OH. MY. GOODNESS. I apologize for not updating in a while... I have been stuck on this tale for quite a bit, not to mention just overall lack of motivation and business (being in the Grade 12 year with a babysitting job). I think this chapter is somewhat anti-climatic but ugh, I tried my very best m(_ _)m so please enjoy anyway

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon

Chapter 6: A Grim Situation

Subject: Ruminations on the Nature of Anima #2
To: Silas Gracidea

Dear friend,
Once again, good tidings unto you. I have come to an interesting concept that I would very much like to share with you. It fills me with much excitement and I just couldn't bear to keep it within my mind! It concerns the behaviour of certain abilities that may possibly be passed down through the parents' anima to the anima of their newborn child.

As you probably know, some children's anima have a move not often found in that specific newborn Pokemon soul. We call them "egg moves", although the origins of the name "egg move" are still unknown, even to me. For example, a Charmander anima's moves at birth are Scratch and Growl. But if the mother or father of the newborn has an anima able to use Outrage, then their child's anima may possibly be able to use it at well. I believe that the reason for this strange phenomenon stems from an inborn trait within Pokemon from the past, and that perhaps the anima pass down these so called "egg moves" simply because that was how it was done before. I am currently compiling notes on which Pokemon are able to pass down certain moves to certain Pokemon, because I realized that sometimes the form of the Pokemon anima needs to be compatible with the anima of the newborn in some way. But I am merely throwing out speculations right now.

I'm afraid I must cut this email short. I have just looked at the time and realized that I am going to be late for my visit to the shrine today if I continue writing to you. But no worries, for you will hear from me very soon.

Sincerest regards from your childhood friend.

"Put him down."

Cyrano looked back and forth between the brown-haired boy and Jaze, still holding Freyr in a headlock. His friend's eyes were closed, his body was limp and his breathing seemed laboured. Nobody moved from their places, not even the two extra people standing in the alley with the smaller boy.

Jaze's eyes were wide and his mouth was frozen in a half-snarl. "Don't you dare," he hissed.

"Put him down." The boy did not lower his shaking hand or his gaze.

"No."

"Put him down."

"No!"

"Please put him down."

Jaze shrieked, "No! I'm not gonna be ordered around by some -"

The boy pulled his hand back and thrust it forward. A jet of water materialized from his palm and sprayed straight into Jaze's face. He let out a gurgling scream and let go of Freyr, who had not been in the direct line of fire but was not spared from the water that sprayed everywhere. Freyr fell to the ground, and Jaze scrambled back, rubbing his face and making sobbing, sputtering sounds. Cyrano ran forward and lifted Freyr from the ground, holding him in his arms. He glared at Jaze, sparks of pain and energy sputtering in his limbs.

"Get out," Cyrano said.

Jaze took one look at the water boy, then turned to Cyrano. His bloodshot eyes were filled with rage. "I'll get you next time," he spat. He threw one glance at his awakening accomplices and screamed, "Get over here, you slugs!"

"Y-yes Jaze," the boys said fearfully. With Cyrano and company watching, the boys placed their hands on Jaze's shoulders.

And then with the strange orb in his hands, Jaze and his lackeys warped away in a flash of colour and light.

The alley became quiet.

Cyrano looked down at Freyr. His friend was pale and breathing lightly. His eyes were still closed.

Someone placed a hand on his shoulder. A soft female voice said briskly, "Landon, get Cyrano to lean against the wall over there. Tristan, can I borrow your scarf and use it as a pillow?"

Cyrano's head flicked from side to side as the two newcomers gently eased Freyr from his grip onto the ground. The tall boy called Tristan sighed and grinned at Cyrano half-heartedly. He had the strangest eyes, dark as pebbles and yet they contained a kind of penetrating quality about them.

"My scarves are always used in Risa's first-aid procedures, someway, somehow," he chuckled. "So I always wear inexpensive ones because I know it's going to be dirty one way or another."

