Author's Note: Woohoo! Yeah! Double celebration time! For one, I just got all of the Dragon Riders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey along with the Eragon saga by Christopher Paolini in mint condition for a mere $2.60 at a yard sale! Talk about a deal! I hit the jackpot! *huff* *huff* Sorry, I had to let that out. I'm been holding that in too long. Maybe I should go on vacation more often. Anyway, enough about my successes in life and on to the other thing; I've reached 100K words! I never thought this day would come (though I've imagined it). It feels like only yesterday that I started this story. Now, it will soon be coming to a close. =( Well, let's enjoy it while it lasts.
Light's Adventures
Chapter 32: Caged Time
Light's eyes slowly opened, the light painful to his eyes. The world seemed to be swimming around him, until he realized that his eyes weren't focusing. Light shook his head and immediately regretted it. It seemed like a team of Loudred were yelling into his head. What had happened?
Instinctively, Light reached out with his mind for Cream. Light yelped as he got a zap instead. Light blinked his eyes some to try and focus, but his vision was coming along slowly, everything just a blur. Reaching out more carefully, Light searched for Cream. However, Light began to worry as he realized she was close. He reached out further and once again got mentally zapped. What was that?
Finally, Light's vision came into focus and everything stopped swimming. Light looked around and saw that he was in a large, black cage, able to fit about two of him in comfortable. The floor and ceiling of the cage was a simple, hard, black rectangle connected and held up by inch wide bars marking the perimeter of the cage. One end of the cage, where the light seemed to be coming from, had a large door on it, almost the size of the cage side. Light could see it was a simple latch door, though latched from the outside.
It took about ten seconds in Light's confused to state to realize what this meant. He was locked in a cage! Light started to panic and he paced around in his cage a few times, not really knowing what to do. Why was he in a cage? How did he get here? Where was Cream? Light instantly stopped. Cream! Oh no! Cream!
Light began to really panic. If he was in this cage, where was Cream? What had happened to her? Not thinking, Light reached out again and got shocked for a third time. The mental jolt seemed to mentally jump him and put his thoughts back on track. If he was going to get answers, he needed to be calm and not panic.
Light calmed himself down by taking a few deep breaths. Once he had calmed down somewhat, he noticed he hadn't been attentive at all. He had been so focused, or rather unfocused, that he hadn't been listening to anything around him. He could hear faint whimpering and even something sobbing near him. How could he have missed it earlier? However, now that he did hear it, he couldn't ignore it.
Looking around more carefully, Light noticed his cage was in a row with a few others, the cages touching each other. Light knew there were Pokemon in each cage, but there wasn't enough light to see them. Light increased the glow of his rings and whatever was in the cages shied away, staying in the shadows. Seeing they didn't want to be seen, Light let his rings return to their normal glow.
Something then clicked: the door. The latch was so simple, he was sure a Magikarp could unlatch it. Light approached the door slowly, wondering why it was so simple. As Light reached out to touch it, he got an extreme case of de ja vu. It felt like he had done this all before, but when. He couldn't remember ever being locked up in a cage. In fact, he couldn't remember much recently, just farther memories. Why was that?
Light gasped as his paw touched the cage door; his paw was pushed away, almost magically, as soon as it made contact. Frowning, Light used more pressure and pushed his paw forward. This time, his paw was forced away even more, and faster. Frowning even more, Light shoved his paw forward. This time, his paw was forced away enough that he had to jump back to avoid getting tripped.
Something was wrong with the cage. It's as if an invisible . . . what do humans call it? . . . trampoline is there, Light thought. What about special attacks? Making up his mind, Light got ready to shoot a Dark Pulse. However, he stopped as he remembered his telepathy effort. If there was some sort of reflection from his Dark Pulse, he would be seriously injured, not something he could afford at the moment.
Thinking, Light began to slowly prod the other walls, making sure not to push too hard. To his disappointment, it seemed the barrier thing covered all the walls, though not the ceiling or floor. That would make things difficult.
Seeing as there was nothing else to do, Light sat down and tried to remember what had happened for him to get here. Let's see . . . there was a . . . warning . . . my seer ability went off! . . . but something was wrong . . . That's it! It didn't seem like normal at all. It was . . . fake. But how do I know that? Because there was . . . an Earthquake! Yes, it's coming back. There was an Earthquake, but then something hit me. What was that? Then there was a voice. Then what hit me must have been the Machamp it had talked to, which means . . . the Earthquake had been an attack, not a natural one. I had purposely been attacked. Why? I guess I'll have to get out of here in order to find out, Light thought.
