It was not even a moment after Hilbert started to move toward the door that it suddenly swung open. On the other side was a clearly panicked Hawes.
"Lenora! We have an emergency!" He took a moment to breath. "A group of people entered the museum, and they're trying to take the skull from our main exhibit! I tried to stop them, but they were willing to use force, and-"
"Hawes, Hawes. Calm down." Lenora reassured her husband, though she looked more then a little panicked herself. "I need to get out there, and… you two, I'll understand if you'd rather not get involved, but I would appreciate any sort of help."
Hilbert looked at Lenora, then nodded immediately. He turned and signaled to Bianca, who looked frightened by whatever was unfolding. She tried to steel herself, but only succeeded in looking nervous as she started to follow Hilbert.
The four returned to the lobby. It was in chaos. Some of the exhibits seemed to have been shattered and destroyed, others were mercifully intact, and people were running everywhere. Some of the exhibits might have been destroyed by people trampling over them in an attempt to get away from… whatever started this mess.
Lenora tried to clamor for order but didn't get it, her loud voice couldn't pierce the roar of the crowd. So she instead grabbed one fleeing person as he ran by.
"What's going on?" The Gym Leader demanded as she held one patron by the arm with a grip as firm as a Durant's.
The man choked to speak, then slowly stammered. "T-T-Team Plasma is here." Hilbert did a double take. Team Plasma? How many times would he encounter this organization? He looked out at the crowd ahead, there was a line of Plasma grunts… how had he not noticed them before? They were the only people in the crowd that looked orderly, not running away while screaming their heads off, they didn't look even barely uncomfortable with what was happening.
He noticed that one grunt was holding a large sack over his soldier. Immediately, Hilbert's eyes jolted to the Dragon fossil exhibit, which he saw was now missing its skull.
"They took the Dragon Skull." Hilbert said. He looked at the way the Plasma agents stood, discussing among themselves, looking like they were about to make their getaway. If the past was any indication, the members of Plasma thought they were in the right, despite the fact that they had pretty much just instigated a riot that was destroying the museum.
Lenora released the patron and charged through the crowd. She came up until she was almost arm-length to the one with the sack over his shoulder. "You! Stop messing around. Give me the Dragon Skull back."
The agent looked at her with an amused expression. "I'm afraid that won't be possible. This skull will be the start of a liberated world. One where Pokemon can enjoy their freedom, away from tyrannical trainers, like you."
"Is that some kind of joke?" Lenora asked, rhetorically. "Stop fooling around, I can tell that this is just some poorly thought out plot for minimal financial gain. Now, return the Dragon Skull."
"Oh, Plasma is quite serious about this." The agent responded. "Let us give you an idea of how truthful that fact is." He raised his free hand and made a peculiar hand gesture. Every other member of Team Plasma revealed a small object.
"Smokescreen!" The leader ordered, suddenly smoke bombs went off. Lenora found herself blinded, choking on the smoke and stumbling aimlessly through the museum's lobby, and in moments she heard the sound of a group slipping through the front door. Unfortunately, it took several minutes for the blinding smoke to clear. As she could see again, Lenora growled in the back of her throat. Team Plasma was gone, and with the skull in tow.
Hawes came up beside them and groped for words for a moment. "We, uh… we need to chase them down! That exhibit is important."
Lenora nodded. "Kids." She looked at Hilbert and Bianca. "Follow me. Please."
Hilbert scowled at being casually addressed as a 'kid', but still followed Lenora. The three exited the building, there was no sign of members of Team Plasma anywhere. Not even an obvious trail to follow. Bianca grew worried that the agents had managed to get away.
"Lenora." A foreign voice spoke up. Lenora saw a man she recognized walking up to him. "Sorry its been a while. Sometimes its hard to get away from the Gym. Find any good fossils on your last expedition?"
Lenora, though obviously impatient to find the bolted thieves, kindly turned her attention to this man. "No, Burgh, and I assume part of the reason you came here was for inspiration?" She turned her head. "Hilbert, this is Castelia's Gym Leader, Burgh. He'll be your next Gym Leader to face."
Burgh found himself smiling, then noticed something about the way Lenora was standing. "You look a little bothered, Lenora. Is there some trouble?"
