Part XIII: Hidden Evil

My heart started to pound out of control as I sat there, unable to see the danger but knowing that it was there. The only sounds in the air were the blood rushing in my ears, Crobat's nearly silent wings and my rival's breathing. Inside of the darkness' warm embrace, I knew the rank stench of them anywhere.

At times like this, I truly hated my bond with Ho-Oh.

"Crobat," I turned to my rival's flyer as the air around us started to get colder. "Could you use your echolocation to see how many utter pests we've got in here?"

The Bat Pokémon let out a quiet chirp of confirmation before opening his mouth to release the high-pitched frequency used for echolocation. A slight shift beside me let me know that my rival had scooted closer to us, staying close to my side. Even the normal heat that would rise to my cheeks at the thought of us being so close was erased with the deadly calm that overrode every single one of my systems.

It was already taking over.

Crobat stopped before turning to me with a serious glare. "Cro bat co." He gave us both a nod before landing on the glass coffeetable to await my next command. I took a deep breath to try to force that calm from spreading to my head. I couldn't lose control now. I had to keep my head above this.

"What did he say?" My rival's voice was right by my ear, brushing my hair with that warmth yet again. I found it ineffective as I tried to focus on protecting both my beloved team, my misguided rival and the helpless innocent trapped inside of this building.

"Crobat claims there are a total of two enemies inside of the building." A small spark of panic entered my mind as I already found my voice cold and distant. I was already losing control. I can't lose control. I am not Ho-Oh's vengeance puppet. "They seem to be on the north side of the structure."

I felt a light touch on my arm and I knew that Silver had already realized something was off about my voice. "Lyra," Another hand reached for my glowing left, but I pulled my hand away from his reach. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I-I'm fine." I felt a small bit of relief when my voice sounded somewhat normal. "I just kinda spaced out there for a second. I'll be fine." I slowly stood up from my seat and nodded in my rival's direction, but with this darkness swallowing us, I doubted he could see as well as I could. I kinda had a bit better night vision than most people.

It's a perk of all those restless nights of training.

Before I could go and attack our intruders, I took a moment to prepare myself in case of the worst. Once my oh so secret technique had been completed, I looked behind me to my rival. I choked down a laugh as he seemed to fumble in the darkness for his Crobat, reaching out to thin air like a blind man and hoping that his Pokémon was close by.

Unfortunately for him, Crobat was in the opposite direction to his grabbing.

"Silver," My voice obviously startled him, for he jumped in the air with a small squeak. He shot me a glare—which I ignored—and reached to his belt. "I'll lead the way. You stay close behind me and I'm sure we'll take these fools out."

"Lyra Soul," I cringed as a harsh tone invaded his voice. "Just how in Lugia's name are you supposed to see in this place?" He shot his hands to his arms and shivered as the lack of a heater started to take its toll. "Be-Besides, it's freezing in here! If you run off and play hero, I'll end up freezing to death!"

"Relax," I stopped for a moment as I suddenly had an idea. Oh, it was a stupid idea. It was a terrible idea. However, I've learned that over my journey that my stupid ideas usually work. ...Not counting the time I thought sassing Ho-Oh when he was being pushy in Ecruteak was a good idea. We all know how that turned out.

I slowly reached out towards my rival and found his hand in the darkness. With bright cheeks, I lightly held his cold fingers in my palm. A small jolt from my rival told me that he wasn't expecting such an action, and before he could tease me about being afraid of the dark, I shot an excuse his way.

"I-It's just so you won't complain about being left behind! If you're so nocturnally-challenged recently, then I guess I'll just have to lead you like a child." Curse my stuttering! I never could understand how I neglected to rid myself of such a pesky trait over the years. Then again, some people think it's cute...but I'm not one of them.

"Whatever." A small lift told me my rival had shrugged. Another sound, this one the fluttering of wings, told me that Crobat had decided to take a rest on his Trainer's shoulder. "Just don't start sweating or something. That's just gross."

"I won't, smart-mouth." I held the urge to yell as I pulled him away from the small seating area. With a quick squeeze to silence him, I lead the way to the dismal hallway. Every footstep seemed to echo off of the tiles below our feet, ringing out and telling the intruders exactly where we were. I gulped down a rising feeling and tried to keep calm.

