A/N

Chapter 4 is here! In which Matt and Adria have a little chat and trouble becomes double trouble.

Also, huge thanks to Zoeten and ChelseaSienaJosephineCassand ra for reviewing! And thank you to ChelseaSienaJosephineCassand ra for following, and Musical2day for following and favorite-ing!

News from Koilate, co-writer of this story and my good friend; she's thinking about posting a few stories about her characters (Adria, Nathan, James, and Benn are all her characters, for clarification) and their backgrounds and whatnot sometime in the future. She also says thank you to everyone that reads, follows, favorites, or reviews with nice comments.

Disclaimer: Pokemon does not belong to me or my friend and we take no credit for any of them. The only things that belong to us are the human characters, the personalities of the Pokemon that are central to the story, and the story lines.


Chapter 4: Secret Exchange

Getting into the house and waiting for the others to get in, Darteng, who was taking up the rear, pulled the door closed after everyone. Adria helped Matt to the couch and left him for the phone. "He's right. You're not going anywhere, and I'll even turn security back on to keep you here if I have to," she dialed a few numbers and instantly got Nathan on the phone.

Nathan's work had some good doctors to take a look at Matt's 'couple of bruised ribs'. Adria had no medical experience so, as far as she knew, Matt's description could have described it perfectly. Getting a doctor from Cerulean could have taken too long because she'd have to explain and give them directions here. Meanwhile, the people at Nathan's work knew where the house was and would arrive almost immediately.

Matt fell silent at her threat to turn the security back on. At the point, it was almost advisable to do so because Alex could be back at any time and that was a very dangerous person to have after you. He sighed wearily, running a hand over his face and through his hair. He realized that he was still completely drenched and hesitated to sit on the couch. Both of the trainers were probably getting water everywhere after their dip in the pond out back. Deciding that keeping soaked clothes on wasn't such a good idea, he pulled off his jacket. Heavy with water as it was, it was a relief to have it off his shoulders. Setting the soggy item to the side where it hopefully wouldn't do too much damage, he examined the bruises left on his left arm, the arm that had been trapped by the Tentacruel's cruel tentacles. The bruises were already starting to turn an unappealing black color in stripes down his arm where the tentacle had pressed as it wound around him. No doubt his ribs would look quite similar.

"Just who are you calling, anyway?" He was genuinely curious about who Adria was trying to get on the phone that knew medical skills. Really, Matt still thought it was a waste of time, but he didn't particularly feel like arguing with the stubborn teenager.

At this point Adria didn't care about the couch getting wet; a couch could be replaced. "My brother," Adria answered. "His work has doctors that can get here in several minutes, at most, and any medical help is free of charge. It's less tedious and not a risk of Cerberus chasing them away from the house," because he had a tendency for doing that with almost anyone. He was in a bad mood right now, anyway, so another random person was the last thing he needed.

"He'll get someone down here. Being part of the work community he and his family get priority aid. Although I know what to do about it, plenty of water and some burn cream — my foot did get burned, after all — I don't know how long I have to administer the cream or if I need a specific brand or if it's all the same. By extension, this aid goes to you as well." Her explanation was very quick and quite possibly merged together at the end of the sentence because almost immediately after finishing her sentence, she had to pick up with something else directed to the phone and her brother Nathan.

Matt was quiet through her speedy response to his question. Okay, so apparently her brother worked somewhere with really good medical or something like that. Adria was talking on the phone with him now, though, so he decided to leave her to speak. Instead, he took a look out the window to make sure that Alex wasn't about to look back. Of course, if Alex really did come back, there was no guarantee that Matt would know about it. That person was mysterious and shifty. It made Matt nervous just thinking about it.

Ender had found an unobtrusive corner to settle down in and appeared to be resting. Ghosts didn't sleep, really, so he was doing something similar to try to regain some of his energy. Gama had settled down as well, croaking slightly as he watched Adria talk rapidly. Shida had also slipped inside, having been of little help outside, and hopped up on the couch. Although she wanted to try curling up in Matt's lap, he was wet and she wrinkled her nose slightly at the thought of getting wet, herself.

Cerberus, who had disappeared for the moment, came back from the direction of the bathroom where his teeth had found purchase in a pink and grey towel; he brought it to Matt to help him dry off and feel a bit warmer. The towel was semi-warm because it had been sitting next to a heater and was dragged over by a mobile heater, but it may or may not have been enough. Cerberus could radiate more heat for him if he wanted, though. Of course Matt could also use it as something to sit on rather than the couch if he wanted, folding it up and sitting on it so he didn't soak the couch. Again, Cerberus really didn't care what Matt did with it. He just brought a towel for him.

