Hezzo! I'm back! Thank you for ya'll's wonderful comments! :) I love you all! And since I do, I'll give you an early Christmas present! I feel really... bleh right now. Semester exams start tomarrow, and I don't want to take them. ::pout:: Oh well. I'll survive. Enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: Same as last chapter.

Price for Freedom

Chapter 10

Calling

We all walked away from the gym with an air of pride. Tai was jovially congratulating Amburna, who merely thanked him about five times between each of Tai's gasps for air. I watched this with a small smile on my face when my feet stopped. My head jerked out towards the ocean, where something disturbing was coming from. I guessed it could have been a hurricane, but, no, it didn't feel like a natural disaster. It felt… more like a call for help…

Kaiyou?

"Demi!" Shayla called, looking over her shoulder with an amused face. "Aren't you comin' girl? We're going to go see the space station."

"Yeah, and see if there's a way to send Tai to the moon and leave him there for the little green men to feast on! He's fat enough!" Saji shouted. Tai glared at the scizor angrily.

"I am not fat!!" Tai shouted, and then tackled Saji to the ground. I ignored the two and leaned in the direction of Shayla and the others, but the pull, the call for help made me stay and look out over the glistening blue ocean again. It was more powerful now- as if it didn't want me to leave. Shayla began to walk over to me, and placed her hand on my white head.

"Come on, girl, I don't want you to get left behind," she said softly. I kept staring out over the ocean. I knew it was Kaiyou. And I had to help him. If he did what Team Magma told him to do… then… all of Hoenn, if not the whole world would be destroyed…

Hang on, Kaiyou, I found myself thinking, Just don't awaken Groudon… Try your hardest to not obey them…

 I found myself thinking,

I felt a ripple of power -Nature's power- flow through me. I looked to the sky. So there was a storm coming. A big one.

"TAI!!" Shayla shouted, simultaneously jerking me out of my reverie, "STOP TRYING TO EAT SAJI!!"

"I'm not trying to eat him!" Tai shouted back. He had his little paws on Saji's back, preventing the scizor from going anywhere. I could see little bite marks on Saji's steel leg armor, proving Tai wrong.

Shayla sighed deeply and walked over to the quarreling two, and I followed slowly behind her. Kaiyou was calling out to me… He must be in real trouble. But… I had no way of getting to him without help from the others… And I don't think they'll be too happy about rushing to the aide of the Legendary who almost killed Kazu… I thought grimly to myself. I then sighed and ignored the pleas of help that were slowly fading and then, stopped completely.

-----

The space center was magnificent. It was huge- the ceiling was high above us. It was also busy -the glistening, new computers and equipment were blinking and beeping, people were diligently working about, and even a few alakazam were computing and checking data. We were all simply amazed.

Then, one of the workers turned and saw us. It was an elder man, who had a shiny scalp, once black sideburns, and small, oblong glasses. He wore the uniformal white lab coat and black slacks. He smiled when he saw Shayla, and got from his seat to her.

"Shayla! When did you get to Mossdeep?" he shouted, holding his arms out to hug her. She smiled back, and hugged him back.

"Yesterday," she replied, breaking the hug. "I've already beaten the gym."

The man laughed. "That's my niece! How many attacks did it take?"

Shayla's smile got bigger. "One."

The man laughed again, and then stopped when he looked over my comrades and me. "Where's your houndoom?"

Shayla looked up at him, surprised. "Oh, Lahami?" Shayla's face fell slightly. "She didn't really like traveling… And then, after Cianwood Gym, she didn't want to travel at all. So, I let her stay home with Mom, Dad and Shiara. From what Mom tells me, she's a lot happier now."

The man's eyes smiled. "I'm happy she's okay now too. She always seemed… sad. Almost like Shiara. And I bet Shiara's happy to have company now."

Shayla smiled. "Yup!"

I turned to Kazu, who was standing beside me. "Who are these people…?" I asked softly, and he chuckled.

"The man in front of you is Shayla's uncle on her father's side. He's really nice -I like him. Lahami is the houndoom that used to travel with us. She hated leaving her home and was under a dark cloud for the whole time we were together. She didn't like being in new places -she told us that she always felt nervous around new people. And Shiara -Shiara's my and Tai's mom, a vaporeon."

