Chapter 72

Since coming to Himitsu Island, Mark had met an interesting variety of trainers and their human Pokémon. They were all very different from each other and had their own unique approach to life with human Pokémon. However, even before he met Cara, he had begun to notice a trend amongst the trainers.

In most cases, despite the fact that human Pokémon were more intelligent and independent than normal Pokémon, it was still the trainer who led the group. The true human of each party was the one who shouldered all of the responsibility and looked after the human Pokémon. It was hard to say exactly why, though. All of the human Pokémon were inherently very young and had only been human for a short time. Perhaps it was the trainer's experience and greater knowledge of the human world that drove them to lead. Or maybe it was simply that being the trainer implied that one should step up and take charge.

Whatever the case, a trainer's role didn't become less important with human Pokémon. In fact, it became more important.

On the other hand, Mark's new theory wasn't a rule that every group followed. Lily and Eric both seemed to share responsibilities with their human Pokémon. Tsunami and Fernelia often tried to lead Eric the way his real parents might do and Silver had taken over Lily's group when Aroma had been kidnapped.

Maybe it wasn't always true, but Mark had never met a group that followed that theory as closely as Cara and her group of four human Pokémon.

At least, he thought there were four.

"It looks like there's three of them, but they're basically just one person," Cara had joked when she introduced the three Dugtrio triplets, "seriously, they all think alike. If they weren't all different heights it'd be impossible to tell them apart."

The one, or three, Dugtrio had a very bizarre tendency to walk in a tight formation. The shortest, Mano, led the three with the tallest, Trine, in the back and Duon in the middle. Their footsteps overlapped so closely they seemed doomed to trip over each other. Yet the three were just fine.

"We share a Pokéball, too," Mano said with a smirk.

"It can get pretty cramped in there," Duon continued.

"But we're used to it," Trine finished.

If Mark didn't know any better, he would've sworn that was rehearsed. It was also a little unsettling that they all spoke with the same voice. Bizarre.

The three remaining human Pokémon were much more normal to look at, but their demeanors and personalities were something else altogether. Ebony, the Honchkrow-woman, frequently yawned and rubbed her eyes as she complained that noon was too early in the day. Sparks, the human Luxray, was so surly and downtrodden he made Volt seem downright chipper by comparison. The closest one to normal was the human Jynx, Serenade, who stood tall, straight and beautiful with an aura of elegance surrounding her. She had a rather irritating tendency to say "honey" far too often.

Just a short time ago, Cherry had finished her Bidoof training. Though Aurum had grumbled about it, like always, he conceded that their training was finished for the day. That left them free to meet up with Eric and Cara in the Himitsu Island square. Fitting all of them at a café table seemed like it would be a challenge, but Cara proved to be well practiced at the task.

"You again?" a waiter recognized Cara, "you're not going to start any trouble, are you?"

"No, we'll behave," she shook her head, "besides, we paid for the damages, didn't we?

"Yes, you did," the waiter conceded her point, "but I still think that battles should be outlawed in the square. They just finished repairing the street from this morning. It's hard to have a quiet meal with trainers battling constantly."

The waiter obviously wasn't a trainer himself, but he took their orders and left without further complaint.

"Somebody's tip just got lowered," Cara smirked when the waiter was no longer in earshot.

"What an asshole," Sparks grumbled.

"What was he talking about?" Mark had to ask.

"Oh, it's nothing," Cara assured him, "we just destroyed a table the last time we were here."

"You what?"

"Awesome!" Cherry grinned.

"Hey, it was that freaking ghost-girl that started it!" Sparks exclaimed, though no one accused him of anything, "The bitch kicked me when I wasn't looking! You expect me to take that crap?!"

"Sparks, honey," Serenade shook her head, "you take 'crap' like that all the time."

"She has a point, Sparks," Ebony added, "it's tough not to use you as a punching bag."

"Bitch!" Sparks shot to his feet.

"HEY!" Cara screamed down the table, "I don't give a damn what happened, anymore! Start another fight and they'll ban us from the place!"