After a brief explanation, Adria was hanging up the phone and hopping over to their security system, turning it back on so if anyone (Alex) tried to get in they would be alerted immediately.

The sudden appearance of the angry-looking dog Pokémon with a towel surprised Matt slightly, but he accepted the warm item with a soft but grateful 'thank you.' Using it first to dry himself off a little, he spread it on the couch and sat down, glad that he wasn't spreading water everywhere he touched and could now sit down and rest for a moment. It appeared that he was still a little short of breath and his ribs were still aching. It was taking more rest than he thought it would to recover from his sudden, forced dip in the pond in Adria's back yard.

"You know... the longer I hang around, the more likely it is that Alex will come back and attack you." Now that this Alex person had seen Matt with Adria, Adria was in danger. Matt had associated with Adria and Alex had seen. That meant that Adria was now within a very dangerous person's sights. The longer Matt stuck around, the more likely it was that Adria would be put in danger.

The hound gave a soft growl, though not out of anger or irritation as he stalked away to find another towel for his dripping wet trainer. Adria tugged off her shirt – though had a cami underneath, so there was nothing to reveal and there was nothing to really make Matt feel uncomfortable – and rung her shirt out in the kitchen sink. "And I'm still not letting you out of this house," she stated firmly. "I understand why you feel so concerned about dragging others into your troubles and your concern for others falling victim to Alex's attacks. But I'm still not letting you go out on your own because of it."

She'd already been seen with Matt and was therefore already associated with him to some extent. And she already planned to one day go to Johto and call him up and travel a bit in the future. They'd be associated with one another either way. They already were and there was no changing that, especially when Adria went straight to Matt's aid almost right away. "Someone'll be here any minute."

Matt sighed, raking a hand through his wet hair. "Figured you'd say that," he huffed, slightly irritable that this had happened again. This was the whole reason he hadn't wanted to associate with Adria or anyone else, but Ender had been so insistent on the fact that Matt needed to start making friends again. He couldn't let the past gnaw at him forever and that had been exactly what he had been doing. "Just... warning you, you know..."

Alex was a very dangerous person and this wasn't the first time that Matt had been attacked. It was why both Ender and Matt had hinted at 'trouble' following them around. It seemed that this Alex had a personal fixation with Matt and liked to torment him and anyone that came in contact with him. The same courtesy extended to Tary, Matt's little sister, which was why Matt was so eager to find her. The more he thought about her, the more he worried. What if Alex had already found her? What if she was hurt? What would Matt do if his little sister was hurt because he couldn't get to her in time?

Cerberus returned with the second semi-warm towel for his trainer. A few moments later someone appeared out of thin air in Adria's back yard, knocking at the window with a Hypno at his side. Adria immediately let him in after deactivating the security for the back door. This man was tall and, despite being a foreigner, a man with wavy blond hair and sea-blue eyes, when he spoke his Japanese was flawless. "Nathan said you had a bit of a troublesome intrusion?" he asked, stepping into the house and shedding his tan trench coat, hooking it on the back of the dining room chair. "What's the problem?"Adria pointed over to Matt. The foreigner strode over.

Matt frowned at the sight of the stranger and seemed incredibly uncomfortable. He shook his head slightly. "I'm fine. Adria scalded her foot, though." Matt had been at the water at the time of the Scald attack, but had been too close to the Tentacruel to be damaged by the attack that had mostly affected the area of the water that Adria was in. His only injuries were his ribs and the rather obvious, black bruises that had formed on his arm. They formed fast and it was clear that he had been squeezed tighter than anyone had realized when the Tentacruel had a grip on him. Whatever he said, it obviously hurt and he was only trying to get out of being looked at by the foreign doctor.

The man turned back to look at Adria, who in turn showed him her left foot. It was only red and looked slightly swollen, but not too much, and the pain wasn't always present. "Run that under cool water for about 10 or 15 minutes or until the pain begins to subside. Cool water, not cold. Wrap loosely in gauze and take pain pills when needed." Now it was Matt's turn, and he turned once again to face Matt. "That bruise doesn't spell out 'fine'. Allow me to look at it, please." He approached Matt once again, though halted a foot or two away. He wouldn't get any closer unless Matt said he could. But his eyes remained on the bruise. He could sense Matt's discomfort. There was no way that bruise and whatever else he was hiding wasn't painful for him. "Please, just let me look and see. Just from the darkness of that bruise it doesn't look at all comfortable. I'm a doctor, and a good one at that, or I wouldn't have been hired at all by the organization." He tried to talk Matt into letting him approach and inspect. "I guarantee I know what I'm doing."

