Private/Closed Grave of the Forgotten

[PentheWonderful]

OOC: This roleplay is now exclusive to @Acroticus, @BurbleBurble, @Curtkid, @EspeonTheBest, @Storybook, and @_Umbreon_. For Ask to Join opening post, click here.

Prologue​

Papers. Fluttering helplessly at the mercy of the wind. Dragging. Faded. Letter by letter, typed in by labor. Now lost and forgotten, worn away by sun and rain. Waiting for its day to be picked up and read again. Or perhaps, thrown away. Just to put an end to it all. Something that once told a story, captivated people with its words, now nothing more but an empty page to our disposal. Like the memories of many people, once fresh and new in their minds. But slowly, they fade, until nothing significant remained. This was not the case for Cassandra Michaels. Though the false, deceitful words had faded, and the painful, traumatic memories had aged, she still remembered what they'd once said, what they'd once been, and they remained fresh, new, and raw in her mind and heart. And they always will be. Because memories like those, they were eternal. As eternal as the scars that deformed her hands, as new and raw as the deep gashes, bruises and welts hidden beneath her coat. They told her to keep it hidden if she didn't want any more trouble. But at that point, she didn't even have anything to lose anymore. Keeping them from sight simply to avoid questioning gazes. Vindictive, accusing glances.

Fingers rippling with the remainders of third degree burns clutched the trenchcoat wrapped around her body tightly. Bare without gloves to hide them. Hanging on for dear life. The plane she boarded to Unova experienced heavy turbulence. From her window seat, Cassie gazed out the window, orbs of gray plastered thick with anguish matched the color of the sky outside. But her eyes, framed with dark circles, were the only thing that showed emotion. Or perhaps, it just hurt her battered face too much to contort. Her hair, as wild as ever, was now short, yet crudely cut. Uneven in length with the back being much shorter than the front. But that was to be expected when you got a haircut from a Scyther that was trying to take your head off. It tickled her face and caressed her cuts gently as she sat limp, and soon slumped over in her seat.

The violent rocking soon steadied, and Cassie shakily let out a breath, allowing her head to lean back against the headrest. Her eyes stung when she closed them, yet, she was so exhausted. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd gotten any sleep. Every time she would almost be able to fall into the embrace of sleep, that blasted cell door banging shocked her awake. Even now, after her release from that forsaken Rocket base. Even as just a traumatic hallucination that was permanently burned in her mind, it kept her from getting any well deserved rest. Keeping her mind just scrambled enough to not be able to hold a proper conversation. Her fingers soon tangled themselves in her hair, pressing against her scalp and tugging none too gently to metaphorically unclog the back up in her head, or perhaps they were simply keen on pulling all her hair out while her eyes watched a stewardess gather the remains of the in-flight meal. She couldn't remember the last time she had a proper meal, either. Her eyes drifted blankly to the stewardess moving down the isle with her cart, and wandered some more to the passenger sitting next to her, who was reading a newspaper from a week ago. Around the same time she was released from Team Rocket's clutches after three months of torture. A day after a headline on a newspaper owned by the Rocket Company landed her in trial for gym badge fraud.

The headline, it read, 'Ace Trainer Tried for Gym Badge Fraud! Final Verdict? 50 Million Pokemon Dollars!'

It was a dull thump to her head. One that echoed, and rang in hollowness like a bell that brought so much pain to the trainer. Yes, Team Rocket knew just how to torture her. In their eyes, she was a threat to be destroyed, and a source of information to be exploited. But when they found out she had no gold to share, well, she was just a toy to completely obliterate. And they obliterated her good. So good, Cassie couldn't help but respect their tactics. She wondered if it was a blessing or a curse that she knew very little about Curt, Sai, and Jacob. She practically only knew their first names. Nothing valuable to be shared to Team Rocket. She didn't know where they lived, where they were born, who their families were, heck she didn't even know their last names! But that, was exactly why she didn't blame them. She didn't blame them for not trying to look for her. She didn't blame them for not trying to rescue her. She didn't blame them for the torture of hope that they would come barging in, or in a disguise, to get her out. They didn't even have her contacts, and she doubted they were even still in Kalos. Why would they even care? In her heart, she wondered if she'd been more open with them, if she'd just taken the chance to get to know them better, or... Or asked them if they were friends. How different would things be? And it was then Cassie realized how truly alone she was in the world.

And after Team Rocket had done those heartless acts to her, she didn't even have a reason to go on anymore.

To name a few of the lesser evils, she was now on the verge of bankruptcy, after being fined 50 million dollars for something she didn't do. The public now saw her as a despicable human being who, according to witness testimonies during the trial (all Team Rocket approved, no doubt), didn't even raise her own Pokemon, but traded the fake gym badges she supposedly manufactured for the strong Pokemon she owned, and never even challenged a gym in her life; that the badges in her badge case were all fakes. She lost her trainer card, badge cases, and status as a Pokemon trainer in general, and probably won't be allowed another reapplication any time soon.

It broke her, yet the worst part was, that wasn't even the worst part.

The worst part will always, from now until forever, haunt her. Follow her to her grave. Stay with her in death. Nothing hurt her more, than those two events Team Rocket had set up.

Fortunately, before her mind could fester any further, the plane had touched down, a bit too roughly for Cassie's liking. By now, you're probably wondering how someone on the verge of bankruptcy could afford a plane ticket to Unova. Well, that was because she didn't. It was paid for, by her father. The brilliant scientist, Ben Michaels, who was beginning his new position as a lecturer at one of Unova's most prestigious universities. She never went to school at all herself, but she supposed that would've been what her mother called an unnecessary waste of time, given she'd been taught everything from practical to theoretical studies, first hand by her own parents (who legally qualified as accredited educators) during her nomadic lifestyle as a child. Maybe that was why she never had any human friends, or why she was such a lousy one that didn't even deserve rescuing.

The seatbelt lights were finally extinguished, and Cassie allowed the passengers in the middle and isle seat to get out first. She didn't want to brush against the bodies that were forcing their way to the exit, and she definitely had no intention of getting her foot ran over by someone's luggage. So she waited until the cramped economy class section was clear before she took her pink messenger bag and dismounted. She hailed a cab, but only rode in it for so long before getting off again when the cab fares neared her maximum budget. The remainder of the way, she walked. Despite it being a week since she was freed from the Rocket base, she still had limps and injured joints here and there. But being outside of Kalos was a refreshing change. Nobody stared. Nobody even looked. Here, it seemed her problems couldn't touch her.

Eventually she happened upon the university gates, entering and hopping on the first bus she could find to the designated building mentioned in her TransReceiver. Her feet ached by then. Too far out of practice and strength. She'd be losing much more energy and body heat if it weren't for her brown trenchcoat. The ride felt much longer than it should've been, before she finally reached her destination. She walked quickly to a map of the building, and just as quickly racewalked down the halls, looking and feeling small as a mouse. She kept her head down, and her eyes set forward, avoiding students with piles of books in their hands, but her pace was quickly draining her stamina. As her vision blurred slightly, she collided into a student, a male from what she could tell, that she didn't spare a moment to glance at. "Sorry." She uttered with her tired voice, and made down the hall without looking back.

Until... There it was. Her father's office. Michaels, it said on the tag. Cassie raised a hand, hesitated, and finally grasped the door handle firmly in her clutch. She drew in a shaky breath, and opened the door. If she'd been frail before, now, in the face of her father's gaze, she quivered like a leaf. Her eyes were already stinging, her body wanting desperately to run into her father's arms and cry like a little girl. But she restrained herself, and kept steady. Cassie urged herself to look Ben in the eyes, but couldn't find the strength inside of her to do so. Because she'd inherited his eyes, and she didn't want him to see what she'd done to them. "Please, come in." He said with his deep, controlled voice. With her head hanging, Cassie took a brave step inside and shut the door behind her.

It seemed nowadays, her eyes were always wet. But she couldn't help it. And now after everything that'd happened, she realized that that was who she was. A crybaby who put up walls to look tough and competent. "It's... Been a while, Cassie." Hearing her father say her name made her cringe inwardly, as if his voice was now too good to say her name. Especially that nicknamed that she preferred. "I heard everything from your mother." Cassie felt her heart twist.

"You're a liar!"

She quickly sucked in a breath. The scream, her mother's voice, so real in her ears. Those burning, electric blue eyes. She fought harder to keep her tears from falling. "I... Didn't... Do it..." Cassie said, very quietly, as if to remind herself what the truth really was. Despite this, she didn't dare look to her father; an intelligent, attractive man who seemed untouched by time. As usual, he was sharply dressed in a vest and tie, his bangs left frayed over his forehead in a loose, yet casual way. Cassie knew he was a soon to be favorite in the university. And she should've also known that he was sharp enough to hear anything and everything that came out of her mouth.

"I know, love." But his words were hollow. There was a heaviness there. Like a certain hopefulness, but, also restraint. Because Ben was a man of fact. He put his head over his heart, and though his heart wanted desperately to believe her, the facts showed otherwise. Yet, there was that paternal side of him, his instinct that knew better. That his wise, intelligent daughter had been taught better and knew better. That she wasn't possibly stupid enough to do something like that. Jeanne was much more impulsive, and Cassie hoped, she prayed that her father could see and trust his instincts. Just for this one time. Finally her eyes, lifted. Gray to gray. And Ben saw there wasn't a trace or hint of guilt in them. There was simply anguish, and pain, and hopelessness.

The man of thought swallowed. There was an overwhelming feeling flooding his chest, wanting to help his helpless little girl, but there was the disciplinarian side of him who kept him leaned against his desk. "But, one does not land in trouble without doing something to deserve it. I want you to overcome this, and grow from it." Cassie could see her father's resolve breaking, and she watched his Adam's apple bob on his throat. "What a beautiful thing that would be." He shut his eyes for a moment. He was the one who broke the gaze, and that meant something to Cassie. "But, I suppose I should get to the point of your invitation here."

Her eyes followed Ben's hands as he pulled something from his vest pocket. It was a purple velvet pouch. As he extended the pouch over to her, Cassie stepped forward and outstretched her hand, palm up. The moment he placed the pouch on her hand, she could hear the crisp rustle of paper, and the clang of metal. Immediately, the young woman drew in a breath. "M-... Money..." Flew out of her mouth before she could stop it; something she needed desperately. After her trial, she'd been living off of nothing more than granola bars. Heck, she'd been sleeping in Anistar Pokemon Centers after coming home one day and seeing what people had done to it. "Is this... From you?"

"From your mother, actually. I pitched in, of course." Ben explained, clasping her hand in his and giving it a comforting squeeze. "To get you back up on your feet, and... Get some more meat on your bones."

Cassie closed her tired eyes, absorbing the warmth from her father's hand, before she reminded herself that she needed to wake up from the dream and return to the nightmare. So she pulled her hand back, but instead, came her father's arms engulfing her in a hug. Cassie gasped, and this allowed her to inhale her father's scent; hearths and edelweiss, and she told herself to remember that well. Because that hug, the money, and his softened resolve? It was all a farewell.

Cassandra Michaels was no longer a Michaels. She was not Cassandra, Ms Sandra, or Lady Michaels. She was just Cassie. A girl who'd been disowned by her own family.

Cassie left the office with tears rolling down her cheeks, clutching the pouch close to her chest as she hurried down the hall yet again. She turned for the courtyard, for a shortcut through the grass, and stopped when a drop of water fell on her head. The young woman stopped, and looked up. Gray clouds had begun to roll in, precipitating cold drops of rain as they went. Out there in the open, people could see her easily. They'd be able to see how her coat was swept by the wind, and see how she only had one, empty Pokeball on her belt.

A ghost in the building storm. By the time rain engulfed the area, she was nowhere in sight. Was this the worst part? No, it was only half of it.

 

[Trucro]

"Arnold, use aerial ace!" The large bird, a Pidgeot, rushed downwards, from it's height, towards the Heliolisk waiting on the ground. The stadium they were on was nothing special. Actually it was less a stadium than a stage. Jacob was pretty sure the University used the stage for plays; he thought he could remember attending one a few months back. It stood with its back closed behind curtains, and its front open to hundreds of seats. They were all empty but two, where Professor Milan sat with another student Jacob didn't recognize, watching intently. He stood across from an opposing trainer. Jacob had never met the girl before, but he knew her name was Sarah from the conversation he had overheard between her and Professor Milan. She was good-looking, which made it all the more difficult for Jacob to try to beat her. He tried to keep his attention on the battle. The flying pokemon was fast, but Jacob had already begun to give his orders when Sarah had given hers.

"Dexter, razor wind!" The battle had been going on for some time, and Dexter was beginning to slow down. He had already landed several hits, and Jacob thought that his opponent's Pidgeot couldn't be far from finished. Jacob had been lucky enough to be graced with a type advantage, and he expected a quick win that had turned into an extended battle. Dexter's arms glowed white as he swung forward, releasing two blasts of energy that crashed into the charging bird-pokemon. When the smoke cleared, the Pidgeot lay on the ground, unconscious. Jacob took a deep breath, trying not to smile to widely. Dexter turned around and ran to his trainer, jumping onto his torso. Jacob didn't intend to hold the pokemon in an embrace, but the Heliolisk had grabbed onto his torso, and was not letting go. Jacob hurried a hug with the electric-type, and a few congratulations before returning him to his pokeball.

"Well, done, Jacob," Professor Milan said. The man was old; Jacob assumed he was in his eighties, although he could have been over a hundred for the way he looked. The man had long since lost his hair, with a lazy eye that wouldn't follow whatever he was looking at. Still, he had taken a liking to Jacob, and Jacob didn't quite know why; there were plenty of great students at Driftveil University. It was the best school in the region, possibly the world, and Jacob knew he was probably on the average side of the student body. Still, he appreciated the man's assistance. "You really have been doing well!"

"Thanks," Jacob replied un-enthusiastically, trying to mitigate as much harm as possible that the Professor had done by ignoring Sarah.

"Good, but I think Dexter's had enough for a while. I'll see you in class on Tuesday," Professor Milan said, ending their conversation. Jacob smiled and nodded before heading out of the theater.

As he walked outside, he was buffeted by the wind. He was wearing a jacket, and quickly zipped it up and threw on his hood. It looked like it was going to rain soon; dark clouds were forming overhead. Jacob pulled out his phone and began to check the weather. Yup; it was going to rain all day, and it was supposed to start any minute. Wonderful. He was looking at his phone when someone walked into him. He was pushed to the side; it was clearly a woman, but she had suprising force. Maybe Jacob was just off-balance from reading his phone. He looked up to see a familiar face stomping away from him.

"Sorry," the woman said, already passed Jacob. The voice didn't sound familiar, but there was something about her face. Jacob sighed as he furrowed his brow. It couldn't be. The woman had looked like Cassie, one of Jacob's... friends? Rivals? Enemies? He wasn't sure what to classify her as. They had had a complicated relationship. But she had been taken by Team Rocket; Jacob had presumed she was dead.

Team Rocket. He thought about them all the time. They had been so insignificant just a year ago, and now... Jacob's experience with them consumed him. His friends, his betrayal, his training. It had all emanated from this one group. Everything he thought of lead to them somehow. Even bumping into a random girl that looked a little like someone he knew. It didn't help that they were following him either. He usually felt safe on campus; some of the best trainers in the world worked and trained here, so it would be foolish for Team Rocket to mount any sort of offensive against a student on campus. He was safe from physical altercation, but not from his thoughts.

Making his way back to his dorm room, he quickly shut the door to block out his roommates. He felt weak, and lightheaded. Jacob opened a drawer beneath his bed and pulled out a hat: a fedora. He sat down on his bed as rain began to pelt his window. He usually loved the rain. The feeling of being trapped indoors was, for whatever reason comforting. Even now it provided him with a little euphoria, enough to push the fedora aside, and pull out his computer. He pulled up an essay for one of his classes he had finished the day before, and submitted it.

Still being a bit off, he lay back on his bed. Closing his eyes, he listened to the soothing sound of the rain against the window. It was very relaxing, and it wasn't long before Jacob was asleep.

He woke up in a field. Shaking his head, trying to remember how he had gotten there, he rose to his feet. He tried to remember how he had gotten there, but couldn't. He looked around; the area looked very familiar but he couldn't place it. The grass was green, and there were trees surrounding him. It looked nice, quiet. He smiled as he looked up at the sky. It appeared as though it was about to rain. Jacob loved the rain.

Just then he heard a voice coming from the brush to his right. He turned to see a Charmander, emerging from the bushes. The pokemon looked a little worried as it screamed its name into the trees. Jacob recognized the pokemon as Embertail; he had seen the Charmander enough to know who it was. As Embertail turned back around, Jacob confirmed that the pokemon was worried. He slowly walked over to the Charmander.

"Hey there," Jacob said aloud. "What's going on?" But the pokemon didn't respond. "Hey!" Jacob said a little louder, but Embertail didn't respond again. It appeared as though the pokemon couldn't hear him. That was weird; he hadn't known Embertail to have problems with hearing. He walked over to pick the pokemon up, only to find that he couldn't. The Charmander slipped through his hands every time. Jacob furrowed his brow trying to understand what was going on when someone emerged from the bushes. He recognized the man well and his teeth clenched. It was Sai. Jacob had never really liked Sai, and that was before the trainer had tried to kill him. He was still angry at the young man, and his hands became fists as the the trainer turned back, and yelled into the trees. Jacob couldn't hear Sai for some reason; not like he could hear Embertail. It wasn't long before another trainer emerged from the woods. Curt, a worried look on his face, followed Sai and Embertail as they ran past Jacob.

He couldn't hear Curt either, but was interested in where they were going. He followed Embertail, Curt and Sai as they raced through the woods. He was having trouble keeping up, and he had to push himself as he started to fall behind. The group jumped into a nearby clearing and stopped. As Jacob caught up, he could see why they had stopped.

The clearing was easily familiar now; just a few meters away, Jacob could see the road. It was a road he had traveled many times, and it comforted him slightly to know where he was; it was Route 15 in Kalos. He turned back to the group. A Garchomp stood in front of the group, gritting its teeth, as they looked on in terror. The pokemon looked familiar but he couldn't place it until he saw the woman standing beside it.

"Cassie?" he said out loud as he squinted to better see the woman. She looked good, great actually. She was wearing her fedora; how did she get that? He was looking her over when he realized she was wearing a Team Rocket uniform; the black shirt and pants with a scarlet "R" on the front was all too familiar to him. He was mesmerized; his anger at Sai faded as his feelings for Cassie began to bubble over. The feelings were not good, but they were different from Sai's. It was a mix of joy, guilt, familiarity, and sorrow. And, there was something else as well, but he couldn't place it.

He turned back to the group to see them all gone. The sky had become clear, but it was nighttime; he was looking at a starless sky. He was no longer in the clearing either; in fact, he didn't recognize where he was. He looked back to Cassie, to see her missing as well. He spun around, trying to figure out where he was, and where everyone had gone. He saw broken pieces of marble structures; what appeared to have been some sort of temple, many hundreds if not thousands of years old. It was not a comforting sight, and Jacob quickly realized he was sweating. What was this new feeling? Fear? No... it was more intense than fear. Terror? It wasn't so sharp. Dread.

Something caught his eye; he was drawn to it. A short stone structure stood on the ground beside him. It looked to be distinct from the fallen marble remains surrounding it. Only a foot and a half high, it could only be one thing. Jacob was pulled towards it. He wasn't sure if he was walking or floating. It quickly became clear that Jacob's suspicions had been correct; it was some sort of tombstone. He furrowed his brow as he looked carefully, trying to discover why it was there, and to whom it belonged. But the closer he looked, the less he saw. He began to loose his grasp on the setting. It was unsettling, as if the physics of this world were disappearing, merging with another. He was being forced down; gravity felt particularly heavy, if he could even call it gravity. Something was holding him down, whatever the prevailing forces of the next world were. "Is this what it's like to die?"

Jacob woke up in a sweat. He was breathing heavily, and felt weak, as if he had just been hit by a train. He maneuvered himself to the edge of his bed, where he sat up. He had a terrible headache, and let out a puff of air as he reached up to his head. What an intense nightmare! He couldn't remember ever feeling anything like it. He coughed a few times before standing up, and getting himself a glass of water.

It was still raining outside. That was good, Jacob thought. It was dark as well, which meant he had slept for many hours; many more than he had planned on. He wouldn't be getting back to sleep tonight. Even if he was tired, he couldn't sleep. His dream captivated him; he played it over and over again in his head. He remembered hearing one time that dreams disappear if you don't consciously try to remember them. He doubted this dream would leave him, but he pulled out a piece of paper and wrote it all down.

Once he had completed that, he read it over. Sai, Curt... Cassie... why was he thinking of them? He turned to see the fedora, on the ground where he had knocked it before going to sleep. He bent over, grabbed the hat, and placed it on his desk. He stared at it for a moment before pulling out his computer.

He began to type in the word "Cassie" before realizing something; he didn't even know her full name. He searched it anyway, only to find thousands of unrelated results. He removed "Cassie" from the search bar, and plugged in "Cassandra." After all, that was longhand for Cassie.

About three links down, he found something interesting. 'Ace Trainer Tried for Gym Badge Fraud! Final Verdict? 50 Million Pokemon Dollars!' He scrolled down the page, stopping at a picture of the defendant. That was her alright; "Cassandra Michaels." She did look different than her remembered; her hair was off, and he wasn't used to seeing her dressed that way. But she was alive! How had she not reached out to him or Curt? Jacob was pretty sure that Curt would have told him if she had!

Although, Jacob remembered that Cassie and Curt had a different relationship that he and Cassie had. Perhaps Curt had been hiding her from him? No that couldn't be; Jacob and Curt had been through a lot since then. Curt would have told him if he had been contacted by Cassie. Jacob pulled out his cell phone. If it was ten o'clock here, what time was it in Hoenn? Curt should still be up. He quickly typed in Curt's number and hit send. He listened closely as the phone rang, and turned up the volume so as not to be drowned out by the rain.

"Hey, Curt?" Jacob said as someone answered the phone.

 

[Curtkid]

".....So, explain to me again, why are you trying to start a fire without using your tail?", Curt asked his Charmander companion. The Pokemon had been rubbing several sticks together in an attempt to get them to spark for the past fifteen minutes, though he had gotten close a few times, he had always come just short of making it spark. Though

Well, wraugh if rehh rougn rhave meah rail?", Embertail responded to the human, his speech an odd mix of growls and an attempt at human tongue. Over a decade and a half of living with humans had caused the Charmander to make several attempts at learning human speech, with...some level of success.

"Well, if we don't have your Flame, that means it went out, and we'd have a bit more to worry about then not being able to start fires, right?", Curt said to his friend. They were just outside a forest north of Mauville City, they had yet to challenge Mr. Wattson yet do to being...side tracked by some old business. The rest of the team was setting up camp, Whips and Lockjaw were setting up the tents, Jasper and Raviel were supposed to be unpacking their remaining camping equipment, but the two had decided to start bickering over something. Curt wasn't sure, but those two would bicker over just about anything, he'd almost swear those two were in a relationship if it wasn't clear that Jasper and Embertail already had a thing for each other...well, that and-

The entire groups head popped up as they heard the faint pitter-patter of foot steps, everyone heart skipped a beat, not due to their new arrivals, but as to the news they would bring. Clearly visible making their way down the mountainous terrain were two Ninetales, one female and male respectively, the female was noticeably missing her left tail and had a faint glow of gold to her, while the male as slightly more bulkier, but still had a fairly slim and agile physic. Curt suppressed a gulp as he made his way over to the two magic foxes, even Raviel and Jasper had stopped bickering for the moment, whatever news they brought would shake the entire party.

"W-well, Flare, Nine, did you two find anything?", Curt asked the two foxes. Nine, the male, opened his mouth slightly, as though to respond, but just ended up lowered his head to the ground, the Pokemon had been constantly getting more and more depressed since he joined their party, but recent events actually seemed to have raised his spirit. But now, he seemed more broken then ever, the tiny bits of hope he seemed to have pieced together had shattered in one fell swoop. The female Ninetales, seeing her friend so utterly plagued by sorrow, took pity on him and decided to speak for him.

"(We...found what defiantly looked like what was once a Team Rocket base camp, but judging by it's condition, it had been long since destroyed and abandoned before we even arrived in Hoenn)", Flare said through her telepathy, disappointment was noticeable in her voice, "(if I had to guess, it was raided by Team Magma, not wanting Team Rocket moving in on their turf, it wasn't an exceptionally well structured base, more like a temporary foot-hold and definitely not one they'd keep prisoner's in...I-I doubt Cassandra was ever here)".

