Summary: Human turned Pokémon have suddenly started disappearing without explanation. Their teammates and loved ones are left to scramble about in worry and wonder as to where their missing friends may be. However, the arrival of Celine, a newly human turned Pokémon, suggests that the Pokémon world is in danger once again. As she sets out on her journey, she is blissfully unaware of the darkness that follows her and her team…

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Chapter 10: Team Invincible Hope's Secret

- Earlier that evening -

"What are you doing here?" Lizette demanded the moment Celine closed her door.

Aldous stood awkwardly by her door, rubbing his arm absentmindedly. He hadn't been expecting such a harsh way of greeting. It was obvious he was none to pleased with her either, "Was it necessary to throw those books?"

"Answer the question!"

He winced inwardly at the harshness in her tone. "Sheesh, I just wanted to see you."

Lizette tapped her foot rather impatiently.

"You were interesting," he grumbled, "and I just found myself wanting to know more about you. Plus, you kind of have my idols in your friend's house. Wanted to see them for myself, but I thought I'd say hello to you."

Her right eyebrow began to twitch. Her anger was only growing. "So you decided to pay me a visit during nightly hours on the same day we met? This couldn't have waited until morning?"

"Well, there's exactly another reason behind me being here…"

"Out with it then!"

Again, he winced at the harshness of her tone. "I didn't say anything earlier because it kind of slipped my mind, but I'm actually looking into the stones as well."

Lizette's anger died down, if only a little, but her suspicion rose. There was that nagging feeling again. It was telling her that he was hiding something, but what? "Why are you looking for the stones?"

"To grow stronger," he answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Why else would anyone look for them?"

She didn't buy it. "Because we all know that it's normal for an ancient process to be looked into after nobody has bothered for centuries."

"Well, you don't know if that's true," he countered. "Other's might've looked into it, but never made any real progress. Plus, there are more serious things going on now than there has ever been in the past."

"How much info do you know?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Not much," he admitted, "but that's not stopping me from looking."

She showed no change in her expression. Honestly, she had suspected as much. She figured that if he knew half of what she knew, he would immediately cease all search into the location of the stones.

"Hmm, makes me wonder how much of what you told me before is true," she said calmly.

He looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"You told me that you read all those books in the library," she began, eying him carefully. "But that can't be true, because if you had, then you would already know what's needed for such an ancient process to work."

"You just need the stones," he said. She shook her head.

"Either you lied to me," she said, leaning against her bedroom wall with her arms still crossed, "or you're hiding something. I'd pick the latter of the two because I honestly can't picture you being as careless as you're acting."

As if she had revealed some big secret about him, his carefree form immediately fell. He was now standing in front of her with a mirrored look of suspicion.

"I must commend you for being able to see past that. If it were anyone else, they'd be fooled. I see it didn't work so much on you," he said, as if coming to a conclusion. "But I wasn't lying about how much you interest me."

He walked over to the pile of books she had sprawled all over her bed. There was an open notebook next to one of the open books with some notes she had written down.

"Interesting?" she asked, "how so?"

"Because you say things differently than others. You're cautious; it's as if you've gone through something that changed your outlook on things." She immediately tensed. "And judging by how you're reacting, I can see that my thought is right."

He looked at her, his gaze thoughtful and calculating. "Didn't think I noticed those glances at the library, did you now?"

She grunted and looked away. "You say I'm hiding something," he said, "but I have a feeling you're hiding something too."

Aldous stood in front of her. She glared at him, daring him to try to make a move. She felt her feline senses pick up a tint of danger from the cat-like pokémon standing in front of her.

He put his hands on either side of her head, trapping her. She didn't budge or show an ounce of fear. Instead, she stood strong and glared at him. Her strong display amused him, and he smirked. "You really do grow more interesting as time goes on."

"Glad I can keep you interested. My friends say that I am chock full of surprises," she said.

"Well, they certainly aren't lying."

"So," she started, fairly confident in her ability to maneuver herself out of this situation, "this is your true side, huh? Can't say it doesn't suit you."

He chuckled. "The carefree attitude is just a muse to fool people. Very few can see past it. Interested?"