Matt frowned, realizing that he had only delayed the man's attention. It took him a moment to decide, in which he tuned out the doctor, and he came to the conclusion that he wasn't really getting out of here without being looked at. It wasn't so much the doctor that bothered him; it was the fact that he was going to be removing his shirt in front of the two; no helping that at the moment, though. "Fine," he sighed, shifting slightly to remove his shirt.

He pulled the fabric off, wincing slightly when the motion necessitated that he raise his arms over his head. When he had the sodden black fabric off, it became much clearer why he had been resistant. Underneath the black bruises circling his torso – seriously, he was lucky the Tentacruel hadn't broken or cracked any ribs – there were scars littering his body. They ranged from long and smooth to short and torn. They gave him a more ragged appearance, but the worst, by far, was the dark mark on the left side of his chest. A large, bold 'A' inside a circle appeared to have been burned into his skin. It was a brand.

The doctor instantly knew why he'd been so hesitant. Before Adria could even speak up in horror, he spoke up first to get her out of the room. One less person may make him feel a bit better. "Go change and soak your foot Adria," he ordered. His tone gave Adria the feeling that this was something she shouldn't argue with nor resist. Doing as she was told, she ran up the stairs to her room to change out of her wet clothes; all the while, Matt's horribly scarred body clear on the front of her mind.

Going back to Matt, the man ignored the horrifying scars for the most part and knelt down to better inspect the bruises on the boy's body. "You're sitting up so they're not broken. That's some bad bruising, though. On a scale of 1 to 10 how bad is the pain? Be honest with me, Matt."

Matt seemed to feel better when Adria left the room. He hadn't wanted her to see that; he hadn't wanted anyone to see that. These scars, this brand, they were all marks left on him by Alex. Marks of pain and shame and he'd rather forget them. It seemed he was relieved for Adria departure, though, and the doctor's avoidance of the issue. "No more than a five." It wasn't the worst bruising he'd ever received and it was far from being the worst injuries he'd ever had; the scars were proof enough of that. No, the bruises were just irritating him whenever he took too deep a breath. "What can you do for a few bruises?" Matt wasn't exactly savvy on medical information. He knew a few things, like any on-the-road trainer ought to know, but it was usually the most rudimentary, basic information for the most basic of wounds.

The doc thought for a moment about the scale pain measurement. "Well, just remember this; bruised ribs and broken ribs are treated the same way. You're going to need to take pain relievers when needed. Ice these bruises for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, 3 to 4 times a day. These will be healed in about 3 to 4 weeks. I advise no strenuous activities that involve using your ribs, as well. Same for your arm. Really, I would say stay home and relax, but if you must be somewhere, take it slow and easy. I don't exactly know what happened to you for you to be so bruised up and give Adria a red foot. Quite frankly, I am curious about it and also bout these scars of yours, but I won't ask you to divulge that information." He switched to the arm. "How does your arm feel? The blood circulation is okay?"

"It was a Tentacruel." Matt offered a small piece of information about what had happened to them, but otherwise didn't elaborate. "And sorry, but I can't be sitting still just yet." There was someone that he needed to find before Alex caught up to her and he'd be damned if something bad happened while he rested and laid around for a few bruised ribs. "My arm is fine. Nothing unusual." Of course, it was just as bruised and sore as his ribs, but he would be fine. Bruises didn't scare him and they wouldn't deter him from setting out onto the road no matter what the doctor said.

A slight chuckle escaped the foreign man's lips. "I see. So you're a persistent young man. In my country we call people like you 'rücksichtslos'**," his accent changed to a very heavy German accent. "Of course there is nothing wrong with that. If you must be somewhere then I cannot stop you. But I must insist you take it easy and don't do anything stupid that will cause your ribs even more pain, either." He dug into his coat pocket and pulled out two things: a case of pills and a card. "Here's some pain medication. If you have some, take these anyway. And here's my card. It's got my number on it, so give me a call if you're in trouble and don't want other doctors trying to prod answers out of you about your scars. In my line of work, everyone keeps secrets for good reason. I won't ask about these scars, even if I am a bit curious; that I can promise you. You can just give me a call, no questions asked except for your location. Or you can toss the card: doesn't matter. 'Kay?"

