Bonus Chapter! Apparently the poll I have up isn't working right, because I can see that people are voting, but there's no results… So, I decided I'm going to post a sneak peak of my next story, as well as this small chapter, today. Enjoy!
The first thing Serena became aware of when she came to was that her head was throbbing. The second was that, even after opening her eyes, she couldn't see. She tried to move her arms, tried to grab whatever was over her eyes, only to find that she couldn't move them or her legs. She panicked and tried to cry out, but even that was muffled. She became aware that she wasn't alone when a voice said "Well look who's finally awake." There was laughter. "She's a pretty one, boss. What're we gonna do with her?" A pause. "What did she have in her bag?" The sounds of rummaging. "I got four pokeballs." Someone grunted. "Run them through the Identifier. We'll sell the pokemon if they're worth it. If not, send them to be repurposed." The second, more authoritative voice commanded. Serena's struggling became more frantic. She heard laughter. "And her?" a new, female voice asked. "We'll sell her too. Get her ready for packaging. We leave in two days."
SELL me?! What? NO! The-they CAN'T! Serena thought frantically as she struggled. She felt numerous pairs of hands touching her and she flinched. Cool air rushed over her skin as the hands tore her skirt off of her, and she bucked, struggling fervently. The voices laughed. One of the pair of hands ran over the curve of her rear, squeezing each cheek, and tears ran down her face. "Don't worry, doll. You won't be awake for the rest." Came one of the voices, and some type of clothe was pressed against her nose. It was damp, and it smelled odd. Serena struggled ferociously, but she soon found herself slipping into the murky depths of her dreams yet again.
Petrel watched as his underlings worked on the girl. She was a pretty little thing and would bring them a fair amount of money once sold. Her pokemon, too, if his hunch was right. Fancy clothes and makeup, all while camping? There was no way this brat didn't have the most posh pokemon available. He expecting her to have a furfrou or persian, maybe a beautifly or floette. She had four on her. At least one of them should be capable of protecting her, but the rest should be worth some money. Better let Tabitha know about the girl. We'll have to send her pokemon to Xerosic within the next couple'a days if they can't be sold, otherwise they'll be sold alongside her.
"Sir!" a grunt called, running towards him. Petrel shook himself out of his revelry, turning to address the man. "Yes?" he asked, exasperated. Why couldn't I work with people from my past operations? He understood what The Boss was doing separating them, but this was ridiculous. He had no hope of memorizing the faces of those around him, so he could never be too sure that these people actually worked for him. The man came to a stop and doubled over, panting for breathe, before straightening up and withdrawing four pokeballs. "I…"huff"…ran them through as you instructed, sir. Delphox, sylveon, absol, and diancie, sir!" the man reported. Petrel blinked in shock. "Are you sure?" he exclaimed. The grunt nodded in confirmation. "Yes, sir. Those are the names the Identifier gave us." he confirmed, handing Petrel a piece of paper.
The commander gasped in disbelief. Diancie were exceedingly rare, and they sold for exuberant prices on the black market. To find one in the possession of this girl meant that she had to be someone important. Another of his underlings entered the room as he read the brief report. "Sir, the girl is ready for travel. We stripped her of everything but her bra and underwear and put one of the special collars on her. Should we start packaging her?" The woman asked. Petrel shook his head. "No, not yet. Keep her in the containment cell that she is already in for now. Take three others and be sure that no one is looking for her." he replied, turning to look at her. The grunt paused, an uncertain look crossing her face. "Sir?" she asked. Petrel shook his head again, bringing his idle hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Check the above ground passageway. I don't care if civilians continue on their way to the city but don't let anyone come in the tunnel, do you understand?" The woman nodded, scrambling out the room. Petrel sighed, turning to the other grunt. "Tell the team to work double time on Task A. We leave in the morning." The grunt saluted with a "Yes sir!" before turning and leaving the room, leaving Petrel to wonder why he signed up for this stuff in the first place.
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Ash was furious. A quick inspection of the crime scene revealed several pairs of footprints, including what he suspected to be Serena's based solely on the difference in pattern. It was evident that, if this was true, someone had attacked her and dragged her away, based on the pair of long gashes left in the dirt starting where she had been standing. He, Misty, and Brock set out immediately, spreading out and combing the nearby areas with the help of their pokemon. Ash had sent all his flying pokemon, which turned out to be quite a few, to search the area from above. His other pokemon spread out every which way in their search, leaving him with Garchomp, Gigalith, Noctowl, Noivern, Infernape, Swellow, and Greninja, who were keeping an eye on him as he searched. The man scowled as he moved a small shrub aside in his search. He appreciated their penchance for protecting him, but he really wished they would help look for Serena. She has to be here SOMEWHERE! He thought, outraged and worried. For the first time in a long time he felt the burning core of anxiety building in his chest with every passing moment. He paused briefly to calm himself. There's no way I can continue like this! If I do I might miss something! He thought, steeling his determination and locking his panic down with an iron wall of pure will. Sit tight Serena! I will find you! He screamed in his head, dashing off through the brush. He wanted to find her as quickly as possible, but felt that his time would best be spent finding the cop they had interacted with the day before and informing him of the situation. If there had been any suspicious activity in the area he would know about it, which might be enough to give Ash a lead. He ran for a good twenty minutes, silently thanking Saizo for teaching him how to build his endurance, before he came face to face with the cop from the day before. Only, something was different. But Ash couldn't figure out just what was different, so he shook his head in order to clear it. I need to focus on finding Serena!
