Chapter 45: A grim reminder

Midnight

Johto

Dex criminal's hideout

A squabbling sound issued forth from the foot of the door and Lack-2 groaned. For some reason, he couldn't fall asleep and a certain strain, a certain tension infused the atmosphere and engulfed his mind. His days were going great, for the past month, there were no outdoor tasks and capturing the legendary pokemon came to a standstill since the commander decreed that they got the most important ones. The mythical creatures of land, sky and sea. Titans who will shift the continents. A traveller of time and granter of wishes, if anything needed to be fine-tuned, they could do it later and thus the entire base quieted down into a hive of mundane activity. There was much cleaning, organizing and rearranging to be done but no one in Execution cared. The brown haired boy did not have the heart to stuff his pichu in a pokeball and it was a common sight to see the little rodent sometimes forcibly carried around in his arms. Alas, the problem started at night. Pibo did not want to stay with him and each evening, when Lack-2 retried to bed, the mini beast could be found squeaking pathetically and scrabbling at the door.

Pibo missed Gold. The black haired teenager spent his entire life caring for the monster and it did not like straying too far from him. Even if Gold refused to use him as part of his team, just being near the trainer calmed the spiky eared monster. He remembered the heavy breaths of the adolescent and once, the electric mouse had to scamper out of the way when his breeder almost crushed him. His master hardly slept alone, this habit remained unbroken even after he left home and pichu remembered how he was tucked into one arm as the Johto native discreetly entered another room and fell asleep in another person's bed. Often, he'd wake up next to his mentor or Silver and one morning he woke up in Crystal's room. The distressed woman gave off an ear splitting scream and kicked him so hard, he passed out. A few weeks ago, his master gave him away to this copper eyed child and Pibo tolerated him. He was wary of the boy whose emotions were clouded and confused and despite being treated so gently by Lack-2, Pibo didn't agree with his new trainer. Every night he kept up the inane scratching, hoping, praying that the thick headed perverted boy would finally get the message and set him free. Alas, there must be something wrong with his brain circuitry because the human would speak soft words of comfort, gather him up in arms and try and to snuggle with him. The rodent endured it and eventually fell into a restless sleep with a vice grip around its furry body.

Tonight however, things were different. Pichu still squeaked and scratched at the wood and his partner ignored him in favour of lying on the bed. Another hour passed and the moonlight filtering through the curtains turned more silvery, washing the room in pale white light. A shaft fell on Lack-2's tossing form and he eventually got up to see Pibo staring at him. Immediately the mouse turned and started it's scratching on the door and the boy moaned as more and more claw marks decorated his rather solid door. He knew the pokemon wasn't too fond of him but his mind refused to believe it. Getting up, he briefly let the cool air circulate around his bare legs before making his way to his partner, the scratching noises increased in intensity and when he gently reached a hand out to scoop Pibo up, the creature electrocuted him.

Zap

So that's how senior Red felt every time Pika vented. The pain came as a nasty shock and the tiny mouse pokemon eyed him with a bit of regret. Lack-2's hair stood up in brown halo and his entire body tingled and numbed.

The world around him broke loose in a deafening cacophony.

At once the base rocked and he watched as the floor cracked and rolled. Pichu gave off a terrified squeak and dove into the rapidly collapsing room. The ground tilted and his table, chair, books and other devices crashed haphazardly into the bookcase and wall on the far end. Instinctively he got to work, first he grabbed a backpack and forced a few clothes in, secondly, he glanced across the room and pinpointed his pokeball studded belt, Xtransciever and other gadgets. Sweeping them all in the bag he made up his mind to leave when he remembered pichu. Hissing in annoyance, he got down on hands and foot and began looking, a beam fell on his head and the pain spread across his forehead almost blinding him. Gritting his teeth, he forced his broken bed aside and moved out of the way as part of the wall tumbled down, revealing a sheer rock face. An anguished cry alerted him to pichu and he set off again, his mind awash with a thousand different thoughts. He eventually located the bright yellow creature, sandwiched between the mess that looked like a bookshelf, mirror and table. In a dangerous tangle of splintered wood and glass, pichu was trapped and terrified.

