Hatching Eggs

by Pagen Godess

No one can ever hope to understand why they stand with us as little more than slaves when they could whipe us from the face of the Earth. Slight Transfomers/Pokemon X-over. On hold due to lack of proper computer.

2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The streets of Washington D.C were crowded with people. A mixture of tourists, pedestrians, government officials, and people trying to get to work. The last was the case for a woman who looked like she hadn't been up very long.

"Chu, rai rai." Maggie Madison turned so that she was looking at the disgruntled form of her Raichu. Sleeping in the bushes hadn't set very well with either of them but she was fairly sure that it had annoyed her Raichu more than it had her especially considering the fact that he'd been used as a pillow. Hiding from landlords looking for tenants that were crazy late on paying their rent wasn't an easy thing to do. Running fingers through her green streaked hair Maggie turned her attention to her current companion.

"I'm well aware that your not happy with me Sparky but if we don't hurry I'm going to be late." Maggie said her Australian accent clear. Sparky simply crossed his short arms and turned his head away sparks flying from the yellow circles on his cheeks and long lightning bolt tail lashing back and forth. Maggie rolled her eyes and continued to try and hail a taxi.

She was late enough as it was and with every passing moment her being fired became more likely than it had been the moment before. When a taxi finally pulled up to the curb where she was standing Maggie was only half relieved.

"Well get in." Maggie ordered as her eyes shifted to the still pouting Sparky. Sparky's tail lashed behind him once before he was jumping into the backseat followed closely by Maggie. Passengers inside the taxi pulled out into traffic and stopped.

"Twelve Hundred South Haynes Street. I'm in a crazy hurry." Maggie said to the driver. The man looked slightly amused and when he spoke it was with an accent that she couldn't place.

"Observe the traffic Miss Lady and note the time of day." he smiled into the rearview mirror. "I will make as rapid a progress as the gods allow." It was a polite answer that was more common in D.C. than in most other places she'd been. Politeness however wasn't going to get her to work any faster.

Taking a moment to scratch Sparky behind an ear Maggie reached for the purse that was on the Raichu's other side. Setting it on her lap and began digging for her cell phone. Upon finding it she pulled it from her bag and hit speed dial. The person she was calling was a far cry from a god but there was a good chance that he'd be of help.

ooo

Glen Whitman answered his desk phone. This sadly required him to put aside the wireless mouse that he'd been using for a task that was vastly different than his now frantic hiding of what was on his computer screen. Pushing the mouth full of half chewed Fruity Pebbles to his left cheek with his tongue Glen was thankful that no one was around to see him or even worse take a picture.

"Y'ello." he said into his phone. The voice that answered sounded half annoyed and half panicked.

ooo

"It's about time." Maggie snapped as she looked at the traffic out of the front window. A large assortment of various vehicles sat between her and where she needed to be. She'd seen Snorlax that moved faster.

"Glen it's me." Maggie glanced to the side to see that even Sparky looked slightly annoyed at the unmoving traffic as well. His face was an inch from the window nearest to him and he was sending the vehicle across from them a look that clearly stated that he blamed it for their current state of stillness. No one would ever say that he wasn't her pokémon.

"I'm in a crazy hurry and traffic blows. Can you patch me into Traffic Patrol." Shifting her phone between her ear and shoulder Maggie worked her laptops keyboard while waiting for Glen to reply.

ooo

"Again?" The fact that Maggie was late didn't surprise him at all. In fact more often than not it seemed like she was late for every thing. "You're always late. How'd you get a job at a think tank without knowing how to set an alarm clock?"

Glen said as he turned to look around his cubicle to be sure that he was alone. He was, almost. While there were no other humans present the two pokémon that were hovering a few inches from the floor had shifted their attention from were it had been to their trainer.

Bright pink and blue and looking like several ovals put together with added duckbills were Terabyte, his Porygon2, and Gigabyte, his Porygon-Z. The sight of the pair gave him another question.

"Don't you have a Porygon? Can't Kilobit help you with this?"

ooo

"I don't have time for this.' Maggie thought as she shifted slightly in her seat. "I wasn't oversleeping. I spent the night hiding in a bush with Sparky. I was hiding from my landlord because I owe that much rent. And as for Kilobit I don't think it'd be wise for me to have him out where the world can see him and I doubt that Sparky would appreciate the new appearance in such a small space. Besides Kilobit's not really meant for hacking he's meant for code." Maggie paused to take a breath before continuing.

"As you would well know considering I rescued him from you." Sadly enough it was true. She'd taken Kilobit from Glen to prevent it from becoming another super hacker to help her friend with games and whatever else his nerdy heart desired at that particular moment and she had no intention of giving him back anytime soon. In fact she was almost sure that Kilobit probably wouldn't ever be going back to the chubby hacker.

ooo

Finally swallowing the mass of Fruity Pebbles that had stayed in his cheek Glen hoped that their absence would help his feeling be conveyed better. "Don't do this to me Maggie." he almost begged. "They almost tracked us last time.

ooo

Maggie was ready to scream and she was half tempted too only there was the small fact that if she did she'd alert the cab driver that she was doing something not quite legal. Though by looking at him from where she sat she was almost sure that he had no interest in what was going on with his passenger.

"Glen stop eating your Fruity Pebbles and help me. If my brief isn't turned in by four I'm done and over with. And if I get fired I'm crashing at your place." Maggie's voice came out as an annoyed snarl. Sparky actually turned to look at her from where he was window gazing.

ooo

Usually Maggie being annoyed with him was enough to get him to do whatever she wanted him to do. Not this time however. This time he refused to be cowed by the blonde. "No. Not gonna happen. My Grandma doesn't like it when my game buddies come over. She'd freak if one tried to live with me and unlike in video games her weapons are real."

Having said his piece Glen took a moment to take a bite from his bowl of Fruity Pebbles. He was waiting for Maggie to get really mad at him and he was quite sure that she'd be yelling any second. Only she didn't yell. A sigh came over the phone before she resumed the conversation with him.

"How about I have lunch with you all week?" Glen straightened in his chair. Having lunch with Maggie might just get him somewhere with the rest of the worlds female population.

"You'll say my name and pretend I'm smooth." It wasn't a question but a condition. There was silence for a moment.

"Yes." Glen was almost positive that Maggie had just rolled her eyes.

"You'll introduce me should a cute friend or acquaintance walk by?" It was a question that time because he was sure that he was pushing his luck.

"You want a pint of my blood too Glen? Yes, now patch me into traffic control."

Glen was already typing away at his keyboard. "Get ready."

The words 'ROUTE TRAFFIC PREEMPTION SYSTUM TO REMOTE SERVER' had appeared.

ooo

The Secretary of Defense looked out at the room full of analyzers and rubbed a hand across his face before looking down at his companion.

"I think we're getting a little to old for this don't you Auron?" The noise that left his companion was something between a bark and growl that conveyed laughter quite well. Keller chuckled as well sending a smile towards the being that had been one of his partners for years.

Though his black and blue fur had dulled with age his eyes were still a deep red. His legs were black up to his thigh were black stopped and blue started. The fur of his torso was mostly blue outlined in black except for his chest which was a creamy yellow color. Spikes of bone protruded from a spot on his chest and the backs of his black colored front paws. A pair of dewdrop shaped appendages hung from both sides of his head from behind his ears and a faded black mask covered his eyes.

He was a Lucario just past his prime and though age had dulled his senses a little he was still more than battle worthy. Auron stood tall besides his trainer as they walked out to the podium in front of the gathered analysts. Keller's eyes swept over the large group. So many of them were young barley in their twenties.

"They're so young." A man standing to his right leaned in and whispered in his ear.

"They're the top subject matter analysts sir. NSA's recruiting right out of high school these days." Keller nodded more to acknowledge what the man had told him than to thank him. Taking a deep breath Keller addressed the group in front of him his voice clear and loud.

"At zero nine hundred yesterday the SOCCENT Forward Operations Base in western Qatar was attacked. There was no warning and insofar as we have been able to determine, there were no survivors." Murmurs filled the room with sound as the crowed before him reacted to the news. Many of the younger analysts turned to talk to their teams. Auron gave a soft whine at Keller's side. His maters distress could be felt clearly in the older man's aura.

Keller gave them a moment to absorb the information and quiet down. He had no desire to try and stop them from speaking, at least not yet. It didn't even take a minute for the slight chatter to die down and for everyone's attention to focus back on him.

"Post-assault analysis had determined that the objective was to hack our Military network. We're not sure what they were after but thanks to some quick thinking by the personal present, the attempt was stopped during the assault. Which means that they're going to try again." Keller paused for a few seconds so that what he was telling the crowd could be processed and so that should they start speaking again he wouldn't be interrupted. No one spoke.

"So far no one has claimed responsibility for the attack and the only clue we have is this sound." The noise that sounded seconds after Keller's sentence had ended was an unearthly shriek. Murmurs broke out for a few seconds before the room went quiet again. Keller continued.