"(So that Team Flare Boss got bad information...I knew that, we all knew that)", Nine murrmured through his own telepathy, he didn't sound angry just, full of despair, (Thank-you for trying though, it...means a lot to me)". With that, the male Ninetales dragged himself over to Embertails pile of sticks and just collapsed, looking at nothing in particular,he didn't even seem to notice there wasn't a fire going yet. Seeing the Foxes depression, Embertail doubled his efforts in making the fire and, surprisingly, actually managed to get a spark and small flame going. He gave Nine a huge smile and gestured towards the fire, as though the idea of a Charmander starting a fire using sticks and not his tail should be humorous, but it was clear that Nine was in no mood to have his spirits lifted.

Nine was a very recent, "addition" to their team, and Curt used that word loosely because he didn't really believe that Nine was truly a part of their team. The Ninetales originally was with Cassie, and was the only one of her Pokemon not to be captured along with her when Team Rocket managed to catch her off guard. Ever since then, Nine had traveled with Curt, going from place to place where rumors of Rocket activity might be, but so far all their efforts failed to yield fruit. In fact, nine rarely spent time with the group outside of the occasional meal, he was constantly on the search for Cassie.

Recently, they managed to coerce the tip from a Team Flare Remnant gang boss (O.K, more like Raviel almost fried the poor bastards brains) who himself was an ex-Team Rocket member, that a group of Team Rocket prisoner's were being moved to a Hoenn base, and that Cassie just might be among them. Of course, the man had been out of Team Rocket's loop for several months by that point, and even he confessed that their might not be anything there. Still, the group felt the tip was worth looking into, even though they knew it would almost certainly lead to a dead end, besides, Curt had been meaning to travel to Hoenn for a while now.

"H-hey, it's, um", Curt stuttered out, not really sure what to say,"l-look, just get some rest, and we can discuss our next move after some food". Nine returned Curt's words with a heavy sigh. Curt truly felt bad for Nine, the fox's depression had been gradually getting worse and worse with each passing day, and he hadn't even tried integrating with the rest of the group outside of Flare. Curt even tried making him feel like part of the group by using him in his battle against Roxxanne when he challenged her (they had to wait for a ferry to Slateport, flying on Pokemon had been temporarily restricted in Hoenn). That had....very mixed results, he struck at her Graveler with blind flurry, barely listening to Curt's advice. Though he managed to K.O it, Nine also took some hefty and unnecessary damage, but after his rage fizzled out, he just sort of...gave up and let her Probopass knock him out. Though he said after the match that he was grateful for the opportunity to battle again, it just seemed to remind him of his battles with Cassie, and nobody, not even Flare, was sure if that made his depression better or worse.

Just then, a Cellphone call pulled Curt out of his thoughts. It was rare when someone called him, as few people had his number. A quick flick open of the phone revealed who the caller was.

"Heeey, Jacob", Curt said, the cheeriness in his voice a complete contrary to the mood just second ago, "how have yo- ("Errrro Rakob", Embertail said)-eh, yeah yeah, Embertail say's "hi", so, what's up buddy?"

 

[Trucro]

"Heh..." He let out a small laugh at Curt voicing Embertail's greeting. He did enjoy the little fire-brat, sometimes anyway. It was just then he realized he didn't know exactly what to say; he hadn't planned it out. Thinking on his feet, he began to say whatever came to his mind. "So, I was... looking through the internet, and I found something interesting. You remember what happened to Cassie? How she disappeared?" He paused for a moment, letting Curt prepare himself before continuing. He knew that Curt likely thought she was dead; after all, Jacob had assumed that for some time.

"Well, I was online, and I found an article; apparently she's alive! There's even a picture of her!" His gaze turned to his computer, as he analyzed the article again. "Yea... Cassandra Michaels... And that's not even all! The article says she was sued for selling... uh... false gym badges, I think. Anyway, it looks like she lost the case; I can't believe we hadn't heard of this!" It was just then that he realized he might have been overemphasizing his words. He didn't want to seem overexcited about this. After all, she had tried to kill him. That's unfair; she tried to get even with him. She did save him in the end.

"Yea, yea she was fined 50 Million Pokedollars! How the hell is she gonna pay that off? That's an insane amount of money! And all for selling some fake gym badges. Allegedly selling fake gym badges..." he corrected himself. He didn't know Cassie too well, but he didn't think she was the kind of person to do that. He returned focus to his conversation with Curt "Did you know she was alive?"

 

[PentheWonderful]

Driftveil City is a major ocean port in Unova. Visitors came from all over the world just to see its scenic ocean view. If they were to come today, however, they'd be sourly disappointed. The ocean winds had blown in a massive storm cloud, engulfing everything beneath it in a dull, gray color. A curtain of rain swept through the city, soaking everything and obscuring one's vision by less than a feet in diameter. The streets were empty. Winds howled and bent trees to their will.

Luckily, Cassie was spared all of this by the safety of the airport. There, in the waiting area, she sat stiffly, eyes glued to the velvet pouch clasped firmly in her hands. She wondered what she should do with the money. It was strange. She usually had a knack for money management. Perhaps, it was her lack of sleep. Or perhaps, she was simply never in a situation where money was so scarce, yet there were so many things she needed to pay off. 'Focus on the primary needs, Cassie.' She told herself. 'Your debts can wait, but... Some food would be nice.'

Her flight has been delayed by an hour due to the storm. She supposed she had some time to goof off. Thus, peeking into the bag, Cassie counted five thousand Pokemon dollars in cash, several amulet coins, and a big pearl. She could probably resell the big pearl for a generous amount of money, or keep it as an investment for a rainy day. That made her realize that she would have to start selling a lot of things that she'd collected from her journeys. Just another thing to lose, she supposed.

'No, you're festering again.' A voice in her head told her, as the trainer quickly shook her head and pressed a palm to her forehead, pushing it upwards to comb through her unruly locks. She missed having voices in her head- Telepathy, that is. She wasn't insane. At least, she didn't think she was. Yet. 'Alright, where were we?' She pinched the bridge of her nose, struggling to gather her scattered, fragmented thoughts. "Um... Food." And she said this with a nod to herself. Thus, securing her messenger bag over her back, Cassie got up to search for food stalls. Maybe something warm.

She could feel her stomach growling violently, complaining for its lack of food and threatening to digest itself otherwise. Her hand reached down to grasp her stomach, accidentally brushing against the line Pokeball on her belt. There was an instant tug on her heart, and she quickly moved her hand away. Her eyes were stinging again. She tried, desperately, not to think about it. She even wondered if that was why she evaded sleep; to keep her mind scattered enough to not be able to focus, and remember that memory. So, Cassie redirected her focus to her surroundings. She had to exit the waiting area to get to where the commercial shopping area was. There was a nice stall that sold seafood stews, and she decided that that was going to be her dinner.

"Hello, how can I help you?" The stall keeper, a peppy young woman, asked. She couldn't be any older than Cassie was. Taller, maybe. And you know what they said about height; shorter people tend to look younger. But with the bags under her eyes, and her sunken features, Cassie doubted that.

"Um..." Great, now she couldn't even remember what she was doing there. A single glance around the stall, and the smell of food brought her back. "One seafood stew, please."

The stall keeper giggled, however. Apparently she didn't think Cassie was as old as she was, and that deer in the headlights demeanor didn't help much either. "Alright, young lady, one seafood stew coming right up." Cassie's gaze remained glued to the stall keeper's back. Laura, her name tag said. She poured the piping hot stew in a plastic bowl, and again Cassie had to clutch her stomach to keep it from making itself known. Accidentally, however, she brushed aside her coat, which revealed the single, empty Pokeball that belonged to Nine. And as Laura turned back around to hand Cassie her order, she noticed this instead. "Are you just starting out your Pokemon journey?"

This hit Cassie like a brick, triggering a nervous tic in the form of shrugging. She pulled out a ten dollar bill from the velvet pouch and paid for the stew, took the bowl, and looked Laura in the eyes. She could see the stall keeper draw back, seeing how old her eyes looked. And with her new captured audience, Cassie answered, "No."

With food in hand, the trainer returned to the waiting area. She savored the stew, and the hour flew by in a blink of an eye. By the time the storm had succumbed to a clear night sky, Cassie was on her way back to Kalos.

 

[Curtkid]

".....what?", was all Curt could say as he tried to process the information Jacob had told him, "n-no, I didn't know, I've been searching for her for a while, HELL, THAT'S HALF THE REASON I'M IN FREAKIN HOENN RIGHT NOW!" Curt found himself unexpectedly yelling, immediately everyone in the group (including Nine) turned their heads to Curt's out burst. He took a moment to collect himself, apologized to Jacob for his outburst, then let him continue.

"S-she was accused of selling false gym badges, no I didn't know that, we haven't been in a city in over a week! W-why would- how would- ugh, I'm going to New Mauville, I need to look into this!", Curt said as he snapped his phone shut. His entire party had gathered around him, eyes completely locked on the human, for a moment, everyone was utterly silent. Finally, it was Nine who spoke up.

"(I-I, y-you said her, looking f-for here, did h-he, i-is she?"), Nine stuttered out, even through as telepathic connection, Curt didn't even know that was possible.

"Come one everyone, let's pack camp up, we can get something to eat in New Mauvile, we got something to look up", Curt replied simply.

New Mauville always fascinated Curt, it seemed like a cross between a mall, an apartment complex, and a city with some futuristic technology thrown it! The city was a maze to those who weren't natives, and it took Curt and his team(especially Nine) longer to find the Pokemon Center (and find something to eat). Curt typed away furiously at a computer, the burrito he brought earlier hanging in his mouth, Embertail, Nine, Flare, Lockjaw and Whips crowded behind him, eye's locked on the screen. It didn't take long to find what they were looking for looking for, apparently it had been big news recently. It was like Jacob had said, Cassie was accused, not only of selling fake gym badges, but using Pokemon gotten through illegal means to climb her way to the top. Nine began to emit a low whine besides them, and Curt didn't blame the poor guy, he had put so much effort into locating Cassie and the rest of her team as of lately, only to find this was her fate? Even Curt found himself dreaming of he and his team storming a Rocket Base with Jacob, Nero, Atlas, Dexter and the rest to pull of a bold and daring rescue of Cassie. O.K, most of that was fulled by the tall-tales Embertail told Nine to lift his spirits, but still, to find this to be her ultimate fate was like, finding a dollar, but losing a fifty cent piece you kinda liked.

"Excuse me, but could you please ask that Ninetales to stop his whining, I'm challenging Wattson next weak, and I'm trying to find types for teaching a Electrike dig!", said the man next to him, he was a bulky man with a beard and also had the Electrike he was no doubt planning on teaching dig next to him, and both had an annoyed glare on their face.

"O-oh, sorry", Curt muttered, Nine threw a glare at the man, but Curt couldn't hold it against him too much, Curt got a bit on edge too when he first started challenging gym's. As the looked through the article, apparently the mans interest was peaked as he leaned over take a peak at what Curt was looking at.

"Oh, your reading about that farce of a trial, hhrump, no wonder your Ninetales was whining", the man grunted out.

"W-well, technically he's not- wait, what do you know about the trial, all the info I'm looking up is...very vague...to say the least"Curt asked the man.

"I imagine you can thank the good people of Kalos's noble government for that, after the incident a few weeks back with the revived Team Plasma, people were a bit pissed off at how...piss poor their government had become at stopping national threat's, and, in a crazy coincidence, they claimed this Cassie was behind the fake badge scam that had been plaguing Kalos as of late, of course, if you saw the trial...", the man stopped to let out a quick "hurumph" as he lit a cigarette.

"Why, what was wrong with the trial?", Curt inquired.

"You really are out of the loop ain't cha'? Quicker question is "what was right with the trail?", the whole damn thing was set up and settled in less then a week, then she got stuck with one of the worst lawyers in Kalos (despite being from a very well of family), and. even though a good number of Sinnoh gym leaders who, if rumor is to believed, wanted to speak on behalf of the girls defense, were constantly delayed or turned away until the trail was over and a verdict declared, pissed them right off too", the man finished as he took a puff of his smoke.

"B-but that trial sound like an obvious fraud, how could anyone buy it?", Curt asked, incredulous.

"Because the people of Kalos want to believe their government did something right for once, outside of Kalos, no one really buy's it, but the region is still recovering from the gosh dern Team Plasma, and none of the other regions want to be "that guy" and pick on a weakened region, besides, it ain't really any of the other regions business anyhow, her family is registered Kalosean citizens, so that got a Kalos trail by law....bullshit as it was", the man said as he let out a snort, the complete lack of justice disgusting him. As he looked at the ground, as sudden look of realization seemed to hit his face.

"W-wait a second, a'int chu-", the man began to say, but Curt and his party were already well outside the Pokemon Center and on their way out off new Mauville. Curt was hurriedly punching in numbers on his phone, he knew Jacob didn't exactly form the connection he and the rest of his team did with Cassie and her team, but Jacob at least liked Curt, Embertail, and the rest of them, maybe he would do Curt this favor.

"Come on, come on, pick-up", Curt said, finally, a click was heard, "Jacob, its Curt, we're heading over to...it was Driftvail university, right? Yeah, we're heading over their now, yes now, screw the no-fly zone law, nobody's going to want to screw with a guy riding a Dragonite! Just do me a solid and keep see what you can do about locating Cassie, anything you could find would be helpful, thanks!" And with that, Curt closed his phone, he looked over towards Nine, honestly, he couldn't tell if the Ninetales was more shocked, determined, or...scared about the possible reunion between him and Cassie and the rest of her Pokemon. If she and her team were truly held at the mercy of Team Rocket for all this time, then Arceus knows how that experience could have changed them....

 

[Trucro]

"Sure thing," Jacob replied to Curt as he hung up as well. It was very late now, and it would take Curt several hours to get there. It didn't matter though; Jacob probably wasn't getting back to sleep tonight. He had been glued to his computer screen for the past few hours, trying to figure out all he could about Cassie's predicament. Apparently sources from outside Kalos considered the whole trial some sort of fraud; at least some of them did. Jacob had no way of figuring out which ones were legitimate sources, though, and which were conspiracy theorists.

He realized he was making himself crazy. His eyes were burning from spending hours on the computer, and he was beginning to feel tired again. He leaned back against his pillows, as a test to see if he could sleep. It was a success. His eyelids began to get heavy, and he couldn't keep them open. He drifting off when his door slammed, waking him up with a start.

Jacob's roommate, Eric, was a funky fellow. A large man, he had a knack for forgetting other people existed. Not the most self-aware of folks, he often woke Jacob when returning to the room late at night... which he did almost every night. Jacob sighed and leaned back against his pillows.

"Where were you tonight?" He asked, uninterested. "Good to see you finally made it back."

"Yea," the lumbering roommate replied, without answering Jacob's question. He plopped down on his bed, about two yards from Jacob's. "So did you hear?" Of course, Jacob thought. He just wanted to sleep; but his roommate evidently couldn't read even the most basic of signs. Or maybe he didn't care.

"Hear what?" Jacob replied, apathetically. He closed his eyes as his roommate reached over and turned on a light.

"You know Professor Michaels?" He asked. "Well-"

"No," Jacob replied, cutting his roommate off. "Who's Professor Michaels?" Eric looked over at Jacob, a surprised look on his face.

"Professor Michaels... you know, Mighty Michaels?" with a rising tone.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jacob shot back, covering his eyes with his hands to protect them from the light.

"You didn't have Michaels for Intro to Evo?"

"Evidently not." Jacob was not in the mood for this. He wished his roommate had gotten lost on his way back to the dorm, but he just couldn't catch a break.

"Anyway, Professor Michaels... Did you hear about his daughter?"

"How would I know about his daughter, if I don't even know... No... I didn't hear about his daughter." Jacob sighed, audibly. "I'm trying to sleep." If that didn't make his roommate aware of his intrusion, nothing would.

"His daughter," Eric continued, un-phased. "You know, the girl from Kalos?" What an odd coincidence, Jacob thought. He was just looking at news of Cassie, in Kalos. He said nothing, allowing his roommate to finish. "Are you serious? Don't you, ya know, talk to other people? His daughter was sued for.."

"Five million pokedollars!" Jacob cut in, sitting up with a jolt.

"So you knew this whole time?" Eric said, more than a little disappointed. "You could have told me instead of just being an-"

"Cassandra Michaels is the daughter of a professor that works here? At this school?"

"Uh... I don't know her name... but..."

This was too good to be true. Surely Cassie's father would know how to get in touch with her. This was perfect! Jacob stood and began to put on his shoes. He wasn't worried about the rain; he'd just get a little wet.

"Where are you going?" Eric asked.

"To go see Professor Michaels," Jacob shot back again, matter-of-fact-ly.

"At 4am?" Jacob stopped in his tracks. Damnit! No Professor would be at the school at 4 in the morning. He thought for a moment. Curt wouldn't be here for at least another three... four hours. Most professors got in at what... around 8:30? That would work perfectly; he'd wait for Curt, and then they could go see this professor together. Untying his shoes, he lay back down on his bed.

"You're right," Jacob said to his roommate calmly. "Now turn that light off! It's 4 am!" He might as well get some sleep before Curt arrived.

 

[Curtkid]

Whips touched down just outside the University around seven in the morning, next to a particularly well sculpted statue of a trainer and a Alakazam, the a-typical Pokemon to be associated with knowledge. Curt and Embertail hopped of off Whips back, and Curt immedialty felt Nines Pokeball shack in anticipation, Curt didn't even bother to try to keep him in their and instantly let the Ninetales out. Nine almost ran off to look for Cassie, before Curt called out to him, reminding him that he had no idea where to start looking for her, and that their best bet was to meet up with Jacob. Though Nine didn't exactly hold the fondest feelings for Jacob, he understood Curt's logic and agreed to meet up with the trainer.

As they made their way to the visitor's booth, the stares they received from students made Curt realize that, perhaps landing just outside of the university wasn't the best idea, at least, on Whips was. Dragonite were extremely rare Pokemon, and extremely powerful ones too, and Whips was attracting all sorts of attention from the young, aspiring students heading to class. Curt debated on calling Whips back, but Curt didn't really like calling his Pokemon back into their Pokeballs unless they had to, besides, Curt was kinda enjoying all the attention Whips was giving them. Before they even reached the check-in booth, several students asked if they could personally examine the mighty dragon, though one look at Whips told Curt to politely decline their requests, Whips didn't like being treated like a lab-rat.

Of course, by keeping Whips out raised immediate suspicion with the security guards at the checkin booth, so much so that they double checked his trainer license to make sure Curt was a trainer of upstanding quality. Curt didn't blame them though, Pseudo-Legendary Pokemon had the power to potentially single handily wipe out entire cities if they wanted too, that incident with that Tyranitar in Australia was still fresh in a lot of peoples minds. Thank-fully, the guards did eventually let them through, and even gave them directions to Jacobs dorm room when they asked! Though, that didn't stop the stares and numerous questions asked by the students of Driftvail University, though it was just a gut feeling, Curt almost thought a small part of Whips enjoyed the attention he was receiving. The dragon had changed a lot when he evolved from a Dragonair to a Dragonite, but sometimes, he allowed himself to relieve the softer dragon Curt and Embertail grew to know and love over the years, particularly when it came to his his love of comic books.

Nine merely kept his head down, he just wanted to see Cassie again, nothing more. though he attracted a few interested glances of his own, he payed them no mind and merely encouraged the group to move forward to Jacobs dorm. Thankfully, they all reached Jacobs dorm-room without much trouble aside from the occasional student attempting to ask questions about Whips or Nine (though, to Embertails joy, one student seemed interested in Charmanders and asked a few questions about them). Finally, the stood outside Jacobs dorm room, provided the security guards directions proved true that is.

"Well, this is it....", Curt said to himself just as much to his team as he began knocking on the door, "HEY JACOB, YOU AWAKE, IT'S US!"

"EERRO RAKOB!", Embertail yelled.

 

[PentheWonderful]

Ben started his day like any other day. That didn't mean the routine was exactly set in stone. Especially not after he became a registered lecturer at Driftveil University. It was a recent development, and normally his wife wouldn't even let him have that idea considering it didn't really pay that much either. But, after everything that has happened, his family had... Changed, to say the least.

Getting up from bed at exactly six in the morning, Ben kissed his sleeping wife before going on to prepare for his trip to the university. He went for his usual morning shower, put on his nice dress shirt and vest, slipped into his trousers and loafers, and finally he combed out his hair and put on his tie. Pecha, the family Skitty, latched right onto his leg the moment he opened the bedroom door. "Morning, fluff ball." Ben leaned down and detached the Pokemon from his leg, and held her in his arm.

They walked down the hall and passed by his youngest daughter's room. Alice, who took much after him personality wise, had been forced to move back home from her older sister's following the trial. She was still sound asleep with her Gothita, and watching her reminded him of Jeanne at her youth. A sad smile graced his face, and he wondered if the reason he took the lecturer position was due to the fact he wanted to distract himself. His wife had been doing to same thing, after all, volunteering for demonstrations in Pokemon Academies for ace trainers. Perhaps being around youths filled that void he and his wife had in their hearts after Cassie's disownment. It was not nearly enough, nor was it healthy. But at least it was something, he supposed.

Ben gathered his briefcase, and the papers he'd graded the other night from his office. He had to return Pecha to her Pokeball before she could tear through them. He made coffee for himself, and tea for his wife. Pecha would be coming to work with him again, because nobody every inhabited the house above nine o'clock, and the mischievous Skitty had a habit of getting trapped in the refrigerator. Plus, his students adored the pink feline. It helped with the attendance in his class, and, surprisingly, got his students to focus better. By six thirty, he was driving to the university.

They'd just recently moved to a house located in a suburban district of Driftveil, and wasn't too far away from the university itself, in all honesty. He could probably stand to take his bike, but the last time he tried that, Pecha had burst out of her Pokeball and knocked him into a ditch. Let's just say that was one of the reasons his students called him 'Mighty Michaels'; a grown man like him, subdued by a tiny Skitty. But hey, at least he wasn't 'that' lecturer that kids picked on because he had a combover that looked like a Swinub was sitting on his head.

The Driftveil University gates opened for him, and he drove into the lecturer's parking area. Then, he headed straight to his office; still new and neat. Not yet cluttered by work and headaches. Unlike his little lab back home. He unlocked the door and dropped his briefcase on the cozy chair by the bookshelf. Finally, he sat himself down behind his desk, where his wheely chair swallowed his lean form like a Muk. He leaned back slightly, but quickly recoiled back from fear of having the entire damn chair tip backwards. His silver eyes were lidded lazily, as they swept over the surface of his desk. Piles of teaching material were gathered, but also, peeking from underneath all those books and papers was a newspaper that had a picture of his daughter's battered face.

The mourning father swallowed a lump in his throat and pressed his knuckle against his temple, forcing his eyes to close. "She's a tough girl. She'll be alright." He said to the empty room. Heard by nothing but his own ears.

 

[Trucro]

"HEY JACOB, YOU AWAKE, IT'S US!" Jacob woke with a start. He rubbed his eyes, and blinked a few times. Rolling over in his bed, he looked at his phone. What time was it? 7:49. Curt had made good time... better time than he had expected. Jacob sat up, and slid his butt across his bed to where his socks lay on the floor. As he put them on, he shouted back.

"One second!" He quickly finished with the socks and made his way over to the door.

"Can you shut up!" Eric growled at Jacob. I guess when you stay up till 4am you're pretty grouchy at 7:45. Jacob quietly turned the knob, and opened the door. He saw Curt, with Embertail standing in front. Behind him was Whips and Flare. "Hey Embertail!" Jacob said, in a half whisper. As he reexamined the team, he noticed that Flare looked a bit different. Maybe it was a haircut, or something. Ninetails (Ninetailseses) often got haircuts, after all. They were pretty good looking pokemon, and many trainers used their pokemon to show off their style. Jacob just never thought Curt was one of those people.

"Look, guys," Jacob began, still speaking quietly. "My roommate's sleeping. Meet me downstairs int he lobby in five minutes. I think I've got a way to find Cassie." Jacob smirked as he said this; whether it was an obvious discovery or not, he was pretty proud that he had come up with a solution, or at least a lead for them to follow. As he finished speaking with Curt he turned back to his room to prepare to shower and get dressed. He could do all that in five minutes, he thought.

 

[Curtkid]

"Well, your roommate sure sounds like a chip fellow, anyway's, we can just wait out here buddy, it's cool, we'll keep it quiet", Curt said as he, Embertail, Whips, and Nine saw Jacob close the door and go about his business. Embertail took a set and begin kicking his feet up and down while waving and random passing students and their Pokemon, Whips merely kept his attention on the clouds at a nearby window, while Nine tapped his front paw repeatedly in an impatient manner. The Ninetales was able to keep himself from asking "what's taking him so long", even though he clearly wanted to vent his frustration. Curt couldn't blame him, in fact, Curt was impressed Nine was being as patient as he was considering the circumstances. Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long, as Jacob got himself all ready in almost no time at all!

