Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Master ❯ Stage Seven - A Frightful Experience ( Chapter 7 )

"Tilt you head a little to the left... no, more than that! That's it!"

This is undignified, Rusty complained, but he obediently bent his neck, tilting his head until he was nearly looking at the world upside-down.

"I'm sorry," said Aurora, "but if you want me to get the rust off your feathers, you're going to have to cooperate a little. Of course, if it doesn't bother you..."

Go ahead, said the Skarmory grumpily. You have no idea how much rust itches.

Aurora, her friend Laine, and their assorted Pokemon were currently relaxing on the side of a grassy slope, enjoying the sunny weather and a chance to relax a bit. They had left Ecruteak several miles and a few hours behind them, and were glad of it. Their stay in the city of ghosts had been anything but comfortable. In fact, the events that had occurred there had been so bewildering that the normally aloof Ember had chosen to take his breakfast with the girls rather than immediately strike out on his own. The morning meal had been a quiet one, with everyone wrapped up in their own thoughts, and they all seemed to be glad to be leaving the city and going their own ways again.

*I don't think I want to go back there anytime soon, Aurora reflected as she rubbed at a stubborn patch of rust on her Skarmory's neck. *I'm sure Morty is a good person, but... he's not a nice person. I just can't be comfortable around him, even if he is Falkner's friend. I hope the next Gym Leader is a little less unnerving. What I want now is a plain, ordinary Gym battle with no mysteries or weird brain games.*

At least now everything was normal. Having left their young Rocket friend far behind (and hopefully any of his less friendly compatriots as well), they were now stopping to rest their feet and tend to their Pokemon. Aurora had decided that this was a good time to try out her Pokemon care kit, so she had released all her partners so they could be properly groomed. Laine, not wanting her own partners to be left out of the fun, had released them as well, and now all of them were scampering happily in the grass enjoying themselves.

Scar had been the first to have his grooming session, and Aurora was pleased with the result. With his feathers smoothed, his claws trimmed and sharpened, and his beak filed, he looked less like a well-used feather duster and more like the fierce fighter he was. Blabberbeak the Murkrow had likewise been cleaned up after living who-knew-how long on his own. Now his feathers glistened like jet, and he seemed pleased with the result - he hadn't insulted anyone all afternoon. Not wanting to leave anyone out, Aurora had fished out her own hairbrush and gave her Umbreon, Moondancer, a thorough preening, making the foxlike creature purr with delight. Rusty, being the largest and most difficult case, had been saved for last, and now Aurora was keeping quite busy with a bottle of oil, a wire brush, and some metal polish. It was hard work, but she felt proud of herself; his formerly rust-spotted wings were now polished so brightly they could be used for mirrors, and his beak and claws had been filed to razor-sharpness. Now if she could just get those last few tricky spots on his neck...

"Need a hand, there?" Laine asked. She was relaxing in the shade, using her Slowpoke as a pillow, watching Nova as he went through his karate practice. Her newfound Gastly, which she'd taken to calling Spook, hovered nearby, making faces at him. Sunset the Espeon was playing tag with her sister in the grass and undoing all Aurora's hard work with the hairbrush.

"No, I'm fine. I'll be done in just a minute," Aurora replied. "Thanks anyway, though."

"No prob," Laine drawled. "I'm just gettin' bored sittin' here doin' nothin'. I wanna hit the road again. Where are we goin' next?"

Aurora gave the matter due consideration as she rubbed at another flake of rust. "Well, I think we have two options - Jasmine's Gym in Olivine or Chuck's Gym in Cianwood. They're both about the same level, as far as difficulty goes, so it probably doesn't matter which one I try first."

"Jasmine, huh? She's the one Morty said he likes," Laine commented. Hear she trains Steel-types. Those are rare - and tough."

Nice to hear I'm appreciated, said Rusty smugly.

"That's true," said Aurora. "And Chuck trains Fighting-types. Those are weak against Flying-types but strong against Dark and Steel-types... and that sums up what I've got to work with. But Rusty and Blabberbeak are both pretty tough in their own right, so if I play them right, I can still probably win without too much trouble, and get them all some experience before I go up against Jasmine. She's going to be hard to deal with no matter what I do... Nova and your Slowpoke would have a better time facing her than I would. Are you sure I can't borrow them for a while?"