"That's the signal that hacked our network. NSA's working at full capacity to analyze it. So far they've been unsuccessful. We need your help to find out who did this." Keller leaned forward.

"You're all here because you're the best in you respected fields. This is voluntary. You don't have to be here." Keller nodded to his left where a door sat waiting to be used. "This is voluntary. If you don't want to be part of this then you need to leave now. No marks positive or negative will be left on your records. There are vehicles waiting outside to escort you back to your place of work."

It was dead silent in the room. Nobody moved and it seemed as if nobody was going to move. It was impressive in a way that none of them were going to leave. A small smile crossed Keller's lips.

"We're on a hair trigger here people. The president has already dispatched full battle groups to the Arabian Gulf and the Yellow Sea. This is as real as it gets." Keller turned to leave the podium only to stop and turn back. He looked out over the crowd for a moment before offering them a halfhearted good luck.

ooo

The desert wind whipped sand into the faces of the soldiers and child that had barley managed to escape Blackout's attack on their base. The group stood around the demolished form of a tank. Epps and Donnely stood close together studying the picture that was on the screen of the thermal imager that was in Epps's hands.

The image shown made no sense to either of the military men. For surrounding the shape that took up most of the picture was some sort of electrified aura that should have interfered with the beings own function but for whatever reason hadn't.

"Man I ain't never seen anything like this. It's like there's some kind of invisible force field around the exoskeleton." Epps said as he looked at the picture from a few different angles. Donnely snorted in amusement.

"There's no such thing as invisible force fields except in comic books. Right?" Nobody answered. Lennox walked over to the pair and pulled the imager out of Epps's hand so that he could take a look.

"We don't even have rumors about anything like this thing being in the works." Shaking his head he handed the imager back to Epps. There was silence for a moment before Fig spoke up.

"My momma had the 'gift' y'know? She saw things and I got the gene too. That thing that attacked us, I gotta feeling that it ain't over." Several gazes fixed on the Spanish man and more than a few heads shook.

"How about you use those magic voodoo powers to get us the hell out of here." Donnely said as he cleaned a smear off of his glasses. The lenses catching the sun for a moment as he moved to put them back on. Fig shot the smaller man a look and half rose from where he'd been cleaning his weapon. Lennox moved in-between the pair before they even had a chance to start a fight. Now wasn't the time for such things.

The two of them could battle it out later either with fists or with pokémon. They had other things to do first.

"Don't start. You two can duke it out later. After we get things figured out." The two men backed down rather reluctantly.

"When I took that picture I think it saw me." Heads turned towards Epps. He was staring up into the sky as if remembering the moment. "I mean it looked right at me." Epps shivered at the memory despite the heat around him. Lennox spoke sounding grave.

"If that thing did see you take it picture then that means that it's defiantly not over yet. That thing came in camouflaged and it destroyed everything. That thing doesn't want anyone knowing that it here. We need to get this picture to the Pentagon as fast as we can." Lennox turned to Epps.

"Have you tried sending it electronically again?" he asked. Epps nodded.

"Ya but it was a no go. We're in one big dead zone. Nothing electronic coming in or going out. No satellite either. Hell, we're lucky that our pokéballs still work. Once we get closer to Qatar City I should be able to grab a Wi-Fi signal and send it. Until then were carrier Pidgey."

Lennox made a face. They needed a way to get to Qatar City faster. There were one or two among them that had pokémon big enough to fide but they hadn't been trained for it. And so far as he knew only him and Epps had trained flying pokémon. They were short on weapons too not counting their pokémon of course.

And he still wasn't too sure if their pokémon would be affective against whatever they were up against. Though he supposed that electric types might do good against it. It was a theory that he'd let them in one once they were moving again.

"We need to get moving." Lennox said and turned to Mahfouz. The kid had been listening to them talk. "Hey Mahfouz how far do you live from here?" The youngster pushed hair out of his eye's before turning and pointing.

"Just over the next hill." Lennox nodded. And turned to his men.

"All right men. Lets get going. I want a five meter spread. Keep a look out for anything metal." Lennox paused as if realizing something. "We need scouts in the sky fellows. Whose willing?"

His men looked at him for a moment before Epps, Fig and Salani pulled balls from their belts. Lennox nodded while reaching for his own belt. It was likely that none of the others had flying types. That or they didn't want to risk them should the thing they'd fought against at the base return. Six beams of red light filled the air.

Six pokémon hovered in the air before him. Blue on top and red of the bottom the eagle like form of his Braviary, Valiant fixed him with a gaze from dark eyes.

The silver form of Epps's Skarmory, Storm shined brightly metallic feathers reflecting the suns rays. Lennox frowned slightly.

Fig had just released half of his team but it was the man's choice and not his. There was the fat crow like form of Metzli, his Honchkrow, The odd form of Aztec, a Xatu, stared straight ahead as if seeing something that they couldn't, Lennox wasn't sure if should've been worried or not. And last from Fig's team was the half bird half reptile form of Quetzal, an Archeops.

The only one among the group that wasn't actually a bird or half bird in Quetzal's case was the large dragonfly like form of Salani's Yanmega.

As far as Lennox knew he had all of their attention. It was hard to tell with Aztec but he seemed to be listening.

"All right I need you guys to fly above us and watch out for anything shiny." A sharp and slightly joyful cawing sound came from the large form of Metzli. Fig shook his head at his pokémon.

"No its not something that you can keep. We're looking for an enemy that's made of metal." Metzli cawed at her trainer and puffed up her chest clearly annoyed by the lack of getting something shiny. Lennox shook his head before making a motion with his arm. All but one of the pokémon took off. All of the military men eyes Aztec as if they weren't sure what to do. Fig blushed slightly and shook his head.

"Well get going Aztec. We need your help too." Aztec turned it's head so that it was looking at it's trainer before turning it slightly. It blinked once and then took off to join the others in the sky. That small oddity being done and over with Lennox turned and looked at his men and Mahfouz.

"Lets get going."

ooo

The TV in their kitchen had her complete and total attention and so did the man that was currently on the screen speaking.

"At this time we can't confirm if there were any survivors but our prayers are with the families of the brave men and women stationed at SOCCENT Forward." The man speaking paused so that reporter that sat off screen could catch up on their not taking. Half a minute later he resumed speaking.

"Given the seriousness of this ugly and unprovoked attack, the gravity of the offense, and the casualties apparently suffered, the president and the Congress have concurred with the Joint Chiefs that all American bases domestic and worldwide should now go to DEFCON Delta, our highest level of military readiness." The speakers words held no comfort for Sarah Lennox. Because as far as she knew her husband was dead.

Killed in an attack on the base where he'd been stationed at for far too long. It seemed unfair that an attack should happen just weeks before her husband was scheduled to come home. Fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall Sarah turned towards the highchair that was holding her daughter. As if sensing her mothers distress the baby started crying.

Sarah sniffed, stood, and pulled Annabelle out of her chair and carried her around the room in a vain attempt to calm the baby.

"Daddy's okay. Shhh. Daddy's okay. " She said this over and over in a vain attempt to make herself believe it.

ooo

The Morning Star Pokémon Preserve wasn't huge as preserves of any sort went. Just a few hundred acres of land that was mostly forest, a single river, three lakes, and an unnumbered amount of ponds. The land had belonged to the Taylor family since forever and at least one member of the family always lived in the a house on the land.

The family, though not very large, was well known in their part of the country for people had spread rumors about a family that could see into the hearts of both people and pokémon. Though they seemed to specialize more in reading pokémon. Many believed that they had been blessed by Arceus and through him they were given their powers, though it was never proven. Some even said that the family was involved in magic.

No one knew why or how they could do what they did. What people at the time hadn't known was that the Taylor's were empaths for at the time the rumors spread there hadn't been any sort of classification for psychics. They used the land for many years as a place of healing for both human and pokémon alike.

Unfortunately there was an attack on the family by a group of men that were searching for something the Taylor's were said to guard. What they were looking for remains unknown. Sadly after the attack on the family they closed their doors to any who came seeking healing, only caring for the wild pokémon that lived on their land.

Sometime a couple hundred years later one of the Taylor's had their land turned into a preserve for abandoned, abused, and injured pokémon. The land once again became a place for pokémon to heal in body, mind, and on more than one occasion heart.

Then sometime in the past seventy years one of the Taylor's, a child it is said, decided to get into the business of taking in unwanted pokémon eggs from breeders and keeping them until they hatched. After hatching the baby pokémon would be taken care of until they were old enough to battle (two to three months) and then a home would be found for them and if one couldn't be found then they stayed at the preserve.

The preserve is still used for the purpose of nurturing and healing though the responsibility has fallen to one who is only a Taylor by blood and not by name. He has however taken up the responsibility that has ran in one side of his family for hundreds and hundreds of years and he is doing it alone.

