Me: Okay, I admit that most of the month of April went 'kaput' before I wrote and uploaded this new chapter. But when I finally got in the mood to write, I worked earnestly on this,started on the next chapter and planned another for the month of May... All in one night of lost sleep. I decided to rely on my secret technique... The 'no energy' frenzy attack! ;) (As well as a bowl of ice cream, a cupcake, several jelly beans... To name but a few of the things I ingested all in one night. XP )
Allan: Hey... Where's the Knight? Wasn't he supposed to be here now to be your co-host?
Me: Co-host? When we decide that!?
Allan: Never mind. I'll just take care of the disclaimer now...
Lady does not own: Pokémon, the Locations you can find on an Official Pokémap, the non-original characters that aren't her own, and... Yup. You guessed it. Lady does not own toast.
Me: Thanks, Allan. And now to all I present! Chapter Eight!
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Chapter Eight:
Amid These Strange Things
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Lucario kneeled to gather her thoughts. She sensed that she had made a clean escape.
Her first thought, as she gazed out at the nighttime city, was for Riley. The life-friend she had to leave behind.
She rose from her kneeling position and walked easily onward. Passing a small gang of wild ally Shinx that were having a minor territory dispute, they paused long enough in their peaceful argument to glance in her direction.
An undersized Luxio stepped into Lucario's path and barked, "Lu-Luxio..." : 'Um, hi there...'
Lucario looked at the Luxio. This Pokémon didn't seem likely to move until Lucario heard what it had to say. 'At any rate, I'm in no condition to be fighting... Even a small threat like this Luxio becomes a problem when I'm this tired.'
"Lu~~xio." : 'You look like you've been through a lot.' That sure hit the nail on the head! Lucario sniffed impatiently.
"Lux! Lu-luxio, Lux!" : 'And hungry too! Here, I'll show you a good place to grab a bite to eat!'
Luxio turned and trotted off, followed closely by a small faction of Shinx. Leading the way toward the southwestern region of Veilstone city.
'How interesting,' Lucario thought, following willingly, 'I was heading this direction for different reasons, but this will do fine.'
"Lux!" : 'Good!' Luxio barked once and said no more for the rest of the run south, and then west.
They passed several thickly populated areas, one of them clanging and flashing gaudily, but still just as congested as any of the previous locals.
'It seems there are many humans who enjoy visiting that place.' Lucario chuffed
"Shi-Shinx! Shinx-Shi-Shinx." A small female who was yellow, rather than blue, piped up; 'Oh, yes! There are lots of humans who like that place.'
"Shinx, Shin-Shin, Shinx!" : 'Some people go there all year round!'
'I see...' Still pacing along with the small pride, Lucario noted the increase in plant-life and small homes.
They were leaving the main city now, and were seeing more and more small ranches and farms.
Soon, that broke up altogether to give way to wilderness. The large Aura that Lucario had been tracking, was still straight ahead, becoming closer with every step. As the small pride, plus one, roved ever closer, the large Aura became two. Both Auras flared and rejoined, boosting their individual strengths to five times their original power level!
Lucario smiled at the familiarity between Pokémon and Trainer. Although a little unrefined, their connection as partners, and fighters, was clear.
"A little more to the left, Lucario!" Cried a young female voice commandingly!
"Now! Use 'Aura Sphere'!" Shouted the voice again, as the pride rounded a small stand of trees and bushes.
The girl's partner turned defensively to face them, and growled a warning; 'Don't take a single step forward until I tell you!'
"Relax, Lucario. It's just Luxio's pride, coming over from the city to visit." The young Gym Leader, Maylene, smiled at the Shinx that crowded around her, "Actually, you guys look hungry! How about we all go back to the gym, and I'll find you all a snack?"
The second half of Maylene's speech was lost on Lucario as she locked gazes with the large male who stared right back.
'Why have you come here?' he asked.
'You should know very well 'why', Rex.' Lucario answered back.
The two Pokémon continued to stare at one another, until Maylene stepped into their silent glare-down, "Hey, you two! Are you coming back with us to get a snack, or what!?"
Both Lucario ascended the path to the gym in silence. Neither voicing any thoughts about their shared history.
"So... You're cousin Riley's, Lucario, right? I guess I'm going to have to call Rex by his proper nickname for a while." Maylene was looking back at the pair of surly Pokémon, "But, wow! It sure looks like you've been through a lot. Where's cousin Riley?"
