Disclaimer: I can't own Pokemon.
Hey guys, sorry for the delay. I had a hard time writing this. So much action. XP Plus, I had a few midterm exams (And still more) so I've been pretty busy. To make it up, this chapter is super long.
Anyways, enjoy!
Chapter 6:
"How long are you going to keep doing that?" Wes asked, annoyed as Lunick made another reacting noise. Lunick's fingers were in his mouth and the back of his throat as though he was trying to pull the mushrooms he had eaten out of his mouth. Both of guys were riding on back of Dodrio (who Luniick still called by the name of 'Drumstick' by the way) with Wes in the front and Lunick in the back. Minun was sitting on top of Dodrio's middle head and looked like it was thoroughly enjoying the nice view a lot. It's little ears flapped with the wind.
They crossed the grassy plains with such ease and with a good amount of speed. Wes was right. At this rate, they'll get to the forest in less than ten minutes. The large dirt road that was dotted with green grass was wide enough for a car to travel through. Wes was leading the way to make sure Dodrio won't go berserk again since he obviously had experience with this. Of course, it took quite a while for Wes to fully control riding Dodrio since he never rode on a Pokemon before.
Lunick said to simply follow the dirt path until it diverged into two and from there, Lunick would give further instructions. It was already noontime and the sun was blazing and with very thick white clouds hovering beside it. However, it was definitely hot today and no wind blowing.
"When I'm absolutely sure that I managed to throw up every single bit of mushroom you tried to poison me with!" Lunick snapped. His face was slightly green and he didn't feel really good. Of course, Wes did eat the mushroom and was perfectly fine and to him, Lunick was overreacting too much.
"You only started to throw up after I asked you that question," Wes said, his eyes rolling with annoyance as though Lunick was the one who got himself into the mess. "I asked to be safe."
"Yeah, well, tell me that before you try to feed me," Luinck said before flopping to the side again. "Or you try the stupid mushrooms before giving it to me."
Wes rolled his eyes and continued to carefully lead Dodrio down the path. It was a while but Wes finally noticed that a large shadow was coming from the horizon. As Dodrio continued to run, Wes realized that the shadow was actually a large forest.
"Miii! Miii!" Minun squealed, pointing to the forest.
"Hey! Lunick said, looking excited for once, "We're almost there!" Dodrio, sensing the excitement, squawked and sprinted faster down the path until Wes pulled on its neck and ordered it to slow down.
Wes skillfully landed down while Lunick did it a bit more ungracefully and almost crashed. Minun slid down Dodrio's neck and hopped onto Lunick's head. Wes, ignoring Lunick, took out his Poke ball and aimed it at Dodrio.
"Return," Wes said and the Poke ball released a red laser that hit Dodrio and sucked it back into the Poke ball. Wes looked at the large dark forest for the first time in his life. The large trees seemed to create their own little time zone. There was a small river running between the border of the forest and where Wes and Lunick were standing. There was only one small wooden bridge over the river. The path going into the forest seemed to be less worn and wilder with weeds as though it was rarely used.
"So this is Lyra Forest," Wes said, but his tone sounded as though he wasn't convinced.
"Not a lot of people come here," Lunick explained, suspecting Wes' suspicion of the deserted place, "This particular place we're going to is called the Labyrinth Grove."
"A maze, huh?" Wes said, placing his hand to his chin as though contemplating on something, "We need to be prepare before we try to go in."
"Don't worry," Lunick said, grinning, "I know my way here and I definitely won't get us lost. I've been here before with… with Solana." Lunick's face fell when he said Solana's name and looked really depressed. Minun looked down from the top of the ranger's head, worried.
"Don't worry," Wes said, hoisting his stack, "You'll be able to save her."
"Yeah, I hope so," Lunick said, looking at the forest as though it was going to eat him up. "I hope Solana is still okay… oh, and your girlfriend too." Lunick said the last part with a sly grin.
"Girlfriend?" Wes repeated the word, sounding confuse but looking dead serious as always. It's as though he could not display any other emotion besides serious. "What are you talking about?" Lunick, however, gave a playful nudge at Wes' ribs.