I am a Pokémon Trainer. My thoughts decided to give me the pep-talk of old as my rival simply followed my every step. I am strong, confident and able to handle anything. My Pokémon and I shall always be step-in-step, right beside each other and taking on anything that comes our way. No matter what, I will remain strong.

I shall overcome.

The sound of crashing glass snapped me out of my thoughts with a jolt. Before I could properly react, a cold blast rushed past my shoulder. Crobat let out a pained cry as he seemed to be struck. Silver started to panic behind me, pulling his hand from my grasp and calling out to his Pokémon to get up. My heart raced as the sound of footsteps echoed off the walls as if they were made of stone.

"Well, well, well." My heart stopped as a familiar voice rang in my ears. Cruelty dripped out of every sound as I found myself backing away. He couldn't be here. He was supposed to be in prison with the rest of them. He couldn't be here. "If it isn't a pair of mice. Well, we'll just have to exterminate them, won't we?"

I shook my head to rid myself of that dreaded voice. It wasn't him. I knew it wasn't him. That man with teal hair was long gone. This man talking wasn't him. Their voices were strikingly different, this I knew. My mind was just panicking. I knew that this was all just a wild nightmare that I had plunged myself in.

"Lyra!"

I snapped back as my rival's voice rang out behind me as if it was the only thing here. My ears rang with the sound as I whirled around. Panic engulfed me as I found my rival held hostage by a man in black, his arms thrashing violently as he tried to escape. Rage flooded my veins as I clenched my fist. I knew that uniform anywhere. How dare they show up once again, when I had spent so long in taking them out! I wasn't going to let this happen. Not now, not ever again.

"Let him go!" Without even thinking, I launched myself at Silver's attacker. The man let out a strange sound as he staggered back. Silver fell to the floor as I started to punch the man and force him back, trying to get him away from my rival. I wasn't even going to let my precious Pokémon see their disgusting faces. After all that they've done, I wasn't going to give them the mercy of a Pokémon battle.

"You idiot!" A thinner man jumped out of nowhere and knocked me back with a single hit to my stomach. I found myself spinning on polished tiles as I scrapped against the floor. Silver rose to his feet as the men stood side-by-side. "You little pests aren't going to stop us! Not this time!"

I rose to my hands and knees as Silver raced in with his own barrage of attacks. Cleverly aimed blows rained down upon them as I watched on. The men let out a few sounds of pain as my rival weaved in and out, attacking every side. He fights like a Pokémon; he doesn't even stop. It's almost as if he's been trained to fight with those moves.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I was acting useless! I was better than this! I had taken out whole battalions of grunts single-handedly before, I wasn't just some pathetic little girl who needed her rival's protection. I rose to my feet with a growl as my rival landed another punch into the thinner man's jaw.

The man was pushed back a ways before he let out a roar. He then suddenly hurled a Pokéball into the hallway, nearly hitting my rival in the face. Before either of us could react, a Sneasel appeared, ready for battle.

"Blizzard!" The man screamed at the top of his lungs and the Pokémon obeyed with little to no resistance. Silver let out a shocked yell as he covered his face with his arms. I was hurled backwards by the bitter winds due to my loose footing and I let out a shocked sound in return.

"Lyra?!" My rival called out above the winds as I struggled to hold on. "Lyra, where are you—" I jolted my head up as my rival's voice just suddenly disappeared. My heart pounded out of my chest as I rushed back to my previous position, praying that those grunts hadn't done something to him.

By the time I got there, my rival was gone.

Author's Note: FINALLY! We are back to something I'm good at! We've got action, action, action! (and vague hints) What's this? TEAM ROCKET IS IN THE POKEMON CENTER?! HOW THE HECK DID THEY GET HERE?! (and furthermore, why are they here)

Wait...what was that little panic moment Lyra Soul had back there? Are my eyes deceiving me? Something...isn't right here. What's this mention of a man with teal hair got to do with anything? And all of this talk about not being calm? Oh, and the mentions of 'keeping her head'. Those don't seem normal.

And on a related note...

WHAT HAPPENED TO SILVER?!