"Wow JAcob, right on time...I think, I don't have a watch, anyway, did you find any information about Cassie, we learned that she got found guilty of selling fake badges and using illegitimate Pokemon in some sort of staged trial or something?" Curt asked his friend as they made their way down the dorm room hall," listen, any info you got could really help, Nine here has been freaking out more then usual ever since you told us what happened to Cassie yesterday?" Curt finished with a gesture towards the Ninetales, who had his eye's half focused on Jacob, half focused where he was going. Curt had to wonder where Jacob could lead them, if he truly found a lead at all!

 

[Trucro]

"Oh," Jacob began. The Ninetales was Nine, not Flare. It was Cassie's pokemon; they had met briefly, more than once. He could tell that Nine wasn't happy with him; the pokemon probably never liked Jacob, at least after he joined Team Rocket. Nonetheless, Jacob didn't harbor any hatred towards Nine, and he figured the pokemon would forgive him at some point. Cassie seemed to have last time they saw eadch other. "Follow me." The group walked down the corridor to a stairwell. Traveling down the stairwell, Jacob began to speak.

"So," he said, his voice echoing as they traveled down the stairs. "I did a lot of research online, and... through some interviews. Anyway, long story short, I think I have a way for us to find Cassie." Jacob paused as he swung open the door of the stairwell, leading to the outside. He stepped out into the light, and he had to stop for a moment. The sky wasn't particularly clear, but it was still too bright for Jacob's maladjusted eyes, and he had to cover them with his hand. After a second or two, he regained his sight, and set the group marching on a stone pathway through the quad.

"I discovered that there is a professor here, Professor Michaels. He teaches at this University; I've never had him, but I know people who did. I'm acting under the supposition that he is Cassie's father." Jacob paused to let that sink in before continuing. They were walking as he was talking, and Jacob noticed a few students staring at them; probably looking at Whips. "Cassie's last name is Michaels, and apparently the information about Cassie's trial made it to the student body around here." Jacob stopped speaking again as they reached the office building on the opposite side of the quad.

"Professor Michaels' office should be in here," he said, opening the doors to allow Curt and the group in. Once inside, Jacob had no idea where to go. He had been in the building before, but only briefly, and never to see Professor Michaels. Hallways extended from either side with a plethora of doors, each with a small plaque with the professor's name on it. "Uh... help me look for Michaels' room."

 

[PentheWonderful]

Sunlight peered through the glass of Ben's office window, signaling the end of the professor's brooding session. He let out a long sigh, his body slouched so far in the chair that his upper back was practically on the seat. The middle aged man glanced lazily at his wall clock, noting that it was about time he got off his lazy ass, or rather, back, and get to class. With a rather childish groan, he heaved himself off his comfortable, albeit precarious, wheely chair and scooped the layer of paper spread across his desk into a neat pile. Giving the thick stack a tap on the desk top, shrinking Pecha's Pokeball to fit in his pocket, finally, Ben made a stride for the door.

Without any sense of urgency, he exited his office and turned to lock the door. However, when he turned back around to get going, his heart instead dropped to his knees. Right there, smack dab in the middle of the lecturer's hall was a Dragonite! He felt himself gasp as he instinctively backed up to his office door, even shuffling through his pocket to figure out where his keys had run off to. Granted, when it came to handling Pokemon, Ben was no expert. He barely worked with live samples, and when those rare, once in a blue moon occasions came around, he always had someone else manage the Pokemon while he studied them. The one time he was involved in a battle was when he met his wife, at the time he was about to be flattened by a rampaging Rhyhorn during a field test.

However, the lack of aggressive behavior from the Dragonite left Ben slightly confused, causing his adrenaline level to drop and expand his tunnel vision. He began to take notice of the people WITH the Dragonite. Two young men. Ben blew out a deep, relieved breath, allowing his hand to drop from his chest. The Dragonite was tame. Luckily, the two students, he assumed, hadn't noticed him or his rather... Embarrassing reaction to a Dragonite, seemingly too distracted with looking through the names printed on each office door. Brushing his bangs back, Ben quickly straightened himself and peeled his person from the door. Blinking his steel colored eyes, he saw two other Pokemon with the two men; an abnormally large Charmander, and a Ninetales.

"Wait." Ben blurted under his breath, more to himself than anything. His soft exclamation easily caught the attention of the Ninetales, however, both his ears turning in the direction of his voice, and soon, his head. Ben squinted his eyes while the vulpine's ruby irises widened. That milk white coat and musculature looked so familiar, it was uncanny. "Nine?"

'Ben! It truly is you!' Nine came running while Ben flew forward in a jog. The Ninetales reared back on his hind legs just as they were a feet apart, and Ben automatically grabbed each of his forepaws in his hands. The fire fox seemed infinitely relieved and pleased, yet Ben still had his brows furrowed in bewilderment.

"Wait, what are you doing here?" He continued, crouching down to place his forepaws back on the floor. Automatically, his eyes darted to Curt and Jacob, who would've undoubtedly noticed him by then. Those same steel colored eyes that Cassie had. But as he straightened himself once again, they would see that he did not share his daughter's petite build. He towered well over the both of them.

With a curious, almost accusing tone, he asked, "Excuse me, gentlemen. Why do you have my daughter's Pokemon in your possession?"

 

[Curtkid]

Curt jumped at the mans sudden appearance, he appeared as though one of their shadows come to life, or like a Gengar stalking them. Nine seemed to hold no fear of the man, contrary, he immediately ran to the man in an attempt to give him what seemed like a hug. This easily broke up their momentary confusion.

Uh, um, I'm sorry, wait, did you say, your daughters Ninetales, Cassie's your daughter?", Curt inquired, that would explain Nines reaction. He had to admit, Mr. Micheals was a lot...younger then Curt had expected, the man barely looked to be in his thirties! Granted, people having children in their late teens/ early twenties was far from unheard of, he just didn't expect Cassie's parents to be one those people. Still, if he was anything like Cassie, then he was no doubt both an over achiever, and a work-a-holic, and probably found a way to balance his study's, career, and raise a kid despite the massive stress that it no doubt entailed.

"ERRRO MERRO MERRKELS, AHM EMBERTIAL", Embetail growled while extending a hand to the professor, waiting for him to shake it. That typically friendly Charmander, well Curt supposed he couldn't keep the man waiting, if Embertail remembered formalities, or at least appeared to (he was sure his brother was being friendly rather then remembering courtesies) he should as well.

"Um, I-I was just watching him after Cassie- got, um....", Curt stuttered, unsure how to proceed with the conversation, "s-so you're Cassie's father right, Mr. Micheals, this friendly Charmander here is Embertail, the Dragonite behind me is Whips, and my name is Curt, were from Cherrygrove, and this is...." Curt finished by gesturing towards Jacob, waiting for him to introduce himself.

 

[Trucro]

"Hi Professor," Jacob said, cutting in. Curt's stuttering led Jacob to believe he was unsure of what to say. His introduction seemed a bit more professional than usual, no doubt due to the stature of the man not only as a Professor of Pokemon, but also Cassie's father. Jacob felt that he might be a bit more comfortable with the man, as dealing with professors was an everyday occurrence for him. He stepped forward.

"My name is Jacob; I'm a student here at the school. Curt's one of my friends," he paused for a moment as he looked over at Nine. "We both happen to be, well, friends of your daughter. Or at least, we were..." Memories rushed into Jacob's head. The first time the group meat in the cave in Kalos, then Jacob's battle with Cassie in the pokemon center in Kanto, and their final meeting where they fought Team Rocket. Looking back on this moment, Jacob would remember it as analogous to the way a person's life flashes before their eyes. But he quickly snapped back into the conversation with the professor. He obviously seemed a bit off, like he had gotten lost in his thoughts, but he didn't stop making noises. It looks like he wasn't doing any better than Curt.

"Uhhhh...um..eh... We heard about Cassie's trial, and we, well, we know about what happened to her before, when she was taken by Team Rocket." Jacob assumed Cassie's father was aware of both of these pretty massive events in his daughter's life, as any real father would be. "Actually, we had thought Cassie was... gone forever," he said, blatantly avoiding the word "dead." "But we recently found the news about her conviction, and we thought we could help." Jacob only then realized that he was rambling, possibly incoherently. He wasn't sure Professor Michaels was going to understand everything he was saying, but it was too late to turn back now.

"Do you have any idea where she is? I really think she'd be happy..." Jacob stopped mid-sentence. It was, in fact, extremely unlikely Cassie would be happy to see him, as it was in no small part his fault that she had been captured in the first place. Not to mention his trying to kill her, or at least not trying not to kill her in Kanto. "We think she could use our help." Jacob said, looking back to Curt.

 

[PentheWonderful]

"Yes, Cassie is my daughter." Ben said, rather impatiently. Which was odd, considering he was known to be quite a patient person. But he supposed, speaking of his daughter made him anxious. Especially after what happened. However, a certain friendly Charmander's own introduction completely threw him off his composure, yet again.

"ERRRO MERRO MERRKELS, AHM EMBERTAIL!"

"Good God!" The tall, lean man was actually frightened by Embertail's friendly gesture! He'd taken a step back, as if thinking the fire Pokemon was attacking and growling at him! "Ah- erm-" He cleared his throat several times and stared at the large Charmander, attempting to desperately register what'd happened, and, perhaps, salvage some of his dignity. "That's- that's quite an interesting behavior! Has he always tried to imitate human behavior this way?!" He was raising his voice for no reason, and he was realizing this quickly. Clearing his throat again, he shook Embertail's claw and muttered a 'nice to meet you' before turning back to Curt and Jacob.

Curt's introduction couldn't have gone any slower in his mind, he was already so riled up from having the wits scared out of him twice in the same hour! Yet, he somehow managed to restrain himself from foot-tapping. Though, this did unintentionally allow his eyes to practically burn holes into Curt's head. Why was this boy so hesitant, he wondered? Was he lying? And then there was that hesitation that made Ben furrow his brows further. "After Cassie got what? You can't be talking about the trial. There's no reason for her to be separated from her Pokemon."

But in reality, they were all blissfully unaware of the dark truth that lay with Cassie.

Fortunately, Jacob's involvement in the conversation allowed Ben to avert his laser focus from Curt. This time, to the redhead. "Jacob, huh? The Jacob? Professor Milan can't shut up about you. And you're friends with my daughter? You both happen to be? It's an honor." He gave a court, yet respectful nod. "I'm sure you must know this, but my daughter isn't very good at making friends. I suspect it's because she was homeschooled, and never learned how to properly fraternize. So, I'm quite relieved to see things turn."

However, Jacob's sudden stuttering and spacing out earned him no points with Ben, aside from the fact it was rude, the professor was yet again left in uncertainty. What were these kids hiding from him? He may look young, but he was turning forty in several months, and he was not naive. He took measures to his own hands and snapped a finger in Jacob's face to hopefully bring him back. Waiting was such sweet agony, after all. "Do go on."

"Uhhhh...um..eh... We heard about Cassie's trial, and we, well, we know about what happened to her before, when she was taken by Team Rocket."

And, there it was. The hidden truth that finally made it all fall into place. The newspaper article, the trial, the fine. Everything just clicked. Ben was ashamed to admit that this was a fact that'd eluded both he and his wife. It explained their loss of contact and it filled in the gaps of his daughter's condition. And it also left him wondering if... That battle also had Team Rocket's involvement in it. Because if so, then his family's renowned name was a sham.

Ben grew despondent of Jacob's continued explanation. Instead, he seemed lost in his own world, listening to entirely different voices. Dread and horror were building in his eyes. His hand raised up to run and tangle itself in his short dark hair, when, abruptly, his fingers tensed and tugged noticeably against it. Somehow, he found his was back to reality. The muffled sounds of Jacob speaking came back into focus, but Ben had to shut his eyes to hide what he projected through his eyes. "Why... Didn't she tell me...?"

"Do you have any idea where she is? I really think she'd be happy..." Another pause. They all had secrets, apparently. "We think she could use our help."

"Yes... She desperately does." He murmured, almost incoherently. Ben raised his head slightly, looking to the two young men with a look that would've dawned on them the gravity of the situation, if it hadn't before. "We disowned her. I'm- surprised, you hadn't known this, but... If this is true, and if it is connected to the... Disownment factor... Then." Ben began pulling out a name card and pen from his vest pocket, and he quickly jotted down an address, and his number. "Please find the truth... Our family has cut contacts from Cassie but, we had a house in Anistar. She repurchased it and has been living there for the past two years." He handed Jacob the card. "There's a good chance you'll find her there. If anything happens, tell me."

With his arm outstretched, however. Ben caught a glimpse of his own watch, and took note of the time. He sucked in a sharp breath. "And, I am officially late. Pardon."

And with that, Ben took off running out of the building. Perhaps he feared for his honor in punctuality. Or perhaps, he didn't want the two boys to see him shed a tear. "Best of luck to you!"

 

[Curtkid]

Curt couldn't help but laugh when he saw Mr. Micheals reaction to Embertails, admittedly over eager, but friendly introduction. Curt had known the guy his entire life, and he'd always been that friendly since they found him and his little brother in the park so long ago. But never had they seen anyone freak-out like that to one of Embertails greeting, even Whips found himself with a rare smile on his face seeing Mr. Micheals minor freak-out! Embertail himself wasn't sure if he should find Mr. Micheals panic attack funny or if he should be concerned that he scared the poor man. Thankfully, Mr. Micheals pulled himself together and returned Embertails hand-shake, which both relieved the Charmander, and made him very happy, Curt on the other had, was just trying to compose himself so he could address the professor.

Heheh, I-I'm s-s-sorry, it's just...hehe....Embertail is the least threatening guy I know, I've never seen anyone flip-out like that when meeting him before", Curt said as he picked himself up, finally managing to stop laughing, " and actually, no one taught him that, he sort off...came up with that himself !" Embertail, satisfied with the handshake stood aside and listened into the conversation between Jacob and Mr. Micheals. Curt decided to keep his mouth shut about the situation, as he just seemed to be agitating the professor.

Thankfully, Jacob seemed to have much better luck getting some sort of information out of Cassie's father, however, he almost couldn't believe what he told them. Apparently, Cassie never told her family of her capture of Team Rocket, at least, that's what Curt got from Mr. Micheals, apparently the news had a profound effect on the man. The next thing he said was, well, Curt was never one to understand the functions, rules, or formalities of the upper class, but he still could barely comprehend what the man was telling them.

"W-wait, you disowned her? W-why, I don't-", but before Curt could finish, he handed Jacob a card containing the location of Cassie's house and then sped off to a lecture, merely telling them to "find the truth". Curt wasn't sure, but Whips said he could swear he saw him on the verge of tears and, though Curt couldn't confirm it, Curt felt like his dragon friend was right. But what did that mean, "find the truth"? Was the man giving them some sort of quest, he barely knew them! Still, if Cassie and her team need their help, then Curt was going to do everything in his power to help his friend! A quick glance at Embertail and Whips told Curt that the two Dragons were also ready to do anything in their power to help Cassie and her team as well, and four shakes from his the Pokeballs on his belt told Curt the rest of his team was in too! They were determined, and ready to go through any trail to help their friends out!

In fact, they were so lost in what had just happened with Cassie's father that it took a moment for him to registrar what he said...

"...Wait, did he say Anistar? As in KALOS Anistar!?!", Curt said incredulously, "Uuuuuggggh, we just got done with a straight five hour flight on Whips, we're exhausted, and we can't afford a plane to Kalos!" The trainer couldn't help but let out a groan, they had flown straight from Hoenn the moment they heard the news, and it would take at least another six hours of flight for them to get to Kalos! Now that Curt thought about it, he was beginning to realize how exhausted he was from the long night. Embertail tried to put on an energetic smile to rally them, there were still noticeable bags under his eyes. Whips was in a similar case, though the dragon didn't require much sleep normally, but he spent all of the night before training to prepare for the battle with Mr. Wattson and his team, and reading a few comic books (though he would fiercely deny that). Though he wouldn't admit it, Whips was exhausted after the all night flight and lake of sleep, Curt wasn't about to force him through another long flight. Finding Cassie was important, but Curt didn't want to over-exert Whips like that. There was one solution that came to Curts mind, but he had a gut feeling Nine wouldn't like it very much....

"No know what, no...no it's cool we just...Nine, I'm sorry about this, but you'e going to have wait just a bit longer, and Jacob, can I ask a favor or two?", Cirt said to Jacob with pleading eye's, "c-can we crash in your dorm for a few hours, just to get a little rest so Whips doesn't collapse mid-flight." Curt heard Whips give a small grunt upon hearing that. Though the Dragonite was cautious and careful with the strength he wielded, he didn't like being made out to be incapable. Still, Whips face also showed small traces of desire for a rest, even if only a brief one.

"And my second favor....", Curt began as he removed and snapped open four Pokeballs, "can you please keep an eye on the rest of the gang while I sleep?" A flash of light later revealed the rest of Curts team, each one of them had woken up a while ago and was listening in on the conversation with Mr. Micheals. Flare stood still with a knowing look on her face, understanding the logic of the situation and was clearly fine with letting Curt and the two dragons catch a few Z's, besides, she could possibly check up on the library in the meantime. Lockjaw initially looked nervous at the concept, but he knew Jacob fairly well, he trusted him and would be relatively comfortable being with him. Jasper merely grunted, she didn't know Jacob or his team quite as well as the rest, but she always wanted to see a "University" ever since Embertail told her about one from his brief stay at one when he went with Curt went to college for a few months. Raviel, on the other hand, wasted no time in pointing at Jacobs belt with a paw, obviously he wanted to see his old friend Dexter again!

"I'm sure they'll be on their best behavior, and at the very least, Flare can help you keep an eye on them, right Flare?", Curt asked the magical fox, who gave Jacob a simple nod and smile in confirmation.

 

[Trucro]

"Yea, sure," Jacob replied. He was certain that Curt needed the sleep. Jacob himself actually felt well-rested; between his long nap and the few hours he had gotten after his roommate returned, he had gotten a good night's rest. Whips did look exhausted, and Embertail was showing some signs, but the Charmander just had incomprehensible energy. Of course, Jacob had thought, they could just take Stargazer; Jacob's Golurk would provide plenty of room for Curt, Jacob, and Embertail. But it wouldn't be all that easy to sleep on Stargazer's back. It was best that Curt got a couple hours before they left.

Jacob was distracted by a pawing at his belt. Curt's Jolteon had taken a liking to Dexter, and Jacob figured it was better to have the two in the open. In a flash, Jacob's Heliolisk appeared beside Raviel. An open smile appeared across the lizard's face as he saw his friend. Jacob chuckled himself. He was always happy when Dexter was happy.

"Let's go, this way," Jacob said as he lead the group out of the office building and back across the quad to his dorm. The walk felt a bit odd, as it was a large group to keep in line. Of course, it was not out of place on campus for a group of people and pokemon to be making their way across the quad, and as it was after 8:30, the campus was beginning to liven up. Jacob waived to one of his classmates as they passed.

They entered the building and quickly made their way back to Jacob's room. His roommate was still asleep in the bed across from his, and Jacob quietly opened the door to not wake Eric. He motioned towards the empty bed, and spoke in a whisper.

"Just take my bed. I guess you and Embertail can fit... Nine probably too, or maybe in that corner over there... Whips on the other hand..." Jacob surveyed his room. It wasn't large enough to fit the Dragonite. The carpet was covered in books and papers, so poor Whips couldn't even get comfortable on the floor. "It might be better to put Whips back in his ball for now." Jacob smiled as he backed out of the room. He closed the door quietly, before turning around to the group.

Jasper, Raviel, Flare, Lockjaw, and Dexter were all out and about. Just then, Jacob realized he became the babysitter of a horde. At least Flare would keep these guys calm. Raviel and Jasper seemed to be relatively stable as well; it was only Lockjaw that really had him worried. As he was thinking of what to do, his stomach growled.

"What do you guys think of getting breakfast, eh?" The group seemed more than up to it, and Jacob lead the group down the stairs. Luckily for him, his building had a dining hall just two floors down from his room. It was a large dining hall made to fit more than one hundred students. It was the worst of the three dining halls on campus, but it would do the trick. In the center of the hall stood the buffet; a salad bar, soup, grilled meat, and fish lined several stalls that made up the bulk of the buffet. Off to the side, in a separate cart, was the ice cream. Unfortunately, there were no burritos. Jacob chuckled. Curt always seemed to like burritos. As the group began to disperse to collect their food, Jacob released three pokeballs. His Tangrowth, Atlas, his Togekiss, Shakespeare, and Nero appeared beside him.

"Atlas, I need you to look after these guys; make sure they meet up with us at that table over there," Jacob said, pointing to an empty table in the far corner. "Nero, Shakespeare, you guys too. Get your food and coral these guys to that table." His pokemon nodded, happily. Jacob's eye was caught on Nero's belt, where a shiny stone was held in place on a leather strap. He was not used to seeing Nero with that stone yet, even though he had had it for some time. Jacob slipped his hand into his pocket, feeling for his own keystone. He hadn't figured out a good way to keep it on him at all times, so he had just been lugging it around in his pocket.

As his pokemon went off, Jacob himself put together some food, and worked his way over to the table, where Nero, Raviel, Jasper and Dexter were already sitting. As he sat with them, his mind turned to the food. How odd it was that his university served salad for breakfast! Didn't they have eggs or something? No wonder this was the worst dining hall.

The group took some time with their food, especially since Curt's pokemon kept going back for seconds. When they finally had finished and cleaned their table, they began to head out to the quad. Jacob looked down at his watch. 9:45. Curt would probably want to sleep a little longer. He lead the group out to the quad, where he was almost certain he'd lose one of them, but there was nothing else to do. They picked out a relatively quiet spot under a tree, and sat down. Well, Jacob sat down, and Atlas. The rest of the group was out an about; Dexter and Raviel running off to go investigate something a few yards away by the garbage can. Nero was walking around the perimeter, half watching the group and half looking at the other trainers and pokemon that had filled the area. Shakespeare had taken it upon himself to keep an eye on Lockjaw and Jasper, which was not necessarily an easy task. Flare seemed calm enough, lying down under the tree in the shade, not to far from Jacob and Atlas.

They hung around for a few minutes before Jacob began to bring them all together again. He figured Curt would probably want to be woken up soon; after all, if he slept much longer his schedule would be off, and that would make traveling all that much harder. After rallying the support of Flare, Nero, and Shakespeare, the group reconvened, and followed Jacob back to his dorm room.

Jacob was already feeling a bit worn out; watching this many pokemon was a bit of a chore. But that could just have been because he was worried about it. Curt never seemed to mind. As they approached Jacob's door, he turned around and held his finger to his mouth.

"Shhhhhhh!" The group quieted down. Jacob slowly opened the door to see his roommate was gone. Curt was still there, sitting up in the bed. He did not look well; his face was a bit pale, and he had a worried look on his face.

"What's wrong?"

 

[Curtkid]

The group happily followed Jacob back to his dorm room, though certain members of the gang were more eager then others, it was during this time they truly got a good look at the campus. Like the rest of Driftveil City, the University boasted a large amount of brown, tan. and green in its color scheme and gave of a rustic, almost country-like feeling. Though the University was by no means lacking in modern day equipment, just by looking through the window of various classrooms one could make out the up to date monitor's, textbooks, even the occasional piece of lab equipment. It kinda made Curt feel awkward about still using a flip-phone (and the phone wasn't even that old!), sometimes technology seemed to advance a little too fast at times.

Curt was so taken in by the campus they had reached Jacobs room without him even realizing it, with Jacob informing them that, though there was plenty of room for Curt, Embertail, and Nine, Whips was unfortunately a little large to fit comfortable in the messy room. Whips let out a grumpy grunt upon hearing this, though a Pokeball wasn't uncomfortable, it was apparently a little cramped and Whips much rather preferred sleeping on a bed, resting on a tree, or even lying down in some soft grass. Still, laying on the grass meant being gawked at by even more people, plus, someone might get a little worried about a random Dragonite just sleeping in the middle of the campus' field.

"Sorry Whips, you gotta stay in here for now buddy", Curt said as he pulled out the Dragons Pokeball. The dragon gave a short nod of understanding before returning to the sphere in a flash of light, "thanks again Jacob, I appreciate it, and I'm sure the rest of my team won't give you any trouble". That said, Curt, Embertail and Nine walked into the doom room, it was small, but cozy and, like Jacob said, cluttered with papers, pencils, and various other school equipment. Curt made note of Jacobs roommate, snoring in his own bed, Curt signaled over to Embertail and Nine to be quiet as to avoid waking him. However, just before Curt could get himself situated in Jacob's bed, he felt Embertail tugging on his pants leg and handing Curt what looked like...

"Huh, is that", Curt whispered as took the object from Embertail," wow, so Jacob actually kept it...."

