Story Notes:
Disclaimer: Pokemon and all licensed Pokemon merchandise, including characters, are strictly property of Nintendo. In short; I own nothing but ideas. Any names and/or likeness pertaining to real people or characters is strictly coincidental (unless it's an allegory). All rights reserved.Warning: This will, in later chapters, contain sex, including normal intercourse, oral, some violence borderline to rape. It will also include violence (not in sex). The story will be updated to include those warnings upon the posting of the first chapter to include that subject. All chapters with sex are marked with XXX at the beginning of their description.Author Notes: (Updated 06/07/10)I don't have any decent excuse, I don't. Other than my life falling apart. I've been up for two days straight and I'm going to sleep now, but that may explain any serious errors in my writing and how poor it is in general. I'll come back to fix it when I'm more awake.=================================================
Babysitters and Kidnappers
Chapter 5
Babysitters and Kidnappers
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It was the middle of the night; a time when stars shone their brightest and put shame to any light in a city. They even managed their way through the thick trees of the forest and through the fabric of the tiny, triangular tent. Evelyn smiled up at the little white specks as she waited, the only illumination within the shelter coming from her Pokegear, open on her wrist. The white light conquered her corner of the tent, leaving Lisa and Draco safely in dreamland with no interruptions. Evelyn rubbed her eyes, wanting to join them, but waited for her grandfather to come back to his computer. Just as the hopeful thought occurred to her, the light on the screen shifted and she looked down to see her grandfather, as bald-headed and grey-bearded as ever, sit in the chair before his computer, fresh cup of coffee in his hands. She envied him; it was nearly two in the morning and she didn't have so much as a tea-leaf.
"Well," he said, "I can tell you that everything you've learned so far is true; as far as I know."
"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Evelyn. "My own mother was a member of this 'Towers of Knowledge' business, and you didn't tell me? It isn't something as scandalous as Team Rocket, is it?"
"Pft," scoffed Professor Yew, "Team Rocket is nothing compared to the Onyx Guards."
"Onyx...Guards?"
"They work for the Onyx Tower. They aren't like Team Rocket; Team Rocket will battle you Pokemon to Pokemon. Onyx Guards will use their Pokemon to get to you. If that doesn't work, they'll use other methods of lethal force."
"Lethal force!" exclaimed Evelyn. Draco, sprawled on his back next to her, grunted in his sleep and kicked his foot a little before he continued snoring. Evelyn brought her voice down a few octaves. "Lethal force?"
"I told you," said her grandfather, "They aren't like Team Rocket; they will kill you. They've killed before until they were subdued. They use Pokemon, guns, knives; anything! They're borderline terrorists!"
"I can see why you never told me..." muttered Evelyn. Her grandfather nodded gravely. "But they were subdued?"
"Partially," he answered. "When they rose up and took over two of the other towers, the police force learned of it and defeated them whenever they popped up. No one knows where any of the towers are, not even Onyx's Headquarters, so they're most likely still in formation. Rumor has it that they have sent spies into our police force, but there's little proof, my sources say."
"Your sources?" inquired Evelyn. Her grandfather suddenly looked a bit skittish, looking anywhere but at the web-cam, muttered things to himself. "Gran..."
"When...when you get to Slateport, ask about LORAO..."
"LORAO?"
"Yes, you'll learn all you really need to know then. Now you need to get some shut eye, and so do I," said her grandfather, giving her a stern look that made Evelyn pretty sure he meant it. She said her good nigh and he shut his line off. Evelyn closed the Pokegear and leaned back in her sleeping bag. Her grandfather seemed so rushed, but she decided to wait and learn what she could. She rolled over, curling an arm around Draco. As the darkness returned to the cheap, tiny tent, Evelyn could just barely make out the outline of the Phantom Chest, its bronze and silver gleaming next to the shimmer of gold. The keyholes, however, seemed to almost glow in the dark; the lime green of a paw-like shape, a football shape, a water drop, and a perfect circle on the lid. It was a little creepy; unsettling to look at the glows of the shapes in the dark, and Evelyn gave a shiver.
Draco frowned. He wondered if she realized he was perfectly awake, but desperately trying to change that. He turned over suddenly, facing her, and threw a hand into her face, blocking one of her eyes. She chuckled and pulled him closer before drifting off...
"Oh, my back..." groaned Lisa the following morning as she and Evelyn folded the tent up. Draco snickered, putting out the very fire he had created for breakfast.
