Sorry this took a little longer to come up. I'm in the middle of studying for my mid-year exams and haven't had much time for writing. Still, here's the next chapter. Thank you for reading.
If you have any ways in which I can improve, please let me know.
The Pokémon cries filled the room. The lights had gone from their usual dim glow to a full and brilliant white light. Creatures shrieked as they covered their eyes and tried to turn away only to be met with the confining walls of their cages. The howls mingled together to create an unholy cacophony. It beat relentlessly against the eardrums. Silver screwed up his eyes and covered his ears with his hands. The sound was enough to give him a headache.
Leaf did nothing of the sort. She merely picked Espeon up off of the floor and held the creature above her head. Espeon tensed for a moment, then fell limp. All around, her psychic energies were quietening the Pokémon. Many of the nearest ones had fallen into a sleep so deep it was nearly a coma. Leaf kept Espeon tight to her chest, and began to walk down the aisles. She knew the one she was looking for. Silver followed along behind her, glancing into the tanks and cages they passed. Pokémon gazed bleary-eyed back at him. Some opened their mouths into silent moans.
"Are you going to tell me exactly what you're going to be doing in here?" he asked, speeding up to walk alongside her. "Your methods?"
The girl looked round. Her brown eyes were their usual cold, steely expression. "No. Not until it is complete." They stopped by one of the larger cages. Inside, a furry white dragon was slumped over. One of its eyes was a red slit, its eye rolled back. Unconscious. Leaf stood and watched its limp frame, one hand resting on one of the bars of its cage. The metal was icy cold to the touch.
"I will begin my work now," she said, not taking her eyes of the sleeping Reshiram. "Please leave. And tell the others not to disturb me. Not for anything. If the base is burning to the ground, I shall burn with it. Nothing is to distract me until this is complete. Do you understand?"
She turned to look at Silver, who was scowling at her. His lips were pressed into a tight line. Leaf sighed and loosened her hold on Espeon who leapt to the ground. The girl stepped closer to the red-haired boy, looking down and slightly to one side. Her hand reached up to cup his face.
"I'm sorry." Her voice was soft and tender. "I know I have been distant lately. It's just that this plan is taking up all of my time, and-"
"You sound like my father." Silver's voice was sharp, cutting through the air like a sword.
At these words, Leaf gasped and looked up. Her eyes were a warm brown now, and threatening to spill tears. "No! No, do not say that! I am nothing like your father. I would never abandon you." She gave a strangled sob and leant her head into Silver's chest. The boy stood tense for a moment, then relaxed and sighed. His arms came up to wrap around her. She was thin and delicate, it felt as though she would shatter at his touch.
Leaf lifted her head and brought her lips to his. Her body curved into him, pressing frame to frame. Her hand cupped his face whilst his arms wrapped around her waist. The embrace lasted five seconds, before they broke apart. Leaf pressed a second, soft kiss to Silver's cheek, making him smile.
"I will make sure you are not disturbed," he said, turning and striding out.
Leaf watched him go. Her expression was stoney once again. The flickering of emotion had lasted an instant, and was only for Silver's benefit. If he did not have the human intimacy he so craved then he would leave, returning to the shallow life from which he had only recently been rescued. Leaf could not allow that. She needed him. So, for now at least, she had to put on this act. It was not difficult. Over the years she had become very good at it.
"Shall we begin?" she asked once she had heard the heavy door close with a thud. Espeon purred her assent. Turning her face, the Pokémon concentrated on the limp Reshiram. Psychic energy was sent out, bathing the dragon and sending it to a deeper sleep. Leaf pushed open the heavy door and stepped into the cage.
She had brought with her several thick restraints which she proceeded to use to bind the Dragon Pokémon. First its body, then its limbs and finally its wings and head. The creature was laid bare, waiting of her. Lying on its back with arms, legs, head, and wings spread out and held down. When the last restraint was in place, Espeon sat back. The psychic energy ceased, no longer needed.