"Chop, chop, machop!" said Nova, sounding annoyed.

"I think she was kiddin'," Laine told him. "Though it might be fun to fight her myself just to see how you do 'gainst Jasmine."

"Chop, chop, chop!" Nova boasted, flexing his muscles.

"Yeah, that's what you say. Be you'd turn tail soon as you caught sight of that Steelix she's got."

The two of them went into a round of good-natured bantering, and Aurora listened in with some amusement as she went on with her scrubbing. She'd heard Laine talking to all of her Pokemon, and they seemed to communicate reasonably well, but none of them talked back to her with the same ease Nova did. She wondered if there was a reason for it.

*Come to think of it, those Machops from the forest fire got on with her pretty well, too. I wonder if she's got an affinity she doesn't know about?*

"There," she told Rusty, putting down her scrub brush with relief. "I think that should do it."

Thank goodness for that, Rusty replied, straightening his neck. He flapped his wings, making them clash like cymbals, but at least they didn't screech the way they had before she'd oiled them. You do good work, even if you do take your time getting to it.

"Well, we've been busy lately," said Aurora, shrugging slightly in embarrassment. "What with Rockets and ghosts and who knows what else. Anyway, now that everyone's clean - or cleaner," she added, with a glance at Moondancer and Sunset, "we can hit the road again."

"Made up your mind where you're goin', then?" asked Laine, obligingly putting her Slowpoke back into his Pokeball.

"Cianwood," Aurora said.

"That's what I reckoned," answered Laine with a grin. "Ember told you he'd see you in Cianwood."

Aurora flushed crimson. "That is not why I'm going there! I'm going because I still need some experience before I go against Jasmine. Besides, I really need a Fly HM, too, and that's the only place I can get one."

"Ahhh," said Laine, in tones of great understanding. "Whatever you say."

"You really need a boyfriend," Aurora muttered. "Then maybe you'll get off my case."

"No way. I'm havin' too much fun pesterin' you," Laine replied with her manic grin.

They collected their Pokemon and set out again. It was as warm and sunny as a summer day could be expected to be, without a single cloud in the intensely blue sky, and Scar showed off his sleek new look by soaring high above the girls' heads. It was breezy and cool up there, but on the ground, the trail was hot, dusty, and, as they drew nearer to the Ruins of Alph and the attending stone ridges, rocky. Laine, used to the rough and rooted terrain of the Ilex Forest, trudged along doggedly, showing no more signs of discomfort than pulling a bandanna over her head to keep the sun off her dark hair. Aurora had more difficulty, stumbling on the stray rocks that were half buried in the dust, once skinning her knee badly enough that they had to stop and bandage it. The noonday sun continued to beam down on her, making her shirt stick to her sweaty skin, and she fretted about sunburn. Finally she gave up and left the path, strolling instead in the shade of the trees that lined it. Even so, she was relieved when they reached a Pokemon center and decided to stop and cool off.

"This heat really takes it out of you," Aurora commented, flopping into a chair and fanning her face with one hand. Scar perched next to her and fanned his wings. "Thanks! I needed that."

"I knew ya had to run out of energy someday," Laine commented. "You thirsty? I'm thirsty. Lemme go see if they've got something to drink here."

She ambled up to the front desk and was met by a cheery young man in a white uniform. He quickly appraised the Badges pinned to her shirt and asked what he could do to help her, making her smile faintly. She may not have been a serious trainer, but she was beginning to appreciate that Badges had their uses. Perhaps there was something in what Morty was saying about how people's ranks were determined by their ability to control Pokemon. She was more immediately interested in the fact that Pokemon centers would happily provide food, shelter, and medical attention to a trainer for free. He provided cold drinks for her and a bowl of water for Scar.

"By the way," he remarked, "you haven't seen a Snorlax anywhere close by, have you?"

Laine blinked. "Why? Ain't they kinda hard to lose?"

"They usually are," the man replied, "but we've lost one anyway, sort of."