("T-that's Cassie's)", Nine said through his telepathy, though he didn't bother to finish, didn't need to, they all knew what it was: Cassie's old fedora. Curt couldn't help but flash as small smile, Jacob always liked to put on a the act of a loner who didn't like getting close to people, but it seemed he still cared about Cassie on some level if he bothered to hold on to her hat. With a smile, Curt place the hat on Nines head, which fit unexpectedly well, and told him they'd ask Jacob if he could hold onto it for the time being. Which the Ninetales responded with a smile of appreciation.

Curt carefully laid himself down on Jacobs bed, not bothering to lift the sheets (too warn for that anyways) and made himself comfortable. It was a decently soft bed, nothing exceptional but Curt imagined it would work just for the average college student. Embertail was quick to hop on as well and sprawl himself on the bed (he preemptively cooled the flame on his tail to avoid setting fire to the sheets) out while Nine (hat still on his head) curled up in the corner, crinkling up a few papers in the process, but not waking Jacobs deep-sleeping roommate. As tired as he was, it took Curt almost no time to start drifting off to slumber, his last thought before going to sleep was thinking how amusing the reaction Jacobs roommate would have to seeing a Charmander, a Ninetales, and some guy he never meet sleeping in his room.

The next thing Curt knew, he was standing in a swampy area surrounded by trees, rain pattered lightly against the ground but somehow he did not feel it. Now that he thought about it, he didn't feel the mud on his clothes either, he didn't even seem to really feel the ground! Not only that, everything just seemed to be a little...off, like everything was made of deeply colored fog. Looking around the area in his astonishment, Curt eventually realized he recognized where he was; Kalos's Route 15, or at least somewhere close to it. His team had made a trek through that marshy forest just a few weeks ago, and there was no mistaking the place, not while it was still fresh in his mind. However, his recognition of the place wondering how he got to such a place, the last thing he remembered was falling asleep in Jacobs dorm, and that didn't even begin to explain the weird phenomena that was going on with his sense of feeling!

"Errrooguh!", a familiar cry caught Curts attention as he turned around to see, to his surprise, that Embertail appeared to be here with him as the Charmander was making his way through the swap to Curt. Curt almost didn't believe it was really Embertail at first, but there was no mistaking the brightness in that guy's happy face, it was the only solid looking thing in this immaterial world. Though Curt was relieved to see his best friend was here to back him up, he felt a little concerned over for the Charmander's well-being. If whatever brought him here had ill intentions, then that meant Embertail was also caught up in it, and could be in danger.

"Embertail! I-I'm glad to see you to, don't suppose you have any idea where we are?", Curt asked the fire-tailed Pokemon, who merely gave an over-exaggerated shrug in response.

"Hmmmm, you two really don't know", another, smoother voice said, causing the to jump,"we're having a vision". It appeared there was another addition to their group, as Nine stood near bye on a log that appeared to be stuck lying in the swap.

"W-wait, a vision, you mean like a dream?", Curt asked the fox. Immediately, Embertail let out a gasp as a huge smile spread across his face. The Charmander immediately ran to the log Nine was standing on, spread his arm wide, leapt into the air and!...fell face first into the mud. Curt couldn't help but emit a small, stupid smile on his face at Embertails antics, even Nine seemed to be trying to do his best to keep his face straight, and not doing a much better job then Curt was.

"Rwaught reh reel, rehy crowrden rah fri?", Embertail growled as he picked himself up, disappointment noticeable in his voice.

"Hehe, no no Embertail, this is a vision, not a dream, you couldn't fly becau-....Cassie", Nine said, his demenor doing a complete one-eighty from amused to stunned. His words caught both Curt and Embertails attention as they turned around to look and, indeed their she was just a few yards away. However, she seemed completely oblivious to them as she just walked right past them heading to who knows where. Embertail, in typical fashion, immediately cried out a greeting to here and started waving spastic, but either Cassie didn't hear him or was just ignoring the little guy as she continued to head towards who-knows-where, leaving Embertail to lower his hand with a confused expression on his face.

"...Wait, why didn't see respond?", Curt said, just as confusion as Embertail, "I mean, is she part of the vision, or are we invisible, or- "

"We have to follow her", Nine said quickly as he immediately took off after Cassie without even waiting from a response from the other two. Realizing they had no other idea's, Curt and Embertail decided to follow Nine, and by extension Cassie, into the bog. They followed Cassie but for how long they weren't sure, sometimes it felt like minutes, other times like hours, and then like minutes again! As they followed them deeper and deeper into the bog, they couldn't help but notice the area around them becoming dark and dark, with the surrounding becoming more and more fog-like. Apparently Nine could tell that his other two companions were being to get unnerved (O.K it was mostly Curt, Embertail never dropped that carefree smile he seemed to constantly have) and tried to inform them that, in a vision, ones sense of time and perception could be skewed and that such a thing was normal in this sea of abnormality. However, this caused Embertail to being up the question of how a vision was different from a dream, which caused the two fire-types to constantly argue back and forth over whether or not one was different then the other. In the end, their "debating" achieved something, it gave Curt his sense of time back, because their conversation seemed to drag on for an extremely long time.

("-like I said before, one of the primary differences is that dreams are things that occur naturally in someone, a vision is caused by outside influence that-")

"Rogh, reh reek rehen rhocked reouwt?"

("No-but- having a dream after being knocked out-it's not like-you're missing the point it's-")

"O.K, GUY'S STOP! First off, Nine, you do realize Embertail understood what you were trying to say about dreams and visions two minutes after you started explaining it and is now just intentionally perpetuating the argument to amuse himself right?" ,Curt said, which caused Nine to dawn a brief look of stunned realization, then throw the cheeky Charmander an annoyed glare, "second, Cassie's stopped, and she's at this...cave, entrance, thing." Despite Curt, lame explanation of the situation, it still caught Embertails and Nine's attention. Cassie had stopped in front of something that looked almost like a decrepit entrance into some kind of crypt, only it clearly lead into a deep cavern, or room of some kind. They watched in silence as Cassie stood in front of the entrance of a moment, and then-just vanished! Like she was made of fog and blown into the the sky by a strong gust, leaving only the entrance to a black abyss before them! The three stood their in stunned silence for a moment, just trying to process what had just happened and what it meant.

"Uh...Nine, what was that all about?", Curt asked the incredulous Ninetales in a flat voice.

"(I-I don't know, normally visions are either supposed to be important premonitions of the future or just random nonsense ("well that's reassuring", Curt muttered) meant to confuse someone)",Nine said, his voice a little more panicky then it was a moment ago.

"Well, I suppose, if nothing else, we know where to go now, so do you know....when...", Curt's voice began to fail him as the ink blackness from the crypt seeped into the outside world. Wider and wider it stretched, almost too fast to be believed, as though it intended to swallow the sky, before anything could be done, it seemed to encompass them, and not even the fire from Embertail's flame seemed to cut through the dark. they didn't know where they were anymore, they could barely move, and just then, a single, ghost wide hand slowly reached out from the darkness, outstretched to grab them, despite their attempt to back away, it grew bigger, and bigger, until!

"WHAT'S WRONG!?"

Curt woke with a bizarre mix between a scream and terrorized gasp. Embertail jumped up with a loud cry while Nine scrambled around on the floor, letting out a yelp and shooting a small jet of fire into the air that heated the whole room (but thankfully didn't set anything on fire). Jacob and the rest of his party were standing their with concerned expressions on their face, their sudden display taking them off their guards. Before Curt could even a word out, or even assess the situation, a loud pop was heard as a bright light filled the room, and there was Whips, his head darting around the room, trying to look for any possible sources of danger that could have cause the three to freak out like that.

Curt tried to catch his breathe, as he only now realized he was sweating, Embertail also looked shaken up (a rare expression for the Charmander), where Nine, like Whips, was darting his head around the room in search of something. After calming down a bit, Curt realized that, whatever that thing that had tried to get them before was gone, hell, Curt didn't even know if that was something with malevolent intent, or if it was, like Nine said, just the vision being a bit trippey. Curt heard a voice from the other end of the room to see that Jacob's roommate had finally woken up, and if their screams didn't do it, the sudden appearance of an almost eight foot tall Dragonite sure did.

"Uhhhh, reowry", Embertail growled as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"U-um, yeah, sorry about that, uh, we'll just...go", Curt stuttered out as he lifted himself off the bed and walked out of the room, Embertail, Whips, and Nine (who made sure to re-equipped Cassie's hat) following after him. They made their way back out the the greens did Curt, Nine, and Embertail explain the dream (or vision, as Nine called it) they had.

"-and that's basically when the...darkness, I guess you could call it, attacked and then we woke up to you guy's, which I guess I should thank-you for", Curt said awkwardly, now that he said the whole thing out loud, the experience did seem very...surreal," so, what do you think, should we trust this dream ("Vision!", Nine said) and give Route 15 a shot?"

 

[Trucro]

"Hmmmm," Jacob said as he listened to Curt's story. He had himself been surprised at the jump Curt and his team displayed when he woke them, but this was another level. It sounded extremely familiar to his own dream that he had had just yesterday. What an odd coincidence, if it even could be considered coincidence. There was no doubt in Jacob's mind; they had to go to Route 15. Even if Cassie wasn't there, maybe they could unearth a clue about her whereabouts. It was worth checking out just because of the dreams.

Jacob thought for a moment about his own dream. Should he tell Curt about it? He weighed the pros and cons quickly in his head. After getting sidetracked thinking about what Curt would be thinking about him thinking, he thought that Curt would think he was thinking about the dream, and trying to come up with a proper response. He put his mind back to the task, and came up with his decision: he wouldn't tell Curt. Curt's dream alone was probably enough logically to get them to head to Route 15, so there was no need. Why wouldn't he tell Curt? Well, he didn't want Curt knowing that he had a dream about Cassie... or Curt himself for that matter. It was all unnerving and uncomfortable, and he decided to leave it be.

"I think that sounds like a good idea," He finally responded to Curt. "I mean, at least we can search for some idea of where she might be. It's as good a place to start as any." Well, they did have an address for Cassie's house. But Cassie's house would always be there, and if she was living there, it probably wouldn't be for only a few days, or hours. "We can always check the house later, but Cassie's trail by Route 15 is getting more difficult to follow by the minute. I suggest we head out."

With that, Jacob began to run about his room. His roommate was long gone, which was nice, but even so, the room was crowded. Jacob recalled his pokemon as he finished packing a bag to take with them. As he affixed his belt, he turned to Curt and nodded. He led Curt out of the building back into the quad, before turning again to his friend.

"What do you think? Wanna just ride Stargazer to Kalos? There's plenty of space for two people and... er... Embertail." As he said this, he removed a pokeball from his belt. In a flash of white, the golem pokemon appeared. It towered over the group as it stood to its full height before letting out a few beeps. "Hey buddy! I hope you had a good rest! We've got a bit of a journey ahead of us."

 

[PentheWonderful]

Hello and welcome to Grave of the Forgotten.

Have you ever stopped and noticed the abundance of dark type Pokemon on this beautiful, withering road? Why it attracts so much of its kind in humans too? Have you once ever wondered why the trees, and leaves never seem to stop their lugubrious process of death? Why ruins remain scattered, untouched and unexplored, a tragic reminder of darker times, known to only few. Yet, you could say, this is what makes the path most human; Route 15 hides secrets.

Dare you to unravel the mysteries that shroud its amber facade? There are ruins below the ruins, and those forgotten, lonely ruins hold power, and it will strip you down to your very last defenses. It will tear down your walls, and reveal what is truly inside. It will feed off your sanity, for a much, much darker mystery hides at its very core, and looms over this domain, entangling every aspect with full control. Dare you to endure the horrors, the insanity, and make it through this maddening labyrinth?

Heed these survival tips carefully; not all you see, feel, and experience are real. Not all your conscious, breathing moments are spent awake. This labyrinth has a spell that locks all under hallucination. All, but those with a little bit of darkness in their hearts. Yet these horrors are different for every individual that experience it. The darkness looks into your deepest fears, and brings them to life. Not all that is unreal mean no harm, thus it is not recommended for a being to ever enter it alone.

It's a game of cat and mouse, for the power of Route 15 attracts darkness. Among those to be feared, beware of Team Rocket, who do not take kindly to trespassers and nosy individuals. It may not be you they're after, but I'm afraid, once you come in, there is no escaping the crossfire.

Spoiler: Basic Roleplay Rules as Reprised by Curtkid

Pokémon Role-Play Rules(Please Read for the love of God)

Note: This is just a touch-up/ reminder of the standard Pokecharms role playing rules. Seeing as we’ve recently been getting a large influx of eager, new RP’ers who may have missed said rules, I will be posting this to serve as your reference sheet. If I see someone constantly breaking these rules over and over again, they WILL be asked to leave.

>Please write two paragraphs MINIMUM when making a post. Half the fun of an RP is interacting with other people and writing a story, the more detail you put in the better. Don’t JUST write about yourself or your Pokemon, describe the scenery, have you character make note of an observation between two other characters. It’s an RP, be creative!

>Please use proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. A mistake here and there is fine, but no one wants to decipher a jumbled mess of words just to figure out what you said.

>Please pay attention to other RP’ers posts and be aware of the continuity. If someone attacked you in a previous post and you suddenly have a snack and act like the attack was just non-existent, you’re going to confuse and upset people.

> Legendary Pokémon are (usually) not allowed. Legendries are considered to be unbelievably rare and unfathomably powerful Pokemon, both in the games and in the Pokemon Lore. As such, usage of such Pokemon are forbidden from use in this RP (Please check the RP rules if you want a detailed list).

>Mega Evolutions are limited. Due to in most cases a Mega Evolved Pokemon is around the same power as a Legendary Pokemon, you must have earned a Stone and Bracelet from a previous, moderator approved RP (as per Pokecharms, rules). If you have, please message me with a link to the RP in which you earned your Mega Evolution so I can confirm it.

> This one is important! If you are battling another RP’er, it is up to the person being attacked to determine whether or not they got hit. I don’t care if you used Swift, it is still up to the person being attacked to determine if they got hit. Idon’t want to see anything like “Then Squirtle hit Charmander with Water Gun and then he fainted”, this is godmoding, and most people (me included) have VERY LITTLE patience for that.

>That being said, please be reasonable people, don’t have your Pokemon make it through every single attack unscathed. We’re not working strictly on game logic here, a Pokémon can take a few hits before going down. If I see your Aggron avoid every attack like an Arceus damn ninja, it will be counted as godmoding and you will be dealt with accordingly.

> As a follow up to the previous rule, if you get continually hit and your Pokemon never faints, you're godmoding. Even a Snorlax can't take a Focus Punch, two Flare Blitzes, and a Close Combat.

>Also, be aware of who and what you’re up against. If you’re a new trainer sending out a recently caught Pidgey against an experienced trainer with a Garchomp, you’re going to lose, very quickly.

>Lastly, though not strictly a “rule”, it’s generally seen as common courtesy to let the better Role-Player win the battle. If you’re fighting someone who is posting detailed, well-written paragraphs that illustrate the battle perfectly while you’re barely putting together two paragraphs per post with several spelling and grammar mistakes, then please swallow your pride and take the loss. Everyone here will respect you more for it. If you and your opponent(s) can’t decide who the winner should be, I as the “RP Master” will choose a winner based on the Role Player’s Skill, how comparable the characters are in terms of strength, and a few other outlining factor’s.

>As far as Pokemon move set’s go, you are not restricted to just 4 moves.Instead a Pokemon 4 “Primary” moves serve as the ones they use most often and have the most skill using. Your Pokemon can use most moves that they’d learn normally by leveling up or TM (albeit a bit less powerful), but please be fair. Don’t have your recently hatched Eevee be capable of using Extremespeed, Shadow Ball, and Double-Edged.

May you find this adventure worth the wait.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~​

The truth.

A haunting her force that loomed in the back of her mind, chasing her. Cassie refused it, refused to accept it. She wanted it to fade, and be forgotten. She wanted to move on, yet, it was so difficult to find a path when you can't even see clearly anymore. Those downtrodden, weary souls. Clinging onto her wherever she went. Was that why she felt so heavy?

Bleary lights stung her eyes the moment she exited the airport. Prism Tower had never looked so daunting. Her body quivered in the cool morning air, and her tired, puffy eyes dared a glance at the sun that barely peeked from the horizon. She could feel water running out of her nostrils, and she sniffed in order to retract it back inside, but wiped it on her sleeve just to be sure. There was no more exhaustion. No more aches, or pain. Just a dull, resounding numbness.

Cassie glided down the street with the grace of a Mismagius. Her coat swept across the pavement in resemblance to the flowing cloak of the Magic Pokemon. She kept her head down, while her feet moved seemingly with a mind of its own. It knew only one place. One place in an entire region where she was safe. Safe from violence, vandalism, vindictive gazes, and camera lenses. A Pokemon Center.

The rooms were nice and the beds were soft (not that she ever used them, she never slept anymore). They had showers and gave out free breakfast. Security was tight, and the press had restrained access to them. But most importantly, it was almost always vacant. The vain people of Lumoise City often looked down on mediocre Pokemon Center treatment, preferring the care of private doctors or remedies from the extensive array of shops across the city. So Cassie popped into the first center she could find and cashed in the big pearl she'd received in the velvet pouch to the center store. The airline had also been generous enough to serve breakfast, thus, the free breakfast wasn't necessary. But, at the same time, she wasn't there to simply cash in the big pearl either. No, there was... Something else she needed to do.

In the vacant Pokemon Center, Cassie stood before a PC Box. Her bare, scarred hand brushed over the surface of the lone, empty Pokeball on her belt, and she allowed her eyelids to slide shut. Cassie learned a valuable lesson during her kidnapping, and that was the fact that trainers were more dependent on their Pokemon than the other way around. And Cassie had been the most dependent on them among anyone she knew all along. When you've grown so attached and reliant on your Pokemon that, without them, you're bare. They were her walls. Her shells, her layers of protection and her place to hide. They were the mask that eluded everyone of the insecure, scared little girl who depended so desperately on the approval of her mother. Without her money, her family, her fame, her network, and her Pokemon, Cassie was lost. She was just Cassie, and it was something she'd always feared of becoming; who she really was on the inside.

But it was strange. The lack of weight on her belt made it feel as if she'd lost a limb. The lack of movement and noise, and life around her (despite the insane amount of people around) made her remember just how alone she was in the world. And that was why... That was why she outstretched her hand, and accessed her PC Box. The screen beeped to life and displayed her boxes. Cassie wasn't really the type for hoarding Pokemon like most trainers seemed to like to do. She always felt content with the team she had, which was enough to justify why she only had two Pokemon in her account.

A Ralts, and a newly hatched Purrloin.

It felt like a slap in the face. Yet, she couldn't pry her eyes from the Purrloin. Hazel eyes, and muscled arms instantly flooded her senses. "...Sai." The name slipped from her lips as naturally as breathing. The person she held dear to her heart. Who she thought she could depend on and trust. Who promised to be there. Was she really dumb enough to make the same mistake? Where was he when she needed him most? Where was anyone? It felt as if the world simply... Moved on without her. It made you realize just how small you are. Again, she felt her eyes sting, attempting to once more waste much needed bodily fluids, but there was nothing left. She had no more tears to cry. Instead, her eyes refocused on the current situation, the current reality. Sai had given her the Purrloin the day before her kidnapping. Along with the Ralts she'd received from that Hoenn University course she once took; Peridot.

Cassie withdrew both Pokemon from her account and latched them onto her belt, though, she paused for a moment when she held the Purrloin's pokeball. The kitten did not have a name yet. So for a few minutes, Cassie stood there staring at the creature sleeping in its pokeball. She looked so peaceful, and elegant, yet... There was something else. A type of mischief and coldness that resonated from the newly hatched. Perhaps it was the fact that Purrloin were dark types, but it strongly reminded her of herself. Or, what she used to be. In front of the PC Box, gawking like an escaped mental patient, she finally came up with a name, "Lady."

The Purrloin stirred slightly in her sleep, but Cassie simply latched her onto her belt and left the center. Already the weight and presence of the two young Pokemon comforted her. In fact, she could feel Peridot jumping excitedly in her pokeball, but Cassie wouldn't let her out. Too little too late. The high spirited Pokemon burst from her Pokeball and materialized in front of her. She had a big smile on her face, even running to give Cassie's leg a hug, until her horns went to work. Ralts were known as the Feeling Pokemon. They can sense their trainers emotions, and are attracted to positive emotions. Upon sensing happiness, their body warms up. However, what the Ralts felt from her trainer left her shaking, trembling, from both fear, and cold. Her confused, ruby eyes met with Cassie's anguished, gray ones. "Raa..." Peridot whimpered. This wasn't the trainer she knew.

Cassie sucked in a deep breath, and crouched down on her knees, reaching out to grasp her small body. "Heya, Dot..." Yet, Peridot moved away, even avoided her touch. Cassie drew back immediately. "I'm sorry." She released her breath and wrapped her arms around her knees, pressing her forehead against her arm as the center staff watched with intrigue to the trainer and Pokemon. "I'm sorry..." However, to anyone who was listening, it sounded like the trainer was apologizing for who she was.

A sudden cold sensation spread from her right leg, and as Cassie lifted her head, she saw Peridot, hugging her. Or more specifically, her leg. Her hand shakily found its way to the Ralt's small back, and cradled it gently. "...You're so cold, Dot."

'So are you.' Cassie sucked in a surprised breath. It was such a long time since she experienced telepathy. She'd forgotten Peridot even had it, or that it was also her ability. It filled the gaping hole in her chest. Just a little. For the first time in a long, long while, Cassie smiled. "We're both cold, hun."

And Peridot's body warmed up, just a little.

Moving the Ralts to her shoulder, Cassie exited the Pokemon Center, and shuffled through her bag until her hand came across a pair of wheeled metal. Her old skates. Smiling softly at the detachable skates, she felt Peridot shift around and hop excitedly on her shoulder. 'What's that?'

"They're, um..." She had trouble finding the word in her jumbled mind. "Patin à roulettes... Err..." 'Roller skates?' Peridot piped in, and Cassie was relieved she did. It seemed that lack of sleep reverted her back to French; her native language.

"Yeah." As she said this, however, Cassie proceeded attach the skates to the bottom of her boots, finding her old bearings, and then proceeded to (literally) glide down the road on them. "They make travel much faster, and is much lighter to carry than a bicycle."

'Where are we going?' Peridot asked, clinging onto her trainer's unruly hair.

"I... Err... Realized that... I'd probably need to sell some of my things so that... Um... I can... Give money to people who need it from me." Cassie explained crudely, finding it difficult to process sentences and skate at the same time. It usually wasn't a problem. But that was for the old Cassie. The old Cassie could do a lot of things right.

'Like charity?' Peridot chirped, but she could sense her trainer's spirits drop again. As if it wasn't low enough previously.

"Yeah... Kind of." Cassie skidded to a halt when she felt Lady's pokeball stir, and unlatched the pokeball, though she continued her drawling. "And I have to find something that I... Err... Lost... That would be worth a lot of money."

'Oh, I understand!' Peridot said, but she looked at Lady's pokeball curiously.

"Lady, come out." In a bright flash of light, and a pop, a small Purrloin appeared in front of them, and yawned as she stretched her body.

"Purr...!" Lady mewled.

"I know... It's been a while since you've been outside, huh?" Cassie said, and pulled out the amulet coin from her pouch. It glistened beautifully in the morning sun, and caught the Purrloin's attention almost instantly.

"Purrrrow!" Lady leapt up to snatch it, as most Purrloin would. The little Dark types loved to steal shiny, valuable things.

"Come and get it." Cassie proceeded to skate in a backwards swivel, and Lady gave chase. Trainer or not, Cassie knew that young Pokemon needed to develop their muscles, and Purrloin, which would develop into Liepard, were designed for speed. But Peridot probably needed to practice as well... Cassie couldn't help but chuckle. It was incredibly bitter, and tired. As were most of her. But training Pokemon, it seemed, had apparently grew into a favorite pastime, despite its unpleasant origins in her.

Thus, turning around to skate normally, Cassie held up the amulet coin in front of Peridot. "Take over, Dot." She let go, and with a surprised gasp, Peridot caught and suspended the item with her Psychic powers. She wagged the coin in front of Lady, who attempted numerous times to catch it, only to have Peridot move it away at the last second. The two youngsters' amusement made the journey to Route 15 all the more quick to Cassie.

Nevertheless, distance did not lie, and Cassie was surprised the young Purrloin could still keep up with her. Despite being less than five months old, Lady was relentless. She continuously chased the amulet coin as if it were a five hundred dollar pokepuff. In addition, she was also getting better at pouncing and swiping, which wasn't very surprising to Cassie, seeing how Purrloin were one of the more easier Pokemon to train. However, this also resulted in Peridot stepping up her game and honing her powers to move the coin more efficiently and quickly.