"Ah, come on," Lunick said, "Don't be shy. I heard what those guys said about her." He quickly scampered off into the woods before Wes could 'retaliate'.
"Hey, hold on a second," Wes called out, but the ranger was already gone. The white hair boy simply stared at the ranger before groaning out of frustration.
What a stupid guy… He doesn't even know where to look for the people we're trying to find. Wes contemplated for a few minutes before deciding to run after Lunick. In a new place, Wes decided that sticking together was way better than splitting up.
…
"I could've sworn it was this way," Lunick said, puzzled as the two once again came across a dead end. So far, Lunick has been leading the way by following the dirt path. Unfortunately, the path didn't seem to help the two at all. They kept looping around and what's worse, they seemed to be going more in circles despite the fact that the path is straight. Lunick rubbed the back of his head as though trying to remember something.
"Well, seeing how we don't know where to look in the first place, it's not surprising you wouldn't know where to go," Wes said in a dull voice and sighing in a boring tone.
"Hey!" Lunick said furiously like an impatient child, "I'm doing the best I can! Besides this place is called the Labyrinth Grove for a reason!"
"Well first of all, do you even know where to look?" Wes said, pointing out the huge issue of the whole problem. "We know who we're looking for, but we don't know where." Lunick stared at Wes as though trying to comprehend a foreign language. "Take your time," Wes said in a bored voice, "It'll come to you."
"Err…" Lunick's brain was finally starting to comprehend the difficulty of the situation. After a full minute, everything clicked into place. "Oh man," Lunick sighed, "This was going to be a lot harder than I thought."
"You finally figured that out huh?" Wes said, in a monotone voice as he looked at his surroundings. The tall trees were blocking a lot of the sunlight. Although this made the area feel cool from the heat, the darkness was making it impossible to use the sun to determine where they are going.
"Okay," Lunick said, taking out his styler, "I'm going to capture some Pokemon and use them to scout the area. Maybe they've seen Solana and the others."
"Good, they obviously know more about this place than you do." Lunick didn't hear Wes mumbled this and was too busy trying to capture a swarm Beedrill that were hovering by. Wes couldn't help but watch the Capture Styler worked its magic as Beedrill, now listening to Lunick, flew off in search for their friends.
"What?" Lunick said, noticing Wes dull staring.
"You guys can simply get Pokemon to just obey you," Wes stated, "It's like capturing them in a Poke ball and then releasing them when you're done."
"We borrow their powers," Lunick said, sounding a bit offended at Wes' choice of words, "We prefer to work with nature, not use it for our own purposes. We ask for help, not demand it."
"What about Minun?" Wes said, sounding bored again, looking around the forest.
"Well, Minun is my partner," Lunick said, frustrated at the lack of knowledge most people have about Rangers. Lunick had to deal with a lot of people like Wes who seemed to find Pokemon Ranger job smiliar to a trainer's, only that rangers get to have more than six Pokemon to help them. There are so many different things about the two occupations but no one sees it in that way. "Minun helps me out but I don't own him. We're friends and that's why we stick together." Lunick and Minun pounded their chest. "We're bonded by heart and no one can take that away."
"Right…" Wes said absentmindedly. He had his PDA out and was looking at something and totally ignoring Lunick's speech. Lunick almost fell from frustration at the sight of Wes' lack of interest.
"What's with you?" Lunick said, "You act interested for one second and then out of it in another second." Wes didn't respond and continued to look at his PDA and causing Lunick to fume in more frustration.
"HEY!" Lunick yelled, grabbing the PDA from Wes' hand, "Will you listen to me for once?"
"Why?" Wes asked, trying to grab back his PDA but Lunick kept dancing it out of his reach. Wes sighed and gave up trying to get his PDA back. "And please stop screaming. We don't know if the enemy is here or not."
"Why? Cuz I was talking to you, that's why!" Lunick snapped, not listening to Wes' request. His voice was echoing the surroundings.
Hypocrite, Wes though, looking annoyed. "Fine," Wes said, shrugging his shoulders, "I'll try and act more interested. Now will you please give me back my PDA?" Suddenly, Wes and Lunick heard a large swooping sound and looking up saw a large shadow charging straight at them.