'I take it she still has yet to learn how to hear our telepathy.' Lucario blinked.
'Unfortunately.' Rex grunted in response, 'Even with the training we do daily, she still hasn't managed to overcome this barrier she has with it.'
'Then I guess I won't be able to rely on her for help... Is there any way I can get into contact with Riley's parents through her?' Lucario sighed.
'You mean her Aunt Rhonda and Uncle Baily?' Rex turned to face Lucario with a look of surprise.
'What?' she asked, annoyed that he had gone back to starring at her.
'I don't know... The last time you met his parents, wasn't there this huge incident with you at the center?' Rex pressed.
'That was an accident, and you played an important role in that 'incident', yourself!' Lucario could have blushed with fury at the injustice of Rex's insinuation.
Really! The nerve of that guy!
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Later...
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Ascending the stairs to the gym's interior, Maylene headed off to a side door that led into the kitchen, closely followed by Rex, Lucario and Luxio.
"What do you think of this, Rex?"
He looked at the Pokéfood Maylene was pointing out, and chuffed noncommittally.
"Geez! A lot of help you are!" Maylene grimaced, taking a few of the cans of Pokéfood down anyway, and dividing their contents into several bowls.
"Back to what I was saying earlier, though..." Maylene talked as she set the bowls out and handed one to Lucario, then looked up to face her, "Lucario, aren't you supposed to be with my cousin?"
The Pokémon sighed. Although Aura pantomimes aren't easy, Maylene was no fool. Surely she would understand quickly enough, if Lucario only maintained understanding and patience with the girl-trainer.
But a long night was ahead of them both, as Lucario began to attempt to explain all that had happened.
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In the shadow of the Galactic headquarters in Eterna, Gallade raised a cautious hand and sensed about them as they crouched behind scrubby brambles, that passed for bushes, immediately next to the doors leading in to the building's inner workings.
'It seems that they aren't as stupid as we first thought, Master Allan.' The Pokémon smirked.
'I'm going to let that slide this time... But if you call me that again, I'll rely on Lapras to fight alongside me instead!' Allan frowned seriously, 'But you are correct about one thing. The security here is actually somewhat impressive. I didn't expect for them to be so tightly nit... We may have to break a window!'
Gallade quickly clapped both hands over his own mouth, to keep from laughing out loud!
It had been a while since Allan had joked about convenient entrances. And this one was pretty good, considering how long it had been!
'Geez, Gallade. Was it really that funny?' Allan had a perturbed look on his face, 'You will be able to calm down quickly... Right?'
'Hehe, yes, Allan. I'm fine. I think I have an idea, actually.' Gallade pointed to a Rattata and it's buddies digging around underneath the scrubby bushes, and then approached the wild Pokémon.
"Ra-rattata. Rattata!" : 'Hey! You guys have got to dig more to the left!' The Pokémon was chattering away at his friends, when a shadow fell over them.
'Excuse me,' Gallade said when all four of them turned, surprised by his sudden appearance.
"Ratta!? Ratta-ta-ta!" : 'Who are you!? If you came for a fight, you'll get one!' Promptly, all four started to jump up at Gallade, and attacked!
Gallade wasn't prepared to deal with a sudden Rattata assault, but he deflected all their attempts to maim him, just the same as any other freak attack you'd receive on Spire Island.
'Hold on, there! I didn't come over here for a fight!' Gallade blocked a 'Hyper Fang' from the lead Rattata and continued by saying, 'We were hoping you'd be interested in helping us break into that ugly building over there!'
When the Rattata stopped attacking to look where Gallade was pointing, the leader said, "Rat-ta? Rattata, Rat-ta!" : 'That building? We want to tear it down, because the people who built it there took away our friends!'
'Your friends were taken away?' Gallade blinked surprised.
"Ratta-ta!" : 'That's right!' One of the leader's buddies cried suddenly, "Rattata, Ratta-Ratta~!" : 'Not only that, our friends used to live here before those bullies did!'
'That's terrible,' Gallade frowned sympathetically, 'But if that's how you feel, then maybe it isn't actually a good idea for me to seek your help... I wouldn't like it if you got hurt because you wanted revenge for your friends...'
"Rattata~!" : 'Even if you don't like it, we already know your plans!' The leader said, "Ra~tta, Rattata~!" : 'So if we want to help, you can't just say 'no', and that's that!'
Too late. Gallade realized his earlier mistake and conceded that this Rattata leader, was quite the devious little rat, indeed!
