Chapter 17

"Hey! What do you think you're doing to my spy?" A man in rollerblades with a blonde ponytail rolled on up to us, obviously showing off his moves. He skidded to a stop like a professional rollerblade drifter, flashing a brilliant smile in my direction. "Oh, it's just a pretty young lady and another thug." Almost immediately, Wes looked ready to punch him. I'm not sure which part he wanted to punch him about.

"Hey," I said nervously. Don't mess this up, I told myself. This isn't the time to freak out. There's no way they know that you're here to steal a legendary pokemon from a possibly strong trainer. Just play it cool. "Is this the spy everyone was talking about?" The skater nodded.

"Yep. Captured him myself when he tried getting to the stadium over there." He rolled backwards slightly. In the background beyond a trench that I doubt either Wes and I could jump was a white dome. It was built into the wall so there was no telling how large it was. Judging from the outside, it was pretty big. "Talk about lucky, huh? He was apparently looking for Lady Venus. Good thing he went the wrong way, amiright?"

Wrong way? Was she not in the stadium? Now that I looked closer there was another platform nearby it. We'd still had to cross the trench to get to it but it'd be harder to jump because it was off to the right on its own little island. You'd need a flying pokemon to get there.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen!" a voice boomed from above. In all of the Under, there was only one TV screen outside the shops: a huge LCD that was wide enough for everyone to see regardless of where you were standing. Though it new the quality was horrific. The reporter on the screen kept flickering in and out and her voice crackled with every word. It wasn't a flatscreen; the TV looked to have been made in the eighties. "It's time for the Under Time again today!"

"Oh, goodie." Skater Boy rubbed his hands together. "I love the Under Time."

"Psst," Silva whispered in my ear. At his feet was a card that had a big F on it. It looked like one of those hotel keys that you'd swipe to get into your room, only this one was heavily battered from use. Glancing over my shoulder to make sure the thug wasn't watching, I picked it up and slipped it into my pocket.

"Without further ado, let's bring out that special someone we've all been waiting for!" The girl on the screen flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Lady Venus, Please!" The screen flickered and glitched for a brief moment. When it cleared, a young lady with dark brown hair was staring straight at the camera. She had some sort of weird item on her head that gave her brass horns on the sides of her head. Behind them, a crescent had been attached to the back of her pink and white dress. Though her skin was perfect and her make up was well-applied, her copper eyes looked dull and rusty.

"Pfff…" I heard Wes sigh.

"Hi, everyone! It's me, your Venus! Everyone's Venus, that's me!" Sweet Arceus, her voice was as squeaky and annoying as hell. I bet her parents tried to cut her vocal chords when she was younger and the doctor gave up halfway through. If she ever heard herself on video I bet she wouldn't be talking so excitedly. "Congratulations on capturing the spy, everyone! What a marvelous victory!" Skater Boy rubbed behind his neck and chuckled, pretending to be humble. "Keep up the good work! Keep on the lookout for more!" The screen flickered again.

"And that was Lady Venus!" the reporter chimed. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, thanks for watching! Please do tune in again!" When she had finished, the screen switched back to the black and white static.

"Well, I better be going." Skater Boy leaned in close to me. "If you ever need a lift somewhere, I'm at the bar on Tuesdays." He winked at me. Then he was off back into town, whistling a tune that could've been anything from dubstep for country. Wes snorted, ready to say something.

"Use that to get to the Stadium," Silva interrupted. "I don't have the right key for getting to the other platform where Venus is." Great, give us the key we don't need. "Head out while you still can. You shouldn't be seen talking to me again."

"Right. Thanks, Silva. We'll come back to get you when we can."

"I'd hope so," he whispered.

We ventured deeper into the Under. The people didn't even seem to notice us as we walked in. I guess we did just look like a pretty lady and a thug, because no one seemed interested in us. Wes and I avoided entering the shops and pokemon center for the sake of keeping our profiles low. He was thinking the same thing I was: where could we possibly get a key to Lady Venus? Asking around would be a terrible idea. I'd considered pickpocketing it from people, but the chances of me pulling off a successful steal were little to nothing. Nobody seemed to have a key that looked like the one I had, so maybe it wouldn't be needed.

Wes' expression was starting to turn worried. The longer we spent lurking around the Under, the more likely it was that we were going to be spotted and put in the same position as Silva. We needed to get to that building. But how?

