Chapter 10

I paused in hesitation within the shadows of the abandoned Pokémon Center. I could tell it must have been a grand and friendly place in its day, but such times had long since passed and it was now merely a discarded shell. Broken glass littered the streets before me.

I waited for Joleen to return to the building. We were certain that Team Plasma didn't know anything of her involvement so for now she should be fine from them. I just needed to get to her before anyone thought her behaviour was suspicious. She didn't know that Grandpa Cedric wasn't going to be able to meet her.

Glancing around to make sure no one was looking, I dashed across the street and into another set of shadows. I flattened myself against the wall while scanning the street in hopes that I had gone unnoticed. I let out a breath I didn't realized I'd been holding.

"About time, sweetie," purred a female voice as a door was pulled open beside me. "I wouldn't want you to miss your appointment. Keep sulking around like this and people might begin to think you are … up to something."

I spun as the Plasma Admin stepped out of the doorway. She had her right hand up and was toying with a blue and red Poké ball. Several grunts in Plasma armor left the building and formed ranks behind her.

It was just my luck. I'm not even in the town for ten minutes and Team Plasma had already found me. It had taken me a while to get out of the tree quietly and the shadows around town had already begun to stretch as the day neared its close. I had hoped to locate Joleen before running into the Sweetie Lady. There was only one option now.

"Shall we do this the easy way, or the fun way?" asked Renita in her slow drawl.

I didn't wait to answer. I turned and ran down the street before Team Plasma could box me in.

"The fun way it is, sweetie," said the woman just loudly enough for me to hear her as I rounded the corner of the closest building and took off down the dark alleyway. "After him!"

I didn't look back as I ran. By now I was in a full on panicked run yet I had retained enough sense to know that looking back wouldn't help me get away. My best option was to give them a slip and then head back into the forest surrounding the town.

I continued down several twisting alleys. The whole while I ran, I could hear the commotion of the Plasma grunts chasing after me. If there was an up side to their garishly armored costumes, it was that they made plenty of noise when running. I had a head start and a large adrenaline spike on my side, but I didn't fancy my chances. The grunts were getting louder with each narrow corner I turned. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep running forever.

The grunts were almost on top of me when I turned another corner and was knocked aside. My balance was completely upset as I was slammed into a wall and something was slapped over my mouth. It happened too fast for me to react and before I could even consider yelling, I was being flattened painfully into the brickwork behind me.

"Stay quiet," muttered a low male voice in my ear as I began struggling against whoever had captured me.

I stopped moving as I looked up into fiercely determined gray eyes. The blaze in them made it clear that this person was not to be taken lightly. He was taller than me and his large figure along with the dark cloak he was wearing shielded me from anyone who might be travelling down the alleyway.

I stared back as him with wide eyes as the commotion of the running Plasmas came upon us and then hurried along the rest of the way down the alley.

The man pinning me to the wall waited several long minutes as the commotion died down. It was just as well that he had.

"Oh sweetie!" sang the woman in a singsong tone as she walked down the darkened alley. "I'll catch you. Come to Renita, Sweetie."

It was several longer moments after she had passed before the man removed his hand from my mouth. He leaned away from the wall and I was no longer pinned in the niche he had shoved me into.

"Shush," said the man in hushed tones when I opened my mouth. "I know you 'ave questions an' I shall answer 'em, but we need to get you out o' the open first. Follow me an' keep quiet."

With a near silent swish of his cloak, the man was walking swiftly back through the alley. I followed him as quietly as I could.

He maneuvered us back and forth between the alleyways with the ease of someone who knew his way around Accumula Town with familiarity. I had to focus all my attention on keeping up with him. Several times he paused and pulled me into various niches while we waited for Plasma grunts to pass us by. The shadows had deepened and the sun had set when he led me into a broken down building I didn't recognise.

I was about to say something when we paused, but he held a finger to his mouth and I shut up. He swiftly led us to the back of the building and silently slid a portion of the wall aside to reveal a set of ascending stairs. He hurried up them quickly and I followed behind. I lost count of the steps when we came to a trapdoor in the ceiling. After a pause, he pushed it open and pulled himself up. He pulled me up after him.

I was shocked to find myself in a very clean and well-kept room. A gray piano was set against one wall and a drum set sat next to it. There was a small table and a smell wafting through the air that instantly made my mouth water.

"Rex?" asked a female voice as a woman entered the room from what appeared to be the kitchen. She had long brown hair with streaks of gray starting to weave its way through it. She wore an ankle-length white dress with a large purple bow tied around her waist. "I thought I heard you enter. Ahh, you brought back a stray."

A/N: I can't say I am as happy with how this Chapter turned out as something about it feels a little off to me.

Still, have some more of Renita as I can't get enough of writing parts for her, and lets meet a new shady character.