Chapter Fifteen: Cloaked
And Everything Came Crashing Down
"What?! No!" I said. I didn't want to be a part of a group of rebels!
Ellena almost looked shocked. "…No? Really?"
"Really. Ellena, I have training and battling. If anyone finds out I rebelled and started attacking towns, do you know what would happen?"
"So this is about what people think?" She gave me a weird look. "You don't care about what people think! When did you turn into a prissy? You think you know a girl and she goes off and becomes a prissy!"
"I have to keep a reputation if I want to become the champion!" I yelled.
"A reputation?" She spit the word. "Cynthia we could really use you, you could help us. This is for Sinnoh."
"I'm trying to do this," I gestured to myself, "for Sinnoh!"
Ellena rolled her eyes. "You're kind of being insane. I don't think you're thinking this through."
Maybe I wasn't, but at that moment I was blinded by my reputation. "I have thought it through. The answer is, and always will be, no."
"Forget it Elle, if she doesn't want to join us don't make 'er." The girl in the group said.
Ellena shot her a mad look. "We really need her." She looked at me. "We really need you!"
"No, Ellena. I think I should leave now." I stood up and grabbed my bag. I walked to the door and peeked out; the sun was beaming down on the small town. I looked around, there were a few guards at the end of the street.
"You're going to need some help." I heard Ellena say. "Kedah and Brush, help her out." The girl of the group and the oldest guy walked out of the house. "Give them a minute then you'll be able to leave. Are you really leaving?" She asked.
I nodded and looked at her. "I'm positive about it."
I head a slight whistle. "You better go before they come back." Ellena said. "Bye, Cynthia." I nodded my goodbye and ran across the street and into the woods. I slipped through the fence and stopped. I got out my map and studied it. I know the way back to the City but that was an excuse to stay near longer.
I started walking back to the cave. Once I reached it something hit me like a brick. My reputation? I sounded like Maxina. Worse, I did sound like a prissy. They were standing up for Sinnoh's rights and warring against Lea of all people. I shook my head. What happened there? I turned around and sprinted back to Oreburgh.
I hid behind the bush, the group of rebels were standing near Ellena's house. I poked my head and tried to wave at them. "Hey!" I finally yelled. The guards at the ends of the street didn't do anything, but everyone turned their head my way. I tried a smile. Kedah rolled her eyes but Ellena rushed over.
"You came back?" There was hope in her tone.
"Of course I did. I realized that you guys are good."
Ellena looked around. "Stay here, we'll be over shortly." She walked back to her group. They walked back to Ellena's house.
I waited a few minutes crouched behind the brush. I saw the group poke their heads out of the cabin and sprint across the road. They all crowded into the small secluded area of trees. They all held brown cloths on their hands. Then I remembered: They wore cloaks in Eterna Forest.
Ellena handed me one. "This was Sake's. It probably fits you." They all put theirs on.
"Wait, you mean we're going to go out now?" Ellena nodded. "I don't think I'm ready for that." Was I ready? This was a huge deal. I can't go blow up something now! I hadn't had time to process the whole thing. But recently acting on impulse was my thing.
"All we're doing is going to Solaceon. We're going to meet with Hilbert and get his permission to set a bomb off on a hotspot." Ellena tried to reassure me.
"Hotspot?" I echoed.
"It's a place where we think is a good spot to bomb." One of the others said. "Normally it's a place with a superstitious legend, like where we want now."
"What's the legend?" I asked.
"That there's an underground tunnel where a lot of evil Ghost Types roam." Kedah, the girl of the group, explained. She smirked. "We're going to scare the crap out of Lea."
Without thinking everything through and running on impulse, I took a deep breath and pulled the cloak over my head. It fit well, practically perfect. Everyone put their hoods up, I followed.
"Now you have been cloaked." Ellena grinned. Most of her face was shaded by her hood, but I could still see her mouth and chin. "Royally cloaked."
"Make that rebelly cloaked." Someone said.
We laughed and I fixed my black bag on my shoulder. We slipped through the fence. I pulled out all my Pokéballs and attached them to my belt loops. Then we were off.
We walked through the woods for a few minutes. Ellena introduced me to everyone. There was Brush, the oldest of the group. He was in his twenties. He had dark skin, like the rest of the rebels, and raven black hair. Ellena and he led the group. There was Tag, he was the tallest and skinniest. He was a year or so older than I with dark blonde hair. Apart from Kedah there was only one other, Carrick. He was very quiet and never spoke. He was probably eighteen or so.