"Hey, I warned you that I have a cheap-ass tent; it's only meant for one person. You're lucky I pulled out the tarp that goes underneath, or we'd have slept on the ground."
"And be paralyzed by morning," Lisa groaned, leaning back and Evelyn heard her spine pop. Draco physically cringed. "Let's just get going. Tauros?!"
The massive bull Pokemon grunted and came moseying around some shrubbery, chewing cud. Evelyn helped the smaller girl up then followed her, Draco latched to the back of her shirt. Lisa gave an odd clicking sound and the Tauros began to trot off. He didn't seem as lively as he was the day before.
"Is he alright?" asked Evelyn after they'd walked for a half an hour. Lisa looked over her shoulder to Evelyn.
"He hasn't gotten much sleep..." said Lisa, "We'll be in Mauville soon, though, so hopefully he'll be fi-"
No sooner were the words out of Lisa's mouth that a Seviper slithered out onto the path and reared up at the Tauros, who backed up a few paces, groaning and grunting, stamping his hooves.
"Woah, woah!" commanded Lisa, trying to calm the Tauros down. It stepped sideways, backward, and any which way it could, stamping its feet around. It was an awkward battle of movements as the Seviper moved wherever the Tauros did, like the annoying hallway dance; you move, they move, and no one gets anywhere. Without warning, the Seviper struck out at the forelegs of the Tauros. He reared up roughly, throwing Evleyn and Draco off his back. Lisa, however, leaned forward and grabbed the bull's neck tightly before it leapt over the Seviper and shot off, thundering down the pathway.
"Shit..." cursed Draco mentally, jumping onto Evelyn's back before she ran after them. The Seviper hissed but slithered off to the other side of the path. Evelyn sprinted after them, but the Tuaros was spooked beyond reason and it continued its rampage right through Mauville City itself! It roared passed townsfolk who scurried to get out of its way, Evelyn and Draco hot on its tail. They passed right through the small town and out into what seemed like a park of some sort. It ran toward a woman in a light pink apron that was watering plants outside a white picket fence. She turned just in time to see the Tauros, which reared up and veered sharply to the side where it tried to hurdle over the fence. It failed amazingly, instead breaking right through the fence and tripping over the splintering wood before tumbling over.
"Oh no- Lisa!" shouted Evelyn, watching the Tauros roll right over her friend. There were Pokemon inside the yard everywhere and they scattered to avoid the creature. Tauros recovered, and Lisa had fallen off in the tussle, still conscious but bruised up and holding her arm. The bull bucked and kicked, breaking yet more of the fence; by now random folks from town and some athletes and trainers working nearby had rushed over to help. A Tangla hurried out from the crowd of Pokemon and launched vines, binding the Tauros, who still remained panicked, fighting the new restraints. The woman they had passed reached back and threw a Pokeball.
"Noctowl, hypnosis!" she shouted. The bird Pokemon flapped over to a lone fence post, the soul survivor of that section that received so much abuse from the spooked bull. It landed on one foot, holding the other one up to balance as it spread its wings out, curving them in to block Tauros' view of anything else. All anyone could hear were the gentle purring and chirps of the Noctowl before the bull stopped struggling, swayed in spot, and then collapsed sideways. Evelyn rushed forward to help pick up Lisa, who hissed in pain as they gently moved her arm.
The woman, who obvious owned the place, let her Noctowl fly and land on her arm, frowning at the two. She had dark brown hair of perhaps shoulder-blade length, though one couldn't tell since it was held up in a ponytail. Her hazel eyes were stern but concerned, and she wasn't any taller than Evelyn. She sighed, shaking her head. She seemed tired, and Evelyn imagined, due to the woman's tan skin, she must work outside a lot. The woman pointed toward the house at the end of the yard.
"Get in; you're friend is hurt..." she said, then looked back to the onlookers. "What are you all staring at?!"
They jumped and hurried off, grumbling. Evelyn helped Lisa into the house. It was cute and country-style; light pinks and blue coupled with white. She opened the door and led Lisa into a kitchen and sat her down at the table. The woman came in after them, shutting the door behind her. She quickly busied herself, throwing something into the microwave and running a cloth under the water faucet. She had a simple white shirt on and light-blue jeans; her light brown strapped sandals clapping dully on the tile floor. She took off her light pink apron and hung it on a key-rack next to the door before she came over, pulling up a chair in front of Lisa and began to wipe the dirt off her arm.
