Diamond's POV
My eyes were weary as I awoke from the deep slumber with some sudden chill. I could see a blurry collision of leaves and twigs while a big brown figure remained standstill in front of me and a lot of white. My fuzzy vision slowly subsided and I noticed I was in a small hole in the middle of a group of bushes. I saw Falcon sleeping and using my tail as a pillow and a thin layer of snow was covering everything. A shot of low anger flooded my bloodstream and with a heavy temper, I lifted my numb arm and smacked him hard on his head. He immediately snapped awake from his pathetic dream scape and I gave an annoying glare at him. In intimidation, he gave a weak grin with those canine teeth and backed away as far as he could in the small space making some snow on his fur slip off.
"What are you doing, get out here and see if anything is happening!" I demanded as his ears pricked up, and he gave a slight nod before he jumped out of the snowy shrubs. Seconds later, he came back into my eyesight, and then beckoned at me to follow, so I jumped up and shot out of the fore bush. I saw that Falcon was struggling to get out of the lines of bushes while when I sprang out; I landed perfectly on my own four paws in the middle of the amusement park, landing softly in a pile of powdered snow. Finally he got out with a few scratches, probably from the sharp branches within the shrubs, and he gave that same, stupid grin. I gave him another creepy stare in a weak outrage, and he backed away.
We were now in Nimbasa city and the police were surrounding the big gap in the sidewalk made from my tail earlier, but any traces of us were covered up like a fossil from the snowy ground. I ran up to the side of the fencing, unseen, and saw some ravishing water. My hopes of the ocean being frozen were drowned away upon seeing the salt water was barely able to resist this frosty cold. I had a plan that if the ocean was frozen, we would jump onto the ice and somehow walk across it to Nacrene city so that the people wouldn't see me, since I was rare in this region. I also didn't want to go by the desert or else we would be found and tell that we had failed the mission.
I than saw something odd that created an idea, we could go in the Ferris wheel and check to see if there was any other way to get out of the desert and toward our destination. There was some bar that blocked the way inside, but I think that I could crawl under it, or at least jump over it. I scratched Falcon with my dull, ebony claws and he looked at me in annoyance, I used one of my dirty paws to point to Ferris wheel, and then I ran toward it. Falcon followed close behind, so when we were there, I assumed that he had the same idea. There weren't any people around, so I gave it a try. I couldn't crawl under these metal bars, so I backed up and jumped as the howling wind ran through my silky brown fur.
I landed with a tumble, and got up, brushing myself off for that hard landing. Falcon was hesitating about jumping over these metal bars to get over here, so I yelled,
"Falcon, get over here you giant fur ball!" He then had an expression of shock on his face, but he stepped back, and he jumped, but it was incredible. He ran at such a high speed, his whole body seemed to be blurry and as soon as he jumped over the bars, he went a little further and went down this hallway behind me and rammed into a Ferris wheel cart. It was quick attack he learned! It was quite an impressive move, but almost every Pokémon knows how to use it. I trotted after him, barely impressed. I even know quick attack, or at least I knew it a long time before he did.
"What are you sitting around for, move out of the way!" I demanded since he was blocking the entrance to this cart thing. He got back up and jumped onto a black cushion that was layered inside, and with a cruel attitude, I quickly pushed a gray lever nearby with my hind legs and jumped into the cart, shutting the steel gate door behind me, impressed with my own skills.
I sudden rattling sound echoed through the empty coaster, and then I could feel slowly Falcon and I getting lifted up into the atmosphere. Slowly after, we were being carried up to the top, perfect for us to be able to see a way out. I saw the unfrozen ocean, the accident, I think a small trace of a building in Castelia city, but nothing to help us get out of this damned city, except for a bridge, but the only way to get there was blocked by the cops. It left us no choice but to just wait for the right moment when no one is around the scene, and scurry on out of there.
When he reached down, I shoved the gate open with a hard head butt, and since this wasn't a move, it left a small bruise on my forehead. When jumping out, I had Falcon in my grasp and he tumbled out with me. Quickly, I dropped him out of my mouth and used my hind legs again to push the gray lever back to where it stood earlier. A clank sound echoed, and the Ferris wheel stopped, making a cloud of silence wander through the air. As quiet as a snowflake gently falling to the ground, I carried Falcon in my jaws and stalked toward the exit when I noticed a few humans drinking out of porcelain cups on the other side, by a park bench.