"WAHHHH!" Lunick yelled but the large shadow landed on him and the ranger crashed to the ground from the weight. "Get it off, get it off!" Wes immediately tried to grab the large creature and almost fell back in surprise when he saw that it was a Ferrow. The large brown bird squawked as it continued to pin down Lunick.
"Stop right there! My Ferrow won't hesitate to attack your partner!" A voice shouted. Wes didn't even hesitate and threw out his Poke ball to where the voice came from. Immediately, Umbreon, with its red glowing eyes, came out of the Poke ball and was in attack position as the rustling of the bushes grew louder and a person came out from behind. To Wes' shock, the person had on the same red uniform like Lunick – a ranger. The man had a red jacket with yellow collar and a black jumpsuit with white top. Like Wes, the man was obviously prepared. His Capture styler out as though he was ready to use it.
"What?" The man gasped. His eyes widened with shock at the prey he had caught. His face came toward to the light and Wes suddenly realized who the person was – Spenser, Lunick's leader.
"You two?" Spenser said, his long green hair almost covered his shocked eyes if it wasn't for the white headband tied around his head. "What are you guys doing here?" Umbreon hissed at the hostility the man was giving off but Wes immediately crouch down and pet the black moonlight Pokemon to calm it down.
"Spenser?" Lunick said with shock. He was still stuck underneath Spenser's Ferrow who refused to move. Lunick's eyes were almost as big as saucer plates. "Wh-What are you doing here?"
"I believe that question should only be reserved for me," Spenser said, his eyes flashing dangerously at Lunick who gulped in fear. Spenser was overcoming his shock and was now starting to get angry. Minun, sensing danger, immediately ran and cowered behind the nearest bush. "Care to explain?" Spenser directed this question to Wes. However, Wes merely sighed and shrugged his shoulders.
"So you caught us," Wes stated. "Going to do something about it?"
"Why would you disobey a direct order?" Spenser demanded.
"Uh, Spenser," Lunick said in a very timid voice and raising his hand from Ferrow's feathers. "before we answer, can you let Ferrow get off of me?" This statement caused Ferrow to screech with anger as though Lunick's interruption was rude and unreasonable. Spenser simply responded by giving an 'I'll deal with you next' look at Lunick. "On second thought, I'll just wait," Lunick said, shutting up and putting his hand back down.
"Look," Wes said, wanting to get to the point, "We want to help too and not just sit around. The sooner I find Rui, the sooner I'll leave this place and leave you guys back to whatever it is you guys do."
"If you haven't notice, this place is dangerous. People can get lost easily and can never get out. Rangers don't even come here unless qualified or with a qualified ranger," Spenser said, his arms folded across his chest, "I want you to go back to Fall City and I'll come and deal with you two when I get back."
"Wait; hold on, Spenser, I'm not considered a qualified ranger to go into these forests?" Lunick interrupted again. Spenser gave another glare at Lunick who gulped again. "Okay, shutting up again."
"When you get back? More like if you can get back," Wes said without flinching under Spenser's gaze. "Do you know that the people you're dealing with are far worse than you could ever imagine. If you don't let me come with you then you're going to end up captured and then most likely dead." Lunick's heart pulsed faster at the word 'dead'. Wes wasn't the type who would joke and he definitely sounded serious – dead serious.
"You know these people that well?" Spenser demanded. This time Wes looked away and didn't answer. Spenser groaned and sighed. There was a moment of silence before he broke the silence. "What do you suggest?"
Suddenly, there was a sound of buzzing from overhead. Wes, Spenser, and Lunick looked up to see a Beedrill coming down and landing next to Lunick. Ferrow tried to jab the bug and caused it to buzz angrily and tried to jab the bird with its needle arms.
"What the-?" Spenser said.
"I think Beedrill found something," Lunick said as the bug Pokemon flew back to the direction it just came from. Wes immediately returned his Umbreon and quickly followed the Beedrill.
"Wait!" Spenser called out, but Wes was already out of sight. Spenser glanced at Lunick who grinned sheepishly. The Ring Town leader didn't have much choice of the matter and the fact that Wes already had a head start wasn't making things easier.