"Are you attempting to seduce me?" she asked flatly.

Suddenly, he began laughing, unnerving her in the process. He backed away, holding his stomach. "My," he laughed, "You simply are too interesting and amusing!"

She wasn't sure if she should take that as a compliment. So, she moved to another side of the room, wanting to put as much space between them as possible. He settled down a few moments later, wiping a tear away, but still giggling.

"Care to tell me what you're trying to hide from me?" she asked.

He smiled. "Remember what I said before? Information for information~"

Damn. "Alright, then, what are you so suspicious about?"

He pointed directly at her. She quirked an eyebrow, not quite understanding what he was getting at. "You're suspicious of me?"

"Bingo!" he said.

"I don't see what you have to be suspicious about," she stated, hoping to get some freeway. "I've already told you everything I know."

"But that's where your wrong," he sang, walking back to her. "You didn't tell me why you're looking into the stones. You also seem to know more about the Mega Evolution than you're letting on, and I'm curious to know what type of information you have."

She bit the inside of her cheek. "Why does it matter if I'm looking into the stones?"

"Yes, why did it matter to you when I told you the same?"

She found herself in the same type of situation she had put him in only moments ago. The mere fact that he was getting closer to her was making her thought process even slower. She didn't like him. She wanted to be as far away from this guy as soon as possible.

In the back of her mind, however, his tactics fascinated her. It was only moments ago that he was in her position, scrambling to come up with convenient lies. It was definitely a thrill for her brain. A challenge she was eagerly excited to accept.

Lizette cleared her throat, signifying that she didn't like the distance he was closing between them. She backed away. "I ask because it's highly unusual for anyone to be looking up such an ancient process. I'm just a simple bookworm who stumbled upon something fascinating. You can choose to believe me or not, but I don't care. What I say is nothing but the truth."

"As for what you said before," she continued, going back to one of his earlier questions, "I don't judge others based on what the populace believes. I have read all the legends. I've only heard good things about them, but I'm not delusional enough to believe that they're all good. There are some bad human turned pokémon, but that's just how the balance works. There are good pokémon and there are bad; what makes anyone think the hybrid pokémon are any different?"

She was praying that he bought her half-lie. She didn't need to tell him that there was another reason to her believing that human turned pokémon weren't all that bad. There were no reasons on why he had to know that her leader, and friend, was actually among these hybrid pokémon as she called them.

And she certainly didn't want to bring up the very event that caused her to be wary of others. That was just like asking if she wanted to rub more salt on the wound.

It seemed that he bought it. That was until he asked her: "So, if that's the case, then why did you react so harshly upon seeing me? I could understand surprise, but that was certainly no act of surprise. It must've not been a normal reaction either as your friend was caught off guard about it."

"That's because you caught me off guard," she defended rather quickly.

He shrugged. "Yeah, I totally don't buy that excuse. You didn't throw a tantrum like that when we met in the library. In fact, you were cool and collected."

Dammit, she thought bitterly. "Oh, and your delay in the responses department still makes me believe you haven't told me everything."

"Your the one to talk," she scowled. "You expect me to tell you all my darkest secrets when I hardly know you? Let alone that, you still haven't told me what you're hiding."

"Touché," he chuckled. "Well, you have nothing to worry about because I've already admitted everything to you. I have nothing to hide. The only thing I really didn't show was my real posture and attitude."

She smirked. "I still don't believe in your covered up lie about why you're looking for those stones. Sorry, but I just don't believe it's a topic that many pokémon would exactly be interested in, let alone research it. I'm sure there have been numerous rescue teams or explorer teams that have heard of it, but never bothered with it."

"Also, don't bother lying to me," she said, raising a paw to stop him from interrupting her, "because ever since I've met you, I've had this distinct feeling you weren't exactly being truthful."

He shrugged. "It's a simple reason, and one I figured you'd already figure out. I just want to help my team grow stronger to make our missions easier and quicker. That way we can save twice as many pokémon and get things done at a faster pace."

Then she said something that she knew that she was going to regret later, "The process doesn't work without the assistance of a human."