The boy swore.

Inhaling deeply, he gingerly reached out an arm when noise rattled his brains. An alarm, his room flooded in an artificial red light; the colour stabbing in his eyes. The blare throbbed against his ear drums and Lack-2 thought he would start to go deaf at this young age already. When the alarm rang, he jolted and his arm slid against a jagged piece of glass, blood began trickling down and he forced himself closer in order to reach out to his partner. Pibo whimpered and climbed on to his arm, it shot forward and buried itself in his chest. Delicately pulling his forelimb out, he secured his backpack and was about to rush out when someone tumbled inside the room. His insides got cold and he began praying not to get caught.

"Oi! What in Lugia's name are you still doing here?!" Gold hollered in his ear and a dismal relief blossomed in his chest, his senior's forehead was clipped, his cap skewed and pants slashed. "Lack-2 let's get outta here, didn't you hear the siren...It spells danger kid and it usually means SCRAM!" An ominous purple gas billowed into the room and they heard the thud of heavy boots coming downwards. The boy froze in his tracks and had to be pulled by Gold out of the room. Pushing his lackey forward, the Johto native glanced back to see masked and armed personnel storming their corridors. An ambush. Lack-2 stumbled forward with his mentor screaming encouraging words behind him. Somewhere, a pokemon executed a flash and the passageway burned with an intense light. After his eyes adjusted, he saw the other trainers methodically pouring out and joining a single line as they all tried to escape the police's clutches. He peered back and got a jab for his efforts

"Stop looking back!" Gold admonished.

"I'm scared." Lack-2 said and staggered forward; more hands grabbed him and pulled him to a confusing mass of bodies. He briefly spied the terrified visage of Whi-2 clinging to her team mates, Blue and Platina, alas the young girl was separated from her leader who vanished into the chaos. The girl screamed and clawed at air whilst her senior tried to calm her down. Panic gripped the boy and he tried looking over the heads of his co-workers to see if he could get a glimpse of Gold. Instead he saw smoke, distorted figures and pale terrified faces. The scene brought on a wave of nausea and he retched. Things were not going well and briefly he wondered if he should backtrack and go after his mentor. He wanted the raven haired male to be with him, to comfort him and to tell him that everything would be okay.

And he wanted to make sure that Gold wouldn't join his parents six feet underground.

Blank faced and utterly calm in spite of the vortex of hysteria surrounding him, Black gripped a disorientated Lack-2 and steered him in the right direction. The boy was sweaty and as soon as he faced forward, he doubled over and threw up at N's feet. N looked downwards and saw the child shivering uncontrollably, his irises had shrunk into pin heads and he clutched pichu so hard, the monster had difficulty breathing. Nodding to Black, he comfortingly gripped the younger Unovian and steered him through the semi-organized mass. Sapphire joined him, her face hard in the artificial light. She gave him a thumbs up and sped up to check on the other trainers. Just as the rapidly moving mass of trainers managed to calm down, another magnitude swept through the base along with the deafening echo of thunder. Whi-2 screeched so loud, she fainted and Ruby shouldered himself through the throng in order to pick her up. N looked around to see White organizing the group and urging them forward again whilst Black, with Musha firmly secured on his head, brought up the rear. None of the commanders or the Johto trainers could be seen. Pulling out of his gentle grip, the once king sighed in irritation as Lack-2 stood rooted to his spot.

"Keep moving Lack-2" Black nudged him.

"Where are the seniors? Why did they leave at a time like this? Where is-" he swallowed heavily, his throat felt like a piece of sandpaper.