"Lunick, I'm giving you permission to join this mission," Spenser said finally. He motioned the large Ferrow to get off and the bird flew into the air and followed after Wes and Beedrill.
"Really?" Lunick said happily as he got up. Minun, who felt like it was safe now, came out of hiding and jumped onto Lunick's shoulder. Although the two were relieved from not getting any punishment, Spenser didn't give off the same emotion. Lunick's smile shrank and the teenager immediately decided that the best thing to do was to pursue Wes. Spenser followed the young ranger from behind.
"But," Spenser said in a serious tone, "your job is to only keep an eye on Wes and back him up if need be. Remember this time to follow my orders. Make sure he doesn't run off when I tell you guys not to."
"What?" Lunick gaped. "But I want to help!"
"When Murph contacted me, he told me the situation was serious and dangerous," Spenser said, "You should not be here but considering the situation, I have no choice."
"Bu-"
"No buts," Spenser interrupted, "I don't want to lose any more rangers." Lunick fell silent at these words and the two continued to follow Ferrow as its bird eye view managed to keep an eye on Wes.
"I want an answer Lunick," Spenser said. Lunick sighed but nodded.
"Sir, yes sir."
…
Deep within the forest, things weren't going so well for Murph and Rui. Both of them were running as fast as they could but seemed to progress less than before. Worse of all, Rui and Murph had been spotted earlier and had been running blindly through the woods before realizing they were even more hopelessly lost once they lost the pursuers.
"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Rui asked again to Murph who looked so hopelessly lost. To Rui, the trees looked exactly the same but Murph said that there was a way to figure it out.
"Unfortunately no," Murph said, though he seemed to be pretty dim about the situation. He was panting and sweating a lot. Several times, Rui thought that Murph was going to collapse from exhaustion. "Solana is the only one out of all of us rangers who actually know this place well enough to not get too lost."
"Oh great," Rui groaned, wishing her partner was more serious. She shivered at the sight of this forest. It gives her the creeps. Surely one of these pathways would lead them back out of here but it seems to be simply making them go around and around in circles no matter where they choose to go.
"Sigh, I wish I was better at using my Styler," Murph sighed as he looked at his surrounding and hoped he found some sort of landmark that would lead them out of here. "I'm totally stupid and useless in times like these."
"Don't say that," Rui said in a stern voice as though she didn't like this negative vibe Murph was now giving off, "We managed to lose them and so far we're doing great. Remember, you're my knight who has come to rescue me." She clenched her fists and said, "We just need to think positive and we'll get out of here soon. Nothing bad can happen anymore."
"There they are!" Rui and Murph suddenly realized a couple of bald Snagem members pointing at their direction. Murph gaped from the irony of the situation.
"Or maybe they can," Rui said as she froze from shock at the sight of the men. "Run!" Rui and Murph once again started to crash through the bushes and the path. Rui pulled Murph along as the bumbling boy stumbled behind.
"You won't get away this time!" A voice cried out and that only made Rui run faster. When she managed to get into a clearing, it was then that Rui realized that she was trapped. There were three Snagem members already waiting for them. Next to them were some wild Spinarak and Scyther and some Wrumple who were (to Rui) strangely obeying the Snagem members' orders. Rui skidded to a halt and tried to run in away but the pursuers from behind already caught up. They were now trapped.
"Told you wouldn't get away," one of the Snagem guy said and gave a toothy grin at Rui. "Why don't you surrender your pretty self now?"
"Forget it," Murph said, trying to act tough, but there was a definite quiver in his voice. He raised his shaky arms as though to shield Rui from the bad guys. The members gave crackling laughs at Murph's attempted bravery and gave an evil grin. The bug Pokemon started to creep closer and Rui's blue eyes seemed to quiver with fear. None of these Pokemon carried a dark aura around them, but the sight of the hostility still send a chill down the girl's spine.
"Fatty, I suggest you don't try and act like the hero today. Unless you don't care about what happens to that other pretty girl of yours." The man said, still giving a crackling laugh.
"Solana?" Murph said, not believing what he just heard. They got Solana.