As soon as she was finished, the three human Pokémon stopped bickering and sat in uncomfortable silence. Cara, however, acted as though screaming at her human Pokémon were an everyday occurrence. She turned back to Mark as though nothing had happened.

"Sorry," she shrugged, "this was the best I could get on short notice. They're weird, but they're good when they apply themselves."

"Uh…" Mark stammered, "no, this is…great, really. Don't worry about it."

Cara had more human Pokémon than Mark and Eric combined. Kim had told him that a human Pokémon trainer was often measured by the number of human Pokémon he or she commanded. If that was true, then Cara was the second strongest trainer Mark had met so far, falling short of only Aurum. Even if he had Maple with him, Mark doubted that he and Eric could match Cara's strength. And there was no telling how strong each of her human Pokémon was without a battle.

If they could work together, Cara really would be a powerful ally.

"So…how old are you?" Cara had to ask. Eric hadn't told her much about his friends and, at the time, she had told herself that she'd take whatever she could get. Still, she wasn't looking at the great leader she had been somewhat hoping for.

With Alex out of commission, she needed something to lift her spirits. She still had no clue what she was getting into. She needed to know more before she got involved at all.

"Sixteen," Mark answered. He did not return the question. Cara was clearly older than him by at least six or seven years. She probably just figured he was a kid and not really trustworthy. The realization made him angry, but he did his best to control it. To top it off, his sudden anger further emphasized his young age. And that made him feel even worse.

"So, what did Eric tell you about what we found?" Mark tried to hurry things along. Maybe if they could focus on their goals, things like age might not matter as much.

"Everything, I think," Eric shrugged in his seat next to Mark, "the kidnappings, the rescue…what else is there?"

"Okay…" Mark nodded. He was having trouble deciding what to do. Before, it had been Silver who had taken the lead. But Mark hadn't spoken to Lily's human Absol since that very same rescue mission. Silver's own plan had been to go about their lives and stay well away from Team Deus.

Could they really do that? Mark hadn't heard of anything else happening with Team Deus. Could it all be over?

"You said they have some kind of lab, right?" Cara prompted.

"Yeah," Mark nodded.

"Any idea what they make?"

"No…" Mark shook his head.

"They force Pokémon to evolve into humans," Cherry spoke up, "it doesn't work, though," she took a deep breath before rushing to finish, "the bad ones are in the basement."

"Say again?" Cara asked the little Charmander-girl, "I couldn't hear you."

"THE BAD ONES ARE IN THE BASEMENT!" Cherry screamed at her. She suddenly flung herself at Mark, clutching onto his shirt and shaking.

Completely aghast at her outburst, Mark put a hand on the girl's shoulder and hugged her against him.

The entire table, and some of the others, turned to look at the Charmander-girl. After a few moments, the surrounding tables returned to their food and ignored her.

"We found Cherry in a cell inside the base," Mark explained to Cara.

"I'm sorry," Cara apologized, "I didn't know."

"Food's here," Tsunami told the table, breaking the tension.

Once her plate was in front of her, Cherry released Mark's shirt and began devouring her food. She didn't talk again for a long time.

"So, what do we do?" Cara asked the question that nobody knew the answer to, "kick the door down and start killing everybody?"

"It's an option," Sparks pointed out.

"We were hoping to contact one of the Four," Mark explained. Kim's original suggestion still felt like the most plausible. The Four were the authority on the island. It made sense to look for help from them.

"The Four?" Cara tossed her head back and forth, weighing the value of the idea, "what about Alfred Silph? You know, the guy who organized the tournament."

"Could he really help?" this hadn't occurred to Mark. He had assumed that they would need a trainer. Alfred Silph might not be a trainer, but he would have authority.

But, wait…he remembered something Kim had said.

After her match, Kim had told him that she suspected Silph was behind Team Deus. The base's very existence wouldn't be possible without his knowledge. If that was true, then Silph wasn't an option.

"No…never mind," Mark sighed, "Silph is out. We…think he could be helping them."

