Black. That was it. Black. As he stared ahead of him, trying to make out any image in the darkness, all Shy could see was black. He walked forward into the emptiness, not knowing where he was headed. He knew it wasn't just dark, he knew he could see. It was just all black. A never ending sea of nothing. He gazed out into the darkness, not scared but not very sure of himself. He did not know what he was searching for but he knew he had to keep looking for it. Like his life depended on it. He raced around panicking, trying to find anything to cling onto. But there was nothing there. Just black.

He walked on, until his legs couldn't carry him any further. He collapsed on the ground, unable to move. He felt his life draining from him, being sucked away by some unknown force. Just as he was about to give up, and succumb to the darkness, he noticed a red shape floating in the dark sky. He couldn't make out what it was but another one appeared next to it. He stared up at them, trying to make out what they were. He suddenly felt a shiver run down his body, all the way to his tail. He knew he should have felt afraid, but he didn't. He didn't feel anything. He hadn't felt much but pain lately. He was starting to feel numb.

The red shapes grew larger and larger, until they filled most of the dark sky. It was only then did Shy realise that they were not growing, they were moving forward. Closer to him. As they grew nearer, he could make out that they were a pair of eyes. Big, red, menacing eyes. He knew he should run, he sensed danger. But he couldn't move. He felt as though something was holding him down. The eyes moved towards him, edging closer and closer. Shy felt as though the were staring straight into his soul, that they were responsible for his energy draining. His life fading.

Shy awoke with a start, his fur soaking with sweat. All he remembered was the pair of eyes coming down upon him, enveloping him in darkness once again. He looked around the room. The torch had lit up again. He wondered how it worked, and if it was even real fire. He crawled out of his bed and walked over to it. He saw how it flickered, felt the heat radiating from it. But it had a strange aura coming from it, it wasn't like any fire he had ever seen. He tried to touch in but he was too small. He decided to get the bed and stand on it. When he turned around he noticed other beds in the room. Two others, three total. He knew that if he put all three on top of each other and push them up against the wall, he would be able to reach the fire. He pushed the first bed up against the wall, and went over to the second one. He wondered why there were three beds in the room, and wondered if his father lived with other people while he was here.

As he went to grab the last bed in the corner, he noticed a dark form hanging from the ceiling. At first Shy's curiosity got the better of him and he walked a little closer. He looked up at the dark creature gazing at him, with blood red eyes. Eyes he recognised. It was then that his instincts kicked in and he began to creature jumped down from the roof and walked towards Shy. He coward back until he hit the wall. The door was on the opposite side of the room, so he had no escape route. He decided his only option was to strike. He unleashed his most powerful screech attack, hoping to distract his opponent while he made for the door. Unfortunately the pokemon seemed unaffected. It kept moving closer to him, making no sound. He had no idea what else to do. He was cornered, defenceless. His only option was to sit and wait for pain to come.

Guardian barged in, opening the door with her psychic abilities.

"What"s wrong? Why did you scream so…" She stared at the demonic creature as a mother would when scolding a child for doing wrong. The creature stared at her for a moment, followed by a fit of laughter.

"What did you do!" Guardian was acting furious with the dark one, although it was acting as though it was all a game.

"Shy I apologise on behalf of Luna. She can be quite feisty some times. She's a zoroark. A rare dark type pokemon that can change its form and see into people's dreams. She can be quiet immature at times, but is a great ally." The zoroark stretch out it's paw to Shy, it's red claws nearly touching his nose. He could not believe that such a fearsome looking creature could be part of the rebellion team. She looked as though she were something form a nightmare. It was then he realised that she must have been the creature responsible for his dark dream. The eyes were engraved in his mind, but they looked so much more gentle in the real world than they were in his dream.

"I'm Luna, heh. I happy to meet you. Did you have a nice rest?" She grinned widely at the little eevee. Shy looked back at her with unease. He felt uncomfortable around such a mischievous creature.

"So Shy, are you ready to meet the rest if the group? Well, now that you've met half of us, you may as well meet the rest. We're ready for you in the meeting room, down the end off the hall." Guardian departed, followed by Luna who kept giggling to herself on her way out. Shy was left alone and bewildered in the room. He peered around the door down the hall, but there was no one there. He walked down towards the open door at the end of the hallway. As he toddled down, he passed various other doors of the team. He passed one with Guardian written on the plaque. He stared at it for a moment, wondering what lay behind the door. If Guardian told her teammates that was her name, was she really lying?

He was broken from his trance when his name was called. Whoever it was sounded impatient so he ran the rest of the way. He padded through the doorway into a small room. It had several torches on the walls with a wall hanging up on the back wall. It had a picture of the Gods. The wielder of time, Dialga. The master of space, Palkia, The ruler of the reverse world, Girintina. All three surrounded the God of creation, Arceus. Shy admired the beautiful artwork of the tapestry. In the centre of the room stood a stone table. It looked old and well used. On it was a large map. It was one of the entire region. Shy remembers his father calling them wonder maps. They were exceedingly rare and expensive. Around the table stood six intimidating pokemon, three of which he had met already. Nearest to him was Guardian, who ushered him over towards her.

