Chapter 34

Kim had a tough time staying on her feet when Maple flung herself through the door. With the Leafeon-girl firmly attached around her waist, she teetered and stumbled and held onto the wall for support. Finally, the sound of the door snapping shut seemed to calm Maple enough to make her pause. Her eyes were wide and scared and darted everywhere around the room. Kim thought of a rabbit that had narrowly escaped being caught by a wolf. Then her eyes found Mark and she flung herself at him instead and the whole scene repeated itself in the middle of the room. This time with a boy clasped in Maple's terrified grip.

"Maple, calm down," Mark told her, "it's okay, you're safe. Come on, what happened?"

Her grip still firm, she looked into Mark's eyes and started speaking in quick, frightened bursts much too fast for Mark to even pick out what might have even resembled words. All he got was "Lionel."

"Told ya," Volt shook his head, "should've said something sooner…"

"Damn right you should've said something sooner!" Kim yelled at him, "The girl's traumatized! I hope you're happy!"

"Hey, he didn't get her, did he?" Volt countered.

"Will you two shut up?" Mark snapped at them both. A lot was happening all at once, but arguing was just going to waste time. He needed a second.

First came shame. He had left Maple alone and vulnerable. He hadn't expected Lionel, well, anybody, to try and grab a human Pokémon inside the hotel, but it was his fault that she wasn't with him.

Next came confusion. Whatever these people were using to catch human Pokémon, they didn't need to do anything flashy. They would've heard a battle and Maple didn't have any marks on her. Still, Lionel had scared her bad enough to make her run here.

Then came anger. The son of a bitch had deceived them all. He had pretended to be a friend, just to get close to Maple. No wonder he had wanted to separate them before. And now they had played right into his hand without even knowing it. He even had the guts to try and grab her right inside the hotel. That was reckless and outright ludicrous. Did he seriously expect to make a clean getaway?

Last was determination. Wherever he had gone, he couldn't have gotten far. Even if he hadn't been the one to kidnap Aroma, he could lead them to her. All they needed to do was catch him and make him squeal.

"Maple," Mark put his hands on her shoulders, trying to steady her, "it's okay. You're safe now." She nodded, and some of the fear left her eyes, "but we need to go after him. He could lead us to Aroma. Do you think you're ready for that?" Maple didn't speak, but she nodded.

"We better move," Mark turned to Kim and Volt, "before the little bastard gets away."

"Right behind you, boss," Kim smirked.

"Shut up," Mark smirked back. They didn't have time to worry about who was leading this mission, but he had to admit, he was surprised at himself. Taking charge of the situation wasn't something he was used to, but with Maple threatened, he slipped into the role easily enough.

They were halfway to the elevator when the doors slid open and Eric and Tsunami stepped through. The two looked surprised to see them, but at the same time they were looking for something.

"What's up?" Mark asked a little afraid of what the answer might be.

"Nothing, I hope," Eric started; worry growing on his face, "have you seen Fernelia? She said she was coming to talk to you guys, but she didn't say why."

"Umm…no, we haven't seen her," Mark explained, don't tell me, "How long ago did she leave you guys?"

"Not long," Eric admitted, "just a couple minutes, maybe. We realized we should stick together. Especially after talking to Maple about those kidnappers."

"A couple minutes…" Mark's eyes went wide, "oh, shit."

"Wait," Kim spoke up, "he was after Maple, wasn't he?"

"Yeah…but if he failed," Mark explained, "He wouldn't want to leave empty-handed."

"Oh, God, you're right…"

"What do you mean 'empty-handed?'" Tsunami demanded, "where is my wife?"

"Stairs," Mark directed, "Kim, Volt, take the stairs and go get Lily, they're in room 1402. Tell them we found something and meet us outside as fast as they can. Eric, Tsunami, you're with me and Maple."

"Right," Kim nodded and she and her human Raichu were off.

"What the hell is going on?" Eric was growing paler by the second.

"Fernelia's been kidnapped," Mark shrugged his shoulders and looked away, "I'm sorry."

"Then what the hell are you standing there for?" this time Tsunami was the one to get them into action, "move!"

Mark vaulted himself down the steps, going just slow enough to avoid tripping and falling on his face. Briefly, he thought about how that would be a very abrupt, anti-climactic way to end this chase before it even started. Still, as fast as he moved, Eric and Tsunami had been a flight of stairs ahead of him ever since the eighth floor and the gap only got wider.