Well mostly alone.

ooo

Music Sam had found out when he was younger than he could now remember was a great escape and it didn't hurt that the various pokémon that he cared for loved listening to music as well. Letting the various baby pokémon play with the old radio that sat on the kitchen floor was also a great distraction even if it didn't work.

Not that they knew that because so long as there was music (coming from speakers hidden in top of shelves) they were happy. It also gave them something to do other than get under his feet or chew on whatever part of his shoes and pants they could. He had enough trouble not tripping over his own feet without them there for him to trip over. And while they had the whole living room and their nursery to play in along with a fenced in area outside that could be easily gotten to by way of doggie door they seemed to insist on playing in what ever room he was currently in. Sam supposed that he could have put a stop to it if he really wanted to but he had to admit that he enjoyed the company.

Besides the kitchen was large and the only real furniture other than counters and appliances was the small four person table that sat by one of the many windows that filled the room with light. The emotions rolling off of the baby pokémon were light and happy and unlike the emotions of people, especially large groups, they didn't give him headaches.

In fact no matter how many pokémon there were around him he never seemed to have any form of head related ache unless one of the pokémon that was near him was injured. Taking care of the baby pokémon that hatched from eggs given to him by various breeders was only one of his responsibilities. He also had to keep up the marked off area that was the houses yard and he had to take care of the pokémon that came in for rehab both emotional and physical. He currently had five pokémon in the building that sat at the back of the houses yard.

The building was large and meant to hold pokémon that were injured or weren't ready to be around others yet. In fact his next planned stop was that very building. But first he needed to finish the food that he was making. While it wasn't dinner time yet, and wouldn't be for awhile, he'd learned at a young age to get as much as he could finished before hand. Fixing pokémon food when he had the time in his fairly busy home schedule helped make sure that he didn't run out even though most of his day Sunday was spent making enough food to last for the week.

While the older pokémon that he'd put food out for or the one's in rehab were more than happy to eat the food that came from PokéMarts (though he tended to add other ingredients to it to make it better for the pokémon), baby pokémon needed more nutrition and tended to be a lot pickier. It was best to make their food up until they were old enough to go out and eat on their own with him providing the basics when needed or until they were adopted by someone.

The fourteen baby pokémon running around the kitchen were only a slight distraction so long as they were occupied. Orion was the only one that hadn't joined in the fight over what they were going to listen to (or so the babies thought) and that was only because the newly hatched Riolu hadn't gotten the hang of moving around yet.

It'd take about a week for the little dog to get moving on all fours down and a few more days after that to get moving on two feet down. It was a process that was amusing to watch more often than not. Even if he had mastered the finer points of moving on all fours it was likely that he'd end up pushed away or accidentally hurt by the older pokémon.

The only pokémon that was even near his age was three weeks old and even then it wouldn't have been wise of him to try and play with her. The pokémon closest in age to Orion was Yin a baby Mienfoo and at three weeks old she was already a force to be reckoned with. Nearing two feet in height Yin was built much like Orion with arms and legs built for fighting.

The only difference that would stay was the fact that she was a different breed and had a different look. Yin had pink legs and arms and had a single pink stripe running from arm to arm and on the tip of her tail while the rest of her was a light yellow. Not only that but she looked like a mixture of what might have been a bear and a cat with cat like limbs and an almost bear shaped head. Sam pitied that family that was coming to get her when she reached three months old. She was stubborn and willful. A fighting type if he'd ever seen one.

So of course Orion being not even a day old wouldn't stand a chance against Yin when it came to rough housing. Rough housing however seemed to be the last thing on Orion's mind anyways for at the moment he was sitting on the floor chewing on a terry cloth toy. Shaking his head a the commotion going on behind him Sam turned back to the various berries and other ingredients that sat on the counter in front of him.

While the baby pokémon and those recovering in rehab were fed three times a day (twice by him and once by helper pokémon when he wasn't at home) it was wise to have extra food in case they were still hungry after they'd been feed. It wasn't a good idea to over feed but a little bit more food on occasion was very much appreciated by the pokémon he cared for and it tended to make them easier to live with as well. At that moment he was mixing Chople Berries with Miltank milk and flour and as nasty as if looked and sounded for whatever reason the fighting types loved it.

He had just a few more steps to go and then he'd be done with the food he was making. After he was finished he had other things that needed to be done. Pokémon to be looked over and a couple of rounds of physical therapy to administer.

Then of course after that it would be dinner time for the pokémon and then he'd have to put the babies to bed and he had homework to finish. The sound of Mojo's barking drew his attention to the window in front of him. Mojo was barking at his car again. Sam shook his head in amusement. The first thing Mojo had done when he'd been let out of his pokéball earlier had been growl at the car and walk away. He had wondered at first if perhaps there was something about the car that made Mojo nervous but he'd come to realize that Mojo wasn't worried about the car.

No, judging by the looks that he was sending it's way he seemed more jealous than worried. Leaning forward Sam rapped his knuckles on the window in order to get Mojo's attention. The Arcanine looked between him and the car a few times before trotting in his direction. Sam pushed the window open with one hand.

"Would you stop that Mojo? It's just a car it's not going to take your place. If it makes you feel any better we'll go for a run after dinner." Mojo fixed Sam with a stare for a moment as if trying to decide if the deal was worth it or not. Just when Sam was about to turn back to the food he'd been preparing a bark sounded. Looking back up Sam smiled.

"Well I'm glad you agree now go do something other than bark at the car." With a wag of his far too bushy tail Mojo turned and ran around the side of the house. Sam snorted. Then brown eyes landed on the car that was sitting in front of the house. The car he hadn't been so sure he'd wanted but had gotten anyways.

The sense of importance both he and Clover had felt about the car had faded as soon as he'd shaken Bolivia's hand and had yet to return. And while Sam didn't know why he'd felt such a need he did know something else. Sometime over the coming weekend when he had the free time he was going to wash the Camaro. It was a nice enough looking car but Sam knew that it'd probably look a lot nicer when it was clean.

That and he was kinda weary about letting some of his younger pokémon crawl around inside when he wasn't sure about how clean the interior really was. He was going to have a busy weekend that was for sure. Sam was just about to get back to cooking when his phone rang from its place on the kitchen table.

"Damn." Sam cursed as he hurried to wash and dry his hands as well as reach his phone before it stopped ringing. After accomplishing both tasks he picked up the phone and hit 'talk'.

"Sam!" Miles overly cheerful voice invaded Sam's ear causing him to cringe at the loud tone.

"Hey Miles. What do you want, man? I'm busy." Miles snorted over the phone.

"You're always busy. So did you find a car?" Sam's eyes drifted out towards the vehicle sitting in his yard.

"Ya. Why?" he asked.

"Because we're going to a party at the lake and I want to see it." Sam groaned. Even though Miles knew that large crowds of people made his head hurt he still insisted on taking Sam with him when ever he went somewhere to have fun.

"You're determined to make me suffer a headache tonight aren't you?"

"Stop complaining bro. It's just a little party at the Lake. You need to get out and have fun. You work too much." Shaking his head Sam cradled his phone against his ear and made his way back towards the food that was waiting to be cooked.

"Of course I work too much because unlike you I have responsibilities that exceed being able to pay for car insurance and games. I have two rehab sessions to do after I'm finished in the kitchen and then…." Miles cut him off.

"Then it's dinner time and so on and so forth. I know better than that bro. The rehab I can wait for but you have like eight pokémon there that help you with the stuff you have to do and I know damn well that they can take care of the babies and the other pokémon for five or six hours while you go out."

What Miles had said was true enough. There were several pokémon around the preserve that helped him out with the things he had to do everyday. In fact it was a pair of mated Kenhorou that took care of the baby pokémon that were old enough to be away from him all day. Not that it was a hard job. In fact all they really had to do was be sure that the little ones were fed lunch and that none of them were hurt while playing.

Three others feed the rehab pokémon and filled the troughs that sat around the yard for some of the pokémon to eat from if they weren't able to get their own lunch. Sighing in annoyance at his friends logic Sam found that he didn't actually have much of a reason to refuse other than the looming headache he was going to leave the party with.

"Fine. I'll do it. Is it safe for me to assume that I'm picking you up by your earlier statement?" Sam asked.

"Yup. Besides I think my mom wants you over for dinner."

Sam couldn't help but smile at that. Miles's mom was as dear to him as his own mother had been before she and his dad had died. The woman worried about him constantly from what he'd been told and she was always willing to invite him over for dinner. It didn't hurt that she was an awesome cook too.

"Well I'm not about to pass up your mom's cooking so I guess I'll be over in about an hour and a half." Miles voice sounded triumphant when he next spoke.

"Good. I'll let her know. Oh, and bring Orion. I told mom about him and she wants to see him." Sam shook his head a fond smile crossing his face.

"Of course. I'll see you in a little while. Bye Miles."

"See you bro."

