Okay, I'm gonna put this for those who do not know: if you suspect a child has been kidnapped call 1-800-THE-LOST.

Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Nintendo or any part of it. I once again want to give thanks to srgeman for allowing me to use Michael and Angela (Angel) from his story A Little Night Music.

Thanks to Lady of Darkfire, srgeman, the book master, annoyed by you, and Notmyre Alname5 for the reviews!

Chapter 8

"Somebody shot Winona?" I asked, "But, how?"

"Why do you think Officer Jenny is here?" Angel asked.

I shrugged. "Beats me." I replied, "Probably to figure out who got in here and hurt her."

I adored Gym Leaders. I had a great respect for them. I would watch them on the TV. I would cheer when the trainer lost and boo the trainer when they won. OVerall, though, I respected them as idols and at one point, I wanted to become one. When I got my Riolu, I would've set out and trained it to be the best Pokemon I ever had!

Officer Jenny walked out. The Growlithe looked up at her and smiled. She looked at MMichael and Susan and said, "I'm sorry, but if you want to battle Winona, you have to wait for her to get out of the hospital. Someone shot her in two places and she needs to recover. Her Tropius is shaking like Winona is going to die."

"That's fine." Michael replied through gritted teeth, "I can wait."

Officer Jenny nodded once. "Have a good day, you two." She replied. She walked towards the door and I heard her mutter, "How sweet. A boy is taking his little sister to watch him battle Winona."

Michael and Susan sat on a bench. I think Michael was having a hard time taking the news in because he kept groaning. After a good fifteen minutes of silence, Susan announced, "You know, I have a deep respect for Gym leaders."

Well, at least she had the same feelings I did about them. Michael lifted his head out of his hands and looked at Susan. Just as he did that, Angel leapt in her lap. He absentmindedly started to pet her and asked, "Why so?"

"My father took over the Pewter Gym when I was only a baby." Susan replied, "Since Brock left." She chuckled and added, "I remember the one time I got to see him in action. I was only three years old and it took about two months to get there in a car. Mom was hoping to fly by plane but the tickets were too expensive.

"Hunter and I were very impatient. Mom would always stop at Pokemon farms and point out the Ponytas and Milktanks and Flaffys. Hunter liked the breeding centers. I knew there was something wrong with that kid." She chuckled here, then sighed and continued, "We arrived in Pewter in before my father was to battle an incoming trainer. My father loves rock types, so he was looking forward to using his new Pokemon.

"The day of my father's battle came and my brother and I were sitting in the stands. Mom had me sitting in her lap so I could see over the wall and Hunter was sitting on the bench. A trainer came in wearing a hat and declared battle against my father. My father did not refuse. 'It will be a three-on-three battle.' My father informed me the night before, 'Only three Pokemon allowed.'

"My father had the trainer call out his frist Pokemon. It was some sort of caterpillar that he said was caught in the forest outside of Viridian. Since I had no clue what the heck he was talking about, I focused on my father. He called out a Geodude and squished that caterpillar." Susan noticed Michael's hoorfied face and laughed, "Not literally." She replied.

"Anyways," Susan continued, "The trainer called out a Pichu. It was so cute! My father's Geodude was beaten by it, for some strange reason, since electric doesn't affect rock or ground types very well. My father called out a Nosepass, which he brought with him when he left. The Nosepass used Earthquake and defeated the trainer's Pichu.

"Well, I thought the trainer was dead for sure, so it suprised me when he sent out a Wartortle. He had it dig a hole in the ground then fill it with water. The Nosepass fell in and drowned. My father called it back and sent out the last Pokemon he had, an Onix. Unfortunately, the Onix fell into the water and drowned too. The trainer had won, and my father was angry with himself for letting a pool of water get the better of him. The trainer took his badge and left, and I ran down and gave my father the biggest hug I ever gave him. I remember telling him, 'It's okay Daddy, there's other times.' He muttered something about wanting to impress his family and blew it." Susan sighed. "My father killed himself after we left and returned home. He left Mom a note claiming he did it so Hunter and I wouldn't be embarassed at his failures and felt like it was the best thing for us."

I felt like a hammer had hit me in the head. Michael lurched up and Angel fell off his lap. "Oh my fucking God." Michael replied. He wrapped Susan in a hug and said, "I'm sorry."

"Hey!" Angel shouted, "Thanks for that!" She walked over to me and muttered, "The jerk doesn't even realize I'm in his lap! Talk about insensitive?"

I shrugged. "Hey, Susan just told him a story." I replied, "One that really tears someone up."

Michael let go of Susan. "You kno, I know what it's like to lose someone to suicide." He announced.

"Rush, Kiara, let's go outside." Angel announced quickly.

I didn't question it. I just followed. I think the story had something to do with her killing herself. Anyhow, we got outside and Angel turned to me. "You want to evolve someday?" She asked.

I nodded. "More than anything, I hope." I replied.

"You'll need to wither get happy during some time of day or use a stone." Angel explained, "I don't know if I want to evolve or not, but I stopped an evolution with Rush." She looked at him. He was watching someone nearby.

"Rush?" I asked.

"Angel, he's watching me." Rush replied with a shudder, "He's staring at me."

Angel and I looked at the man Rush was talking about. I started to panic.

There, watching Rush, Angel and me, was Steven.