I nodded in understanding and tuned back in to the humans' conversation. So Shiara was the eevee brothers' mother. She sounded pretty.

"So who's this?" the man said, looking at me. "I don't believe I've seen her before." Shayla smiled.

"This, Uncle Clyde, is Demi," Shayla announced, holding her hand out to me. "I caught her about a week ago in a forest. She fainted Tai in one hit, with an earthquake attack. I later found out that she's been owned before, by a tamer from the sounds of it." Her face began to snarl at the memory. "The local Nurse Joy told me that he abused and abandoned her in the forest some seven years ago and has hated trainers ever since."

The man looked at his niece and then to me, a pensive expression on his round face. "She doesn't seem to hate you, Shayla. That's good."

Shayla looked down at me, a small smile on her own face. "Yeah. It is."

I shifted uneasily under their stares. It didn't matter that they were both friendly, it was just that I was the center of attention, and I felt as if I was expected to do something. I retreated slightly, and then Tai came to my rescue.

"Jolt! Jolteon jolt jolt!" he cried while hopping up and down. (In Poke speech, he said, "Hey! It's time to look at me now!") The man laughed broadly, and then went to Tai.

"Alright, you rascal! I'll pay attention to you." The man knelt down and began to pet Tai's yellow spiky head, to which he replied, "Jolt jolt." ("Damn straight.")

I nearly thanked him out loud, but then that would draw attention back to me. After the man had gotten done with petting Tai, he showed us the whole facility. I was actually bored -it was interesting at first, but then it got monotone… and I stopped paying attention. I let my feet go on auto pilot, and let my mind wander.

I heard the calls again. I cursed and tried to keep them out- to keep them away. It didn't work. Kaiyou's calls were getting too much to bear now. I gritted my teeth and furrowed my brow. I had to keep control.

Kazu, apparently, saw me and whispered, "You feel them too, huh?"

I raised my head. "What?"

"The calls," Kazu said in a soft whisper. "I can barely feel them, but you, apparently, can feel them better than I can. Who is it?"

I didn't know whether to tell Kazu who it was or not. After all, Kaiyou's aura did almost kill him. I hesitated and then said, "Kaiyou. The Dark Legendary cloned by Team Magma. You remember him, don't you…?"

Kazu looked at me blankly. "Dark Legendary? No, I don't remember anything… All I can recall is a sharp pain going through me, and the next thing I know I was in the Mossdeep Pokemon center." He shook his head. "No… I didn't see anything… But that's what happened? There was a Dark Legendary?"

I nodded slowly. "He's trying to get help… I don't know why. But… I don't think I'll be able to resist them for much longer."

Kazu seemed surprised. "Resist? What do you mean by that?"

"It's… hard to explain…" I responded. I couldn't really put it into words. Kazu made a "hmm" sound and we walked in silence some more behind the main group.

HELP

Suddenly, a pain in my chest exploded. I yelped involuntarily, and Kazu whirled around, frightened. Another pain seared up my back and down all four of my limbs. Then, an instinct lay siege to my thoughts, and before I knew it, I was running out of the space station into the grassy streets of Mossdeep. There was one thought running through my mind, that one word that drove me into the streets and the water.

HELP

I was half swimming by the time the others caught up to me. Shoko reached me first, by flying. He roughly picked me up and tossed me back onto shore where Amburna held me down. I found myself on my back in the sand, clawing at the air to get back on my feet.

"What are you DOING?!" Shoko demanded, looking incredulously down at me. "Why did you run out all of a sudden?!"

"Yes," Amburna said smoothly, "Why did you? Very strange."

Shayla then appeared in my line of sight, panting and red in the face. "Wh-What's wrong, girl?"

"I gotta go!" I heard myself shout. "I have to go!"

Tai appeared above me. "Have you gone nuts, Demi? You just thought you'd take a little vacation off and swim to an island? What are you thinking?"

I writhed in the sand, my feet still slashing at the air. "I have to go!!"

I then heard Kazu's voice to my left. "I felt something -a plea, a call. Something. I don't know what it is, and niether does she, from what she tells me, but I guess it just got out of hand and she started to go after the call. It's common with Dark and Psychic types… When one is in trouble, a telekinetic call is sent to their companions, and said companions go after the call and help whomever is in trouble."