This new bit of information silenced him. She could see the gears working in his head and could only guess half of the conclusions that he was coming up with. Hoping to disrupt his train of thought, she continued, "But it's funny how you said that my outlook on human turned pokémon is different from the norm. What made you believe differently?"

"The same thing that you said," he answered simply. "Read the legends, and so on and so forth." Then it was back to working on those conclusions of his.

Her eyes narrowed. He was being vague. He was taking her answer and using it as his own. Then an idea popped into her head. "How old did you say your team was?"

"Just a few months old," he answered, pausing from his thought process, "Why?"

A smirk played at the corners of her mouth. She had come up with a theory; one she believed wasn't falsely placed. It wasn't that long ago when Celine came into their lives. To be exact, it was only a few months ago that she appeared and the team was formed.

Putting her hands on her hips and smiling at him smugly, she announced her thoughts. "I get it now. It took a bit of thinking, but I think I know what you're desperately trying to hide. One of your teammates is a human, aren't they?"

His reaction only proved she was on the right mark. He shook his head, all composure lost.

"That's why you came here," she continued, "you were worried that I might be a threat since I was looking into the ancient process. And since you were worried, you knew it was something that couldn't be waited upon. So you came here as early as you could to spy on me and my team."

"That's nothing but a lie!" he growled.

"Oh?" she challenged, raising one of her eyebrows amusedly. "Then let's put it to the test."

He followed after her as she left her room and walked towards the living room. If her theory was right, then she needed someone to be able to tell the differences apart a normal pokémon and a hybrid. And who better to do the job than Jaxon himself? After all, it had been him who so quickly discovered that Celine wasn't a regular pokémon.

Aldous paused at the entrance of the kitchen. He couldn't understand where she was going with this. So instead he groaned and entered the kitchen.

It was only moments later Jaxon and Lizette returned to the kitchen. Aldous glared at her from the corner of his eyes, obviously not trusting her next move.

She smiled at him smugly as she placed her hands on her hips. "I think I know why Aldous and his team came to us so late."

Aiden and Celine exchanged looks, and then looked back at Lizette. "One of his teammates is actually a human turned pokémon."

Fiona immediately jumped out of her seat. "Now hold on a minute," she said, "what made you think of something like that?"

Lizette eyed her. "You guys all react strangely, or at least Aldous and you do. Your friend here doesn't seem to be bothered. Probably a front though," she said.

She turned to her teammates and told them of the full story of what happened in her room. Aldous was looking away shamefully, obviously not being used to being easily discovered. When she was finished with her explanation, it appeared that they, along with Jaxon, agreed with her theory.

"Now, please don't take this the wrong way," Jaxon said as he walked up to Fiona and Drexel, "But I'm going to need to smell the both of you."

Fiona couldn't stop her mouth from dropping. "Excuse me? Did I just hear you right? You're going to sniff us? That's positively rude!"

"Not rude, really," he said, scratching the back of his head. "It's just my way of separating human turned pokémon from regular pokémon."

Fiona shied away a little, obviously not liking this one bit. "This is outrageous…"

Jaxon ignored her protest and sniffed the air around her. He shook his head and walked over to Drexel. He sniffed the air again, but this time nodded to Lizette.

She crossed her arms and shifted her gaze to see Aldous' unhappy one. It was now out in the open.

"So," she started. "It appears that Drexel is another human turned pokémon. Not surprised though."

Fiona jumped in front of him. "Don't you dare try to hurt him! He's done nothing wrong!"

Celine looked at Aiden nervously. He let out a sigh and shook his head. "Liz? Can we please have a moment?"

"I don't see why not," she started, glaring at Aldous, "but I hate to tell you I knew you were hiding something. Either way, don't you guys fret-"

"Lizette, a word please," Aiden warned, grabbing one of her ears and pulled her out of the kitchen.

Celine looked back and forth between Aiden and Jaxon. Jaxon gave her a nod and she ran after the two. Jaxon just smiled at them reassuringly. "Don't worry you guys. We aren't the bad guys. After all, you said that you've heard of my team and Team PokéStars, right? That should be enough proof for now that we're not bad or anything."