"The base is surrounded by the police therefore they have to protect it all costs. If our headquarters is completely broken down, or even worse, seized by the police it will spell disaster." the older Unova native replied in a monotone, "don't worry, I'm sure that won't happen. This isn't the first time we are being ambushed but I have to admit...this time they sure hit hard and fast. Even I got frightened."

"Aren't the leaders enough? Why do the Johto trainers have to go?" Lack-2 came close to wailing.

"Seriously, didn't you hear what I said? The entire base is surrounded, you can't have the top trio protecting us and acting as diversion! Besides, you are clearly worried about Gold, even if senior Red bashed a dent in his skull and told him to stay put, he wouldn't listen. Says he needs to watch out for pretty gals and keep an eye on Crystal or something. In any case, we have to get a move on, Gold or the others aren't coming. You won't see them until this is over."

Lack-2 mechanically moved forward, his grip slowly suffocating the present his mentor gave him.

Late night

Johto

Souvenir shop

"Good." Falkner smoothed out the creases in his uniform, "we are storming in."

The doors flung apart as the entire team exploded inside the shop. Luckily there were no customers but the elderly lady who manned the counter with her husband, passed out from fright. Shelves bearing precious goods were thrown aside as pokemon and their weapon carrying trainers surged in like a wave. A slim cylindrical object was flung at the far corner and with a booming explosion the back wall crumbled down to reveal a hidden space. The cyan haired man threw a disgusted look and continued inside, his predatory bird hovering dangerously close. As soon as the assault team stepped into the corridor, a siren deep inside blared. Falkner allowed himself to relax, clearly they had attacked the right spot and if he could just trap them here underground, it would be easy to capture them. An earthquake courtesy of a pokemon made escape difficult for the convicts and the air was artificially saturated with a cloud of poisonous gas. Putting on a mask, he advanced forward whilst the others crept down twisting metallic corridors. The base stood eerily quiet apart from the din of the alarm and he wondered where all the people were. With a start, Falkner stood still and two vines lashed out right next to his face, almost cutting through his head. A hostile response. Gathering himself, he gave chase but the attacking individual escaped, cloaking himself in shadows, smoke and confusion. A moment later, Looker came up behind and together the two were joined by a small army as they gave chase. They crossed an opening in the passageway and Falkner's hair stood on end. Later, much later, he would've berated himself for not looking but right now his mind narrowed on a single goal. He and Looker flashed past and a torrent of water hit the rest of his forces like a cannon. They were crushed, their dented armour prevented movement and their pokemon partners either dead or in comatose states. The water pooling around them began to freeze slowly, ominously and in the fire-red light, he saw his comrades frozen with anguished expressions.

The vice-chief knelt down to them and thanked them for their services, depression began to sink in but he did not allow his emotions to control him. Briefly uttering a prayer for them, he let loose another feathered pokemon; the large bird hovered in the air, its wings beating on the roof of the tunnel.

"Noctowl, find the attackers and lead me to them." The bird lingered for a while before setting off at a comfortable speed. Both officers followed it zealously.

In another area:

"Did you run a marathon or what? Green quizzed as Red crashed next to Yellow and wheezed.

"Poisonous gas..." Red rasped and the jade eyed adolescent sat up straight.

"I took out the people who went after Red, seriously though, be more careful will you, you almost lead them right here!" Blue sunk down in a chair.

"Sorry" execution's leader apologized but his lips stretched into a wide grin. Clearly he enjoyed himself; the sight of a fight roused him up.

The small group huddled inside one of the dilapidated rooms. Even though the criminals were caught in the middle of a gigantic crisis (they were never surrounded to this state) the leaders and a select few trainers had gathered in order to discuss tactics. Blue bemoaned their trashed up environment, the shredded carpet on the floor cost her millions, she complained till Green growled out that he happened to be the one who paid for it.

"So what do we do?" surprisingly, the crimson eyed male broke the brewing argument.

