A/N Heheh. Here's the next chapter. Fastest update since forever. Hopefully this will become more and more common. Thanks for your continued support. There's a little more of what you've already been reading here (sorry for the repetition), but there's also some other stuff. :D Hope you like. Review when you finish. Thanks.

"Casey!"

Casey shut his eyes. "Great. Of course. They're here." He stopped and turned to them.

"Dad." Makaila's words were a great breath of relief.

Ash smiled. "Just hold on. I'm not leaving you this time."

Makaila pulled on the arms holding her but was tugged back rather gruffly by Eitan. Ash glared. "Let her go."

"Why would we do that?" Casey asked turning back to the computer behind him.

Ash's hands clenched into fists. "Turn around! Now! We're ending this!"

Casey stayed still and then turned to face him and made his way down the steps towards them. "I guess there isn't any way to avoid this now. What exactly do you want me to do?"

"Give me Makaila. Now."

Casey rose an eyebrow. "Asking permission now are we?"

Ash growled. "It isn't like that. I'm giving you a choice, then I'm taking her."

Casey, now at ground level, made his way to them until he was only a couple feet from Ash. "How do you propose to do that? In case you haven't noticed, we're in a base with a lot of grunts. You don't have much of an upper hand."

"I don't care. If that's true why haven't you called anyone yet? You're game's over. I'm leaving and I'm taking her with me."

"Really?" There was a pause and Casey lunged forward.

"Ash!" Misty yelled on impulse.

"Get Makaila!" Ash yelled, holding his forearms up to block.

Misty instantly took to the stairs, followed by Drake, Michael, and Gary. Both Drew and Skye stayed to help Ash. But Ash only ushered them towards Makaila before he went back to fighting Casey himself.

Eitan stiffened considerably as everyone came towards him and Makaila and looked down towards Casey and Ash desperately, wondering what to do.

"He's only a kid." Gary whispered. He could easily put himself in Eitan's place, almost without thinking. Skye seemed to think the same, but went forward anyway.

"Are you going to hand her over?"

Eitan's hand tightened on her arm and pulled her towards him as he stepped back, shaking his head while looking strait at Skye with a very complicated face.

Skye frowned and stepped forward, they were cut off by a cry of surprise from May as Ash landed hard on his back, grunting before pushing himself shakily back up.

Heads were turned to Casey and Ash, including Skye's. Eitan took that opportunity, dragging Makaila down the stairs with him. Skye took off behind him but was cut off halfway by Casey, who had left Ash seeing what was happening. Ash pushed himself from his knees and ran forward to stop Eitan, who had pulled the door shut behind him while Casey had held them all off.

Makaila's eyes widened. Eitan was locking the door behind him. "No!" She pulled forward but he pulled her back to his side and continued on.

Makaila struggled and pulled against him. Her heart was racing. She was frustrated and scared. Why couldn't she get away? Why was he doing this? What if they never got her or some of the grunts got to them before her dad and the others with him could possibly get to her?

"L-Let me go! Please!!" Her voice escalated in panic. They were getting farther away, and she wasn't sure where he was taking her. She couldn't be taken around from room to room for much longer.

"Stop talking."

"I won't!"

"Stop talking!" Eitan spun round and, in obvious rage and something she couldn't quite pinpoint (it may have been panic like she felt), hit her. She stumbled slightly and cowered, covering her face with the hand he wasn't holding in a vice-like grip. For a moment he stayed still, staring at where he had hit her and the way she shied from him as best she could in her position, then he frowned and rotated sharply in place to start walking again.

But he couldn't continue.

Because someone was blocking his path.

Someone with a glare deep enough to rival and scare even Casey suredly.

Eitan froze, glanced at Makaila, and looked back at the boy before paling.

Ash cried out loudly and slammed his hands against the door in an effort to open it. He spun quickly. "Michael, do you have your Pokémon?"

Michael nodded and reached for his belt. Ash glanced behind him. Casey was breathing hard. His fighting skills were amazing, but even he was getting worn out, fighting most of them at the same time.

"Michael hurry!"

