A/N – Well, my passion for writing stories seems to have picked back up since I started visiting this site again. I always thought that I would never leave a story unfinished, and I sincerely apologize to those who were counting on me to update…and I never did. I'm not continuing this story in an attempt to win everyone back, just because I feel it's necessary; I am not going to leave this story unfinished for those of you who will read it when I update. Thanks for hearing me out, everyone – here goes Chapter 15.

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Jennifer's Point of View

I couldn't help but smile when Dive-Bomb proceeded to fly into the air doing some distorted version of the victory dance. He was now a Swellow; at least that's what I think he said. I'd never seen an evolution before. Previous to getting changed into an Eevee, I used to think that Pokémon evolutions were grotesque and ugly to watch, which only served to add to my revulsion towards them. But seeing Dive-Bomb's transformation was completely different; he was beautiful and graceful when it happened. I started to wonder if Espeon and Vaporeon and the rest had evolved just as gracefully.

The smile was wiped clear off of my face when a thought popped into my head that should've been there a long time ago – Stephanie. Where was my sister? I didn't see her in that awful building I was just in. Is she alright? What if Razor already paid her a visit? Would he treat her differently than he would a pokémon? I felt hot tears well up and threaten to spill over just at the thought of Razor being anywhere near my big sister. There's no way she'd be able to defend herself against him.

Dive-Bomb seemed to notice my sudden change in emotion, stopping his excitement to land next to me. "Vaporeon and Umbreon will be alright, I promise. They're just unconscious," the bird tried to assure me, not understanding why I was upset.

"It's not that. I know Vaporeon and Umbreon will be alright, they're very strong. It's my big sister that I'm worried about." My voice cracked. "I need to know that she is okay."

"Your sister?" Dive-Bomb questioned. "I don't think we took any other Eevees or any of the other evolutions…"

I forgot I hadn't mentioned Stephanie to Dive-Bomb before this – I can't believe I hadn't thought to ask him if she knew where she was earlier. I guess I'll have to let the bird in on the little secret now.

"She's not a pokémon, Dive-Bomb…she's a human."

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Reika was dazed; whatever had barreled into her had been going very fast. As her mind started clearing, images of the mutant pokémon she was imagining earlier immediately flooded into it. All of the sudden, she was terrified.

"Unnnngh…" A groan came from a few feet away. "My head…"

Reika gathered up enough courage to pull her head up and look at the stranger that ran into her. She gazed straight into the eyes of another pokémon. Reika gasped and sprang to her feet, despite her throbbing head.

The pokémon she was looking at wasn't mutated or disfigured. Reika stared more intensely at him, and he was staring just as intensely back. She knew she'd never met another Jolteon before, but there was something about him – something that made her positive that he was no stranger.

The other Jolteon got to his feet as well, and Reika looked back to his eyes. Realization hit like a blow to the face. This is no stranger, I could never forget those eyes, she thought frantically. This is my son.

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Umbreon was coming to while Jennifer and Dive-Bomb were having their conversation about Stephanie. He lay there, still as statue, listening to their words while slowly regaining his senses.

"A human?" he heard the voice that belonged to that wretched Taillow that had tricked Vaporeon into coming to this God-awful place. "That doesn't make any sense…" Umbreon could hear the confusion in his voice.

Then the realization hit; Jennifer was telling that traitor-of-a-bird about her sister. Umbreon was suddenly livid. What kind of fool is she? he thought angrily. That Taillow can't be trusted. He led Vaporeon straight into this death trap, almost getting her killed! And now Jennifer is telling him about Stephanie!? How dense can she be? I knew she was naïve, but this is ridiculous… The more he thought about, the angrier he became. Umbreon eventually regained enough strength to get up and stop Jennifer's conversation in its tracks.

Umbreon stalked over towards the two surprised pokémon, his crimson eyes glinting in fury. He stopped to turn his piercing gaze on Dive-Bomb. The dark pokémon did a double-take when he realized it was a Swellow he was staring at, not the Taillow he had seen lead Vaporeon into this death trap. Maybe this isn't the same pokémon, Umbreon thought, but quickly shook the thought from his head. There's no way two pokémon can have the same voice…he must have evolved.

Umbreon snarled, and the Swellow hopped a few paces back. "What's wrong with you!" Jennifer yelled angrily at the black fox.

"What's wrong with me!?" he snapped back. "What's wrong with you? This Swellow led Vaporeon into this mess! He lied to her and told her he was taking her to you, so that she could get you out! Instead, the worthless pokémon led her almost straight into the jaws of an Absol! Do you understand how dangerous an Absol can be?" Umbreon's fury was growing greater and greater the more he spoke, and it did not go unnoticed by the other two.

"Please, let me explain, that's not how it was supposed to go…" Dive-Bomb was nervously trying to speak to Umbreon.

Jennifer jumped in, taking her place between the Swellow and the Eeveelution. "Back off, Umbreon!" she spat. "Dive-Bomb did go out to get Vaporeon so she could get me out. I don't know where the other pokémon you mentioned came from, or why he was there in the first place, but Dive-Bomb is not a traitor!"

"He works for the CPA!" Umbreon argued. "How can you trust him? He helps kidnap pokémon to give them to the police for mercy's sake!"

"Because she saved my life!" Dive-Bomb yelled, jumping back in the confrontation. Umbreon stopped short, taken by surprise. The Swellow took this opportunity eagerly. "Jennifer saved my life. She jumped in front of an electrical attack that would have surely killed me. It's only right that I pay her back in the best way that I can." Dive-Bomb bowed his head.

