VERDANTURF TOWN: NIGHTHAWK OUTPOST: PART 2

It is really hard to believe that 2 weeks have passed since I've contracted pneumonia, ever since that first day, all I really wanted to do was sleep, it was like the life force was completely drained out of me that one day and it took this long for me to regain that energy. I finally realized that my raspy breathing had gone away when I woke up today, it was still painful to take deep breaths, but normal breathing worked fine for me. I was finally able to get out of bed without fearing the worst out of the pneumonia.

Yurrei and Belisivious have been moving from one argument to another as I slept, I could tell, every time I would wake up for just a little bit, they would be arguing over something stupid. I have heard Belisivious talking about how once I have recovered from my disease that we would all have to go to an old human town. I have heard that this town, Verdanturf town was completely destroyed while trying to keep more Pokemon from Miir Cyraa out, ever since, the town has been completely inhabited by savage Pokemon of all races.

I saw Belisivious packing some fragile-looking objects into a large bag, it looked like one of those bags Pokemon trainer's used to use back in the day, I liked it because it was able to carry so many things. I saw Yurrei give Cindy some food from a can, it looked like the very same food my trainer Cindy used to give me, those light brownish looking pellets. I knew that Yurrei took care of Cindy very well for the past 2 weeks, I've seen no signs of abuse or starvation, Cindy even looked healthier than when I found her, before she was so skinny I could see her ribs, now in this short amount of time she looked completely rejuvenated, I was pretty surprised.

"So, can you tell me a little more about this place, 'Nighthawk Outpost'?" I asked, stretching my arms with the Deltoid arm cross, Belisivious was of course the first to answer my question, I was pretty much expecting it too, "Nighthawk Outpost is located near the ruins of Verdanturf town..." I cut Belisivious short by lifting my right paw, signaling to him that he should stop talking, "I know where it is, but I haven't been there since the Anti-Pokemon war began, what has changed?" I asked, this time Yurrei beat Belisivious to the "Who can answer the question faster" game, "Well, the Pokemon who were stranded in the Outpost became savage, as I'm sure you know, but there have been small groups of Pokemon Defenders that are helping us through, it is now the fastest path we have from getting from the Southern corner of Hoenn to the Northern half, that is why we have to go" Yurrei explained, she told me a bit more than I needed to hear, but at least I knew why we had to go through that horrible place, maybe we had to get to Miir Cyraa fast, I really wasn't sure.

As they packed, I took a walk to the cave's exit, I realized it was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. On the horizon I could see Mauville city, it seemed so peaceful, all of the people looked like little ants, scampering around and looking for food. The beautiful scenery was ruined with the PEF helicopters patrolling the area. It was a real shame we were leaving in the afternoon, I really hated traveling at night and it meant that we would have to cross through Nighthawk Outpost at night as well. I shivered at the very thought of it. The once beautiful Verdanturf town was now one of the most frightening places in Hoenn, PEF soldiers don't even bother trying to exterminate the Pokemon in the area, there are just too many savages in that place, but by some bad luck that they actually decide to take care of that place once and for all while we are crossing through it... that would just be annoying as hell. Verdanturf town may be badly infested with those kinds of Pokemon, but Nighthawk Outpost must have been their breeding grounds or something, I have heard that the PEF tried to maintain the populace of that area but they ended up losing every soldier they sent in, eventually they gave up and barricaded the entrance into Verdanturf town and no one was ever allowed to go back.

I saw Yurrei covering Cindy in some kind of black blanket, it was either to keep her warm or to just keep her shaded from the sun. Once Yurrei was done and she let her go, Cindy just sprinted towards me, cutely laughing with this really happy look on her face and leaped into my arms, I could tell she knew that I was okay, pretty smart girl I must say, "As I'm sure you know, Yurrei, I have called for reinforcements, my Alakazam brethren said they will meet us here at noon to take the Eevee to Miir Cyraa on the longer pathway, we cannot take any chances of taking her through Nighthawk Outpost, it would be much too dangerous" Belisivious explained, I knew he was definitely serious about this by that grim look on his face. I guess Yurrei was right, Belisivious really did take child protection seriously, there must have been an incident in his past where he could not protect a son or daughter, either that or this is just the way he is.

