Authoress: I absolutely LUV yalls reviews! ^_^ They make my day, I'm serious. You're the people who persuade me to post another chapter each week! *cyber hugs to all* Anyway, this is the fifth chapter, and its definitely a much longer chapter than my previous ones. Carly the Mudkip introduces herself in this one. Let's start with responses (as always):

ACME-Rian: *smiles happily* Thanks for reviewing! *accepts cyber hug* What do you think of Ri so far? Some questions will be answered in this chapter, I know I kinda left yall hanging when I ended the last chapter. Update here, hope you like!

Alex Warlorn: I use Microsoft Word for my word processor, and I save the text as a web page (HTML) before uploading it on the site. Believe me, it took me a few tries to get everything right, because I kept messing it up. It doesn't put it up exactly the same as how you typed it though – you have ta mess with it some to get it how you want it…Lord, I suck at explaining things! ^_^ Umbreon knows what a Dragonite scale looks like because…nope, not gonna tell ya yet, but you'll get your answer this chapter. The Dragonite is a she, but she doesn't have hungry babies, I'll give you that much. Enjoy!

Paladin Dragoon: Thanks for the chocolate! *stuffs face full* Chocolate's the best! ^_^ Anyway, next chappie is here! About your question, it'll be answered this chapter, don't worry! There's two parts to this chapter though, since I thought all of what I wrote down was a bit too long. But don't worry, next chappie will be here soon! ^_^

Gabe B.: No problem, I luv responding to yall's reviews. I just think I should say something to you guys, that's the least you deserve for reviewing! ^_^ So many people like the idea of the game! But alas, it's coming in Chapter 6…and Chapter 5 has two parts. I know, a cop-out, right? Jennifer is in serious denial right now, that's for sure! Ri certainly has something sinister planned for Jenn…but you gotta read and see! I'm evil, I know. Hope you enjoy this chapter, thanks bunches!

Vulpix Dark Flame: *waves back* ^_^ Lol. Yes, Umbreon's probably my most mysterious character in this story, keeps to himself a lot. Questions will be answered though, I promise! And yea, a Dragonite kidnapped Jennifer…ironic, isn't it? Enjoy this chapter, thanks SOOO much for liking it! O, almost forgot. Carly's gonna be in this chapter! ^_^ Hope you like what I've managed ta do.

ElementalZoidFighter: A new reviewer! ^0^ I luv new reviewers. Lol. So you really think it's good? And you're so nice to review every one of my chapters so far, thanks bunches! *cyber cookies shaped like Espeon* Anyway, here's the next chappie. I'm so glad you think my fic's awesome, that means a lot. Enjoy!

Magma Admin DJ: Heyy! Yea, Jolteon is a little bit on the mean side to Skull, but the argument was there to lighten up the chapter a bit. This chapter Jolteon minds his manners, though! ^_^ And I guess you could say that Vaporeon is my "character". That pokemon is my favorite out of all the hundreds of them out there lol! How'd you guess? More about Umbreon will be revealed in this chapter, no worries! And when are you gonna update Maxie's Cause? I'm dying to know what happens next!

Maia's Pen: I know what you mean about the review, one time my review didn't even go through and I had ta type it all over again! But anyway, thanks for the compliment, glad you liked last chapter. You're not the first person to quote that thought line by Jennifer. I'm glad it got the effect I wanted, I did want her to sound as if she was trying to convince herself otherwise, and she did…this time. More about Ri the Dragonite here! O, and one more thing –GARY RULES! Lol.

XxBakura'sGirlxX: Of course I'll post every week! It's my sworn duty ta do so, since my many reviews depend on it. Well, that's exaggerating the fact, but I'll post every week! Don't worry!

Zec: New chappie here! Glad you like it, thanks a lot! ^_^ And you changed your name around a bit, which I failed ta notice last chapter before I posted. I always go through a second time after I type it all because the computer can't catch everything, needless to say. What book was it that you read? Sounds…interesting, lol! Hope you like this chapter. ^_^

Lirawen: omg, I almost missed putting you in here! Lol, good thing I looked at the reviews before I got this posted. Anyway, about your idea. I'm kind of leaning somewhat towards it as the story goes on, and this chapter will show some of it slightly. But thanks for the input, I luv getting ideas from reviewers. ^_^ I'll try and keep it up, next chapter's here!

