Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon; it belongs to Nintendo, Gamefreak, etc. All of the OCs and the Doren region, however, are mine.

A/N: It seems to me like the story won't be much good unless I translate what the Pokemon are saying. So, from now on, when needed (which excludes battle cries, shouts of pain, etc.) Pokemon speech will be translated in parentheses .

The plains north of Jade city were a somehow out-of-place spectacle in winter. With their tall grasses and seemingly random clusters of trees, they gave the impression of some sort of frigid savannah in a region that didn't seem to foster such an environment. In summer, however, with the grass chest high in most places, the leaves large and green on the trees, Wurmple so plentiful that they were practically always underfoot, and the area generally wet, the plains were not so much a spectacle as a headache to the few people who chose to cross them.

The plains were also, as a general rule, quiet. Today, however, the "general rule" didn't seem to apply. Terrified Wurmple skittered off in every direction, wondering what they had done to incur the wrath of the new predator on the plains. They could hear its cries of rage as they ran, fearing for their lives. In reality, though, the poor, frightened Wurmple had nothing to worry about. The "new predator" was barely aware of their existence.

"What do you mean, you 'lost the road'?" Zane shouted at Miles, who was leading the group with his head buried in a map.

At least he's keeping the Wurmple from getting under our feet, Helen thought, strolling along as calmly as she could, what with Zane's constant shouting.

"Just what I said," Miles shot back, evidently annoyed. "It looks like this map is older than I thought. Besides, let's see you read a map accurately while trying to keep your Pokemon from destroying it." He reached a hand back to grab Ivan, who had burst out of its poke ball and was charging an attack.

"Couldn't you at least tell me where we're going?" Zane asked.

"Opal Town," Miles grunted, letting go of Ivan long enough to draw the Unknown back into its poke ball. "There's no gym there, but it's the closest town to here other than New Pallet, and it's got a better-stocked poke' mart." He looked up from his map and scanned the surrounding area. "Supposedly, there's a road that goes there from Jade City, but I don't see it anywhere."

"Well maybe you could have picked a more recent map," Zane said.

"This is the most recent map the library had," Miles said, gritting his teeth. "Nobody from Jade City wants to bother to update it."

"You'd think they'd at least maintain the road," Helen observed.

"They did, a while back," Miles responded, "but no one wants to anymore. I guess the rumors got to them after a while."

"What rumors?" Zane asked.

Miles held his book bag a little closer. "They say these plains are haunted."

"Haunted?" Helen asked, her voice slightly hushed.

"Oh, is that all," Zane shrugged.

"What do you mean, 'is that all?'" Helen asked.

"Come on," Zane replied mockingly. "Don't tell me you believe in ghosts."

"Human ghosts: no," Helen began.

"Ghost Pokemon: yes," Miles finished. "People say that ghost Pokemon came here from Labyrin Forest to the south, drawn by some kind of tragedy. Supposedly, their screams drive people to mindless slaughter."

"Mindless slaughter?" Helen laughed nervously.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Zane shrugged. "Let's just keep going. The time you chickens are using telling ghost stories could be used getting out of this field. If we actually start walking, we'll be out of here by nightfall! Come on, let's go!"

Seven hours later, wet and tired (and in the cases of Miles and Helen, frightened and annoyed), the three were setting up camp beneath a small stand of trees. A small fire had been started, using whatever wet wood they had been able to find, and they had eaten a small dinner. They were now unpacking for the night, which was well on its way.

"'Out of here by nightfall', eh?" Miles asked cynically as he unrolled his sleeping bag. "I can't see the end of this place anywhere, Zane."

"So what?" Zane said defensively. "It's not like we're going to try to murder each other, or anything," he added, dragging out the word "murder".

"J-just shut up about that, okay?" Miles said. "You're the only one who's convinced it's a joke."

"Sorry, Miles," Zane said insincerely, "I guess I can't help myself. The whole things sounds drop dead funny! It's a killer! Maybe you don't think it's a joke, but you've got to admit that this whole story sounds-"

"I know who I'm gonna kill if I go crazy tonight," Helen threatened as she slid into her sleeping bag.