"But… how did you know?" Fiona asked, unsettled and perplexed by the very idea that he was able to figure out who the human was among them.

Jaxon shrugged. "Well, after years of working with my partner and running into other human turned pokémon, I guess I gained the ability to tell who is who."

He went silent when the trio walked back in together. Lizette was still rubbing her ear, obviously not happy with Aiden's methods of taking her out of the room. Celine was fidgeting slightly with her gaze locked on the floor. Aiden looked indifferent to the entire thing.

Team Invincible Hope was even more confused when Grovyle limped into the room.

"It would appear that you were right in your theory," Lizette grumbled as Grovyle passed her.

"Well, it was the most logical one," he countered with a smug look. She rolled her eyes and looked away.

"To clear up any fear," Aiden started, gaining the teams attention. "You're not in any danger. Whether it be coincidence or not, you actually stumbled upon a…temporarily safe heaven. I can see why you guys didn't say your real reasoning for being here. It's no longer safe to walk around saying that you're one of the human turned pokémon."

"Which is exactly why we would rather you not tell anyone," Fiona said.

"Um," Celine whispered with a small gulp, "We understand that feeling very well. In fact, we're exactly in your situation as well."

Lizette snorted and rolled her eyes again. "Okay, I've had enough of this cryptic stuff already. Basically, what we're saying is that we also have a human turned pokémon among us."

She pointed a thumb in Celine's direction. Celine seemed to blush a little and fidget under the surprised stares she was receiving.

"You're another human turned pokémon?" Fiona asked. "But…I thought the legends said that… a single human was called down. Did you have mission before?"

Celine shook her head. "No, in fact, my mission is most likely dealing with the kidnappings."

"I came up with a theory," Grovyle said, hoping to relieve some of the confusion in the air, "that there were other human turned pokémon called down into our world. What you said is true: only one human has been called each time to deal with a specific case. I doubt this situation is any different."

"But how isn't it?" Drexel countered, finally coming out of his silence.

"Because these events shouldn't be grouped together as they're all separate problems that have been combined into one major problem."

Aldous nodded his head, understanding the theory, "So, instead of looking at all three as one major problem, it's actually three problems. And three humans were called to deal with these problems."

"Yes, that is true, but I believe there's more to it than that," Lizette stated. "I believe that all three were called down to deal with the problems, but I also believe that they're meant to find each other and work together to solve the problems. These problems are far bigger than we have ever encountered before. So I guess that would explain why three humans were called down instead just one."

"So this is why you were looking into Mega Evolution," Aldous commented. "You were looking to get stronger as well."

She nodded. "This has never happened before, and it's concerning. From what I hear, evolution for human turned pokémon, or hybrids, as I call them now, was absolutely forbidden until their mission was fully completed. But we have two of them standing before us now as proof that this is no normal mission."

"Which means there is one more human in the pokémon world," Fiona whispered thoughtfully.

Lizette nodded and turned back to Aldous. Now that it was out in the open, she felt it was time to explain her earlier actions. "I'm sorry for having harmed you, but there was a motive behind my earlier actions. You see, since Celine is a hybrid pokémon, I feared that you being seen with us would only cause you more harm. You might be able to tell from Grovyle's wounds, but Team PokéStars was recently attacked; their second-in-command, Vivian, has been adducted. I was hoping that I would ward you off so that you wouldn't get hurt."

"That's certainly a better explanation than you gave me before," he agreed.

While they talked it over, Drexel and Celine exchanged glances.

She wondered how he had felt when he realized he was no longer a pokémon. Had he reacted the same way she had? How did his partners find them? And now that the secret was out among them, how long would it be until the enemy figured it out?

Then a strange thought occurred in the back of her mind. "Did you guys ever encounter someone by the name of Zoroark?"

The looks she got gave her the answer. They all looked confused, as if it were the first time they even heard the name. It probably meant Zoroark had no idea about them. And it most likely meant he was unaware of a third human in their world.

Either way, she wasn't going to worry about it now. He was holed up in his house in the forest, and she didn't plan to travel all the way back there just to tell him that there are other humans in the world.

