Chapter 20: Lurking in the Darkness

We spent the rest of that day restocking our supplies and attempting to recuperate, which was rather difficult with the situation at hand. After eating a grim breakfast the next morning, Larine surprised me by saying, "Let's split up and try to get as much information as we can—find out what Clan Seigen's doing here and whether or not they know where Kai is." She flashed me a look, one that I had seen all too often during our training. "I trust you to not do anything stupid."

"I won't," I promised, hoping that that was true.

"And also, if you're stuck in a situation where you have no other choice but to fight, do not do anything suspicious or anything that will reveal the fact that you're a Guardian. If you do, and news of it reaches the higher ranks of Clan Seigen, then we're as good as dead, got it?"

Her words weren't comforting; in fact, they made me almost reluctant to leave our room in case anything did happen. I started to voice my objections, but Larine interrupted me by saying that if Guardians had spent their whole lives cowering in their houses out of fear, then they might as well have never existed.

Oh that's right, I'm a Guardian now.

I didn't feel any assurance in knowing that, either—in fact, I felt even more vulnerable to the hostile eyes of Clan Seigen now more than ever. Their presence had created a new kind of anxiety in me, the likes of which I hadn't felt in years and was afraid to feel. I liked to think of myself as a person with nerves of steel—afraid of nothing (except for falling) and no one except fear itself. But now I felt as though those nerves were melting—that I had bitten off way more than I could chew and that there was no way to spit out what was in my mouth. Grumbling my protests to Larine only resulted in more indirect insults to my pride, and farther deepened the pit that was forming in my stomach, so in the end I kept my mouth shut and let my anxiety wallow around in my mind as I set off towards the western end of town.

"En garde, Eevee." The furry brown Pokémon emerged from the confines of his Poké Ball, poised and ready for battle until he realized that there were no opponents, and glanced inquiringly back up at me.

"We're not battling now," I explained, "just going for a walk." Eevee flicked an ear, as though in annoyance, but otherwise did not complain, falling in step at my heels. After that fortnight with Larine, Eevee seemed to be more obedient than ever, listening to my commands without resistance...save for his few egotistical moments (as Larine called them).

Fuchsia had a nice, demure atmosphere about it during the mid-morning hours, which helped relieve my uneasiness. Most, if not all, businesses appeared to have already opened, the shop owners already occupied with their many customers. I was almost surprised at the number of people littering the streets; in Pallet Town, hardly anyone would be up at this time, except for the usual rush hour crowd and the Dodrio up at Professor Oak's place that crowed at the sunrise whenever it wasn't raining. What caught my attention, once again, was the historical theme that the place seemed to maintain even though it was clear that technology had long since taken over; some of the pedestrians and the majority of the shop owners had donned traditional kimonos in the fashion of which mimicked the time period that the buildings around them reflected. It almost felt like travelling back in time.

As I walked through the quaint city, I also kept a lookout for members of Clan Seigen; they weren't hard to spot in their black garb, which was obnoxiously prominent among the sea of colorful cloth. There didn't seem to be as many of them as there were yesterday, though, which bugged me for some reason. Maybe my anxiety had caused me to believe that there were more of them than there actually were, but it was hard to be sure.

Maybe they're just not morning people, I deduced, more to assure myself than anything else. On several occasions Eevee spotted them from afar and bristled, growling in anger as he prepared to attack. It took multiple attempts to persuade him to hold his footing, for if he unleashed his fury now it would be a dead giveaway to our presence and the fact that he was an Exceed (a fact which I often overlooked). Having had experiments performed on him couldn't have been an easy ordeal for Eevee, and I understood his reasons for hating Clan Seigen better than almost anything else. Still, his outrage could easily become our demise, and I wasn't about to put him in danger again.

Fortunately, the Normal type relented.