With their goodbyes said both boys hung up the phone. Putting his phone down and reaching for a dish towel Sam made his way out of the kitchen and towards the nursery that. If anywhere the first ones he needed to tell about his plans were there. He had pokémon to track down and work to finish before he could even think about going any where and the sooner he was done the happier Miles would be.

ooo

The lake as Sam had expected was crowded with people taking the chance to enjoy the last few weeks of summer before it got to cold to swim. Sam ran slightly nervous eyes across the crowds of people, he could already feel the headache beginning to form.

"Over there." Miles said as he pointed to a section of the lake that seemed to be swarming with teenagers from their school. Sam blinked.

"Is this party even open to everybody or did we need to be invited?" Sam asked as he looked for a place to park. Miles merely shrugged from the front seat.

"I have no idea. I just heard about it through the grape vine and thought it's be fun." Sam eyed the group of teens again. From the ones he could see and the pokémon that were out he was able to come to a fairly quick conclusion.

"Miles I think this is a popular kid party." Miles shrugged.

"So that doesn't mean that we can't enjoy the lake. And look bro Mikaela's here." Miles pointed out his window.

He was pointing towards the lithe form of the blue eyed brunette Mikaela Banes. Whom at one time Sam had had a huge crush on. Miles still took great joy in reminding him about it whenever the chance presented itself. Thankfully for Sam and much to Miles disappointment the opportunity didn't come very often. Of course that was mostly because the only time Sam and Miles saw each other at school was in-between classes, at lunch, and in sixth period.

"I can see that she's here Miles." Sam said as he watched Mikaela scratched her Typhlosion, Adair, behind the ears. A small amount of desire welled up within him and was quickly pushed down. He'd given up on Mikaela Banes a long time ago and he had no real desire to date her anymore even if there were still those rare moments when the want popped up again.

She was like him in a way. She had things that people didn't know about her just like he did. Though the things people didn't know about him were mostly because no one bothered to ask. Mikaela, for whatever reason, hid things from people. Sam didn't know what but he knew that she was hiding things about herself.

Probably things that would affect her social status. Sam turned his gave away from Mikaela just in time to see an open place to park. Miles had been right about them being able to enjoy the lake for what it was even though there were three on the preserve. Sam knew that it was Miles way of trying to make him socialize.

"Well now what?" Sam asked as he pulled the keys from the ignition and reached for the handle on his door. Miles shrugged as he stepped out of the car. There was always plenty to do at the lake and even if the more popular kids didn't want them anywhere near them there were always a few of the nicer less popular kids hanging around.

"Lets wander a bit and see if we can find someone we can stand. Or maybe an empty area where we can let our pokémon roam about a bit. I think Mason would appreciate that chance to swim in waters that he doesn't get to see often." Sam thought about it for a moment before nodding. It was as good a plan as any. The sound of slamming doors followed Sam and Miles as they made their way towards the lake.

Sadly this seemed to bring them into the view of the popular kids. This included the unwanted gaze of Trent DeMarco who was quick to continue his usual taunting. This time of course it was about his car because Trent apparently wasn't one to pass up the chance to tease Sam about anything he was able to.

"Hey, bro! Sorry about your Grandma. She died and left you that car right?" Loud snickers followed Trent's comment about his car. Trent's pack of goons laughing even though what he'd said hadn't actually been all that funny. The only one who didn't laugh was Mikaela. Sam looked at the bigger teen for a moment before answering.

"Your about fourteen years off. My grandma died when I was two." The comment back wasn't meant to be smart but apparently Trent thought it was because he took a threatening step closer to Sam. And Miles as if sensing the incoming danger took a few steps back at the bigger boys approach leaving Sam to stand his ground by himself.

Sam stood still trying for the life of him to figure out which emotions that were running through his head belonged to Trent. It took him a moment to realize that it didn't matter because none of the emotions he was picking up on seemed violent. That meant that it was safe for him to stand up to Trent because the other teen was actually less likely to beat the crap out of him with so many people near. When at school he'd get suspended.

If he did it here and got caught then chances were someone would call the cops. Trent sneered as he stopped in front of Sam daring the smaller boy to move. Sam stood his ground. Sam was many things. A coward however wasn't one of them. He knew when it was safe to stand and when it was better to leave. Besides he'd faced things worse than Trent in his life and had come out in one piece.

"So what brings you here Wickity? Hoping that crashing a party might get you another friend?" Sam felt his eye twitch. Insults about his cloths were fine and insults about his car were a little less fine but no one insulted Miles and got away with it. At least not when he was within hearing range.

"Why do you care Trent? You worried that you might loose a Mankey or two?" Trent growled and took a step forward obviously about to beat the boy in front of him into a bloody pulp. Only Mikaela was there to stop him. Blue eyes stared up at her boyfriend.

"Stop it." She said. As if to give his trainer backup Adair stood behind her sending both Trent and Sam a look that promised bodily harm. Sam was fairly sure that the pokémon would do it to. It didn't matter if Mikaela was primarily a coordinator he'd seen her pokémon battle and they were nothing to laugh at.

Trent looked like he was going to go for one of the expensive looking pokéballs on his belt before he backed up a step and turned and made his way back towards his Escalade. He swung the door open and turned to look at Mikaela.

"Lets get out of here. Stupid lake's full of rugrats. I know where there's a raging frat party." he said as his attention turned back towards Mikaela. "Lets go."

Mikaela crossed her arms and gave him a flat look. "I'm not your dog you know. You can't just load me up whenever you want." she snapped. Several of Trent's friends let out mocking 'oohhs' as they stared. Trent growled at her response.

"You're not being funny. Now get in." Mikaela fixed Trent with a glare. Adair actually growled at the teen flames springing to life on its back. Should the need arise Adair was more than ready to defend his trainer from Trent.

Trent seemed to realize this as well because he climbed in his Escalade and slammed the door shut. His voice carried out of the window when he next spoke.

"You want to stay here them fine. Good luck getting a ride home."

"Don't worry about it. I'm leaving." Mikaela's voice lashed out like a whip and before anyone could respond she turned and walked away Adair following. Silence followed her exit.

"Well that was unexpected." Sam jumped at the voice that had suddenly sounded from nowhere. Turning he found that Miles had returned.

"Where the hell did you go?" Sam asked as he stared at his friend. Miles gave him a grin and a shrug.

"I was avoiding the fight that I was sure would break out between you and Trent."

"We didn't fight. Not even a battle thanks to Mikaela."

"I noticed," Miles said, "So was she actually standing up for you?"

Sam shook his head. "No at least I don't think she was. She just didn't want to see a fight break out. Let's get out of here before Trent tries to run us over or something."

Miles nodded and the pair began walking towards another part of the lake.

"You could offer her a ride home." Miles suggested.

"I'm not sure she'd take it besides if I did that then you wouldn't have a ride." The pair stared at each other for a moment neither one saying anything.

"I could always swipe Mojo and ride home on him."

"You can't stay on a bike for more than three minutes without falling what makes you think you could stay on Mojo for more than fifteen seconds."

"What makes you think he'd throw me?" Miles asked. Sam snorted.

"How about the fact that he's not broken dumb ass. He's perfectly fine with me riding him but every other person who's ever tried to ride him without me on his back to has been thrown."

"Well let him out and tell him not too. He'll listen to you." Sam scrubbed his hand across his face. Miles didn't seem to get that Mojo wouldn't let Miles ride him for one reason and one reason only.

"Miles you'd sit on his back then I'd leave and that'd be it. You be thrown before I could get a hundred feet away and after Mojo'd thrown you he'd be chasing after me. I don't leave his sight if we're out together you know that."

Miles knew that Sam was right of course. Mojo would throw him and chase after his trainer. Mojo didn't listen to anyone but Sam and heaven forbid if Sam was in trouble when the Arcanine was out of his pokéball. Miles sighed.

"You're right dude. I just figured that if you gave her a ride home you might have half a chance." Sam shook his head.

"I'm not giving her a ride and leaving you here. I will however give her a ride if you come with me." It was the only way to get Sam to even try.

"Sure lets go get her. I'll even sit in the back seat." With that said the pair made their way back towards Sam's car.

ooo

As it turned out Mikaela was more than willing to take the offered ride. Though she didn't seem very happy but considering the fact that she'd just broken up with the jerk that was her boyfriend it didn't really surprise either of them. Though her continuing rant was slightly annoying.

"I can't believe I'm here right now."

"You can duck down if you want to. We won't mind." Sam said as he focused on the road in front of him. His eyes only straying towards the rearview mirror in order to check on Miles.

"Sure we won't." The blonde said his voice slightly irritated. Sam shot his friend a look that said "It was your idea so shut up and live with it". Miles simply made a face and crossed her arms. Mikaela glanced at him.

"No it's not you I'm talking about. I'm talking about this same situation that I'm always in. I don't know I just seem to have this weakness for hot guys. For tight abs and muscles." It was one of those moments that made him, and probably Miles, feel knee high to a caterpillar.