Michael nodded and pulled his poke' ball off his belt. Casey ground his teeth and looked at all the faces staring at him, then quickly scanned the room for his options, which were very few at this point. Michael was working on the door. He cursed and ducked down, pulling his pant leg up long enough to retrieve a small gun and raise it to his vision.

Ash turned and his eyes widened.

Eitan ground his teeth viciously and pulled Makaila closer to himself, which only seemed to set off the teen in front of him more. "You are really starting to get on my nerves."

The boy in front of him only continued to glare. Makaila gasped. "It's-It's you! You're here!" Relief would have been impossible for her to mask if she had tried too.

The blue eyes left Eitan and instead rested on her, softening in assurance before returning to Eitan and hardening again.

"You're here again!" Eitan growled. "Why do you always show up?! Why do you always ruin everything for me?! What do you want me to do?!"

The boy remained silent and then he held out his hands and bawled them into fists.

"You want to fight me."

He shook his head and looked at Makaila.

"Regardless of what you want, it's what you're asking for, so you're going to get it." Eitan's hand finally left Makaila's skin and he dove forward.

"No!"

Eitan knew he didn't have much of a chance, at least not against someone infused with the instinct, but the last thing he was planning on doing was handing her over, at least without giving the kid a major rival.

He moved before Eitan could register it, and he found himself honestly surprised to find his hand held in the partly open palm of the boy. The shock wore off and he snarled, bringing his other fist forward. It too was caught. The boy's teeth grinding together with the effort of holding him at bay. Eitan managed to twist the boy's wrist with the pressure, his hand sliding from the palm and landing harshly just below his throat. The boy winced and grabbed his wrist pushing Eitan away by both of his own hands with a grunt of effort.

Makaila gasped and jumped.

Eitan staggered but righted himself and brought his leg to the back underside of his opponent's knees. The boy's eyes widened and he fell back throwing his hands behind him and managing to catch himself but not raise back up as Eitan took the opportunity to tower over him.

The boy waited for barely a moment before Eitan lowered slightly to continue, revealing in his accomplishment. Quickly he raised his leg, twisting his around Eitan's and pulling him down towards him. Eitan gasped and the boy used his other leg as leverage, flipping them so that Eitan was pinned below him, each hand held to either side.

Eitan struggled and, finding that the teen on top of him wasn't letting up, brought his knee up and barely managed to hit him in the back. It managed to shaken the boy a bit and loosen his grip enough so he could roll out from beneath him.

The boy shut his eyes in aggravation that he had been thrown off so easily, and stood to rival Eitan. Once again, he was still, waiting for Eitan to move first, as was Eitan's impulsive nature. But this was beginning to get on Eitan's nerves.

"What's the matter? Can't fight without the instinct giving you all your strength?"

Makaila had never seen the boy look so hateful, so livid, towards anyone or anything. His hands shook in the fists he placed them in, the rest of his body following as his angry reaction to the words took over. Eitan's words affected him for reasons Makaila couldn't understand.

The boy moved first.

Ash stopped helping with the door and stared instead at the Casey and the gun pointed at him.

"Don't even think about it."

Casey rounded on the speaker, Drew, and held the gun at arms length, now pointed at him. He suddenly laughed spitefully and began backing away from the small group. "None of you are going to do anything, because if you do you run the chance of one of you getting hurt." This time the laugh was more of a chuckle. "Pathetic." And then the grin went to a very dutiful glare, the gun returning to aim at Ash once again. "It'll be your downfall."

Keagan looked towards Drake and exchanged a meaningful look. Drake nodded back.

Casey looked away with the sudden noise to his left ①, obviously very jumpy, and at the same time fired with shaky fingers. The instrument in his hand jerked down and he turned back, shocked to find the front half of the gun in his hand lying harmlessly on the floor, split perfectly. "How is that even . . . possible?" He whispered in amazement.

Skye and Gary instantly grabbed him and restrained him as he struggled. Michael meantime returned ditto, previously in Ivyasaur form, into his poke'ball. Casey was struggling but all noise and struggles came to a breathless halt with Misty's panicked cry.

"Ash!!"

Ash's eyes were wide, his body completely rigid and frozen, and right above and beside his right ear laid a perfect hole in the door he was trying to open.

"Ash!"