I quickly but quietly jumped out and over the metal bars when everyone was looking away. With a swift gesture, I flipped over, my silky, brown fur feeling the enriched air. Over, I heard voices that were definitely unfamiliar to me.
'I just saw an eevee!'
'I think it had something in its mouth!'
'This is a golden opportunity!'
'We have to go after it now!'
'Yeah!'
Worried with a thousand questions rocketing through my head, I dashed through the bitter snow and pounced into the earlier, snowy bushes, hearing faint footsteps trace ahead.
Rachel's POV
Snow lightly fell to earth and everything seemed peaceful again. Beautiful piles of snow were layered out in the field while we passed by two buildings, full of kids and Pokémon. This must have been the daycares I have heard about, they were daycares for kids and Pokémon, and even at a young age, the kids could have Pokémon. A playground with a huge sandbox and a shiny new slide were right next to the kid daycare, while a lunar white fence next to the Pokémon daycare kept all the other Pokémon from escaping and wandering off.
"Hey, what's that?" Zeke blurted out as he stopped in his tracks. He used his puny grass finger to point at the daycares. Shadow looked at him and explained, and for some reason it took a while which annoyed me and I started pacing, and we continued on the dirty route when finished.
"Hey, do you hear that?" Shadow asked as he also stopped dead in his tracks near a crossroad. My ears pricked up in curiosity, and then I heard a faint scream from some kid back at that daycare.
"Oh come on Shadow, you are starting to act like Zeke now," I exclaimed.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" he asked with a hint of anger in his tone, and I just sighed.
"Well I swear I heard something else!" Shadow yelled like a two year old.
"Can you even hear yourself talk; you are now even sounding like a toddler." We just laughed, and I could see behind that reptilian skin really was a heart, and it was starting to bloom. Shadow was finally learning about the fun parts of life he had never known about before.
I could tell by their confused expressions on their snake faces that they were clueless about where to go. I gave a deep sigh, and sniffed around to see if there was any hint of our next destination; Nacrene city. I took small steps forward, and nothing could tell me were which way we needed to go. All I could pick up was a few scents of Pokémon trainers and some psychic type, but they wouldn't help us get there.
"Hey, where is it Captain Rachel?" Shadow asked with a deep scent of sarcasm when he called me captain. I frantically looked both ways, and chose the path to the right, near a cave.
"Uh, um, this way, it's by that cave over there!" Before I could hear their clutter of questions, I ran off toward that direction, leaving them in my dust.
I ran, but all my paws ran on was empty air. My eyes grew wide in surprise as I watched myself lift off the ground. Being lifted off the ground, I struggled for freedom. What was doing this, why was it doing this, why are Shadow and Zeke just standing there in awe as I was being taken off by some unknown creature? All these questions zoomed by one after another, but before I could think any more, I dropped to the ground, and something pink and purplish showed its face, but then a burlap sack had captured me, and I knew that struggling would just make this situation worse. I started to look for some weak spot that I could claw or bite at, but then something heavy smashed down on the sack from the outside, and slowly, I fell into an unconscious state.
Shadow's POV
An unknown time later…
Awoken with the throbbing bruise left on my head, I noticed I was in some dark room. I saw some sunlight peek out through cracks of old wood, but everything else was blanketed in a world of darkness. I heard some muffled voices in the distance, close to me, but when I tried to move, I noticed that I was tied against a log of wood with a bundle of rope, unable to move. I attempted to get free, but that just made it feel like the ropes were getting tighter and started to create rope burns. My tail was starting to create an annoying ache while it was tied behind me.
My blue eyes scanned through the room while I tried to find out where I was. I saw a damp dirt floor with a few patches of dead grass, so that indicated that I was outside. The area was tight together, as if I could touch the wooden floor that sat above me if I wasn't tied together like a knot. I struggled to get free once more, but ropes burned my thighs, and I stopped trying to get free, knowing that each attempt made the ropes grow tighter. Suddenly, a weak moan echoed through the area, and my eyes grew alert. It came from my direct left, so my black and purple snake head swiveled around to get a glance of the Pokémon. It was a small tike, I'll tell you that, and then I noticed it was Zeke in a sorrow state, also tied to one of the stalks just like I was.
