A/N Sorry if the last chapter was triggering at all.
Two weeks later
Rowan and Marcy had quickly grown closer to the twins, Elen, Aaron and Jo over the past two weeks. Almost every day, the children would meet up with each other either on the twin's lawn or at Aaron's house before deciding what they would do for the day.
Most of the time, they would find someplace to play either whatever game came to mind, or Rowan's Pokemon game; be it at the playground, inside one of their houses, or by the inlet's shore. It usually took them a good ten minutes of walking to get to the inlet.
Other times, if they couldn't decide, they would run into some of the other neighborhood kids and hang out with them for the day.
However, they all still needed to keep an eye out for Mr. P. Aaron would quickly guide Jo back to his house and motion for the others to follow before the hooded kid started to panic. So far, they had all managed to stay away from Mr. P, though Marcy was still left wondering why they would suddenly leave for Aaron's house.
She never threw a fit about it; returning to Aaron's house that is. She enjoyed being over at the older boy's home, especially if it meant hanging around Grandpa Reece.
Rowan and Marcy had also grown quite fond of Grandpa Reece, who would occasionally humor them with stories of Aaron when he was younger or entertain them with simple magic tricks. Marcy and Elen seemed to enjoy the tricks more than Rowan or any of the other older kids did.
Now, both Rowan and Marcy were leaving their house for the day to meet up with their neighboring friends.
"Can we pick up Jo?" Marcy asked suddenly as she closed their door behind her. "Aaron might appreciate it."
Rowan shook his head. He never forgot Aaron's warning about Jo's aunt. "Aaron doesn't want us to have to face Jo's aunt. If she's as mean as she sounds, then I don't want you anywhere near her. Got it, Marc?"
Marcy pouted and looked down the road. "We don't have to tell Aaron."
"Marcy, I think he wants us to stay away from Jo's house for a reason. Jo may be our friend, but that doesn't mean his…her aunt is." Rowan still hadn't figured out if Jo was a boy or a girl…He didn't feel comfortable asking Jo. It just didn't seem right or polite. He did ask Marcy if she was able to get Jo to speak, but the young girl had simple shook her head. Jo had been silent for her and remained silent over the past two weeks.
Marcy giggled. "You still don't know if Jo is a boy or a girl."
"Neither do you, Marcy." Rowan shot back. "We're going to Aaron's and Aaron will get Jo. No arguing, alright?"
Marcy huffed and reluctantly nodded. "Alright, Ro-Ro…Race you to Aaron's!" The little girl took off running down the sidewalk, leaving Rowan behind.
The older boy smirked and rolled his eyes. "Better run fast, Marcy! I'm coming!"
Marcy glanced over her shoulder as Rowan wheeled himself after her. A gleeful cry erupted from her as she tried to quicken her pace. Rowan let himself glide over the sidewalk as his wheelchair gradually lost its speed. There was no way Marcy was going to outrun him in his wheelchair, but that didn't mean Rowan would allow himself the guaranteed win.
The little girl sprinted as hastily as she could, all the while laughing giddily as she kept ahead of Rowan. "You'll never catch me, Ro-Ro! I'm gonna win!"
"Oh, yeah? We'll let's see about that!" Rowan called back with a smirk on his face. He gave his wheels one hard push, but made sure to stay behind his younger sister.
Marcy giggled and ran across the street to Aaron's, but slowed to a stop when she saw a tall man walking towards her. She looked up at him and smiled. "Morning!"
"Good morning. I don't believe we've met before. What is your name?" He asked as he gave Marcy a wide, toothy grin.
"Sis, don't!" Rowan barked as he wheeled himself over to Marcy. He mentally slapped himself for not noticing Mr. P walking down the road. He hoisted Marcy up onto his lap and shot a cautious glare at Mr. P.
"Ro-Ro, what's the matter?" Marcy asked.
Rowan shot Marcy a warning glare in hopes that she would remain silent.
"It's quite alright, dear boy. I'll go first. My name is Mr. Herbert Crown." Mr. P said with a slight bow. He was ignoring Rowan's death glare. "Now it is your turn. What are your names and where are you headed off to today?"
"We're going to get Jo." Marcy replied without skipping a beat. There were some moments where her ignorance did not help her.
"Jo? Ah, Jo-Jo! Jo-Jo is a friend of yours as well? Why, I haven't seen the dear child in ages. Shall we all go and get Jo-Jo together? I'm sure our friend will-"
"We're not going to get Jo! Even if we were we can get Jo on our own!" Rowan snapped. His eyes were wide with disbelief and fright. He had received uneasy vibes from the man before, but now that he was much closer and speaking to both Rowan and Marcy, especially alone like this, the boy couldn't help but shiver with discomfort.