"All right, all right!" Zane replied, half-teasing, as he got into his own sleeping bag. "Fine, I'll stop. G'night, you guys. Don't stay up telling ghost stories all night."

Zane rolled over and was quickly asleep.

"Could he be any more obnoxious?" Miles asked softly, shaking his head.

"Don't ask," Helen whispered back, prodding the fire. "I don't want to find out."

"You think you're gonna be able to sleep?" Miles continued.

"We've got to, right?" Helen replied, trying to joke. "But personally, I'd feel safer with somebody standing watch."

"You don't expect me to do that, do you?" Miles groaned as he put out the fire.

"Nah," Helen answered, pulling a poke ball out of her pocket. "I'll have one of my Pokemon do it. This one's better suited for it than a human, anyway." She opened the ball, releasing her Ekans.

"Ekans?" Helen yawned. "Keep watch, okay?"

"Kansss? Anssek," (That's my first job?) Pathetic, Ekans mumbled, pulling itself into a pose similar to that of a charmed Arbok.

"If you see any ghosts, use Poison Sting on them," Helen added, nodding off.

"Sss…" (Whatever…) came the reply. Helen and Miles, who had both fallen asleep, didn't hear.

The last rays of the setting sun sparkled on the waters near Olivine city as schools of Remoraid jumped in the distance. Zane sat on the dock, fishing rod in hand. A small ripple appeared around his line, and he started reeling eagerly. For what seemed like forever, he sat struggling with the unseen opponent on the other side of his rod. Finally, a red-and gold flash appeared just beneath the surface. Zane eagerly reeled the line to the surface, and cried out in surprise as the Magikarp he had reeled up flopped off his line and into his lap.

The amused laugh of a ten-year-old boy came from behind him.

"Magikarp again, Zane?"

Zane smiled softly. It had been six long years since he'd heard his best friend's voice.

"You just wait, Evan," he said, picking up the Magikarp by its dorsal fin and throwing it back into the water. "Someday I'm gonna pull in a Gyarados!"

"Heh. Gimme a break!" Evan laughed.

Zane turned to look at his friend. He was just the way he remembered him: short for his age, blue shirt, olive green pants… his blonde hair was even styled in the same pattern, reminiscent of an Omastar's shell.

"How do you expect to pull in a Gyarados with a flimsy old rod like that?" Evan asked, still laughing.

Zane sighed and pretended to be annoyed. "I just will, okay? Sheesh!"

Evan shrugged and changed the topic.

"Hey Zane, are you finally going to be a Pokemon trainer this summer?"

Zane smiled softly; his old words were coming back to him.

"Heh. Wish I could," he said with a tone of decided bitterness, "but you know my parents. They think I'm gonna get myself killed. What's gonna happen? Am I gonna get eaten by a Magikarp?"

"Just adult stuff, I guess," Evan said without too much concern. "It's not all bad staying here," he continued, in a consoling tone. "There's lots of stuff to do-"

"Like what?" Zane interrupted.

"Like… well, I dunno. Just lots of stuff," Evan replied vaguely. He sighed.

"Why do you wanna leave so badly anyway, Zane?"

Zane grinned, remembering his argument.

"'Cause, Evan," Zane said, sitting down and putting his hands behind his head, "There's not as-"

Zane stopped. Why was he sitting down? He had already been sitting, hadn't he? He put his hands in front of him.

He wasn't holding a fishing rod.

He jumped back up and looked around the docks.

There was no one else there.

Suddenly, he heard his own voice coming from down the docks, clearly real, but at the same time distant, like some half-forgotten memory.

"Cause, Evan, there's not as much to do around here as you think…"

Zane felt his feet moving him down the dock. He tried to pull his legs together, but he found he couldn't stop moving.