Exploring Fuchsia consumed most of my day. I eavesdropped on many of the grunts' conversations, but couldn't discern anything useful from them; they mostly consisted of idle chatter concerning insignificant topics: a boast here and there about their Pokémon or looks, a complaint every now and then about not getting enough sleep and how tacky their uniforms were…etc. Either they had no mission in Fuchsia, or it wasn't very important. Or maybe it was so important that they had to act normal in order to conceal it. I hoped it wasn't the latter.

Hunger kicked in around midday and we were forced to stop for a meal. We found ourselves a nice restaurant with a large pavilion attached to its side for eating under, which followed along with the ancient setting. The air was comfy and boisterous, with lights shooing away the soft shadows under the structure and the chattering clamor of voices lulling me to immerse myself in its warmth. We seated ourselves at an empty table, and an equally cheery waitress came and took our orders. The minute our food arrived we began to gorge ourselves on the dumplings, ramen, and fish balls that the restaurant supposedly specialized in—they were delicious.

Now that was a good meal. I reclined in my seat, tilting the chair so that its forelegs left the ground—an action that would've earned me a scolding from Kamryn. Come to think of it, I hadn't thought much of my aunt ever since I'd left Pallet, and nor had I thought of calling her to let her know how I was doing or to ask how Tracey had been after the "incident". Some friend I am, I muttered. I considered giving them a call when I got back to the Pokémon Center, but held the idea at bay. I wasn't so sure how the conversation would turn out, and I didn't want to accidentally mention the whole mess about Clan Seigen. Maybe I didn't want to call her because she had exiled me to Almia for so many years. I didn't want to hold a grudge–or even seem like I had been holding a grudge–but I also didn't want Kamryn and everyone else to worry about me and the fact that I had gotten separated from Lance and Riley. No, I wouldn't call them.

"Eeee," Eevee growled, lifting his head from his bowl. His pelt bristled as he watched something in the distance, his doe-shaped eyes narrowing.

"What's wrong?" I asked, already following his gaze. It didn't take long for me to spot what had upset him: two men dressed in Clan Seigen's attire had ducked into the restaurant, seating themselves at a table not far from ours. They just had to eat here didn't they? I grumbled. I slid my chair over so that my back was facing them and so that I would be close enough to hear what they might say—I might as well listen in to their conversation while they were here. After a few minutes of eavesdropping, though, their words proved to be no more useful than the words of the other grunts I had listened to. This is pointless, I sighed, exasperated. Eevee continued to glare at them, his fur remaining erect as though it were made of stone. "Eevee, don't stare; it's not nice," I chided. The Normal type seemed to snicker–an expression I thought only humans were capable of making–before slowly settling back down to finish his meal. I slouched in my seat and let my head loll back idly, eyes captivated by the motion of a whirring ceiling fan overhead.

"…and yeah, so I was like, 'Take this! Flamethrower!'" A haughty laugh resounded from behind me. "Wiped 'em all out in an instant."

"Amateurs," his companion sneered, and I could imagine him shaking his head in disgust. "They're all bark and no bite."

"You got that right; there's no way some little kid's gonna defeat someone of our level, eh?" There was a pause as the man slurped from his drink, exhaling pleasurably as he slammed his glass down on the table with a loud thunk. "Won't be seein' those little kiddies around town."

I clenched my fists discreetly. If I was right, then Larine and I hadn't been the only ones who had trouble entering Fuchsia, and it wasn't fair that amateur Trainers couldn't gain entry simply because of their inexperience. I made a mental note to let Hisa fry them alive if I got the chance.

"I'm assuming, then, that things at the Gym are going smoothly as well…?"

"Heh. Would you expect anything less after what I just told you?"

"I…suppose not."

The Gym? I echoed, nearly starting with surprise but restraining the urge to in order to maintain discretion. What would they want from the Gym? I'm pretty sure they're not here to get a Badge—that would be a pretty pathetic mission for Clan Seigen.