"We have limited time we can leave," Explained Brush, "we have to leave after mine hours and come back before morning. That means we usually end up running home, sometimes we can't even finish a mission. And sometimes some of us can't go. I can't miss a mine day, but Carrick works in the back and won't be missed. I, however, work right in the front. That's why Sake, Ellena and Kedah were such key aspects, they could always leave without us. Now you're a key aspect."
But I knew I couldn't stay with the rebels. I had gyms and training, I could only help every once in a while. I wasn't going to tell them that until after the bombing.
We walked through the cave. It was damp and dim. You could hear water drip from the ceiling to the floor. Zubat fluttered about, but none challenged. Once we saw the light shining through the exit we all filed out. Our pace quickened and realization of what was going on hit me like a load of rocks. My heart rate increased by millions and I fell to the back of the group. I was hoping the presence would return and feed me peace. I stopped fearing it and began trusting it.
I can't worry about this now. I told myself. I needed to focus. And wishing I had peace and tranquility wasn't helping. Soon I will need to figure out how to rid the thing from my life, but right now I need to get this out of my head! But I couldn't stop thinking about it. I knew I needed to turn to something else, so I did. I started thinking about Celestic. It had been so long since I had seen Grandmother. My heart ached.
After a while we passed Hearthrome. We started following paths I wasn't familiar with. I looked at my map, we weren't technically on the map. That proved how much Lea had hidden and how much he wanted to control, and how much he did control.
My mind revolved everywhere at once, but soon I gained confidence and concentrated on what was ahead.
We came upon a white picket fence at the edge of the forest. Everyone leapt over it. I grabbed the top of the fence and hoisted myself over swiftly. We walked towards a building. Then I realized where we were. We were in Solaceon going towards the Day Care. We were in the area where they kept the Pokémon, but there were none around.
We went to the side door and knocked. After a moment Hilbert poked his head out. "I'll meet ya in a minute." He muttered and shut the door. We jogged across the field and to a white gate. Brush opened it and led the way back into the woods.
There was a clearing close by with a hut-like thing made out of branches in the middle of it. Everyone pulled their hoods down. Brush walked into the tiny hut and swiped away the browning leaves that covered the ground. The leaves hid a trapdoor big enough to fit a person. He grabbed the latch and opened it. Dust and dirt particles shot up into the air. Brush slid into the hole and Carrick followed. Ellena pushed me closer to the hole and I jumped down.
The room was cold. A lantern lit the area. It was a good size, everyone fit comfortably. There were built-in shelves filled with cans of food, canteens, towels, blankets and lanterns. It reminded me of the secret place in the mine in Oreburgh. Then it made sense: That was a rebel safe-spot just like here.
"Alright rebels, let's get down to business." Tag grinned and sat at an empty space on the shelf.
"We have to wait for Hilbert's permission." Ellena reminded him. "He might not even go for it."
"Please. Hilbert hates Lea Loser as much as any of us." Kedah commented.
"But he cares too much for Solaceon. Minus the misfire in the mine, this is the first time we're attacking so closely to here." Brush brought a good point. "Here's how it's going to down." He started explaining what each of us would do when the time came.
Basically, Brush and Carrick would set the bomb off on the hotspot. Tag would use his Mr. Mime and set a force field so no one can come near the area. Kedah and I would take watch, if anyone passes the force field (Although unlikely) or Mr. Mime fails, we could do whatever needed to stop them and be backup. Ellena was going to stand near Carrick and Brush and come in when needed. They said this was a simple mission, although I didn't think it was simple, I was thankful it wasn't a hard one.
There was a knock on the door. Brush opened it. Hilbert stood there. "Sorry folks." He slid down into the room. "Now what's goin' on?"
Ellena approached him. "We want permission to bomb a hotspot on Route 209."
Hilbert sighed rubbed his eyes with his pointer finger and thumb. "Ellena, ya know I can't just'a let ya bomb near Solaceon. Red would have my hide! The citizens are 'ready scared batty."
"But it's a hotspot. There's an old legend that goes along with it." Brush said.
"What's this legend say?" Hilbert asked. "And why are we still tryin' to do this? We ain't gettin' nowhere."
"We're doing this for Sinnoh, we can't give up!" Kedah yelled.
"Watch it." Brush said. He pulled out a yellowed piece of paper and unfolded it. He showed it to everyone else. It was a first edition Sinnoh map. The towns were named differently, and the half of Sinnoh with Jubilife was a bunch of trees.