By the time she tuned back into the conversation, they were talking about living arrangements. "Actually, we've been residing in the hotel until some of the people we hired finished our base. It's actually not far from here. It's along the east pathway."

"Really? So that would explain all the gossip," Lizette sighed, amused.

"You heard?"

"Unfortunately for you guys, word does travel fast around here. You've seen the well, right? That's where all the 'gossip' girls hang out. If there's something new happening in town, they're the first to know. I'm actually one of them, but I've been out of the loop as of late. With all my research and other things going on, I haven't the time to listen to their idle gossip."

Ignoring her rambling, Aiden went on. "How long until the base is completed?"

"A couple more weeks at the very least," Aldous said.

The room fell into complete silence. Celine didn't like it a bit. She looked around to see that everyone had a thoughtful expression.

I guess it's hard not to be thoughtful, she thought as she leaned against her hand. But there was one thing nagging her. "So, what are the plans from here on out?"

The members of Team Invincible Hope looked around expectantly, as if it was something they had just been thinking about.

Lizette eyed Aldous from the corner of her eye. Celine had to hide the small smile playing at her lips. She could see the slightest tint of red on the female meowstic's face.

Apparently Aiden noticed it as well, "Liz?"

"Y-yes!" she blurted, standing straight.

Aiden questioningly raised an eyebrow. She just smiled weakly, wordlessly telling him that it was none of his business.

She coughed and cleared her throat, becoming serious once more. "Well, one part of the mission was to find proof that there are other human turned pokémon among us. I say that Aldous' friend here is proof that there is one more human remaining and that we must find him or her."

"Also," she began, looking between Aldous and the rest of his team, "Have you had any reoccurring dreams?"

Fiona's worried gaze towards Drexel told Lizette all the information that she needed.

"I'll be taking that as a yes. Well, it's not abnormal. Celine has also had reoccurring dreams, but they've been linked to the raising threat of the Dark Army. I'm not going to ask you to tell us what you've had dreams of, but I want you to be aware that might be a hint, or answer, to your mission in our world."

"I thought as much," Aldous murmured from his spot.

"I also suggest we become partners," Lizette said, looking all around the room. "Team PokéStars and Team Echo Hearts have suffered causalities that have limited them on how much help they can be. And I'm not willing to throw them into anymore danger since this is our mission."

Jaxon apparently didn't appreciate that as he interrupted her, "Hey! This is our mission to – our friends have been captured and who knows what they're going through?"

"How can you help when two of your members are down?" Lizette countered, immediately silencing Jaxon. She sent a look over to Grovyle who merely scowled and looked away. "I understand that these are your comrades and it's not easy not being able to do much, but you guys need rest. Grovyle, you and Silver have just been seriously injured. You need time to recover from those wounds. And Jaxon, Kalista needs you. I'm more than certain that you being near her is helping her."

"I agree," Celine said, taking charge. "You guys have been a wonderful help to us and you will continue to help us. I have no doubt about that, but right now you guys can't and I simply cannot ask you to help us without knowing you might be next on their hit list. I feel self-centered saying this, but this is what I was called down to do. This is what my two human companions have been called to handle. This is our mission, our responsibility."

"But…" Jaxon began, looking at her worriedly.

She smiled and shook her head. "No buts. We're not alone. We have our own teams, right?"

Drexel shared a small smile with her and nodded. He looked at the raichu. "We aren't sure of you went through, but she is right. We have our own teams, and we'll be stronger when we find the other human. So don't worry about us."

Jaxon, defeated, let out a sigh and nodded wordlessly. Grovyle walked out of the room without another word. Celine thought he might be mad at her, but she believed it was for the best.

"Celine, don't worry about Grovyle," Lizette reassured. "He's probably just like Aiden in the stubborn department."

"Excuse me?" Aiden asked flatly, obviously insulted by her words.

Lizette stuck out her tongue. "It's true."

"So, it's settled then?" Fiona asked from where she sat. "We will be working together as a team from here on out?"

Celine just nodded. She firmly believed in what she said. It was their responsibilities. Now that they learned of Drexel's team, she could only believe there was one more human turned pokémon out there. And, deep in her heart, she felt that they needed to meet up and combine powers to deal with their current situation.