"All right, I'll bite. How'd ya sort of lose a Snorlax?"

"Well, you know there are Snorlaxes in these hills, right? A young one came down a few years ago, and somebody in the kitchen felt sorry for it and fed it. He got the idea that this was a good place to hang out, so he stayed all summer. In the fall when the berries and things get ripe, he goes back to the mountains and hibernates there all winter, but as soon as summer comes and food starts getting hard to find, he comes back here... only this year he hasn't."

"Maybe he's just bein' slow," Laine suggested. "Snorlaxes aren' exactly known as speed demons. Besides, why are you worried? It's gotta be a lotta trouble, lookin' after a Snorlax all the time."

"It is, but... we have gotten kind of attached to the old boy," said the man, looking a bit embarrassed. "I hope he's just found a good trainer somewhere, but... there have been whispers about Rockets in this area lately. A few dead Pokemon have been found nearby. Snorlax pelts are worth a lot to the right buyer. And like you said, it's really hard to just lose a Snorlax..."

Laine frowned. "When you put it like that... Well, I hope he shows up soon."

"Me too. If you see him anywhere, send us a note, would you? I hate worrying."

"If I see any Snorlaxes, I'll let you know," she replied. "Thanks for the drinks. See ya round."

She went back to the chair were Aurora was recovering and handed her a glass of juice before dropping into the seat next to her, setting the bowl of water on the floor for Scar.

"You're gonna hafta talk to your buddy Ember," she said.

"Oh?" said Aurora. "What's the problem now?"

Laine explained about the disappearing Snorlax, while Aurora listened with an expression of outrage.

"Don't they ever quit?" she exclaimed.

"You're the one who told me they just move somewhere else every time ya try to stomp 'em out," Laine reminded her.

"I know that," said Aurora. "I'm just so tired of things like that happening. Bad enough the way they treat their own partners, but to take a Pokemon that someone else cares about and - and - I don't even want to think about what they're doing, but-"

"All right, all right, don' get your shorts all bunched up," Laine interjected. "I know what you're sayin' an' I don' like it either, but losin' your temper won' help."

Aurora sighed. "I know. It just makes me so mad. I wish Ember really was in charge of the Rockets. He may not be much, but at least he takes care of his Pokemon, and I don't think he'd let his followers abuse them, either. I bet that's what he and his uncle were fighting about."

"Could be," said Laine. "Well, keep your chin up. For all we know, that Snorlax is just holed up in a nice cool cave somewhere and can't be bothered to wake up. You know they get lazier when they get older. Maybe he just didn' feel like makin' the trip this year."

"Maybe," Aurora replied. She didn't sound completely convinced, but she did sound a little more cheerful.

They finished their drinks in thoughtful silence and left. The hot air outside was like a punch in the stomach after being inside the cool building for so long, momentarily taking Aurora's breath away. They walked slowly, picking their way across the steadily roughening terrain. The trail narrowed to nothing more than a thin track, somewhat overgrown in places and scattered with rocks. Laine kicked one and watched it bounce away, ricocheting off a few other stones.

"These haven' been here long," she commented, picking one up and looking at it. "Looks like it just broke off yesterday, look."

"You're right," Aurora replied. "If they'd been here very long, they would have trampled down or kicked out of the way or something, wouldn't they?"

Laine nodded and looked around. The path was winding between two sloping walls of stone that reached more than a dozen yards above their heads. There wasn't any immediate evidence of anything that might have precipitated a rockslide, but it was hard to see what might be lurking at the top of the ridge. She suddenly felt very enclosed as she imagined what would happen if another wave of rocks fell down while they were standing there. Even as she was thinking about that, she heard the sound of a distant roar.

"What was that?" she yelped.

"I don't know," Aurora answered, sounding nervous. "Should we go look?"

"I've got a better idea," Laine replied. "Make Scar go look."

Aurora looked affronted. "I'm not sending him to get eaten!"

"He won' get eaten. He's got wings. He can get away a heck of a lot faster than we could if we went an' looked."

"Good point. Now if you could just convince him of that..."