"Murph, no," Rui said in a very small and scared voice. For the first time during this whole run in the forest, she was acting scared – really scared. Her blue eyes were close to tears. "Don't try to fight. I don't want the same thing to happen to you."
"But this is my mission," Murph said, despite the obvious disadvantage he was in. "A ranger does not abandon his mission for the sake of his own self."
"I see," the man said, cocking his head to the side. "Well in that case, I suggest you get ready to see your life come to an end." The Scyther next to him sharpened his blade arms together and making a 'shik' sound that cut through the still air.
"NO!" Rui yelled, but the man's Scyther raised its arm, ready to swipe. Rui immediately closed her eyes, not wanting to see the horror about to lay out.
"Espeon, Psychic!" Immediately, a blast of purple waves slammed into the Scyther. Rui opened her eyes and saw a purple cat like fox in front of her and facing against the Snagem's Pokemon. Rui immediately recognized the Pokemon who had just saved Murph and her.
"E-espeon?" Rui gasped, not believing her eyes. The Pokemon gave a purr in reply. If Espeon is here, then that means… that voice…
"Rui, are you okay?" Rui turned around and saw the ghost of Wes standing before her. His white hair seemed to glow strangely in the forest light. His blue trench coat had the same worn out look and his silver plated goggles were perched on his forehead. Wes is… alive?
This must be a dream, Rui thought as she stared into Wes' amber eyes. He took a step forward until he was standing right in front of her. Immediately, as a surge of emotions filled her, Rui threw her arms around Wes and started to sob uncontrollably into his neck. The guy stood awkwardly as Rui continued to hug him. Murph stared questioningly at Wes who also looked confused – as though he has no idea why Rui was acting this way.
"Wes, Wes! It is you!" Rui sobbed as she clutched Wes' neck even more tightly. "I thought… I thought…"
"Well, I'm alive," Wes said as he slowly pushed Rui away from him. "Takes more than a beating to bring me down."
"No way!" One of the Snagem team members gasped and stared at the snowy white hair guy. "You're alive?" Scyther screeched in anger and charged straight at Espeon, but before the psychic Pokemon could retaliate…
"Ferrow! Take Scyther down!" Immediately a flying shadow slammed as fast as a bullet straight at the surprised Scyther who immediately got flown into the air.
"What the -?" The Snagem guy gaped as his other members looked around wildly for the intruder. Suddenly, from the bushes from behind the whole group, a man with uniform similar to Murph came out.
"Spenser!" Murph cried out in relief. It was Rui's turn to look shock at the newcomer but the guy barely seemed to notice her.
"Murph, move away!" Spenser said and charged up his styler toward the Scyther his Ferrow had taken down. With expert hands, Spenser's capture styler started to loop around the bug Pokemon in a bright blue light.
"Another ranger?" One of the men cried out in surprise. "What is going on?"
"Don't just stand there!" one of the men cried who managed to recovery from the shock. "Take them down!" Immediately, the rest of the team's Pokemon charged straight at the newcomer. However, Spenser seemed to be unfazed by this.
"Minun, paralyze them!" Another voice cried out. Immediately, blue electricity spread through the area, paralyzing the Team Snagem's Pokemon. Before, the others could react; another Capture Styler came out and started to follow the same process as Spenser's on another Pokemon.
"Lunick!" Murph gasped in shock as he saw Lunick coming out from behind Spenser.
"Murph! Hurry up and help!" Lunick called out and Murph pulled out his styler. Feeling confident now that Lunick and Spenser were here, Murph helped out with the capturing. Immediately, all of the wild Pokemon were soon released from Snagem's spell and ran away, back into their natural habitat.
"I suggest you surrender now," Wes said staring at the Snagem members with pure hate. Espeon growled with an anger that it rarely showed. Rui's heart pounded faster as she watched Wes with admiration.
"Geez Wes," Lunick said, rolling his eyes, "Do you have to say the cool line everytime?"
"Damn! Retreat!" Immediately, the men started to scatter away like frightened Buneary.
"Wait!" Lunick cried, looking around as though someone was missing from the group, "Where is Solana!" Spenser looked as though he knew the answer to that question.