With a slight hesitance, Matt accepted the card and the bottle of pills that had been produced for him. He scanned the card politely, genuinely interested in this man that seemed so willing to let his scars go and let him do what he needed to do despite the injuries he had sustained. "... Thank you. I'll be sure to keep your card, doc." It was a round-about way of Matt offering his acceptance of the doctor and his advice, as well as his thanks for both the treatment and the kind offer. The pain medication was sure to come in handy for when he was traveling with such dark bruises and he was thankful for the offer.

Something crossed Matt's mind, but he held his tongue on the question that had suddenly formed in his head. Just where did Adria's brother work to have access to private doctors willing to hop out onto the field suddenly? However, he chose to offer the doctor the same courtesy that had been offered to him. It was slightly unlikely that Matt would get a straight answer about where this man worked, but he figured it really wasn't important and it was none of his business. Like the doc said, some people keep secrets for a good reason.

"Good," the doc grinned. "And if you need more pills, running to about any store with get you those. And call me Benn, or Doc. Benn, if you must." He was glad that Matt had decided to keep the card. "Do you have a spare set of clothing? Otherwise Cerbs will fetch you something from the old clothing bin that Nathan fails to donate away every year." Failure wasn't an option for Nathan, unless it was a bin of old clothes. "Your clothes should be thrown in the dryer before you go anywhere, I will tell you that."

Just then, Adria poked her head down the stairs. "Matt, what's your sister's name? Full name?" She asked. "And what does she look like now? Hair color, height, age, etc..." these questions were vey sudden, but she had good reason to ask these things.

Matt seemed like he was about to answer Benn, but Adria's sudden interruption distracted him and he looked over at her in utter confusion. Such specific questions; he wasn't sure why she wanted such specific information, but it wasn't really anything he was too uncomfortable with sharing. "Uh... Taria. Taria Ruby Sanders. She's... 11 now, I think. I don't know her exact height, or weight, but she's a petite girl. Maybe three and a half feet tall?" It sounded more like a question than anything. "Black hair, grey-blue eyes. Wears glasses. Why?" He fidgeted slightly, aware that he hadn't yet replaced his shirt and he needed to fetch his dry, yet slightly more dirty, clothes from his bag. It had been dropped somewhere along the way, so he needed to find it first.

"Is she someone you are looking for? And is she connected to the attack?" Benn asked.

"Matt's searching for her. Things aren't very... good for them. The road, I mean." Adria avoided looking at his scars while speaking to Benn, but it was hard. "At the moment we don't know where she is. But we need to find her before something happens."

"I understand," Benn dipped his head. "No more questions. I'll be in contact a bit later, then." Adria owed Matt an explanation. "Matt, I'll be back with results a bit later, an hour tops. I suggest you stick around and take it easy and eat something warm after you change." Cerberus had wandered off again In the midst of the talk, but he came back from the back, having Matt's bag dragging along the carpet and toward him. He used the doggy-door, which wasn't blocked off and locked. "And don't eat anything Adria makes: you'll die." He added.

Matt seemed incredibly confused by now. Everyone in the house seemed to know something he did and it was starting to creep him out a little. He wasn't especially unnerved by the warning not to eat Adria's food; he'd had plenty of experience with that, so he just sort of nodded numbly as he accepted his bag from Cerberus. "Thanks." He didn't really know who he was thanking at the moment; was it just Cerberus, or had Adria and Benn just done him a favor? He didn't know and he didn't really want to hurt himself trying to solve a puzzle that was missing a few pieces. Instead, he focused on pulling out a spare pair of clothes, the plain ones he had been wearing yesterday, and pulled a shirt over his head. The bruises ached when he did so, but it was worth it to cover up the scars that seemed to have drawn some attention from the two in the room.

Benn smiled to Matt. He could understand his confusion; he was there once. All in due time. He was sure Adria would explain and talk him through her brother's work in the organization that had remained nameless. "Right. I will be back." With that, the Hypno that had been minding its own business in the corner quietly appeared by Benn's side, then they were gone a second later, using the Hypno's psychic powers to teleport.

"Tell me when you're done changing and I'll throw those in the dryer for you." Adria quickly hopped off the steps and dashed through the living room and to the hallway where, tucked away in the closet next to the bathroom was a door that was actually a mini laundry room where the washer and dryer were stacked.

Matt watched them go, left in something of a stupor. After a moment, he stood and followed Adria to the hallway so he could borrow the bathroom for a moment to finish changing and make sure everything was alright. At least his balance had returned after spending a little time sitting down and resting. It took him only a few moments to change and, with the towel he had brought with him from the couch, dry himself off a little more. He emerged from the bathroom after only a minute or so and located Adria, offering her his wet clothes. "So... care to tell me what all that was about?" The poor boy seemed lost about the whole thing. He had no idea what was going on, where Benn really came from, or what Adria's brother did for a living. It was all a mystery to him and he wanted to know just what he was getting himself into now.