There were no arguments here, Yurrei and I knew very well that he was right and we really should go with that plan, but I had to ask him how he is sure that the longer way to Miir Cyraa is safer, he responded with "The PEF do not patrol the coastlines, it would be better just to play it safe and take the longer route" of course I believed him, why would a Miir Cyraa strategist be wrong in a serious situation like this?

For the entire 2 weeks I knew that Yurrei has been feeding me this odd tasting food, I couldn't quite recall the taste, it was like a mixture of Pecha berries and Oran berries, all I knew is that I wanted to try it again, I couldn't quite appreciate the taste with the state I was in at that moment.

I was glad that Cindy wouldn't have to come with us to Nighthawk Outpost, if she did come, you might as well drop a boulder on my shoulder and tell me I have to take this all the way to the Sinnoh region. I wouldn't be able to think properly, just like 2 weeks ago when I was injured by that PEF helicopter, that really wasn't one of my most brightest moments, now I look back at that moment and laugh, what was I thinking, jumping in the incredibly freezing water while it was snowing? Ridiculous.

I finally noticed Cindy purring in my arms, I couldn't help but smile, it was just so cute how much she was happy that I was okay. Yurrei dropped her last item into her little bag, I believe I saw some medical supplies in there and the last thing she put in was some kind of tube object, I wondered if there was a needle attached to it, so I asked her. Yurrei looked at me with that "Are you serious" kind of look, I noticed that was probably a dumb question, "Never heard of 'Anti-Pokemon 7 Potion'?" she asked, wiping her forehead with her left paw, still balancing herself perfectly on 3 paws, "Um... no, what is that?" I asked, putting Cindy down so she could roam around in the cave freely. Yurrei let out an unnecessarily long sigh and stared at me like I was stupid, "Really don't know much about the war I see, Anti-Pokemon 7 is a cruel poison, PEF soldiers usually use it on close ranged type Pokemon, once you are injected with that poison, it is only a matter of time until you become another forgotten soul, buried under a tombstone in the Miir Cyraa graveyard. First it causes paralysis, next massive pain from all corners of the body, then your dead, there is really not much warning to it" Yurrei explained to me, I saw the look of pain on her face, she was imagining what it was like to be injected with that poison.

I rubbed the back of my head in confusion, I was wondering if that Umbreon I found those 2 weeks ago was injected with the same poison, it all adds up, "The... the needle had poison..." that is what it must have meant, at least I now truly know that I really couldn't help that poor Umbreon mother. Plus, she must have had no one else to trust at that moment except for me, Zangooses were usually feared by most Pokemon, if I had a sibling for every time I witnessed an Umbreon trust a Zangoose, I'd be a single child, which leads me to remembering my brother, Zamaius and my sister Sydney. I remembered back to when the Anti-Pokemon war began, I was in Fortree city with my brother, I believe my sister was back home in Littleroot town at the moment. There were so many men in black, padded protection, there was an insignia on their arms, it resembled a black and white Pokeball with a silver X crossing over it, under the insignia were the letters "P.E.F.". They were all wielding guns for some unexplained reason. Zamaius and I were just checking out what was going on, but we decided not to confront these guys, it could have been dangerous... and that it was. Once 12:00pm rolled around... at that EXACT second, all of the soldiers began to storm into everyone's home, they gave the citizens a 20 second warning to peacefully give up their Pokemon and if they were to refuse or revert to violence, then guns would begin to go off, my guess was that the soldiers who began to fire the second they broke the doors open only saw Pokemon in the building.