"Oh…" Cara drew back. That was not good. Silph was a powerful figure even off the island. "Well…if it's as bad as you say down there. Then…all we really need is proof."

"What kind of proof?" Mark asked.

"I don't know," Cara shrugged, "pictures, or something. Maybe some of that 'Forced Evolution' formula. You got in once, shouldn't be too hard to do it again."

"They let us go, last time," Mark was still doubtful, "if we try to take evidence out of there, we won't be so lucky."

"So we're stuck?" Cara asked.

"Guess so…" Mark hated this. If he were more confident, then they could do exactly what Cara suggested and kick the door in. Heroes did that all the time, right? But the real thing was harder, much harder. Team Deus would be expecting someone this time. Farin had wanted to scare them and he had succeeded. They couldn't risk setting one foot inside the place.

"Look, you guys are nice kids," Cara started, "but…what are you really trying to do? I mean, you got in, you got out, and you didn't even really get hurt. You don't have to be heroes. Just…let it go."

Mark looked over at Cherry. She was almost finished with her hamburger, tearing it to shreds with her extra sharp teeth. She was burying herself in it, shutting out the rest of the world and seeking comfort from the meat.

Team Deus had hurt her. And they were doing the same thing to a lot of trainers and human Pokémon. He couldn't forgive something like that. But Cara was right. They were lucky to get away. Defeating Team Deus was something they just couldn't do.

"What about you?" Tsunami suddenly spoke up, "you were practically in tears this morning. Then you talked to us and were ready to go kick some ass. Now you turn right around and tell us to give up? What the hell happened?"

All eyes shifted to Cara at the sudden accusation. Mark hadn't been at the meeting between Cara and Eric. Apparently something important had happened in between then and now.

"He was supposed to come with us…" Cara shrugged.

"Who?" Tsunami pressed, growing angry.

"Alex," the young woman sighed, "he was supposed to come with us. But…no, it's over. I'm done with him."

"Alex?" Mark asked. It could easily be a coincidence, but he had to ask.

"He fought PureBlueSky in the tournament," Cara looked up, "do you know him?"

"I do," Mark nodded, "he and I fought a battle on," it felt so long ago he had to think, "The second day of the tournament. Is he okay?"

"No," Cara said matter-of-factly, "but that's his problem, now."

"Oh…" Mark had no clue what to say to that.

"But there's something else I should probably tell you," Cara continued, "this whole Team Deus thing just keeps getting worse."

"What is it?"

"You know Alex's Zoroark? Whisper?"

"Yeah," Mark nodded, "I remember it." He also remembered Flurry's screams when he covered her in flames.

"Turns out, he's probably teamed up with your Team Deus friends."

"Oh…"

Maple's eyes were glazed over as she emerged from the flower meadow. She looked down at the small bouquet of flowers she was holding and wondered how she had gotten them. They smelled and looked lovely. She felt numb, as if everything she was sensing was far away and happening to somebody else.

"Managed to grab a souvenir, eh?" a human Mienshao was standing in front of her, grinning from ear to ear.

"Huh?" Maple had to blink a few times before she remembered his name, "Quickstep? What happened?"

"What do you mean 'what happened?'" he asked her, "You just got done talking to the Meadow Sisters."

"Meadow Sisters?" Maple blinked again. Was that what she was doing? But who were the Meadow Sisters? And where was she? Where was Mark? And how did she get those flowers?

"I'm hungry…" she whimpered.

"Yeah, they love company but they're not very good hosts," Quickstep held out a few crackers. Maple reached out to take them. But as she did so, she let go of her flowers. They tumbled to the ground, landing lightly at her feet. She looked forlornly down at them and whimpered again.

"Sweet, Arceus," Quickstep marveled as he bent to pick up Maple's flowers for her, "what the hell did they do to you? It's like they probed your brain or something?"

"What's a probe?" Maple asked as she nibbled on a cracker. Her head was hurting and that didn't make sense either.