"That's some weakness." Sam mumbled.

"Sure is." Miles muttered under his breath so that just Sam could hear him. Even though he had agreed to join Sam it appeared the he was quickly rethinking his decision. Or maybe he didn't like listening to people bitch and moan.

"I'm so sick of this place." Mikaela rambled on as if neither Sam nor Miles were there. Miles leaned forward in his seat so that he could be more easily heard.

"I regret to inform you that I wish I hadn't suggested this." Sam rolled his eyes. His voice just as quiet as Miles had been. Though both of them were sure that they could have been talking in a normal voice and Mikaela wouldn't have noticed.

"She's not trying to be rude. She's frustrated and upset and she's venting. She doesn't have anything against us personally. We're just the unlucky one's who happened to be near when she had her meltdown. Besides if it hadn't been us it'd have been someone else. Just sit back and be quiet until she finishes."

Miles grumbled but nodded and leaned back in his seat. Sam shook his head at the annoyance rolling off of Miles and the frustration rolling off of Mikaela. It wasn't enough to give him a headache but it was enough to get on his nerves.

" 'Cause there had seriously better be more to life than this." Mikaela stopped speaking and turned to look at Sam and Miles as if just realizing that the pair were still in the car. A weak blush spread across her cheeks.

"Sorry," she apologized, "I guess I just needed to vent." Sam's eyes flicked in her direction.

"It's okay. Everyone needs to sometimes." Miles nodded even though he still looked annoyed. The sunset as the group of teens drove towards town chatting lightly. It was true that the talk could have been a bit more stimulating but none of them were willing to cross lines with people that they didn't know anything about.

Though Miles tried a few times just to try and annoy Mikaela. Each of his attempts was thwarted by Sam however who was a master of getting Miles attention. It came with having the blonde as a best friend. When they entered town Sam noticed that either he, his car, or Mikaela were getting looks from people on the street. It seemed likely that it was a mixture of all three.

Mikaela was in fact in his car. Most of the looks they received were curious and some showed amusement while a few showed open distain. None of them bothered Sam and he doubted that Miles could see the looks that were being sent their way because the blonde seemed to be preoccupied with something in his hands.

Sam was fairly sure that he was fiddling with his phone though he couldn't be sure. It didn't really matter anyways because the other boy wouldn't have cared for the looks they were receiving anyways. Following Mikaela's directions to her house Sam had half expected the house they were going to too be half as spectacular as the one occupant he knew, just because his crush had died didn't mean that he didn't think Mikaela was good looking, however both he and Miles were a little shocked when Mikaela pointed Sam in the direction of the dumpy part of town.

It wasn't bad enough to be considered the slums. It was just that the houses looked sort of beaten down and tired looking. Like something that'd been left in the sun and rain for too long. Mikaela pointed him to a house that was just as unspectacular as the next to it. Mikaela turned towards him as he pulled to a stop.

"So thanks for the ride home," she paused and turned to look at Miles, "And thanks for letting me vent."

"You're welcome." Sam said. Miles nodded and mumbles a "sure" under his breath. Mikaela opened her door and started to climb out but stopped halfway. She turned back so that she was looking at Sam and Miles again.

"You guys think I'm shallow don't you?" Sam eyes Miles for a moment before answering.

"You're not shallow. There's just more to you than there seems to be."

"You hide too much." Sam turned towards at Miles with a questioning look on his face while Mikaela offered the pair a slight smile before she walked off. Miles moved to the front seat and slammed the door shut. Sam looked at his friend for a moment before asking his question.

"Do you still think she's an evil jock concubine?" Miles thought about it for a moment before answering.

"She not too bad I'll admit but she could be a lot better."

"True." Sam said as he started the car. "But we all hide things and she's worked very hard to hide her current living arrangements from people. You can't hate her for wanting to be popular."

"I can try." Sam laughed and shook his head.

"You're better than that Miles. Give her a chance if she ever talks to us again. You never know what'll happen. Who knows maybe she'll introduce you to Lindsey."

It was Miles turn to blush at the mention of the girl he had a crush on. Said girl was actually one of Mikaela's friends.

"Who knows? Maybe both of us'll get lucky." Miles said as he put his seatbelt on. Sam turned the key in the ignition and the car roared to life barley a second later.

"Let's go see what your mom made for dinner."

ooo

Maggie was sure that she'd listened to the shrieking signal a thousand times already and she still had no idea where it had come from. Not even Kilobit, her Porygon, was any help with the conundrum that plagued her and all of the other analysts that filled the large room full of computers. So far none of the groups were having any luck and not even the large number of Porygon, Porygon2, and Porygon-Z that were being used to help were helping.

Even the virtual pokémon didn't seem to know what to think or do about the signal and that was very disheartening considering that each one was practically a supercomputer. Frustrated Maggie pulled the headphones she'd been wearing off. It was time to take a break. Sadly her break was very short lived for the moment her headphones touched the desk in front of her another analyst decided the it was the perfect chance to ask her a question.

"What do you think? Encrypted Mandarin or Amharic maybe?. It could be some sort of obscure African language." With half her mind still on the signal she used whatever was working of the other half to answer.

"This is nothing like any African derived dialect. It's not like anything the Chinese have been using either. Whatever this is it's in a class of its own." Much to the disappointment of the man who asked the question Maggie slid her headphones back over her ears and got back to work. He'd been hoping to ask her out to dinner and maybe a drink afterwards.

It didn't look like it was going to happen as Maggie replayed the signal for the thousandth or maybe two thousandth time.

ooo

A different kind of shrieking was coming from the engines of the 747 that was Air Force One. The sound of the engines didn't bother any of the occupants on board the large plane let alone the staff sergeant that was walking towards a door towards the back of the plane. A pair of secret service agents stood on either side of the door and after exchanging a few words with one of the men she was allowed access to the room.

"Yes, Mr. President?" she said as a way to announce that she was there. The pair of stocking covered feet and the Grumpig that lay curled up by them were a sight that she was growing more familiar with each time she was called back to the President's stateroom. The owner of said stockings didn't bother looking up from the file that he was currently reading.

"Can you wrangle me up some Ding Dong's and a glass of milk?"

"Right away sir." she said as she turned and walked away from the room. She waited until she was a considerable distance away from the presidents room before rolling her eyes and muttering something under her breath. What she muttered under her breath might have been something about an old school or it might have been something about the president and his Ding Dong's. She continued to mutter to herself as she passed the cabin that house the rest of the members of the Secret Service.

Within the cabin other agents were busy working or catching up on sleep. Therefore it made sense that no one had noticed the boom box sitting beneath one of the chairs. It also made sense that because they were so busy or asleep that no one noticed as the boom box began to shift and change or when it sprouted arms, les, and a head.

All of the appendages were silver in color and spindly looking. Frenzy crouched so as to remain unseen and glanced around the room that he was currently in. Upon finding that the attention of the rooms various organics and the sleeping pet like creatures that a few of them seemed to have were occupied he proceeded to scurry out of the room and towards another part of the plane.

Towards the middle of the plane the staff sergeant stood taking to a few of the other presidential aids.

"Yesterday it was Ho Ho's and today its Ding Dong's. What's tomorrow hold for us ladies?" she shook her head, "I didn't join Air Force One to do this." Her coworkers laughed accordingly.

"If anyone needs me I'll be down in storage." A tiny elevator took her down to storage. The room was lit with pale lights and the floors echoed a metallic twang slightly as she walked. The whole area was full of shelves, cabinets, and freezers.

The only thing that seemed out of place was a fenced in area at one end that was filled with the planes mainframe. The whole place was a maze to someone who didn't know it. Thankfully for her she knew it quite well having been down many times in order to retrieve the various snacks that the President requested. Walking through a series of cabinets and storage freezers she came across the one she was looking for.

The door that opened reveled a large assortment of snack food including the desired Ding Dong's. Grabbing several she was preparing to leave when one toppled out of her hand and rolled underneath a nearby cabinet. Much to her relief the cake proceeded to roll right back out from underneath the cabinet. Stopping only to pick up the fallen cake the staff sergeant didn't see the figure that had kicked the Ding Dong back out into the open as she made her way back towards the elevator.

Only when he was sure that the elevator was gone did Frenzy move from his hiding place. The small Decepticon skittered through the underbelly of the plane until he came to the desired destination, a locked access panel labeled P.O.T.U.S only.

It took Frenzy only a second to rip the panel from it's place. Once gone an open terminal was revealed. The sound that issued from the small bot was one that Maggie Madison and many other would have recognized even though it was different than the one that had accompanied the assault in Qatar. The terminal winked to like almost of it's own accord. Only the small words scrolling across the screen gave any idea as to what was being done.

CONNECTING TO PENTAGON SECURE NETWORK.

ooo

Maggie found that she could only stare at the screen of her computer. After spending so long doing nothing other than listening to a signal she wasn't quite sure if what she was seeing was real or not. Maggie closed her eyes and opened them again to see if the words on her screen had disappeared.