"That was a heck of a ride," she commented, smiling a bit. Lisa relaxed, hearing that her voice was frustrated but amused. "Is your Tauros new? He doesn't seem to listen to you..."
"No, it's not that..." said Lisa, "We were on our way here when he was spooked by a Seviper."
"Seviper? Yeah, that'll do it..." the woman said. She was rather kind, after the initial shock of having a two ton bull rampage in your backyard wore off. She couldn't be any older than early twenties, and she was quite motherly the way she gently moved Lisa.
"Sorry...about your fence," said Lisa.
"Oh, no worries," said the woman. She stopped once Lisa's arms and face were cleaned, then went to a cabinet and came back with some peroxide for the minor cuts. Lisa flinched, but the woman gave her a gentle smile, "Took quite the beating, didn't you? I'm Maria, by the way. I run the daycare here."
"That explains all the Pokemon," thought Draco, looking at the kitchen window over the sink where many Pokemon were peering in to see what the hubbub was all about.
"We can fix the fence," said Evelyn. Draco glared at her; does she have a Rattata in her pocket? What was this 'we' nonsense. Evelyn returned his look when Maria went to take whatever it was out of the microwave. He knew there was no argument here, but he'd give her hell for it later.
"Oh, that's very sweet of you. I could use some help; it's been busy here. I'm afraid you can't, though, Miss...?" asked Maria, looking to Lisa as she applied a hot-pack to Lisa's arm.
"Lisa. Lisa Hoffman, and this is Evelyn and Draco," she replied, "Why can't I help?"
"Your arm is sprained. You're lucky it's just some wrist-issues and not a broken bone. Besides; I have professionals for that. You two just need to help me baby-sit until they're fixed," said Maria, putting Lisa's arm into a sling, the hot-pack held inside. Evelyn groaned inwardly; it wasn't even her Pokemon that did the damage, but she'd have to clean up after it.
"First, we'll have some lunch," said Maria, getting up and moving to the refrigerator. Draco perked up.
I like her already, he thought. They ate simple sandwiches and chatted idly about themselves.
"I've always loved flying Pokemon, but I still like all Pokemon, so I started this daycare," said Maria.
"Really? I love normal types, but I want to help all Pokemon!" said Lisa.
"You should consider being a caretaker," said Maria. They finished and moved out into the yard again. Lisa's Tauros had recovered a bit, but stayed lying on the ground, looking woozy. There were random Pokemon scattered around, some already picking up pieces of wood and tossing them into the garbage.
It was a beautiful day; a few clouds in the air but a blue sky was stretched out. Maria guided Evelyn to a warehouse on the far side of the yard, where she handed her some Pokemon food. The yard was beautiful, despite the chaos that was the shattered fence. Green, lush grass, shady areas near the trees behind the house, a large pond at one corner, along with sand and boulders. There were many kinds of Pokemon; water, fire, flying, large, small, cranky, nice, and everything in between.
Draco was playing with some smaller Pokemon, pretending to be something along the lines of Godzilla. Lisa sat with a group of Pokemon, playing with them. Evelyn helped Maria feed pour some Pokemon food in troughs near the house, and Draco was the lucky bastard who got to sit and relax. Evelyn nudged Maria when she noticed something odd. Every time Lisa got up to move to a new group, a little Spearow with a bandaged wing hopped after her.
"Lisa?" said Maria. Lisa looked up, brushing some light brown hair away from her face. She felt a scratching at her back as the little bird began clawing its way up her shirt and to her shoulder.
"Row!" it screeched, quite pleased. Lisa patted its head.
"I think you've made a new friend," said Evelyn as she and Maria approached, the ladder of which began to fill some food bowls.
"I like him," said Lisa, "What's wrong with his wing?"
"I found him like that. He was injured when some OG men tried to capture his whole flock. They made off with about half of them..." said Maria. Evleyn frowned.
"OG?" she asked.
"It's a name we gave them. They're some goons that steal Pokemon from the wild. They have uniforms with "OG" on them...They've been bothering me since I saved half the flock."
"Bothering you how?" asked Lisa. Bless her, thought Evelyn, she has no idea.
"You're about to find out..." muttered Maria, frowning as she finished filling a bowl and straightened up. Evelyn and Lisa followed her gaze to a girl and boy walking toward the house. Evelyn and Lisa recognized the boy right away; the look of youth, pencil thin, blonde-haphazard hair, short for a boy. Hell, his clothes gave him away more than anything; collared shirt, khaki pants, dress shoes, rimless glasses, and a tie.