"You can play in the lighthouse, or swim, or fish, or play on the beach, and that's it…"

The voice continued to speak as he slowly moved down the dock, and eventually he saw the person it was coming from, a small dot at the end of the dock. Yet despite the distance, Zane could somehow make out the figure's features, and he knew who was speaking.

There was no mistaking him. Red shirt, blue sweatpants, auburn hair…

T-That's me when I was ten!

The voice began to pout childishly.

"…I don't wanna stay here forever! ..."

The figure blacked out for a second, and was replaced by an older figure. It was obvious to Zane that it was the same person, but they were older now, wearing a light green T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans.

Zane's eyes widened. The figure looked the same as he had before the shipwreck. He felt different, though. There was an unsettling aura around him.

The figure continued speaking.

"…I wanna get out of here before I'm old and grey! ..."

Zane suddenly found that he was at the edge of the dock, standing right beside the other him, who was staring down at the wood planks of the dock with an angry expression. One foot was suspended in midair over the water, as if he had been about to walk off.

The voice became more mature, distant. For the first time, it looked straight at Zane.

"…I wanna know what's out there. Don't you?"

Zane tried to make his frozen body recoil. He now thought he knew what was so unnerving about the figure. It looked just like him, but the eyes were different. They weren't green, like his own, they seemed to consume everything around them, and they had no soul.

He was staring into blood-red oblivion.

The figure gave Zane a sort of passive, heartless smile, then reached out its hand and shoved him into the water.

But to Zane's horror, the water wasn't there.

He tried to scream, but as he fell into the blood-red eye, he found he couldn't open his mouth…

And then, suddenly, there was an agonized scream…

"DreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE..."

"DreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"Augh!"

Zane snapped straight up, holding his arm straight out in front of him, as if to ward off an attack. The scream had died, and the only sound he could hear was heavy snoring coming from Miles' sleeping bag. Across the coals remaining from the fire, he could vaguely see Helen, who, like him, was sitting up with her arms removed from her sleeping bag. Her eyes were wild and she was twisting her torso side to side, with a piece of wet wood in her hand.

"D-don't even try it!" she said shakily. "I- I- I'll kill you first!"

"Kill? What the heck are you talking about?" Zane asked.

Helen screamed and threw her piece of wood at Zane.

"Ow!" Zane grunted as the wood hit him in the head. "Hey, calm down!"

Helen stopped shaking and looked up at Zane.

"Oh… you're not insane?"

"Will you shut up with that ghost stuff?" Zane asked. "I told you and Miles, there's nothing ou-"

An agonized scream interrupted him.

"DreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"Nothing to worry about, huh?" Helen snapped nervously.

"Skaaansss?" So, it woke you two up? Ekans asked. "Sannss Ek. Ekans ssk," That cry just came up a minute or so ago. Can't tell what it's about, it added irritably.

"Any idea where it's coming from?" Zane asked, shielding his ears as the shriek sounded again.

"Annssk," Somewhere over there, Ekans hissed, jabbing its tail into the grass just past Helen's sleeping bag.

"C'mon," Zane said, gesturing to Helen. "Let's see if we can't shut whatever-the-heck-it-is up."

"I don't know," Helen said, drawing back a step. "I really don't feel like dealing with ghosts…"

Zane sighed. "There's not gonna be any ghosts, okay?" he said, a mixture of annoyance and attempted encouragement in his voice. "Now let's go see what it is." He opened up Wraith's poke ball, releasing the little Cyndaquil, who was posed rigidly.

"Wraith, light the way, okay?"

"Daq," Very well, Wraith responded in his usual muted tone, igniting his back as Zane held him up above the grass.

Gesturing again to Helen, Zane began walking through the grass. Helen, after a second's hesitation, returned Ekans to its poke ball and followed. The two walked through the grass for some distance, muffling their footsteps (and hiding Wraith's flame) as well as they could. The agonized cries continued to sound as they walked, and eventually, they heard snatches of conversation in the lulls. As they moved closer, the conversation became more legible.

"I told… we… that…punishing… thing!"