Leaf knelt beside Reshiram's head. If she ever met N again, she would have to thank him. If not for him, she would never be here. Her plan would never have come into fruition. Her fingers ran over the creature's soft hair. It felt as cool and soft to the touch as water.
From outside the cage, Leaf drew a small, black box. Opening it, it was revealed to contain silver surgical instruments, as well as coloured lengths of wire. Leaf reached in and withdrew a small, lethal-looking scalpel. One hand reached out and grabbed Reshiram, round the snout. Holding it thus, she leaned in close and made the first incision.
It was interesting, she thought, how this Pokémon's blood was a brighter red than she had expected. A drop grazed against one finger and she swore quietly. Quickly she pulled on a pair of srugical gloves and continued to work. Blood trickled down over her hands and dripped onto the floor as she worked. A small towel mopped it up before it stayed there too long.
In the neighbouring cage, Zekrom could smell the blood. In its sleep, it howled.
000
N sat cross-legged in the middle of Viridian Gym. In his hands he held one of the Pokémon which had replaced Blue's. It was small, about the size of a Geodude's head, and a light grey colour like washing-up water. It was covered in a soft fur and had small stubs which N assumed were its legs. They were incredibly ineffectual: all they could do was tap on the floor and even then not very hard taps. It had a face of sorts, but this was just two eyes which were perpetually closed, as well as a small mouth. N had pried this mouth open, but had found only a gummy mass and no teeth. If he had to liken it to something, N would have suggested a baby Pokémon. This was of course ridiculous as everyone knew Pokémon hatched fully-formed from eggs. Still, it was the best description he could find.
Behind him, the Gym Trainers were standing and muttering to each other. As they did so, they kept glancing at N.
"Just think about it. The day he comes back is the day all our Pokémon are stolen. I'm not saying he did it, but it's really suspicious, don't you think?"
"Shut up, Salma. He's just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Yeah, but look at him. He's getting on awfully well with those things, isn't he?"
"He says he can talk to Pokémon. What's that if not crazy?"
"Well... Stranger things have happened."
These whispers carried on, not too loud to be overhead. Although, neither N nor Blue were paying any attention. At the back of the Gym, Blue was pacing again. He was completely lost in thoughts. His own mutters were slightly louder and if anyone were to listen they could be easily discerned.
"How did they do it?" he was saying through gritted teeth. "Nobody even noticed. One moment we had Pokémon, the next we had these things. What are they, anyway? Nothing I've seen. But how? How? It's nothing like Team Rocket's methods. They just threatened people to their faces and asked trainers to give them their Pokémon. But I could see straight through them. Of course I could. Anyone could. This is much more subtle. Sneaky. A pickpocket? No, can't be. They have security cameras in the Elite Four and they were robbed too. The Elite Four! How could the get the Elite Four? How did this happen?"
He paused, his hands pressing into his forehead. Slowly, tentatively, he began to think, "Perhaps Leaf is something to do with it." Before this thought was fully formed, he was banging a fist into his skull. "Its definitely not Leaf," he snarled to himself. "Definitely not."
"Blue?"
The Gym Leader looked up to find one of the Gym Trainers watching him with concern. "You seem stressed," she said lamely. Her face turned pink.
Blue straightened up. He was Gym Leader, he had to remain composed. He coughed into one hand. "I'm fine. Disoriented, but fine. I... I have other Pokémon in storage, I am not at a loss."
The other Trainers looked at each other. They had Pokémon in storage, but much weaker than the ones that had been stolen. Then again, they were still reasonably strong. Stronger than most average-day trainers. Of course, what if those had been stolen too?
"Just keep an eye on the green kid," one muttered, eyeing N.
Blue strode past N and out of the Gym to the Pokémon Centre. There, he logged onto the computer to get another Pokémon. What he saw made him scowl. The highest level Pokémon there was a good twenty levels below that which had been stolen. And the rest were about twenty levels below that one.