I waited a little longer to see if the conversation would reveal anything else about Clan Seigen's goals. When it did not, I paid my bill and left the restaurant, making my way towards the Gym. The road leading towards it branched off from the street that lead to the Pokémon Center, snaking its way into a thin patch of trees. The asphalt abruptly ended at the edge of the forest, and the only thing that kept me from getting lost was a worn, cobblestone path that was partially covered with dirt and weeds growing out from between the cracks. I shuddered inwardly, feeling as though the trees were watching my every movement—I knew the Fuchsia Gym had been renowned for its Leaders' ninja-like characteristics, but I didn't think simply walking up to it would feel so…menacing. The quietude of the place only added to the feeling of ominousness that was building up inside of me; it was unusual for the wilderness to have such a dead air–at the very least there should've been the chirp or squawk of a Pidgey of Spearow–and that oddity made me all the more alert of my surroundings.

I wasn't surprised to find that the Fuchsia Gym sat in a hollow, well concealed if not for the fact that there was a path leading up to its doors. The building was small compared to the other Gyms I had been to, but larger than many of those in Fuchsia. It reiterated the oriental theme of the town, though, its green roof blending in well with the surrounding foliage and its wooden doors accompanied by an exotic-looking archway that seemed almost frighteningly elegant. The only thing about the structure that looked even a little non-stealth-oriented was the simple sign nailed above the doorframe that read "GYM".

Looks like they really take the whole "ninja" thing seriously, I mused. Hope the place isn't booby-trapped like people say it is…

In the end, it turned out I had something much more than booby traps to worry about: as I reached the edge of the depression that the Gym sat in, I spotted two shadowy figures flanking the sides of the entrance, both bearing the marks of Clan Seigen. I groaned mentally, frustrated with their presence. Do they have to guard every single door in existence? They'll be posting guards at the bathrooms soon!

I wouldn't have been surprised if that actually happened.

I descended the slope towards the Gym, wondering whether or not I could get in by pretending to be an ordinary Trainer who wanted to challenge the Gym. I deemed it unlikely, though.

The sentinels glanced up as I approached, but did not make a move to stop me as the ones yesterday had done. Instead, the one on the right simply said, "Gym's closed for today—come back tomorrow."

"Closed?" I echoed, feigning astonishment. "How come?"

"The Leader is a bit preoccupied at the moment," the second guard answered, picking his words carefully. "She won't be free until tomorrow."

"Oh," I said, sounding more disappointed than I had anticipated, "I see…"

"Run along now, kid."

I obeyed–surprisingly without reluctance–and thanked the guards as they resumed their original positions. They're definitely hiding something…but what? Ack, Larine could probably figure it out…of all times for her to be elsewhere. Larine had said we wouldn't meet back at the Pokémon Center until dinnertime, and that was still a few hours away. Should I risk storming the Gym on my own? I probably couldn't do it without making a big show of things, so it would probably be better if I did not. Again I found myself despising my inability to take action.

As I made my way back to town, I noticed that I was no longer the only person using the path through the forest. Coming from the opposite direction was another figure, adolescent and dressed entirely in black. By its build, I assumed that the person was a guy, with a hood concealing the better part of his face. The way people dress these days, I muttered, and would've shaken my head if not for the fact that he could've seen it. A chain hung from the boy's cargo pants, which seemed unusually bright compared to the rest of his attire. He had Trainer gloves covering his hands, much like mine, except on him they seemed more prominently dark. Maybe he specializes in Dark types…

I quickened my stride, wanting to get away from the kid as soon as possible; it would be almost unnatural not to feel edgy around someone like him.

"How was it?"

The voice stopped me dead in my tracks; it was cool and arrogant, like the hiss of an Ekans. I peered up at the stranger, who had now paused and was looking in my direction—or so I assumed from the orientation of his hood. From what I could see, the guy had bleach-white hair that was barely visible underneath the edge of the cloth, his eyes piercing though I couldn't determine their color.

"How was what?"

"Your Gym battle—how was it?"

I was almost flummoxed at the simplicity of the question. "Couldn't get in—the Gym's closed."

