Chapter 2 - Questionable Decisions

"So what part about this feels good to you again?"

Zane spat blood out to the side and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he glared at Zack's back. They crouched low as they weaved between large wooden crates in the dimly lit warehouse.

"The part where we made it to their secret compound~"

"You forgot to mention the part where they punched us. Several times. In the face. And took our Pokemon. You said, and I quote, 'pretend like you're unconscious!' out loud, and they took exception to that."

"Trust me, getting caught was the best way to get in. Classic strategy."

"My skull is not as thick as yours, Zack. I cannot take as many hits!"

"Shhh, quit your whining and come look at this."

Zane sucked in air through his teeth and sighed before complying, sneaking up next to the crate Zack had posted up next to. Leaning ever so slightly past the crate, Zane's eyes swept the room to see what he was pointing at.

Ahead, a burly Machoke set down a container in front of a tall man in a white lab coat. The Machoke peeled open the top of the container, revealing a strange, tufted mass. The man reached in and pulled out a clump of…

"Is that… hair?" Zane's voice was low but incredulous.

"Gross," Zack muttered, pulling a face.

The man scanned the clump of hair with a handheld device. Grids of light mapped the strands as the scanner beeped softly. After a moment, the man nodded in satisfaction and motioned for the Machoke to reseal the crate. The machoke lifted it effortlessly and carried it deeper into the warehouse, heading perilously close to where Zack and Zane were hiding.

Flattening themselves against the crate, the duo stayed perfectly still as the Machoke approached, its musky odor a pungent assault on their senses. Zack shifted slightly, and—

Crunch.

The Machoke froze, its head snapping toward the sound. Zane's heart hammered in his chest as the Pokémon's glowing eyes swept the shadows. Seconds stretched into eternity.

Then, with a dismissive shrug, the Machoke continued on its path, the noise forgotten.

Zane let out a shaky breath. "You are insufferable."

"And you are in the enemy base. You're welcome," Zack replied, his grin back in full force.

"Do you think I'm worrying too much?"

Cassandra Heartsfelt brushed a stray strand of brown hair away from her eyes as she looked out the window. It was an expanse of white outside, hail and snow violently assaulting the landscape. As per usual.

On the bed was a redhead whose striking blue eyes were intensely focused on a chess board. Her lips were pursed and she was staring down the black knight that had pinned her queen down as if to intimidate the metal piece into backing away. Alicia Gale waved her query away, not taking her eyes off the board.

"You always worry, Sandra. Zack will be fine."

Sandra huffed and walked away from the window to sit at the edge of the bed. "But of course you'd say that to calm me down."

Alicia put her hands on her forehead and massaged her temples. Her eyes perked up as she realized that she could bait the knight with the queen and head for Sandra's king instead. She knocked over her rook and took it off the board, leaving the queen open to attack from the knight.

"We all agreed to lay low for a while after that mess with the Church. He just needs a vacation."

The brunette glanced at the board for a moment and then quickly took Alicia's queen off the board before going back to staring out the window.

"But he's him. When have you known him to follow orders?"

Alicia had to bring her hands down to cup her mouth as if she was still in deep thought. In reality, she was just covering up her smile. Sandra was distracted and had fallen for the bait.

"He knows how wild things are out there right now because of us. He's smarter than you give him credit for, y'know?"

"Zack knows exactly how much it hurts when he does that stupid knee-first landing, and he still chooses to do it."

Alicia looked up now after setting up a possible check in the next turn. Sandra had now turned her attention to the floor and was chewing on her nails.

"San…"

"Discovered check."

The redhead's eyes widened as she saw that her knight moving out of the way exposed her king to Sandra's bishop. Sandra had pulled ahead on total wins in their tally of games with this. In the moment of frustration, Alicia slammed her fist on the bed.

The sound of splintering wood filled their ears as the bed caved and both pieces and players were sent to the floor.

The door tore open and a tall, graceful figure with blade-like appendages attached to its arms rushed in. The gallade's fists glowed with a copper aura, ready to pummel something.

"Stand down, Gallahad… I just got a little frustrated." Rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly, Alicia rose from the floor, dusting off her pink sweatshirt. The gallade seemed to understand almost immediately and lowered his fists. He bowed and exited the room as his trainer offered her fallen comrade a hand.

Groaning, Sandra took the hand and pulled herself up.

"Sorry about that," Alicia said as she patted some dust off of Sandra's grey hoodie.

"It's fine, I'm just… Still afraid he'll do something stupid."

"Well, that's why we sent Zane with him. If there's anyone that can cut through Zack's insanity, it's him."

Sandra nodded reluctantly. "You think they'll be okay?"

"Perfectly fine."

"I hate you." Zane allowed himself to shoot a glare at his teammate returning his attention to the scene ahead of them.

"Save it for the return trip…" Zack tapped the centre of a pokeball, causing it to enlarge and fill his palm.

A few feet ahead of them, several shadows shuffled forward. The silhouettes resembled pokemon, but something was deeply wrong. The glowing red eyes were a pretty big cause for concern, sure. But something worse was afoot.

The shadows moved as one, as if attached to each other.