"Knock yourself out by fighting..." Green quipped and ran a hand through his hair, he was the only one in the little council who didn't have time to dress properly and now he sported a t-shirt with pyjama pants. Thank Mew the surrounds were too dark to enable proper vision or his friends would never let him get away with it. "We have to prioritize the safety of the base..." a scream tore through the air and both Silver and Blue tensed.

"Whi-2" Blue mumbled under her breath and motioned at Green to carry on.

"We have to split up," Green peered through the gloom trying to make out the stressed visages of his friends, "Crystal, go with Red and act as a diversion, keep the police from entering any place they are not supposed to enter. Namely, Execution's chamber, the legendary holding cell and the Red chain creation room. Put them down if necessary." The duo nodded, "next, Silver will come with me, we are to salvage the most important things in our base, the legendary pokemon and other important artefacts scattered throughout our headquarters. Thirdly, Yellow and Gold go with Blue, she has the responsibility of protecting the Red chain creation room a-"

"What do you want me to do?" the commander in question threw her hands up in defeat, "Cut out and freeze the thing? You are asking for the improbable Green! It makes more sense if we simply destroy it and arrange for new equipment!" A pin drop silence seized the assembly as everyone ruminated on her words. Red, who had picked up Diamond's odd habit of eating in the wrong places slurped cup noodles and next to him, Yellow wondered when he had the time to prepare it. "Actually..." a light bulb went off over Blue's head, "it's a good idea. Cyrus and Charon can be ushered out and I'll just separate the compound from the main base and freeze it! Since I'm adept at barrier creating, I'll weave in a barrier as well. Gold and Yellow will cover me." Everyone nodded at the masterful strategy and Green briefly wondered if he was losing his touch. The sight of his best friend slurping noodles in the dark grated on his nerves; however he welcomed the distraction from the morbid thoughts swirling around his head. In semi-darkness and amidst wails, crashes and flash bangs, the group dissolved and set about their respective tasks. Red and Crystal went out first; the raven haired man dumped his plastic cup in a nearby bin and sped down the corridors. He kept on running till the duo came to a sight of destruction. Execution's dormitories sported ripped up doors, shattered glass and personal possessions strewn through the corridor. Anger took hold of him and Red pushed forward with Crystal hurrying behind him, they rounded a corner and ran into a platoon.

A minute of confusion and shock hung in the air, one of the policemen lifted his weapon and pointed it at Crystal and she petrified. Furious, Red raised his hand and Pika unleashed a thunder. Recovering from her shaken state, the indigo haired woman ordered Mega to blast a solar beam. The criminals left writhing personnel in their wake. Further on, chunks of rock tore from the sides of the passageway and rained down as aerodactyl mirrored its master's rage and sought vengeance. The two man team made a beeline for Execution's room. Red's main concern was the safety of the fleeing trainers, if they safely made it out of base, then he could go all out. The corridor leading up to the chamber had no people prowling around it and he stationed Crystal at the entrance of the hallway as he went to check the room. The door was bolted tight. Black followed his instructions to the letter. A sense of solace diffused in his chest. His family is safe.

They were safe.

When he came back, Red smiled lopsidedly and a feral gleam took hold of his eyes. Crys inwardly moaned, no doubt they were going to look for the next batch of police so the man standing before he could roast them. Shaking her head, she meekly followed him, kicking things out of the way and landing a few kicks on anyone who tried to slow them down.