"Denis?" said Lisa. The boy smiled and waved, but the girl swatted his hand harshly. Her face was blank, emotionless. She had platinum blonde, long hair and silver eyes. She was Evelyn's height and wore a uniform consisting grey tights, a black skirt, a black button-up blouse with a grey undershirt, and true to what Maria had said, there was grey embroidery of a calligraphy OG on both the shirt and skirt. They approached the broken fence, the girl with her hands behind her back and looking down at the scene with a calculating look. Denis looked a little jumpy, giving a faltering smile.
"Are you giving up yet, Fiona?" asked Maria, hands on her hips. The girl kept her head moving, looking at the scene, but stopped momentarily and looked to Maria, face still deadpan.
"Negative," said the girl, Fiona. Her speech was crisp and cutting, robotic even. "I have returned as a final warning. You will reciprocate for the specimen you have taken from us. If you do not agree now, we will take them by force. What is your answer?"
"As you would say, 'negative'," said Maria, cleaning her hands off on her apron. The girl made no expression but pulled out a cell phone and began to talk too quietly for them to hear. Denis was wringing his hands nervously.
"Denis, what are you doing with her? Don't you know what she's part of?!" hissed Evelyn. The boy frowned at her.
"Yes, I do, but how do you kno-"
"It is decided..." said Fiona, hanging up her phone. What's been decided, thought Draco, climbing onto the top of a sleeping Snorlax. They were all giving her a suspicious look, even Denis, until a low rumbling shocked the air. The trees nearby rustled loudly before they rolled in waves, wind rushing past them. Evelyn and the others had to throw their arms in front of them to keep the dirt that was kicked up from blinding them as a massive machine came hovering from over the trees.
It was something like a helicopter, but at a level all its own. It had wings like an airplane but mounted on each were two sets of rotor blades, making a total of four. It was a massive machine, the size and shape of a 747 passenger plane; its nose was a glass dome with metal scaffolding behind which was several other OG's. It had a dull grey to its body, and guiding lights here and there blinking. It turned sharply, the real rotor blades making the tail swing around. It hovered over them, wind thrashing the grass like a pebble dropped in water. The belly of this air fortress dropped open like a trapdoor and down fell a net over the majority of the yard. Its corners, weighed down with metal tips, dragged along the ground and clipped together, all the daycare Pokemon inside. Draco shouted out to Evelyn as the net tightened and was jerked upward, zipping upward.
"DRACO!" shouted Evelyn, jumping to grab the net, but it slipped away from her fingers. She turned wildly to the girl who just seconds before called and gave the command for this thievery, but she was climbing onto the back of a Skarmory before taking off, Denis sitting behind her.
Lisa listened as Evelyn cursed a whole new book of obscenities, even calling the girl a word that started with a C and rhymed with blunt. Lisa felt a rush of sympathy for Evelyn as the doors of the machine slammed shut; Lisa's Tauros was gone too. The fortress rose up and took off, disappearing over the treetops. Evelyn couldn't manage to think straight; she had no way to follow them. If she didn't...she might never see Draco again.
"I can't believe she- No! C'mon!" shouted Maria, pulling out a Pokeball and releasing a Pidgeot. She climbed onto its back and signaled to Evelyn. "Get on! Lisa, you stay here."
Back the cargo hold, Draco struggled inside the net, trying desperately to get some space between him and his fellow prisoners. The door slammed shut and they were wrapped in darkness, the only illumination coming from one blue light, fading on and off. The net released itself and was retracted into a hole in the wall. Now he was sitting with all these Pokemon in a cold, metal room. He slid along the wall to a corner and sat down. He had no clue what to do; he and Evelyn hadn't been separated before. His stomach churned at the injustice of it all, and the idea that he would never see her again. He laid his head in his hands.
"Can't you get any closer!" hissed Evelyn behind Maria. They were tailing the flying fortress from a good few yards away. Maria shook her head.
"No, look! They're landing..." hissed Maria. The fortress hovered for a moment and then lowered itself into a clearing in the forest. Inside the clearing were several machines that looked similar to tanks, and behind them were trailers with netted cages full of wild Pokemon. Uniformed OG men were standing around with clipboards, examining the angry Pokemon held captive. The Pokemon were roaring, screeching, rearing up on their hind legs and trying to swat the men in black and grey, but to no avail.