Ash calmed himself, shook himself out of his stupor and turned to Misty. "I'm ok."

Misty ran from the group and looked at his side, running her hand through the hair on the right side of his head, then wrapping her arms around him in relief. "You could've died."

Michael turned from the group and began working on the door again. He looked at the figure of Taylor, who had been silent for quite a while. 'It could have been Taylor.' He frowned. 'It will be Taylor if I don't get out of here quickly.'

He turned back to the door and worked faster.

Makaila stood by numbly, watching and trying to figure out what she should do.

Eitan backed against the wall in the wide, empty hallway, pulling the boy forcefully with him. "What, it's not working yet? Too bad the instinct doesn't work on yourself. But it only works on someone else. Is that why you're always hiding? You know you're too weak to protect yourself without some test making you stronger than you really are?"

"The boy's" elbow snapped back, hitting Eitan square in the face. He cursed and the boy jumped away, then turned and let his anger go on Eitan.

Eitan was blocking all of the boy's punches but found it a lot harder than he had expected. He almost regretted his words. The boy was strong, he just didn't know it.

Makaila's hands covered her mouth, muffling a shriek. Eitan's back hit the wall again and he flinched, this time unable to block the blow that came his way.

"Stop!"

The boy ignored Makaila and continued, all of his anger and frustration and resentment towards Eitan and anything that had been forced on him because of Team Rocket coming out in one breathless moment. In his mind's eye, he saw Eitan as the subject of all his pain. He saw himself finally fighting back. What he didn't see was what he was in the process of doing to Eitan.

"Stop!" Makaila, wrapped her arms around one of his as he raised it once again. For a moment he didn't register it as her and tried to shake her off, then he looked to his arm and saw who it was and looked back to Eitan and saw his condition. He stopped, breathing heavily and gulped, stepping back and still half glaring, half looking resentful, towards the teen leaning against the wall.

Eitan lowered his arm, the one he had been using to block his face and looked at the two, confused and angry.

The boy's head was lowered, an unreadable look on his face, then he grabbed Makaila's wrist much softer that Eitan had and began to lead her, only just glancing at Eitan with a glare, a warning, as he continued on.

Eitan glared back, his body quivering from the force of the boy's hits. He pushed himself from the wall but only fell back. He cursed and balanced his weight to his right foot with the knowledge that he wasn't going to be able to go after them.

To Makaila's disbelief he started leading her away from the room Eitan had pulled her out of.

"Wait! My dad and everyone are still stuck there! We can't just-" she stopped because he had, but they didn't turn back. He looked uneasy, like he wasn't sure quite what to do. Makaila had always been able to understand him, and she now realized that he wanted to get her out and to safety, but his seemingly nonsensical fear of people in general kept him from doing it. Still, after a brief silence, he veered from his previous course and led her back.

A noise farther down the halls, people coming, made his eyes widen. He ushered her to the door and then began trying to open it, though he wasn't quite sure how.

Suddenly the door opened apparently by itself, the product of Michael's work. Now in front of them stood Ash and the entire group. The boy froze, every muscle seizing up, took a step back and turned to run. Makaila was fast and gripped his wrist. He couldn't leave, not when everyone finally saw him for the first time. "Wait! Why are you running?"

The boy looked back at her and then over her shoulder at all of the others and his breathing quickened. Quickening to the point of him collapsing and holding his hand up to his chest, as though that would somehow make breathing easier once more.

And Makaila realized that he was having a panic attack. He had never let anyone else but her really see him, but why did it make him this scared?

"Well, well, well . . ."

The owners of the feet they had heard from down the halls had arrived. The voice belonged to Mark, a superior to Casey. And the noises coming their way had not only belonged to him, but a somewhat large group of grunts.

The boy closed his eyes and shook his head mouthing "no". No. This couldn't really be happening.

He clenched his eyes and his shaking increased.

A/N Yeah, you're all probably getting tired of this limbo of the characters. I'm apologize. It's just about over. Only a few more chapters to the end as well.

① (not the right symbol i know) Drake was the one to make the distracting noise. Just to clear any confusion there may have been with that.

Thanks for reading! Please review! Tell me your thoughts!

PG17 (prettygirl17) :D