The door opened with a pneumatic hiss and hurriedly Green started his duties. The legendary pokemon were all put to sleep, (it was easier to force them back into their masterballs that way) a cloud of chemicals were released into their individual cells. Holding open a backpack, he tossed all the capsules he and Silver gathered. The red head proved to be a wonderful individual to work with; he didn't utter a peep as they toiled together. Shouldering the bag, the spiky haired man stepped over the threshold and was about to commend both himself and Silver on a job well done when they ran into someone. Looker, the investigative officer. The professor panicked, scared of the other party finding out his identity till he remembered the pitch dark environment and that he, Green looked nothing like himself. Bare feet, with striped pyjama pants and a graphic t-shirt he wouldn't be caught dead wearing outside. Whatever, the shirt belonged to Red anyway. Throwing the bag to Silver, the spiky haired brunette took a stance; Looker had to be put out of commission quickly. The beasts were sent out; machamp and toxicroak lumbered in the dimness and slammed into each other, the sound of their bodies hitting echoed down the broken tunnel. With its four arms, the superpower pokemon seemingly had the upper hand till it keeled over. Green narrowed his eyes and saw a thin trail of acid bubbling out of his partner's mouth. It was swiftly recalled and golduck sent out. To the felonious adolescent's dismay, the blue duck fainted within moments of entering the battle. What on earth? Why could toxicroak effortlessly put down two well-honed warriors? Reaching for a third pokeball, he weighed the options on his mind...Time rapidly trickled away and with each passing second, there was the danger of his true identity being discovered.

"I suppose you are surprised by my Toxicroak..." Looker shuffled forth in the gloom, trying to get a glimpse of his opponent, "simply put, he is over levelled. I won't underestimate him if I were you." His opponent on the other end was a smart person. The individual had yet to utter a word.

"I don't underestimate" a smooth, confident voice poured out from the direction of his target. A brilliant flash and a roar announced the arrival of a new beast and the passageway flickered with crackling flames. The orange fire danced, briefly illuminating the area before dying down. Looker cussed under his breath, he couldn't get a good look at the offender, all he saw was a very nasty printed t-shirt...

"Charizard." The tone turned smug, arrogant even, "dragon tail." the poison dart frog tried to sink its claws into the appendage but failed. It was swept up, a few ribs shattered when it collided face first into a wall. Sliding down, it sprang back up and counter attacked, corrosive acid flew through the air, instead of hitting charizard, the flame pokemon blasted the liquid outwards with a flap of its webbed wings. It took to the air and breathed out a stream of flames. Dark pulse negated the attack and the dragon touched down. Toxicroak could see fury flickering in the fire type's eyes. The frog crouched low and bid its time, a command from its trainer had it rocketing forward and colliding with charizard.

Green grinned. Fatal mistake.

Giga impact left the toxic mouth pokemon fatigued. Although it dealt a severe blow to charizard, the fire dragon was well aware that his skeleton had been re-aligned; it didn't finish the monster off. Beating its wings in order to not topple over, the orange monster seized his enemy with steel tipped claws, the grip proved to be toxic and soon the heated skin began to erode. With much effort, charizard heaved the thrashing pokemon in the air and used overheat as commanded by his master. Fire churned deep within charizard's body and discharged outwards, charring the poison type. Appalled, Looker numbly watched as his thoroughly burnt pokemon was hurled at his feet. He bent down to examine his partner and something hot and hard landed a blow to the back of his skull, he could only glimpse a patch of coarse, blood stained vermillion fur before the world turned painfully blank.

The battle was over; Silver crept forward from his hiding place and handed the bag back to his superior. Green breathed heavily and his breaths reverberated through the half destroyed corridor. A damp heat crept in the air and made it difficult to inhale. The commander stowed his charizard away and nodded to the red head, the next target was Strategy's room. They were to retrieve all the hard work and research conducted over the last few years. This time Silver led them as they crept around the walls, avoiding anyone they came across. The floor became treacherous to tread on and Green bit a hiss down as his foot caught something and the skin ripped. Ignoring the searing pain and the metallic whiff of blood as it poured out, he moved, desperate to get to the common room before anyone else.