"Is it?" He sounded genuinely surprised, but it was hard to tell since I couldn't read his facial expression from underneath his hood. "Well that's unexpected. Better luck next time, eh?"

Something about his statement unsettled me, though I wasn't sure why. He began to resume his route down to the Gym, until I said, "Where are you going? I told you, the Gym's closed."

I shiver ran down my spine as the Trainer uttered a short, coarse laugh, walking on without so much as a pause.

"Closed?" he echoed. "We'll see about that."

I continued to watch, perplexed, until instinct compelled me to return to Fuchsia. Whatever that kid was up to, I certainly didn't want to stay and watch.

This place is filled with such strange people...

Larine returned to the Pokémon Center an hour after I did, looking edgy and squint-eyed. We ate a quick dinner together at the cafeteria before retiring to our room to discuss our findings, which Larine seemed rather eager to share about. Before we started, however, we double-checked to make sure the curtains were pulled securely together and that the door and windows were shut tight to prevent any prying ears from eavesdropping on our conversation.

"So, did you find anything?" Larine dropped cross-legged onto the lower bunk of her bed, glancing inquiringly at me with almost-mellow eyes.

"Not much," I replied, feeling troubled as I recalled what I did learn, "but I think Clan Seigen's occupying the Gym for some reason—they have guards at the doors and they're not letting anyone in, even Trainers. I tried to get some details out of them, but their lips are sealed."

Larine nodded in a way that made me believe she hadn't heard a single word that I had said. She sighed abstractedly, then said, "Well, I guess I was slightly more fortunate: I followed a pair of grunts to the harbor, and discovered that they have a ship anchored at the docks. It's not surprising, I guess, since they had to get here somehow, but what's really fishy to me is the reason why they would pick that mode of transportation."

"What's wrong with travelling by boat?"

"Think about it, Swift: why would Clan Seigen use a boat when there are other, more convenient ways to travel? An airplane, for example: they could touch down and take off whenever they wanted, and it would be faster if they needed a quick escape route. Plus, if they were going to get chased down, it would be harder for Pokémon to keep up with it…so why a ship?"

I had to admit, Larine had a point, but I couldn't see why that was relevant to the reason why Clan Seigen was in Fuchsia. "You don't have any ideas?"

"A few, but…none that are…feasible, to me at least. One is that they're just here to restock their supplies, which is highly unlikely considering the reason that they gave for being in the city. Second is that, if you're right and they're occupying the Gym, they're after the Badge, which really wouldn't do anything for them, even if it's made of auracite―"

"Auracite?" Larine paused to frown at my inquiry, then explained, "It's a special kind of stone that has the ability to absorb aura. It's powerless and worthless on its own, but if refined the right way it allows a person to enhance their aura and gain moderate control over it. Badges are refined differently–its potential isn't common information among the general public–but it retains the ability to enhance the aura of Pokémon just slightly. Of course, everyone else thinks your Pokémon become stronger and listen to you more just from the feat of winning in itself; but that's just what they think is true."

"Aura creates bonds between people and Pokémon," I recited almost subconsciously, "the deeper the bond, the deeper the understanding, and the stronger people and Pokémon will grow."

"Very good!" Larine laughed, an amused twinkle in her eye. Looks like her days spent drilling information into my head hadn't been for nothing. It made me realize just how much I had learned, but at the same time more aware of just how much I didn't know. "But you know you don't need to memorize my exact words."

I glared at her. "Now you tell me? Why'd you make me repeat everything you said a hundred times every day?"

A demonic smile. "Just because."

"And all those ridiculous stances and positions….?"

She winked, earning another glare. "Well, those were just the easiest ways to channel aura through your body—I would've had to teach you that either way, since it's a basic element in learning how to use your powers, but once you get the hang of controlling it, memorizing the names and stances isn't necessary." I could almost feel the venom in my own stare; even with no one watching, executing those awkward poses made me feel like some cheesy superhero from a childhood cartoon. It would've been even more humiliating if Lance and Riley had seen it, and for that, I was grateful for their absence. "Anyway, where was I?"