Eventually, after several ten minute breaks here and there, they came upon their destination. Route 15. It was noon by then, and the amber leaves that ever littered the path seemed to glow under the sunlight, but Cassie knew better than to be astounded by its beauty. Several trainers were out and about the path as well, all nameless strangers with whom she was unacquainted. However, she knew exactly where to go; straight into the thick foliage. Her emotions swirled as she retraced her own steps to the place it all started. Peridot was affected by the mood change, and snowballed into her Psychic power as the coin dropped several inches lower, allowing Lady to snatch the aforementioned item with a triumphant mewl. Though, this only ended in a tug of war with Peridot who was trying to get the coin back.

Cassie, however, remained focused. Her eyes were set ahead, remembering Nine and Ryu, who'd led her through the forest before. She could still see them, their phantoms, running just ahead of her. She slowed her pace to a walk, retracting the wheels of the skates into the bottom of her boots. And then, there it was; the clearing. Now empty. Hollow. Not a soul in sight, but Cassie could remember every last detail of what it used to be.

And it hurt.

Cassie allowed Peridot off her shoulder, only to have her tackled by Lady who was undoubtedly frustrated by then. However, it all melted away into childish play, and the two continued their game of catch the coin. Cassie, in the meanwhile, proceeded to the place where she knew her glove had to be. Past the remaining scorch marks and ash, she found three brown fingers sticking out from the mud and fallen leaves. Abandoned and forgotten, worn away by time.

Cassie reached down and pulled one of the fingers, unearthing a brown glove. Her glove. Attached to its buckle, was a keystone. Once her's too. And that was when it all became too much, and she dropped herself on her knees, sinking lower and lower until she was seated amongst the vibrant leaves.

 

[Curtkid]

The moment Jacob asked them if they wanted to ride on Stargazer Embertail leaped up into the air and let out a loud cry. Curt found himself smiling at his partners enthusiasm, truth be told, Curt was probably on the same wave length as Embertail was as fair as there desires went. The idea of riding on a giant robot across the sky's to Kalos sounded like an incredible experience to both of them, not that riding on Whips wasn't amazing as well, but Curt knew that flying on one Pokemon could be a vastly different experience then flying on another.

"Well, I have to agree with Embertail on this one, there's no way am I passing down a ride on a giant robot", Curt said to Jacob, "besides, I'm sure you know Whips really doesn't like flying us anywhere unless its an emergency". The Dragonite gave a small, though non-hostile, snort upon hearing this, as though trying to say that it was a good thing that they didn't get too comfortable riding everywhere on his back. Still, the Dragonite was well rested, in fact, Curt was getting the suspicious that Whips would actually want to fly with them to Kalos, if only because he just spent the past couple of hours sleeping and looked well rested, which Curt felt a tad envious of. Apparently visions didn't constitute a goods night sleep, because Curt wasn't feeling particularly rested, he didn't feel it now, but Curt knew that by mid-day he would probably start to feel a tad drowsy.

"Well, I'm sorry to coup you guys up again for another long flight, but at least you got some time to run around and explore the campus", Curt said to his party as he began calling them back. Despite Curts concern, most of his team was fine with being in their Pokeballs for the duration of the flight, the harsh winds and height often made Lockjaw nervous, Flare all so wasn't fond of the winds throwing her hair all over the place. Raviel found flight exciting a first, but long ones would quickly bore him, at least in his Pokeball he could nap, and Nine just wanted some time to himself to think on what he saw and was happy to return to his ball (Cassie's hat materializing inside their with him). Jasper, however, hopped out of the way the red beam, and pointed her bone club at Stargazer.

"O-oh, you want to ride on Stargazer too, huh?", Curt said as the Cubone gave a short cry in agreement. Curt really wasn't that surprised, Jasper was always eager to try new things, even (or sometimes, especially) if they were a tad dangerous, and no doubt the idea of flying on a giant robot appealed to her. When they were young and before Jasper was officially part of the team, Embertail and Whips would sometimes sneak Jasper into their house to watch cartoons, which may had contributed a bit to her adventurous spirit.

"Well, I guess there should be room enough for you on Stargazer", Curt said as he gave the Golurk another look over, "and I suppose if anyone falls off Whips will be their to catch us...oh don't look at me like that Whips, you just spent several hours sleeping in a Pokeball, I know you want to fly with us to Kalos." Curt added, catching the Dragonites glare, as though trying to give off the impression that he was mildly upset at Curt for bringing the up. Still, Whips knew Curt spoke the truth, even after the long flight from Hoenn, he would still enjoy another flight over the sea's to Kalos.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, the group hopped on the giant robot of a Pokemon and took off for the far off region. In Curts opinion, Stargazer was a bit less of a smooth ride then Whips, but at the same time he also felt a bit more secure riding on him. Whips scales, while surprisingly soft, didn't exactly offer one the firmest grip when ones hands got sweaty, but Stargazer offered plenty of room to plant yourself on and watch the scenery go by. At the very least, Embertail and Jasper seemed to have enjoyed themselves, and thank-fully they arrived in Kalos with out anyone slipping off.

As fun as the flight was, Curt was happy when they touched down on Route 15, though they stopped for a brief rest on a smile island half-way through their flight, the ride was still long and a tad bit exhausting, which Curt made clear by yawning when he jumped off of Stargzaer. Curt had to wonder if Embertail was beginning to feel as drowsy as he was, if so he didn't look it, he still had that perpetual grin on his face, Curt never stopped admiring his best friends optimism. Thankfully, their goal of finding Cassie allowed the team to stave off any possible weariness caused by the flight, and even the damp atmosphere of the marshy forest couldn't keep them down. Speaking of dampness, Route 15 was just as they remembered it, squishy ground that felt like it was going to suck you in with each step, bent trees that on couldn't say for sure that if they were alive or dead, even the grass seemed to be bent over due to the overwhelming sense of gloom that hung in the air. Taking a look around made Curt realize that he had no idea where to start looking for Cassie, but that was O.K, he already knew who to have at their side to help look for her. A quick click and a flash of light later, and Nine stood with them in the marshy woods, still wearing Cassie's hat, and looking both anxious and eager to begin the search for his trainer, his friend.

"Well, I'm pretty sure this is where we saw her, do you guys think we should we stay here and wait, or should we go looking for her?", Curt asked the group.

 

[Trucro]

Jacob nodded as he, Curt, Embertail and Jasper dropped from Golurks shoulders. Jacob felt comfortable on Route Fifteen; he had walked it nearly half a dozen times, and its familiarity was oddly comforting. It shouldn't be comforting he thought; not with what had happened not long ago. He thanked Stargazer, returning it to its pokeball. He then turned to Curt.

"Well, I suppose we could start where you and Cassie saved me? And then we could follow the trail," Jacob suggested. He wasn't entirely certain why, though. It was definitely as good a place as any, but why did he think of it so fast? He put these thoughts out of his head. "Unless you have a better idea, let's go."

He turned and headed into the forest. Jacob was moving through the squishy marshes when he realized something: this was all extremely familiar, almost like he had been here before very recently. It was deja vu. He was thinking if he had ever made this exact trip before when he tripped and fell through the bushes into a small clearing. As he looked over his shoulder, seeing Embertail behind the bushes, it all became clear to him. This was where he had been in his dream. Jacob was stunned for a moment, the gears turning in his head trying to figure out what this meant. He looked away from Embertail, back to his front.

"Let's go this way," he said as he stood, brushing himself off as he began to walk more quickly. He was so intrigued as to what all this meant that he didn't worry about Curt breaking through his guise. He realized his head was pounding, and he was breathing heavy. Something wasn't quite right. Jacob reached up with one hand, rubbing his forehead. He came to a slow stop and sighed.

"Sorry, it's just... I must still be tired," he said, looking back at Curt.

 

[BurbleBurble]

Route 15. A beautiful, colorful route in Gerald's eyes. A horrible, leaf infested, dark-type hot spot in June's. And she thought the marsh they crossed was bad enough: now, leaves were sticking to her ankles and feet, which were coated in swamp water and mud. June may of not been obsessed with vanity like other Braixen, but it was too awkward for her. She picked off leaf after leaf, but every time she got rid of one, another seemed to get stuck on her a moment later. Gerald was lucky, he got to wear boots.

The reason Gerald had been on the route was to look for a Pokemon. There was a problem though, he couldn't decide which one. Liepard was fast and deadly attacker, but the kleptomaniac attitude along with being straight up cruel kept swayed him away from the kind. Mightyena were great too, quick and snappy, but one would be a pain to train. Pawniard (and by extension, Bisharp) were a good choice, but his Doublade was already the residential steel type, and probably wouldn't take well to the newcomer. Klefki was a good set-up Pokemon, but offensively fell flat. Same went for Watchog and Foongus, who couldn't take a hit on top of that. That left Skorupi, but getting close to one would leave him and June running back to Laverre with poison jolting through their veins. There was rumors of Murkrow flocks on the route, which was one he personally found to be the best choice for him. He needed a flier, Murkrow (and it's relative Honchkrow) were decent enough. June only had a small vendetta against dark types, but he was sure the two wouldn't have too much animosity...if he could find one. They were rather rare, only appearing in flocks...however, as they trudged through the grasses, the duo were distracted by a strange sight.

A woman had been skating, with a Ralts on her shoulder. The Ralts was levitating a coin of sorts in near a Purrloin, who was attempting to catch it. She proceeded to run straight through some thick brush, with the tricky cat tailing behind her. Wait, what? Why would anyone just do that? Was she alright? He wanted to go check up on her, but he didn't want to seem like a mugger, or worse, a stalker. Maybe she'd be fine on her own? Nothing too remarkably dangerous in the damp woods, just the occational Pawniard. Unless there was a whole group of them. Then they'd get ripped apart, especially if those two were the only Pokemon she had on hand. Even he would have trouble dealing with a horde of the little thugs. What if the group had a Bisharp in it? Those things were merciless. Now he was psyching himself up. He HAD to go. And if she got the wrong message, he'd just have to pay the price.

"Come on, June." June, after viewing the odd sight, had gone back to prying leaves off her feet, that was until Gerald patted her on the back, before grabbing her hand At first she thought they were leaving, until she noticed they were heading into the brush. She dug her feet in the ground, not caring how muddied they got. She was NOT about to enter the foliage for no real reason. She may not have had telepathy, or speech...or anything than gave her the ability to speak to Gerald, but she got her point across fine and clear.

Annoyed at the obstinate fox, he shot a glare at her. "Come on, why can't we follow the girl we have no affiliation with through thick brush, though she'll most likely think we're stalkers or muggers rather than nice people who are trying to see if she is alright?" Actually, he just stated the entire problem with going after the woman. Returning the upset glare

"Fine. Be difficult...in your ball." Returning June was a rare sight. But if she was being "Unruly"(or logical, in this situation) he had to. The look of shock on her face was one Gerald would not forget easily, and a indicator she was going to not be happy at him later. Oh well.

He forced his way through the bushes, sounding like the theoreticle Bisharp himself, perhaps not as metallic. He eventually made it to a clearing, where the cat and humanoid were still fighting over the odd coin. Were they called "Amulet coins"? There was something that compelled people to give in to generosity while it was around. Maybe thats why he cared for the well being of the woman. Or perhaps he was being nosy, or downright stupid. It wasn't the far-fetched theory for the Amulet coin, that was for sure.

After going past the little creatures, he came to the woman. She was obviously distraught about something, but Gerald had a feeling she wasn't going to spill her heart out on him. A feeling came up from inside him, maybe this wasn't the best idea. Perhaps June was right. But he came all this way, trudged through the brushes and brambles. There was no backing down now. Finally, he worked up the courage, cleared his throat, and spit out a few words.

"Excuse me, are you alright?"

 

[Curtkid]

Curt nodded as they followed Jacob into the wood, for some reason, Curt was under the impression that Jacob chose this direction on more then just a simple hunch, besides, Curt, Embertail, and Nine all agreed this area of the forest looked...eerily familiar... A few minutes passed as they followed Jacob through the marshy fields, the ground making soft squishing noises with each step, their eyes constantly circling the forest, looking for any sign of Cassie or her team. After about roughly half and an hour of walking most of the team was getting a bit irritated, yes, Curt, Embertail and, Nine assured them that they were on the right path, but that didn't do much to keep everyone spirits up. Still, the group trusted them enough to at least keep moving through the swampy forest.

"You know, I've been thinking, what's the difference between a forest and a woods?", Curt said aloud to no one in particular. Clearly the young trainer was trying to do his best to spark a conversation amongest them to stave of the travel fatigue. Thankfully, Nine was their to answer Curts question and back the trainer up it was funny to think, but despite originally being part of Cassie's team, he had formed a bond with Curt, Embertail, Flare, and the rest of the group, almost considering them a second family to Cassie and her party.

"(Well you see, in general comparison, a woods is smaller and had lesser density of tree's then a forest)", Nine began in his telepathic speech to the group, "(though, if you want to get into greater detail, a forest has-)"

"G-Gerald!", Embertail growled softly, pointing wildly at a figure in the distance that was shuffling amongest the tree's, and indeed their was a familiar red haired man in a blue jacket shuffling through the woods. Curt actually had to do a double take to make sure it was him, the trainer almost always had June, his Braxien companion, by his side. They had recently meet each other at The De La Vie Et La Mort Festival, they took part in the festivities together, formed a bond, and even...well, that was a story for another time.

"Well, whattya know, I think that is Gerald, HEY GERALD!", Curt called out to him, but the man didn't seem to hear him, in fact, he seemed dead set on following after something,"huh, whats up with him, come on guy's, let's go see whats got his attention". The group, even Nine, had no objects as the made their way through the wet, soppy brush, almost loosing the trainer a few times. After several minutes of trekking through the bog, they finally made it out of the thicket. As they stumbled out, they saw that Gerald appeared to be talking to some who had a white and green figure on their shoulder and what appeared to be a cat traveling beside them. Confused, Curt squinted his eye's and could see that the figure was wearing a familiar white shirt, had short, deep brown hair, and was noticeably shorty then the average girl. The entire parties breath was caught in their mouth as they stood their for a moment, utterly stunned at what they saw, their she was, the very person they had spent they last couple of months searching for, just a couple dozen yards a way, just like that. A low whine could be heard next to them as Nine took a tentative step forward, as though almost afraid to believe what he saw, however, the look of shock on his face quickly turned into one of sheer joy as he took off running towards his trai-no, towards his friend.

Curt, Embertail, Whips, and Jasper following in hot pursuit, the trainer and the Charmander both had smiles almost as big as Nines plastered on their faces, even Whips had a small grin on his face at seeing an old friend, Jasper was a bit less acquainted with Cassie compared to the rest of the party, still, she resonated with her friends feelings and shared in their excitement. By the time they reached Cassie, her team, and Gerald, Nine had already leaped up on Cassie, placing his paws on her shoulders, his nine tails waving wildly in utter bliss.

"CASSIE!, I can't believe it, we've been, that is, we've been looking for you for so-", Curt was throwing his words wildly everywhere, and only know realized he just jumped in between Cassie's and Geralds conversation, "uh, Gerald, sorry to but in like this, but, this is the girl I told you about back at the Kalos Festival, Cassie, the girl...that...got...". Curt felt his words get chocked in his mouth as he took a second look at Cassie, and for a brief moment, he almost felt that there had been a mix up. This women, she resembled Cassie, but she looked so...Tired? Old? Broken? Yes, though all those could be applied here, broken seemed to be the one that fit best. Their were deep bags under her eye's, making her look twenty years older then they last saw her, her hair was cut short and messily, her limbs seemed a bit thinner then they remembered, but that wasn't the worse of it, far from it. Her eye's, there was just a look in her eye's that just lacked the spark of life, the fiery, hot-blooded passion that Curt remembered Cassie alway's having, even back when they first met in those Glimmering Caverns.

"Uhhh, hehe, ah rekki rough rhair kait", Embertail growled softly, a weak smile on his face. Curt gave the Charmander a small glance, he had known Embertail for almost eighteen years, and this was one of the closest times Curt had seen him to being truly depressed. Even know, even with such a heavy sorrow and shock weighing in the air, Embertail was still trying to lighten the mood.

"Uh, E-Embertail said, that is, he likes your haircut...", Curt knew Embertail was trying to do something to remind Cassie of happier times, and Curt tried to make himself smile to help enforce that, but clearly his face did registrar that as he stuck with the same, stunned expression. He felt like an idiot, they thought that Cassie and her team had managed to cleverly escape Team Rocket relatively unscathed and the accusations were just their way of getting back at her. Now they were realizing the truth, of course Team Rocket did horrible things to her, to her team, and they didn't work hard enough to find them in time. Whips, the normally stoic and stern Dragonite, just stared at Cassie wide eyed, not completely sure what to feel. Sorrow for what the girl, and potentially her entire team, had gone through? Rage at those who would do this to them? Caution so as to not harm Cassie's emotional state? Jasper's eye's darted nervously around, clearly this was not the reunion anyone was expecting upon meeting Cassie and the normally bold had no idea what to do, or if she should do anything at all.

And Nine, oh lord, Nine...

The Ninetales was just staring deep into Cassie's eyes with a dead expression on his face, he wasn't crying, he wasn't even whining. His face was as blank and as white as a sheet, he'd become consumed with total shock, his mind trying to process what he was seeing in front of him. This wasn't how it was supposed to be, this was supposed to be a happy reunion, their was supposed to be laughing, hugs, catching up. Instead he found his trainer, his friend, someone he viewed almost like a sister, broken and beaten, left in a emotional and physical wreck. All Nine could think to do was lay his head on Cassie's shoulder and nuzzle her check, trying to something, anything to give her comfort. Seeing what Nine was going through, Embertail immediately felt stupid for trying to make light of the situation, if it had been Curt who looked as bad as Cassie, if it had been him spending months worrying about his brother, Whips, Lockjaw, Jasper, Raviel, and Flare, not knowing if they were being hurt, or even alive...it just sent shivers down the Charmanders spine just to think about it. Curt felt almost as stunned as Nine, he need to say something, do something, but seeing Nine with Cassie like that...

"I, uh, we kept an eye on Nine for ya", Curt said weakly, trying his best to look Cassie in the eye, "w-we figured you might want to have him by your side again...we, I mean, he really missed you, you know."

 

[PentheWonderful]

"Excuse me, are you alright?"

"...Huh?" Her eyes lifted. Somehow, she'd fallen asleep with her eyes open. If you could even call it sleeping. For the most part, Cassie supposed, it was a deep, immersive version of daydreaming. But your mind never drew any thoughts, or swept you away into escapism. No, it just felt like being there, but not really there at the same time. Which was why, upon the sudden greeting, she seemed to have just... Snapped back. From the way she was seated, all she could see were his knees, and she had to tilt her head back considerably to get a good look of the person's face.

Which did no good, either. The sun simply silhouetted this stranger's face. Except, for one particular feature that caused her to squint from the brightness of.

"Arceus... I forgot how bright your hair was, Jacob..." The words flowed from her lips as naturally as water in a river. She didn't even think, she just said the first thing that came to mind. More than anything, she seemed to fully believe that Gerald's presence was a hallucination altogether!

By that time, both Lady and Peridot had halted their little tug of war, with the Purrloin having won the struggle and now had the amulet coin dangling proudly from her neck. It was too big on her. Comically so. They both stared at Gerald curiously, until a sudden yelling and violent rustling from the bush caught their attention. This caused Lady's fur to stand on end as she arched up her back to make herself look bigger, while Peridot came running back to Cassie. The moment a flash of milk white fur burst out of the foliage, however, Lady jumped a good three feet in the air, yowled, and sprinted behind her trainer's back while Peridot hopped on her lap and buried her face in her trainer's shirt.

Cassie blinked, her eyelids unsynchronized, and squinted yet again to make out what it was that was running towards her. She began to wonder if she needed glasses too. But all those thoughts were literally knocked out of her, as this mass of fur tackled her backwards, onto the ground, inadvertently causing her to squish Lady, who gave another yowl before desperately squirming away, coincidentally running headfirst into Gerald's leg. She bounced off of him, and landed in a sitting position, shaking her head dizzily. Meanwhile, Peridot was also distressed, letting out fast, nonsensical chitter as she was sandwiched in between Cassie and Nine's body.

"CASSIE!, I can't believe it, we've been, that is, we've been looking for you for so-"

"Q- Quelle? (W- What?)" Her tired, bloodshot eyes darted between the two new figures emerging from the bush, and the Pokemon on top of her.

"Uh, Gerald, sorry to butt in like this, but, this is the girl I told you about back at the Kalos Festival, Cassie, the girl...that...got..."

Her eyes finally found a fixed focus point, and that was a pair of deep green eyes. So familiar, filling her with comfort, yet, pain at the same time. "...Curt? Est-ce vous? (Is that you?)" Her brows furrowed, and slowly, she forced herself to sit up, releasing Peridot from the suffocation. Her mind was so frazzled, so exhausted, she barely even noticed she'd switched back to French. She blinked, which seemed to surprise even herself. "I never realized how green your eyes are... Were they always that color?" She shut her eyes tightly and shut her eyes, shaking her head slightly in a desperate attempt to regain some sort of control over her own head. "Err-"

Wait. Curt?

"Uhhh, hehe, ah rekki rough rhair kait."

"Em...ber...tail?" She blinked, again her eyelids were unsynchronized.

"Uh, E-Embertail said, that is, he likes your haircut..."

"...Yeah... I guess... That Scyther did a pretty good job..." Her mind felt like a giant, concrete wall. She couldn't see through it. Couldn't see over it. And it weighed a ton. She couldn't think at all. Nothing made sense. Nothing-

Her eyes shifted, only a few inches, and they met with ruby red orbs that seemed... Blank. Blank as her mind. Cassie blinked slowly, parting her lips to make words, but found she'd suddenly grown too stupid to speak. And then, as the fox moved in closer, laying his muzzle on her shoulder, nuzzling her neck, it was as if the dam surrounding her broken heart crumbled to pieces, letting loose everything she bottled up.

"Nine-"

Tears came rolling down her cheeks like a waterfall as her arms threw themselves around the large fox's neck, pulling him against her. His warmth, the softness of his fur when she buried her face in his mane, it broke down the makeshift walls she'd put up, and Cassie began crying uncontrollably. She'd found her wall again. The petite woman wailed, mourned, and sobbed with reckless abandon. The Ninetales, visibly shocked, was frozen in place for the first few moments, but soon, he moved in closer and pulled his paws up to Cassie's sides, further entangling himself in her arms.

Nine closed his eyes, and tears ran down his cheeks too.

Peridot, sensing all the powerful emotions emitted by people and Pokemon alike, began to tremble. Her body grew cold, and she too began sniffling, running and hugging Cassie's side as she cried along her trainer and predecessor. Lady, however, remained oblivious. The devious Pokemon had only come back around to play with Nine's tails, which moved about as if with a mind of its own. The tearful reunion lasted for a full ten minutes before Cassie finally calmed down. She drew a shaky breath, loosening her grip on Nine. At least, the crying had cleared her thoughts somewhat.

Placing a tender kiss on Nine's forehead, Cassie caressed his fur with her bare hands. Yes, her bare, scar ridden hands. It'd been a long time since she's touched her Pokemon with bare hands. Due to embarrassment, for the most part. But now... She didn't really care anymore. There was a considerable amount of pride and shame lost after you've gone through all the things she has. "Tu m'as tellement manqué... (I missed you so much...)"

'Tu m'as manqué aussi.' He replied telepathically, causing Cassie to smile a little bit wider. Albeit, a disheartened smile, from something she had no intention of sharing, just yet. She pressed her forehead against his, and closed her eyes. She could already feel sleep creeping in, when,

"I, uh, we kept an eye on Nine for ya." Her eyes tiredly fluttered open again, looking back to Curt. She forgot he was still there. As she looked him over, Cassie found that he hardly changed. Which was a good thing. She wouldn't want him to. Her eyes were still bloodshot, and now her nose was red and running as she looked at him. "W-we figured you might want to have him by your side again...we, I mean, he really missed you, you know."

"...Yeah. I... Missed you guys too. I thought of you all the time... I think. I don't... Really remember... Much of my own thoughts... Nowadays..." There was a change in her speech pattern. It was now more absent, and slurred. It'd lost the silk smooth diplomatic flow she once had. The collected, intelligent energy she emitted. Gone. Replaced with a certain kind of... Darkness. Yet, she was still smiling softly, mostly at Nine. Lady had somehow climbed onto Nine's head, hiding in his hair, beneath the fedora, while Peridot climbed onto her head, and then leapt onto Nine's head as well, knocking over the white headwear. It seemed, as the mood lifted, so did her power. "Thanks... For taking such good care of Nine..."

In a calm, curious manner, Nine watched the two small creatures playing in his hair, before he ducked down to set them down, and then going to pick the fedora up in his mouth, and then placing it atop Cassie's head. 'I believe that belongs to you, Cassie.'