The girl, Risa, had her cheek close to Freyr's face, feeling his breath. She sat up. "The poison wore off a few minutes ago," she announced, "but he'll be pretty flimsy for the next couple of hours."

Cyrano nodded numbly and rubbing his shoulder, wincing as he touched the burn. The smaller boy, Landon, stood awkwardly to the side, gazing sideways at Cyrano sitting on the ground.

"You look kind of intact," he stated emotionlessly.

"Yeah, thanks to your water trick," Cyrano said. He stood slowly and swayed. The buzzing, burning sensation in his body persisted, and Cyrano began to wonder if it really was just adrenaline from the earlier battle, or if something was wrong with him. "Hey, um, Risa, was that your name?"

She nodded and removed a small bottle with clear liquid from her shoulder bag.

"Am I supposed to feel all painfully tingley throughout my whole body, or is there something wrong? Am I poisoned?"

All three kids stared at him. Risa smiled slightly. "You're not," she replied. "Is it through your entire body? Like it feels like the buzzing energy is coursing throughout your entire being?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Then that means you're evolving."

As if on cue, Cyrano cried out as his body began to glow with a shimmering white light. Then the Treeko anima within him was writhing, changing shape, morphing - and Cyrano could feel every inch of its movement. He closed his eyes as there was a final flash of light, and then it was over quite quickly. Tristan and Risa began to applaud crazily, while Landon gave a timid thumbs up.

His anima had evolved. Cyrano couldn't believe it. He was finally a Grovyle now.

"What's with the clapping?"

It was Freyr who had spoken. The other boy had woken up, but he was still lying down. His eyes met Cyrano's and he smiled weakly, knowing already what had occurred.

"Darn," was his comment. "I missed it."

Cyrano laughed and dashed to his friends side, cringing as the stings from his acid and burn wounds pained him. Risa helped Freyr to sit up.

"Okay Freyr, drink as much as you can from this bottle for now," she told him. Then she took out a small spray bottle. Without warning she grabbed Cyrano's shirt and pulled it off his shoulder, spraying the burn spot with the medicine. Cyrano let out a yelp.

"Ow!"

Risa giggled. "That will help it heal faster. I'll take a look at your chest later on when we get somewhere indoors, not in this poorly lit alleyway."

"Yeah, but you didn't have to forcibly yank of my shirt without my permission." Cyrano adjusted his collar and looked around, realizing she was right. It was poorly lit, and that was because night time had fallen. The sky above was dark and dashed with a few spots of starlight. Cyrano felt a bit stupid for hardly noticing his surroundings during the scuffle.

It's night. And Ida is still in the hands of the people that took her away.

The excitement from the earlier battle melted away. He looked at Freyr with wide eyes. "We're so behind," he said dejectedly.

Freyr met Cyrano's eyes briefly, then he looked away.

Tristan broke the silence. "Let's take 'em over to my apartment" he suggested. It's just down the block from here, and you guys can tell us your story and rest up. It seems like there's a lot going on for you two."

The plan sounded about as good as any, and so with Tristan's help, Cyrano helped Freyr walk, while Risa and Landon carried their packs and led the way.

"And that's pretty much what happened."

Cyrano had just finished telling the trio about the incident at Primordia, the trek he and Freyr took through the forest, meeting the old Abra guy, and finally how they ran into Jaze and his lackeys in the alley. He sat on the arm of the couch, wearing a fresh t-shirt. Freyr was lying down on the couch, while Risa and Tristan sat on the armchair and rocking chair. Landon sat on the floor across from Cyrano, leaning against the wall.

During the retelling of events, he learned a bit about Risa, Tristan, and Landon (who was actually a year younger than the rest of them). They were all residents of Amicitia, and heard the shouts in the alley when they walked by, having been on their way to Tristan's apartment. Cyrano found out that Risa was an Audino anima, Tristan was a Xatu anima, but for Landon's anima, both Freyr and Cyrano needed some explaining.

"Landon is an Eevee anima," Risa said.