He swore under his breath, then withdrew the Pokémon, not even caring what it was. At that moment he just needed rid of those stupid grey things. So he deposited each of the replacements, and took out the one high level in his box.
Halfway back o the Gym, Blue realised what he'd just taken out. It was his Jolteon: the evolved form of the Eevee which he'd been given by his Grandfather when he'd first become a trainer. It had been languishing in his PC for years, completely forgotten about. He'd been too busy training his other Pokémon, the ones with better stats.
He stood, rooted to the spot, just staring and staring at the Poké Ball in his hand.
He wasn't sure why, but he thought of Leaf again. Hilbert and N had said that she used an Espeon. When he'd last seen her, it was still an Eevee, it too had been a gift from his Gradfather. She'd trained it a lot since he last saw her.
A good few minutes passed with Blue standing there, until the silence was broken by his phone ringing. He tugged it out of his trouser pocket and held it to his ear. Frantically, and without realising why, he asked, "Leaf?"
"Sorry? No, it's Lance."
At the sound of the Dragon Master's voice, Blue calmed down. Lance only called in emergencies. Settling into his business manner, Blue asked, "What's the matter?"
"The thing is, all the Elite Fours have received word about it and we're telling Gym Leaders now." Lance's voice sounded constricted, more terse than normal. "It's about our stolen Pokémon."
"Yes?"
"We have been told to turn our televisions to channel 83 at exactly 7 o'clock tonight."
Blue raised his eyebrows. "What? Channel 83? But that's just static, what good'll-"
"I'm only passing on the message," interrupted Lance. "And I need to call all the Kanto Gym leaders, so I'm afraid I'll have to hang up now. It was nice speaking to you, Blue."
"You too."
He was already walking when the phone clicked silent. As he went, he was muttering to himself. "Channel 83, 7 o'clock. Channel 83, 7 o'clock."
000
The Camera was rigged. The countdown started. A hooded figure sat on a chair, their features wreathed in shadow. Their hand reached up to pull the hood down further. The outline of their chin could just be made out, but their features were in darkness. They were impossible to identify.
Behind the camera, someone held up their fingers to count down the seconds. Five... Four... Three... Two... One.
The camera began transmitting. Elite Fours and Gym Leaders gathered around their televisions, which went from static to this strange, hooded person. A device on their neck, hidden by the cloak, masked their voice and turned it to a deep gurgle. This instrument was switched on, just in time for the first words.
"Good evening."
The speech had been memorised and was flowing off the figure's tongue as easy as breathing.
"I am a member of a nameless organisation. You may know us as the ones who have stolen your Pokémon." He flicked a finger and a button was pressed on a distant control panel. The image appearing on television screens would have changed from the hooded figure to stills of the Pokémon they now held. The gurgling voice was still heard as they spoke.
"We have no demands at the present time. Simply know this: we hold the most powerful Pokémon and have amongst our numbers the most powerful trainers. Should we so desire it, we would be more than capable of controlling the entire planet. Each day we get stronger."
The camera switched back to the figure, still sitting in the high-backed chair.
"Fear us. This world will soon be completely under our control."
The camera switched off. Televisions returned to static.
In the underground base, Silver pulled back the hood and unclipped the device from his neck. The next of the plan had been given to him only a few days ago. It had been easy enough. Leaf had told him simply to wait. For what, he didn't know.
000
Blue was glaring at the blank television screen. N and the Gym trainers were silent, watching him. Slowly, he got to his feet.
"The strongest trainers?" he muttered through gritted teeth. "I'm willing to bet the strongest hasn't even heard of them."
Blue looked round at N who was sitting cross-legged and still clutching the grey Pokémon. Blue grabbed his shoulder and hoisted him to his feet.
"You need to come with me," he said, striding to the door. "You can speak to Pokémon. That'll help keep them from attacking until I get my team back."
"Where are we going?"
"Mt Silver. There's someone there who I bet will be able to help."