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Authoress: *wipes brow* Phew, finally done with responses! Now I'll quit stalling – on with Chapter 5 Pt. 1! Here goes…

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*~General POV~*

Umbreon strode along up front, carefully leading the others through the places least infested with humans. Jolteon, Skull, and the Rattatas were following, thinking that maybe Umbreon had changed his mind about Jennifer.

Espeon and Vaporeon knew better though, being around Umbreon the longest. They made they're way up front to the dark pokemon. "So you're not going to tell us anything?" Vaporeon scolded, causing Umbreon's fur to prick up.

"What are you talking about!" Umbreon hissed, not thrilled about being snuck up on when he was thinking.

"Come on, Umbreon. We know there's something you're not telling us."

He simply flattened his ears onto his head in annoyance, crimson eyes fixated straight ahead of him.

Espeon began speaking. "If you're that worried about Jennifer's safety, I suggest you tell us why for her own good if not yours."

Umbreon snorted. "You don't need to know. If you really want to know, you can find out when we get there." With that he quickened his pace until he was once again walking alone.

Vaporeon sighed. "I'm worried about him. I said it to Jolteon earlier, it's not good for him to keep things bottled up, and he's even more so now that Jennifer's around."

The psychic nodded. "I agree. But it can't be helped for now. We're going to have to hold on until we reach our destination." Vaporeon remained silent.

~*~

*~Jennifer's POV~*

I opened my eyes slowly and looked at my surroundings, which were oddly spinning. I closed my eyes tightly shut until the dizzy feeling subsided, and I stumbled out of the corner I was in. The walls around me were a dingy white with grime covering many places, and the floor was like that of which you would find in a bathroom – tile. Shortly after I took in everything's appearance I started to panic.

Where am I? How'd I get here? Did they abandon me? I don't remember any of this… I ran over to a hole in the small, compact room I was in. I'm getting out of here.

"Vol-torb!" something cried in an electronic-like voice as soon as I stepped out. I stared in shock when a red and white ball with freakishly large eyes rolled into my way.

I shook off the feeling. "Get out of my way, you retarded ball!" I shouted at it, coming up with a blank on a good insult.

But my shouting seemed to upset the ball, and it closed its eyes in shaking anger. Then it began to turn white, and the air around it grew deathly hot. My eyes widened and I soared back into the small space just before it exploded – yes, exploded.

I fell onto the hard floor and covered my ears as best I could, trying to drown out the blast. Who knew that a little ball could make an explosion so large. I looked up, expecting the room to crash down on my head – but luckily it didn't. The blast was over and the shelter was still standing.

I collapsed, breathing hard from being scared so bad. That was almost as bad as the grotesque picture of the Houndoom I had created in my head. I crept towards the hole once again and peered out. Everything within a 10-foot radius of the maniac ball was burned to a crisp, including the grass and the paint on the outside of the walls that I was almost totally enclosed in. The round object lay just where it had exploded in front of the hole, charred as a burnt marshmallow and smoking. I couldn't make out anything else about it.

Then I noticed something I hadn't before – a cliff a few meters away from where I stood. I glanced all around for any other red and white spheres, and I left the room to look for any sign of an escape.

But, of course with my luck, there was none. I was standing on an island in the sky practically, only air surrounding it. I ran to the edge frantically to look down and find the city far down below me.

Scared, I backed myself back into what I considered a box for someone of my caliber and curled up. Maybe it's a good thing I ran into that ball, I thought. I might've run straight off the cliff.

Suddenly my eyes became strangely a bit moist when a different thought introduced itself in my brain. Did they really abandon me? I'm so scared…

~*~

*~General POV~*

"Where are we?" Skull asked.

"In the most isolated part of Cyprus," Umbreon answered grimly. "Not even humans of the lowest rank come down here."

Espeon looked around at all the junk – there was a treehouse that had fallen from a dead and scratched-up tree, and old tires and garbage everywhere. "I sense something dangerous here," she said, getting anxious looks from everyone save Umbreon.