Adria smiled sheepishly, accepting the clothing from him and throwing them in the dryer with hers. She still had to soak her foot in running water. "It's a long explanation and almost crazy." She thought of where to start. "Benn and Nathan work for an organization that is virtually unknown by the public. They're mainly based in Viridian disguised under the occupation of being a Lava Lamp factory. Long story short, this organization can be considered an elite police force, only they specialize in taking down organizations like Team rocket and the such. Secret agents, so to say. Nathan's kind of a rookie. Working for them means being involved and being involved means being targeted sometimes, hence the security systems around here." She motioned to the doors, leaning against the door of the laundry room. "All Benn has to do is plug in Taria's information and cross-reference it with video footage from the Pokémon Centers and registered rooms to her and we have a general idea of where and when she last checked in or out. Creepy, I know but because of this trouble that's chasing you, this seemed like the best option."

Matt listened intently, giving her his full attention. This was important, and it answered just about all the questions he had been thinking about before. "So your brother is part of a secret police that work to take down Team Rocket and have access to security footage from Pokémon Centers and any kind of information they need?" It seemed a little far-fetched, but with the trouble that was following him, it wasn't hard to believe such a thing; he needed to believe if it he wanted his little sister to be okay.

"I wish I would have known about such an organization sooner. If so, maybe Alex would have been put behind bars long ago." Too long had he been running from trouble. It had followed him for a long time and the police had been able to do very little for such a threat. Alex always stayed low profile; even though Alex had climbed onto the roof of Nathan's home, the security cameras around the house wouldn't have caught the face hiding beneath the jacket's hood. "The police haven't been all that helpful."

Adria nodded. "I know what you mean. This organization tries to keep a low profile themselves. They only present themselves to someone who's caught their eye. Nathan, a year ago, caught their eye when he stopped an ambush on the house by Rockets. Their stealing spree has increased since then, but a year ago they had their sights set on his, Maddie's and my own Pokémon, which was a lot. I wasn't as experienced as I am now. They kept an eye on him, and then one day approached him in town and spoke to him." She explained. "It's more behind the scenes, so it understandable why you hadn't known. You likely wouldn't have known unless you caught their eye." This little explanation also explained her motives of blowing up the base yesterday.

Matt nodded in understanding. It was a low profile organization. Matt hadn't done anything particularly noble to fight the Rockets or any of the other bad groups he'd run across; mostly he'd just been trying to keep his head above water when dealing with the trouble. Was Alex part of the Rockets? Matt didn't rightly know, but it wouldn't seem all that far-fetched. "Regardless, I wish I had known sooner. Maybe now they'll have an eye on Alex."

Alex was dangerous, after all. Whether or not a part of the Rockets, that person had been known to kill people; had almost killed Matt. It partially explained why Matt hadn't wanted to stick around, but there was obviously more to the story than he was willing to tell. Something had happened in the past that had driven him to stay away from people, all because of something Alex had done.

Whether or not Alex was a Rocket or not Adria didn't know. She understood this Alex person was dangerous. From the scars on Matt's front, he or she was obviously a very dangerous person. "Unless a special request has been made, Alex wouldn't have been watched. Even if they are known to kill, if Alex was keeping a low profile it's unlikely they would have known. But I'll send in the security footage to them. Hopefully they can help keep Alex off your back... no, they should be able to keep an eye out for Alex. If there's a dangerous person out on the loose, regardless of being a Rocket or not, if the police are having difficulties catching them, then they'll step in. If Benn or Nathan aren't already accessing the security footage now, I'll send whatever footage in. But you're going to have to provide information if you know any."

Matt scowled slightly at the thought of having to speak of Alex to others. "Yeah..." Not exactly something he was comfortable with sharing, but he'd need to tell others about Alex so they had a chance at catching the murderer. "That's not going to be pleasant." It wasn't part of his past that he was very comfortable with sharing. Tary didn't know a whole lot about the situation beyond what she had been told – all this troublesome business had started before she was old enough to really remember – so it was up to Matt to tell others.

He turned and moved back to the living room to find himself a place to sit. First off, Adria probably deserved more of an explanation about just who they were dealing with before anything else. Adria had offered him an explanation of what was going on with Nathan's work and what they did, so one explanation deserved another in turn.