But then she thought about their enemy.

Lizette must have sensed her thoughts, because she folded her arms in a thoughtful matter. Aiden noticed this, but said nothing. He could guess at what they were thinking about, but he didn't want Lizette to think Celine told him everything. He knew there was some form of 'girl' bond going on between the two.

Though he wasn't the only one to have noticed it. Aldous stared at Lizette. "What's up?"

She didn't answer at first until she released a defeated sigh. "No matter which way I look at it, you being near us is going to put you on their radar."

"Whose radar?"

"The Dark Army…" Celine murmured, shuddering at the thought.

Drexel and the others didn't seem to understand.

"The Dark Army, along with another 'rescue' team called Team Poisonix, is our enemy," Lizette said.

"And we're sure that they're keeping tabs on us," Celine continued. "Since they're aware that I'm a human turned pokémon."

"They're already aware? How did they find out?" Fiona gasped.

Lizette immediately paled and lowered her gaze. Celine and Aiden stayed alert so that the two members at the table didn't see her reaction. But Aldous had, and he could only guess it had to do with why she was picky with her words.

"Pure luck," Aiden defended. "But then again, we kind of stood out during that one incident. Vivian, the second-in-command of Team PokéStars was looking for help in her search and Celine and I kind of offered in front of an entire crowd. Team Poisonix witnessed this and they've been attacking us ever since."

"Oh." Fiona looked to Drexel for what they should do, but he shrugged. He had no clue.

"At the very least, you should try to keep minimal contact with us," Lizette whispered. "One of you should make arrangements with one of us and look discreet when we meet up."

"I'll do it," Aldous smirked. "If they were indeed spying on you, then they'd already seen me."

That's not something you should be proud of… she thought worriedly. "A-all right. I have no problem with that."

"Then it's settled!" he exclaimed cheerily. He walked over and shook her hand eagerly. His smile only seemed to grow bigger. She felt herself blush a little.

She was a little disappointed when he backed up and looked to his team. "We should be going. It's getting pretty late, and I'm sure we've overstayed our welcome."

Celine shook her head. "Oh no," she said, "you guys didn't. In fact, it was a pleasure meeting you guys."

Drexel didn't need to be told twice. He just grunted his goodbye and left the kitchen. Fiona followed after him quickly, but not before turning back to bow apologetically to Celine and her friends. Aldous took the longest to leave, as he kept his eye locked solely on Lizette. With a smirk, he left.

When they were gone, Lizette let out a huge sigh. That'd been extremely stressful.

"Weren't we lucky?" Celine asked nobody in particular. "We proved that Grovyle's theory was right, and we've gained a new ally!"

Lizette didn't share in her enthusiasm. She was staring off in the direction that Aldous and his team left on. She was worried about what kind of danger she had just pulled him into.

She wasn't delusional to believe that he would always be safe, but she couldn't help the fear that Aldous' leader's secret would be revealed the more they interacted.

As if sensing her worry, Celine put a hand on her shoulder. Lizette looked at her, not bothering to hide her worry. "Don't worry," Celine reassured, "they'll be fine."

I hope your right about that… she thought, turning to look at the hallway again.

First off, November Red Angel, thank you for the review! I can say that you are the first person who has ever written such a big review for one of my stories! I'm extremely glad to hear that you're enjoying the story too! I've also played just about all of the PMD games – including Infinity Gates, which wasn't a great game, but it also wasn't the worst either. It had a good plot… It was just…short... and well… I dunno, lacked a lot of things. Plus it was missing a few of my favorite mechanics (the ability to do multiple missions in the same dungeon, the hunger feature…) But oh well. Here's to praying that the game next isn't nearly as bad!

Also, the story might get a lot darker. I won't know until I've begun writing those scenes, but there's a minor spoiler! And yeah, I love just about any of the cool fighting/fire-type pokémon. If they're four-legged then I just love them. Foxs, cats, dogs… I 3 them. XD

As for Darkrai, well, I have a lot of things planned for him… -evil grin-