"If you want… Superior's…well… leave… out of it. It's…Dewgong food."

They were just nearing another clearing. Helen stopped Zane, who returned Wraith to his poke ball again. Once the light was gone, the two continued to move forward, lowering their bodies to avoid being seen. The conversation hadn't ended due to their movement; in fact, they could now hear every word, and make out two distinct voices. In addition to the voices, two other sounds could be heard; one was a contemptuous growl, the other was a light, labored breathing, like a small Pokemon given a respite from some sort of torture.

"Don't get so angry about it," began a human voice which bore an eerie resemblance to an angry cat. "It's not as though we're expected to complete our mission tonight. Besides," the voice snarled, "this thing needs to learn a lesson!"

"Perhaps we have some time," the second voice, which was more refined, conceded, "but don't take all night about it. We've got a job to do, and the Superior is not patient. Don't think I'm covering for you, either. If you don't want to be Dewgong food, we had best be going…soon."

"All right," the first voice complained. "I'll try not to drag this out too much longer."

"Good," said the second voice triumphantly. "We do have a job to do, after all."

"Now, then," the first voice continued, apparently addressing the source of the labored breathing, "let's continue with your punishment. Poochyena, show this little rat what it gets for waking me up this late!"

"'Waking me up this late?'" Helen whispered to Zane, trying to hold down a laugh. The fear she had been feeling was long since gone. "Man, that's petty."

"I beg your pardon?" came the second voice from above their heads.

Zane and Helen looked up to see a formless black mask.

"What?" Zane said. "You 'Team Eclipse' guys again?"

"Indeed," responded the man contemptuously. "And I don't feel very much like killing anyone at the moment, so why don't you two just run off and get some sleep?"

"Yeah," echoed his friend, whose Poochyena was now snarling at the grass near Zane and Helen.

"I'd love to," Zane said casually, standing up to full height, "but there's just one problem: you guys are keeping us up with your little torture show over here."

"Don't you go pinning blame on us," said the man with the angry-cat voice. "It's this little rat's fault!" he continued, pointing into the clearing.

The pokemon he was pointing at was hardly a "rat". It had no legs or tail to speak of; indeed, it barely had a body at all. Its head, which took up most of its body, was dark purple, almost black, with lighter tufts near the end that seemed like small purple flames. Its eyes, closed in a painful grimace, could not be seen. The head ended at a collar of blood-red stones, beneath which was the pokemon's small, clothlike body. Zane recognized it as a Misdreavaus. Both its head and body had several small rips that looked much like cuts, and the pokemon was cowering beneath the hateful gaze of a small, black-furred, doglike pokemon, a Poochyena.

Zane couldn't tell what it was, but something snapped in him when he saw the Misdreavaus cowering there. It seemed insane for someone to have ordered the pathetic-looking creature to be beaten to within an inch of its life for something so trivial as waking them up. He had to say something.

"H-hey," he finally stammered, "don't you think it's probably learned its lesson? Just let that thing go!"

"And what are you going to do if we don't?" remarked the second soldier, with a decidedly disdainful air.

Zane smirked. Some part of him had hoped it would come to this.

"I could throw rocks at you," he replied spitefully, "but that would be a waste of effort. Wraith, get 'em!"

Zane drew his poke ball and released Wraith, who breathed a few sparks of fire at the two Eclipse soldiers. The startled men jumped back, then paused for a second. Due to their masks, it was difficult to determine where they were looking, but their gazes seemed to be riveted on the small Cyndaquil standing in front of them.

"Hey," said the first soldier, his cat-like voice a mixture of greed and shock, "Isn't that the Cyndaquil the boss wants?"

"Indeed," the second soldier said contemplatively. "Why don't we acquire it?"

The first soldier nodded, and waved his Poochyena over to face Wraith. The snarling Pokemon complied with brutal glee. The second soldier pulled a poke ball from his belt and opened it silently, releasing a male Nidoran.

Zane stepped back nervously. "Two on one? Man, haven't you guys ever heard of a fair fight?"