"You're probably better off not knowing. Here," Quickstep held out his sleeve holding the flowers, but he pulled back when he realized Maple was about to repeat her earlier mistake. "One hand, please."

Maple had to think about it, but she soon realized what she needed to do. She quietly held onto her flowers with one hand and nibbled on her crackers with the other.

Why does she have to be so cute? Quickstep cursed himself as he watched the young Leafeon-girl. It took around another minute for her to reorganize her thoughts. It felt ten times as long to Quickstep.

"How long has it been?" Maple asked.

"About an hour and a half," Quickstep shrugged, "they have a talent for taking a long time to say anything."

"I see…"

"So…" Quickstep knew the answer to his next question, but Maple apparently still needed help to get her mind on track, "did they say they'd help you?"

"Hmm?" at first, Maple appeared to not understand the question, "umm…I guess not. I don't think it came up, though…"

Quickstep frowned at the answer. He had to hand it to the Meadow Sisters; nobody could avoid a direct question quite like they could.

He felt sorry for Maple. The poor thing was just not prepared for this. She had been bred into life under her trainer and had evolved into a human girl just a few weeks ago. She was still young, naïve, and new to the whole human world. Briar, Cashmere and Pixie, however, had years more experience and nothing better to do than chatter away about nothing. It would be like taking an eight-year-old Catholic school-girl and putting her in a college sorority and seeing what happened.

Fortunately, for Maple, Quickstep wasn't the kind of person that would take advantage of her current state of vulnerability. Although…when you put it that way…

"I think…they just asked about other stuff…" Maple stared at the ground as she finished eating her crackers.

"Stuff like what?" Quickstep asked, hoping to get her mind working.

"Well…everything else…" Maple blinked, "like, training with Katana and fighting Tristan and…yeah, everything."

"Ah…" Quickstep nodded knowingly, "you poor thing."

"Huh?" Maple looked up at his comment. Apparently she was more alert than what Quickstep had realized.

"Huh?" Quickstep moved to cover up his statement, "did you say something?"

"Uhh…no…" Maple shook her head and looked around, "what time is it?"

"Almost one o'clock," Quickstep answered.

"Oh! Uhh…I should go," she began to grow more frantic, "Kim…Kim's probably looking for me. We shouldn't have been gone so long."

"She knows you're with me," Quickstep pointed out, "it can't be that bad."

"No…I should go," Maple shook her head, "I promised Mark I'd stay with Kim today."

"Hey, c'mon," Quickstep tried to calm her down, "tell you what. You don't want this whole trip to be for nothing, right?"

"Well, no…" Maple paused, wondering where Quickstep was going with this.

"Then what do you say to a quick training session?"

"Training session?"

"Yeah, like with Katana," Quickstep suggested, "except with me. Just a quick sparring match and I'll take you back. Sound fair?"

"Umm…" Maple thought about it for a long time. "Training" and "match," of course, were special words to her long ears. Fighting Quickstep would be good training. He was one of PureBlueSky's human Pokémon and would be very strong. He was also a fighting-type and would be an even match for her grass-type.

Still…she should get back to Kim…and Mark.

But…Mark would be training Cherry all day. And with Mark gone, Maple would have to follow Kim and Volt and Sprinkle around the beach.

She made up her mind.

"Okay," she answered Quickstep, "I can fight you for a little bit." She gently set her bouquet of flowers on the ground.

AN: so….it's been what? A month? Yeah….i think that's about right.

Work has once again decided to go insane and I simply did not have the time and energy needed to write for a LONG TIME. What's worse, is that this may in fact continue for the rest of the month.

So, as much as it pains me to say so, I am going to have to return to a schedule of posting "whenever I can." I'll do my damndest to shoot for once a week, but….yeah…

Sorry everybody, but work has to take priority.

I've also fallen even farther behind on responding to reviews, PMs and all of that. I'll do my best to spend whatever free time I get this week catching up, but once again, I can't make any promises.

Here's hoping work calms down reasonably soon.

Thanks for reading!