Chapter 5
In the Galactic Eterna Building, the Grunts were doing their work as usual. Had they happened to look down, they would've noticed a weird-looking horn on two legs suddenly appear out of thin air. But they didn't, so the horn-thing went unnoticed.
At least, not until the Decoy Detonator did its purpose, which was to explode. Which it did, with great aplomb.
It's hard to ignore an explosion, especially if there's a lot of smoke and noise. It was no different in this case for the Grunts. They coughed, ran around, and sometimes screamed. They didn't notice two figures suddenly joining them, and these two made some more smoke and explosions, keeping the Grunts distracted.
Meanwhile, Harry and Hermione, still hidden by the Invisibility Cloak, rushed to a door, opening it. They found a stairway, and they rushed down it.
They were now in front of another door, and after making sure that nobody was going to come down on them, they took off the Cloak, and opened the door.
They were astonished. All over the floor were red and white balls, and in the middle of the whole mess, a man was gagged and tied to a chair.
Harry and Hermione ran over to the man, and Harry undid the gag. The man coughed, then said, "Are you here to rescue me?"
Harry was disheartened to see that neither Ron nor Millie was here, but he couldn't just leave the man here. He said, "Yeah."
"Well don't forget the Poke Balls! They're from every trainer in Eterna City!"
"But how are we going to carry them all?" Harry asked. He doubted the balls could even fit in the bag, even if it was charmed.
"Just push the button and hold it down for a while. Hurry!"
Harry did what the man said, and to his surprise the ball he was holding shrunk to the size of a ping pong ball. Quickly he and Hermione shrunk the rest of the balls, and soon the balls were all in Hermione's handbag. Because the balls were so small now, no questions were asked when they all fit.
Meanwhile, upstairs, Holly and Sam were doing well. But then a door slammed open.
"WHAT IN THE GALAXY IS GOING ON HERE?!"
Holly and Sam turned in the direction of the voice. A woman with purple hair and eyes was there, and her face was twisted with rage.
"Jupiter! What have you done with Ron and Millie?!" Holly shouted.
"What? Oh, you must mean that red-haired guy and Experiment 0013452681!"
"My sister's name is Millie, not Experiment 00-whatever! And you still haven't answered me!"
"Well, not that it matters, the red-head put up a fight, but he was safely transported to Galactic HQ for experimentation. As for the Espeon morph, she's… one of our friends now."
"Millie would never willingly befriend you!" Sam shouted.
Jupiter laughed. "Who said anything about willingly?"
From behind Jupiter, Millie came out. But she was wearing a Galactic uniform, and around the red jewel on her head was a strange metal headband. Her eyes were cold and emotionless.
Jupiter smiled and she threw out a Poke Ball. "Go, Skuntank!"
The Poke Ball opened, and out came a large, skunk-like creature. "Skuntank!" it said.
"Millie, you can't do this. You're my sister." Holly pleaded. But Millie's face was expressionless, and she raised her hands-
At the same time, Harry and Hermione arrived at the scene, followed by the man they had just rescued. "Close your eyes, would you? And don't peek." Harry asked the man. The man complied.
Harry and Hermione both took out their wands, and said, "Incarcerous!" Ropes shot out of their wands.
Jupiter cried out, "What the!" as she and her Skuntank were both tied up. Millie managed to avoid the same fate by Teleporting away just as the ropes reached her.
Knowing that it was useless to stay any longer, Holly, Sam, Harry, Hermione, and the man ran out of the Galactic Eterna Building.
M
Outside, the man grumbled, "Locked me up in there just because I wanted my Clefairy back… what a bunch of goons…" Then the man was all smiles.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you! Those people kept me in there forever! I wasn't sure if I was ever going to get out! Thank you!"
"Uh… Sure thing." Harry said awkwardly.
"Hey, you mind getting those Poke Balls out?" the man asked Hermione. She pulled the balls out of her bag, putting them on the ground.
The man searched the pile of balls, saying "Aha!" when he pulled out a ball with a crescent moon marking on it. The man pushed the button, and it enlarged. He pushed the button again, and this time the ball opened, and a light came out. It turned into a pink thing with brown ears, and it smiled happily and said "Clefairy!"
"Clefairy! It's you!" The man hugged the pink thing, and then returned it to its ball. He said, "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Rad Rickshaw, master of anything on wheels!"