"Oh, good, there you are." A kid with a red bandana, blue shirt, and yellow sleeves stepped up to us. I froze. Was this kid going to expose us? Judging by his bored expression, he didn't seem to be ready to start shouting at people to try and lock us up. Instead he put a weird-looking mechanical piece in my hand that weighed more than it looked. "I need you to deliver this to Nett. He's been wanting it for a while."

"Um?" I started but Wes knew what to do.

"Thank you, Perr. We'll get it to them." Perr nodded, pretended he was tipping his hat at him, then started off the other direction. Tempted to ask him but smart enough to stay quiet, I followed Wes across the town once more. The able trainer lead me to an old house that had an old, rusty satellite dish in front of it. A kid with a white bandana had pried off a panel from the base and was punching buttons in at random. His face was scrunched in frustration. In front of the door, another kid with a green bandana (these boys had no idea how to dress themselves) was looking around anxiously. When Wes approached, he paused.

"Wes, is that-?" he started, but I interrupted him.

"Delivery for Nett." His hands were sweaty when I put the part in his palms. Realization crossed his face briefly.

"Right. Come on inside." Then, calling to his friend, "I'll be right back! Hold down the fort out here while I'm gone!" Whether Mr. Green Bandana heard or not, he chose not to acknowledge it. A button popped off the panel and landed at his feet. The face of frustration turned into anger.

Once we were inside the house, the boy closed the door tightly behind us. His shoulders finally relaxed and a sigh escaped him. Wes smiled faintly.

"Good to see you, Bitt," he greeted.

"Where have you been, man?" Nett asked in a low voice. "Blowing up Team Snagem is one thing. Disappearing without so much as telling the squad where you went is something different altogether. As soon as you left, Boss started sniffing around the place for other spies. Guess the first people he started suspecting: us!"

"Is Wes out there?" Three sets of footsteps started climbing up the stairs at the back of the room. Two more kids emerged, one boy, one girl, and her shroomish, who looked to have just been napping. "Oh my god, it's true!" The girl quivered in excitement. "It's really you! After all this time!"

"Megg, Nett, it's good to see you again." The two kids greeted him with nods.

"It's good to see you, too," they chimed in unison.

"They got the part," Bitt cut in, handing the piece to Nett. "Hurry and get this installed so we can get into the Kids Grid." Nett observed the mechanical piece with one eye closed, a lot like a geologist examining a stone. When he had finished, he nodded and started off downstairs. Bitt was about to say more, but he caught sight of me. "Oh, is this the Rui we keep hearing about?"

"She even has the sword!" Megg added, leaning in close for a better look. "Wow, she's not even holding it and it's all golden!"

"We don't have time to talk," Wes started. "We need a way to Lady Venus."

"That's a first. Wes actually wanting to see her." Megg giggled. Um, what?

"Not for that." Was that embarrassment in his voice? "Do you have a way to that building on its own platform or not?"

"We do," Bitt said. He strolled over to a shelf that was almost too tall for him to reach. Scrambling to get his fingers over the lip, Bitt worked his way back and forth until he found a matching card with excess amounts of dust and dirt on it. Wes took it from him and tucked it in his coat pocket. "Anything else?"

"Keep safe. The Under isn't the best place for kids to hang around."

"Kids?" Megg laughed. "We're basically adults now! Our time in Team Snagem has taught us well. Team Cipher won't be able to last too long with us around, don't you think?" To her dismay, Wes didn't react.

"Good luck," Bitt said. "Don't let anyone catch you here."

"That's a given," he responded with a smile.

I followed Wes out of the building and onto the streets, where he took a sharp left. For a brief moment I thought he was going to walk right up to the trench and try and jump it from the small set of stairs that hung over the side. To my relief, he stopped at a small, unusual machine that had a hologram of a weird UFO shape machine next it. After he had taken the key from me, he placed both of them in the two slots the machine had and punched a green button on the panel. When Wes had finished with the machine, the trench flash briefly and the UFO the machine had depicted was at the front of the stairs, ready for us to board.

"We have to take that?" I whispered. Dealing with the creaky elevator was scary enough. this thing levitated above a canyon so deep I couldn't see the bottom. It made loud clanking noises and trembled every time a gear slipped out of place. There was a chance we would die trying to use that thing to cross. Hopefully Wes wouldn't make me get on it. Yet the smile on his face said otherwise.

"You'll be fine," he assured. "If anything bad happens, I'll protect you." Warmth flooded to my cheeks.