Outside the sky hid behind thick grey clouds and moonlight struggled to filter through. Funny, just moments ago one could view the stars. Blue sat on her jigglypuff and stared downwards through a pair of night vision binoculars. This was the most irrational thing she ever did but it did the job. When the commanders split and went their separate ways, she pondered on the course of her actions. Freezing the red chain creation compartment seemed like a wonderful idea but how to do so when you were stuck underground? Execution's chamber was already bolted and most probably destroyed as per Red's orders. The first thing she did was get Charon and Cyrus out of their room and order them to stay by her side. Standing helplessly in front of the door leading to the creation area, she ruminated on various possibilities; however in the end Gold, in his drawling voice offered the only plausible solution

"Tunnel out of here senior, I'm sure it'll be much easier to cut the earth and the base up if you were in the air. You have a map don't you?" she nodded, "you can just tear the ground open and then freeze it, easy as that." Saying this, he adolescent got to work, he tore part of the steel coated wall down with Exbo and proceeded to dig his way out. Yellow and Blue watched, partly impressed and a bit afraid that his strategy might not work. Screams, curses and the sound of crumbling bricks and gunfire resonated down the corridors leaving the two women wondering on the outcome of their beloved base, unfortunately they couldn't shift from their position and Blasty trained its cannons at the two Galactic executives should they have second thoughts.

It seemed an age before the young man reappeared with his entire body smelling of dirt. Gold's hair was interleaved with damp soil and when he crawled back in on his hands and feet, he gave a thumbs up. The two females were appalled.

"We...have to crawl through there?" Yellow asked disbelievingly and the amber eyed trainer's grin faded.

"Well yeah...how else would we WHOA!" Gold dived for cover as a nidoqueen charged straight into his tunnel and proceeded to widen it.

"Blue...couldn't you warn me before trying to bulldoze the tunnel? What am I?"

"A very valuable member of the team, I assure you" Constellate's commander quipped, "now let's get a move on, our exit is complete." They flew out of the place and Gold vociferously complained when Cyrus and Charon were saddled with him. Up in the sky, Yellow's hazel irises picked out a small mass of people mingling about near the base. Upon zooming, she saw her fellow team mates, they escaped unharmed. Signalling to Blue, she dived down and landed before them. Black almost lashed out with emboar, the fire pig bore down on the blonde before it dawned that his senior came to take a look.

"Keep out of sight," she commanded in an even voice and her irises shifted to emboar who sheepishly reared back, "yes, seniors Red and Green are still inside with Silver and Crystal...Oh Gold? He's with Blue and I, we dug ourselves an escape route and now senior Blue is going to freeze the base. My duty is not to let anyone get near her. I'll see you all soon enough, please don't worry, we are all trying to keep you safe." The blonde got on her bird pokemon and vanished in the gloomy sky. Ruby and Platina balanced a fainted Whi-2 between them. Sapphire and Black prowled around the tightknit group with their pokemon, keeping an eye out for anything venturing their way. N and White bordered Lack-2 who gulped down all the water offered to him and a moment later the boy leaned his entire body weight on the brown haired teenager and fell into a restless sleep. Flustered and unsure what to do, she positioned him till his head lay on her lap whilst pichu curled up on its master's chest and kept still. The atmosphere surrounding them tensed and when she looked up in the sky, her breath hitched when a dazzling arc of electric blue light sliced through the darkness and hit the ground below. The earth gashed, soil and rocks flying everywhere and erupting from the ground like a mine hit it. Enthralled, White beheld a second yellow-orange beam following the first, the heat emanating from it could be felt all the way here as more earth churned up. By now, they were all watching with the exception of the youngest members.

Gold wiped sweat from his brow, spread muck all over his face and emitted a whistle. He could see the roof of their base, a slab of reinforced concrete, ugly, stained and possibly crawling with all kinds of stuff that lived underground. The compound was cleared of dirt and now Blue had to freeze the chamber. The woman balanced precariously on her balloon pokemon and read a map with the aid of a torch. Nodding to herself she rolled the map up and turned to blastoise. The shellfish pokemon wasn't happy and her jigglypuff appeared livid. The pink pokemon inflated itself to epic proportions so it could allow both typholsion and blastoise to stand on it and now it felt like bursting, those two were heavy and the stupid male trainer didn't even indicate that he would recall his monster in a ball. Puffing out, it deflated slightly and the two creatures plus Blue wobbled.