The way Mr. P seemed to hover over them and stare down at both children with his beady eyes didn't help either. Even Marcy was starting to grow anxious as she leaned against Rowan and clung to his shirt. "Are you sure? You may want someone around to convince Jo-Jo's aunt to let the child come out and play. The woman can be quite unruly most times."
"Bye."
Mr. P frowned as Rowan rolled both himself and Marcy towards Aaron's front door. "That isn't Jo-Jo's house, you silly boy."
Rowan cringed. "Go. Away."
"Come little children. We can go and get Jo-Jo together. Come along. Come with me."
Marcy clutched Rowan's shirt into a tighter fist as she tried to make herself smaller in his lap. "Ro-Ro…"
"Just leave us alone! Can't you see you're scaring my little sister?" Rowan growled loudly. If he could get Arcanine's attention then maybe Grandpa Reece and the others will come to their aid. "Leave!"
Barking could suddenly be heard coming from the other side of the door. Rowan's plan was working perfectly. Arcanine sounded like it was about ready to bust down the door and come to their rescue.
Mr. P tensed up and slowly backed away from the house. "You children may want to be careful. That Pokemon doesn't sound very friendly."
"Arcanine won't hurt us. Not like you might." Rowan hissed as he reached for the door.
The doorknob spun before he could touch it as the door was thrown open. Before Rowan and Marcy stood Grandpa Reece. The old man wore a look of absolute fury as his gaze landed upon Mr. P. "What the Hell are you doing here?! Get lost before I have Arcanine chew your head off!"
"Now that's no way to speak to a neighbor. In fact, that is a horrible thing to say. I was only having a nice conversation with these two children." Mr. P huffed. "You're lucky I'm not reporting you!"
"I. Said. Leave!" Grandpa Reece roared. "Arcanine!"
Mr. P didn't need to be told again as Arcanine's large figure appeared in the doorway. The menacing glare in its eyes sent Mr. P sprinting down the road for his house.
"Are you kids alright?" Grandpa Reece asked in a much calmer and kind tone. "Forgive me for using such vulgar language in front of you, but that man had no right being anywhere near you two. He didn't scare you too much, did he? Oh, what am I doing? Both of you come inside where it's safer."
Rowan didn't hesitate to wheel both himself and Marcy inside Grandpa Reece's house. Relief flooded his being as Grandpa Reece shut the door behind them. However, he still couldn't get his mind off of Jo. Was the kid still at home or did Aaron pick Jo up earlier? Hopefully it was the latter.
"Is something the matter, boy? You're safe now."
"Are Jo and the others here yet?" He asked as he let Marcy down. She seemed calmer as well.
Grandpa Reece grimaced. "Sora, Flynn, Elen and Aaron are here, but Jo is still home. Aaron was about to head over and get the kid. Now, I'm not so sure that is a wise idea…At least for a while. Jo may have to wait."
"Mr. P was outside?" Aaron asked from the kitchen doorway. He was leaning against the doorframe, while the twins sat at the kitchen counter. It looked like they had a large picnic basket in front of them.
Rowan looked past Aaron as he watched the twins place what looked to be a jar of peanut butter into the basket. Elen also came into view carrying a plastic, tupperware bowl. "That's right. We decided to have a picnic today. Would it be wise to still have it with Mr. P outside?"
"He's leaving, but that doesn't mean you can go out and pick up Jo, especially on your own." Grandpa Reece growled as he scratched Arcanine behind it's ears.
"I know, Grandpa. I wasn't planning on going on my own. I'll bring Arcanine with me, and if it makes you feel any better, we'll bring him with us to the picnic too."
Grandpa Reece grimaced. He didn't like the idea, especially when he had only moments ago screamed at Mr. P to get off of his lawn. He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his grey hair. "Call Jo and let the child know that you all will be a while. I know you and your friends may want to leave as soon as you can, but I rather you wait until much later in the day to go."
"We'll be careful, Grandpa." Aaron said as he turned to Rowan and Marcy. "You guys want to go help everyone pack for the picnic?"
"YEAH!" Marcy chirped as she ran off to the kitchen. "Pack cookies and chips!"
Rowan looked at Aaron with a humored smirk. "She'll be asking to pack brownies and cake next."