"This is Old Sinnoh map. Right here," He pointed to Solaceon and Route 209, "was called Mengutuk. It means curse." He turned the back of the map towards us. Words and diagrams were scrawled out on the paper. "This explains that Mengutuk was cursed because bad spirits roamed around. The natives tried to make a village, but they scared them away. Then, it says Legendaries opened a tunnel leading underground and sent the evil spirits away. After they sent the bad spirits down the tunnel, they sealed it closed. Legend says that's why the Unknowns are drawn to this place." The diagrams showed a tunnel-like thing coming from the ground and Unknowns surrounding it.
"So why are we bombin' it? If an evil somethin' comes into Solaceon the citizens really won't be happy campers." Hilbert said. "Lea might not even know 'bout this riddle."
"Oh, he knows." Ellena said. "This was sent from Canalave library. This was in a file in the restricted section." She turned to me. "Everything in the restricted section is what Lea wants to hide."
"Still, he may not even care."
"Hilbert, he has to care." Tag said. "He's freaky superstitious."
"Let's turn this around, what if the legend is true and the bad ghoul haunts you guys?" Hilbert said.
"If it is we'll take it down. Carrick and me will be right there ready to fight. No ghoul, ghost or monster is getting past us. And it he does, Ellena is right there. She can call Cynthia, Kedah and Tag, and then the thing will definitely have a fight."
Hilbert looked over and met my eyes. "Cynthia! Howdy girl." He smiled. "Glad to see ya joined the gang here." He looked around. "Say, where's Sake?"
"Long story short, she's a fake Sake who worked with Lea and Cynthia took her place." Tag said.
"…Oh." He looked shocked. "Well ain't that somethin'?" He took a seat on a wooden crate.
"Anyways, will you let us get this hotspot?" Ellena asked.
He stroked his white beard in thought. "I guess. But ya have't take extra precaution! If you're caught by someone, especially Hilda, you and me will be in trouble!"
"Hilda?" I echoed. "Your wife doesn't know you work with the rebels?"
He sighed. "That be correct. I can't tell her, it's fer her safety ya know." It did make sense, but I didn't like it. I couldn't tell Grandmother or anyone I worked with them. Even if it was just that once.
"Alright, thanks Hilbert. We'll only take a little while then we'll be on our way." Brush said.
"Okay youngins. Be safe and please, please be careful." Carrick moved the wooden ladder over to the door. Hilbert climbed up and out.
Brush grabbed a bag and some matches. I assumed the bombs were in the bag. He threw it over his shoulder and pulled his hood up, I did the same. We climbed up the ladder and Tag closed the door and covered it with leaves. Then we jogged off towards Route 209.
Kedah and I stood in a group of trees on Route 209. Tag stood nearby and commanded his Mr. Mime to use the move Protect. It had turned into a force field wall, it was amazing. Brush and Carrick were to our left working on setting off the bomb. Ellena was somewhere secluded in the trees behind them.
I heard a whistle. That was the sign that the bomb was going to explode. I looked over and covered my ears. The bomb exploded and fire lit up. Carrick and Brush were far enough away not to worry about being hit.
"Let's go." Kedah whispered. We ran towards the area. The ground looked a bit distressed, but there were no trees around to take a blow. In fact it was close to the water's edge. Brush, Carrick and Ellena came up behind us. The ground was shaking. Right where the bomb went off the dirt collapsed, and then a rock tunnel came up from the ground. It came up to my shoulder and probably was as big around as me.
We surrounded the tunnel, not sure of what would happen. I half-thought that the presence would tell me if something bad would happen, so I was confident.
The problem: Nothing happened.
"What the Sinnoh is taking it so long?" Ellena said.
"It may not exist." Brush scratched his chin. He hesitantly walked to the tunnel and peered in. "It looks like some sort of… Key it needed." He looked at the Old Sinnoh map again. "This says nothing about a key!"
I felt something nudge my side. I looked down, nothing but my bag. Then I saw something bump the inside of it. Something was trying to get out. I quickly unzipped the top and the thing flew out. It stopped in front of my face. It was the rock Grandmother gave to me. The one with the line on it. Now the line was filled with purple-looking energy running through it. It zoomed over to the tunnel and lowered itself down.
"Cynthia, how'd you get that?!" Kedah asked. But no one paid attention to her.
A huge shadow formed at the top of the tunnel. What have I done?!
Authors Note: Hey there readers! Just a few things...
There was some word-confusion when Ellena was explaining the rebel history last chapter that I cleared up. I hope the whole thing isn't so confusing. Now we're at chapter fifteen, and I'm not sure that we're halfway done yet! But my stories have a mind of their own, so who knows really.
Thank you all for reviewing and reading and supporting! It's flippin' fantastic!
Via: Thank you so much for your kind words. I went and edited where you said necessary. Finding your reviews are like getting little gifts of smiles!
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And thank you everybody else for reading.