"I would say there is." Lenora crossed her arms and wore an agitated expression. "Team Plasma just attacked my museum, and they ran off with the skull of our Dragon exhibit."
Burgh's face twisted into a serious expression. "Team Plasma? I know their mission statement… but what could a fossilized skull do to help them liberate Pokemon?"
Lenora threw her arms in the air. "You tell me. The one who seemed to be the leader was saying something about how it would help them save Pokemon. No matter what they think they're doing, they committed theft, and we have to find them."
Burgh was in complete agreement and opened his mouth to speak further, but then his eyes caught movement. Two more individuals were approaching.
"Cheren? Hilda?" Bianca saw her old friends walking up. Cheren blinked, it looked like he had walked up intending on proving something. Now his face contorted with confusion as to what was happening.
"I came here to challenge the Gym. I presume that now is not a good time?"
Lenora looked at the two new trainers. "Friends of yours, Hilbert?" Hilbert nodded, smirking slightly. Cheren and Hilda had good timing, Hilbert had to admit, with more people, they had more options. Lenora stepped forward. "Long story short, the museum was attacked by Team Plasma. I need to get back the artifact they stole before I can think about accepting any Gym challenges. I want to chase after them, but I can't leave the Gym unattended. More thieves could come in while I'm gone."
Cheren nodded, understanding. "Perhaps you could leave protecting the Gym to me and Hilda? I'm already a considerably strong trainer."
"That's one issue covered." Hilbert said before Lenora had even approved of Cheren's idea. "Now how do we track down Team Plasma? And they'll get further away with every moment we waste talking."
Lenora started. "They're either in town, or they went to Pinwheel Forest." She thought for a moment. "I can handle the town by myself, everyone else should head to the Forest."
Burgh nodded. "Alright, you two, I'll lead the way, but I won't slow down for you."
He was already off. Hilbert, however, was lost in thought, and then turned to Bianca. "I… want you to stay at the museum as well."
"Huh?" Bianca's eyes widened in shock. "W-why would you ask me to do that? Aren't we traveling partners, and… what would happen if you got hurt?"
"And if you're the one who's injured?" Hilbert asked. "You've always been the sensitive one, Bianca. I… feel responsible to you, but if I find Team Plasma members, I'll be focused entirely on the fight. If you get hurt-"
"B-but, I want to go with you, Hilbert. Even if… it's scary. And I-"
Hilbert looked away to the direction Burgh ran off in. He could still see the Castelia Gym Leader, but he'd vanish from view eventually. "There's no time to argue. Stay here, Bianca. Please." He darted off, Bianca stared as Hilbert departed, then looked down at the ground.
"He'll be fine, Bianca." Hilda reassured, coming to her friend's side. "He's always had that dumb luck of his."
Bianca didn't directly respond, and just sighed. "This is the… third time he's gotten involved with something Team Plasma has done."
"Yes, and every time he…" Hilda paused, blinked, then looked at Bianca again. "Hold on, this is only the second time. What happened at the Day Care, and now this."
Bianca shook her head. "We also ran into members of Plasma at the Dreamyard." She raised her hands up and pulled on her hat. "Eventually he's going to get himself hurt bad, and… and if he wants me to stay safe like this, I might not be nearby when it finally happens."
She stood frozen for a moment, then felt a warm sensation as something landed on her shoulder. She turned to see Cheren, who looked more understanding and sympathetic then he normally did.
"For now… let's get inside the museum. While we're making sure no one else slips in, I'd like you to explain this Dreamyard incident to us." Cheren looking back at the museum, and Bianca felt a cold shiver down her spine as Cheren took her hand.
Burgh looked at the entrance to Pinwheel Forest. Signs of heavy travel were becoming more visible. The tracks had been hidden quite well, but after a certain distance any attempt to hide the trail had seemingly been abandoned. A sizable group had clearly just entered the forest, and all at about the same time. The signs pointed to this being the path Team Plasma took to escape, so then…
He was a Gym Leader, and confident in his strength, but he wasn't foolish enough to charge in and potentially get surrounded by perhaps over a dozen Plasma agents. He stroked his chin in thought as he pondered how to proceed. Then, he heard footsteps behind him.