"Shy, this is us. Team Fugitives. We are humbled to make your acquaintance." In front of Shy stood Fly, who had a large grin on his face and even gave Shy a small wave. Luna had lost her immature appearance, and now sported a serious frown. However she still did not seem to show hostility towards him. Opposite him stood a beautiful, graceful pokemon that blew him away. It was the most beautiful creature he had every laid his eyes on. A serpentine pokemon with a serenity and elegance that exceeded any other. He gawked at her with wide eyes, unable to to turn away.

"This is Serena, a milotic. She is a strong battler with many decisive battle strategies". As Guardian continued on, Serena began to blush. Shy couldn't help but smile.

"Don't let her looks deceive you," exclaimed Fly. "She can be deadly when she wants to be." Fly grinned at the serpent pokemon, while she scowled back. A little cough stole Shy's attention, as he searched for the source. His eyes found a snow white winged pokemon. It had three spikes emitting from its head, while its stomach had various shapes in red and blue all over it. It seemed to have somewhat of a neutral attitude towards the situation, not smiling but not frowning either. Shy got the impression that she was preoccupied with some other thought.

"Shy," Guardian continued. "This is our sentry, Ren. She is quite the spirited one at times, and she was extremely close with X, your dad." At the mention of his name, the togekiss snapped out of her trance. She looked down at the little eevee and frowned. After several seconds she looked away again. Shy had no idea what to make of her.

At the head of the table stood a fierce, tough looking pokemon. He was tossing an oran berry back and forth between his two paws, but never averting his gaze from Shy. Shy felt somewhat uneasy as he realised that he didn't even blink when he was looking. He began to feel self conscious as he realised all of them were staring at him, not smiling like they were, but with expressions of fear and pity. Fly even looked scared. The tough pokemon needed no introduction. Guardian remained silent as he addressed the young fox.

"I am Cain. The leader of Team Fugitives. Your father was my predecessor. I was his second in command, he and I spent much time together. I welcome you to this place, our hide-out. Please, stay as long as you wish." He began walking out of the room, the tension suddenly leaving Shy's shoulders. He was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Cain spoke again.

"I hope you realise that we are not a charity. You will not take advantage of us like he did." The lucario walked out of the room, leaving Shy's stomach in knots. He felt as though he were going to repeat the events that followed him finding the dead poliwrath, and wanted to go outside for some air. He followed Fly down the hallway he went through on his way in. He walked in silence for some time, watching the torches pass by.

"How do they keep burning?" he questioned. He was so focused on the torches that he once again walked straight into the flygon's tail. He began explaining in detail how it was Shy's father who invented the link mechanism that connected them all, and if you light one, they all light. However it wasn't normal fire. It was Fly's job to light them every morning using dragon breath, and to put them out every evening. Shy tried to pay attention to what he was saying, but he wasn't all that interested. His mind was preoccupied with what he would do now. Cain made it clear that he wasn't welcome for very long, and he had nowhere else to go. He snapped out of it when they reached the end of the hallway again. Shy jumped onto Fly's back and held on with his paws wrapped around Fly's neck. Before he knew it they were up at the roof, opening the hatch and outside in the desert again.

"I've been meaning to ask," Shy said. "Does that mean you, Guardian or Ren need to be around to get the other guys out? I mean they can't exactly fly out like you three." He realised this was going to be just one of his many questions he wanted answered.

"No no no, there are a few more entrances into the base. Secret ones. One leads out into the ocean across the desert. Another leads into the forest. The base it much bigger than you would expect. We kept adding more facilities when your dad was around. He would often find helpless victims and take them in for several nights. He was so kind to everyone. But then one day he took in a remover disguised as an innocent pokemon who opposed the Demon King. When we found out who he really was, we had no choice but to…" He paused for a moment, letting Shy realise on his own what had happened.

"Anyway ever since he left we haven't taken anyone else in. Well, except you and Guardian. It's why we're so weary of people who hang around the base entrances." Shy assumed this little 'rule' was probably enforced by Cain, when he became leader.

"You say my father was so kind to people, then why did Cain say he took advantage of you guys?" Fly looked down at Shy. He took a few minutes to phrase the response correctly.

"Cain can be a bit…difficult at times. He and your dad never really got on well. That's what made them such a good team. When your dad stopped seeing sense, when his judgement was impaired, Cain was the one who made him see things clearly. It worked both ways though. Nowadays, Serena is Cain's second in command." Shy began to wonder if that was the reason Cain seemed to show some hostility towards him, because he was X's son. He wondered why they never got along. Maybe he was jealous of his father for being the leader of the team. Maybe that was why his father had stepped down so suddenly, after years of being part of it.