About three hours later
The twins were both carrying the overflowing picnic basket, while Rowan carried the large blanket on his lap. Elen and Marcy both carried a case of bottled sodas, while Aaron was left carrying the utensils and a plate of freshly baked cookies. Arcanine brought up the back as it followed the children over to Jo's house.
Grandpa Reece had finally decided that they could leave to both go get Jo and enjoy their picnic.
"Howmuchfarther?!" Both twins groaned through clenched teeth. They were struggling with the basket's weight.
"Not too much farther, boys." Elen giggled.
"Maybe you shouldn't have packed all of those snacks into the basket." Aaron snickered. "Don't you think?"
"But…we'rehungry! UGH! Plus…Marcywanted…a lot. Someonepleasehelp!" The twins begged.
Their friends laughed as the twins attempted to continue down the road. They weren't moving very quickly.
"You guys can wait here while I get Jo. This is the kid's house." Aaron stated as he jutted a thumb at the small house before them. "Just put the basket down and…stay here." He was looking at both Rowan and Marcy with a hesitant gleam in his eyes.
Rowan narrowed his eyes at his older friend. "Is there a reason why we should keep our distance?"
He wanted to voice this question, but before he could say anything to Aaron, the boy was already at the door.
"AUHH! This feels so much better." Flynn sighed as he and Sora placed the basket down on the sidewalk.
"My arms feel so light." Sora joked as he waved his arms up and down in the air.
A knock suddenly drew everyone's attention towards Aaron as he took a step back from the door and waited for either Jo or his/her aunt to appear. About a moment later the door was pulled open to reveal a woman in her late fifties with a pink robe wrapped around her. Her short, blonde hair was pulled up into hair rollers.
Marcy giggled at the sight and looked over at Rowan. "She's got a lot of funny things stuck in her hair, Ro-Ro. What are they?"
"Hair rollers, Marcy. My mom uses them whenever she wants to curl her hair." Elen explained. "She looks pretty funny with them in her hair too."
Jo's aunt looked past Aaron at the group when she heard the sound of their voices. Rowan couldn't see her eyes very well, but he swore that they were narrowed at him. She glanced back at Aaron and exchanged a few words with him. Aaron responded, but neither Rowan nor any of the others could hear what the two were saying to one another.
They waited for a few minutes before Jo's aunt finally turned back into the house and screamed for Jo. What the group heard her say shocked them. "Jo! Hurry up you little shit!"
Rowan flinched and looked over at Marcy.
The little girl had her head cocked to the side. "What does shit mean?"
Everyone cringed as the crude word slipped from her mouth.
"That's a very bad word, Marc." Rowan replied grimly. "Never ever repeat it, especially to mom."
"Oh…" The little girl looked down at the sidewalk with a guilty expression on her face. "Please don't tell mommy I said a no-no word, Ro-Ro. I sowwy. I promise never to say it again."
"You guys heard that…didn't you?" Aaron said slowly as he and Jo approached the group. There was an apologetic look in both his eyes. Jo, on the other hand, had his/her gaze pointed towards the ground. "Sorry you had to hear that."
"We'll just have to make sure Marcy doesn't share the new word she learned with anyone." Flynn kidded.
"She said a no-no word." Marcy mumbled.
"Is that all you guys heard?" Aaron asked cautiously.
"Uh-huh. Was there something else that she said?" Elen asked.
There was a pause before Aaron spoke up. He gave Rowan and Marcy another quick glance. "No. Not really…Let's go to the playground. We're losing daylight."
Rowan didn't buy his friend's bluff, but he decided against asking him about it. He would ask later when Aaron felt more comfortable talking about it.
The twins groaned as they picked up the cumbersome basket. Even though they had a break from carrying the basket their arms were still very sore.
"I now see why you didn't want us to go get Jo. The aunt has a foul mouth." Rowan muttered to Aaron. He tried keeping his voice low so only the older boy could hear him. "Is she always so crude to you and Jo?"
Aaron nodded grimly. "I've learned to ignore her words. As for Jo, I don't know. Jo…well, you and I know that Jo doesn't talk. I want to help, but the best I can do is keep the kid busy and distracted by hanging out with us." His gaze drifted over to Jo and Marcy. They were both walking beside one another with Marcy talking Jo's ear off. "I see Jo as you see Marcy; as a younger sibling. I want to protect the kid as best I can."
"You seem to be doing a good job of it." Rowan stated reassuringly.
The older boy pursed his lips. "Not as well of a job as I want."
"You've got everyone else to help you."