While he went to the living room, Adria went to the kitchen and pulled out the leftovers from the fridge: ramen and boiled vegetables. Setting out two bowls, Adria threw the leftovers in the microwave and, after quite a few beeps, got the machine working. Kitchen appliances weren't her forte. Shuffling back over to the living room, Adria claimed a seat on the floor next to the curled up Cerberus, cuddling into him to keep warm. He looked at her for a long moment before deciding to allow her to take his warmth and radiated more heat from his body. "Why not? If you want you can just write it down." Adria offered. If he didn't really want to tell anyone, then he didn't have to.

"It's just... not the most pleasant experience recounting information about Alex, but, I sort of owe you an explanation for dragging you into this mess. Plus, you told me about your brother's work, so it's really only fair." He took a deep breath to try and steel himself for the telling of this story. "She's been after me for years, now; me and Tary. Always staying quietly under the radar, she avoids the police and strikes whenever she thinks she has a clear shot at either of us. This is not the first time she's tried to kill me, and she managed to kill a good friend of mine just because he was my friend. I had a feeling that she had been following me lately, so I was trying to lose her; that's why I was so late in getting back to Kanto. I had thought she was gone for a while and went searching for my sister so we would be able to travel together; she's a lot more vulnerable on her own than I am... Ender's been trying to get me to make friends again for a few years now, but it's not easy when you've got someone like Alex on your tail... If you didn't get her face on the security cameras, I can provide information on what she looks like. Don't have a picture, though."

Adria cocked her head to the side, listening to his story. Now she understood why he was being distant and didn't seem to want to interact and grow close. Of course she knew it was because of Alex, but the reasoning behind it had eluded her until now, as he presented the explanation. "I get where you're coming from. At first I thought you were just a jerk," even if she found him rather cute, "but now this explains why you've been distant and rather unwilling to make friends and stick around." Since she'd once killed a friend of Matt's, it was understandable why he didn't want any friends. But this didn't seem to matter to her. Earlier, she'd said 'we' when telling Benn about looking for Tary. Adria had a bag packed already upstairs. Despite Matt's wish to not stick around, even after telling Adria his reason why, she had no intentions of leaving this matter alone. She was going with him.

Matt didn't seem bothered by the fact that she thought he had been a jerk; he had been told many times that he came off that way while he was attempting to shun people to get them to stay away. "I don't really know what happened to her to make her this way. I knew her before she got all crazy and violent; she had never acted this way before. I don't think Tary properly remembers, she was only like 4 at the time, but Alex just came home one day and went nuts on the two of us. My dad couldn't stop her. It was sheer luck we survived that time because she just sort of left us and sauntered off to who-knows-where." Matt had dropped a hint he hadn't exactly meant to say when he mentioned that 'Alex came home.' He hardly seemed to have noticed the slip of the tongue, though he had also mentioned knowing Alex before she had gone all crazy.

"Wait-" Adria waved her hand a few times. "She 'came home'?" Adria repeated. "Matt, who was sh-" A loud thump caused her to jump in her sitting spot. Flustered, Adria tripped over to the kitchen and threw the microwave door open. The lid had popped off and the broth had splattered all over the insides of the microwave. Adria, for one, didn't belong in a kitchen at all. The last time something went boom in the microwave it had to be replaced, and that had only been a week or so ago. "Who is she to you, Matt?" She called out from the kitchen, continuing what she had been saying. "You said she came home and your dad couldn't do anything. Don't tell me she's..."

Matt was also startled by the sudden noise from the kitchen and suddenly flashed back to what Benn had told him: don't eat anything that Adria cooks. Did reheated food count? Best be on the safe side; he stood and joined her in the kitchen. The question, at the same time, made him cringe slightly, but there was no getting out of something like that. "My mother." He finished her sentence, observing the mess she had made of the microwave. Unwilling to dwell on his unpleasant familial relationship with a mad-woman, he instead tried to change the subject. "Do you need help?"

Adria cringed from his answer. She wanted to say something, but held her tongue. "I was never really good at cooking and the appliances really hate me," she groaned. She never understood why she was virtually incapable of cooking an edible dish. She was prone to buying take-out or mooching off a friend when she met one along the road. Adria was notorious for almost hospitalizing her friends that tried to eat what she cooked. Since buying food cost money, she had to challenge many trainers and win the money, or compete in tournaments. Although she had won very few times, there was consolation prize money. Adria always longed for the days and meals when returning home for a while, and was thanking every one of her lucky stars that food at a Pokémon center was free provided she had a room to stay in.