"Lunick! Murph!" Spenser ordered, "You stay here with everybody else. Do not move from this spot!"
"What? But Spenser!" However, the Ring Town's Ranger leader and his Ferrow pursued the scattered Snagem members and disappeared into the forest's depth.
"Murph, where is Solana?" Lunick asked, his voice had a definite panic tone. Murph immediately looked down and ashamed. "Murph!"
"Wes," Rui interrupted, "Who is this guy?" Lunick looked around and widened his eyes with shock. Minun, who was standing next to Lunick, was also gaping in amazement. Lunick was not expecting this Rui girl to be this, well, hot. Rui stared uneasily at Lunick's gaping face and looked questioningly at Murph who merely shrugged his shoulders.
"You're Rui?" Lunick sputtered with shock. How did Wes manage to get such a cute girl to follow him around?
"Yes," Rui said, annoyed that everybody knew her but she didn't know them. "And who are you?"
"I'm Lunick," the ranger said. "I helped bring Wes here to save you."
"Really?" Rui said, blushing red at the thought of Wes saving her and turned to Wes, "Did you really come all this way to save me?" However, Wes was returning his Pokemon and didn't look like he had a care in the world as to what was going on.
"Come on Rui," Wes said, "We need to get back to Orre."
"What?" Rui said.
"What?" Lunick repeated.
"Umm, is anybody going to introduce me?" Murph said, pointing to himself.
"Don't care who you are," Wes said snappishly.
"Hey, take that back," Lunick said, defending Murph.
"Lunick, it's okay," Murph said, not wanting another fight to start. Wes rolled his eyes in annoyance but grabbed Rui by the arm. Lunick blocked, Wes' path to leave and crossed his arm. "Wes, apologize to Murph." Wes glared at Lunick for a moment before turning toward the chubby ranger.
"Thanks for helping to rescue Rui," Wes said, looking at Murph, and then turned back to Lunick "But we need to go. Now."
"Hold on!" Lunick said, still not budging, "What about Solana?"
"Who?" Wes said.
"Solana is a ranger who rescued me," Rui explained to Wes before Lunick replied, "She is captured by those Snagem guys."
"Wait, she's captured?" Lunick said, shocked at the new piece of information. "Are you sure?"
"That's what they said," Murph said, looking very worried and starting to panic. Lunick turned toward Wes.
"Wes, you know these people right?" Lunick said desperately.
"Get to the point," Wes said, annoyed with Lunick's questions.
"Wes, you have to help me save her! You said that the place is dangerous. Spenser needs our help if we're going to save her. With your help, we can rescue Solana and catch these criminals."
"No." There was a sudden halt of silence as though Wes just slapped Lunick across the face.
"What?"
"No," Wes stated again flatly. He was dead serious and his eyes seemed to glow with anger at all of the complications that were being thrown at him. "I'm not interested in getting caught up in this situation any longer. Your friend is your problem, not mine. Rui and I are leaving and that's that." He pushed Lunick to the side and started to walk away.
"Hold on a minute!" Lunick grabbed Wes' arm, but the guy immediately shove Lunick, this time hard enough to the ground.
"Wes!" Rui said, but the guy simply turned his back and continued to walk away. Lunick's burning hatred grew as Wes moved farther away. The selfish guy was leaving – leaving as though he didn't care what happened now.
"You're just like those guys!" Lunick yelled. Wes stopped in his trap as though Lunick had suddenly slapped him with those words. "You take what you want and then throw away the people who helped you!"
"Oi, Lunick," Murph said, grabbing Lunick's arm, "Calm down."
"YOU OWE ME!" Lunick yelled, pushing Murph away. He felt angry tears bursting from his eyes but managed to hold it back.
"Wes," Rui said, lightly touching his arm – just enough to get his attention. There was a moment of silence through the whole group as though waiting for Wes to say something.
"Fine." Lunick looked up. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Fine," Wes said again, looking straight at Lunick, "I owe you."
Author's Notes
Whoo! A very long chapter for you guys!
Anyways, I can't really thank reviewers at this time but thank you all who reviewed.
I'll see you in the next chapter.
-JapanDreamer