"HHEELLPP!" The twins cried. Their arms were on fire as they struggled to keep the basket from slipping out of their hands.
"And you're helping everyone else." Rowan snickered.
Aaron smirked before walking over to the twins. "Hang on you two. Let me help." He grabbed one of the handles and grunted as he took on some of the basket's weight. "It is a bit heavy. I can see why you two were complaining."
"Aaron, please. Now's not the time." Sora groaned.
"Our arms are killing us!" Flynn whined.
"Onward to the playground!" Elen cheered as she led everyone back down the street.
The boys groaned in response.
"How many kids do you think will be at the playground?" Rowan asked.
Aaron shrugged. "No clue. Could be a few or many…or it could be completely empty. Kind of depends whether or not Mr. P has finished making his rounds."
Jo cringed as Aaron spoke the name of his/her attacker.
"It's okay, Jo. We won't let him near you." Rowan stated as he wheeled himself beside the hooded kid. The boy could have sworn he saw Jo's lips twitch into a small smile.
"We'll all be fine as long as we stay together. Now no more bummed out thoughts. We're supposed to be having fun, remember?" Elen giggled.
"Haven't forgotten, Elen." Sora grumbled.
"Just busy carrying a very heavy basket." Flynn mumbled. "So much bloody fun."
The group, with the exception of the twins, Aaron, and Jo, giggled. "Not too much farther. The playground is right over there."
Aaron and the twins quickened their pace as hope fueled them. All three of them were tired of carrying the basket. Many young bystanders watched with wide, curious eyes as the three boys dropped the picnic basket onto the grass and collapsed around it.
"Guys! You gotta wait until the blanket is down!" Marcy giggled as she pretended to whine.
The boys groaned loudly. "NO! We're not touching that bloody basket again. Just lay the blanket out and place the plates and utensils out or something."
The kids took the blanket from Rowan and laid it out before setting all the plates and food out. "Picnic is ready!" Marcy chirped.
"Everyone dig in!" The twins cheered as they sat up and opened a bag of chips.
Thirty minutes later
"Uhh…why did we pack so much stuff?" Sora groaned.
"Cuz our eyes are bigger than our stomaches." Flynn moaned as he clutched his bloated stomach.
Every single one of the children had eaten until they were more than full. More than half of the contents inside of the basket were gone by the time the children were finished eating.
"Time to go back home?" Elen asked as she gazed up into the sky. Her stomach was hurting quite a bit too.
"Please not yet. I wanna stay a lil longer." Marcy begged as she sat up and ran over to the swings. She sat down on the plastic swing and tried to push herself. "Ro-Ro! I need help!"
"Give me a second, Marcy." Rowan called as he hoisted himself back into his wheelchair. He had only been out of his chair in order to lay on the blanket with his friends. "I'm coming, Marc."
"Wait, Rowan! Look!" The twins cried softly.
Rowan looked behind him to see a Pikachu slowly creeping towards their picnic blanket. "Is that the same Pikachu from the other day?"
"Pika?" None of the children moved as the Pikachu edged closer. "Chu?"
"Pikachu." Marcy giggled as she crept over to Rowan's side.
The Pikachu crept closer again and sniffed the basket. It must have been hungry. Sora reached for the plate of cookies and picked one up. "Want a cookie?" He asked as he held the sugary treat out to the mouse Pokemon.
Pikachu examined the cookie and sniffed it. It didn't look like it was going to take the treat from him.
"It's okay. It's just a cookie." Sora beamed.
"Yummy cookie!" Flynn added as he took a bite of another cookie. "Mmm! Ahh! Too full…shouldn't have done that…"
The Pikachu's nose twitched. "Pi-ka. Chu?" It crept forward and grabbed the cookie. It nibbled at the cookie before freezing. "Ppiikkaa!"
The children flinched before casing worried looks at one another. They hadn't potentially harmed the Pikachu had they?
Pikachu quickly chewed the cookie into crumbs before hopping over to the plate. It picked up two more cookies and stuffed them into its mouth.
"It likes the cookies!" Marcy cooed. She tip-toed over to the Pokemon and picked up a cookie. "Have another. This one is chocolate chip. It's my favorite."
Pikachu swallowed the remains of the two cookies and reached out for the cookie. It snatched the cookie with its mouth and raced off into the tall grass.
"Aww! Come back!" Marcy cried as she ran after the Pokemon.
"Marcy, stop!" Rowan called, but the young girl had already disappeared into the tall grass. He wheeled after her, but was stopped abruptly. "Ugh!"