"Do you have any ingredients? I can cook." They were waiting around in this house anyway and Adria wasn't going to let him leave, so he might as well make them a meal. Although he was slightly uncomfortable in another person's house, especially trying to cook in an unfamiliar kitchen, it was worth a shot. He hadn't eaten this morning, anyway.

Adria had been attempting to heat up something to eat, so she was doing it for him, was just hungry, or was attempting to feed them both. In any case, it would probably be better if he cooked something up. At least it would keep Adria from destroying anything; the microwave was looking a little worse for the wear on the inside thanks to the ramen and broth.

Adria nodded. "If you're sure, you can if you want. Um... the veggies and all that are in the fridge. Up here in this cupboard, that one and this one have our foods, seasonings are above the stove. I guess I'll clean up the microwave." Thoroughly humiliated by her lack of proper and basic kitchen abilities, Adria found some paper towels and cleaner, sulking inwardly as she did so.


Further off into the distance, well away from the lenses of the security cameras, stood a tall figure. He stared at the house with the lovely white fence and blue-painted door, his ebony locks swept over his eyes. His features were young; he couldn't be any older than his early 30's. He looked remarkably out of place with dark blue jeans, black converse and a black jacket in the middle of a grassy area with trees and blooming flowers. But no one seem to be around to make that judgment. Smirking to himself, he leaned casually against a tree, his blue gaze sweeping to the Umbreon gnawing on an apple. He looked so innocent, trying to devour his apple, almost struggling to do so. The Umbreon was relatively young at heart, his mind susceptible to the influence of the younger generation and the words 'Time to play'. He liked to play.

There was a figure, lounging in the branches of a tree not too far away. The worn grey jacket that covered the figure was baggy and loose. The hood was still up, hiding most of the face in shadows. It was Alex, again. It appeared that she hadn't retreated very far from the scene of her crime. She had seen the doctor man arrive and was quite curious about him, as well as the girl that had helped her son escape from her Tentacruel. This figure, however, was very intriguing. She wasn't sure how long he had been standing there, leaning against that tree, but he made her very curious. Perhaps he would be a lovely new target.

The Espeon from before was practically wrapped around her neck, lying across her shoulders. She remained in that position even as Alex launched herself nimbly from the branches and straight towards the stranger. Touching the ground only once, and only with one foot, she leaped at him knees first, barreling straight into his back to take him down to the ground. "What do we have here?"

The man had been a bit lost on his thoughts to notice the woman at all, caught off his guard and falling forward into the grass and dirt. He made a soft noise in protest and threw a glance over his shoulder to see just who it was hat had suddenly decided to sit on him.

The Umbreon was up in seconds; crouched down, ready to attack the woman and her Espeon. He didn't appreciate her sudden appearance nor did he enjoy the sight of her sitting there. That was his spot!
"Y-you're the one who was over there a bit ago!" He exclaimed, glaring up at her. "Thanks to you, I'm behind schedule!" He growled.

"Behind schedule?" The voice was feminine; sharp and calm. This stranger had intrigued her with his sudden exclamation. She shifted slightly, moving to sit cross-legged on his back."Now just what do you mean by saying something like that?" Her attention had been caught and she didn't seem too intent on hurting him at the moment. She wanted to see what he would say; why he had reacted the way he had.

The Espeon reacted to the growling, cracking an eye open lazily to examine the other Eeveelution. It looked angry about Alex sitting on the man's back, but the Espeon didn't seem to care in the slightest. If it actually attacked, that was another story, but it was just growling right now.

The man clenched his fists, reining his temper a bit. "Your little attack on that boy caused my plans to be thrown off. I was waiting until he left." This man had motives that were set back because of this woman. "Because you wouldn't wait until your prey left, my plans for that girl have been put on hold. The last thing I need is a witness or someone around to help out." The man grumbled. At the moment he couldn't sense much of a threat from this woman. His almost-sinister vibe was gone, replaced with pure annoyance. Dyavol, the Umbreon, was no longer innocent and ready to play, but was rather upset and very unhappy that this woman had sat on his trainer. "And will you get off?!" He hissed out, attempting to just roll her off. "Why are you sitting on me anyway? There are loads more ways to approach someone, ya know."

"Well, I was going to attack you, maybe slit your throat, but you're just far too interesting." The woman showed no signs of moving just yet, easily staying in place as he attempted to roll her off. "And you're a quite comfortable perch. Terribly sorry for upsetting your plans, though. I know it's just a pain when you can't do what you want, when you want." There was genuine sincerity in her voice. A click of the tongue and a snap of the fingers occurred and suddenly Alex was leaning over the man, practically whispering in his ear.