"It may not be such a bad idea to let them help anyway Gallade. They're willing enough, and if we find what we are looking for quickly, we'll come back and help them out if they get in trouble... What do you say to that?" Allan had decided that the Rattata could probably take care of themselves, if they were smart enough to say they'd do something, regardless of Gallade's wishes.
'... I'm not happy about this, but we need to infiltrate that building...' Gallade turned to look at the double doors, and said, 'When I give the signal, you all run inside and start creating chaos. Got it?'
"Ratta-ta!" : 'No problem!' They all chirped simultaniously.
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Meanwhile...
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"Man... This 'Door Watch' gig is more boring than Commander Jupiter's underwear!" One of the Galactic grunts complained irately.
"Dude, you've seriously seen the Commander in her underwear?" His partner asked in a curious mix of disgust and awe.
"No, you nitwit!" The first grunt smacked the second over the head, and turned away grumbling, "Teenagers... I swear! ... Getting more and more stupid every day..."
"Rrrattataaa!"
"Huh?" Both grunts looked down simultaneously to see four Rattata glaring up at them.
"The hell's up with these worthless rats?" The first grunt asked annoyed.
The second grunt poked one with his buzz stave, and snickered, "Hey, hehehe, you think they want a piece of us?"
"Idiot!" Growled the first as he kicked one of the Rattata away. A grave mistake. The Rattata hadn't been planning to attack if they thought those grunts would leave them alone long enough for their new friends to pass unnoticed. But that was not how it happened, and the Rattata, led by their pack leader, attacked with a fury!
"Yeearrggh!" The two grunts who were supposed to be watching the entryway, were now busy fending off the small, but ferocious, Pokémon!
'Quickly, Gallade! While there's still time!' Allan darted past the fray, and charged up some stairs. Looking always for a more secret route to the top floors, his Partner alongside him, the young Dark Squire made it to the second floor without incident. Indeed, without incident, and into shadowy silence.
'The ventilation system is too small to squeeze into for stealthy penetration,' Gallade noted with a small frown.
'Don't worry about that,' Allan indicated the halls ahead, 'I'm more concerned with why we haven't run into anyone yet...'
It occurred to Gallade that the emptiness in the hallways was very suspicious. Not to mention how many lights were off; It may as well have been a high tech cave!
'It is rather quiet,' The Pokémon whispered his telepathy for effect, 'I can sense now, that we may have missed quite a lot of people by at least a day or two... If their Aura's impression on the place is any hint.'
'Perhaps... But that doesn't mean this building has been deserted by them... Yet.'
The quiet hum of computer technology was undisturbed, as they proceeded to move more carefully to the next checkpoint. 'Something of value must remain in this tacky place, or why would they bother posting guards at the main entrances? Unless...'
Gallade leapt into position long before the Aura rounded the corner. Preparing to attack, both human, and Pokémon, tensed as it moved closer. And then...!
"Bun-Buneary..." The little fluff-ball of a Pokémon stepped into view with a sad, lost look on her face.
"A Buneary?" Allan whispered, stumped as to why such a Pokémon would be wandering around this dingy place.
"Bunneeee!" She cried at the sight them, turning to run away. Gallade moved quickly, and caught her by the paws before she could escape.
"Bun! Buneary, bun-Eary!" : 'Leggo! You let go of me right now, or I'll pound you!' She squeaked and struggled, trying to break free of Gallade's hold.
'Please hold still,' Gallade said gently, 'We mean you no harm, and I'm sure you didn't intend to attack us either.'
"Bun-neh?" She stopped struggling and looked at them again, "Bun, Buneary." : 'Okay, put me down please.'
Setting her down, Gallade continued by saying, 'You really took us by surprise, miss. Why were you wandering around a place like this anyway?'
"Buneary! Bun-Eary, bun-Bun..." : 'It's not like I have a choice! I was kidnapped by the bad people who live here, usually...'
"Kidnapped?" Allan looked carefully at her in the dim lighting, "You mean by the people who call themselves, 'Team Galactic'?"
"Buneary, Bun-bun!" : 'Yeah, those are the ones!' Shadowed as the halls were, the poor light did not hide Buneary's tears of frustration at being taken from her home, "Bun-bun!" : 'I want to go home!'
'Hush for now, little one, I'm sure we can help you to go home...' Gallade stroked her head and glanced at Allan apprehensively.
"We'll do it, but not right away," Allan looked Buneary in the eyes, "There's some info we've got to find before we leave this place, because we are trying to find someone else that Team Galactic took."