"I can arrange that," Helen asserted, stepping forward and tossing a poke ball. "Ekans, let's even the odds!"

The large snake pokemon materialized in the clearing and hissed in a bored fashion. Wraith glanced up at it.

"Cyndaquil da," (Don't get in my way), the Cyndaquil whispered, igniting his back for battle.

"Sss," (Whatever), came the reply, as Ekans shifted its body and prepared to strike.

The first Eclipse soldier made his move. "Poochyena, Howl!"

The angry little pokemon raised its head and let out a loud "Chyenaaa!"

Zane cocked his head mockingly. "Oh, was that supposed to scare us?"

"Nope," Helen replied. "Wild Poochyena use a howl to signal the start of a hunt. Even trained Poochyena get more violent when they hear it."

"And while you two talk, we'll wipe the floor with ya! Poochyena, tackle the Cyndaquil!"

Poochyena snarled and rushed Wraith, opening its mouth in preparation for a bite. Its vicious expression gained a startled aspect when, just a two inches from its jaws, the Cyndaquil sidestepped the attack. The Poochyena tried to stop, and wound up face-first in the dirt.

"So, it is fast, after all," the second Eclipse soldier said, his voice just slightly touched with awe. "No matter. Nidoran, Double Kick!"

The Nidoran ran a circle and leaped, aiming a kick at Wraith's head. The Cyndaquil turned to face its second assailant and ducked, causing Nidoran to fly through the flames on its back, straight at Ekans.

"Ekans!" Helen called. "Wrap it up!"

The snake Pokemon twisted its body, bit Nidoran's leg, wound itself around the small Pokemon's body, and began to squeeze. The already badly burnt Nidoran struggled in the coils for all it was worth, but it didn't have enough strength to break Ekans' hold. After a few seconds, it hung limp, unconscious. Ekans unwrapped its body and turned to Wraith, who was dodging Poochyena's continuous lunges.

From its resting place at the edge of the clearing, the wounded Misdreavaus watched the battle with some measure of hope. He smiled spitefully at the beaten Nidoran on the ground, laughed quietly at the startled reactions of the Eclipse soldiers, and thought happily that Poochyena's turn was coming. He didn't know who the new humans or their Pokemon were, but they couldn't be all bad. After all, the one with auburn hair had spoken up for him. And the Ekans and the bizarre silver Cyndaquil called Wraith (perhaps he was a ghost, too?) were doing what he couldn't: beating that rotten Poochyena. That was enough to reassure him.

These guys are my friends, Misdreavaus decided happily, letting out a small "Dreea" to encourage its benefactors.

I owe them.

Zane was surprised. He hadn't even given a single command, and yet Wraith was fighting incredibly well, without attacking even once. It made him wonder if he was even necessary in the chain. Nevertheless, Wraith's dodging wouldn't win the battle.

"Wraith," Zane commanded. "Stop playing around! Ember!"

Wraith stopped dodging around Poochyena and breathed out a shower of small flames. This time, it was Poochyena's turn to leap out of the way. The doglike Pokemon leaped nimbly away, just barely avoiding several of the embers.

"Heh. Your Cyndaquil's not the only one that can dodge, brat," the first Eclipse soldier taunted. "Poochyena, Tackle!"

Poochyena ran forward and slammed into Wraith, who was just getting ready to run. The hit sent Wraith skidding to the edge of the clearing. The Cyndaquil struggled to get up, trying not to flinch from his new scrapes. Poochyena ran forward to continue the attack.

"Ekans, Poison Sting!" Helen ordered.

Ekans opened its mouth and sprayed out a shower of acid droplets. The drops hit Poochyena in the back, causing it to flinch and snarl at Ekans.

"Nice!" Helen said, laughing slightly. "Now Wrap it up!"

The snake Pokemon complied, lashing out and taking a hold of Poochyena's leg. The irritated Pokemon bit back, hitting Ekans just beneath the band patterns on its neck. Ekans winced and let go in pain as blood dropped from the wounds.