"Rad Rickshaw? You mean you're the owner of Rad Rickshaw's Cycle Shop?" Sam asked.
"The very same! Come on, follow me! Oh and don't forget the other Poke Balls!" Hermione put the balls back in her bag.
Later, the group was outside a shop with the words RAD RICKSHAW'S CYCLE SHOP on it. They went inside, and a boy seated at one of the tables ran up to Rad and hugged him.
"Dad, I was so worried about you! Did you get our Clefairy back?"
"Sure did, son! Hey, can you take these Poke Balls to Officer Jenny and make sure that they're returned to their rightful owners?" Hermione took out the balls and laid them on the table.
"Sure thing, Dad!" The boy took the balls and went out of the shop.
"And you deserve a reward!" Rad said, turning to the quartet.
"No, no, it's okay…" Harry said.
"Aw, don't be so modest! Now wait here."
Rad went into the back of the shop, and came out with four bikes.
"Here! They're the latest models!"
"Really… We don't need them…" Harry said weakly.
"Oh, don't worry! Here, let me show you!" Rad took one of the bikes and he folded- yes, folded- the bike into a smaller object. "They're a new fold model, for easy storage! And besides, you won't be able to get onto Cycling Road without them! Oh, and they're free!"
Knowing that there was absolutely no way to change Rad's mind, the quartet took the bikes and headed for Sam's house to prepare for the long journey ahead.
M
Where am I?
This was what Draco asked as he looked around. Around him, there were clouds everywhere. He was even standing on one; the fluffiness of it proved that.
"Why, we're home."
Draco jumped a mile when he heard the voice. It was low and growly, like it belonged to an animal of some kind. Draco looked behind him, and he nearly fainted.
Behind him, a large, green, snake-like dragon with yellow rings all over its body was there. But the funny thing was, it had what seemed to be a metal collar with a chain on its neck that didn't look like it was connected to anything.
"Who… who are you?" Draco asked the dragon carefully.
"Me? Well, I'm you."
"What? But… but that's impossible!"
"Oh? And why ever not?
"Because you're… you're an animal. A monster."
"…So what you're saying is that you're a monster."
"NO! I'm not like the other Death Eaters, and I'm not a killer either."
"Whatever. You're just in denial. Just accept the fact that we're the one and the same, and we'll both be happy."
The dragon shook itself, as if trying to dislodge its collar. "By the way, this thing is just getting uncomfortable. You wouldn't mind taking it off, would you?"
"…And how do I do that?"
"Just do what I told you earlier; accept the fact that we're the same through and through."
"WHAT!? No, I'll never let you free; I know what you're going to do if I do, and I'm not going to let that happen!"
The dragon growled, and Draco gasped as he suddenly fell through the cloud he was standing on. He was falling, falling, falling…
M
Draco woke up with a start. He had a huge headache, and he rubbed his forehead, trying to massage it away. Then he suddenly remembered what had happened, and he looked down at the river he had been sleeping near. He still looked like… that thing.
"Okay, okay, I'm dreaming, I'm still dreaming…" Draco pulled hard on one of his horns, and hissed in pain. "Okay, I'm not dreaming…"
Draco felt around his robes, and pulled out his mother's wand. "Well, at least I still have a wand…"
Well, I'd better get out of here. Draco thought, then realized he couldn't feel the ground. He looked down, and found that he sort of just floated there. Well, isn't that just peachy.
Draco floated away from the river, and after what seemed like hours he stopped and sat (well, tried to) down on a log to rest. He buried his face in his hands, trying to make sense of all that had happened.
Unseen by Draco, a curious Budew came over and sat down next to him on the log. Draco opened an eye and saw the Budew, but he didn't do anything to it. Then he started to rant.
"God, what have I done to deserve this?! Have I really been that bad all my life. Sure, I made fun of Saint Potter and his friends, but really! Okay, maybe I did join the Death Eaters, but I was young and innocent!
The Budew didn't react to the outburst. Draco looked down at it and smiled, petting it. The Budew chirped. "Sorry for that. But you don't mind me, do you?" The Budew chirped again.
There was a rustling, and Draco looked up. The Budew got scared and ran off. Draco stared after it.
Suddenly, Galactic Grunts burst from the bushes, along with some strange creatures.
Draco just sat there. Then, he whispered to himself, "Karma, have I really been that bad?"