"Why hello again! How are you this fine day?" the officer asked jovially. Ash briefly wondered where he had slept or if he had stood there all night, but quickly banished the thoughts from his mind. "My friend has gone missing! We found this nearby!" he shouted, running up to the cop and handing him. "We think she's been taken." Ash finished, trying to catch his breathe. The cop took the strip of fabric and examined it closely. "I'll alert my superiors immediately. Unfortunately, I still can't let you past. The clean up crew is hard at work up ahead. It will be another day or two before I can let anyone past." he said, holding up a hand in a placating gesture. Ash flushed red in agitation. "I don't have a few days! Let me check up ahead real quick! I'll be in and out!" he said, pushing past the police tape with one hand. The cop grabbed Ash's arm and leveled a stern gaze at him. "Didn't you hear me? I can't let anyone pass, not even you!" Ash yanked his arm back and pushed past the cop, running as fast as he could. Apparently he had caught him off guard, judging by the sputtering sounds behind him. He thought he heard (and saw) some of his pokemon follow him, but he didn't have the chance to stop and check. Soon enough he found himself coming up on the entrance to what could only be Diglett Tunnel, only he wasn't alone. Two women in striking white uniforms stood outside the entrance, rummaging through a familiar looking backpack. "What did she have on her, anyway?" one of them asked as Ash slowed down and hid in the treeline. "I heard she had a Diancie." answered the other Team Infinite member. He companion grunted. "Think we could take it for ourselves? I'm not really sure I want to work for Petrel anymore." she said, scanning the area. The second woman shook her head vigorously. "What are you saying!? You need to keep thoughts like those to yourself or you may end up in a collar next to that little brat we caught this morning."
Not a second later the police officer came running over, stopping just in front the two grunts and huffing in an attempt to catch his breathe. "What are you doing here?" The first woman asked. The cop stood up, adjusting his uniform, before replying "some kid just ran past the perimeter! I was following him but I lost sight a few yards back." both women frowned. "You let him past?!" the second demand, crossing her arm. "We need to tell the boss. Go, I'll cover the entrance." the first grunt said. They're all in on it! Ash thought incredulously, scowling. Then his frown turned into a feral grin. They all but confirmed they have her there, right?
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Petrel sighed in boredom. He and his team had been in these damn caves for the better part of the last three weeks! What was it the boss saw here anyway? Scowling, he left his personal command room, which was nothing more than a small coven carved from the walls of the tunnels, and walked down one of the offshoots his team had excavated. He soon came upon a group of grunts dressed in mining gear cutting away at… well, something, buried beneath the stone and dirt. A few team affiliated scientists were huddled in a connected side room, one of them taking notes, one tapping away at a tablet, and another testing a shiny rock with a variety of tools. "Have you found anything?" he asked resignedly. The three scientists looked up and saluted him. One of them, the one experimenting on stones, ran up to him and handed him an obsidian black rock that had shiny red crystal outcroppings. "We found these in the tunnel walls, Commander!" The ex Team Rocket executive frowned, an action that was becoming all too familiar by this point. "What exactly is so special about this rock, Henry?" he inquired tiredly. The scientist's grin quickly melted. "This material bears a composition similar to that of the sample we were provided with by the Boss! It's exactly what we were asked to search for!" Petrel nodded in satisfaction. "Good! Extract what you can. We leave in eight hours." he said, turning back the way he came. Henry grabbed at his shoulder as he did so. "Eight hours!? We'd never collect the amount we need, even if we can find it that quickly! It's taken us nearly three weeks just to find this one small deposit!" Petrel wheeled around, bearing down on the obstinate scientist. "I said we leave in eight hours! Grab what you can, and destroy what you-"
One of the diggers shouted, interrupting him. "Commander! We found more!" Shooting Henry a look, Petrel stepped around him and peered into the dark area. In the very center of the digging spot was a sharp red crystal, rising in clear relief from the dirt below. The small section of rock that was visible below was a dark navy blue. Petrel shook his head. "That's not it. It's the wrong color." he said quietly. He turned, yet again, to leave, when the entire tunnel rumbled. Dust rained from the low ceiling as the room shook, knocking over equipment and causing people to fall over. The tremors subsided after a minute or so. "What was that?!" Henry asked in alarm. Petrel shrugged. "An earthquake?" Henry shook his head slowly. "There aren't any faultlines in Kanto…" he said. Rapidly approaching footsteps echoed off the walls of the entrance tunnel, and a grunt came running into the room. "Boss! We're under attack!"