"C'mon, keep going!" Helen encouraged. "Try to wrap it with your tail!"

Ekans swung its tail and tried to wrap it around Poochyena, but the smaller Pokemon was too agile for its wounded enemy to keep up. It continued to dodge, coming closer to Wraith once again.

Zane smirked. "Wraith, Ember! Now!"

Wraith stood up and breathed out more small flames. These caught on Poochyena's fur, causing the Pokemon to howl in pain. At the same time, Ekans spat more acid at its now burning foe. Poochyena howled again and began to roll on the ground in pain. Before long, the fire extinguished, and Poochyena fell unconscious from the effort.

Zane grinned. "You wanna keep this up? I'm sure Wraith'd be happy to warm you up, too," he added threateningly.

"This is a minor setback," said the second Eclipse soldier, as he and his comrade recalled their wounded Pokemon. "We will have that Cyndaquil," he added sternly, staring at Wraith. As he and his comrade faded into thin air, he glanced at Zane.

"We'll be back."

With that, the two disappeared. Zane and Helen returned their Pokemon, and Zane breathed a sigh of relief, turning to Helen.

"See, there was nothing to worry about. No murderous ghosts or anything. So let's go back to sleep, already!"

"Fine by me," Helen nodded. The two began to walk off toward the campsite, when Zane heard a noise behind him.

"Drea!" (Wait up!)

Zane turned around to see the Misdreavaus the Eclipse soldiers had tortured following him. He sighed.

"What do you want?"

"Dreaavaus!" (I wanna come with you!) Misdreavaus responded enthusiastically.

"What? Hey, sorry, but no thanks," Zane said. "We'll do just fine without you."

"Vaus… vaus…" (But… but…) Misdreavaus looked dejected.

"C'mon, Zane, don't turn him down!" Helen said.

"And why not?" Zane asked.

"Honestly! You still don't know anything?" Helen asked. "An extra Pokemon will mean more options in a fight! Besides, it's pretty rare to find one that actually wants to come with you. And then there's the fact that it's a gho-"

"Alright, you can come," Zane said, eager to just get it over with and go back to sleep.

"MISDREE!" (THANK YOU!)

"Just don't shout!" Zane snapped. "Now, what to call you…" He though for a moment before saying,

"…Sable."

Sable grinned, and fell into step behind Zane and Helen, as the two returned to the campsite for a much-deserved rest.

"Hey Zane, we're leaving without you!"

"Huh?" Zane muttered grumpily, opening his eyes a crack.

"Finally," Miles said with relief. "You slept straight through breakfast. Same with Helen. What happened last night?"

"Long story," Zane said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, "but the point is, I got way too little sleep because of a whiny ghost."

"So there are ghosts out here?" Miles asked. "The rumors are true?"

"Not that crud again!" Zane said, rolling up his sleeping bag. "Let's get moving, okay?"

"About time you got up!" Helen's voice came from the grass. Zane mumbled. She didn't seem very tired.

"Just gimme a sec, I'm almost ready."

Helen and Miles started to walk off into the grass. Zane slung on his pack and his belt, with its two occupied poke balls, and then, pulling out his PokeAPT, walked after them.

Evan,

I know you're probably not gonna get this. Heck, I hope not. If you do, it probably means you're stuck on this Doren continent like me. You guys probably got to Sootopolis just fine, but I had this thought, that maybe something happened, and you wound up here, too. Anyway, the point is, if you get this, try to find me. I haven't seen you in six years, and I REALLY need some good company right about now. You shouldn't have much trouble finding me; I look about the same as always, except that I'm a little taller and missing an arm. I can thank a certain uncertified doctor for that (I don't know that she's uncertified, but she HAS to be).

With any luck, you'll never get this. But if you do, I hope I'll see you soon.

-Zane

"Whatcha writin'?"

"Gyah!" Zane turned around to see Helen looking over his shoulder.