"Guys, slow down!" he called after them, "we have to stick together!" But it had no effect. In the end, he had no choice but to run faster. Maple had been right behind him, the whole time, silently following his lead.

Tsunami practically knocked the door to the lobby off of its hinges when he crashed through. Teeth gritted, he scanned the area, but Lionel and Fernelia were nowhere to be found. The lobby was empty, save for a human Blaziken and two human girls. The blond-haired boy was nowhere to be found.

Tsunami ran through the doors, out into the street, searching everywhere. The streets were becoming crowded, but Tsunami saw no trace of Lionel or Fernelia. He turned in place, desperate for any sign of the pair. His anger started to fade as panic set in. It couldn't be over. Where were they?

Eric came up next to him, his lower lip quivering, "which way?" He asked, out of breath.

Tsunami turned and looked down at his adopted son. Fernelia, Eric's mother and Tsunami's wife, was gone. How could he tell his son that she was gone? How could there be nothing that he could do for him?

Mark was next to join them with Maple padding up behind.

"No," Mark shook his head, "there must be a way to find him. He couldn't have gotten far. We'll just have to split up." He didn't like the suggestion the moment that he made it. There were too few of them. It was no longer safe to leave the human Pokémon alone, especially with Maple as the real target. That meant there were only two directions they could go in. It wouldn't be nearly enough to find Lionel. Soon, he would be gone forever.

"Hey," Silver's voice startled the whole group, "damn…what in the world is with you guys?"

"Silver," Mark looked past him and saw Lily and Shinobi right where he and Maple had left them, "Silver, we found something. I think we can get Aroma."

Silver blinked a few times, stunned by the statement, "damn, you guys get results fast."

"Very funny," Mark sighed, "but we have to move now, or we'll lose them."

"Alright," Silver nodded, "which way?"

"We don't know," Mark shook his head, his voice became frantic as he explained, "he could've gone anywhere. We're looking for a blond boy, about my age, and a human Tropius. They can't be far, he just grabbed her, I don't know, five minutes ago."

"The little brat that was spreading rumors?" Silver asked for confirmation and Mark nodded, "yeah, I remember him. He didn't exactly keep a low profile." Silver remained calm, despite their dire need to find Lionel. Mark had thought that every second counted, but Silver acted as though he already had a plan.

Just then, the automatic doors into the hotel slid open again and Kim dashed through, followed by Volt. Kim skidded to a stop in front of Mark, panting for breath, but Volt was barely tired at all.

"They're not…in their…room," Kim reported as she caught her breath, "what do you want to do?"

"Oh," Mark glanced back and forth between Kim and Silver a few times, "uh, Kim, Volt, this is Silver," he nodded over towards Lily and Shinobi, "and that's Lily and Shinobi, over there. They're the ones I wanted you to get."

"Nice to meet you," Kim nodded, before standing up straight and recomposing herself. After another moment, she slapped Mark upside his head, "you dick-wad! They were outside and you made us go to their room? We almost broke their door down, you idiot!"

"Oww…" Mark groaned, rubbing the side of his head, "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Any luck?" Volt interrupted.

"We don't really know where to start," Silver shrugged.

"I can help you with that," Volt grinned, "I have more experience than the rest of you at hunting this little bitch, after all."

"Then I'm sure we'll get along great," Silver grinned back, "any ideas?"

"Yep," Volt nodded, "I tailed him to one of the warehouses around the docks. It was being watched by a surveillance camera. That's our way in."

"You said it was being watched?"

"I took care of it," Volt's grin widened.

"Alright, then," Silver felt much more confident with that information. Now they were really getting somewhere, "Shinobi!"

The human Ninjask darted over to them, closing the twenty yards in just a few short bursts of speed, his wings flitting as fast as a hummingbird's.

"Yes, Silver?" he asked, kneeling next to Silver and awaiting orders.

"You heard that, right?"

"Of course."

"Good. Your name's Volt, right?" the Raichu-boy nodded, "okay, which way is this secret entrance, anyway." Volt pointed southeast, towards the docks, "Shinobi, go ahead of us and see if you can find the kid. Tail him, but stay hidden. We'll meet up with you and go together. Let's just hope that's the entrance he's headed for."