"R-right…" As much as I still wanted to decline crossing it, there was no way I could turn him down. So, sticking close to his side, we boarded the UFO.

It gave a small jerk when we stepped on it. My heart was momentarily in my throat until it adjusted to our combined weight. Then, with a puff of black smoke and a shudder that made me think we were done for, the machine started off towards the right. It was slower than a slugma and burned my feet like one but it was efficient. We got to the platform alive and in one piece.

"It's the news station," Wes said to his dismay. Why was he suddenly so bothered? "Let's get Suicune before she goes live and cries about it." My mouth opened to ask more questions, but he was already starting off inside. Inside was just as I expected from a new station. One big room with cameras set up on different sides, that crappy counter that the news report had sat at for Under Time, and a couple of goons in the background running about with stacks of paper or cups of coffee in their hands. Standing on the set, unable to see us through the stage lights, was Lady Venus. She was adjusting her hair in a handheld mirror, a pout on her expression as she did it.

Wes didn't waste any time. He walked right out there into the light and in front of Lady Venus. The idol spent a minute more trying to straighten a stray lock of hair that had gone astray before looking up. Her face lit up in kid-like wonder.

"West!" she shouted, reaching forward to hug him. In an attempt to avoid it he stepped to the side. She had obviously seen this tactic before for she only followed him and wrapped her skinny arms around him, squealing with glee. Oh, god. What hadn't he told me? "It's so good to see you!"

"I can't say the same," he muttered, refusing to lift his arms to embrace her back. She pulled away and cupped his cheek. Jealousy hit me like a poison dart. What on Earth did she think she was doing? It would've been so much worse if he didn't casually grab her hand and push it back to her.

"Oh, don't be like that," she said, blushing. "This is our grand reunion! It's time to celebrate, is it not, West?" He sighed. That obviously wasn't one of the first times she'd gotten his name wrong. "What should we do this time? Run off into the sunset? Sail into the horizon? Retreat back to my room, perhaps?" What in the hell was this lady smoking?

"Shut up." Wes held out his hand. "Suicune. Now."

"Don't play hard to get." She laced her hands together and held them up to him. "See these hands? Barren! Nothing! I need a ring, West, and I'm all out of people to get me one."

"Suicune. I'm waiting." Lady Venus sighed at his words.

"Fine…" That's when she saw me. "Oh? Who is this?"

"Rui Yurika," I answered for him. "You can call me Yurika." Wes shot me a warning glare. Too late. Lady Venus heard the hostility in my tone and sauntered over to me. She got uncomfortably close to me. I could smell her blush and watch it flake off every time she moved too suddenly.

"Oh, so you're the one that's running around with West."

"His name is Wes, not West." I leaned in even closer to her. "If you really liked him, you'd know that by now." She frowned. It seemed to be news to her but I doubted she hadn't heard it before.

"I bet you don't even know his middle name," she taunted.

"Wes Ashen Ledge." Now Lady Venus looked taken aback. It was a miracle I could remember what the initials on the skarmory feather stood for. My eyes caught Wes staring from behind Venus. He had this meaningful look to his eyes and a dreamy look on his face. Was he… blushing?

"You think you know so much, pretty girl?" Venus asked. "How about a battle? You're good at those, aren't you?" Her petty smile was so wide it crinkled her forehead. Without averting her stare, she waved at the Under Time news reporter, who had just walked in to witness the quarrel. "Sam, get the cameras rolling. I want all of Under to see this."

"And with the boy?" she asked, adjusting her glasses.

"Keep him out of the way." Wes had just registered her words when two larger men grabbed his arms and pinioned them behind his back. He wrestled to throw them off but their grips were firm. They pulled him off the set and to the side where they handcuffed him to a bench that was used for onlookers. He looked from the cuffs to me, a pleading look in my direction. I pressed my lips together. There was no way out of this now, was there? I had to win. There was no other choice.

I heard someone counting down from five. As soon as he hit two, a larger pokemon with sharp claws and jagged fangs was suddenly pinning me to the ground. The lights focused and the cameras aimed. Next thing I know I'm broadcasted to all of the Under, as well as every Cipher and Snagem hideout, being preyed upon by the dastardly Suicune.

Lady Venus Used Attract!

It Doesn't Affect Wes!

Rui Used Intimidate!

Lady Venus Is Angry!

Wes Is Trapped!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!