"Buneary, Bun..." : 'Wow, how awful...'
"Heh. If he hasn't already gotten away, he's most likely been giving them ripe headaches for trying to keep him locked up!" Allan smirked for effect, though he couldn't really be sure the Aura Knight was alive, let alone kicking them in the behinies. But it was a pleasant thought.
"'Neary, Bu-Buneary?" : '"Info", you mean like paper with human words 'n things all over it?' Buneary looked earnestly at her fate-provided rescuers.
'Yes, do you know where we can find it?' Feeling hopeful, Allan's partner took Buneary's paw, and said, 'Please, lead the way! We'll protect you if trouble pops up.'
"Bun!" : 'Okay!' Buneary hopped off to the end of the hall she had first arrived from, once there, she turned and beckoned for them to follow.
'I don't need any second bidding. I think Buneary knows what she's doing.' Gallade smiled happily.
"Neither do I. Let's move!" Allan hastened after the smaller Pokémon leading them. Turning corners, climbing stairs, sneaking past the odd guard, they finally made it to what seemed to be the top floor of the Eterna HQ for the criminal organization.
"Bun-Buneary!" : 'There, that's it!' Their little guide whispered, looking around the door frame into an improvised office.
On the cheap desk, made up of cinder blocks and plywood, sat an out-dated computer and printer, next to piles of papers and folders.
Checking around for any cameras to disable, Allan moved forward into the office, and over to the desk.
Keeping watch, with his senses wide open, Gallade sighed at the prospect of searching through the piles of useless paper, looking only for a report on recent captives. Human, or Pokémon.
"Buneary, bun-Bun?" : 'Hey, um, how long is this going to take?'
'It depends... If these Galactic goons had any sense of organization, this wouldn't have taken a minute,' Gallade was starting to get uncomfortable just sitting around and waiting. He added, 'But until we find what we came for, or something similar to give us some clues as to where to go next, we can't just quit and leave.'
"Buneary, 'neary Buneary!" : 'Oh wow, you guys are actually pretty cool!' Buneary seemed quite impressed, until she looked down and sighed, "Bun Buneary..." : 'But my Trainer...'
'What happened?' Gallade asked patiently, glad of something to take his mind off of the stress of just waiting.
"Buneary... Bun-bun Bun, 'neary Buneary." : 'It's just... He hasn't come to get me, not even once.'
'Oh,' Almost regretting that he'd asked, he said, 'I'm sorry to hear that... Are you worried if he's alright or not?'
"'Neary. Bun bun, Buneary." : 'I guess. But what I really wanted, was for him to at least try to save me sooner.' Buneary sighed again, and sat down to wait for Allan's return from the office.
Allan had heard the whole conversation, and wondered about how similar his own situation seemed. He picked up a folder and looked inside. 'Nothing of importance here,' he thought dismayed, setting it aside.
'Well, unlike Buneary, at least I had a friend to rely on... But still, it's wrong that there're people and Pokémon being taken from their homes and families.' A new folder, with more useless info about berries... 'Berries?' Allan rolled his eyes and kept looking.
'I wonder if anyone was badly hurt when I was taken by the Dark Knights...' He opened another, '%#$!?' Allan quickly shut the folder he glanced into and shuddered, cheeks aflame. 'That's not something I ever want to see again, anytime soon!' He thought this, while trying to get the image of two men making out, out of his head. 'Who reads stuff like that anyway!?'
'When we get out of this, I definitely plan on personally returning Buneary to her Trainer.' Yet another folder. Allan almost didn't look inside, out of spite for the Team Galactic filing system. But when he did, "Bingo!" He whispered aloud.
'What did you find?' Gallade asked from his post at the door.
"A 'Recent Captivity Report', dated yesterday." Allan had a small smile on his face as he quickly scanned the page's contents, and continued to the next one underneath the first, "It says here, that there haven't been any prisoners in the last day or so, but that there had been one the day before yesterday... Yes! 'Mysterious male, once seen on Iron Island when Mars' small freight ship was sabotaged. Has been seen with a Lucario twice, including the incident mentioned above'... This is our Knight!"
'What else does it say about him. Anything on where they might have taken him?' Gallade looked over his shoulder at Allan briefly, and then turned back to keep watch until Allan had finished righting his mess.
"Better than that," Allan put the folder down and started piling things back to the way they were... Sort of.