"I'm really sorry for this, but bear with me okay?" Blue soothed and combed her hair away from her face. "Blasty," the shelled pokemon readied itself, "use hyper beam in a straight line all the way to that spot covered with dirt. Cut through everything okay?" The pokemon let off a growl and a torrent of light exploded out of its mouth and neatly sliced the building like a laser. A loud grinding sound issued forth forcing everyone to cover their ears. When hyper beam dissipated, steam rose from the building but success ensured. Yellow silently gasped as she saw how neatly the cut had been done. A giant sword slicing through metal, concrete and everything in between. Another four beams later Blasty tethered on the brink of unconsciousness, his bulky muscles strained and freezing sweat dotted its reptilian skin. The entire area grew hot and steam billowed upwards, alas his work did not finish and when his partner commanded him to freeze the meticulously cut compartment, he wanted to give up and faint. Nonetheless, he shoved his rebellious thoughts at the back of his mind and forced out every inch of his power. A colossal pillar struck the chamber and a heavy chill descended in the air, chasing away the steam and suffocating heat. Blastoise heaved, the area underneath cloaked in mist and when it disappeared, a wonderful sight rewarded him. A giant ice-cube, perfectly preserving what lay underneath.

"Good job Blasty." Blue gently patted the creature and fondly stroked it, "rest well, I promise to treat you to your favourite things," a soft rumble, a flash of light and he vanished, curled and fast asleep in a capsule. After all the discord, the brown haired leader was surprised that none came to investigate, as soon as she thought so, a movement in the periphery of her vision put her on guard.

"Chuchu, discharge!" Yellow wasted no time in attacking and crackling streams of electricity flew outwards.

"Are you trying to kill us?" the blonde blinked and jolted when she heard her superior's voice. A few moans came from Crystal and Silver.

"Get used to it." Red came into view, soaring on Aero's back, "wow Blue..." his tone turned soft as he eyed the rime covered ground below him, "I must admit, you really outdone yourself this time."

"Yes. It looks rather beautiful." Green agreed and took in the wisps of icy mist evaporating from the cube. In the moonlight, it appeared as something astoundingly attractive. A block of snow white cradled by dark black and brown. The complimented lady merely smiled at her handiwork. A rare smile completely devoid of any devious thoughts.

"Our base is completely destroyed isn't it?" Crystal voiced her thoughts loudly, "I mean, we used it for so long, I fell really sad and unhappy. Where...Where are we going to spend the night senior?"

"...Pallet Town" Everyone looked at Red who answered, "my house is standing empty...we could all stay there for a few days before deciding what to do. And it's right next to Professor Oak's laboratory, the last place the police would come looking for us. What do you guys say?"

"Good idea, I can spend a few days at home with Daisy and Grandpa" Green replied.

"I can go visit my uncle." Yellow put in, "oh...I'm sure he is very worried about me..."

The group chuckled light heartedly as they descended to the ground. On stepping off Aero, Diamond engulfed Red in a hug; the youngster sniffed a few times and then started bawling his eyes out. Blue immediately went to Whi-2 and gathered her up in her arms. The girl remained fast asleep and dead to the world. Platina and Ruby congregated around Silver whilst Emerald hugged Crystal and refused to let go. Gold was about to pick his lackey up when said child opened his eyes and punched him in the face.

"OW! Kid wha-" Lack-2 embraced him so tightly he could hear a few ribs shattering. The boy abruptly let go and sniffed. "Seriously, if you missed me just say so." Gold ruffled his student's hair and the child let him.

"I was afraid...they might get you." he whispered, alas his voice went unheard, drowned by the muted cheers of a relieved and shivering group of people.