"At once," Shinobi was gone before Mark could blink. He darted up to the rooftops of the nearby buildings, flitting from one to the other. His movements and reflexes were incredibly insect-like. He was the perfect choice for searching for Lionel.

"Come on," Silver said to the rest of them, "he's strong, but he'll need backup."

"Silvy," Lily's small voice sounded next to him, "what's going on?"

"We know where to find Aroma," Silver put his hands on her shoulders. He knew it would comfort her and give her some strength. She would need it.

"Really?" A huge smile stretched across her face for the first time since Aroma had disappeared.

"Really," Silver nodded. He had no solid reason to believe that this really would lead them to Aroma, but the lie felt worth it to get Lily to smile again. Holy Arceus, he prayed he could deliver.

This is not an Eevee-evolution, over and over again; it was the only thought in Lionel's head. But whatever he was doing, it didn't seem to need much extra attention. Or maybe he was protecting himself, shutting out the distractions until the job was done.

It was over, he had failed and he should just give up. But it didn't happen that way. Instead he had grabbed an unsuspecting, and entirely useless, alternative.

He felt like a zombie as he led her through the streets. He felt nothing and his body seemed to be doing everything by itself. The collar did all of the work with keeping the Tropius-woman in line. It made her obedient and kept her quiet. Lionel just couldn't stop for too long. If he did, someone might be able to notice the tears welling up in her eyes. That, the collar couldn't stop.

Was he being followed? What was he going to tell Farin once he got back? Those questions didn't seem to matter, anymore. He just walked, trying to pretend that he had never failed.

He made his way towards the docks. The Raichu-boy had already found out that the base was there, but he didn't know where the entrance was. He also needed to convince the others that Lionel was a threat. That gave him some time and every second counted. He needed to get out of sight as quickly as possible. If he didn't…

But he didn't finish the thought and that zombie feeling came back again. Blocking the bad thoughts and keeping him focused. There was no turning back and his subconscious knew it better than he did.

He stuck to the main road, choosing to blend in rather than sneak through the shadows. It was around six o'clock and the sun wouldn't be setting for another hour, which meant that plenty of human Pokémon and their trainers walked the streets. If he walked with them, it wouldn't seem out of place. Most of them wouldn't give a trainer walking with a human Tropius a second glance. If he were slinking through alleyways, then it would be a different story.

But that made it easier for Shinobi to find him.

The human Ninjask was an expert at keeping himself hidden. He was fast and stealthy and it was remarkable how few people glanced up to the rooftops he used.

The boy hadn't made it far. Just a few turns off the main road was the farthest he had progressed. The daylight aided Shinobi tremendously. It forced Lionel to slow down and blend in. He was counting on using the crowd, but he hadn't planned on Shinobi.

Sticking to his instructions, Shinobi stayed back, avoiding notice. It was true that it would be a victory to grab the boy, rescue the Tropius-woman, and shake an explanation out of Lionel, but they could do better. If Lionel believed he had escaped without notice, he would indeed lead them back to the ones that were really in charge. Then they could rescue Aroma and have a true victory.

It was odd how the Tropius-woman showed no resistance. From what Shinobi understood, she had been kidnapped and was going with Lionel against her will. Why did it appear otherwise? But it was not Shinobi's place to become emotionally involved. He had found his target and was following orders. He trusted Silver's judgment and if this led to the return of Aroma then he had fulfilled his mission. That was all he needed to know.

Volt's prediction proved accurate. The boy stayed on course and headed straight for the rows of warehouses along the docks. He slipped down one of the alleyways, without looking back. He approached a small set of concrete steps leading to the side door of a warehouse. He flipped a switch along the railing and a panel opened next to the door. A small keypad appeared and the boy began punching in numbers. It was a long sequence and the boy had to stop and think about what he was entering before finishing. Finally, the lock on the door clicked and Lionel waited for his captive to walk in ahead of him before closing the door.

Soundlessly, Shinobi vanished, returning to his companions.

AN: the tension builds as our heroes gather together to track down and attack Team Deus!

This starts the first of a few chapters where Mark and Maple are going to be taking a back seat to some of the other characters. But, that's okay. They've done so much for so long, they kinda need a break. And everybody else could use some screen time, for that matter.

Anyways, thanks for reading! Have a good New Year and I will see you next week/year!