The trainer herself, managed to quirk a small, ephemeral smile, as her hand, rippling with large scars from what could only be third degree burns, reached up to touch it, feeling the fabric. "Merci." She whispered, looking down to he other hand and saw that her glove was still clasped in it. Turning it over, she stared at the keystone embedded in it for a short moment, before taking it out, and then slipping it in the velvet pouch tied to her belt.

"I'm... Sorry I caused you so much trouble, Curt..."

 

[Trucro]

"W-Wait!" Jacob shouted after Curt as he rushed after this new person. Jacob thought he was the one leading the group; he was still using his vision to guide them! And now, not only was there another new person that Jacob didn't know (Jacob rolled his eyes), but they were also headed in a different direction. Jacob paused for a moment before taking off after Curt, Embertail and Nine. As he did, he got a better look at this Gerald; the guy looked eerily familiar, but Jacob couldn't place him. Curt and the group disappeared into some brush, and Jacob ran in after them. He tripped on a tree root, and dropped to the ground. Standing back up, he brushed himself off. That's when he saw Gerald, Curt, and...

"Cassie..." Jacob said to himself under his breath. Everything stopped for a moment. The sound of chirping and crawling pokemon stopped. He couldn't feel the wind on his face. His mind raced. They found her! It wasn't supposed to be this fast, and it wasn't supposed to make him feel like this. He pulled himself back together, returning to reality. Everything continued in motion, and Jacob watched and Cassie and Nine had their little reunion. As he stepped forward, his stomach dropped into his shoes. Cassie did not look well. She appeared to be more lean than before, and looked a little pale. She had bags under her eyes, and a new haircut that Jacob didn't prefer. This must have been from all the trouble with Team Rocket. The trouble she became involved in saving him. What does someone say to a person who sacrificed themselves to save them? Especially after all this time. Before he could think of an answer, his feet began to move. He emerged from the brush, walking towards Cassie, unwittingly. He would have to say something now.

"You... look like shit," Jacob said with a smirk, obviously trying to be cool. It was only then he realized that his joke could be misinterpreted, severely misinterpreted, as an insult. "Uh-I mean... I like your new haircut." His smirk was gone as his mind rushed trying to figure out the proper thing to say. "We've been looking for you... I can't believe we found you! Where were y- where did you... how did you escape Team Rocket?"

Jacob kicked himself. What a dumb thing to bring up! But he just had too many questions to stop now. The floodgate had opened, and he was going to release everything he had.

"What happened? Where are your pokemon? How long has it been since you escaped? Why didn't you contact us?" Jacob forced his mouth closed as he remembered that Curt and this familiar looking stranger watched. He glanced towards this "Gerald" and nodded with a short smile before turning back to his friends. "Why didn't you reach out to me?"

 

[PentheWonderful]

"You... look like shit,"

"Yeah... I know. Wish I still cared, though." Cassie replied flatly, adjusting the fedora on her head. Nine shot Jacob a glare, though he was thoroughly surprised the girl hardly reacted to the comment. He knew his friend to be one of the most stylish people he'd ever met. She never took comments like that lightly. The changes have been more than just skin deep, it seemed. And it scared him. He didn't even notice Jacob's attempt to cover up what he just said.

"We've been looking for you... I can't believe we found you! Where were y- where did you... how did you escape Team Rocket?"

His question, however, that mere mention of Team Rocket and escaping, it caused her eyes to go wide. Cascaded by the shadows her fedora now provided, one would be able to see clearly how her pupils dilated, how her mouth hung open just a little bit, and how she just... Left. Her mind just completely abandoned her body. It was almost like PTSD. Peridot hid further in Nine's hair trembling, while Lady watched with great interest. She could sense a darkness, growing. And that was just the tip of the iceberg, as Jacob's questions came flooding. Why this, why that, how, when, where, what. Her hands both instinctively reached upwards, clasping her ears. From her squatting position, she bent over, into a little ball. Her body convulsed sharply at the mention of her Pokemon, even Nine jumped up on his feet from surprise. And by the time the questions ended, Cassie drew a deep breath, and screamed.

"SHUT UP!"

Nine's fur stood on end, and even Lady seemed petrified. But Cassie wasn't finished. Jacob triggered what looked to be a panic attack on the girl, as her breathing increased pace and tears began falling yet again. "Shut up...! Shut up!" She yelled in between wheezes. It felt like a hand was squeezing her lungs, keeping her from drawing a perfect breath. The ace trainer, or what was left of her, got to her feet, stumbled, but Nine was there to catch her. She held on to him like she was holding on to dear life.

This was the real Cassie. The one Ryu had always been so overprotective of. The one Nine was always so concerned about. The person whose walls and masks fell apart, and there was nothing left but her core.

'Cassie...!' Nine exclaimed telepathically. 'What happened to you?! Where... Where is everyone? Please, Cassie! I- we need to know!'

His pleading eyes met with her panicked, silver ones, and just like that, her vault of secrets were broken open. "I didn't... Escape, Nine. I never did." She explained in that hoarse, tired voice. "They let me go, because... Because eventually they found out, and I found out that... I'm useless... And made me useless too." Cassie glanced at Curt, and then slowly to Jacob. "They wanted to know about you two... And Sai too... At first I didn't want to talk, but after... After some things they did... I opened my mouth but I had nothing useful to say." She cracked a smile, which looked eerily misplaced on her agonized face. "I didn't know anything about you. I don't even have your contacts! But by the time they found that out, it was too late. The news was published and I... I got disowned... I couldn't escape, because- the first thing they did was... Was..." She blinked her eyes furiously. "They shot me in both my legs... So I couldn't run..."

Nine knew there were parts of the story that Cassie hid, but he didn't dare push further on the subject. What he did dare to push, however, was one, simple question. 'And... The others...?'

The eerie smile on her face disappeared, and instead a look of horror creeped onto her once beautiful face. "I... Released them... A- at least, I... I think it was me..." Her hand reached up and wove through her hair, as if forcing herself to remember the one, damn thing she'd desperately been trying to forget. "And I... I told them to go as far as they could go, and never come back..." There was a pause, but whatever she seemed to be preparing herself to say next was filling her with pain, despair, and remorse. Then, she continued in a hushed whisper. "And then I crushed their Pokeballs under my feet to make sure they never can."

 

[Storybook]

Swamps, if they were just the right kind, were the most amusing of places. Although the boy had only dabbled in a few of them, the satisfying squelching noises still slumbered within his memory, and Que was absolutely positive that there was no better fun to be had than thwacking, scoring, or generally just overturning the mud with a stick, and watching it moodily sink back into itself with a gurgle of displeasure. The swamps, Que declared to himself with a sort of stout assurance, seemed to despise change as much as he did.

Forests, Que supposed, were generally alright as well. Although Que was constantly irked by their meddlesome will to dash between the seasons in such a wishy-washy manner, the simple thought of the scores of leaves, nuts, berries, and other assortments of random items that the trees and bushes scattered throughout the forest encouraged the boy to giggle, for they were placed in such a sporadic manner that the boy could only imagine some toddler had come along, was told very specifically to leave them alone in their fancy little piles and do not, he repeated, do not move them one inch, and then immediately left alone to wreak havoc.

Sadly, route 15 was neither a swamp nor a forest, but instead, some sort of disgusting hybrid between the two. Layers and layers of leaf mold cluttered the floor to the point where it seemed more like a carpet than a toddler's disobedience, and the mud wasn't quite mud but a putrid explosion of slightly wet, moldy dirt that caved beneath his heels, but never fully settled back into place. Alas, as much as Que despised this place (for what was it but a change from what was right and good?), he could not choose the route he traveled.

Well.... perhaps he could. But, Que supposed, he didn't really want to. His feet had led him here, and by Arceus, come hell or high water, come rampaging Tyranitar or the distortion world of legends, Que would follow.

Still, there was a plague upon the disfigured hybrid of a route. A plague of silence. As the boy's feet dragged through the clutter, not quite leaving the ground yet moving all the same, Que was struck with an urge to hurry. How he despised moving quickly, at the whim of the wind! How he begged gravity to hold him down, as he dragged his feet across the ground! Why, then, was he unnerved?

Could it be the stagnant air, molasses that seethed at his disturbance? Could it be the branches of trees, drooped beneath the weight of foolish leaves that had turned their color to soon? Or perhaps it was the route's inhabitants, dark and mischievous as they were. But no, none of those, none of those. So what was it? Where there no answers, or did his mind simply insist he shant find out?

Que seethed at his own brain's foolishness, inapt to find an answer that clearly dwelt within its reach. His fingers, twined together behind his back, traced matted knots of shoelace upon his wrist, and reminded the boy to be calm.


Shhhp. Shwip. Shhhp. The boy's pallid face sported an appearance of childish amusement, his thin lips straight as the stick he had acquired flicked leaf debris into the air. It was a good stick, the boy decided, as his steely, platinum gaze roved over the knobbly expanse of bark, roughly the size of his own thin arm. A lucky find- good sticks just so happened to be a rarity.

With stick in hand, the boy continued his sluggish trudge through the route, his despairingly slow pace heightened as the stick mulled over the ground in a manner akin to his roving thoughts. Que Allein, as the boy happened to be called, was and would always be an intriguing boy. From the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, there just was something not quite right about him. He had a tussled mop of brown hair pasted upon his scalp, and clothes, clinging to a black and white color scheme, that hung lifelessly upon his frame. His skin was a little too clean for his travels and had acquired a pale, pasty hue, and the cloth that hung upon his frame shared in the eerie cleanliness. His eyes were a mechanical blue, a color very close to platinum, and they moved in robotic roves, scanning the scene constantly like a clock that refused to stop ticking. The boy had a rare sort of face, perhaps a little too chubby for his seventeen or so years of age (Que had to admit, he hadn't really been keeping track of time), and he controlled it effortlessly, as if it were simply a slate to wipe clean day after day after mindless day. When the boy moved, he moved as a sluggish river, draped over the earth, feet close together, the ground coaxing them into action as they dragged, scoring furrows into the not-quite-muddy ground that collapsed in upon themselves, yet didn't quite fill back in.

By what can only be presumed to be an incredible amount of patience, laced with the motivation of childish satisfaction, a black shoelace was wrapped around his wrist in a knobbly bed of complicated knots, and it was mirrored by the two white laces wrapped over his ankles, the structure of their cobble of knots so similar that they could only be twins. Accompanying these wads of knots in a rather fitting manner was Que's constant slouch, a sort of declaration to the world of his seventeen year long sulk.

Beside, or, more accurately, about ten feet ahead and forty or so degrees to the left of the boy was an Arcanine, stubbornly christened Growlithe by his, as the dreamy beast stated it, entirely way to calm and manipulative and generally meandering trainer. He had massive swathe's of fluffy fur, often tangled and matted, and the wide berths of the beasts paws were coated in mud and various debris. If one were to spot such a creature, they would first see his nose, for the acutely far-sighted beast held it ahead of him constantly, a precious arrow that seemed to better fit the word sight than the fuzzy world of colors his drunken eyes gifted him. The less-than-faithful beast's eyelids lolled drowsily upon his half-lidded eyes, and the beast, despite his species' supposedly regal manner, appeared to be but a great, dreamy, child, without a care but for imagination and contemplation. Que's eyes, in comparison, roved onwards, and the moment of observation was lost to pondering, trickles of murky thought, always twisting one way or another as the world's puzzles slowly unraveled within his own brain.

This was how Que spent his trek- watching and listening and solving. As the world droned on, and the ground nudged him onwards, Que, prodding soggy branches and moldy leaves, couldn't help but take notice once more of the silence that seemed to reign upon the route. It seemed noise had been completely and utterly banished, as if all life had gone dead, even the wind eradicated from the area. The air hung in a stagnant pool, heavy and immovable. Not even Growlithe, though massive in both stature and curiosity, seemed to break the fog of dead noise, as if Que had silenced the clamor with the plague of his presence. The world was mute.

But Que echoed. His steps sunk into the ground and sucked at the muddy dirt, leaving permanent imprints, a single set of his foot's decree upon the floor. As the stick roved with his steely gaze, and sent the leaf clutter aflutter, the noise penetrated the dead sound, utterly alone in its lifeless endeavor. Shhp. Shwip. Shhp.

For a reason the boy could not place, Que shivered- a sort of bone-chilling, spine-crawling, dread-filled shiver.

He did not know what or why, he avoided, he ran from the what and the way, despite declaring that it drove him mad not to know. But what the boy did know was that this was his sign, this was the call that drove him to wander farther and farther, this was the harbinger of memory that Que wanted to leave behind and thus, in a sadly ironic twist, lived forever. This was his call to action once more. It was time to find some life in this place, some noise, some distraction, something not just amusing, but... exciting.

"Say, Growlithe..." the boy's voice had the habitual slightly monotone drone which always seemed the best to give to people simply because their reaction was the most entertaining. However, it was higher-pitched than normal, in the less than sneaky way a child hides their internal plotting. He paused for a moment to think, shoulders sagging, back bent, finger's tapping it's pairs tips in thought. "... I've been thinking about food. Crunchy granola bars that grind beneath your teeth, fluffy bread lathered with butter, canned meat, lunch meat, fast food, home cooked dinners. Can't you just taste it all? Dried fruit, leftovers, carrots, berries," the boy scored his mind for other foods travelers tended to carry, allowing his tone to rise in a reminiscent manner, "sandwiches, granola, poffi- say!" he broke off, turning towards Growlithe, for he had stared straight ahead for the whole monologue, "do you smell that?"

The Arcanine lifted his quivering nose into the air, half-lidded eyes lolling in their sockets as the acutely far-sighted beast searched for what Que supposedly could smell, drool dripping into the leaf mold as the thoughtful creature undoubtedly salivated over Que's suggestions. In only moments, he had turned on the dime and was tunneling through the undergrowth, arrow of a nose pointed straight ahead towards his destination, spraying saliva into the air as he licked his chops in anticipation.

Que slumped farther, licked his lips in satisfaction, and dragged his feet as he followed the newly carved path of destruction, poking his stick into anything of interest and wondering whether or not the more irritable of the route's inhabitants would attack him, as they always seemed to have the gall to do. There were a few things, Que supposed, that could lay head, judging from past experiences: a small settlement or town, the least likely, as the only ones Que could think of were a ways away, a single trainer or two with an especially fragrant meal, likely leftovers from a caring mother, or a small group of trainers with their usual random assortment of easily carry-able snacks. Whatever it was, there would be food, and there would be trainers- Growlithe's sniffer never failed to catch Que some entertainment.

Que should know. Over sixty expeditions into lonely routes, and not a single miss.
It worked every time.

He felt better already.

 

[Trucro]

"SHUT UP!" Jacob was taken aback. Sure, he was aware of his rudeness, but he didn't expect a response like that! It was only as Cassie rambled into her explanation that Jacob understood the real impact of the events following their last meeting. Cassie was more than captured, but had been tortured, for information on him. His immediate response was a surge of guilt. The tingling feeling that flowed around his legs made him shift back and forth as Cassie continued. Team Rocket had been after him for some time, but Jacob had become accustomed to the safety of Driftveil's campus; Team Rocket couldn't have a presence there. But he was far away from that now.

As he picked up the pieces of the shattered front he had created for himself, he felt something else. His stomach hurt, but it wasn't a pit of guilt or fear for facing Cassie. He was mad. Mad at Team Rocket, he guessed. What did they want from him!?!? They had already let him go, killed one of his friends and now maimed another. For what reason purpose!?!? They were thugs, no worse than thugs. Monsters.

But then another image flashed through his mind. MJ, and Hera, who had been his friends while in Team Rocket. They were young, and not bad people. They couldn't be monsters, could they? If they were, so was he. No, they were just confused, or perhaps self-interested, but they weren't evil. But what happened to Cassie... The anger and guilt and confusion built up inside him, and he began taking deep breaths trying to keep up a calm facade. He looked over at Curt to see his reaction. Jacob wasn't about to open his mouth again. What could he say anyway? He was probably the last person Cassie wanted to hear from.

He looked over at the familiar stranger. This must have been very confusing for that poor guy, and awkward as well. If Jacob were him, he would be looking for a justifiable escape from this conversation. In fact, Jacob would have preferred an end to this conversation himself. He shouldn't have brought any of this stuff up anyway. But now that he had he saw no way out. Jacob just stood there, silent, waiting for someone else to be brave enough to move the group along.

 

[BurbleBurble]

"Jacob?" Gerald was confused. Who was 'Jacob'? Either way, he got her attention now, might as well tell her. Getting a good look at her face, she looked even more distraught than before. It almost made him feel bad for correcting her; she was obviously expecting someone else. "I'm sorry. I'm not Jacob, my name is Gera-" He was cut off by a rustling in the brush. Perhaps he was right in the end, and a gang of Pawniard had come to attempt to get some easy prey. He moved his hand toward his belt, feeling June's pokeball. Shaking with anticipation, or maybe anger for his sudden return of her...

His fear were put to rest as something that definitely was not a group of Pawniard came from the bushes. It was a man, a Charmander, and a Ninetails... Hey. Didn't he know him? He seemed relieved to see the girl...he remembered now! He was Curt, he met at the festival, not too long ago. He apoligized for butting in, and introduced the girl as 'Cassie'. "Oh, no troubles Curt." Was the only thing he could say. It all honesty, it felt like he was the one butting in. He decided to let Curt have his moment.

Poor Cassie seemed so shaken by Curt's appearance she began talking in french. She was further shaken by her Ninetails (who wasn't Curt's own it seemed), coming over to her. It wasn't a happy reunion. It was a very somber moment, as the two reunited. Gerald remained quite. She had obviously been through a lot and he didn't want to interrupt the moment between the trainer and her fox.

When her tears subsided and she proceeded to calm down, he noticed her take something from the glove in her hand. A small, circular object. One side wasn't coated in mud, creating a small glint in the sun, before being put in a velvet pouch. Interesting. She recollected herself, and began speaking in english again, apologizing to Curt for all the trouble she caused him. But before he could even respond, someone else came into the clearing.

His first statement made Gerald cringe. He literally said she looked like shit. At least he recovered from that, at least tried too. The damage was done, but Cassie seemed to care less about the comment. What she did care about was the questions that came after.

This new man asked question after question, and with each one, she seemed to be completely losing it. Crouching into a fetal position, she covered her ears, yet this man seemed to not be aware of her collapsing condition. By the time he ceased the questions, she screamed out a "SHUT UP!" He saw it coming, really. She proceeded to spill out everything she had beared through. The fact she was let out, not escaping (He was about to call her a badass, assuming she had escaped, but now in hindsight, he was glad he didn't) the fact she got disowned, and the fate of her other Pokemon...It was heart breaking.

He wanted to say something, but what? The words formed, but didn't. Everytime he tried speaking, he bit his tongue before his mouth opened. What do you say to someone so...broken? The man who had set her off in the first place just seemed...frightened. Perhaps upset? And Curt didn't seem to have anything to say either. Not even Embertail could cheer up a bleak moment like this. Well, there was a hair thin chance he could.

He sighed and cleared his throat, wanting to do something. It would be awkward if he sat in the background, seemingly ignorant to the situation.

"You know, that's very brave of you to say. You just admitted things that would take some people years to get off their chests. Not only that, but you admitted it in front of two good friends, and a complete stranger. And while life may have landed you at rock bottom, there's only one way now. Up."

Maybe he shouldn't have given advice. The more he sat on it, in the few seconds he had before anyone fully captured what he said, the more he regretted it. He hadn't even fully introduced himself yet, and he thought he could give out life advice? He hoped she didn't have an adverse reaction. If she acted like that to an old friend, Cassie could get even worse with him. He mentally crossed his fingers that it would go over well.

 

[Storybook]

Que absolutely, positively, definitely, literally, figuratively, certainly, infinitely, and in all other ways, forever and always despised standing still. He hated feeling leaden, dead of energy, void of movement, because movement reminded the boy he was alive.

Like a cat, Que would spit at such a suggestion, hiss with such venom and malice of absolute hatred and fear if even his mind proposed the idea of silencing his body. It wasn't only the question of his vitality he wanted to avoid, but the question of the world. When you are still, there is a magic pulsing through your veins- a magic of observation. When you are still, all that lives is the churning of your mind, and the chug of your heart as it drones its march, stopping for nothing, a train from your birth to your death and nothing more. When you are still, your body evaporates into stone, and you are left with the world.

It was all too much for Que, standing still. The rush of senses, his eyes picking up every minute detail, his ears reaching for every string of sound, his skin a machine to detect even the slightest change of the wind. His body, himself, ceased to exist, and his spirit traveled as far the steely gaze and mechanic mind could reach. It wasn't only what he saw, felt, smelled, and heard, but what he realized as well, for every single little thing had a purpose. From the wrinkles etched in a person's face to the Pokemon they carried to the way they carried themselves- every single thing was a blaring signal towards who they were. When Que stood still, he saw it all.

Despite the venom he spat at standing still (For what else could rise from the overwhelming knowledge of the world and its infinity and his mortality but fear, and from that, hatred?), Que took about five minutes every day to perform such a task. For such a string of horrifying realizations (all realizations were horrifying, just as all news was bad), Que set aside a few minutes every time he met someone new.

It was an act of ritual. Que's body would be still, and his eyes would rove, and his mind would evaluate, and he would know, without any walls, without any silly little white lies, without any trickery before his face but the terrifying, sickening, infinite truth of those he observed.

And Que would remind himself that he was alone. And Que would remind himself that he was mortal. And with every heartbeat that clattered in his chest, ba-dum, Que would remind himself of the infinity of futility, the answer just out his grasp that drove him madder than anything else in the world. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

Perhaps this was his way of motivation.

Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

Que Allein was standing at the edge of clearing, stick in hand, perfectly motionless, ceramic, statuesque, before four trainers. His Arcanine was lying, unnerved, beside him, where the boy had found him instead of the slobbering mess of a creature overboard for food he had expected. The air was damp with sorrow, stiff with uncertainty. Something was wrong. Something was off.

All the better for the boy. Anything off tended to be the most exciting, no matter how dark the secrets, or morbid the events. What did he care, anyways? It was just another puzzle, one more string to untie, one more satisfactory sensation of solving something strange.

Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

Without even a shiver of the mop upon his head, Que observed the four trainers and the scattering of Pokemon milling in the clearing, vacuuming the information from their gazes. He snatched the shiver of their hands, the state of their skin, the myriad or lack thereof of of bruises, scars, cuts and scratches. Each person, the slouching statue observed, was wilting with emotion, and from the orbs they called their eyes, he penetrated their soul, as an intense gaze seemed only fitting to do. The ceramic boy stretched to comb every detail, for he could only complete the puzzle when all the pieces had been discovered. He sought to untangle the knot of emotions and discover the truth inside. The whole truth. Every single wretched detail the world could fling at his face.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Please, the boy seemed to beg in these outings. Please allow me every truth. The answer is out there, so tell me! Tell me, or I'll go insane, knowing there was some piece I had missed to the grand puzzle of life. Ba-dum, ba-dum. There was something Que was missing, something Que didn't quite get that maddened the calm boy quite past the point of insanity. Some elusive thread of the mystery of himself and the world he inhabited. Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Consciously, Que traveled at last towards the woman on the floor, having inspected the other three as an investigator inspects a crime scene. She was the last piece to the puzzle, and though the boy had theorized what he would see, he couldn't help but be unnerved. If his mind hadn't been so far from his body, perhaps he would have recoiled in shock. Then again, Que was a queer boy, and he had more control of himself than seemed human. Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Ba-dum.

Que didn't search the woman long, for it seemed her creation was laid out in stone for him to read. She had the sag of shoulders of defeat, her hair, ragged, seemed the wind's playtoy, and her skin was a wasteland of dust and debris, from scars to scratches to the wilting of sorrow. Despair, it appeared, had tread upon the woman, with its high-heeled shoes it had floored her, and stabbed the arrows of its heels into her heart, ba-dum, ba-dum shattering its feeble existence as a foot shatters ice so thin that it can't even cast a shadow, as the wind, on a turbulent day, tears a spiderweb at its seams and throws the web of silk, cackling, spearing it with shards of air, ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum laughing at life's futility. She was, the boy noted, the force of the scene, for it was she who stiffened the brittle branches of the trees, ba-dum, ba-dum and it was she who froze the air in a sorrowful, shocking, torpid stupor ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum and it was she who-

Que was standing still, and something reminded Que he hated standing still.


Broken from the spell cast upon himself, Que's mind rushed back towards its home, and the march of his heartbeat died from his ears as the boy relished in the movement of his muscles once more. The earth pushed the pale boy onwards, and with his stick, held stoutly in his left hand, he meandered through the clearing, poking some holes, overturning leaves, and rattling it on tree trunks, as a boy who warred against silence must do.

The air lifted in his childish form of amusement, and as Que was pushed towards the group by the ever odd, but strangely predictable, paths among the leaf mold, he grinned. A toothy grin, warped among his thin lips as an exaggerated harbinger of entertainment. A perfect grin, he determined. A sort of twisted grin. Much more powerful than any silly words.