Dawn

Johto

Mahogany Town

Bird pokemon chirped and all over the hamlet, people woke up and prepared themselves for the day ahead. The sun inched up from the east, spilling light and magnifying the magnificent presence of the Bell Tower. Mahogany town was silent save for the rustling of trees and the cries of pokemon. Inside a derelict building, Falkner walked around, trying to make sense of what happened. The abandoned building echoed with the sound of dripping water. Drip, drip...Drip. It trickled in tune with his footsteps as he peered past slashed doors and burnt rooms. Several times he walked past his frozen comrades and eventually stumbled upon the prone form of Looker. The officer lay dangerously close to his toxicroak and the frog, its skin a blistered shade of black, leaked acid from its pores. Looker was roused up and an ambulance sent for him and the other groaning, partially comatose soldiers. Alone, Falkner gave the base one last sweep and knew the criminals had abandoned it.

No, it wasn't just neglected. The Dex-criminals destroyed it and then the occupants vacated in a timely manner. Rooms that held secrets and information were now simply pitch black walls and pillars, the insides charred to grey cinder. Walking around, he eventually came across a perfectly white cube. His instincts told him that it was another very important room; however, going inside the construction deemed to be impossible. A solid block of ice ringed by a barrier, gently, he touched the shimmering surface and pulled his hand back. No luck, he couldn't get in unless they took out the pokemon making it and if the creatures were intelligent, as all psychic types are, it would've hidden itself very well.

Drip, drip, drip.

Falkner shook his hair free of water, somewhere; mud mixed with the leakage and began to spread through the ramshackle base. From the top, sunlight seeped through, throwing into sharp relief just how battered the once sturdy construction was. A sheet of steel floated half submerged in a pool of dirty liquid. Discarded bullet shells lay juxtaposed with glass fragments, a ripped up stuffed doll, clothes and hairclips. The mission ended up as an elaborate failure and he wondered how to face his displeased superior. The lady will be furious. Sluggishly, the gym leader dragged himself out and shielded his eyes from the weak light of dawn. Outside the world began to stir and suddenly he felt fatigued. Were the Dex criminals perhaps aware of their coming? Or where they so accomplished in running away that their presence even vanished? All that were left of them were fragments and it told him nothing.

Nothing, apart from the fact that these individuals would do anything to protect themselves and their crimes.

A/N: Much thanks to Xenon Rays and Magic111for favoriting and following the story. I hope the story continues to be a pleasant read. Virtual devil's food cake to everyone (now I'm craving the chocolatey goodness) At Lebensmude: I'm so glad to read that the story is getting better, I'll keep on working hard to make it a richer experience, once again, thanks for your constructive criticism as it motivated me to put more effort in my story. At Jack54311: Lol, I get a lot of ideas on reading reviews hence why I like them so much. So is Lack-2 the buster? Read to find out! At Eevee: You reviewed…YAY! Anxiety huh? You don't have to regret anything you post, some of the stuff I've written back when I was younger makes me cringe but that didn't stop my friends from laughing and demanding more. Just write what makes you comfortable and don't think about what people are going to say. BTW, Mindy also has anxiety issues and this is what I tell her. The next chapter delves into Yellow's mind so hopefully that'll answer your questions. Mega evolution comes much later though. The character personalities and bits of the plot are based on the manga, you could say that I simply borrowed the characters and put them in my story (Surge and Lance were never bad to begin with) and Green is actually a trainer, I just think a professor suits his personality as well. Poke-dexes? Yikes, totally forgot about them! To be honest, his lazy part comes from mild depression, he regrets his actions but it does not show outwardly. At GrotesqueChimera: Sorry, I failed to understand your question but if you meant that they have other, outside contacts, then yes. Being a criminal organization, they have a network of people they can use to help them, or get out of tight spots. At AceTrainerLeaf: Ahahaha! Thank you for your kind words :) Happy Green? More of it coming later stay tuned! Knock some sense? Yep, they do need a wake-up call.

And I don't mind questions at all! Keep them coming and I'll do my best to answer without spoilers! Please keep on reviewing and reading, constructive criticism is much appreciated.