"Your wheels are caught in the tall grass." Elen pointed out as she attempted to free his wheels.
"We'll get Marcy, Rowan." Aaron said. "Elen and Jo, help Rowan. Arcanine, stay with them. We'll be back in a second."
"What?!" A sting of jealousy shot through the wheelchair bound boy. He was the one who was supposed to protect Marcy whenever she ran off or got into trouble. Not Aaron. Rowan was her older brother, so taking care of her was his job. Plus, who the heck goes into tall grass without a Pokemon? That's just stupid!
"Aaron and the twins will get her Rowan. Don't worry." Elen grinned.
Following Marcy
The young girl had not heard her brother calling for her as she chased after the Pikachu. She could only see its tail poking out through the tall grass. She giggled giddily as she got closer to the Pikachu.
"Pikachu!" She called hoping with childish glee that the Pokemon would wait for her.
It didn't.
Pikachu raced through the tall grass before leaping out into a large, grassy plain.
"Aww! Come back, Pikachu!" Marcy cried as she stepped out of the grass and ran after it. She was having too much fun chasing the Pokemon to realize how far she had gone.
The Pikachu suddenly stopped as something a little ways ahead of it caught its attention.
Marcy slowed her pace as she crept quietly over to Pikachu and quietly knelt behind it. She stretched a tiny arm out to pet it, but was interrupted by a loud screech. The girl looked up to see a Cubone running towards them with three darkly dressed men chasing it.
The men didn't look like trainers. Neither one of them were carrying any Pokeballs. All they had with them were nets and sticks. Even the large, red R's on their shirts seemed weird.
Marcy and Pikachu watched in stunned silence as one of the men threw their net at the Cubone. "…That's not how you catch Pokemon. What are they doing?" Marcy wondered.
Before the net could land on the small Pokemon something knocked the heavy netting out of the way. Marcy's eyes widened as a Marowak landed in front of the Cubone.
"Marr!" It growled.
"Oh. That's the mommy." Marcy thought to herself. "They wouldn't separate a mommy and her baby Po-"
Two of the men raised their batons and struck the mother Marowak.
"!" Marcy grew numb as she and the Pikachu watched in horrific and stunning scene before them.
The Marowak struck back against the two men, laying some heavy damage on them. Unfortunately, she failed to notice the third man coming up beside her with a net at the ready.
"Look out!" Marcy screamed.
The men and Marowak glanced in her direction. The little girl froze with fright while the Pikachu sprinted back into the grass.
"Marcy!" The twins called. They had yet to reach the plains, but they were within screaming distance of her.
"HELP!"
"No! Shut up, kid!" One of the men hissed as he raced over to her and clamped a large hand over her mouth.
"MMHH! MMHH!" Marcy screamed. "WO-WO! WO-WO ELMP!"
"Just keep quiet!" The man growled as the other two men raised their batons and beat the Marowak.
The Cubone slowly backed away as it watched it's mother being bludgeoned. Tears were streaming down the little Pokemon's face. "Cuu…"
Marcy was also crying as well. The men scared her. They were killing the Marowak mother and they were probably going to kill both the Cubone and her afterwards. "Wo-Wo…"
The Marowak was barely standing, but it was obvious she wouldn't be standing for much longer. Blood was trickling down from a large crack in her skull-like head. The mother Marowak groaned as one of the men struck her again, finally knocking her to the ground.
Marcy stopped screaming as the Marowak landed in the grass. She blinked slowly before eyeing the young girl with a glassy stare. Marcy held the mother's gaze as one of the cruel men landed the finishing blow to her head, which split the Marowak's skull open.
"We needed it alive you moron!" The man who was silencing Marcy hissed.
"It wasn't going to come easy. Besides, they don't need them to be alive anymore. Most of the ones they're working on now wind up dead." One of the other men shot back. "Let's just take the kid with us."
Marcy flinched. She didn't want to leave with them. Fresh tears ran down her face as she struggled against the man. "MO! MO!"
"We don't need her. Just let her run back home."
"But she knows too much."
"She's just a kid. I'm not going to give them a kid to test." The man holding Marcy growled.
"You're just too softhearted." His companions muttered with a shared sigh. "Fine."
The three men looked down at Marcy with grim expressions. "Today is your lucky day, kid. We're going to let you go, but if you tell anyone about us, we'll come back and take you away. Got it?"
Marcy nodded with a whimper.
"Alright." The man slowly released Marcy and stood up. "Now scram!"