"Tell you what: it looks like your girl and my guy are going to stick together from now on. That's the way it seems to me, at least. So I've got an idea to help make it up to you. I have another target I want to catch; I want to get to her before anyone else does. If you help me track her down and nab her, we can send word to my boy. He'll come running the moment he hears of her danger. If the girl tags along, great. If she doesn't, she's open, fair game. So, what do you say?"

The man listened to her plot and thought it through. Although he wasn't into the idea of looking for someone else for her, if it would somehow get the boy away, that was fine. He didn't particularly like when others were around. He liked to target the girl, really. The brother was usually away at work so there was no reason to go for him. If he did try and go after the brother, he'd be thrown behind bars in an instant if he weren't killed. "Get off me and you have a deal. Dyavol's got dibs on where you're sitting and it's only making him upset." Although there was no doubt he would spring into action should he be attacked. Dyavol, however, was a child at heart and, like all children, liked to play. He liked sitting on his trainer the most, too. His trainer normally didn't care, either. He knew Dyavol wouldn't grow up. He knew Dyavol, but he didn't know this woman.

Alex grinned widely, springing off the man with ease and grace. From her standing position, she reached down to pull him up off the ground. "Great! It's been a long time since I worked with anyone. Sorry for my sudden intrusion. Now that we've gotten things worked out, time for more proper introductions. My name's Alex; care to tell me yours?" She extended her hand to him, waiting to hear a name. It would be a pleasure to finally get to work with someone that had similar interests. Alex was very excited to get on the way to her next target. With this man's help, it would be easier than ever to nab little Tary and draw Matt and the other girl straight into firing range. It was going to be great; the very thought of all that fun send her heart skittering and her blood pumping.

For a moment, he stared at the hand, debating on taking the hand and shaking it. But they were partners now, he guessed. He'd never worked with anyone before. Not another human being, at least. "James," he said, finally taking her hand and shaking it. "My name is James." James and Alex, Alex and James. The pair had a bit of a ring to it. "I reckon your boy will have no idea I'm around. Be a bit of a surprise. She likes to keep me a secret, and I would have preferred it that way, but I guess there's no helping it. If that brat's going to tag along with your prey, no doubt I'd get irritable and go in regardless of his presence or not." James still sounded rather displeased, retracting his arm and folding it with the other. Dyavol and gone back to gnawing on his apple, only this time was at James' s feet. He occasionally looked up, curious about the woman and her Espeon (mostly the Espeon), but did nothing else. His protective aura had faded away, replaced once again with his usual innocent one.

"Oh, I do like springing surprises on other people. This is going to be great fun, I think. Now that we're working together, I think we can have twice the fun. Maybe you can try branching out. It's fun hurting a variety of people. It's especially fun when you're dealing with a pair of friends, because whatever happens to one also effects the other." It certainly sounded like Alex was speaking from experience, and she was. Matt's dead friend was testament of that fact. "Anyway, no time to be dilly-dallying around here. I need to track down my target. A little girl, probably a town or two ahead of here. I'd very much like your help in looking for her, if you please. Her tiny guard dog could probably smell me a mile away, and I'd prefer to avoid her panicking and getting the attention of any near-by trainers." Alex probably could have done this on her own if she wanted or needed, but now she had a partner. Having a partner might make this whole thing much easier for her.

The man smirked, pulling out a Pokéball. "Just lead us there and let us know what she looks like, and I'll have Syler scope her out. After locating her, I'll get her for you. In turn we'll need something to tell the brats we have her, but we'll get to that part later. Just lead on, and everything will fall into place, I guarantee you." With a sneer, he pocketed the Pokéball and signaled to Dyavol that it was time to go. He stood obediently, his tail wagging, clearly excited for whatever adventure they would be going on today.

Dyavol was truly an innocent Pokémon. His trainer was mean to the girl, but he was treated with love and was played with. He was truly too innocent to partake in the horrors of James' hobby; he just ran the errands and provided him a loyal companion, and a heater at night, even if he found his face often smothered into the ground or the Pokémon crushing his lungs.

"Goody! Let's go. I think I know where she is. I poked around looking for her before I came back for Matt. So, I think I know the general area. I'll tell you what she looks like on the way there and then we can figure out where to take her. Oh this is going to be so fun, I can't wait!" Alex seemed beyond giddy as she began to lead the way. They were probably going to need to fly, but they were going to get to Tary before the others no matter what it took.


**Reckless

And, we introduce our second main villain, James! We'll certainly have fun with these two.