Pidgeot landed on a large pine tree so that they could watch as the flying machine hovered for a while as it gently and carefully lowered itself down. The door to the plane's cockpit opened and lowered down a set of stairs. A few guards walked and began to talk with the ground units, particularly those with clipboards counting Pokemon. They behaved in a military fashion: the higher OG would walk to one counting Pokemon, the latter of which would come to attention and salute the higher guard, who would return the salute before the conversation began. Evelyn could catch what one near them was saying;
"The Lieutenant wants the quantities of Pokemon captured immediately; we're due for take-off before 1900, and we'll have to delay if we have failed to reach our quota. Do you have them?" said the higher-up.
"Yes, sir; but only the first count, and I know that the Lieutenant will not allow us to load the Pokemon until we've counted twice more," replied the lower-ranking guard. The higher-up nodded, came to attention, did an about-face, and moved to parade rest. All around the clearing, other higher-ups did a similar move, all of them now facing the woods, being vigilant watchmen. One guard returned to the plane, and Evelyn could only assume this was to inform "the Lieutenant".
Maria nudged Evelyn, pointing to the tail end of the machine where no one was standing. She nodded and the Pidgeot flew carefully through the trees, landing out of sight. They climbed off and moved through the vegetation. They waited until they were sure no one was looking and ran forward under the machine, hidden from sight by its landing skids.
"We have to find a way to open it..." hissed Maria. Evelyn looked over the hinges of the trapdoor until she found a set of controls; a thin metal square with buttons and a lever.
"Hey, look!" she hissed. Maria came by and looked at it. It had multiple buttons and a single lever with a label above it that read "Emergency Cargo Release". Maria smiled and gestured to it, as if to say "You do the honors." Evelyn reached forward and pulled it...
The light inside the cargo hold suddenly flashed red, on and off like a strobe light, quite different from the calm dimming from moments earlier and a siren wailed. Draco barely had time to register this before the cargo door dropped like a metal slide and the Pokemon all slid out. Many things happened at once. Maria shouted to the Pokemon to run, which they readily did, knocking over several guards who were rushing to the area of commotion. As they ran, Evelyn was happy to see a few of the more ferocious ones, like Zangoose and a Mightyena, attacking the net-cages, freeing the other captured Pokemon.
More and more guards came rushing out of the plane, surrounding Evelyn and Maria, but Evelyn didn't care. Draco ran down the trap door and jumped into her arms, where she pulled him close. The Pokemon had gotten away by the time the guards had them surrounded, and it was the synchronized "chik-chik" of guns being cocked that brought Evelyn back to reality. They were all holding semi-automatic rifles, each dressed in similar uniforms as Fiona's, but they all had grey helmets with black glass over their eyes on.
"You can't count a few Pokemon without a screw up, can you? Just a few numbers is all I wanted, an-" came a disturbingly calm voice as Fiona pushed her way into the circle and saw Evelyn and Maria. "You two? You have no business with us any longer, the transaction has been made."
"Transaction? I keep a flock of Pokemon out of your hands and you steal daycare Pokemon?" said Maria, stepping forward threateningly, but when a guard raised his rifle, she stepped back. Fiona kept her eyes on Evelyn and Draco as she placed a hand on the guard's rifle, lowering it. She was narrowing her eyes at Evelyn, then focused on Draco, and for the first time she made an expression; a slow smile that send shivers up the little Charmander's spine.
"Oh, this is much better," she said. "Take them."
Guards came forward and grabbed Evelyn by the arms, another grabbing Draco separately, and a third taking Maria. They were escorted up the stairs and into the machine. It was an odd kind of cockpit, obviously one meant to hold a good few people. There was the main floor in front of them, a very high level to the right, and a set of stairs leading up to it, along with a metal door near the top of the stairs. There must have been a lot of control panels up there since lights were reflecting on the shiny surface of the ceiling. Along the opposite wall to the door they were led in were buttons, knobs, and other components along a massive control wall.
To the left was the nose of the plane, a cupped pane of glass. Before the nose was a raised metal platform with stairs on either side of it. At the base of this platform, right between the two stairs leading up to it, was a desk of controls, obviously navigation due to its pilot-controls and radar. Not only that, but Denis was there, sitting in a metal chair at the controls, pushing buttons, toggling things, and moving levers frantically. He turned when he heard the door close behind them, and froze when he saw the group.