"But how can an Eevee anima use Water Gun?" Freyr enquired, a puzzled look on his face - an expression Cyrano did not see often on his intellectual friend.

"Yeah," Cyrano added, "also, I'm pretty sure when we met, your eyes were blue. Was I seeing things?"

Landon looked somewhat uncomfortable. He shifted slightly and threw a shy glance in the boys' direction. "My eyes were blue," he said softly. "But they're supposed to be brown."

Cyrano and Freyr stared dumbly at the boy until Risa giggled. "It's a little complicated," she told them patiently. "You see, Landon is suffering from... an odd kind of condition. It's a bit of an illness, so he has difficulty doing physical things for a prolonged period of time. I don't really know how to explain it."

Tristan stepped in for her. "I actually looked into Landon's illness a bit myself," he said with a slight excitement in his voice. "It's quite strange - apparently this kind of illness affects mostly Eevee anima and Ditto anima. It has something to do with the anima's memory of having an unstable molecular structure, and this bodily confusion transfers to the bearer of the anima. His eyes change colour based on the current form of his Eevee."

Freyr sat up slowly, but he was smiling slightly. "I've never heard of this before, but I would love to learn more. It sounds quite intriguing. Hey, Cyrano -"

"Wait," Cyrano interrupted, "so, basically you guys are saying that Landon can transform into other Eevee forms whenever he wants to? That would be he has control over... uh, one, two three... seven different types!"

"I can't control it," Landon muttered. "And it really hurts when my Eevee changes."

"Oh, I see..."

Freyr grabbed Cyrano's arm. "Cyrano, geez. You're forgetting something here," he snapped. "Your sister, remember? I hope you didn't forget about her."

Cyrano yanked his arm away and scowled. "Of course I didn't forget her, silly! But you're still too weak to go anywhere. And how can we pursue them in the dark anyways?"

"Have you guys even alerted the authorities?" Risa crossed her arms. "Surely you don't think you can just recklessly chase after an entire organization! I'm sure the cops can get this under control."

Cyrano frowned. "Yeah, but... she's my sister. I just have to go after her. The cops can take care of things on their side, and who knows? Maybe I'll do something they couldn't do. I'm stronger now - I can handle things a little better."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Freyr said quietly.

"How about I turn on the news?" Tristan suggested quickly. "I'm sure there oughta be news of the incident in Primordia by now. The late night news always has more to report."

Landon crawled over to the television and turned it on. As they waited for the screen to start up, Landon asked, "Will your mom really be okay with two extra boys being here?"

Tristan shrugged. "She's really chill. She shouldn't be coming home tonight anyways - she went out with some friends for a movie night anyways."

"- still no sign of the children stolen from the small town-"

"Everyone, be quiet," Risa whispered.

The five teens turned their attention towards the television as the reporter spoke, a grim expression on her face.
"Authorities all over the Circulan Region are on high alert and are madly scrambling to find the missing children and return them safely back home. They urge parents to please keep close tabs on their children and make sure they are never too long out of sight of an adult. If anyone has any information, please contact any officials in your area. Be on the lookout for any suspicious characters or activity. Most importantly of all, please do not endanger yourselves by rashly trying to take action against this massive unknown enemy. There have not been any updates so far..."

Cyrano stood up angrily. "To hell with not taking any action! Are they stupid?! Do they seriously think we should just stand around and twiddle our thumbs when we have family in danger?"

"Shut up, Cyrano," Freyr said in a quietly furious tone. "They're not stupid for speaking with the voice of reason. You're the one that thinks of this whole rescue mission as the golden opportunity to prove you're as good as any grownup."

His friend stared back at him in shock, stunned at his words. Risa stood up slowly, glancing worriedly between the boys. She opened her mouth to speak. "Hey-"

And in that moment, flames burst from within the television.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand there we have it another chapter la de dah reviews greatly appreciated thanks! And I hope I can get this thing updated more often = = or else it will end up in the graveyard of all my other... incomplete... stories... not to mention I have another idea for a story again *sHOT*