criminal organization in a dark, unfamiliar cave argued that it wasn't the most promising of ideas. Then my thoughts flashed back to Justin Bellings. Hatred for the cruelty forced upon the child clawed at my insides like boiling acid. Angel looked up at me and spoke. The words she said would change my life forever.

"We should help those pokemon, Terry. Team Plasma won't act nicely to the wild ones." She says softly.

I looked over at Alex, and for a moment the younger boy looked slightly intimidated by the expression that must have been plastered on my face. The shock lasted only a moment before Alex matched the intensity of the stare, and although no words were spoken, we both knew that we would do whatever it took to save the Pokemon and Fossils in Wellspring Cave. The pair of us snapped out of our shock when Callen spoke.

"I may be really bad when it comes to reading people's expressions, but something tells me you two want to check out Wellspring Cave. Like I said, I don't want to go back there again. But the pokemon are in danger, and considering you two are going to go either way, I might as well lend a hand. I used to explore the caves all the time, I know them better then the back of my hand." The trio nodded, then packed up and headed out.

=== Part II: Disappointments and Disguises ===

-Terry POV-

After picking up Ace and Shinx from Nurse Joy, the three of us headed out of town, backtracking the route that Alex and I had taken to Nacrene. Soon enough, we reached a fork in the road, one of which headed to the Pokemon Daycare, the other wound deeper into the forest, where a cave could be seen far ahead.

Crawling through the underbrush, the three of us (Nicky, Ace, and Shinx in their pokeballs, Angel in the backpack,) snuck up on the entrance to the cave. We came to a halt, watching the entrance, about 30 feet away. With the silence came the slight murmur of voices, echoing out of the mouth of the cave. Suddenly two people in Plasma uniforms came out of the exit, carrying a box with a similar length to that of a coffin. A glass display case.

Inside was a skeleton similar in shape to Kabutops. Gears almost visibly spinning in my mind, I whispered softly. "Stay here, I have an idea. Angel, you ready?" She popped her head out of the pack as I got up and, after shortening my crutches, crouched low, following the Plasma grunts through a small, almost invisible path leading off to the left side of Wellspring Cave. The forest came to a sudden end, where a helicopter stood idling, awaiting it's apparent cargo for transport. The grunts loaded the case onto the chopper, but before they could come back and discover us hiding on the very edge of the clearing, Angel acted.

Both of the grunts were slammed into the waist high grass, practically disappearing into the tangles of green brushes. At the same time, their eyes were forced closed, their hands and legs clamped together, and their mouths sealed shut by an unseen force. Angels telekinetic attack had gone perfectly. Silent, unable to move at all, unable to see, and probably very terrified, They were pulled back to our hiding spot.

I wasted no time and had no mercy, smashing both of their heads together with a large amount of force several times, until both of the grunts slumped down, unconscious. After quickly declothing both the men down to their undergarments, I stuffed the contents into my pack, then raced back to Alex and Callen, Angel hanging onto my shoulder.

"Hey guys, I'm back. I got the uniforms from those grunts, and I doubt they will wake up anytime soon… Nasty bruises, I admit." I spoke in quiet but satisfied tones as I dumped the clothes on the ground. "Callen and I can go in, and Alex can get Officer Jenny over here."

Alex looked nervous for a moment, replying. "I don't know, I would feel better if we did it all or none… Nonetheless, you guys know what you're doing. Just play it safe. We'll be back soon." They exchanged nods before Alex slinked off into the forest, and as Callen and I, reclothed in Plasma Uniforms, were approaching the entrance to the Cave, a slight flash of light went off, signaling Alex and Nicky teleporting. Callen and I looked at each other.

"You ready for this?" Callen asked nervously. I almost wanted to laugh, it felt like a scene in every single action spy movie I had ever watched.

"No… Let's do it."

Note: I almost made that last sentence into a re quote from 9/11. I'm just being honest, sorry to anyone I offend with this note. I want to say now that I don't encourage or support Bullying, Suicidal Thoughts or Actions, or Terrorism in any way, shape, or form. I'm simply saying this because some of the scenes in the future of will be very graphic and traumatizing for the characters of this story. The idea is that the world isn't the bright and beautiful place the regular Pokemon TV Show makes it out to be. Team Plasma is much more cruel in my version of the story. Emotional and Mental strain between relationships of characters may seem overwhelming at times. The going of this story is slow, I know. Trust me when I say it will all work out in the end. Thanks, and apologies in advance for anyone that I offend. -Orthros

=== PART III: Hell on Earth ===

-Terry POV

Things didn't go wrong at first, at least. Or so it seemed. The hoods of the uniforms covered our youthful heads as we walked through the cavern. My crutches clanged loudly on the stone floor. Wellspring Cave had, or so Callen recalled from memory, been created after rainwater corroded out the area and made a stream through the small hill.

Hoping my cover story for the crutches would work, Callen and I walked up to the person who seemed to be the leader and asked for orders. "Took a fall in our base out west. The boss said I could come down here, he will send more information tonight," I said, hoping I sounded more confident than I felt.