"Zeke, Zeke!" I yelled, wanting to get his attention fast.
He had weary eyes, but he snapped awake as I called him. His eyes snapped open just like mine did earlier. He turned from a glum look to a joyful expression upon me calling his name. He struggled in the bind of the ropes, but immediately stopped as he received the pain. I just rolled my eyes as he attempted to struggle again. He finally stopped as the torture of the ropes burned his grass body once more, and started to talk.
"Shadow, I'm so glad you are here, GET ME UNTIED!" he screamed as I could tell he was frustrated. I replied with an angry tone,
"Well I am also a little tied up at the moment!" His face that was gleaming with hope died upon my words, and that face of sorrow showed up once more. His head drooped, and we just hanged, sustained in the damp environment.
I let my hopes get crushed under this wooden roof that was sustained above us. I wondered why we were tied up under this stupid building anyway and why wasn't Rachel doing something to…
Rachel!
I can't believe it. I forgot about her! How could I even do that, forget about that fur ball? She had to be around somewhere. I turned my head to face left past Zeke to see if she was in that area. All I saw was the wood that made this place look like a room with all this darkness. I then swiveled my head to my immediate right. I saw nothing, just some lifeless leaves layered along the ground and some dirt. Then I saw it, right by the post I was tied against was Rachel, bundled up in a frenzy of rope. She was in a deep sleep, and I knew that calling out her name was a waste of my breath since it was obvious that she was under some sort of spell. She wasn't going to wake up for a while. She still had her velvet scarf wrapped around her neck, and the culprit who did this to us obviously didn't want it.
By the way, why would we be kidnapped in the first place? It isn't like any of us did any wrong-doing. We actually were helping people. We helped professor Juniper catch those crooks, we helped the restaurant owners with service, we helped Emily- oh wait, and that was the trickster, Illusion… Wait, maybe it was that stupid illusion fox that did this to us! Everything made perfect sense, besides where we were. Why would Illusion take us here?
I struggled for freedom, letting anger consume me as violence lurked out of the shadows and consumed me. I bit at the ropes with my small teeth, knowing that it doesn't do that much, but everything adds up. I continued to bite down, and attempted to free my tail from the ropes that bind them, knowing that if my tail was a little looser, I could've break out of there. My eyes felt like burning coals and I continued to struggle, not caring about the pain that engulfed my body. I chewed as hard as possible, my jaw getting weaker and tail getting rope-burned. There was no way I was getting out, not yet, not without a plan.
When I stopped my excisable struggling, I could feel a major pain on… well everywhere. It was no use… but then a light seemed to burn ahead, a pink and purplish light, and my eyes ached at the sudden contrast, and had to adjust. The light seemed to only last for a second though, and as if right on cue to my thoughts, I saw the Pokémon who most definitely was our kidnappers.
If I could recall, this Pokémon was called a munna. It looked like a pink balloon with stubby feet and purple flower marks on top of it. My head spinned with dozens of questions; I had never seen this munna before, let alone hurt or anger it enough to kidnap us.
Before any more of my thoughts could continue, the Pokémon floated toward me slowly, and it spoke in a surprisingly, soft voice.
"H-hello," it said, rather timidly. "I'm Munna."
"GET ME UNTIED YOU FLOATING PINATA!" Zeke screamed. Munna seemed to flinch at his words. What the heck was going on here?
"You can continue, Munna," I said reassuringly. Seriously, Zeke was being childish and making Munna talk was the only way to get some answers. She nodded shyly and continued.
"I'm so sorry that I tied you up. It's just… I… I need your help." I looked over at Zeke, and he was making a face of disgust.
"HELP YOU?!" Zeke started. "WHY SHOULD WE?!" You tied us up and I feel like my tail is on fire! Rachel is unconscious in the corner over there! And lastly I am STARVING!" I didn't really get that last one.
"I-I said I'm sorry. I just remember seeing w-what you did at the restaurant, a-and thought-" Zeke cut her off again.
