Thanks to Meemeeru and Darkkami for reviewing, and to everyone else following along!
My Great Big Adventure
"Rosa, you have to come back to Driftveil," Bianca sobbed, fresh tears running down her cheeks. "Cheren's been kidnapped!"
"What?! How?"
Cheren might look like a thin twig, but he IS a gym leader, so there's bound to be some fight in him. He's no pushover, and his Pokemon aren't that weak. How did he get kidnapped? Who would kidnap him?
Well, I suppose the first answer that comes to mind is Team Plasma. Then again, they steal Pokemon, not people.
"I… I don't really know!" she cried, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "He's being forced to battle repeatedly!"
"What?"
Bianca muttered a bunch, but I didn't catch any of it because she was crying too hard. "Bianca, calm down. I know you're upset but I can't understand you."
After a few moments, she managed to get her cries down to a few sobs and some sniffles. "Sorry, Rosa," she hiccupped. "I'm just so worried! He was taken hostage and is being forced to duel various Pokemon, according to Clay."
"Clay… the gym leader?"
"Yes. He is also the organizer of the Pokemon World Tournament," she explained. "According to Clay, the kidnapper took over the stadium and is holding Cheren and some other people there!"
What the hell? These people were kidnapped… for Pokemon battles?
"How long ago did this happen? Where are the police?" I asked, feeling like there were some huge holes in this story. Not that I doubted Bianca was telling the truth; it just seemed all a bit… bizarre. Even for Team Plasma.
"The police have been surrounding the stadium for about four days now," she sobbed. "The kidnapper made threats against the hostages if anyone intervened…"
"But he's one guy! Can't the police outnumber and outsmart him?"
"I don't know," she replied, crying again.
"Alright, alright. Calm down. But… why are you calling me? Shouldn't you be calling the League Champion or someone else? Someone way… better?" I mean, I only have four badges!
Bianca hesitated. "Your friend… Hugh."
I suddenly had to remember how to breathe. "What about him?"
"He… was taken, too! I'm so sorry, Rosa! He broke into the stadium, even though the police didn't want to anger the kidnapper. But the kidnapper just added Hugh to the hostages!"
Hugh… was kidnapped too…?
That idiot! What the hell was he thinking, taking on an evil kidnapper all by himself? I suppose he is a reckless dunderhead, always charging after Team Plasma headfirst. Idiot! But… I have to go back. I don't need to think twice about it. Argument or not, I can't abandon him like this.
"Still… What can I do?" I asked aloud, a bit confused. "The police don't want interference, and you said neither does the kidnapper…"
Bianca sniffed. "Actually… The kidnapper has demands…"
"You never mentioned that!"
"I hadn't gotten to it yet," she said, managing to huff even through her tears. "Well, the kidnapper… he…."
"Yes?" I asked. I could tell she was reluctant to say whatever was coming next…
"The kidnapper… He said he'll stop the continuous battling… if you enter his tournament…"
"WHAT."
…no, seriously, what?
Why ME? If he's going to demand a tournament and kidnap people for, why not ask for the Champion or someone in the Elite 4? And now the fate of these people, including Hugh and Cheren, rests in MY hands?
"That's what he said… He's really angry you've been ignoring his broadcasts…"
"Broadcasts?"
"Yeah, he's been on tv every day since the first kidnapping almost a week ago," Bianca replied. "I guessed you hadn't been watching. He says… he's been searching for you. I suspect he kept Hugh prisoner to lure you out, if he managed to find out you are friends."
He's been… searching for me?
"Bianca, just who is this kidnapper?"
"I don't know his name," she said sadly. Then she squinted in concentration. "I forgot his name, but… His head looks like the Internet Explorer."
…
"I'm sorry, what?" I don't think I heard that right.
"His head," she tried to explain. "It's shaped like the logo for the internet…"
Shaped like the logo for the internet…
…
…
…wait—
Colress!