The girl didn't hesitate as she sprinted for the tall grass. She ran and stumbled through the grass, but she didn't stop. Her legs were burning and her lungs felt tight.
"Marcy?" A blurred figure called out as she brushed by it.
It was Aaron. She had run by Aaron and the twins, but she didn't—couldn't stop. She wouldn't stop until she was with Rowan. "R-R *Cough*! R-R-!"
She heard the fast footsteps of her friends behind her, but she didn't bother to look behind her to see them. Marcy could see the playground coming into view just ahead of her. Her heart raced with hope as she ran faster for the wood and metal structure of sanctuary. "Ro-Ro!"
Rowan, Elen, Jo, and Arcanine were back at the picnic blanket. They had been waiting for the boys and Marcy to return.
"RO-RO!" Marcy sobbed as she burst from the tall grass. She tripped over herself and crawled hastily over to Rowan's wheelchair.
"Marcy?" Rowan asked with wide eyes. Seeing his sister this terrified was not normal and it concerned him greatly. "What happened? Are you hurt?"
Marcy coughed and climbed up onto his lap. She clung tightly to her older brother and cried into his shirt. "I s-sowwy. I'm sowwy, Ro-Ro!"
Rowan hugged her and stroked the back of her head, hoping to get her to stop shaking so violently. "Tell me what happened. Did the Pikachu shock you?"
Marcy shook her head. She wanted to tell him, but the men…they had warned her not to do so.
"What happened, Marcy?" Elen asked softly.
The young girl still didn't reply.
"Marcy, whew, you were sprinting like a madwoman back there." Sora huffed as he and the other boys returned to the playground.
"Are you alright?" Flynn asked as he caught his breath.
"I-I wanna…wanna go home." Marcy replied with tears in her eyes. "Pweas, Ro-Ro."
"Sure thing, Marc. Let us clean up here, and then we can go. Okay?"
"N-No! I-I wanna go now! Pwease, Ro-Ro!" Marcy begged.
Rowan looked up at his friends. They all stared back in equal shock. Marcy had never before acted like this. "What did she see back there?"
"Sora and Flynn, grab the basket. Elen and Jo, help me grab the blanket. Don't take anything off of it. Just wrap everything up inside and carry it." Aaron ordered. His eyes locked onto Marcy as she sat shivering in Rowan's arms. "Let's get you guys home."
A few hours later—Beneath Lavender Town
The three men had returned to the lab a few hours later with a handful of living Pokemon and the Marowak mother's body. The Cubone had fortunately managed to avoid capture sometime while the three grunts were distracted with Marcy. "Honey, we're home!"
"I hate when they do that." One of the scientists in the lab groaned.
"We've got you some new play toys to mess around with for a little while." The obnoxious grunt snickered as he and the other two began stuffing the captured Pokemon into cages. "We also have this one." He laughed as he dropped the Marowak's body onto one of the tables. "It was being stubborn so we put it to sleep. Permanently."
All of the scientists were glaring at the three grunts. They were in no mood for the man's dark humor. Their time of working down in the lab had hardened them as well. "How many times must we tell you? We can't operate with dead Pokemon, you thick shitheads! They must be alive!"
The grunt rolled his eyes. "Fine. We'll put it in the Tower."
"You haven't been incinerating the bodies?"
"The incinerator is down. We can't burn anything for a while. Besides, the Tower is filled with dead Pokemon. No one is gonna notice." One of the grunts replied. They had also been put in charge of disposing any failed test subjects.
None of the scientists responded to this. Their morals were all but gone by now. "Just get it out of here."
"We need more." Another scientist stated bluntly before the grunts could take their leave.
"More Pokemon? We just got you guys about a dozen new ones right here." The third grunt groaned. "Can't you just use what we give you?"
"Not Pokemon. We need people." Adam turned to face the grunts. His expression was cold and hard. Throughout the year of testing and working on both Pokemon and humans had degraded his morals into a non-existing state. "No adults this time. The Kadabra we still need is a boy, not an adult like the ones we have been testing."
"Are you hoping that with children you will receive better results?"
Adam nodded. He had been avoiding asking the grunts to collect children, but now he no longer cared. He just wanted results that would lead to finally completing this hellish project.
The obnoxious grunt smirked at his companions. "I think I know of a place with a rather cute volunteer."
A/N: I know the mother Marowak's death (in Canon?) is usually thought to take place some years later, but I thought it may be interesting putting it in the story. Hope you all enjoyed! :)