"Thought? Yes, you thought, and I'm seriously angry right now so you better speak fast!"
"Maybe if you stop interrupting Zeke, she'll be done a whole lot faster," I scolded.
"You're on her side?! Fine, like I care, I'm so over it already." I rolled my eyes.
"A-as I was saying, I thought you could help me."
"WELL…" Zeke started… not again. "Can you at least tell us where we are first? I'm freaking out right now, and while you're at it, tell me why we're tied up!" At least what he said that time made sense.
"Certainly, we are under the child daycare. I also tied you up so if I wasn't here when you woke up, you wouldn't leave without me explaining everything."
"AND WHAT ABOUT RACHEL, WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE SHE'S ALL BEATEN UP?!"
"She's not b-beaten up, but it might seem that way in the dark. I tied her up on the ground since it was too hard for me to do it on a stalk. Also she looked pretty strong, so I put a hypnosis spell on her to keep her from waking up and gnawing the ropes off."
"Well, can you untie us now?" I asked.
"C-certainly," she responded. Her body shined a light pink, lighting up the room partly, and then the ropes around us glowed with that same kind of light. They un-wrapped in a supernatural way, I was feeling like I was going to freak out like Zeke was.
About ten minutes later, we were behind the daycare, untied… but I felt like we were forgetting something. Oh well, it would come around eventually.
"So let me get this straight," Zeke exclaimed. "You one day had chased after a Pokémon in pursuit to defeat it and impress you trainer, and since you were really weak, it took you the whole day to chase and wear it down. Then you realized how weak you were, and didn't want to head back till you were stronger. Then when you did get a bit stronger, you tried to go back, but you were too scared to walk up to your trainer, is that it?!"
"Yes, that's all," Munna replied calmly, as if it was nothing.
"Munna, you realize that you are worried about nothing here, right?" I asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Ugh, I mean that you shouldn't be afraid to go up to your trainer. You said you left in the first place to get stronger, correct?" She nodded. "And you said you wanted to get stronger for your trainer, correct?" She nodded again. "Well that means that she won't be angry for you leaving, do you understand?" She shook her head.
"Come on Shadow, let's just knock on the door of this place with her standing on the doorstep, it's as easy as that," Zeke explained. That actually wasn't a bad idea.
"Okay, let's give it a shot."
A few minutes later, I whispered over at Zeke from around the corner of the daycare, which was standing on the doorstep with Munna, "Ready?"
"I was hatched ready," he whispered back, and he knocked on the door, making that thudding sound. He then ran over to my side around the corner of the daycare. We peeked around the corner to see the door open slowly. The squeaky voice of a human kid screamed out.
"AHH, IT'S MUNNA, SHE CAME BACK," the toddler yelled in glee from behind the grown up.
"Calm down Shirley," the grown-up said. "You'll have time to catch up, come on in Munna." Munna's face lit up in joy. She finally understood she was worrying over nothing. When they were inside and the door shut, I high-fived Zeke.
"Did you think that was a stupid thing to worry about?" Zeke asked.
"Yeah," I answered. "That was like solving where the last piece of a puzzle goes." We laughed, and walked through the empty playground to get to the route faster.
"Hey Shadow, do you feel like your forgetting something?" Zeke asked as we walked.
"Oh yeah, I felt that about a few minutes back, I still haven't forgotten about that feeling."
"Oh well, it's probably nothing." We both continued to walk together, side by side, when I think it popped back to both of us. My eyes grew wide in foolishness. How could I forget!
I turned to look at Zeke, and he did the same thing, and when looking at each other, we simultaneously yelled, "RACHEL!"
I can't believe we left her under the daycare, still tied up. How could we be so stupid?!
About 5 minutes later, we were back behind the daycare. We squeezed through a loose board in the wall to get in the dark, damp space. I saw a struggling figure in the corner; Rachel was awake, and not happy in her tied up position.
About 20 minutes later, we were back on the trail. I didn't want to describe what happened back there in detail. Zeke accidently got kicked where no one should get kicked.
"So…" Rachel started, breaking the awkward silence. "Can you guys tell me exactly why we were tied up back there in the first place?"
"Ugh," I groaned.
"Get your ears ready, you're getting one heck of a stupid story." Zeke said.