Hilbert came up to Burgh. "I'm here. I left Bianca with Hilda and Cheren."
Burgh twisted his lips, perhaps just a tad disappointed that his backup consisted of only one person, then turned back to the forest entrance. "Looks like Team Plasma did run into the forest. There are two routes through the forest, one heading straight through it, the other is a little more out of the way." He nodded to himself, forming a plan. "We'll split up, I'll take the simpler route. You go through the additional path, it's essentially a straight line, and look for any sign of Team Plasma."
"What if they've already charged straight through the forest?"
"Already occurred to me." Burgh answered, looking smug as he pulled an Xtransceiver out of his pocket. "If they follow this path they'll reach Castalia City, the Castelian authorities are already on the lookout for members of Team Plasma. We just need to make sure no Plasma agents slip past us and back to Nacrene."
Hilbert nodded. "Sounds good. Lets get into the forest. I'd enjoy humiliating them myself."
Burgh had already run off down the main path through the forest, Hilbert began to move toward the side path. In a more casual moment, he might have taken several long moments to examine the surroundings, take note of what kind of Pokemon were living here, but with the current situation he didn't have the time. He ran quickly and evenly, getting down the path with good speed. Occasionally he had to jump over a fallen tree trunk that had clearly tipped over years back.
Eventually someone jumped out in front of him. Hilbert was quickly coming to recognize the Team Plasma uniform at a glance.
"So this kid wants to be a savior for oppressors, is that it?" The Plasma agent just smiled, feeling that if a battle erupted, his victory was assured. "Too bad for you. The one with the Dragon Skull is way ahead, and you'll be turning back right here."
Hilbert just shrugged, then heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see another member of Team Plasma behind him. This one, a woman, crossed her arms. "Any chance of reaching the lead agent is nonexistent. Trust me. You'll be handing over your Pokemon. Now."
The Nuvema trainer looked at his two enemies. An ambush… this is the entire reason why he didn't want Bianca with him, thankfully she seemed to have listened to him. In the face of these two enemies, he smirked. "I have a contrary idea of what I'll do."
"How utterly adorable." The female laughed as she took a Pokeball out.
The male joined in the laughter. "You can defy Team Plasma and support your corrupt mentality all you want, but you will never defeat us."
"Funny. I don't think I'm the one with the corrupt mentality." He grabbed the Pokeball Servine was in. He smirked, by past experiences it would be almost cruel to use Servine on the grunts, but time was of the essence.
The two Plasma agents went down, and in record time. Hilbert started moving again. What he had just fought were far from the only members of Team Plasma lurking in the forest… he was not oblivious to how they seemed to be trying to stall him. He continued on, Servine and Pawniard doing a good job at dusting off what came at him.
The path was long, but not confusing at all. In time he came across what he believed was the final member of Team Plasma here. This one, rather then act in a haughty and arrogant manner, assured of his victory, instead panicked at the sight of Hilbert. A look that only strengthened as Hilbert's Pawniard single-handedly defeated both of the grunt's Patrats, and his one Sandile.
"No, no…" The grunt looked disbelieving at what had happened. "We lost the Dragon Skull… so now our… our King's desires will never come to pass."
"Good work, Hilbert." Burgh said, coming in from the side. "I heard the sound of fighting, so I knew you had found them. Lenora also came to Pinwheel Forest. Any chance of the thieves getting away with the skull are now gone."
Hilbert turned to see Lenora walking up. The Plasma grunt looked at the trio before him, looking completely miserable. "Eve-everything depended on… this operation. I-"
There was a sudden rustle, the agent jumped and turned, seeing a regally dressed man in red. Hilbert looked at this new person, and saw the Plasma insignia appearing as a mark on this elderly man's chest.
"P-Plasma Sage… Gorm." The agent hung his head in shame as he identified the man.
"How fare you, fellow servant of the King?" Gorm asked, noticing the agent's dejected body language. He turned to Hilbert and the two present Gym Leaders, and nodded, understanding. "Fret not. I came to relieve you of your duties pertaining to this assignment. Upon further research, we found that the Dragon Skull is not the Skull of the Pokemon we seek. It is an entirely unrelated creature."