Could there be a chance that the missing piece was here?
Alas, at least the silence had shuffled away.

 

[Curtkid]

"N-no, it was no trouble, I mean, I just...., Curt muttered out, absolutely dumb founded at hearing Cassie apologize. Curt threw Jacob a shocked stare while Embertail was rapidly making cutting motions under his throat, both trying to tell Jacob to stop talking before he aggravated Cassie, which came a bit too late, as she quickly ended up shouting "SHUT UP" to Jacob. Curt, Embertail and Jasper pulled back at her sudden out burst, even Whips widened his eye's in shock, Cassie was always calm, cool, and collective, such an outburst like this from her was...well, they couldn't remember her ever acting like this. Granted, Jacobs choice of word could be expected to cause such an outburst, he knew the man was a loner and probably was even poorer with conversation the Curt, but still, what he said was just....damn.

"I-I'm sorry Gerald, things aren't normally this...dramatic with us I swear, right guy's?", Curt said, scratching behind his head as Embertail and Jasper let out duel growls to back their human friend up. Though Gerald was attempting to put in some smooth words to help Cassie's emotional state, Curt had no idea how well that would work. However, this moment of awkward tension was short lived, as their emotional tone immediately shifted at what Cassie said next. Her horrific descriptions of them mutilating her legs, then her description of her releasing her Pokemon, or at least, she believed she did. Cassie seemed to be so messed up, she couldn't seem to keep her details straight, and no one could really blame her for that. Curt almost wanted to berate her for releasing her Pokemon on behalf of her own failures, but, he couldn't, whatever Team Rocket had done, it had destroyed Cassie on a spiritual level as well as a physical one, and left the entire group stunned, well, expect for...

"GYYYARROUG, errough arragh, errough geha", roared Whips as he approached Cassie and looked her dead in the eye, fury clear on his face. Curt suppressed a gulp as he and Embertail moved in to handle to situation Whips was no doubt about to cause. Jasper just stood there, eye's wide as she watched with curiosity at the situation before her unfold.

C-Cassie, um, Whips was asking, uh, where the Team Rocket member's were who did this to you, I, uh, I think he wants to pay them back for you", Curt stuttered out. Curt's translation of his Dragonite's friends roar's wasn't off at all, Whips was a dragon who prided himself on controlling his temper, but one of the few things that could set him off was hurting his friends, and he indeed considered Cassie and her team to be his friends. As far as Whips was concerned, NO ONE did that to his friends and got off scott free, but still, Curt, despite wanting to strike at those who did this to his friend as well, knew the strength that Team Rocket held. Still, he wasn't going to squash those feelings of vengeance, not just yet anyways.

"B-but, Whips, come on, we aren't strong enough to single handedly storm a Team Rocket base, even with you backing us up, we're going to need to be more...organized to do something like that", Curt said to his dragon friend, who responded with a grunt of acknowledgement, "but Cassie, I have to know, why did you release your team, they were your friends, they would have helped you, there was no way they could be O.K with that, especially considering...how, I mean, considering your....condition". Curt knew what he was asking was probably a bit insensitive, but he didn't care. The bond between a human and Pokemon was what, in his opinion, defined a Pokemon Trainer, and for Cassie to release her team, especially when they needed each other the most, it was as though she was throwing a large piece of herself away. Though, now that they thought about it, that maybe what she wanted.....

"Gyhrough", Whips growled, casting a glare at Curt, this time it was Curt's turn to reconsider what he said.

"I-I mean, I'm sorry, I just...wish their was something we could do....", Curt said, looking at the ground crestfallen. He perked his head up though, when he felt a sudden pull on his back, and the saw his lizard-Pokemon friend walking over to Cassie with a soda bottle in his hand. Embertail gave her a small smile, and handed the soda over to her, it wasn't much he knew, but he felt like Cassie needed something, anything, to cheer her up.

 

[PentheWonderful]

Silence lapsed over the solemn, withering flora encasing the clearing. The trees that stood with a mourning bow, shedding its leaves to the likeness of tears over the many things they had witnessed in their lifetime. A sea of tears, thick with the scent of mold and rot that simply attracts those sharing a similar pain. A similar kind of darkness.

"You know, that's very brave of you to say. You just admitted things that would take some people years to get off their chests. Not only that, but you admitted it in front of two good friends, and a complete stranger. And while life may have landed you at rock bottom, there's only one way now. Up." Gerald shattered the deafening silence, attracting Cassie's bloodshot gaze to lock with his. There was no hostility in them. She simply seemed to be... Observing him. And then, came a small smile.

Gerald was a strange one. It was not only his fashion sense, but also his sudden decision to join a conversation that would leave him in uncharted waters. However, Curt seemed familiar with him, so that meant he wasn't entirely a stranger. But what did that even matter? All three of the men gathered around her felt a bit more like strangers now.

Cassie tried to remember the course of events that'd taken place only minutes ago. But she could not. The tears had washed away what thoughts she once had, leaving her simply blank. It was so exhausting. She just wanted to stop. The girl impishly swallowed, simply to wet her hoarse throat, and tentatively moved her gaze to Nine. There he stood, a look of horror on his face. The smile disappeared. 'Cassie... Why...?'

The brunette curled further into her tiny ball, her hands weaving through her hair and giving them a light tug. "I don't... I don't want to talk about this anymore..."

"GYYYARROUG, errough arragh, errough geha!"

Cassie recoiled from shock, falling backwards at the sight of the charging Dragonite. Her two young Pokemon hid behind her, trembling from fear. Nine, despite his own shock, jumped back into his protective instincts and put himself between the two, and nudging Whips back slightly. 'Whips, calm yourself! You're scaring her!'

"C-Cassie, um, Whips was asking, uh, where the Team Rocket member's were who did this to you, I, uh, I think he wants to pay them back for you." Curt translated, looking quite surprised himself if anything. Though, his words were lost on Cassie. He seemed to notice this, and continued, "B-but, Whips, come on, we aren't strong enough to single handedly storm a Team Rocket base, even with you backing us up, we're going to need to be more...organized to do something like that."

The girl remained obstinate to her silence. Peridot tilted her head back to look at Cassie, revealing those ruby colored eyes hidden beneath the helmet of green hair. Slowly, the Ralts moved her way up to her trainer's lap, and gave her a comforting hug. Cassie's hand clasped her small body gently in response.

"But Cassie, I have to know, why did you release your team, they were your friends, they would have helped you, there was no way they could be O.K with that, especially considering...how, I mean, considering your....condition."

Cassie's free hand tightened, immensely so that you could hear the material of her glove strain in complaint. Her lips were tightly sealed. She had no intention of telling them what happened. Perhaps mostly due to the fact that she couldn't recall clearly what'd happened in the first place. Instead she moved her gaze to the new arrival in the clearing; a pale, dark haired boy seemingly unaware of their presence. Overturning the marshy soil, superseded by falling leaves. Simply blocking out the rest of the world aside from that strange, slouching youth wandering aimlessly through their tragic, hollowed space.

However, her focus was broken when the sight of something orange waddled close. She turned her head to see Embertail, holding out a soda can for her with that big, cheerful smile on his face. Her breath hitched, because in that goofy face, she saw Ryu when he was just a Riolu. Instead of taking the soda can, she pulled the Charmander into a hug with her free arm, breathing shakily into his shoulder. Moments passed, and Cassie finally found the strength in herself to let go and receive the soda can. "Thank you."

The Ralts on her lap, however, with what limited knowledge she had, knew that the longer a wound was left untreated, the worse it festered. Peridot looked towards her trainer yet again, this time in concern, and then around to observe Curt, Gerald, and Jacob. What would be the best course of action? The issue was a time bomb. It would only explode over time. But with the soda now in hand, Cassie seemed to have regained her lost composure, and a small pat on Peridot's back brought the Ralts' attention back on her. Cassie nodded, and Peridot nodded back. Turning to the people amassed around them, the small Pokemon spoke with her own telepathy. Being an actual psychic type, and also having Telepathy as her ability, Peridot had a much stronger telepathic power, able to tap into every mind within a few meter radius of herself. Even though she was a Ralts, she wasn't untrained, at the very least. 'Cassie is willing for me to tell you the events that had occurred.'

Her telepathic voice resonated with youth and childish lightness. She allowed a moment of pause, and soon, closed her eyes. Using the psychic power she possessed, she entered Cassie's shipwreck of a mind, picking apart the memories from the hallucinations, and arranged it into a single coherent event in her own mind, before projecting the images into the minds of everyone present in the clearing. Everyone, but Cassie herself, of course.

'There was... A Hypno.' The sight projected to the amass' minds looked to be taken from Cassie's own eyes, as they would be able to see it shifting nervously back and forth inside an unnaturally clean, white room. Empty, aside from a Hypno, several grunts, and Giovanni himself. It was almost like a mute dream, as the Rocket leader moved his mouth to speak, yet no sound ever left him. 'It was a week before the trial... This man, Giovanni... Brokered a deal with Cassie to either... Speak, or be faced with the trial.'

Gentle, subtle movements disrupted the pattern of the underlying foliage surrounding them all. It was small, and indiscernible. Especially not to one experiencing visual projection by psychic power. Cassie noticed. She noticed the pairs of yellow eyes, followed by benighted silhouettes of men and women. They move like shadows, hidden perfectly under the whispy, mourning trees. The eyes that watched in delight over the bewitching of their targets. She saw them, yet, she also didn't. Cassie squinted her eyes, rubbed them. Was this real? Or was she simply hallucinating again?

'She agreed...' The projection showed a slight bob, as if to indicate the nod of a head, and Giovanni proceeded speaking, supposedly asking a question. 'He wanted to know about home addresses and family members, but... She didn't know anything... So the Hypno...'

Suddenly, the projection tilted backwards sharply, as if knocked by an unseen force, but soon, it transformed into a grip. A tight, choking grip that engulfed you like an Arbok. The vision blurred, shifting anxiously back and forth before they focused on the pokeballs laid out in a neat line before her. Limbs moved with a life of its own as she bent down to grab one of them, releasing a Froslass; Aurora. She stared at her with confusion and fear. The hand, supposedly Cassie's, dropped the ball, the whole vision shaking from adrenaline and terror, perhaps even choked screams, as her foot raised against its own will, and crushed the pokeball into dozens of shards.

"Hey-"

In unison with the shattering of the pokeball in the vision, a good dozen Ice Beam attacks exploded from the clearing's perimeter. Lady screeched from fear and ran to Cassie, pawing anxiously at her pokeball. Peridot too seemed frozen from shock, and Cassie quickly grabbed both their pokeballs while yelling, "Return!"

Right before an Ice Beam hit her right in the face.

The force of the attack knocked her backwards, hitting her head into the mercifully soft ground. A coat of icicles had coated the entire surface of her face, and all she could think about was how numb everything felt. She couldn't blink, couldn't speak, couldn't breathe. Her hands instinctively reached for the coat of ice encasing her mouth and nose, letting out a muffled shriek as she thrashed in a futile attempt to chip away the ice. Nine was the first to react to the landed attack, rushing to his friend only to have his paw frozen into the mud. Baring his teeth in frustration, he shot a molten stream of fire to completely eradicate the problem. Once the last of the frost had evaporated, he took off running to where his trainer was.

'Cassie!' He exclaimed, a single focused voice in a sea of panic and chaos. Weavile, Team Rocket's favored offense Pokemon, emerged from the foliag. Ten, twelve, perhaps twenty. All sprinting to rush every trainer in the clearing. Involved or not. It didn't really matter to them. Meanwhile the humans watched from the shadows, ready with more pokeballs on their belts.

'Cassie hold still!' Nine exclaimed frantically as his trainer thrashed about. Suffocating. 'I'm going to melt the ice, don't move!'

The world, 'melt' rang in Cassie's ears and resulted in the immediate tension of her muscles, locking them in place. The words was synonymous to heat, and heat almost always indicated fire, of which she was severely fearful. Fortunately, the period of shock she'd experienced allowed Nine a clean shot to fire a controlled blaze to Cassie's face. He watched closely as the ice melted, careful not to burn her entire face off, but also struggling to focus on the task even with the chaos undoubtedly occurring at the moment. The moment he saw traces of skin, he stopped.

Cassie inhaled.

It was an odd sensation of warm and cold. It definitely woke you up to say the least. Coming close, Nine gave a gentle, concerned lick on her face. 'Are you alright?'

Cassie actually grinned softly, wiping the water from her face. "Hah, yeah. I'm okay."

However their tender moment was broken as another Ice Beam shot right past them, which Nine instinctively retaliated with a Flamethrower that the culprit Weavile easily managed to dodge. Forcing them back to reality. Cassie shook her head quickly and squinted to focus her tired eyes on the terrain. In the hopes of maybe, maybe being able to process what was going on.

A sharp whistle cut through the air like a knife, and in that instant, all the Weavile retreated from their respective battles as they lined the clearing's perimeter like an impenetrable barricade. Behind them, emerged the true masterminds of the operation; members of Team Rocket themselves. Mostly grunts, with several admins undoubtedly coordinating the attack. Cassie wanted to vomit. Quite literally. The sight of their uniforms and the big red R printed onto their torsos stirred her up so bad she felt nauseous from emotion and thought.

"Well, what do we have here?" A male admin spoke with an utmost prideful tone. "Seems we finally caught you off guard, Jacob. And Mr. Curt of Cherrygrove, as well." A quick scan of the clearing had him raising an eyebrow, however. "What's this? Expanding your network of allies, are we?"

Though it was silent and discreet, Cassie couldn't help but shudder as the admin's gaze swept over her. Added by the unsettling widen of his smirk. What she couldn't help but find curious, however, was the beeping dowsing machine-like device he held in his hand.

 

[BurbleBurble]

The reaction he had earned from the girl was much better than what he had expected. A smile... Perhaps he needn't be worried about how she reacted.

After all, he probably should be more worried about Whips. He seemed pissed at what Cassie had been through, though Curt somewhat calmed him. It was but another reason why Gerald would not try to meddle in the affairs of dragons.

After that "incident" was over, Cassie's little Ralts offered to show why her Pokemon had been released. Well, Gerald was rather curious in the first place.

The vision was life like and terrifying at the same time. Everything she went through he could feel. The choking grasp of psychic power, the glares of the bystanders...was this truely the power of psychic pokemon? And this was just a little Ralts! He had to respect June's wishes to stay a Braixen, but... It was quite tempting.

Then a burst of Ice shattered the vision.

Too fast for Gerald to comprehend. It was like a bulldozer hit him when he finally caught up. One minute he was watching the vivid projection of the reason Cassie's pokemon were released, the next he was dazed and on the ground.

The barrage of Ice beams caught Gerald off guard, like anyone else in the group had been. One of the beams had blasted off his hat, before he instinctively ducked down for cover. Now on the muddied, frozen grounds, he saw the perpetrators of the incident, several Weavile and people with 'R's on some black uniform. These were the ones he had heard about: Team Rocket. Looks like Whips would be getting the revenge he wanted...If he wasn't frozen solid

He twitched as he reached for a Pokeball. Then he thought, why resort to violence so quickly? He could possibly talk them down for a moment, and then pull out Million as soon as they were distracted. The man seemed to notice Gerald and another boy, one he hadn't realized when he had been previously talking to Cassie, viewing the twisted vision. He called them..."New Allies." Well, he wasn't sure of the kid, but he was definitely an ally.

Picking himself off the ground, he looked around at the small army of Weavile. "You know, I kind of expected Bisharp or some other dark type. Weavile stick out like sore thumbs around here. Ah, sorry, my manners. Gerald. Pleasure...un-pleasure, maybe, to meet you."

 

[Storybook]

His face was a book open to the wrong page. His secret page. Oh, how the boy despised how his face turned to that page all on its own, when at every other moment he could pick or choose the pages shown as he pleased. It was a nagging thought at the back of his horror-filled mind, to know that the page had been turned to once more.

But the boy hadn't the consciousness to meander on such a frustrating fact. He was drowned in fear, the already pale, featureless skin faded to a pasty sheet of a creature, his blue eyes that were almost platinum shot with arrows of terror. The boy's thin lips were parted slightly in a cry he refused to give, and his cheeks were hollow with dread. Que was certain he had been possessed, forced to watch a nightmare long since buried beneath layers of fear, lost to the reign of the subconscious, as a dream evaporates when one awakes. He knew what was occurring- he had met enough physic Pokemon to know this was a memory.

But he couldn't hide his anguish. The vision simply hit too close to home.

As the boy choked on his own emotions, the picture projected into his brain was warped by his subconscious, and the confused face of a Froslass melted into tears. The tears coddled each other as if they were desperately trying to hold together, platinum discs floating in the tense, dense air. Then, the orb of sorrow reassembled itself, and Que found he was staring at Growlithe. The beast's lidded, dreamy eyes were crisp with shock, and as the boy peered closer, he found that they, too, were made of tears. These tears oozed venomously out of the Arcanine's sockets in a great, sluggish river, and when the last had shattered on the floor, the beast itself burst into feeble wisps of steam, clinging to the air in desperation before shards of air struck them out of existence. The boy found the room was dark, and dread mixed with fear to form terror. His own eyes were banished into featureless discs, his pale hue faded into an opaque window of helplessness, and his heart rattled in the boy's chest as terror turned to panic. He plead with the empty air, thin lips moving without a sound. And the world was dark and silent, but the boy echoed as his fingers, unable to be still, churned the air into a chaotic symphony of desperate screeches and lonesome wails. He was cold, incredibly cold, and his ears burned as serpents of sound whistled past. They sounded like train whistles, and the boy was alone in a dark room, and his heart clutched at his throat, and he was cold, so cold.

A stab of pain followed a sickening sensation, and the boy could feel his breath thrash in the air, and it seemed the earth had raced towards the boy just to steal his life away. Warmth oozed unto his cheek, and the world was a chaos of sound. Que lifted his left hand to find swathes of fur stroking it, and the dark room collapsed upon itself into light.

All at once, the world was frigid and scorching at the same time. The boy, slow to action, brought his hands into the air, and clasped his right palm around the stick with his left to form a sort of barrier. Mist screeched as it hissed past his ears, and steam caressed the boy's cheek. For once, Que found himself foolish, for it appeared he had clasped the stick with both hands, so that it rested on his chest, in an attempt to shield himself from an attack that was above him. The boy's heart settled, and he realized that he was flat on the floor.

The boy lay on the ground more out of choice than need, feet sprawled, a web of ice laced across his sternum, hands still clasping the stick across his chest. He glanced out of the corner of his platinum eye, and craned his head so as to sweep the area and decipher the code of ambush. His attackers, the boy found, payed him no heed. A floored opponent was one who boasted no harm.

It took a good four seconds for the boy to realize what was going on. Growlithe was before him, his saliva still trickling down the boy's cheek, a good ten feet away and releasing a jet of flames. Out of luck and a large degree of stubborn determination, it appeared the flames had intercepted the attack, and left the boy encased in a choking steam. He was glad, not because his partner had appeared from the brush to coax him into reality as such a disgusting maneuver as a sneak attack dared to occur, but for the simple fact that Growlithe was back, and the world made sound once more.

Que let the beast be to fight. He needn't a trainer quite yet to order him around. The boy swore to forget the vision and, with a mild taste of disgust at the suddenness of the turn of events tempering the otherwise sweetness of a fight, he lay on the earth to ponder. The boy's eyes gleamed with the light of a puzzle that the clearing had so wonderfully brought into being, heedless of the danger. His gaze roved, his mind churned in a pleasant motion, and his fingers drummed upon the stick as he pondered on the opponent. His head twisted with a scrunch of the leaf mold, his gaze ravenous for strategy.

There were, in battle, chess, and card games, four main tactics to overcome an opponent. First and foremost, there was strategy, which it appeared their opponents had indulged a small degree of thought into, seeing the formations that the Weavile were taking in order to trap their opponent. The second was deceit, slight of hand, and trickery of which Que held the bar high for the swarm of dark type opponents. The third was distraction, and the fourth, power and numbers. The boy had to argue that being calm should be another, but alone it wasn't quite a tactic, instead a support and way to breed the other four.

Que's steely gaze roved over the scene, and he considered what his opponent had to offer of these tactics. He found them to be in favor of numbers and power, with a good deal of deceit thrown in the mix, as only seemed fitting for the horde of dark types. It seemed they were no stranger to playing the card of trickery. But, the left-handed boy thought with a grin, he was no stranger to it either. They boy moved his right hand, softly rolling a pokeball into the leaf mold, before continuing his observations.

Of course, there was a fifth tactic too. It was what righteous creatures stoutly dubbed 'playing dirty,' and refused to engage in out of twisted pride. Pride. Pah. What a foolish word for the twisted child of envy and love. Pride disgusted the boy because all that came with it was hatred and an ego. As far as playing dirty went, Que had to admit it was an entertaining, albeit controversial, last resort. The boy had no issue with playing dirty, simply because it was the twin of deceit, and Que adored deceit. What else would give him a puzzle worth solving, worth pondering, worth playing with? The world could be a dull place.

Alas, now was the time to move. Puzzles were simply knots of a different kind, and in order to unravel a knot, one first had to study it closely and discover the loose strands. Simply tugging would not do at all- no, no, it wouldn't do at all. It was foolish, to be headstrong. But once one had imagined how to unravel the knot, one still had to go about doing it. People called it action. Pah.

But perhaps he didn't need to move quite yet- let the leaders of this knot reveal themselves, and then the game of battle could truly begin. The sweetly distractive game of strength and deceit, of clues and discovery, of strategy and satisfaction. The world raved with piercing shouts, anger and hatred and malevolence as the dark opponents thrashed order into chaos, but the boy was neither feared, intimidated, nor worried- he simply lay on the ground, deathly calm in the fray. Anticipation was excitement's cringing brother, and the boy was glad he succumbed to neither of their twisted forces.

The boy's pallid fingers drummed upon the stick in slow motion, each pair tapping the bark before receding for the next. He was pleased with the subtle whisper it cast upon his ears, so thin he might have imagined it in the chaos, and the pale boy let it overwhelm him as he took the last few moments of frantic, frazzled time to ponder. What look, what words would coax from the crowd the most.. interesting reaction? Perhaps confusion, or fear, or maybe just-

Team Rocket. Que's fingers paled as they stopped drumming and clenched the stick in silent ferocity, the only sign of his anger. If Que ever managed to stop thinking of the world as a game but instead a book, the curious creature might ponder that perhaps he was never calm at all- perhaps the pale, thin-lipped boy was simply featureless, perhaps the paste of hair upon his skull and thin, bland eyebrows were simply devoid of emotion, perhaps he didn't truly know how to act as he felt, but simply knew to move his face or his fists for the most curious results. There was a disconnection, the boy would realize in that moment, between his soul and his heart, severed on some lonely night, as the trains screeched in piteous drones and trudged across the earth, wind whipping their smoke out of existence...

But nevertheless, the boy had a grudge. A grudge, the boy considered, was like a hideous boil, a fester on the skin- the world turned an ugly brown, a mauled mix of grey and tangerine that was spat upon the earth, and the longer the boil festered the more corrosive the hatred, the more poisonous the color, the more sickly, and gruesome, and plaugish nastiness the world degraded into, until the wound festered in its own anger. It was a sick kind of annoyance, holding a grudge. His fingers wrapped around the stick with a whisper of malice.

The reason was simple, really. Those idiots of an organization had changed everything, and more than the sea, more than silence, more than standing still, even more, perhaps, than being alone, the boy absolutely loathed change. He hadn't actually... well, met the rockets quite yet, but their description was unmistakable. This had to be them.

Que slowly rose to his feet as the Weavile were called off, wiping the piercing hatred from his gaze as his forefinger caressed the stick, releasing his left hand so as to trace the threads of the mass of knots upon his wrist. He must remain calm, the pale, slouching boy considered, ignoring the ice that clung to his chest. This was no longer a puzzle- no, they had completely ruined the fun. This was revenge. But, the boy considered, the best revenge was granted when it was completely unexpected. The left-handed boy toyed with the stick in his right hand, and his pale, featureless face was blank and uncaring, save for his thin lips, spread out in a toothy, childish grin.

"Well, what do we have here? Seems we finally caught you off guard, Jacob. And Mr. Curt of Cherrygrove, as well. What's this? Expanding your network of allies, are we?"

Que's first reaction was of disgust, the dangerous pride in the man's voice creeping up his back like a maliciously caressing feather. His second was of cold excitement. Such information the man gave, with only one set of words! And was he... surprised to see the boy? This was better than the boy could have hoped for, if he was one to spend petty time on wishing.

"You know, I kind of expected Bisharp or some other dark type. Weavile stick out like sore thumbs around here. Ah, sorry, my manners. Gerald. Pleasure...un-pleasure, maybe, to meet you."