"Badges are made of auracite," I mumbled, rolling my eyes as my irritation slowly abated.

"Right. Clan Seigen's used auracite for their Exceed experiments in the past, but they've recently found ways to create Exceeds without using the stone, so I don't think stealing a Badge would benefit them in any way. Besides, I'm sure one of their grunts would be capable enough of winning a Badge by him or herself, so they wouldn't need to take over the Gym just for that. The last and most likely reason why they would come to Fuchsia on a ship would be because of the Seafoam Islands." The name seemed to drop heavily from her mouth as she said it, weighing down the mood with its grimness. I stared incomprehensively at Larine for a full five seconds before stirring.

"The Seafoam Islands? Why would they come here for that?" Despite my query, I had a feeling that I knew all too well what they could be after, except the idea was so farfetched that I had to confirm my suspicions.

"You don't know? There's no way that you can't know, Swift: the answer's so obvious."

I took a breath. "You mean…Articuno?"

"Yes, exactly. I only doubt this motive because of how clichéd it is…it's not like Clan Seigen to go after such banal goal. Besides, it's hopeless trying to capture a Legendary; I'm positive even a Guardian couldn't do it, much less a mob of grunts. They don't even have the ambition to go after something like that, as far as I know of anyway."

"Okay, so if they're not going after any of those things, then what are they going after?"

"I don't know!" Larine exclaimed, exasperated. I jumped, surprised at her sudden outburst. It wasn't like her to just snap so suddenly–from what I knew about her, she seemed like a calm, ordinarily rational person with a few quirks here and there. The conversation lapsed into silence as we both mulled over the situation. Whatever reasons I could come up with for Clan Seigen's taking over of the Gym and using a ship for transportation were immediately discarded, as they were all too irrational, clichéd, or just didn't fit in with the problem at hand. The more I thought about it, the more it dawned up on me of just how little I knew about Clan Seigen, and that was all due to Larine's stubborn secrecy. I debated whether or not I should push her for more answers, but after catching a glimpse of the engrossed look on her face, I cast the idea from my mind. I had tried to prompt some answers from her during the first week of my training, but my attempts were always fruitless. Thinking about it, I didn't know Larine very well either—I didn't know where she came from, how she had acquired her powers, how she knew of Clan Seigen, etc.

Why am I doing this? I'm stuck with a girl whom I've known for two weeks, and now we're thinking about what a potential criminal organization might do with a ship and a Gym. And there's Guardians to boot! I must be going crazy...

"...Um…Swift? Are you listening?"

"Yeah," I responded hastily, the volume of my voice betraying my attempt to conceal my distraction. I cleared my mind and focused on Larine, who flashed a puzzled look at me.

"…Okay, so as I was saying, if we're going to find out what's going on, the best thing to do would be to investigate the Gym. But obviously, they're not going to just let us stroll in through the front doors―"

"So we barge in?" I concluded, a demonic smile spreading across my face. I could quite easily imagine Rhyhorn barreling through the front door and destroying everything in sight.

"No," Larine said flatly, rolling her eyes. "Haven't you listened to anything I said these past two weeks?" I looked down, feeling foolish. Of course, I had already known better, but Larine had spent a good portion of our time providing details of potential situations that I might find myself faced with as a Guardian. Some of them were about infiltrating bases or buildings, and I had primarily taken that information to be rather outlandish—but now I was starting to realize why Larine had taught me all of that. "We're going to sneak into the Gym once it's dark. If we're lucky, we can get in and out without anyone noticing. Hopefully, they're still there by the time we get there, or else we won't have anything else to do but stowaway on their ship—which I would prefer to avoid."

"Why?"