Now, how could he get past both a physical and mental barrier without putting up too much of a risk? He only knew Quick Attack, Dark Pulse, and Psychic as attacks. All of them would be risky to try, especially if he started to bounce off the walls. If only he had a non-damaging attack he could- He did! He knew Protect!
Thinking quickly, Light took a deep breath to prepare himself. By the way he had his plan, it would still be dangerous. However, he would have to risk something if he was going to get out. Light closed his eyes and formed his small, protective shield around him, keeping it close and away from the walls. Light slowly approached the door. As soon as his shield touched the door, several things happened at once. For one, a large pressure hit his shield before almost immediately dissolving. Another thing was that all the noises in the room stopped. The final thing that happened was that a blaring siren outside the room came on, loud enough that it hurt Light's ears even from in the room.
The pressure that had hit his shield had made him drop it. Light, realizing he might be short on time, reached out and touched the door. Nothing happened. Seeing that the barrier was gone, Light flicked his paw up and unlatched the cage door. The cage door swung open on its own and Light hopped out, taking the room in for the first time.
The light was dim in the room, but Light was able to easily see still. The room was pretty plain. On the opposite wall was a door with a square of glass in it. Next to it was a table with various items littered on it. The interesting part came when he looked back where he had been.
Where his cage was, Light saw that it had been near the end of a row of cages. There was a total of ten cages right next to each other. Inside each cage, besides his own, was a Pokemon. Light was able to recognize every Pokemon, but something was different about each one, besides the final caged Pokemon.
In the first cage, there was an exhausted looking Azumarill. However, where it was supposed to be blue, this Azumarill was instead gold. The next cage held a black furred Manectric where it was normally blue. The third cage contained a golden Arcanine, crouching low in its tight quarters. The fourth cage held a pink and blue Porygon, while the fifth cage held a cramped, silver Ninetales. The sixth cage had a purple Ariados with blue leg stripes. The next cage had been the one holding him, but the eighth cage held a cowering, blue Corsola. The ninth cage was where most of the whimpering had been coming from. Inside was a pink Dratini. Finally, the last cage held a normal Absol.
Every Pokemon's attention was on him. Light felt slightly weird as all the Pokemon stared at him silently for several moments. Light could tell everyone of their gazes were sending a message of help. Light knew he couldn't leave these Pokemon here, but he wouldn't have enough energy to free them all separately. There had to be some way humans lowered the barrier in order to put Pokemon inside the cages. Light tried to think, but the siren outside the room, was starting to give him a headache.
After a few seconds, Light started to search near the door, looking for a switch or lever. Seeing nothing, Light leapt up onto the table, narrowly missing a needle. Looking around, Light saw a small box with a red button on it. Smiling, Light pressed the button down. The doors on each of the cages opened up, allowing the Pokemon to instantly jump out, though a few were hesitant. Seeing the disorder among the Pokemon as they were freed, Light jumped down and took charge.
"Hey!" Light tried shouting, but the siren was so loud, he could barely hear himself. Light tentatively reached out with his mind and found that there was nothing zapping him now. Hey! Light mentally shouted in everyone's minds.
Instantly, silence, at least from them, ensued. Light flicked his ears as the annoying siren continued.
Good, now, I don't know how we got here, but since you were all in cages, I'll take it that you were captured like me. Now, in order to have to best chance of escaping, we need to work together. Ten Pokemon in a group is too large, though. Let's split up into two groups of five to make it easier, Light instructed. I'll volunteer to lead one group. Does anyone think they can lead the other?
The Arcanine stepped forward and tried to say something. The siren drowned it out, but Light took it as a volunteer.
Got it; the Arcanine will lead the other group. Listen, we'll most likely have to fight to get out, so I'll split the groups to balance them out. I will take the Dratini, Ninetales, Absol, and Azumarill. The Porygon, Corsola, Manectric, and Ariados will go with Arcanine. Any questions? Light asked.
How is he talking without moving his mouth? Light heard the Dratini think.
I'm speaking through telepathy to each of you, Light explained, the Dratini looking surprised. Any other questions? No? Okay, then split into the groups, Light ordered.