"You're right, y'know;" Helen said, in a sincere but teasing voice, "I'm not certified. But I probably could be if there was a medical school around here. And are Miles and I really such-"

"Yeah, when you lecture me like that!" Zane responded. "And stop looking over my shoulder!"

"Sorry," Helen said offhandedly. "So, if you don't mind my asking, who's Evan?"

"He was my best friend," Zane said, "but I haven't seen or heard from him in-"

"Six years?"

"Shut up, alright?" Zane snapped.

"Whatever," Helen's response was again offhanded.

"I just had this thought that maybe he wound up here, too," Zane explained. "So I'm sending him a message."

"Hmm. Ok," Helen said.

"Just so you know," said Miles, "the odds of that are slim."

"You too?" Zane said, half-shouting. "Can't I send a message without everybody knowing?"

"It'd be easier if you didn't yell it out," Helen teased.

Zane sighed and hit the "Send" button on his PokeAPT. A small "ping" sounded and the screen displayed the words "Message Sent". Satisfied, he closed the PokeAPT and continued walking.

The moon shone down on the Sulfur Mountains that night. It just barely softened their visage; indeed, there was little that could be done to make the ragged mountains, some of which were volcanic, look like anything but a dragon's teeth. On one of these teeth, no different from the rest, the moon's light glinted silver off a metal platform protruding from near the peak of the mountain. From that platform, one black-armored Eclipse soldier gazed out on the Sulfur Mountains and the moon that illuminated them. He was not an ordinary Eclipse soldier; he was shorter than most, and the black plates of armor that he wore were small and nearly indistinguishable from the black cloth that composed the rest of his uniform. His shoulders and most of his upper body were covered by a short cloak that hung loosely around his neck. A large hood and a featureless mask obscured his face completely, and it was impossible to tell whether his gaze was directed at the mountains, the moon, or something else only he could see.

The strange soldier dropped his gaze for a second to the long drop in front of him. He could almost hear the sound of the new recruits training far below. He sighed underneath his mask. They were probably all beaten senseless by this hour. Very few recruits measured up to the Superior's strict standards.

The Superior. He didn't especially like her either. For the tenth time that evening, he scowled at the way she ran her operation. But he had to admit: there wasn't anyone else in Team Eclipse as fit to lead as she was. At least, if there was, it certainly wasn't him. The Superior had not just the drive and vision necessary to meet the team's goals; she also had devotion, bordering on insanity.

No, he admitted; he really was better off following her. She had the best chance of achieving Team Eclipse's ultimate goal, and really, nothing else mattered.

His mind would have driven him off on another path, had not the loud footsteps of a recent recruit caused him to turn. Just as he thought, this Eclipse soldier had business.

"Commander!" the soldier barked loudly. "A recent patrol-"

"Keep your voice down," the commander ordered. "No need to let the whole base in on it."

"Sir," the Eclipse soldier continued, this time in a softer voice, "Some of our scouts found something that might interest you." He handed the commander a PokeAPT with an open file.

The commander read the file over quickly and turned to the Eclipse soldier.

"So, they found it," he said, anger just barely detectable in his voice. "And why did you report this to me, instead of the Superior?"

The Eclipse soldier fidgeted just slightly.

"Actually, sir, I was hoping you could report this to her; after all, you have a good reputation with her, and-"

His plea was cut short by the commander's grip on his neck; surprisingly forceful, for someone with such a small build.

"And according to her orders, I don't tolerate cowards!" the commander snarled, before letting go of the larger man's neck. The Eclipse soldier sank to the floor, gasping for breath.

"I'll let you off this time," the commander said, throwing his subordinate's PokeAPT to the floor beside him, "but bother me again and I'll choke all the air out of you that I can get, and then, while you're still gasping for breath, I'll hand you over to Sacrypt."

With that warning, the commander walked into the mountain, into the dark, dimly blue-lit halls of Team Eclipse's base. As he walked, he pulled out his own PokeAPT. There had been one other message that had caught his eye. It was worth looking into.