"Denis, close all openings and set a course for the Tower," said Fiona. She waved a hand at the surplus of guards, most of which bowed and walked off, going up the steep, right-hand stairs, through the sliding metal door, which sealed shut behind them. The guards that held them, however, stayed put. Fiona walked up one side of the metal stairs and onto the platform at the nose, hands behind her back and as calm as ever.
Evelyn jerked her arm when the guard held it too tightly. Maria made no movements at all. Draco was contemplating about pissing on his guard's boots. He decided it was too degrading, no matter how amusing. The machine roared to life as the rotor blades started up. Evelyn could hear the sound of the cargo door closing. The machine jerked as it rose off its landing skids. Fiona still wore the same, oddly empty smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Why are you taking us?" asked Maria. Bless her, though Draco, she was calm, she was collected, and he was sure it was partially due to the fact that she couldn't spew fire, which is what he would have done. Maria rose and eyebrow then signaled the guards away. They released them, bowed and walked off like the others.
"You have something rare with you. My father needs specimen like him," she said, pointing to Draco, "and we cannot afford having you two opening your mouths, so you'll most likely be eliminated."
"There are other shineys," said Evelyn, fairly certain that was what she was referring to, "Why Draco?"
"Draco? This name is unfamiliar to me. I am referring to the Charmander. Number 004," said Fiona, loosing her smile. "We have...used most of the shineys around this region, and a few others. They've become rather rare, but our research objective is so close, we can hardly afford to back out now."
Evelyn couldn't find anything to say at this moment. She just gawked at the girl, as did Draco. Maria seemed unfazed and Denis was working with the equipment faster than ever.
"Denis," said Fiona. The boy jumped like someone had shocked him and she rolled her eyes, annoyed. "Call my father; I want him to know..."
She turned around, facing the glass nose. It was a gently curved pane of glass, nearly flat. A screen appeared on the glass, revealing a man that was sitting back in chair, lazily sipping on some kind of alcohol. He had medium length, well combed salt and pepper hair. He had a sheriff's mustache of the same color, and broad shoulders. He was wrinkling at the corners of his eyes and near his nose, and his skin was as pale as his daughter's.
His eyes, however, were very unlike hers. They were, ultimately, just black, no color to discern between the iris and the pupil. They could only see his upper torso, the silver of his robes gleaming against some very dim light, the high collar pulled up around his neck. He had his head against one fist, the elbow most likely resting on the arm of his chair. He was spinning a wide glass in his hand, looking at the liquid swirl with an uninterested expression.
"What is it now?" he asked. "Have you gotten my new specimens?"
"No, father, bu-" began Fiona, but she was interrupted when the man suddenly threw the glass he was holding across whatever room he was in. They could hear it shatter, and the sound echoed.
"Then why do you call me?! I didn't give you the rank of Lieutenant so you could just dick around!" he shouted, now looking at the webcam. "What on earth cou-"
He stopped and frowned, looking past Fiona, who stepped aside and gave a show of her hands toward Draco and Evelyn. His eyes narrowed.
"It can't be..." he whispered. Fiona, for the first time, gave a genuine smile. He was leaning forward in his chair and looking at Evelyn with a sort of shrewdness. "Incredible..."
"Yes, father," said Fiona. "I know how much you desire shineys, and-"
"She looks so much like her mother..." he mused. Fiona frowned, as did Maria, both looking at Evelyn, who was glaring at the man in confusion.
"I beg your pardon?" she said. He chuckled and sat back, playing with his facial hair idly.
"You look just like your mother...well, you should, of course," he chuckled. When he saw the confused looks on all their faces, he cleared his throat and spoke to Fiona. "You do not realize what you have happened upon, Fiona. That girl's mother was the moron who deprived us of the information we needed to complete our work..."
Fiona turned and glared at Evelyn. Draco was beginning to get the feeling that, with this girl, when daddy said jump, she would not only jump, but she'd do so off the very plane they were in if it made him happy. The man on the screen spoke again.
"Unfortunately, she is also your cousin," he said. Now everyone in the room gaped at him, even Denis, who stopped working with the controls. When the plane swayed to one side, Fiona kicked him cruelly in the temple from the platform and he straightened the flight.
"Cousins?" echoed Evelyn, thoroughly confused. "That's not possible; my mother was an only child."