The agent's eyes widened, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Gorm turned his focus to those who had dissolved this operation. "I am one of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma, Sage Gorm. Sage Ghetsis will liberate Pokemon with but words. I and the other Sages have given the order to let the common subjects liberate Pokemon with force. And… thrice now, our operations have been thwarted by the actions of a novice trainer."
He blinked, then focused on Hilbert, who seemed startled that one of Team Plasma's leaders recognized him specifically. Gorm smiled, then tilted his head slightly left, then right, and ascertained that he was talking to all three of his enemies. "The Bug Pokemon expert, Burgh, the Normal Pokemon expert, Lenora, to you, I say… know your enemies, know yourself, and know you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. Today… Team Plasma retreats."
"I don't think so." Lenora said, taking a threatening step forward. "You're under arrest."
Gorm, rather then seem intimidated, looked amused at the words. "One can frequently be so sure of victory, they lose sight of the dangers that yet remain." As he said the words, something suddenly cut through the empty air between Hilbert and the Plasma Sage. Hilbert turned and looked up, and saw a member of Team Plasma standing in the branches of a tree, beside the grunt was a Tranquill. Burgh looked at the Pokemon and narrowed his eyes, Gorm had come prepared. That Tranquill's Air Cutter would annihilate his team before his Bug types could reach the Flying type.
Gorm guffawed. "How swiftly the scales that show the balance of power can shift. I take my leave of you for now. But… one last thing that must be said." He looked, and Hilbert knew that the next words were only for him. "Those who stick their nose into Team Plasma's business, might find their nostrils ripped off."
Hilbert thought it was an odd way to put it, but understood the threat that Gorm was making. Gorm nodded, bowing in a manner that should have been respectful, but Hilbert took offense at it. The Sage and the grunt departed.
"We got the Dragon Skull back." Lenora said, crossing her arms and shaking her head. "But every member of Team Plasma slipped through our fingers." She turned to Burgh, there was something on her mind. "I need to give the other Gym Leaders a call, I had heard reports of Team Plasma being involved in Pokemon theft, but never that they did anything on this scale. Anyway, let's all head back to the museum for now."
"You… you…" Bianca looked at Hilbert and slowly approached them as he and the Gym leaders approached. Hilbert saw Bianca… and not being sure if she was about to explode in outrage or have a sobbing episode, was hesitant to approach his friend. Lenora took one look at the unfolding drama, smiled, and shoved Hilbert forward with one hand.
Hilbert was close enough to Bianca that one of them could have leaned forward and fallen on the other. Cautiously, Hilbert raised a hand, about to try and put it on Bianca's shoulder, Bianca clasped Hilbert's hand as it was still moving.
"You're not hurt in anyway?" Bianca asked. Hilbert almost felt like the bad guy as he heard the dejected tone of Bianca's voice. Hilbert shook his head.
"I-I'm fine, Bianca. Team Plasma didn't lay a finger on me. Never even scratched Servine or Pawniard either." He hoped his voice sounded reassuring. As Bianca made no reply, he was moved to say something else. "Um, I, uh… won't be so quick to leap at danger, if something like this happens again." Bianca raised her head and looked straight into Hilbert's eyes. She was good at putting a guilt trip on him. "L-look Bianca, I'm sorry I made you worry like this. Let's just… get moving to Castalia City, and nothing like this will happen again. I promise."
"I… I don't want you to tell me to stay put like that. We're traveling together, things like this might be frightening, but I want us to face them together." Bianca's voice was getting a little calmer, but she still looked hurt. She took Hilbert's hand into her own, he had protested this back in Nacrene Museum, but for now he was obligated to let her have his way for at least the next day or so. The two walked off.
Lenora laughed lightly. "Hilbert's easy prey for sensitive girls, I think." She turned to the two children that were still here. "Which one of you was the challenger, again?"
Cheren stepped forward. "This will be my second badge, after I already got Striaton's badge."
"We'll see if you get the badge or not." Lenora smiled, then tilted her head. "You know, we were in a hurry earlier, so I didn't get a good look at you then. Hmm…" Lenora leaned in, Cheren took an evasive step back.
"Maybe I married too early." Lenora said sweetly. Cheren flinched, and very uncomfortable sounding noises came from the side, Lenora turned. "Joking, Hawes, dear. Joking."