Took me a little longer than I had planned it to be, but I finally have this chapter up! Please R&R!

Chapter 26: Leaving the Caves

Nothing. That's all there seemed to be at first. It felt like a place where nothing existed, nothing to keep myself on the ground. It almost felt like I was floating in mid-air, yet it appeared that I was not going anywhere. My thoughts seemed to have scattered about, asking so many questions at once. Where was I? Why was I floating? Was I dead? Was I back in my pokeball? Was I really albino to begin with or was everything a lie? Why was I asking myself these pointless questions? Was I in an alternate world? How old was I? Why was everything hurting so badly? What just happened? Why are my eyes closed? Why can't I seem to open them? Oh! I guess maybe I was conscious after all, just a little winded after whatever just happened. What did just happen? Aargh! Stop these crazy questions!

Coming to, I slowly blinked open my eyes, everything seeming quite blurry. as an added plus, my ears seemed to be ringing. I couldn't hear anything going on, not that there was much to hear. Blinking a few times, I turned my head, only to feel the muscles in them aching with pain as I did. My thoughts seemed to wander as I tried recollecting unknown events that recently took place. Bit by bit I recalled being in a cave, pink Clefairy everywhere. It was kind of like a nightmare for guys. I remembered them doing something with their paws before waking up like this, I think. I coughed as I inhaled some dust floating around, hearing my own voice muffled as I did.

"Hello?" I called out, the ringing in my ears muffling my voice as I struggled to get up. My legs buckled a little, my paws stepping on some loose rocks lying about as I coughed again, my vision clearing. "Ted? Where are you?" I continued to cough as more dust filled my lungs. With my vision clearing and my mind remembering what happened, I took a look around the area, noticing quite a number of large rocks scattered about. They must have fallen from the ceiling when the explosion partook. The explosion! That must have been the attack the Clefairy used, but for what purpose I wasn't sure. "Ted?'' I yelled out again, my ears still muffling my voice. "Ted?" I staggered about now, trying to make my way across the cave, stopping suddenly as I noticed something out of place, something that used to be therem but not anymore.

"Where's the moonstone?" I thought to myself in question. Did the Clefairy blow it up? Was that their main goal in order to stop Destiny? Just where was he? Nevermind him. I had to find Ted. Everything else could come later. I now hobbled across the cave, looking all about for any signs of Ted. Poor guy, um, mon. He was probably crushed underneath a rock somewhere, not able to breathe as his dying breath called out my name. And I couldn't even hear well. Just thinking about that made me frantic as I hurried my hobbling, calling out Ted's name as I stopped and looked under every rock I passed. The longer it took for me to find him, the more worried I became. What if I was too late? What if he had already gone and I was looking in the wrong place? What if- I stopped suddenly, slowly turning my head to the left. Sure enough, there was Ted, standing there looking at me with some odd emotion on his face, sort of like wondering what the heck I was looking for or something.

I felt relieved knowing that he was all right. I started to walk over to him, but Ted turned his attention back to the cave wall, staring at a downward angle. What was so fascinating about a cave wall? Shouldn't he have been happy that he was still alive? However, as I came up next to him, I saw just what it was he was looking at, or rather, in this case, whom. Lying sitting up against the cave wall was the pokemon Ted was fighting earlier, his eyes open, but empty. Looking up right above his eyes I could see a piece of rock sticking out, embedded in his head. Must have been from the explosion. I wanted to say something as I stared at the now deceased pokemon. Yet another one fell prey to death, all for the sake of a future that an insane pokemon sought.

I watched Ted as he walked up close to the pokemon, kneeling down and keeping himself balanced with one hand while the other was placed over the pokemon's eyes, closing them so that no one would have to see the emptiness in his eyes. As Ted began getting up, I tried to muster out some words. "Ted, I-"

"Don't worry about me, Zack," Ted said, keeping his gaze lingering upon the pokemon. "This is my burden to bear, just like how that Sneasel is your burden to bear." I didn't know what else I could say after that. All I felt for the moment was pity for this pokemon, pity that he had to wind up on the wrong team and die for it. "A shame I couldn't help him though," Ted continued. "Poor guy was confused with what he was doing." That was something that caught my attention. Unfortunately, as I went to ask him about it, my ears picked up a noise, causing both Ted and I to whip our heads around to see Destiny at the other end of cave heading toward the exit.