"Because there might not be anywhere to hide—Clan Seigen doesn't know the layout of their Gym as well as the layout of their ship. There might also be Guardians and Exceeds present that we might not know about, and if they sense our aura we won't be able to avoid a confrontation."

"Isn't that just as likely to happen in the Gym too?" I queried. Larine exhaled deeply, giving me an impatient look.

"Yes, but this is our best shot as of right now…unless you have a better idea…?"

"No."

"Do you have any more questions?"

"…No."

"Then that's that."

"Ow!"

"Oops."

"Watch your step!"

"Sorry."

I followed a fuming Larine through the undergrowth, her figure a bare silhouette against the surrounding darkness as she slid stealthily through the frondescence as though it were clear as day. I, on the other hand, stumbled half-blind through it all, running unexpectedly into tree trunks and–more than once–nearly falling as the ground suddenly sloped downward.

"Shh!" Larine hissed somewhere up ahead. "Use your aura sight!"

"I can't! And you know I can't!"

"Then feel your way around!"

"There's nothing to feel!"

The girl subsided into grumbles and proceeded forward. Aura sight was a Guardian technique in which one uses their aura to locate their surroundings. Larine had mentioned it only briefly during our training, saying that it was a rather advanced skill. She had attempted to teach me how to use it, but after finding that I had no talent for it, she gave up. Part of me wished she had kept trying–it would've been useful now–but I hadn't understood its mechanics no matter how many times she'd explained it to me.

Close your eyes and relax, she had said. Let your aura expand on its own until you can feel everything around you.

I shut my eyes and meditated. Then I took a tentative step forward. Nothing happened, so I took another step. Then another. I grinned.

Hey, maybe this—

My foot struck a hard object, and my body pitched forward. My face plummeted into a net of brambles, and then my mood soured.

—is utterly useless.

"Swift? What're you waiting for?"

I scrambled to my feet and caught up to Larine as fast as possible, grateful that it was dark so that Larine wouldn't be able to see the embarrassed look on my face. We continued on for a little longer before Larine abruptly crouched, motioning for me to do the same. I lowered myself behind some shrubs, and spontaneously recognized the hollow in which the Gym lay. In the moonlight, the contours of the building's roof was barely visible in the shadows; I probably wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't known what to look for.

"Do you see any entrances besides the front one?"

"Larine, I can't even see myself."

"Alright then."

A pause ensued, and I assumed that Larine was using her powers–her innate–to scan the area. From what I gathered, her abilities were a more complex version of aura sight, which involved her reaching out with her mind to detect other people and objects and "move" them according to her will. That, as she explained, was how she had put Sir Abelard and his men to sleep—by "tinkering with their internal mechanisms".

"Seems like there's a back door, but I think it's hidden," she reported at last. "We might set off some traps or alarms if we try to go in that way, so it would be better if we just went through the front."

"Okay, so how're we going to get in?" I heard Larine suck in her breath, and could imagine her eyes narrowing as she considered the question. As she thought, my eyes wandered to the golden staff-pin that glinted in her hair, dazzling in the murkiness of the night.

"Well, I suppose the most discreet way would be to put the guards to sleep, and then we could sneak in through the doors and―"

"Why hello my friends."

A chill shot concurrently up my spine as I spun around in alarm. My heart pounded with the inability to make anything out of the imposing gloom, except for the faint outline of what I thought was an eerily white and terrible smile. A split second later, a burst of pain accompanied the blow that hit me upside the head, and the smile suddenly vanished.

Author's Note: Ugh, I haven't written cliff hangers in so long...I feel like this one didn't come out all that great. :/ I kind of felt like this chapter was really choppy and...fractured, too, I guess you could say. No show of Swift's new powers yet...but don't worry, they'll start appearing next chapter. :D As for the full extent of Swift's training, I'm going to cover that as this part of the story goes along and more of what she's learned starts coming into play. Hopefully, my writing skills will improve with the next update (as well as my updating speed =.=).

That's all for now! Have a nice day and enjoy writing (if you are writing)! :D