It was such a horrifying sight to behold, my Pokemon brethren being slaughtered in such a horrific way, death by gunfire and poison, the needles now made sense to me, a poison only designed to kill Pokemon, that is what they must have used to those Pokemon who tried to fight back in Fortree. Zamaius and I could only stare as the bloodshed continued, I stood there, completely paralyzed by this past experience until I heard a familiar voice, "Um, Jherek, are you alright?" I heard Yurrei's voice break my flashback and I was glad for it, being stuck in such a horrible flashback is something I really do not like, just the thought of reliving that experience just made me shiver all over, "Oh nothing, just thinking about something from the past" I responded, staring at my feet, trying not to cry. Just the shock of being broken from the flashback kind of rattled me up, "...do you want to talk about it?" Yurrei asked me, she arched her back over so she could see my face even though I was staring at the floor. I opened my mouth to talk but I was interrupted by Belisivious, "Oh, have I interrupted flashback time with this little message?" he said sarcastically, "I'm sorry, but time is of the essence! We must pack up and get ready for my brethren to arrive!" he ordered, I figured out that he was already packed up and out of the cave's exit, "Well, I'm packed up" I said, just hoping that Belisivious knew a thing or two about jokes... I didn't really want to get criticized for jokes that might seem stupid in higher societies, "That wasn't even remotely humorous..." Belisivious responded, "Just hold up a bit, let me get a few more things and I'll be ready" Yurrei said, giggling a little bit at my joke while running into the dark cave hallway. I just realized I have never been through there, all of this time I've been in the same room, so I just decided to walk in there too.

I saw a little intersection between the hallway, looked like one went to Yurrei's room and one went to Belisivious's room. I decided to go to Belisivious's room first, it looked very impressive, all these papers everywhere and all of this equipment, all in this small room, it surprised me how Belisivious lived, with all of these contraptions, half of the things in here were completely unknown in my brain. I started tinkering around with some tube he had, it was filled with a purple liquid and was labeled "Anti-Pokemon: Opposing Posion" I just assumed Belisivious was working on a cure for the Anti-Pokemon 7 potion, "Impressed with Belisivious' things? Yeah, when I was first assigned his partner I was pretty surprised myself, but we can't sit here talking about it now, we'd better get out there before Belisivious blows a gasket" Yurrei said, walking down through the hallway and heading for the cave's exit, the bag on her back bouncing up and down as she walked.
My curiosity to see what was in Yurrei's room greatly increased, but I knew I didn't have enough time to check it out, guess I'll save Yurrei's room for next time I come here... if there was going to be a next time.

"They should be arriving any minute, Zangoose, will you get the Eevee out of the cave before I seal the entrance... or would you rather prefer her staying in here and starve her to death?" Belisivious ordered, setting down his bag carefully. I ignored his minor insult and did what he ordered, I picked up Cindy, curling her up in my arms as if she was my own baby. As I walked out with Cindy in my arms, Belisivious began to charge up to use his Psychic ability on a large boulder placed right next to the cave's entrance, I was pretty surprised that I hadn't noticed that before. He lifted both of his spoons and began to concentrate, shutting his eyes and chanting some kind of weird ritual line, "Inuur'Calastia" he chanted several times, it was probably just an Alakazam thing. I was surprised when the boulder began to rise up from off the ground, a mark was visible from where the boulder once was, but it just came up so suddenly that it startled me. Cindy gazed at the boulder in awe, I knew children were amazed at the most simplest things, but this was really something to behold, the beautiful colors outlining the boulder as it slowly moved, but the strength that Belisivious had when he saved my life from that helicopter was much more impressive back then, it is like he's getting weaker or maybe he just has in own way of picking up a large boulder, he was most likely just trying to be careful with it.

I finally began to feel the cold weather, it was probably because it was the afternoon, usually always gets a little cold around this time. Still, the sight was beautiful and I was glad to finally get out of that stuffy cave. "Well, this part is done, now we must wait" Belisivious said as he set down the boulder, but still not gentle enough to not feel the ground vibrating from it.