"I'm certain my father would keep you believing that. I can't imagine he is very proud of me after all I've done. He would be if he could see things my way. All the same; I am your uncle Rexus," he said, giving a sneer, obviously not taking the title seriously at all, "and I was your mother's older brother when she was alive."
"This is irrelevant!" shouted Fiona, unhappy that someone had her father's attention. He turned to her with a cold look. "I have her, so what does that mean?!"
"Does she have a chest with her? My sister made that chest while she worked for us; while she worked for Onyx Tower," he said. Evelyn's stomach flipped; her mother worked for them?
"I don't have it here!" shouted Evelyn. She was happy now she had left it in the daycare house. "And I'm not telling you where it is!"
That's my girl, thought Draco, smiling in her arms. Rexus glared at her, clicking his tongue in a 'tut, tut, tut' melody.
"You don't understand how incredibly like your mother you really are, girl," he whispered, then turned to Fiona, "Now bring them back; we have ways of making her talk, but I need her alive!"
"Yes, father," said Fiona. Without another word, the transition ended. Denis raised a shaky hand childishly, as if he were in school again.
"M-miss?" he asked. She acknowledged him with a glare. "I've set the auto-pilot on...May-may I go now?"
"You coward," she hissed. "You simply want to avoid my anger. Fine; I never knew you to be foolish. Leave and lock the door behind you."
He scurried up, rushing past Evelyn and Maria, up the stairs, and through the sliding metal door. Fiona walked down the stairs of the platform and slowly along all the control panels that littered large wall until she came to a drawer. She slid it open and fiddled around a moment, Evelyn and Maria watching her with suspicion. She turned around with a 45 caliber gun in her hand, loaded and ready.
"Hey, he said alive!" shouted Maria, both she and Evelyn backing up. Fiona's expression remained unaltered.
"Yes, he wants her alive. You, however, are just in the way," she said before pointing the gun at Maria. Evelyn could understand now more than ever the warnings her grandfather gave her; this wasn't like the stories one heard of with a kid defeating Team Rocket agents easily. This was real life, and in real life, your enemy aimed to kill. Draco suddenly bit Evelyn's arm.
"Ouch!" she gasped, dropping him. He landed on all fours. Fiona, distracted, looked at him in time to see him shoot a stream of blue and white fire at her feet. She gasped and faltered back. Maria, seeing a window of opportunity, launched herself forward, her fist balled. It flew forward, meeting the Fiona's jaw, sending her back further and she dropped her gun. It fired, but fired into the controls under the platform. Sparks flew and a siren went off, red lights near the ceiling flashing. A screen flashed on the glass nose and a woman's computer voice echoed over the siren.
"Autopilot Malfunction...Autopilot Malfunction..."
Fiona glared at Maria and Evelyn, her hand on a newly broken lip. She reached back threw a Pokeball, a Houndour released.
"Ember!" she shouted. The dog shot a stream of flames at Maria, but Draco headed it off, veering it off with his own stream of fire. Evelyn, no longer willing to play fair, threw out Issac, who just ran in a circle happily the moment he was free, feet padding on the metal floor.
"Water gun on everything!" she shouted. Issac danced for a moment, then stopped and spewed a stream of water at every control panel in the room, including the one at the door on top of the stairs.
"Total System Malfunction; Mandatory Landing Engaged." The system chanted now.
Banging was heard on the other side of the door followed by gunfire. A few bullets came through; only hitting the window of the plane's nose, cracking it severely as they flew threw easily. Houndour continued his attacks, trying to get around Draco and Issac and throwing fire at the two humans who opposed his mistress. Evelyn was focused on the battle until something outside caught her eye, a movement outside of the glass. She looked, wondering what it could be in mid-flight. Maria's Pidgeot was flying outside the nose of the plane.
"Evelyn, where are you going?" shouted Maria over the sirens and the pounding and the system's warnings. Evelyn had dodged a shot of fire and grabbed the metal chair in front of the controls and ran up the stairs to the platform where she threw it at the damaged area of the glass. It shattered and everyone, even the Pokemon, were forced to hunker down as the pressure of the air was swept out of the chamber, almost taking them with it. Outside Pidgeot saw the chair go flying out of the window and wildly over the back of the plane. It ducked down and flew close to the window, slightly under it.
"Issac, return!" shouted Evelyn, returning the Whooper. Draco took the hint, seeing the bird Pokemon waiting, and ran up the stairs to Evelyn, followed by Maria. Fiona, holding onto the railing of the other set of stairs on the platform, roared at them as they jumped out onto the Pidgeot and with a single flap of its wings, disappeared over the plane.