They talked more, but I didn't listen. The pain and the call were getting stronger, and I knew that I was closer to the one who was calling. I had to get to him. I had to. I had no other choice, and I didn't care who got trampled in my wake.

"I HAVE TO GET HIM!!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. I pushed Amburna off of me with the help of a thunderbolt. I got on my feet and dashed to the water, where I began to wade and swim at the same time. I saw a mountain-like figure jut up in the horizon in the far distance. That was where I was going…?

No time to question. Must follow the call. Have to get there before he can't call anymore.

My feet pounded against the tide and the water, and I began to get into deeper water. Shoko tried to pick me up again, but I used thunderbolt when he touched me.

All things that prevent me reaching the call must be eliminated or scared away. Have to reach the call.

I then felt pain course through me -not like it had with the call, this was different. This was-

"Tai! Use thunderbolt again! Try and paralyze her!" I heard Shayla order. I heard Tai yell something and then I felt the pain again. I yelped and my head went underwater. I tried to swim upwards, but my legs wouldn't move.

I'm paralyzed!!

My air was running out, and my legs still couldn't move. I tried using my tail -the only limb that worked- to help propel my body upward to the bright surface, but it wasn't strong enough. I shut my eyes against the stinging salt water, and tried again to swim. My left foreleg obeyed and I pumped it against the water, hopefully in the direction of air.

I heard something to my right. I didn't know what it was -I had my eyes shut. But then I felt smooth, slippery skin wrap around my waist and shoulders. I was then hoisted up, and I felt air around me.

I opened my eyes and gasped for breath. I saw Amburna's face above my own, and, because she was disrupting me in getting to the origin of the call, I growled.

She turned to me and glared. "Don't you start with me. I'm not really effective against thunderbolts, but the fact that you pulled one on me is indecent. Be patient and we'll get to this 'call' thing."

I struggled to get out of her grip, but she held me tighter, nearly cutting of circulation. She didn't say anything after that, but she started floating above the water, carrying me with her. We landed on the beach and I tried to run again, only to have my legs give out from under me.

Tai pounced on me and planted himself horizontally on my back. "You ain't going anywhere, Xena. You've been paralyzed by one of MY thunderbolts. You won't be able to move for about five minutes."

I growled again. The call was still pounding in my head, pulling me towards the water. These other pokemon were getting in my way. They had to be dealt with.

"I HAVE TO GO!!" I yelled, and I felt Tai shift on my back.

"So we can tell," he said grimly. I felt him shift again and I heard him say, "Well, guys, she's lost it. Saji, you owe me three rare candies." I heard the scizor give a groan in the distance.

I heard Shayla sigh and she came into my line of sight. "Girl, what's wrong…?"

I was about to yell again when I heard Saji's voice say softly, "Holy shit."

I turned to my right and saw hordes of dark pokemon following the same direction as I had been. More absols were jumping into the water, accompanied by sneasel, sableye, three tyranitar, mightyena, poochyena, a few umbreon, houndour and houndoom. Murkrow blackened the sky, and sharpedo and caravana helped the land darks cross the sea.

"I guess Xena isn't the only one going nuts," Tai muttered. He got off my back and joined Shoko where the charizard was standing. I took this chance to try and make my escape, but my legs wouldn't cooperate again. I fell on my face in the sand.

Shayla sighed. "This is wrong. Pokemon shouldn't be acting like this…" She turned to me again. "Why are you acting like this?"

"I HAVE TO GO!!" I shouted, and she sighed. She pulled out a full heal and used it on me.

"What- What are you doing, Shayla?!" Shoko cried as I regained feeling in my legs.

Shayla stood up. "The dark pokemon are acting weird and I want to know why. Shoko, you carry Tai and me, Saji, carry Kazu, and Amburna, make sure she doesn't drown. Do not try and stop Demi." She got up and, at that moment, my legs were back to normal and I raced back into the water.

-----

It was a long time before I reached a place that I could really rest. The whole time I was swimming, either Amburna or a random sharpedo would help me swim if I got tired. But I had reached a place that confused me. I didn't have to go further along the surface. Actually, it felt like I was where I was supposed to be. But I kept feeling the call.

I looked under me to see many sharpedo and caravana going down. That's where I need to go.