There was a long moment of silence between everybody, we just stood there and waited for the Alakazams to come. Of course I was just staring at the beautiful sunset, how the sky turned completely orange and red as the sun began to disappear behind the horizon, giving room for the moon to do its work and light up this corner of the world.

That peaceful moment of silence that I enjoyed was finally broken when a small group of 4 Alakazams hiked up the hill towards us, I had to say that I was expecting them all to be like Belisivious and not dress up for the occasion, but I was wrong, they were dressed in large, black coats with an insignia on the arms, just like what I saw back in Fortree, but this insignia had the same Pokeball but no silver X going across it, under the insignia were the words "PDF", "Ah, Aiina Aruul'Jlecka!" Belisivious greeted them with his Alakazam language, I didn't know exactly what he said but it was probably something like "Greetings" or "Hello"

"Zangoose, meet my Alakazam brethren, all members of the PDF, Pokemon Defensive Force, you will not have to worry about the Eevee's safety, these Pokemon are trained professionals" Belisivious explained while the other Alakazam greeted him with the same "Aiina Aruul'Jlecka" phrase, "We must continue down the road with the Eevee, do you have it?" one of the Alakazams asked, I hesitated for only a moment, entrusting them with Cindy was just something I couldn't do in a matter of seconds, but it seemed I had no choice, "Here she is" I said, holding Cindy out so all of them could see her, "Ah, what a fine specimen of Eevee, you may not worry, we will take care of her with our lives" the same Alakazam proclaimed as they continued going their own way, all of them walking past all of us and disappearing behind the edge of the cave, "Fine specimen of Eevee?" I thought, the way those Alakazam talked was pretty amusing in my mind.

"Quickly everyone, we must start our journey to Nighthawk Outpost" Belisivious proclaimed, suddenly I heard the same familiar voice I heard just a moment ago, the Alakazams have returned with Cindy still in their sights, "Wait brother, we almost forgot to warn you about the PEF's intentions on Nighthawk Outpost" they all said in unison, "What do you mean, what is the PEF planning for it?" Belisivious asked, an "Expecting the worse" look on his face, "They are going to begin an entanglement inside of the Nighthawk Outpost walls by sending a large Special forces PEF group, our information reveals they will attack Nighthawk Outpost tomorrow morning, so I recommend silence and speed in passing through that accursed area" all of the Alakazams said in unison once again, I was a bit surprised that all they could give us was grave news and just leave like that, all 4 of them left without even saying "Goodbye" or "Safe travels"

"Damn it... the humans are cunning, they must have figured out that some Pokemon are using Nighthawk Outpost as a safer network to Hoenn's North side..." Belisivious whispered to himself, but it was loud enough so Yurrei and I could hear too, "Well, we can't just sit here and worry about what is going to happen, we have all night to get through there, it shouldn't really take that long" Yurrei said, trying to give Belisivious a bit of hope before the journey began, "But you forget, it is not only Nighthawk we must pass through, we must go through Verdanturf itself as well, we'll be lucky to get out of there before the PEFs get there" Belisivious responded with that same grim look on his face, "Stop it, Belisivious, Miir Cyraa needs you, we can't just give up now when the PEF invasion is coming!" Yurrei yelled in frustration, "How much time do you think we have until the humans find Miir Cyraa?" I asked, fearing the response, "They haven't found Miir Cyraa, what they did was find Miir Cyraa's protection Outpost, the tower of Zhantarc" Belisivious proclaimed, "...but if that Outpost falls..." Yurrei continued for Belisivious, "...Miir Cyraa will be discovered..." Belisivious continued, "...and we as Pokemon will cease to exist" they both said grimly in unison.Chapter End Notes:March 12, 2098: Never seems to be a dull moment in my life, Yurrei, Belisivious, and I have to travel through Nighthawk Outpost so we could beat the humans to a Miir Cyraa outpost before their invasion starts. Too bad I had to give Cindy to a bunch of Alakazam, I just hope that they will all be safe