Scar appeared to be listening to their conversation with a sour expression. However, after a moment of consideration, listening to the distant noise and sniffing the air, he flapped off into the sky, while the girls huddled nervously together and waited. He returned a few minutes later, squawking.

"What's he sayin'? What's he sayin'?" asked Laine eagerly.

"I think it's safe," Aurora answered. "He wants us to come look at something, but he won't tell me what. I think he thinks it's funny."

"Funny? What's funny out here?" asked Laine in confusion.

Aurora shrugged. "Guess we should go look and see."

They followed Scar up the path, creeping carefully around bends in the canyon, listening as the sound of bellowing became louder and closer. They rounded one last bend and stopped. They stared. Laine laughed.

"Well, that explains it all, doesn' it?" she said.

Wedged tightly between the walls of the chasm was a Snorlax, roaring with all his might as he struggled to free himself. It appeared that the gap had once been wide enough to just barely allow him to pass, but a recent rockslide had narrowed the passage so that now he would no longer fit. He'd tried anyway and succeeded only in getting tightly stuck. Laine stepped carefully forward, easily avoiding his uselessly flailing paws. Aurora followed.

"Poor thing," she said. "I wonder how long he's been stuck here?"

"Prob'ly not too long," Laine replied. "Otherwise he'd have either shouted himself hoarse or gotten skinny enough to fit through. Or someone else would have found him."

"Well, now we've found him," said Aurora. "What are we going to do about him?"

Laine shrugged. "Well, he's in our way. Let's move him. Nova, front and center! Got a job for ya."

Nova was freed from his Ball and leaped forward with a flash of light, eager to show off his talents. Laine gave him his instructions, and he went to work tossing rocks here and there, splintering boulders into heaps of rubble with swift karate chops. Within a few moments, he'd widened the gap enough that the Snorlax could squeeze through. He landed on all fours and shook himself like a cat, muttering his basso profundo voice.

"There ya go!" Laine told him. "Safe 'n' sound. Just another victory for Elaine Harvester. Good work, Nova. In ya go." She collected her Pokemon and turned her gaze on the Snorlax. "Well? What're ya waitin' for? Get goin' already."

The Snorlax mumbled sleepily. Reaching out one pudgy arm, he grabbed Laine and scooped her into a bear hug, nearly losing her in its embrace. She gave a muffled squeal through his thick fur, and Aurora giggled.

"Hey, lemme go!" Laine shouted, wiggling her way out of his arms and sliding back to solid ground. "Oy! First Nova, now this guy. What am I, some kinda Pokemon cover girl?"

"I think he's just saying thank you," answered Aurora, still trying to stifle a smile.

"Yeah, well, he'd better be," Laine muttered. The Snorlax muttered unhappily and slowly rolled over so it could look at her better. "What are you starin' at?"

The Snorlax muttered again, and Scar translated for Aurora.

"He's looking at your Badges, I think," she said. "He's impressed that you're a trainer and you haven't tried to capture him."

"Was I supposed to?" Laine replied.

Aurora shrugged. "Well, they are kind of a prize. They're strong fighters if you can get them to listen to you, and they're pretty rare. I've never seen one in the wild before, have you?"

"Not really," asked Laine thoughtfully. She appraised the Snorlax thoughtfully. "Whatsa matter? Don' you like trainers?"

The Snorlax muttered, and again the translation was relayed through Aurora.

"He doesn't like people capturing him and trying to make him fight all the time," she explained. "He'd rather sleep."

Laine laughed. "I don' blame him a bit there! Fightin's too much work to be doin' it all the time."

Mutter, mutter.

"He wants to know why you're a trainer if you don't like fighting."

"Oh, I'm not a serious trainer," Laine explained. "I just kinda picked these up while I was traveling. Lucky, that's all."

Mutter, mumble, mutter.

"He wants to know if he can come with you," said Aurora. "That way he'll have someone to take care of him who won't make him fight all the time."

Mumble, mutter.

"And he promises he'll repay you by protecting you if you really need it."

Laine grinned. "Good deal! Welcome aboard, Roadblock."

She opened a Pokeball, and the Snorlax disappeared in a ball of reddish light. She snapped the lid shut and looked pleased with herself.