The Pokemon went to their respective groups. Once they were organized, Light opened the door with Psychic. Seeing no one, Light took his group on out into the hall. The hall went to the left and right with no other doors. Both ends stopped and branched off to the left and right. Looking around, Light was delighted to see exit signs hanging from the ceiling. There was one in either direction.
Okay, Arcanine, you go left. Follow the green signs hanging from the ceiling. They'll point the way out, Light instructed before heading right. He glanced back only once to make sure the Arcanine was following his instructions.
Reaching the end of the hall, Light glanced at the sign again before turning left into another hallway. This hallway was much the same, though there were a few more doors. Another convenient sign was at the end of the hall again.
Light started to lead his group down the hallway. The Absol of the group came closer and tried to talk to him. Here, I've opened a link. Just think what you want to tell me, Light thought.
I wanted to say thanks. My name is Dark, he said, keeping pace with Light.
My name is Light. . . . Dark, I think I've almost figured out why we were captured. Each of us is a different color, besides you. Do you know why you were captured? Light asked, the question bugging him for some reason.
Most likely because Absol are supposed to be able to locate disasters. However, I can't, Dark replied.
I thought Absol were born with the ability, Light replied.
Some aren't. There have been speculations that a random Pokemon gets the ability when an Absol doesn't, but it's just speculation, Dark explained.
Hmm . . . How old are you? Light asked.
I'm about a year old. Why do you ask? Dark answered.
Because I'm about a year old . . . and I have the ability to sense disasters, Light answered.
Dark stopped for a second before catching back up. So it is true. Wow, not only was it proven in front of my eyes, I meet the Pokemon who got my ability, Dark absentmindedly thought.
If you don't mind, I would like to keep this private, though, Light warned.
No problem; I'm not too quick to tell others I'm abnormal, Dark replied.
Before the conversation could continue anymore, a human turned around a corner, looking to be in a hurry. The human was wearing all black, except for a red design on its shirt that Light thought he had seen somewhere before. The human swore when it saw them and brought out a Pokeball.
Light grimaced. They didn't need to be wasting all their energy on battles. They needed to escape quickly. Using Psychic, Light grabbed the Pokeball and pulled it out of the human's hand. The human froze and looked at the Pokeball now floating in front of his face with a horrified expression. After a few seconds, the human broke out of its trace, turned, and ran, screaming down the hall.
Dark chuckled beside him, though Light more saw than heard it. Starting to move again, Light sped it up some, though they were slightly held back by the exhausted Azumarill. Light led them down the halls, following the easy exit signs. They met two more humans, but Light was able to scare them with the same technique. Somewhere along the line, an explosion sounded from somewhere, most likely from Arcanine's group.
Light almost sighed in relief when they finally came to a door, an exit sign hanging above it. Light tried to open the door, but found it locked. Stand back, Light ordered the others. Once the area was clear, Light let a Dark Pulse loose, obliterating the weak door.
Harsh sunlight came through the now open door, but Light still led them out. As soon as they were out, the Pokemon started to scatter. Light took a few minutes before finally getting them back in a group. They would need to stay together to make it back to . . . Then it hit Light. They didn't really know where they were going.
The sirens now quiet and only inside the building, Light used his voice and said, "Okay, umm, does anyone know where we are and the closest city or town?"
To his surprise, the Dratini slithered forward. "Umm, I-I know where we are. W-we're just s-south of the P-Pokemon League. I w-was still c-conscious when they b-brought me here," the Dratini mumbled.
"Good, we'll go there. Everyone stick together," Light ordered. "Can you take the lead, Dratini?"
The Dratini hesitantly nodded. Light motioned for the Dratini to take the lead and followed behind it. The Dratini stopped every little bit, seeming to be unsure at times. However, after a long walk, the Dratini's directions proved to be correct. They came out of the forest in view of the large stadium, the small village visible surrounding it.
Light took the lead and led them all straight to the police station. Asking each Pokemon, Light found they had all already been a trainer's Pokemon and were all here for the Pokemon League when they were captured. Light knew the police should be able to locate the Pokemon's respective trainers.
As they came into view of the police station, Light was surprised to see that Arcanine's group had already made it here and were crowded around the doors of the small outpost. While it was only a small police station, there were several cops already surrounding the building and more on the way.