As he was thinking, Shy heard the hatch opening behind them. He turned around in time only to see a white blur rush past them. He looked up into the sky to see Ren flying up high. She looked down at him and kept going forward. Luna climbed out of the hatch next, closing the hatch behind her. She glanced at Shy and grinned. After a quick flash of light, an eevee stood before him. He looked at the imitation before him, and admired the near perfect resemblance to himself. The only difference was the eyes. Luna's imitation still had he eyes, and her devilish grin. Shy smiled at her and before he knew it, she was running after Ren.

"Where are they going?" he questioned.

"They have a mission to attend to. There is rumours of a small Demon King army force heading for Cobblestone Bay. We set up a safe house there a few months ago so they're going in to scout around. Ren will fly around, scanning the area while Luna will find a pokemon that blends in wight he crowd and transform into them. Or in this case maybe she won't have to." Fly smiled at Shy, and he couldn't help smiling back. He liked Luna. He thought she was funny. And Fly was friendly and being very patient with all the questions. When he had decided on the next one, he blurted it out without thinking.

"So what's the deal with Guardian? If that is even her name." He regretted saying it immediately, knowing that insulting her wouldn't increase the length of his stay. Not that he knew if he wanted to stay yet or not. He waited for the repercussions to come.

"That's a long story, some of which I probably shouldn't tell you." He seemed to act rather casually about the subject.

"When she came to us she was troubled. She was a remover working for the Demon King. A good one. Well not a good one, but a bad one I guess. She had a reputation for being quiet fiendish as a remover. But she changed. She fell in love with another pokemon, deeply. However he was part of a rebellion team like ours. A larger one. Their base was discovered and she was sent to eliminate them, along with other removers. She tried to sneak him out and was caught by the others. They killed him right before her eyes and tried to kill her too. Thankfully she escaped and eventually was found by Cain. That's when he took her in. At first the rest of us didn't trust her, but eventually she proved herself. Now she is a loyal partner. She still refuses to get close anyone. Ren thinks it's because she doesn't want to feel pain like that again." Fly was about to say another word, but he realised he was finished and closed his mouth. After severel more minutes of silence, Shy began to feel better. He was about to ask another question when his train of thought was interrupted.

"So," he began. "What do you plan on doing now?" Fly looked at him with curiosity.

"I don't know. I have no where to go, the only people I know now are the six of you, not that I really know you guys. I just, I need some time to think it over for a while. A day or two maybe." He began to think of possible places he could go but none came to mind.

"Well why don't you just stay here then? I mean you were meant to. That's what your father meant to happen anyway. That's why there were three beds in his room. One for you, your mom and…" Shy looked away, tears welling in his eyes. He remembered what Guardian had told him back when he first arrived, about how it was not his fault. But whenever someone mentioned them, he had a hard time believing it. As the tears started rolling down his face, he walked away from Fly. He felt the guilt growing inside him, as if a weedle was crawling around under his skin. He couldn't deal with the shame he felt, and ran into the forest. Fly called after him and tried to catch him, but his small form made it easy for him to manoeuvre through the thick shrubbery.

"So do you want him to leave," questioned Guardian. "Or can he stay?" Guardian stared at Cain for several moments before speaking again, giving him time to mull it over.

"I know for a fact that he wants to stay. Well, not that he wants to but he has nowhere else to go and he's starting to come around to the idea of staying. So the question is, will you let him?"

"It is not my decision to make," replied the lucario. His brow was furrowed.

"It is that of the entire group. I understand who he is and that we are obligated to care for him, but that obligation only stands for some time. Eventually he would have to leave."

"But why would he have to?" pleaded Serena. "He could help us. We could train him and he join forces with us."

"No," Cain retorted. "We do not need that burden on our hands. This is a war. And our primary concern is winning it. Doing everything we can to try and stop the Demon King. You know that. X knew that."

"But X didn't know that it would only be Shy to come on his own. He thought his mother would be there to look out for him." Guardian was surprised that Serena was so enthusiastic about it all. If anyone could persuade Cain to do something, it was her.

"Please Cain, do it for X. You know that he would have trusted us to look after his son. One last favour." Serena had a way with words that always baffled Guardian for as long as she'd known her. The room fell silent as Cain thought about the proposal. Guardian tried to hear what he was thinking but she could never seem to get into his mind. She would expect no less from such a powerful pokemon.

"He may stay on several conditions," he began. "One. Guardian, you are responsible for him. You must keep an eye on him at all times unless someone else agrees to do so for you." Guardian nodded.

"Two. He may train with anyone who agrees to train him. If he is to accompany anyone on a mission, at least two team members must be present. Also, try to start with something simple. Something that won't risk him or the mission. And three. Perhaps the most important part, you must get permission from everyone to allow him to stay. If you get everyone to agree to this, I shall agree as well." He headed towards the exit, about to leave when Fly barged in through the door. His face had gone pale, his bright eyes dimmed, as if he had seen a ghost.

"He…he's gone." Fly was completely out of breath.

"Shy ran into the woods. I tried to catch him but he…" Guardian rushed out the door. She opened the hatch before she got to it and flew out through the opening, leaving the entrance open and the others to hear the rest of what happened from Fly.