"I'd have to say you're off you're game today if you didn't, Espeon," Umbreon responded. He began to walk forwards to the fallen and broken treehouse.

He stopped. Jolteon had stepped in his way, positioning himself directly in Umbreon's face. "You're not taking another step until you tell us what's going on."

"Back off, Jolteon."

"No. I know you're hiding something from the looks that Vaporeon and Espeon have been exchanging since we left, and you're going to tell us," Jolteon snapped back quickly, narrowing his eyes.

Umbreon glared back, his red eyes boring into Jolteon's black ones. Eventually he stepped away from the electric-type. "You want to know so badly?" he asked. "Fine. I was taken from my brothers and sisters when I was young by this same Dragonite. She took me to a pokemon – a Mightyena…" He stopped, sat, and stared. "I'm not continuing," he added bluntly.

Vaporeon immediately ran over to him, Jolteon relaxing his glare as well. "Finish, Umbreon," the aquatic pokemon said softly. "You know that we care about you. Just please tell us."

Umbreon looked around at everyone else, who took a step forward and nodded. Emotion played in his emotionless eyes, but it was quickly covered up. "The Mightyena wanted me as a delicacy, alright? But he damn sure picked the wrong Eevee to mess with that day!" Umbreon turned with one fluid motion and walked into the treehouse.

Jolteon's harsh expression quickly evaporated, and he stared after Umbreon with his mouth slightly ajar. Tat and Tatta exchanged worried and anxious looks, and Skull even walked up to Jolteon, a questioning look on his face. Jolteon shook his head softly at the Marowak, not in the mood for the argument he loved to start, and not sure what to say either.

Vaporeon was equally shocked, and Espeon shook her head. "This is worse than we originally thought," she told Vaporeon. Vaporeon nodded her head meekly. "Stay out here. I'm going to talk to him."

Umbreon sat with his back to the entrance of the door, staring at the mess of wood, garbage, and even a few bones that laid before him. "Why didn't you tell us before, Umbreon?" a familiar voice of a certain psychic pokemon came up behind him.

"Because it's not relevant anymore."

"You know that's not true. You know all our pasts."

"Yea, well all your pasts are at least decent – mine is shameful. No pokemon wants to admit they were originally supposed to be another pokemon's snack."

Espeon was silent for a moment. Then, "Is the Dragonite -"

"No," Umbreon answered her unasked question. "Ri is not the problem, she's merely a pawn in this Mightyena's sick game. I've seen her before when I'm up late at night, searching for a helpless, young pokemon. She's brainwashed."

"How do you know all this? And her name? If she was delivering you to the Mightyena there would've been no time for that."

"She kept me up on Devil's Hilltop for several days. Even though I was just an Eevee, I knew enough to know that she wasn't acting on her own accord when food was brought to me. She referred to herself in the third person at times, but what got to me was that certain emptiness in her eyes…"

"You really do want to save Jennifer, don't you?"

"No one deserves to die like that," he said turning around. "Not even a self-centered human like her. Let's go, he's not here." The two emerged from the house to find Vaporeon with her tail swished out in front of her emitting a low warning growl. Jolteon was standing protectively in front of her and Tat at his side, both clearly threatening, and the other two were cowering behind Vaporeon.

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*~Jennifer's POV~*

I laid there in that cramped little room doing the same thing I was doing at my previous location – imagining I was boring a hole in the wall with my stare.

I was on my feet in three seconds when I heard yelling from outside. "Put me down! Someone, help me!" The voice sounded so young, even younger than I was. I slipped out of the hole. The ball remained fried crispy still.

The pleading yells stopped when a tiny blue thing fell from above directly in front of me. I looked up, half afraid of what I would see. "Eek!" was all that could come out of my mouth. The orange dragon hovering above me was huge, but it was its stare that scared me the most.

The dragon lowered itself with two bowls, and me and the blue thing that had fallen scampered into the shelter. "Ebony, here's some food and water for you," the It spoke to me in almost a dream-like state. "I've finally found you again. And you too, Crystal."

Then it looked around outside the walls, and spotted the burnt ball. "Come, Voltorb, I will take you to be healed. I do not want to let master's friends escape again." She said it freakishly slow, like something in a trance.