Umbreon, still taken aback, looked to Jennifer. "You saved his life?" he asked incredulously. "Why?"

"Well," the Eevee started, "I saw how mad the Jolteon was, and I saw how scared Dive-Bomb was. I didn't really have time to think before I did it, I just…did. No one deserves to die like that, no matter who they are."

Umbreon couldn't wrap his mind around the concept. "But that doesn't make sense…" he reasoned, mostly with himself. "He's a member of the CPA; he deserves anything but a second chance…" Dive-Bomb hung his head even lower.

A fourth voice made the other three all jump. "Looks like Jennifer might be able to teach us just as much as we've taught her." Vaporeon glided into the circle, looking tired, but healthy. She turned to Dive-Bomb. "I apologize for doubting you earlier. I understand now that you weren't trying to sabotage us, you were genuinely trying to get me to Jennifer." Vaporeon gave the little Eevee a smile, and Dive-Bomb brought his head back up.

Umbreon was still conflicted. He stalked off a few yards away, fuming to himself.

Dive-Bomb looked after the dark-type warily. "He'll be alright," Vaporeon assured him. "He just needs to some to calm down and find his good sense again." Umbreon shot the water pokémon a look, but she pretended not to notice.

"Now that everyone is okay again, we need to find Stephanie!" Jennifer wailed the last part of her sentence.

Vaporeon's head snapped up, all business. "Right. Dive-Bomb, do you know the whereabouts of any humans you may be keeping? More specifically, any PAP members?"

The Swellow gave her a confused look, just as he had Jennifer when she had first asked about her sister. "We don't generally keep humans, but we have one. We found her with Jennifer. She claimed that she was part of the PAP, and that she could help us. That really ticked Razor off, so we took her along with the Eevee."

"So you know where she's at?" Jennifer piped eagerly. "You'll tell us where my sister is? You do owe me, you know," she added as a side-note.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know her location. Only pokémon high up in the organization have that information because the PAP member is such a high-security prisoner. I'm certain Razor wants to get as much information out of her as possible before letting her go."

Vaporeon started to say something, but was cut short by a soft "thump" just by her feet. She looked down to find Jennifer, passed out with a look of pure emotional pain on her face.

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Back in the alleyway that the ground- and fire-type pokémon had taken refuge in, things were getting restless.

"Where could they be?" Skull worried out loud.

"They should be back by now," Flareon squeaked, peeking out from underneath the dumpster. "It shouldn't take this long to find Vaporeon, would it? I mean, it's stopped raining now and everything…"

"It's not that simple, Flareon," Ereyla told the fire fox. "Even if they did manage to find Vaporeon, the rain has stopped, which means humans will be back on out on the streets again. It's very dangerous to get caught in the middle of that. I'm sure they are all safely hidden," she added when she noticed Flareon's pained look.

"Well, we can't just sit here," Tat complained. "What if they need our help? Who cares if there are a few humans out there! It shouldn't stop us from helping our friends when they need it. And what about Jennifer and Stephanie? Who knows what's happening to them right now…" They all shuddered at the thought.

"You know what, you're right," Ereyla said boldly. "We don't have time to waste sitting here while your friends or the PAP member could be in serious trouble right now." She glanced at all the pokémon sitting around her. "You guys are all small enough; I should be able to fit everyone comfortably on my back. Come on!" she urged. Everyone clambered onto her back, situating themselves in such a way so that they wouldn't fall off when Ereyla ran. The fire horse did have to ban Skull from her tail, finally convincing him that it was too dangerous for him to ride there.

With a grumbling Marowak finally situated on her back, Ereyla stood. "First stop, the CPA headquarters! With any luck, Espeon or the others made their way there already." And with that, the Rapidash took off at supernatural speed from the alleyway, leaving a trail of shell-shocked humans as she passed them.

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Espeon opened her eyes. Her Teleport had finished. She looked about at her surroundings, her sharp eyes scanning the area for any sign of Flareon, Ereyla, and the others. This is obviously not the alleyway I left from earlier, Espeon thought sourly. She had so hoped that her Teleport would actually work this time. There's no way I'm telling Umbreon about this… Espeon continued thinking to herself.

She observed her surroundings carefully the next time around, trying to discern where she was at. I've never been to this place before, the psychic finally concluded. There was an old, rusted warehouse to her left and what seemed to be a particularly vast landfill beyond it. I wonder if this place is anywhere near where that Mightyena used to stay…at least I know I don't have to worry about him anymore.

A sudden urge sent Espeon creeping towards the warehouse, staying low to the ground for reasons she herself did not understand. The feeling grew stronger the closer she crept towards the run-down building. Soon she was right up next to a rusted wall, the feeling of urgency stronger than ever. There's something important here.

Espeon crouched around the other side of the building, still careful not to make any unnecessary noise. Out of nowhere, the psychic pokémon's sensitive ears picked up a small sound. It was definitely the sound of someone crying. She immediately turned her attention to the second-story window, where the sound was originating from. Then she heard a voice; a sweet, southern voice, that was gently cooing away at the mysterious whimpering.

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A/N: There it is. I hope it meets everyone's expectations and that I haven't lost my touch. Big thanks to all of you who are reading this and still supporting this story, even though I really let you all down. It means a whole lot to me. :]