They hadn't. Sitting upright in her chair as if she'd gotten a good shock from Sparky Maggie pressed her headphones even more tightly to her ears. Her attention was now firmly fixed on the words on her console.

FORIEN SIGNAL DETECTED

All boredom vanished and she was at that moment completely awake. Her fingers flew over her keyboard and Kilobit floated next to her head his eyes fixed on the same thing as Maggie's were. Both sound graphs appeared side by side and were followed almost immediately by a single word: MATCH.

Shooting up from her chair Maggie was yelling at the top of her voice before she was even aware of actually doing it. "They're hacking the network again!"

ooo

The shriek that sounded from Frenzy continued at an unbroken rate as the Decepticon continued to probe the P.O.T.U.S mainframe. The only thing that changed was the words that were running across the screen.

SEARCHING SPECIAL ACCESS FILES

The shriek that Frenzy emitted changed slightly as he probed deeper into the system desperately looking for something. It didn't take long for the file that the small robot was seeking to appear.

PROJECT ICE MAN- TOP SECRET SCI- SECTOR SEVEN ACESS ONLY.

ooo

Maggie typed furiously her fingers flying across the keyboard underneath them. The deputy director stood at her shoulder looking at her screen his expression grim. There were other gathered around them as well each one trying to see what was going on.

"Trace it." The deputy director commanded. Maggie was already ahead of him.

"I've been trying but every time I do I get locked out and then the it adapts and the firewall changes. I swear that whatever's doing this is learning." Kilobit gave a frustrated cry just as Maggie cursed. They'd been locked out again.

Maggie continued to pound away at her keyboard. Suddenly and without warning one of the screens at her console went nuts.

"Are you running a diagnostic?" Maggie asked the man next to her, the same man that had wanted to ask her out.

"No," he said, "Should I be?" Maggie shot the man a look that caused him to draw back.

"Yes, you should." Maggie growled before standing up from her seat. "Is anyone running a diagnostic!" Maggie's shout startled many of the people that were still sitting in front of their consoles.

A few even got up and walked over to the crowd that had gathered around her. Plopping down into her chair with far more force than was necessary Maggie's eyes widened in shock at what she saw before she turned towards the deputy director.

"You need to cut the hard lines now." The man gaped at her.

"I can't just do that." Maggie waved her hands at the computer screen as if she could reach inside and grab hold on the data.

"If you can't then find someone who can. I think they're planting a virus." Maggie paused and looked at her screen again. What she saw there shocked her.

"They're planting a virus and taking a lot of data at the same time. Nodding the man proceeded to yell into the headset that he was wearing.

"Cut all server hard lines now! We have a security breach!"

ooo

Words flashed across the screen faster than any human would have been able to read. The words however weren't going to fast for Frenzy to read. The virus had been uploaded and now all he needed was the information he sought. And he was about to get it. A face that had appeared the just hours before stared at him from the terminal's screen.

The face of Archibald Witwicky stared at the little alien even after all the lines that were connecting him to the system he was hacking were cut. Frustrated beyond belief and to the point of distraction frenzy failed to notice the area's newest occupants as he banged his silver head against the terminal's screen. Two men, one a secret service agent and the other a flight attendant walked slowly through the planes underbelly.

The blue form of a Vaporeon and the yellow and blue form of a Manectric followed slowly behind them. The pair of pokémon were tense and ready to attack.

They knew that something that didn't belong there or anywhere on the planet that they shared with their trainers was there and that it meant them harm. It was more than the broken lock laying on the floor that alerted them. Both men turned the corner that had been hiding Frenzy at the same time. Upon seeing Frenzy the secret service agent brought his wrist communicator up to his lips.

"Break in sector two. I repeat: break in sector two." As the sound of running feet came from the opposite direction Frenzy leapt into action. Hissing as he went Frenzy managed to spin around the two men as they advanced.

He didn't however manage to avoid the blast of water that hit him seconds later. Unfazed by the water that was now dripping from his frame Frenzy lunged at the creature that had hit him with the attack. Only to miss and go crashing to the floor as something else rammed into him.

This time however the attack on him worked. Frenzy shrieked as electricity flowed through his frame. Arms flailing wildly as the current running through his body died down Frenzy struck out with a clawed hand. The yelp that followed assured him that he had hit his target. Pulling back from the small creature that he'd just attacked the Manectric shook it's head back and forth blood dripping down it's muzzle where claws had torn the skin. Both pokémon were about to strike again when a pair of disks flew from Frenzy's chest.

Frenzy's targets however weren't the pokémon that had attacked him but the humans that were aiming guns at him. Both disks hit home. The men dropping to the floor blood dripping from wounds that were more than fatal. Both the Vaporeon and the Manectric seemed to lose interest in him the moment that the pair of humans hit the floor.

For instead of attacking the thing that their trainers had been after the pair moved towards the still bodies of the fallen humans, whining and pawing at the still forms. The agent that had been running to meet his comrades appeared at the other end and opened fire without hesitating. There were several soft pings a bullets bounced off of Frenzy's skeletal form and ricocheted off. The man cursed and put his gun away reaching for his belt instead. Frenzy took the moment of ceasefire to turn so that he was facing the man firing at him.

He was about to fire off another one of the deadly disks that he carried within his body but stopped as the man pulled a ball from his belt and tossed it into the air. When that red light that emerged faded Frenzy found that he was facing another one of those annoying creatures though this one was different than the other two that seemed to be mourning for the fallen humans. The new creature was of similar build but smaller than the others and of different colors.

"Houndour get it." The third man ordered. Though small and unevolved it didn't mean that the Houndour was weak. There was only a snarl before the dog surged towards Frenzy. It wasn't alone either for it seemed that the two grieving pokémon had realized that the thing that had killed their trainers was still there.

Faced with three enemies of unknown power and one of known Frenzy did the only thing he could. He fired a single disk at the being he knew he could kill before turning and running. The disk hit it's target dead on but by the time he hit the floor there was nothing else living still in the area for Frenzy and all three pokémon had ran off.

Metal feet pounded against the floor as Frenzy ran his pursuers much closer than he'd have preferred. Heat burned at his back for a moment before it faded and was replaced by another blast of water that knocked him off of his feet. The same creature that had pinned him down earlier was on top of him again though this time he was able to see the electricity crawling over its body before it surged through him.

Another shriek tore itself from his vocal processors before he managed to get his feet under the thing attacking him. Kicking with all his might Frenzy felt a certain amount of joy when his feet struck the best that was upon him in the ribs and sent it flying. It hit the ground several feet back with a thud and whined once before it went still. Scans indicated that it wasn't dead only unconscious but that was enough for the moment.

"Dour." The cry was the only warning Frenzy had before a jet of flame was launched his way. The flames were hot enough to hurt and should he end up trapped and unable to move he'd be in real trouble but as it was he was fully capable of moving.

Surging forward out of the spray of fire Frenzy skidded around a corner his body aching from the high heat that it had been assaulted with. Two sets of pounding paws were still behind him and he knew that if he didn't find a place to hide that the creature's chasing him would eventually bring him down. Thankfully for him his salvation came much sooner than he had expected in the form of cabinets.

The area between the cabinets wasn't very wide but he was skinny enough to fit. Slipping in between the gape between his chosen hiding place Frenzy felt triumph overtake him. His pursuers could do nothing but bark and cry at the space where he was hiding and as more humans filled the room and pulled them away from his hiding spot Frenzy pulled back into the shadows and waited. He had his lead now all he had to do was get the information to Barricade.

ooo

It was late and Sam was sure that he needed to go to bed but at that moment he had other things to worry about. Like the paper he had do on the mating rituals of dragon type pokémon. It was do on Monday and he hadn't even started his first draft. He had all the information he needed for the paper. All he had to do now was get the paper started.

He figured that he could do half of it now and then the other half tomorrow when everything else he had to do was done. Besides the small library like room that he was currently sitting in was a very good place to do work considering that that's what it was there for.

Large bookshelves covered two of the walls (one of which Mojo was curled up asleep in front of). The shelves were filled with books on pokémon; breeding, grooming, training, anatomy, as well as studies on elemental types and on certain pokémon species. There were even journals that had been written by past family members. Both on their lives and on what they had observed about the pokémon on the preserve. There were even a few shelves dedicated to regular just for fun reading books and, even though he avoided them like the plague, photo albums. And if for whatever reason he didn't have a book or journal that had the information he needed then there was always the internet or the library in Tranquility.

The wall with the door had several large curio cabinets resting against it. The cabinets were filled with various items from his mothers family history. Trophies, ribbons, badges, even old pokéballs were all displayed with pride. It was the objects in the center cabinet that were most important however. For sitting in the middle cabinet were what appeared to be glass figurines of legendary pokémon.