"Destiny!" I yelled out, my yelling causing him to turn to look at me.

He ws silent as the both of us stared at one another for a few good minutes. "Curse you, quadruped!" he finally said. "Curse you and all the Clefairy! You may have foiled my plans this time around, but rest assured that the next time we meet, you'll experience my full power and you and your friends will die." I remained silent as he spoke, anger flaring up inside me. "You only delay the inevatible. This is only a temporary set back for me, however. I will succeed in my plans for world domination and when I do, you'll be the first I'll come after."

"You can try," was all I said, receiving a very rather nasty glare from him.

"We shall see, Zack," was all he said, staring at me for another few seconds before looking down, his eyes glowing blue as a piece of the moonstone levitated into the air and flew right into his hand. With that, he turned and walked off into the cave again, causing me to start after him. I barely got in a step when Ted spoke up.

"Let him go, Zack," he said. "There's not much he can do with just a piece of the moonstone. All it really is good for now is to evolve a pokemon who needs a moonstone to evolve." I continued staring in the direction Destiny had disappeared for at least several more seconds before turning away.

"Are you sure?" I asked, not completely convinced.

"It'll take him the rest of his life searching for stones that small," Ted replied. "And besides, there's no possible way they would be able to hold to form a spaceship big enough, let alone finding enough moonstones to build at least half the ship." I still wasn't entirely convinced with what he said was true, but I had to trust Ted's word on it.

"All right," I said as I turned to him.

"So Zack bro. What was up with that huge explosion?" Explosion? Oh, right.

"Oh that was just Cleft and his Clefairy friends doing some weird attack and blowing u- oh man! Cleft! The Clefairy! We need to see if they're all all right!" Realizing that blowing themselves up may have done some major damage to them, Ted and I ran to the middle of the cave, moving and breaking rocks to make sure the Clefairy weren't hurt too badly. After about making sure five Clefairy were okay, I managed to spot Cleft lying up against the wall face down. "Cleft!" I yelled out, running over to him and flipping him onto his back. "Cleft! Say something! Please be okay!" Surely enough, Cleft came to, coughing and trying to breathe in some air. "Take it easy. This place is a little musty with the debris floating around."

"I'll be all right," Cleft croaked, his voice cracked. He tried clearing it with another cough. "What happened?"

"You blew up along with the moonstone," I replied.

"What about the pokemon who-" he began, sounding a little better, but was cut short as I replied with a "Don't worry. He's gone." "Thank goodness," Cleft said, sighing with relief as I heard a familiar voice calling out my name.

"We're in here!" I yelled out, the tip end of Charcoal's fire tail running in through the same entrance Destiny had left through a second later with both Laura and my trainer right behind him.

"Ted!" Laura yelled as she ran off to find him. Charcaol and my trainer both came running towards me, the latter kneeling down and placing his hand on the side of my head possibly. Or rather my face. I really couldn't tell. But it did feel reassuring to have him here.

"Thank goodness you two are all right," he said, relief in his voice. "Is Ted okay, Laura?" he yelled over to her.

"A few scrapes and bruises," she replied back. "And parts of his fur are singed like he took a Flamethrower or Thunder Shock attack head on. Otherwise, he's doing fine."

"Are you all right?" I heard Charcoal say behind me, helping Cleft up.

"A little woozy from blowing up, but yeah, I'm fine," was Cleft's answer.

"Blowing up?" Charcoal asked.

"Me and the rest of the Clefairy here all used Metronome and managed to use Explosion," Cleft explained.

"Ah!" Charcoal said. "So that's what caused the cave to shake like that."

"Hey what are we going to do about all the Clefairy lying about?" I heard Laura ask. "I hope they're all right. And where did the giant moonstone go?"