The man raised his eyebrow but told them to corral the wild pokemon into a different area of the cave so they wouldn't interfere nonetheless. "Team Plasma is ruthless, but I would rather have less felonies on my plate incase things go south, you know what I mean?" The leader laughed as we ran about, collecting the pokemon.

Luckily Angel had agreed to go into her pokeball temporarily, so she wouldn't be spotted. She telepathically talked to the wild pokemon, assuring them that Callen and I wouldn't hurt them, but for them to make it look convincing that they wanted to get away. After about forty minutes, all the pokemon were collected and moved outside the cave.

It all went wrong when one of my Pokeballs fell off my belt. A Roggenrola pounced on it before I could get it hidden again. The burst of red light filled the cave, and every eye turned simultaneously as the pokeball rocked once, than dinged a successful capture. All at once, hands grabbed at us from all sides, tearing the disguises off and revealing our shirts and jeans underneath. Before any further harm could be done, Angel forced herself out of her pokeball and shot off a telekinetic blast, pushing everyone away from the us. Callen quickly let Shinx out, but things didn't look good. The grunts quickly regrouped, forming a wide but tight ring around the our group, blocking any escape. As fast as it started, everything stopped. The silence was eerie, the calm before the storm.

A voice called out, ringing loudly around the cavern. "I thought you two looked young. You're the trainer that Lenora saved earlier, aren't you?" The leader eyed Callen with a wicked smile. Then his gaze shifted onto me. "And you were in the dreamyard! Damnit, I was hoping that Kirlia didn't live. One more bullet would have done it. No matter. I'll finish what I started."

I was frantic, trying to find a way out of the mess I had gotten Callen and myself into. As the grunts were raising their guns, I suddenly saw it. A thick gas line. Close by, several electric heaters stood. I quickly had Angel relay the plan to Callen, while I strained to keep a straight face.

The leader spoke once again. "All right kid, all the supervillains do it so I will, too. Any last words?"

I couldn't do it, I laughed, doubling over at the irony of it all. Composing myself a few moments later, I looked back at the leader, a look of mock innocence on my face.

"Yeah, just a couple. First of all, this cave is going to be blown to bits. Secondly, isn't the 'any last words' line what every super villain says right before he or she is defeated by a surprise attack?"

As the leader hesitated for a moment, I yelled. "CALLEN, NOW!"

"Shinx! Use ThunderBolt!"

"Angel! Protect!"

The cavern was suddenly rocked with explosions as Shinx fired off a thunderbolt, smashing the heaters. The explosion destroyed the fuel line, creating another massive fireball that burned everything it touched. The air was filled with horrible screams of agony as all the Grunts were burned alive. And through it all, Angel, eyes closed tightly to avoid the horror, kept up the Protect shield. Callen, Shinx and I closed our eyes as well, but it did nothing to shut out the noise. Explosions, murder, tortured screams, begging, crying for it to stop. Then it did.

As quickly as it had started, it stopped. the smoke cleared, leaving nothing but the charred remains of those not within the circle. Keeping their eyes closed, trying not to breathe in the smoke and ashes and death, we gathered around Angel, and teleported to safety.

-Third Person (Omniscient)-

The group had reappeared surrounded by officers, who bombarded them with questions. Officer Jenny forced them to back off. She took a moment to study the faces of the trainers and pokemon. As if she could see it in their eyes, what truly awful things happened in that cave, she led them to a police car without a word, taking them to the Pokemon Center and getting them a room. The group laid on the bed and couches, to shocked to say anything. Officer Jenny just spoke sadly to them from the door. "Rest up, I'll need to question you all tomorrow. Good night."

No one said a word, the silence going on long into the night. Rest was hard to come by, riddled with nightmares. In the morning, Terry recounted the scenes in the cave. His voice sounded strained, like he was on the verge of losing it. Officer Jenny shut him up for a moment, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Are you ok, kid?"

Terry shook his head. "Angel was horrified, and I am too. Sometimes I wish we didn't have such a powerful bond… We amplify each other's emotions, both good and bad…" Jenny nodded, then sent the boy back to the room. Alex was there as well, along with Callen.

"I wonder if there's a Pokemon move that will let you permanently forget something…" Callen wondered aloud, sadly. Terry and Alex agreed, the idea sounded nice. The rest of the day seemed to fly by, even though they did nothing but read books in the room. That night, Terry called his parents. They had seen the news and were worried, but they did their best to cheer him up. Callen and Alex had similar situations, and, feeling slightly better, went to bed.

Terry laid awake in his room, doing some much needed PR with Angel. Sleep would come eventually, but he mulled over the events, the horrors of the last couple of days. His father had a similar start, he said, all the bad stuff at the beginning.

"A journey will have it's ups and downs, but the bond you get with your pokemon is more than worth it. Good luck, kiddo."

As the gentle hands of sleep took hold, Terry wondered, Why do I feel that this is just the beginning of something huge…?

He slept peacefully that night.

Note: I finished this chapter at 11:30 PM my time, then woke up at four in the morning and realized that I didn't explain how Terry was able to get away with his cast. I quickly added a couple lines, and it looks good. If any viewers out there have questions, comments, or concerns with the writing, feel free to send me a PM or review on here and I'll address them ASAP. Thanks. -Orthros