What the figurines were actually made of however Sam was unsure because each one had been made way before his time and was painstakingly detailed. The legendaries almost looked like they were about to come to life at any moment. There had been many a time when he was younger that he's watched them for hours convinced that they would move if he waited long enough. The figurines in the middle cabinet were the oldest things in the house and worth the most, at least in sentimental value.

The last wall had two large windows that over looked the front yard. Pictures of people and pokémon decorated the wall in-between them. Pictures of him and his family and their pokémon. There was one of him and Mojo when he'd been four and Mojo had still been a Growlithe. And there was one of his mom and dad with the grass types that helped take care of all the flowerbeds that his grandmother had planted. There was even a picture of his grandfather and grandmother and two of their pokémon. As well as one of his mother when she'd been young and Clover when she'd still been an Eevee.

The memories in the pictures were all good happy times. It was only sad when he thought about the events that the pictures captured. Happy moments with his family before they'd died and he'd been left with only the pokémon of the preserve and the Lancaster's to keep him company. And while there was plenty of room for more pictures none had been added in years.

Sam sighed and rubbed at his eyes. If he was smart he'd just write his whole first draft the next day but the same method that applied to making pokémon food applied to homework, at least in a way. The more he got done now the less he had to do and the less he had to worry about it not being done. All he really wanted to do at that moment was go to bed but he was determined to at least start before sleeping.

Starting wouldn't be too hard. He already had all the information he needed now all he had to do was figure out how to word it and write it down. Sadly it was the whole wording thing that tended to give him trouble because it never sounded as right on paper as it did in his head. Sam was fairly certain that he wasn't meant to be a writer of anything. Slumping back in his chair Sam sent a glare at the notebook in front of him before turning to glare at the laptop sitting about a foot away from it.

He was more then willing to steal someone else's essay just so he didn't have to write his but sadly his teacher checked for plagiarism and getting caught plagiarizing someone else's work meant an automatic fail for the one who done it. Failing anything was something that Sam tended to avoid doing at any cost.

Shaking his head Sam pushed his chair back and stood. If he was going to sit up half the night worrying about a paper then he was going to do it the right way. With lots of sugar and caffeine that was less than healthy for him but good anyways. That meant that it was time for a trip to the kitchen. Bare feet padding softly across the living room carpet Sam took a moment to glance at the closed door that lead to the nursery.

All the baby pokémon were asleep in their cages and would remain so until sometime the next morning. In fact Sam was pretty sure that other than him the only thing up at that moment were nocturnal pokémon.

The sound of Kricketot and Kricketune singing could be heard outside. It was a pleasant sound that was made all the better by the sound of actual crickets joining in. It had always amazed him the certain pokémon lived alongside the animals that were similar to them in peace considering that the lesser animal species (dogs, cats, live stock, ect) were often hunted and eaten by carnivorous pokémon because they were easier to kill.

There were rare cases where a pokémon or an animal would raise the baby's of the other species as if they were their own. The most well known case had been a race horse raising a Ponyta. Though the fact that both were herbivores probably made a big difference. The phenomenon of such things was actually what they were studying next in Biology 2. It was in fact his biology teacher that had assigned the paper over breeding rituals.

"Stupid teacher." Sam grumbled as he flipped on the light in the kitchen. The sudden change from carpet to wood was a slight shock to his cold feet but he ignored it as he walked towards the fridge. Pulling the door open revealed a wide assortment of foods and drinks though most of what was in the fridge was meant for pokémon food Sam did have a shelf and crisper that he used for his food and drinks.

Grabbing a Coke from its shelf Sam pondered about wither or not he wanted a sandwich to snack on. The idea faded when the desire for something sweet popped up. Closing the fridge Sam moved over to the cabinet that sat on the right side of the sink. He needed a cup for what he wanted. The cabinet creaked slightly as it was opened.

Glancing at the cups available to him Sam grabbed one of the glass cup's that Miles had gotten him from McDonalds the year before when they'd been selling them in commemoration of that years Ultimate Battle Frontier. The glass was one of his favorites. Smiling to himself Sam set about looking for the peanut butter and the half empty bag of chocolate chips that he was certain Trilly (the female Kenhorou) had hidden from him in an attempt to get him to eat something healthy when he felt like snacking.

The attempt proved futile for not three minutes after he started looking he found both desired items. Grin in place Sam was about to fix his snack only to stop. It was funny but he could have sworn that he'd heard the sound of an engine. Turning Sam moved so that he was looking out of one of the kitchen window's.

It was rare but on occasion he'd had late night visitors. The only car in view however was his Camaro and it wasn't going anywhere. Sam scratched the back of his head in confusion. Maybe he was just hearing things. It made sense in a way. It was late and he was tired and stressed so his brain was playing tricks on him.

"Loosing my mind." Sam said. Shrugging he walked away from the window and back towards the snack that was waiting to be fixed. He stopped only to grab a spoon out of the utensil drawer. Mixing peanut butter and chocolate chips didn't take very long.

Spoon held firmly between his teeth Sam began making his way back towards the library his drink in one hand and food in the other. He was met halfway through the living room by Mojo who he'd left sleeping in the library a few minutes before. Shifting things around in his hands so that he could take to spoon out of his mouth Sam gave Mojo a slightly concerned look.

"What's wrong Mojo?" he asked. Because there had to be something wrong. Mojo's whole body was tense and he looked like he was about to start barking which Sam really hoped he didn't because he'd wake up all the baby pokémon sleeping in the next room. The tension that was rolling off of the Arcanine's body however had him worried.

There wasn't any reason for Mojo to be so alert. At least no reason that he knew of. Mojo gave Sam a look, deep green eyes worried, before he growled low in his throat and took a step forward. For a moment Sam wondered if it was a wild pokémon passing through the yard that had Mojo so worried. But that theory didn't make any sense because wild pokémon passed through the yard all the time and so long as they were left alone they didn't bother anything. So if that wasn't it then what was? It was then that Sam heard it.

The sound of an engine running and this time he knew that he wasn't hearing things because Mojo heard it too. Setting his things down on a nearby table Sam moved towards one of the living room windows and pulled back a curtain so that he could see out into the front yard. From what he could see everything looked fine.

There was nothing out of the ordinary going on in the front yard from what he could see. Even his car was rolling backwards as if going downhill. Sam blinked and was about to close the curtain before he realized what was going on. His head turned so fast that he felt the muscles pull. He even blinked and rubbed his eyes.

Yes, his car was rolling backwards like it was going down hill or like someone or something was driving it.

"Damnit!" Sam cursed as he ran to pull on his shoes. He hadn't seen anybody in the car and no one was stupid enough to try and get past all the wild pokémon around the house and as far as he knew the front gate had closed behind him like it always did. Which meant one thing. His car was possessed!

"Damn those Haunter to the brightest place on Earth." Sam cursed again as he pulled his shoes on and grabbed his jacket from its place next to the door. Mojo was two steps behind his master. It took the pair of them only a few seconds to cross the front porch and get to the space the Camaro had been not a minute before.

The car was gone and Sam was certain that he could hear the sound of an engine coming from down the driveway.

"Fucking Haunter." Sam growled to himself as he climbed on Mojo's back. It was rare but on occasion a group of Haunter that lived up in the mountains paid him a visit in order to cause trouble. During one of the last visits they'd even gone so far as to haunt Miles car and while Sam had no idea how the ghosts even knew how to work a car he hadn't been very impressed. Miles hadn't been either for all that it mattered.

The pair had ended up chasing the possessed vehicle almost all the way to town before they'd caught up. It hadn't been a fun chase but now it appeared that the Haunter were back to their old tricks only this time it was his car that was the victim.

'At least,' Sam thought as Mojo began chasing the car, 'I was awake when they took it and not asleep.' The night air around him was cold but not too cold. Mojo was full out running trying to catch up with the vehicle that had been taken from his trainer and while he didn't really care for the car it was important to his trainer.

Paws pounded as Mojo ran never quite catching up to the vehicle that was in front of them. The taillights glowed red in the dark and were the only thing that let them know that they were even going the right way. Sam shifted slightly were he sat on Mojo's back trying to find a position where he wouldn't be thrown while he pulled his phone from his pocket. He had a call to make and the sooner he made it the easier it would be to get his car back.

Hitting the last speed dial button on his phone Sam was pleased when an serous sounding female voice answered.

"Tranquility Police Department. This is officer Jennifer Jones speaking." Sam smiled slightly.

"Jenny this is Sam and I have a problem." The voice on the other end was quiet for a moment.

"What have you gotten yourself into this time Sam?" she asked sounding not at all mad or annoyed.

"I bought a car…"

"Finally. I'm sure Mojo was mad."

"Yes very but as I was saying. I bought a car and the damn things driving around without me in it." There was silence on the other end of the phone and for a moment Sam thought that the woman on the other end had hung up.

"You're not joking are you?" Jenny asked, "It's those Haunter again isn't it?"