But then I remembered the name she had called me, and at that moment I was feeling particularly brave – and angry, I might add. "Ebony? Who the f-" But I was blown backwards into the thing in the room with me, which gave a cry of surprise, when the big dragon flew away without warning with the ball.

Hurriedly I scampered off the thing, afraid of what I might be touching. I whirled around, back against the wall, with a fierce look.

The funny-looking creature looked at me curiously, head titled a bit to the right. "Are you ok?" it asked, apparently not at all threaten by my appearance.

I didn't expect a question from it. "…Do I look fine to you?"

The thing took a step backwards. "No. I mean, yes. I mean -" It stopped abruptly when I left the room.

I sat out there fuming, looking for some sort of plane to come take me home and off the wretched hilltop. My ears perked up when I heard crying – it came from inside where I just was. I found myself feeling guilty again.

"Why do I have to feel guilty?" I grumbled to myself as I got up and headed back to the concealment. "Why does everything have to bother me?"

I entered the room. "I'm not going to hurt you," I said frankly as the creature scurried away to the other side of the room. "Just…stay over there." I went and sat on the side of the room directly opposite from it.

The thing persisted on crying. I sighed. "I'm sorry?" I was thoroughly disgusted with myself for even talking to it, but my stupid conscious got the better of me this time.

This caused a reaction and it lifted its head up. The crying ceased rather quickly. "I forgive you," the pokemon squeaked. "But you were mean to me."

I rolled my eyes. Out of all the things in the world, I got stuck with a baby one. At least my previous pokemon were mature and I could ignore them if I wanted…Why'd they have to leave me here? Why?

"Hey!" the little voice broke my thoughts. "Are you going to say anything?"

I shot a glare the female's way. "I'm Jennifer Waters…what's your name." It took a lot for me to even say that harshly.

It brightened up at the question. "Hi, I'm Carly. I'm a Mudkip."

"Mudkip?" I snorted. "What's that?"

"Hmph! Well 'Jennifer Waters' is a weird name, too!"

"I just asked what it was!"

"It's a pokemon type, dummy! What kind of pokemon are you?"

Sadly, I knew the answer to that question. "Eevee…" I mumbled. The questions piled on, and I tried hard not to explode on the thing in front of me. My conscious was still blocking me from doing so, though I would have no problem if it didn't look so innocent and cute.

"Ok, I'm going outside." I left, but the Mudkip followed. It obeyed when I told it to stay away from me, and went to sit exactly opposite from where I was. There was a few moments of precious silence, then the aqua-colored organism began to snivel again.

"What's wrong now? I didn't do anything!"

"I miss my family!" it cried. "I don't wanna be here!" More crying.

I stared at the pokemon, shocked by its words. "How can you miss your family?" I retorted.

"Because they're not here!" it cried out loudly again, missing my point entirely. "And I want them here!"

I looked hard at this Mudkip's face, trying to find a hint that this sudden outburst was feigned, that the emotions were fake. But there was no such hint, everything about it seemed genuine. It was actually missing its family.

This was the first time I had seen any emotion this high in a pokemon, the very things that Stephanie strove to protect. Do they…feel? No, they can't feel, it's not possible…they're its, dammit!

My attempts to persuade myself were in vain. There was nothing I could do to convince myself that this thing wasn't feeling the pain of missing whatever family it may have.

I found myself edging closer to it, and closer, and closer. Finally, I was standing right in front of it, its face buried in its paws, still sniffing. I reached out to touch it with my paw but pulled back, glaring at nothing in particular. I eventually resorted to merely placing my tail over the small, shivering pokemon (I didn't like the tail much anyway), and I lay there was my back turned to it.

The creature finally stopped shivering, and I felt steady breathing as my tail rose and fell with it. I still had my eyes narrowed at anything that moved – birds, clouds, air. I lay there silently, waiting with anxiety for the minute the dragon thing would come back. Then I began to wonder. Does it and even the ones I was with have…feelings too?

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Authoress: End Chapter 5 Pt. I! Hope yall liked it, and yes, this was a fairly long chapter. And I left some more cliffies. MUHAHAHAHA! I know, I'm evil. ^_~