"I'm not entirely sure," my trainer said as he got up. "But I think the Clefairy had to do something with it. Right Zack?"

I smiled and replied with a "You better believe it!"

"So then that rumble that occurred, that was them blowing up their own moonstone?" Laura asked.

"I guess so," my trainer said, looking around. "Looks like that explosion also sent that group of pokemon packing too."

"Who were they anyway?" Laura asked.

"I don't know," my trainer said. "But I have a feeling that that may not have been the last we've seen of them."

"Great!" Laura said, sarcasm in her voice. "So now we're fighting an unknown gang of pokemon whom we have no idea what their goals are, aside from the pokemon."

"I wouldn't worry about it much for now," my trainer said as some of the other Clefairy began coming to.

"I guess you're right," Laura said with a frown before turning it right side up and squeezing Ted. "But at least we get to go to Cerulean City now that that is all over."

"Cerulean City?" Cleft questioned. "Is that where you're all heading?"

"Before we got sidetracked, yes," was Charcoal's answer.

"Well allow me to guide you to the exit then," Cleft said. "That should at least make up for attacking you from earlier.

"Hey thanks!" I said happily, walking over to him. "Lead the way!"

After getting our human trainers to follwo and making sure the Clefairy were completely okay, Cleft led the lot of us through the caves and out to our exit. "This is it," Cleft said as we walked out into the light, being blinded for a moment. Yeesh! The darkness really messes with the eyes for the light.

"So this will take us to Cerulean City," Ted stated.

"Just so long as you follow the path," Cleft said. "I think it's about a day and a half to get there from here."

"All right!" Laura yelled happily. "We're finally out of this cave and going to Cerulean!"

"And I can finally earn my second gym badge," my trainer said, pumped up with excitement. I was just as eager and couldn't wait to fight whatever awaited us at the next gym.

"Hey Cleft," I said, turning to him. "I'm really sorry about your moonstone."

"Zack," Cleft said. "You and your friends fought for something that wasn't even yours. We are ever indebted to you all and are welcome back at anytime."

"Thanks!" I said grinning. "But what will you do now that your space rock got destroyed?"

"Oh don't worry about it," Cleft said before darkening his voice. "We Clefairy will rebuild and colonize an army on a nearby planet for our return to dominate the world!" The three of us, excluding the humans, all remained silent, though the humans really had no idea what Cleft said. Cleft quickly lightened his mood, however, laughing, the three of us laughing unsure chuckles in along with him. "Nah! I'm just joking you guys." He wiped a tear from his eye. "But no, seriously. I was being serious." And there was that dark hint in his voice again along with the evil looking glare he was giving us. I wasn't quite sure what to make of this Clefairy at that point, at least right up until he started laughing again. "Man you guys are easy!" he chuckled. "You should have seen the look on your faces!" Again that unsure, awkward silence fell among Charcoal, Ted, and I, yet was shrugged off as we joined in with yet another unsure laugh.

"Well, Cleft bro," Ted said as the laughter simmered down. "We sure do appreciate you guiding us out."

"It was no problem," Cleft said. "Just a little make up for whay I've done."

"Well, we'll be seeing you," I said as we all turned and began our journey for the city. Once we were far out of earshot, I spoke up again. "Man that was one heck of a battle."

"I'll say," Ted said. "At least you weren't fighting a ghost type."

"I for one am glad to be leaving," Charcoal said. "If you ask me, those Clefairy seem a little creepy." I had to agree with him on that. Not that the Clefairy were all that bad, just a little on the creepy side. I don't know why, but I looked back to see Cleft's pink body standing before the cave entrance/exit, even from this distance. I turned away briefly, partly because my neck was getting stiff and partly because I had to shake my head and blink a few times, not sure if I was seeing things quite right. I turned my head and looked back, only this time, where I saw Cleft standing a second ago, he was gone, almost like he wasn't even there to begin with. I turned my head straight back onto the path before me, unsure that what I did see was just an illusion my eyes were playing. Even though we were pretty far from where he stood to where he couldn't hear, I could have sworn I saw him smirking quite evilly.

But I suppose that was only my imagination.