"No Jenny my car just decided to take itself for a midnight drive. Of course it's those damn Haunter again! Get out here and help me catch it." Sam almost yelled. It wasn't that he was trying to be rude it was just that before long they'd be entering a more populated part of the road and it'd be harder for Mojo to move amongst the vehicles that were out and about that late at night.

"Don't you take that tone of voice with me Samuel. I'm leaving the station right now but it's going to take me a bit to get to my car. Give me some details so I know what I'm looking for." Jenny said her voice completely calm.

She had been the officer that had been on duty when Miles car had been taken on a joy ride before and she had been the one who'd helped the boys chase down the possessed car. She'd also helped get the Haunter that had taken the car out of it. After that she'd practically become Sam's own personal cop at least so long as she was on duty.

The teen would call her before he'd even consider calling anyone else. The woman didn't really know what she'd done to earn the boys trust like she had but she was more than thankful for the faith he had in her and she'd promised herself that she'd help him in any way possible. Even if it meant that she had to help him chase down a car that had been stolen by pokémon and not people.

Sam rambled off the description of his car to the officer before hanging his phone up and putting it back into his pocket. He needed both hands to hold on with anyways. He had no desire to fall off of Mojo's back while the Arcanine was dodging through traffic no matter how light it was at that moment.

The traffic however mattered very little to the pair as they went through the main part of town and the started heading towards an old cement factory. Neither Mojo or the car slowed very much at all throughout the entire chase.

"Slow down Jo. We don't want them doing something drastic no matter how much you hate the car." Sniffing slightly as he did so Mojo slowed from a run down to a trot. Both watched at the car ahead of them busted the lock that was holding the gate to the cement factory closed. They lost sight of the car as they passed the end of a slow moving train.

As they entered the previously closed off area Sam pulled back on Mojo's main a signal that he needed to stop. Stopping as he'd been ordered Mojo earned himself a scratch behind the ears as Sam climbed down the gravel under his feet crunching slightly.

"Quiet Jo." Sam smiled as Mojo nodded and followed closely behind his trainer to where the car had vanished. Keeping their distance Sam watched as his car drove a good distance away before stopping. It was confusing in a way. He didn't quite understand why the Haunter that had taken his car for a joyride had decided to stop here of all places.

Or why they had stopped at all. Why not just lead them on a wild goose chase around Tranquility? He found out why not long after. Sam blinked because he wasn't quite sure if he was seeing what he thought he was seeing or if it was merely some kind of hallucination. Because the vehicle he was looking at had just grown arms and legs and stood up.

"Please tell me your seeing what I'm seeing." A soft growl followed by a whine was his reply. It didn't much matter though because if he was hallucinating then Mojo was too.

"What the hell?" Sam asked. A light much brighter than he could ever remember seeing was being shown up into the sky. He could just barley make out the outline of some sort of symbol. Taking a step back from what he was seeing Sam dug in his pocket for his phone. If whatever he was seeing was real he wanted some soft of proof to show Jenny when she finally got to them.

Flipping his phone open and turning on the camera function however didn't have any affect. The thing that he was trying to shoot was to far away and it was to dark to get a good picture or video. Sam snapped the phone closed and shoved it back into his pocket before grabbing hold of Mojo. Fingers intertwined with fur Sam began tugging backwards.

"We need to get out of here and find Jenny, Mojo." Sam said as he tugged again. Mojo took a step back however his attention was fixed firmly on the transformed car.

"Come on Jo." Sam growled under his breath. "We gotta go."

The process of moving was slow and annoying mainly because Mojo seemed to be refusing to move more than a step at a time while facing the transformed car. By the time the sound of gravel under tires arrived Sam was sure that he'd never heard a more wonderful sound. He needed Jenny to tell him that neither he nor Mojo were loosing their minds.

The only problem was that when he pointed to where the transformed car (or hallucination) had been it was already gone.

"Sam. I think you may need to come down to the station."

ooo

She was doing a difference kind of analysis now. There were no sounds, sights, or algorithms. Instead she was analyzing people. She was watching one group of people in particular. Keller and two other men were standing together in a group talking.

About what she knew quite well for she was standing close enough to hear what they were talking about. The words being passed between the men were about the virus that had infected the system and their inability to get rid of it. Apparently no matter what they threw at the virus it failed. Or to be more precise the virus adapted and speed up with each try. It was both fascinating and slightly worrisome.

Maggie wondered if the men realized that they weren't thinking about every possibility even if the possibility was very unlikely. Walking a few steps closer to them Maggie cleared her throat. It took her two tries to get the men's attention.

"I'm sorry I didn't see you there young lady. And who would you be?" The man, Brigham his nametag read, asked. Maggie stood a little straighter.

"I'm the one who detected the hack." Keller gave Maggie a slightly surprised look.

"It was you?" No one had told him at least not that he could remember. Or maybe they had tried and he just hadn't been listening. He'd been busy after all.

"Yes sir." Maggie nodded. "I just wanted to point out they whoever we're dealing with hacked the national military firewall in like ten seconds. Even a supercomputer with brute-force attack capabilities would take twenty years to do that." Maggie allowed herself a slight smile. The men in front of her appeared to be thinking about what she'd just said. Who knew maybe they'd believe her.

Sadly, it didn't appear that they did.

"I'm not sure where your going with this, young lady, but if the assault is so impossible then why do our latest security imagery show North Korea doubling it navel and air force activity?" Maggie raised an eye brow and fought the urge to roll her eyes and turn bitchy. Were the men around her really that stupid or something? Or did they lack common sense? She wasn't quite sure which it was but she was sure that it was one of them.

"Maybe it's a precaution because isn't that what were doing?" It made plenty of sense to her.

"Maybe isn't a word that we like to use around here." Brigham said. Maggie knew a challenge when she saw one and there was no way that she was going to back down now.

"Well I hope you not planning on going to war over one." Brigham merely gave her a smile. He really was a nice man.

"We're all ears Miss Madison." Keller said as he gave her his full attention. This was the only chance she'd have.

"Look you said it yourself. The signals changing, learning. We need to get past Fourier transforms and start considering quantum mechanics." For the first time in their entire conversation the third man spoke up.

"There's nothing on Earth that complicated.

"Yes there is. An organism. Like a DNA based computer. Maybe something like Porygon and its evolut-" Brigham cut her off mid sentence.

"That enough." he said and turned to leave.

"Look let my team study the signal pattern."

"That's enough," Keller said his voice firm,

"Now if you can bring me proof I'll be happy to listen to you but until then I suggest that you get back to work." It was quite clear that even he was through listening to her.

Maggie watched as both Keller and Brigham walked away followed closely by the third member of their little group. Maggie knew that she should be mad but she didn't have the time. She'd be mad later after she was finished working.

ooo

The amount of people at the Air Force One landing sight was enough to invade a small country. Though none of them knew what they were looking for they did know that whatever it was had left three of the men on the plane dead. Injured one of the men's pokémon and gotten away from two even if they had to be dragged out of the area.

The thing that they were looking for was currently using all of the controlled chaos to make it's way towards a police car. Only it wasn't a police car. It only looked like one. It was like Frenzy a Decepticon. Unlike Frenzy, Barricade was more dangerous and more trouble.

Door slamming behind him Frenzy climbed into the car and began speaking almost immediately. Though the words the little Con spoke wouldn't have made any sense to a human Barricade understood them perfectly.

"Those stupid insects and their pets attacked me." The hologram of the cop that was sitting in the front seat fixed its gaze on Frenzy.

"What of the Allspark? Any leads?" Frenzy nodded his head bobbing up and down like a birds. A single silver cable extended from the small silver robot and plugged into the police cars computer. Almost immediately a picture of Archibald Witwicky appeared.

"He has seen our language." Frenzy said as he searched further for any link to the late Captain. One was found on a basic eBay page. One of the man's descendants was looking for a someone willing to trade an assortment of ancestral artifacts for something else historical or something useful. Among the shown artifacts were a pair of beaten and scored glasses.

A simple scan revealed the microscopic symbols that covered the lens's. It didn't take very long for them to decode the page that held both the identity and the whereabouts of the glasses current owner. The had the information now all they needed were the glasses. No one in the crowded area outside of the car paid it any mind as it pulled out of the area and began driving towards it's next destination.

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Poke'mon Teams (pokemon new to this chapter)

Lennox

Wargle - Valiant

Epps

Skarmory - Storm

Fig

Xatu - Aztec

Honchkrow - Metzli

Akeosu - Quetzal

Sam (any preserve pokemon mentioned but not listed only help. Sam dosn't own them)

Kojofu - Yin

Miles

Swampert - Mason

Mikaela

Typhlosion - Adair

Keller

Lucario- Auron

Glen

Porygon 2- Terabyte

Porygon-Z- Gigabyte

Maggie

Raichu- Sparky

Porygon - Kilobit