"This'll be cool," she said. "Dad's notes didn' say much about Snorlaxes. They're a lot more common in Kanto than here. Just hope I don' have to rely on you to translate for me forever."

"I'm sure you'll learn," Aurora replied. "Can we go now? I don't like it here. I keep thinking rocks are going to fall down on my head."

"Same here," agreed Laine. "I wonder where they came from? You'd think somebody woulda warned us if they were a regular thing."

"Then maybe they aren't," said Aurora thoughtfully. "Maybe there's something going on... up there."

She pointed, and Laine looked speculatively up at the top of the ridge.

"Maybe," she said Laine. "Let me guess, you wanna go look, right?"

Aurora shrugged. "How else are we going to find out?"

"Well, we could just walk on by and let someone else worry about it."

"But that wouldn't be right," said Aurora. "Someone else could get hurt - another Pokemon, or a human. Do you really want to walk away now and find out that someone else got hurt or killed in a rockslide that you might have been able to prevent?"

Laine scowled. "When ya put it that way... what choice have I got? Hang on, I think I've got some rope in here somewhere."

She rummaged through her Pokegear and pulled out a coil of Escape Rope, which Scar was able to loop around a solidly anchored rock so they could climb up. Aurora, being lighter, climbed up first, and Laine complained that she was kicking pebbles onto her head. Finally they both managed to scramble up onto the ledge and have a look around.

A path seemed to have been delved into the side of the ridge where no path had been before - there were still marks in the rocks that looked like they had been made by picks, and the dusty path showed signs of tire tracks. Bits of metal were scattered here and there, glinting faintly in the sun, and scraps of multicolored wires could be seen snaking past the scattered stones.

"Is it just me," said Aurora, "or does this look really familiar?"

"Rockets," Laine muttered. "Shoulda known! Why do they turn up everywhere we go?"

"They're making another big play," Aurora said thoughtfully. "Giovanni's last grasp for power - he's going to win this time or lose everything trying..."

"And we keep turnin' up and derailin' his plans," Laine finished. "First in Ilex, now in Ecruteak. And I suppose you want us to do it again, huh?"

"What else can we do?"

"We can keep on goin' and pretend we never saw a thing," Laine suggested. "You can send a message to someone who can deal with it better than us. Girl, the Rockets are out to get you. You can't just go walkin' into their base and expect to come out alive."

"I can't leave knowing I didn't even try."

Laine rolled her eyes. "You're such an idealist. Have I told you that? No wonder you wanna be a Gym Leader - you think you have to save everyone from their problems. I got news for you, girl - you've only been a trainer like a week, and you've got four Pokemon to your name. There's only so much you can do."

"Um," said Aurora. "Maybe you're right. All right - can we at least go and have a look? We haven't seen anything yet but junk and rocks. No point in getting everyone up in arms over a false alarm."

"All right," said Laine. "But let's make it quick, 'kay?"

Moving carefully, they crept up the trail, following the tracks of tires and footprints. It sloped upwards, occasionally passing what looked like the entrances to hastily dug caves, shored up by rough wooden beams. Here and there they found evidence that Pokemon had been there as well - a Cubone's helmet, cracked in half, the tip of a Scyther's blade, and other things that Aurora tried not to look to hard at. Pity and anger made her feel sick as she thought of the poor creatures that had been worked until they dropped to make the road she was walking on now, only to have their bodies tossed aside like trash. She averted her eyes from a crumpled form that had once been a Parasect, forcing herself to keep her eyes on the trail and nothing else.

"Hey, Rora," said Laine, cutting into her thoughts. "C'mere and look at this."

"Whatever it is, I don't want to look at it."

"No, really - I think this one's still alive."

"Huh?"

Aurora scampered over to where her friend was waiting, looking down at what appeared to be a heap of bluish fur crumpled among some rocks. She crept closer - and then froze, realizing what Laine had found.

"That's a bat," she said.

Laine nodded. "A Golbat. Aw, c'mon, Rora, don't tell me you're going to go all chicken on me now. It can't hurt you."