Stepping out to start the trek back to the entrance, he continued so that Gallade would understand, "It says that the central HQ for Team Galactic activity... Is in Veilstone city, and that he's been taken there, by that Commander Mars!"
'I get it.' The Pokémon nodded, 'We were headed to the central head quarters of Team Galactic anyway. This is almost like striking two Burmy with one stone!'
"Exactly. And now we're going to get there in the fastest way possible." Allan, once again, looked determined. Gallade felt a shiver down his back. Finally. Their objective interceded with their desire to help the Knight. And they would waste no time in doing so!
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Later...
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Outside of the Team Galactic Eterna base, Allan and Gallade were waving their goodbyes to the helpful little gang of Rattata.
'Take care of yourselves.' Gallade called one last time, and waved.
"Rat-ta!" : 'Sure thing!' They answered, feeling very proud of themselves for chasing those Galactic goons right out of their own HQ, and up a tree.
"Oh, it's Buneary! Buneary!!!" A young trainer came running up to the remaining trio of friends, and hugged his once lost partner, relieved to see she was alright.
"You... Did you two save my, Buneary?" He asked, looking from Allan to Gallade, with something close to awe, "I can't believe it. I thought she was lost for sure, when those bullies from Team Galactic, kidnapped her!"
Although he'd hesitated at first, Allan found himself answering the lad with ease, "I wouldn't worry too much about her; She had actually gotten out of her cage, and was wandering around when we found her. We didn't really want to leave her behind to get caught again, so we took her with us until we could find you."
"Really!? Wow... Maybe you're a tough kind of Buneary, after all!" He said, looking down at the Pokémon he was still hugging close.
"Bun-Buneary!" : 'Of course, I'm as tough as Buneary get!'
"I wonder... Is there anything I can do in return for you helping me, and Buneary?"
"Not if you can't tell me the fastest route to get to Veilstone city." Allan replied, feeling relaxed about letting this total stranger know about where he was headed.
"Veilstone city? Well... The fastest way would take you through Mt Coronet, one way or the other. But the easiest route passes just north of Solaceon town, if you cross directly through the rocky foothills to the north of Mt Coronet," The Trainer shrugged, "Either way, the trip's more than two days walk, from here to Veilstone."
"I see," Allan and Gallade exchanged looks, "Thanks for the info. Try not to lose your Buneary again, alright?"
Turning to leave, Dark Squire and partner both, knew that time was of the essence if they really wanted to save the Aura Knight.
'We'll have to hurry...' Allan thought unhappily.
'Just don't forget to get enough sleep, Master Allan. I really don't like it when you over work yourself.'
'Shut up!'
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Me: Okay, boys, sorry about the you-know-what earlier. I couldn't resist. Really! That Commander Jupiter is so stiff and emotionless, that she's just got to be hiding a few kinks!
As for me, I'm not really bothered by that kind of thing much, but I promise that won't happen again anytime soon. So don't quit reading because of that. It wasn't even graphic!
Allan: Define 'graphic'... That was more than I wanted to discover, you know! What if I'm scarred for life!?
Me: Don't worry. If it never happens again, I'm sure you'll be fine. -.-;
Allan: You'd better hope that it never happens again, or I'm leaving!
Me: What are you talking about? Without you, the story will never end. And you'll never discover who you really are.
Anyway, fans, we've got an extra special guest this evening to do the 'Review call'. So now I'm reintroducing... Shigeru Ookido(Gary Oak)!
Shigeru: Why am I doing this? I'm not even in this story... Come to think of it, is this story even in the same universe!?
Me: Don't you worry now, you'll be just fine! (Hides inter dimensional teleporter that brought him here, under the sofa!)
Shigeru: (Not fooled for a minute!) If I cooperate and read this, will you send me back?
Me: Affirmative!
Shigeru: Fine... Let's see now... (Puts his best show skills on!)
Lady U, shouting out to all her readers who reviewed past, and present, chapters! To: yuki-neechan, Yereton, rolypolycat, Taylor Shayminluvr, Selhyia, Sanada'srose, and Silver-Love14! Thank you all for your reviews! Because whether you're giving criticism or encouragement, you're opinions are appreciated! Remember to review, and don't miss out on one of life's most important requirements... Sleep!
Me: Thanks a bunch! Oh, and don't blame me if your hair turns into an afro on the way back... These liddle gadgets aren't perfect yet!
Shigeru: What!?
Me: (Zaps him with the IDT!) Until next time people!