The boy was amused at this trainers observations. You know, he did have a point. If they were going to resort to such dastardly actions as a sneak attack, he thought, as if spatting out the words, they might as well do it right. Que took his time in turning towards the boy, a giggle on his lips at the words he spoke. Un-pleasure? Sore thumbs? Manners? He'd even given the boy the last name he needed of the group. How amusing.

The boy supposed it was his turn to respond, and the slouching creature turned, once more, towards the Rocket who had spoken, feeling hatred as but a taste on his tongue. His steely gaze was an arrow through the man's eyes as the slouching creature responded, voice a light, childish drone.

"An ally?" the question sounding more like an observation, given the minuscule rise in tone. He took his right hand and toyed with his lip, grasping the stick with a curled middle finger, refusing to relinquish his gaze from the man. He spoke slowly, with a sort of ponder in his voice. "You're one to jump to conclusions. But very well. If I'm an ally, I'm an ally. And that makes me.. hmm, your enemy." The boy toyed with the stick in his right hand before breaking the gaze, slouch deepening as he slowly meandered towards the foursome. He lifted the stick in the air in a shrug, punctuating his words with a hint of venom.

"Too bad."

 

[Curtkid]

Embertail didn't struggle at all when Cassie took him into her embrace, the Charmander smiled warmly as he gentle patted Cassie's back in an attempt to comfort her. Curt couldn't keep down a small smile at the sight of the scene, Whips face even appeared to soften for a moment, and Jasper gave a small roll of her eye's, though Curt could tell that she was touched by the scene. Embertail was on of the most compassionate, caring, and understanding people (Pokemon, whatever) Curt knew, other's just felt comfortable around him and weren't afraid to let down their guard. Curt was also relieved to hear Gerald's kind words, it seemed to give Cassie some level of comfort, which the girl desperately seemed to need now.

After Cassie took the soda from him, Embertail made way for Cassie's Ralts (they never got a chance to learn her name), who apparently wanted a moment with her. While they talked, Curt was debating on whether or not he should drill Cassie a bit more on what happened to her Pokemon, whether he did or not, he knew if there was any hope of getting Cassie back to her old self, it lied with them. Thankfully, Curt didn't have to worry about asking Cassie any hard questions, as her Ralts, who Curt was surprised to find out had learned telepathy already, told them that Cassie was willing to let them in on what happened.

'Cassie is willing for me to tell you the events that had occurred', the feeling Pokemon told them through her telepathy as she began to project...some sort of...well, the best they could describe it was that is appeared to be some sort of hologram inside ones own brain. To project such a thing would be an impressive feat for any Psychic-type Pokemon, especially so for a young Ralts, however (and this may have been due to in part because of Cassie's damaged mind), but the images that flashed before them seem a tad broken and hazy at times, but the story that the Pokemon was trying to tell came through clear enough. Though the details weren't perfect, as it almost seemed to "glitch out" or skip around once or twice, they still got a general idea of the hell Cassie went through, honestly, Curt had to wonder if Cassie was even aware of what she was doing when she released her team it was actually a bit hard to watch.

However, they were spared from watching anymore as several Ice Beams shot through the air, though Curt and his team certainly weren't thankful for that development. Curt bairly managed to pull himself aside from the surprise attack, and Jasper was also quick enough to avoid the Ice Beam,and being a regular Ice Beam user herself may have also helped a little. Whips, however, was not fast even by Dragonite standards, and though he tried to defend against the Ice Beam with a Fire Punch, he wasn't going to be quick enough to deflect the attacks. To the dragons good fortune however, speed was Embertail specialty, and he was able to intercept the Ice Beam meant for Whips, sending him flying behind the Dragonite. Curt's entire team turned their attention to Embertail for a moment, and though he took the brunt of it, Embertail's Fiery attributes greatly reduced the attacks damage. They were releaved to see Embertail quickly pick himself up, and though Ice lightly coated his chest, one could clearly see it was already being to melt due to the tiny dragons high body heat. Seeing Embertail throw them a small and quick smile to assure them he was O.K, that freed them to focus their attention on their attackers. All around them a massive horde of Weaviles, no doubt the ones responsible for the attack, right behind them were several people, all wearing an all-too familiar black uniform with a large red "R" logo on it.

"Damn it, how'd Team Rocket find us hear of all places...and where the hell did they get all these Weavile, they're not exactly common Pokemon!?", Curt muttered as he and his team readied themselves for battle. While Curt looked around the area, he noticed Cassie lay on the ground with Nine standing over her, lightly washing her with flames. Curt assumed that one of the Ice Beams hit her (man, that girl had absolutely no luck with Weaviles, he was a concerned, but his worry was largely offset by seeing Nine tend to her.

"Well, what do we have here? Seems we finally caught you off guard, Jacob. And Mr. Curt of Cherrygrove, as well," said a ruff voice, hearing his name caused Curt to turn his attention to the speaker, who was revealed to be a Rocket Admin. Whips let out a notable growl as he bashed his fists together, eager to get a fight underway, his vulnerability to Ice-types be damned! Normally the great dragon was hesitant to use his great power willy-nilly, but after seeing what these bastards did to Cassie, he was willing to make an exception. Even Jasper, despite not knowing Cassie very well, was smacking her club lightly against her free right hand, wanting to pound these guy's into the dirt for what they did.

"Whips, Jasper, come on, don't run in like this, you guy's both now how well you deal with Ice", Curt said to the two hot-heads, not taking his eye's off the enemy, "besides, I think Geralds wants to, uh, try diplomacy?" Curt had to throw Gerald an odd look, he appreciated the man trying to find a non-violent solution, but it was clear the man didn't know Team Rocket. Still, maybe they could use this moment of distraction that Gerald had opened for them to make a move. They needed to plan their next attack carefully, especiallly seeing as Curt's ace in the hole, Whips, was at a strong disadvantage against the Weavile, however, Embertail and Flare (especially Flare) were powerfull in their own right, Curt had no doubt they could take a few of those Weavile by themselves, only problem was, Flare was still in here ball. Curt's special belt (made to make it hard for people to pluck his team of his belt) made it a tad bit difficult for his team to break out of their balls on their own, it could still be done of course, but they would give Team Rocket a bit of warning before they would pop out, but right now, the admins seemed distracted. Curt's hand slowly went to his belt, before the admins voice once again made him pause.

"What's this? Expanding your network of allies, are we?", he said as Curt saw the admin turn his attention to a boy Curt had never scene before, they didn't know why he was hear, but judging by the look on his face, he wasn't overtly found of Team Rocket. It looked as though Geralds hopes for democracy were looking bleaker by the minute, realizing this, Curt subtly tapped the side of his pant leg, almost as though it looked like a nervous tick as he tried to position himself behind Whips. He cast a look over a Jacob, right now, his best bet, if things got violent, was to try to help Jacob get Nero out so he could Mega-Evolve him, if the could do that, they could get Team Rocket running scared.

("Curt, we're lose and ready to burst out whenever you give the signal)", said Flares telepathic voice, reaching out to him through the Pokeball. Curt didn't turn his head, and had to suppress a smile, but the noticeable lack of weight on his belt sent an unusual surge of confidence through him. After what happened the last time Team Rocket attacked them, Curt and Embertail worked out a signal if they got into a jam like this, that if Curt couldn't get to his Pokeballs, a tap on his leg would be the signal for Embertail to free them for him if he could. Embertail was surprisingly fast and stealthy, and because Embertail was knocked behind Whips due to the Ice Beam, it seemed Team Rocket had forgotten about him, no doubt Whips demanded most of their attention. Now Flare, Raviel, and Lockjaws balls rested out of Team Rockets view right in front of Embertail, ready to burst free of their balls at a moments notice, but for now, he'd let Gerald talk.

"If I might say something, I think you should consider Geralds option for talking this out, I'm sure no one here wants things to get violent, and I promise you, between the five of us, we'd give you more trouble then you'd bargain for ", Curt said, his gaze focused on the Rocket members and their horde. Curt remembered the last run in they had with Team Rocket, the one that ended with Cassie's capture, his team and he had been through a lot since then, they had grown stronger, smarter, became a better team, and they were NOT going to make the same mistakes as before.

 

[PentheWonderful]

"You know, I kind of expected Bisharp or some other dark type. Weavile stick out like sore thumbs around here. Ah, sorry, my manners. Gerald. Pleasure...un-pleasure, maybe, to meet you." The Rocket admin felt four pairs of heated glares on him, yet he gave a short chuckle, as if Gerald had just told him a funny joke. He fixed the cap atop of his slicked back chestnut hair, his hazel eyes glinting with mischief.

"Oh, what? You don't like Weavile? That's rich coming from a Pokemon hugger like you." He pulled his face into a grin, but it wasn't the friendly kind. It was similar to how a Luxray bared its teeth to its prey before tearing it to pieces. "But really, if we'd brought Bisharp, this place would be one heck of a bloody mess. And that'd be just the opposite of my mission adjective."

"An ally? You're one to jump to conclusions. But very well. If I'm an ally, I'm an ally. And that makes me.. hmm, your enemy." The admin's gaze shifted to Que, the twisted grin widening. "Too bad."

"Well, that's okay. I have lots of friends that can take you out later." The admin shrugged it off nonchalantly. "Anyone else want to add something?"

"If I might say something, I think you should consider Geralds option for talking this out, I'm sure no one here wants things to get violent, and I promise you, between the five of us, we'd give you more trouble then you'd bargain for." Curt reasoned, but the admin wasn't dumb. He knew an empty Pokeball when he saw one.

Despite this, he pointed to Curt's direction in one, grand sweep. "Yes. Let's talk this out. No blood on the floor." Then, he placed a hand on his chest. "I'll start. My name is Thomas. I know Curt, and Jacob, and also that wreck." He nodded to Cassie's direction, earning a threatening growl from Nine. "But I don't know you two." He looked over at Gerald and Que, and then tapped his chin contemplatively. "Well, judging from Curt's words, you're Gerald." He made a small point in the red head's direction. And then, he glanced over at Que. "But nobody seems to know who you are, so I guess you must not be very important."

And then, Thomas clapped his hands together. "So! How about you four men come with me, and we'll talk somewhere more appropriate? Like, oh, say, Team Rocket HQ. How about it, boys?" He opened his arms, tilting his head slightly in what looked to be a peace gesture. And yet, the grunts standing behind him did not emanate the same energy. Then again, neither did he. "Tell them, Cassandra. All we want to do is have a nice chat, don't we?"

Cassie peered at the uniformed men and women from between her fingers, while her hand wove through her unruly locks of hair. Nine shielded her like a silver barrier, his fur standing on end as his gaze shifted back and forth between the Weavile wall. And especially at Thomas. "No. Unless you want to end up like me." Was her only response.

Her free hand, it ran over the back of her neck. It felt hot. Burning. But she couldn't understand why. Even with gloves, she felt heat radiate from a single spot on the back of her neck. She picked at it and rubbed it. But it was still there.

"Aww, don't be so pessimistic!" Thomas dared a step closer, only for Nine to snap at him threateningly.

'Try it and I'll bite your face off.' Nine warned in the most hostile manner.

"Okay. Since we're being so hostile, how about we blow off some steam with a battle?" Thomas offered. "Come on, 'Sandra. Your Ninetales looks rearing to go."

In response, Nine looked back at his trainer, and so did she. Cassie regained herself. Part of her. The sly part. And she nodded to Nine, who turned back to face Thomas. Cassie stood, stomped a foot into the mud and dragged it across. Nine's ear twitched at the sound, and he lowered his stance. It was a code, though subtle. One she'd developed with her team. Her previous team. "Flamethrower!"

Nine opened his mouth, a blaze spewing from his being as a Weavile jumped in front of Thomas to protect him, but the flames dove, scorching the frozen ground beneath and evaporating all its heat and moisture. Steam hissed, rising from the ground to diminish any hope of vision. Nine ran back to Cassie, and she hopped on his back. 'Everyone, follow me!' He broadcasted to the men, yanking them in his direction before he took off with Cassie. 'Run straight and run fast!'

He moved in silence and efficiency, drawing near the Weavile barricade and knocking the two blocking their way out with the hypnosis of his eyes. He learned from the best, after all.

A path had been cleared, and now, all that's left to do was to run the hell away as fast as they could. Despite having absolutely no knowledge where. Cassie could care less honestly. She had slight concerns for the others, but even that was numbed. She just wanted to run, away from it all, and with Nine back with her, she felt like that was finally a viable option.

Until the path literally ended. Tall cliff walls, barricading them in place. And unlike the Weavile, they were unmovable. The only way though was a cave entrance, vandalized by misfits that stalk about Route 15. Spray painted and tarnished, with words stating, 'DEAD MAN'S DROP'.

The darkness and claustrophobic trauma crept into Cassie's chest cavity, and Nine stood there, just as stiff and silent. The others would've caught up, and soon, so would Team Rocket. More footsteps, faster, urgent. They echoed off the cliff walls. And so, Cassie nudged Nine's side gently, and he hesitantly moved forward, allowing the darkness to swallow him whole. He picked up speed, leading their charge into the unknown, and Cassie leaned down to hug his neck, burying her face in his mane as he pushed through the darkness.

Until the ground sloped and dipped, catching Nine's paw and dragging him with the force of gravity. He yelped and Cassie gasped, as they fell into the void.

And little did they know that a pair of electric blue eyes watched them from the shadows, before they vanished.

 

[_Umbreon_]

The Umbreon nudged the human girl, who seemed to be not awake at the moment. He gave it a few seconds before rolling her over. He started sniffing around, seeing if she owned any Pokemon. It was rather lonely in dead mans drop. Becuase no one ever fell down anymore.

A few minutes later he found her Ninetails, Nine. He moved her over as close as he could, and for being the runt of his litter, that took a lot of Effort. He then proceeded to lick the side of her face, in a make shift way to resuscitate her. His eyes gleamed like topaz in the darkness.

 

[Curtkid]

At first, it seemed like things were going to go well for them, the Admin seemed to be insistent of having them follow them to the base, which told him that the admin either thought they were all idiots, or that the army of Weaviles intimidated them that bad. Curt wasn't a fool, O.K, he sort of was, but even still, he wasn't a total idiot he knew that any offers of "peace" Team Rocket made with them would just end up biting them in the ass. He initially thought for following them for a bit, then having Lockjaw, Raviel, and Flare launch a sneak attack a bit down the road. The only problem was that if they moved, the balls would be in clear view of the Rockets, but he was pretty confident that either he of Embertail could subtly kick the balls into a bush or something so they could pop out later. Neither he, his team, or just about anyone here was going to willingly follow Team Rocket into one of their bases where they could swarm them even more easily...well, Embertail might if he could find a way to sneak in some explosives, but that was a different story.

Actually, the fact that the Team Rocket Admin was so insistent to get them to follow them peacefully to their base so they'd have even more numbers to face them told Curt that the Admin wasn't nearly as confident about his chances as he seemed. That meant that if they stayed together, they could take them, all they appeared to have on hand was a squad of Weaviles, between Embertail, Flare, Nine, June, and Nero, they could easily take them. Apparently this Admin didn't take type disadvantage into consideration when trying to track them down, Weaviles were intimidating and strong and all that good stuff, but without proper type coverage even an army of them could be swept aside by a group of skilled Fire-types. However, Cassie quickly revealed she had other plans, at first it seemed that she was going to battle the Admin, and had Nine launch a Flamethrower at him, to which a Weavile immediately tried to intercept by jumping in front of it. Curt had to guess that particular Weavile wasn't that smart, why jump in front of a highly damaging Fire attack when he could just shove the Rocket Admin out of the way? Weavile were one of the fast Pokemon out there, it could have easily pulled it off.

But, to their surprise, the attack never connected, as Nine somehow manipulated the Flamethrower to rocket towards the icy ground and evaporate the ice, causing a large amount of mist to rise up and block them from view. Curt had to admit, it was an extremely clever trick, hell, he didn't even think Flare could do something like that, which struck Curt as almost being funny considering the younger Ninetales considered Flare her superior, almost even a mentor even due to her amazing mystical powers that he didn't posses. Then again, after spending a few months with Nine, they saw it was clear that the Kitsune's talents lie with fire manipulation even if his "supernatural powers" weren't that developed. Speaking of which, Nine and Cassie's little smoke screen had given them a solid opportunity to attack, and there was no way the Rockets were going to negotiate after a stunt like that!

"ALRIGHT, EVERYONE OUT NOW", Curt yelled, and three pops later, out came Raviel, Flare, and Lockjaw (the former looking noticeably more nervous then the others). Curt had hesitated enough times in his life to know bad things often happened more often then not if you did, and in a situation like this, he wasn't going to risk waiting on his opponent.

"Get them!", they heard Tomas yell. Yep, just as Curt though, no chance for talking this out now, but it didn't matter, for once in their lives, they were ready for an assault.

"Jasper, Flare, first sight of black you see, barrage it with Flamethrower, everyone else give them cover!", Curt cried out to the two girls on his team, and not a moment to soon. Almost immediately after he gave the commands did a trio of Weavile hop through the mist, and right into a shower of fire coming from Curt's girls. Two of the Weavile collapsed under the barrage of flames, but the third managed to fight threw the flames, the creature lept in the air right above Jasper and attempt to fire an Ice Beam on the surprised Ground-type. Thankfully, the Weavile was slowed down from the damage suffered by the Flamethrowers, allowing it to be intercepted by a speedy Embertail with a Brick Break to the gut, causing the Weavile to collapse to the ground and begin gasping for breath in an admittedly humorous fashion. Jasper gave Embertail a quick, but appreciative thumbs up which the Charmander quickly returned.

"Alright guy's we're off to a good start, but we still got a...lot...lef- Cassie?", Curt said, his fiery determination for them to emerge victorious through the battle was replaced with shock and confusion as he saw Cassie fleeing the battlefield with nine. That actually left them at a lose for words, was Cassie really so messed up that she didn't even have the will for battle anymore, had Team Rocket really messed her up that much? Curt was felling a mixture of hurt and rage welling up inside him, anger at Cassie for fleeing so easily, anger at Team rocket for messing her up so badly like that. The emotions only distracted him for a moment, but in a battle, a moment can mean the difference between life and death, as the Ice Beam heading straight towards Curt was all to eager remind him.

"What the- GUUUAAHHH", Curt screamed, half in panic of seeing the Ice Beam, half in surprise of being shoved out of its way. Falling to the ground sent the world spinning for half a moment, and the first thing he saw once he righted himself was a very frightened looking Weavile being smashed into the ground by an Iron Head from a mildly angry Whips. Looking to his side, he saw the savor that managed to knock him out of the way of the Ice Beam, and get his arm chilled for his efforts.

"Thanks Lockjaw...", Curt said, as he helped the wounded Alligator Pokemon up it was a good think Weavile were bad at special attacks or that could have been bad, Embertail and the rest of the team quickly meeting up with them, "damn it, everyone's running and we're at a disadvantage in terrain like this, we're going to have to follow Cassie's, lets go"! Curt quickly grabbed Lockjaws, Raviels, and Flares Pokeballs as he and his team began to sprint through the marsh in a desperate attempt to keep up with Cassie. The slogged their way through the forest, their footsteps making loud sopping noises, but considering at the other noise going on around them, (Ice Beams, shouting, and what not) they doubted it would give away their position. Though they might have been causing more noise then they thought, as....

"REEGGHAAA", Raviel cried as a Weavile managed to sip through the woods and latch on to the Jolteon and hit him with a powerful Shadow Claw. Weavile were physical fighters, their sharp claws allowed them to tear through even solid metal, the Ice Beams that the Rockets were mostly for show or to slow their targets down, it was clear now that Team Rocket was going for the kill. Raviel's head was spinning from the surprise attack, he attempted to jolt the Weavile with a thunderbolt, but his head was so messed from the ambush that he what he shot out would be considered weak for a Thundershock, and the Weavile barely flinched. Raviel clenched his teeth, berated not remembering to keep his spikes extended, allowing the Weavile to land on top of him without getting speared. He glared at the Weavile and, with a sadistic grin on its face, brought down its claw for a Slash attack to put the Jolteon out of commission.

"GET OFF OF HIM!", a voice cried out as Raviel saw a boot collide with the side of The Sharp Claw Pokemons head. The Pokemon was sent flying, and looked stun for a few moments, only to immediately be blasted by a Flamethrower.

"Can you stand buddy?", said Curt after he helped Raviel up, Flare standing right behind him. Raviel gave Curt a small grin ad growl in thanks, and began to continue sprinting after the rest of the group. As they ran, Curt noticed a decently sized slash mark on Raviels back, it didn't seem to be bleeding too badly, but Curt knew they'd need to get it treated as soon as this was over. Finally, the reached Cassie and Nine by heading through a questionably stable riven, and just in time to see them....jump over a cliff. The entire Team came to a grinding half as they stared, wide eyed over the massive gorge, so deep you couldn't even see the bottom, a near-bye sign read "Dead Mans Drop", and Curt had to wonder if the person who made that sigh had to fight with someone over the names trademark before the sound of encroaching boots brought him out of his thoughts.

"Well, credit where credit is due, all of you gave us a bit more trouble then we initially anticipated, but it looks like you've reached the end of the line, so why don't you make it easier on yourselves; call your Pokemon back and just surrender, I promise I'll tell the trops not to be too ruff with ya", the Rocket admin said, a smug sneer on his face as his men and about ten Weavile surrounded him. Curt looked over the Rockets and assets the situation, the Rockets had them boxed in, they had no place to go, and they were currently out numbered even with Curts entire team out. But then again, Curt noticed that half the Weaviles were out of commission, clearly he wasn't the only one who had been fighting back, most of the group was still together on this cliff (their might have been one of two other people not accounted for, he didn't have time to do a head count), and most of Curts Team (especially Embertail and Flare) were still fighting fit.

"Sorry buddy, but I don't think you're exactly in the position to be calling the shots, at least half your Weaviles are out of commission, and the majority of my Team is fighting fit, and if I kept my team in good condition as well, I'm certain my friends teams are still rearing to go", Curt said with an uncharacteristically cocky smile as he gestured to his team, "you know, maybe you'd come off as a bit more intimidating if you learned the advantage's of type differentiation, I mean, Weavile are scary and strong and what not, but against a few Fire or Fighting-types, and you're in real trouble, you know, kinda like now..."

"Huh, you know, that's actually a good point", the Rocket Admin said as he cuffed his chin, "well, you heard him, LET'S GET SOME TYPE VARIATION IN HERE!" Curt's smile barely had time to drop before a couple dozen "snaps" could be heard followed by an all to familiar bright light, and there before them stood a hoard of Pokemon of all shapes an sized. There was a Koffing, a few Rattatta's and a Raticate, a Grimer, a few Zutbat's and a Golbat, even a Weezing, a Muk, and hey, even a Bisharp, guess Gerald was right about that one. Including the ten Weaviles, they were now facing at least twenty Pokemon, and the grunts held up a few addition Pokeballs to show that there was plenty more where that came from.

"O-O.K, see, now that's alot more intimidating", Curt said with a nervious chuckle. He felt like an idiot, of course with THIS MANY Team Rocket members, they were going to bring a lot more Pokemon, I mean, it's not like these guy's would only carry around one or two Pokemon each, they were a professional criminal organization, they weren't going to skimp out their troopers on fire power.

"One last chance, call your Pokemon back, or This. Gets. Ugly", the Admin said, his voice full of the confidence that only a person who had their opponent utterly defeated could had. Curt was confident that any member of his team could take out just about any one of these Rockets Pokemon, but all at once, they'd get slaughtered. Curt looked over at his team, each one in the eye, Embertail, Whips, Lockjaw, Jasper, Raviel, and Flare, they all knew what needed to be done. With a sigh, Curt pulled out two Pokeballs, and called back Flare and Raviel.

"See, was that so hard", the Admin said as he signaled his grunts to move in as Curt finished calling back Jasper and Lockjaw, "as soon as he calls back the last to, chain him up, I don't want him to try anyth-..."

"WHIPS, QUAKE, NOW!!!!", Curt yelled as he and Embertail grabbed onto the Dragon as Whips lifted one of him mighty feet, and slammed in on the ground. It wasn't a full fledged Earthquake, but it was enough to get the Rockets and their Pokemon of their feet, while leaving Curt, Embertail, and their companions in a bit better shape. Curt, Embertail, and Whips had seen enough movies to know that the best time to launch a surprise attack is in the middle of when your enemies are talking. Not matter what, a person is alway's going to be at least a little distracted when they're flapping their gums.

"ALRIGHT, EMBERTAIL, WHIPS, EVERYONE LET"S BAIL NOW!!!!", Curt said as he and Embertail climbed onto their Dragonite friend. Whips wasted no time as he took off, narrowly avoiding the Ice Beams and Sludge Bombs that attempted to follow after them, and down they went, into the abyss below.