Aurora stared. She'd been terrified of bats ever since she was a little child, and Golbats were the worst - great, wide-mouthed, shrieking, fanged gluttons, known for latching onto their prey and draining it dry. There had been a time when she'd been plagued by nightmares of being caught in a swarm of them, feeling their wings beating at her and expecting at any moment to feel their sharp little teeth sinking into her neck... but Laine was right. This one wasn't going to hurt her; it was nearly dead itself, but not completely. Coming to kneel next to it, she could see that its chest still rose and fell weakly. She put out a hesitant hand and touched the fur on its back, finding it to be warm and surprisingly soft. Encouraged, she stroked it again with a little more confidence - and jumped as the creature moved.

"Gol..." it said weakly.

Very slowly, it turned its head so its eyes could meet hers. They were hazed and unfocused with pain.

"Poor thing," she heard herself say. "He hurts so much..."

Laine elbowed her. "Then do somethin' about it!"

"Oh, yeah. Right. Hang on."

She began going through her PokeGear, searching for something she could use to help him, and found nothing more than a couple of Potions. They wouldn't do much more than take the edge off his pain, but they were all she had. She took them out and began carefully turning the Golbat over so she could reach its wide mouth. When he was comfortably resettled, she uncorked the bottle and began tipping the contents down his throat, and he drank eagerly. While he did so, she examined his injuries; one of his wings appeared to be broken, he was battered and cut all over, and she had a notion he hadn't had anything to eat or drink for at least a day.

"He's hurt worse than I can take care of," she said. "What he really needs is a long stay in a Pokemon center. Have you got something we can carry him in?"

"'Course I do. Hang on a minute," Laine replied.

She dug through her Gear and hauled out her trusty old bag, as well as her first-aid kit. The two girls went about binding his wing to his side so it wouldn't be hurt any worse than it was, and then they settled him into the bag with only his eyes peeking out. Much to Aurora's surprise, he didn't try to struggle or bite at all, but kept his eyes fixed trustingly on hers the whole time.

"It'll be okay," she told him. "You just hang in there. We're going to get you to a Pokemon center, and they'll make you all better."

"Gol..." it whimpered.

"There," said Laine, pulling the zipper of the bag closed snugly around him. "That oughta do it. Let's get outta this creepy place."

"Not so fast," said a rough voice above their heads.

The girls looked up and found an extremely ugly man leering down at them, his crooked teeth bared in a nasty grin. He was dressed in a Rocket's black uniform and looked just a little too pleased to see them.

"Well, isn't this nice?" he said. "A couple of visitors... and if I'm not much mistaken, you're that silver-haired girl the boss-lady is lookin' for. What're you doin', pokin' around up here, huh?"

"Um... just leaving!" she said anxiously, scrambling to her feet, holding her arms protectively in front of the Golbat.

"Oh, I don't think so," the Rocket replied. "You're staying here with me! Machoke! Get over here!"

Down from the rocks leapt a scarred and muscle-bound Machoke, its face twisted into a snarl, before Aurora could react, it had jumped forward and caught her in a strangle hold, and she struggled for air. Scar flapped around, trying to find a way to attack without harming his trainer in the process. Out of her line of sight, she could hear Laine shouting and the Rocket bellowing, but it sounded like Laine was getting the worst of it - there was just no way an eleven-year-old girl could outfight a strong man on a narrow ledge.

"Scar!" she shouted. "Get out of here! Go get help!"

"Spear, spear!"

"I'll be okay! Just go!"

With one final peck at the Machoke, he flew off, screeching the things he would do to the Rocket if this had been a fair fight. Aurora had only seconds to watch him fly off before a heavy fist struck her temple, and her world dissolved into darkness.

Moving across the dusty earth was a small blue speck that moved like a human. Scar, intent on his mission, gave it a sharp stare, considering whether or not this figure could provide the help he'd been sent to get. He didn't trust humans as a general rule, but he also knew he didn't have any time to waste and didn't have the luxury to be picky. Then he saw the figure take off its hat to wipe its sweating brow, and Scar saw a flash of familiar red hair.

Ember was startled to see a large brown bird drop out of the sky to land in front of him, screeching at the top of its lungs. For a moment, he was tensed to attack, but then he recognized the familiar scar.