Evelyn and Maria watched from above as the flying fortress rocked and flew erratically, lower and lower, barley over the treetops. It stayed in flight and disappeared beyond the horizon, still flying low. They were catching their breath as the Pidgeot turned around and began to fly back in the direction that it knew to be home. Maria kept looking back.
"Do you think they'll be okay?" she asked. Draco snorted. Who cares, he thought.
"You heard the computer. They'll land and that will be that..." sighed Evelyn. The sun was beginning to go down as they approached the daycare, easily recognized by its country-house style, large yard, and most importantly, its destroyed fence. Lisa was standing outside and began to jump and wave with both arms when she spotted them. Behind her, in the yard, the Pokemon had found their way back.
"I can't thank you enough," said Lisa as they landed. Her Tuaros was next to her, licking the entire length of her face. Maria got off Pidgeot, followed by Evelyn and Draco. Lisa stopped smiling at the somber look on Maria's face when she turned to Evelyn.
"You know you can't stay here," she said simply. Poor Lisa was completely lost, watching the two talk.
"Why not?" she asked. Draco waved a hand dismissively, as if to say 'not now'.
"I know I can't, but I can't exactly teleport to Slateport," replied Evelyn. Maria frowned, a look of epiphany dawning on her. She grabbed Evelyn by the hand and dragged her to the warehouse and threw the door open. Inside was a massive amount of Pokemon care supplies on shelves, but in the center was a plain white bike with a basket on the front, on the handlebar.
"If I thought you were safe in the air," started Maria at Evelyn's suspicious look, "I'd give you my Pidgeot, but you simply aren't. So take this and get there as soon as you can; I'll give you my number and you better call me when you're there."
"Why can't we take Tauros?" asked Lisa. All three, Maria, Evelyn, and Draco, turned to give her a shrewd look.
"One word...Seviper," said Evelyn. Lisa pouted.
"Oh, he was tired; it won't happen again!" she said, but even she didn't sound so sure. Maria put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile.
"I think your place is here," she said simply. Then she pointed to the bird still on Lisa's shoulder. "You've already made a friend."
"Yeah..." said Lisa, looking at the Spearow on her shoulder. "But..."
"Look, I can help you become the best Pokemon caretaker in the world. Please stay..."
"Evelyn?"
Evelyn gave her a sad smile before pulling her into a hug, Draco hugging Lisa's shin below. As she pulled back, Lisa seemed to understand that there was no argument here, so she nodded.
"Alright...but you better be safe!" she commanded, shaking a finger teasingly at Evelyn. She retrieved her belongings from the house while Maria dusted off the bicycle.
"I used to use this for picking up supplies, but since I have people bring them to me, I haven't gotten to use it in a while. Take good care of her," said Maria, rolling the bike to Evelyn.
"I will," promised Evelyn. She placed a spare sweatshirt in the basket on the handlebars and placed Draco inside. He laid down, legs lazily hanging over the edge of the basket, tail curved in to his tummy, and arms behind his head. He gave her a fang-filled smirk and Evelyn rolled her eyes.
"Spoiled brat," she whispered as she leaned over to him from the bike's seat. He simply kissed her nose and the others chuckled. Evelyn waved goodbye as she rode off. Soon, both her friends and the sun were out of sight, the only light she had as she rode along the path came from Draco's fire. She wanted to make it to Slateport as soon as possible, desiring more answers than ever. The sound of the hum in the wheels sang to her, trying to lull her to sleep, but she resisted, even as the moon came up. She kept her eyes, forward; toward Slateport, toward safety, and toward the future with endings less forgiving than the escape she experience that very day.
Aaaand a chapter is done. I'm having fun with this; isn't it obvious? Ah, again, I do apologize that I haven't gotten the sketches for the Phantom Chest. I still need to go buy a scanner, as soon as I stop being poor. Blah. I am very happy that so many of you are still with me on this story! I won't rush into anything, I promise. I need time to develop these characters more. Particularly the relationship between Draco and Evelyn. I'm littering this thing with so many clues...
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Next Chapter:Dead End Blues
In the busy, chaotic scene that is Slateport's seaside marketplace, how hard can it be to find Sly Scyther? Harder than you'd think. What does Devon Corp have to do with him? What do they have to do with the mysterious organization called "LORAO"? More importantly, why they hell is Blake drunk?