I looked around to see the many darks that had made the trip out lost and confused. I guessed they couldn't see where they had to go. Shayla saw what I had seen with the sharpedo and called out to Kazu, "Kazu!! Put an air shield around us all! We're about to dive!"

I dived into the water and swam down. I accidentally breathed, but I found air in my lungs, not water. I found it strange, but the instinct overtook my rational side. I had to go down.

I followed the sharpedo and caravana down to a small opening in a cave wall. I went through it and went up, towards the surface of the water.

I looked around and saw all of the sharpedo and caravana trying to get on land. I pushed my way through them and ran up the small beach, my companions and trainer behind me. I ran up a small staircase and found a wall and another trail in front of me. I had to get past the wall. Determined to get to the origin of the call, I went through the void onto the other side of the wall and left my companions behind.

I found myself in a dark, dank room, where a cage was placed on the far side wall. I walked towards it -this was where I was supposed to be. I heard a rustle in the cage and stopped. I sniffed the air. It was Kaiyou's scent, and some others, but… different. I heard a strange bitter laugh from within the cage and backed away a step.

"I wondered if anyone could get to me," a voice said from inside the cage. "But it seems you were smart enough to figure it out."

I squinted. That wasn't Kaiyou's voice. Not at all. His had a telepathic voice. Not a… human…

I saw a pale human hand reach out to another wall where a string hung, which was attached to a lamp. The arm pulled, and the light turned on, which revealed not a magnificent black and gold Dark Legendary, but a black-haired human sitting on a white futon.

I stared. He looked tall, and about in his late twenties. His clothes were modern -a white button-down long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a black leather belt, blue jeans and black hiking shoes. His hair was short and black, and two semi-long locks of hair hung down in front of his ears. His eyes were gold with flecks of red in them, and on his forehead was the same symbol Kaiyou possessed on his own forehead, only black instead of gold. I sniffed again and smelled fresh blood on him. His own blood. And there was a lot of it.

After a few moments of me staring, he chuckled. "Yes, it's me, girl. I remember you now. You were the absol with me when I awoke. Nice to see you again."

I gaped. Why was he human? Why…. "Why are you human…?" I asked, and he smiled.

"This is my own special ability. I can take human form when I'm weak or outside of shadow for a long time."

"You're… weak?" I asked, and his smile fell a little.

"Yes. I'm sure you can smell the blood on me. I don't want to tell you what happened, though. That might upset you. Don't worry about my health, girl. I'll be fine."

I was angered suddenly. "Who did this?"

His gaze narrowed. "Team Magma, of course. They thought beating me half to death would convince me to work with them. When it didn't work, they beat me again and locked me up in here until I agree to awaken Groudon. The bastards… They don't know what they're doing…"

When he mentioned the beating, I remembered the pain I had felt at the space station. So that's what it was… I thought. I heard Kaiyou shift and looked at him again.

"Why can't you just enter the Void?" I asked, and he looked up at me. "I mean, you are a powerful dark. Shouldn't you be able to escape that way?"

He shook his head. "Not in human form. And if I try to turn into my real form, the fighting and bug types above you will try and stop me, and probably succeed." I looked up to see primeape, machamp, scyther, beedril and countless others pacing above me on a mesh wire cat walk. I backed away, and Kaiyou chuckled.

"Exactly. Team Magma isn't taking any chances with me." He looked up at nothing in particular and then said quietly, "You might want to get back to your trainer now. She's in a fight with about seven Magma members, and the dragonair has fainted. They're on the other side of the wall where you left them."

I gasped. The others! How could I have left them behind like that!? I ran the other way and flew through the wall. When I got out, it was mayhem.

Shayla was actually fist-fighting with a female Magma member, and each of my comrades (except Amburna) were fighting on their own. I saw Tai fighting a mightyena, and then a net ensnared him. I began to run to him when I found a net in front of my face, and a Magma member standing above me. I used flamethrower and broke the net, and kept running towards Tai, who had just fainted. An arbok stopped me, and squeezed much like Amburna had when I was first going after the call. I saw a Magma member walk up to me with a baseball bat, and he swung hard.

I felt pain, and then nothing at all.

------------

Well, that's it folks! We're getting to a part that I have almost perfectly planned out, so writing it shouldn't be a problem. Woot.

See you soon!

Ja.