Light led them right up to the officers and pushed his way through. Once past the mixed crowd of Pokemon and humans, Light got to the middle where Arcanine was talking to an officer's Growlithe. The Arcanine looked over to Light as he came up.
"Here, I'll translate to the officer," Light said.
"Okay, and I'm glad to see you guys made it, too," the Arcanine said, before turning back to the Growlithe.
Light opened a channel with the officer that seemed in charge. Hello, I'm Light, the Umbreon.
"Okay, who said that?" the officer asked, looking around.
As I said, I'm the Umbreon. I'm talking through telepathy, Light answered.
"Ah, then does that mean you can tell us why a large group of Pokemon have just appeared after mysteriously disappearing?" she asked.
Yes, Light thought. He then went into what happened, including where the building was and what the people looked like.
"Hmm, did the symbol look like this?" the officer asked, holding up a poster with a human on it. Sure enough, the red symbol was there on the black outfit.
Yes, Light answered. Suddenly, Light remembered where he had seen it before. It had been on the two flying things they had met coming back from Sinnoh.
"I was afraid of this. This is a symbol of an organization of crooks and thieves that call themselves Team Rocket," the officer said, putting the poster up. "We'll need to hurry to capture these crooks before they get away." The officer turned away from him and started to give orders to the other officers.
Seeing she was done talking to him, Light turned to the other Pokemon. "Okay, guys, the officers here will help you find your trainers. So just wait here and be patient," Light said, turning to head on. He knew right where he would find Nick.
As Light headed out, he wondered how long it had been since he had been captured. He hadn't found out from any of the others, though he hadn't thought to ask. According to his now growling stomach, he must have been gone about a day. Hopefully Nick wouldn't be too worried.
Light quickly made his way to the Pokemon Center. Light was just coming in through the automatic doors when he heard a thud. Light looked over to where it had come from and saw the door leading to rooms bow temporary as something hit it again. Someone on the other side of the door cursed as the door bowed again.
"Cream, what are you doing?" Light heard. Light realized it was Nick. Light hurried over to the door, already guessing who was hitting the door.
Light heard a growl as a reply to Nick. Light quickly opened to door using Psychic and saw Cream facing Nick, her back to Light, growling at him. "Huh?" Cream said, twisting around as the door opened. Before Light could react, Cream threw herself at him and tackled him against the ground, locking him in a tight embrace. "There you are, Light! I've been so worried about you!" she exclaimed, starting to cry against him.
Light returned to embrace as best he could. "Err, how long have I been gone?" he asked.
Cream sniffed and backed away slightly to made eye contact. "You don't know?" she said, sniffing again.
"Not exactly," Light answered.
Cream pressed her head against him again and said, "You've been gone for three days." She once again started to cry against him.
Light comforted her as best he could. "I'm here now; I'm here now, shh," he whispered, licking her on the head.
Nick knelt down next to them. "Hey, Light. Good to see you're back. Why don't we go back to the room and you can explain there?" he said, rubbing Light on the head.
Light nodded and gently lifted Cream off of him. "Come on, Cream," he whispered.
Cream pressed against him and he led her back to their room. Nick opened the door for them and they went inside, only to have to back up as the others started to crowd him. "Guys, I'm okay, really," he said, trying to stop them. After a few more minutes of persuasion, Light was able to reach the coach and settled down, Cream still right beside him.
Taking a deep breath, Light told everyone at once what had happened and what the officer had said. Once done, everyone started to talk at once, though they were all interrupted by Light's stomach as it loudly complained its empty status.
"Here, I'll get your food," Nick said, getting back up.
All the others finally stopped asking Light questions, leaving him alone with Cream. "So, what all happened here?" light asked her.
"Well, Nick's parents brought us here. Nick told us you had left with a vague time when you would be back. So we waited, and waited, but you didn't come back. After a day, rumors went around of several Pokemon just disappearing. I thought that might have happened to you, but Nick insisted you were too smart to get captured. Finally, I was just coming to find you whether Nick allowed me to or not when you showed up. Oh, you don't know how much I was worrying about you," Cream said, pressing her head against his side.
Light licked her head and thought about what she said. If he had been gone three days . . . uh oh. Nick? What's the date, today? Light asked, keeping the channel to Nick and him only and hoping he was wrong.