"You again!" he said. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you with your annoying trainer?"

"Spear, spear, spear!"

"Don't bother, bird. I don't understand your squawkings."

"Spear, spear, spearow!" Scar insisted. He grabbed at Ember's coat and began trying to drag him.

"Hey, where are you going? Cut that out!" Ember protested, tugging himself free. "What is with you today? And where is that girl? Shouldn't you be following her?"

Scar made an exasperated noise, giving Ember a look that said only too clearly what an idiot the bird thought he was. Ember stared.

"Wait a minute," he said. "She's gone and gotten herself in trouble, is that it?"

"Spear!"

"And you want me to go bail her out."

"Spear!"

"Nothing doing," said Ember, turning to walk away. "She got herself into the mess, she can get herself out."

He made it only a few paces before he found himself blocked. Scar had hopped in front of him and stretched out his wings, showing off his freshly sharpened claws and beak. Ember tried to get past him, but the bird was too quick for him. He sighed with exasperation.

"You crazy bird," he said. "Look - it is not my problem. I am not required to help her out. It has nothing to do with me."

Scar was thoughtful for a moment. Then he began scratching in the dirt with one claw, making a clumsy but recognizable representation of a letter "R" in the dust.

"Rockets," Ember muttered. "Lovely. Well, they don't want anything to do with me. I shouldn't bother... but if they've got her... All right, bird, you win. Where is she?"

Scar shrieked and rose into the air again, circling over Ember's head for a moment before sailing up the road again, with the boy running at top speed below him.

Aurora rose slowly back to consciousness. The first things she was conscious of were a splitting headache and terrible stench, and the combined effect made her stomach roll. She swallowed back a wave of nausea and tried to force her eyes to focus.

She found herself in a dark room, half-sitting against a cold metal wall. Her wrists and ankles were bound tightly with a rough rope, and pulling at it did nothing more than wake up stinging pains from where it chafed her skin. There was a gag tied around her face, making it hard to breathe. She looked around for Laine and spied her on the other end of the room, still unconscious. They'd tied her up as well, but she wasn't as tightly trussed as Aurora was. The bag with the Golbat rested next to her. Aurora wondered why she'd been separated from them. She remembered how the Rocket had mentioned that she was the one they were looking for and felt sick all over again.

*Laine was right, and so was Ember - I am putting myself in danger. They're out to get me, and I don't even know why, because they won't tell me. Maybe I really should give it up and go home... It'll be a shame, but it's better than being dead... though it looks like I'm not going to get a lot of choice now.*

To distract herself from that morbid thought, she began trying to get a look at the rest of her surroundings. What she saw was not encouraging. She was in a room with a number of wire cages of varying sizes, all stacked on top of each other like a child's building blocks. Each cage held at least one Pokemon, sometimes more, jammed in so tightly that some of them didn't have room to turn around. All of them were dirty, and even in the dim light, Aurora could see that they looked thin and underfed. Through an open door, she could just barely catch a glimpse of what appeared to be an operating table and some glinting metal machines and tools. She felt another wave of sickness wash over her, and she closed her eyes again.

Perhaps she dozed, or simply stopped thinking for a while. When next she was aware of her surroundings, it was because she had overheard a pair of voices talking. She roused herself enough to pay attention.

"...do it now, do you think?" one said. It was a male's, rather young-sounding and uncertain.

"It could be advisable," the other answered. This one was also a man's, but deeper and more authoritative. "We have all the equipment necessary to deal with her easily. This is the perfect place."

"I thought the boss-lady wanted to do it herself, though? Or at least have it done under her supervision."

"She won't care as long as it's done and done soon. It will look more suspicious in a quiet place like Blackthorn than it will here. We'll do it quickly and dump her body at the bottom of the gorge. It will look as if she was killed in a rockslide, and that will be that."

"What about the other girl? She'll know it wasn't a rockslide. We weren't given any instructions as to how to deal with her."

"We'll kill her too, then! Honestly, I think your head would rattle if you shook it. It would be a nice, poetic ending for her. Her father was finished off at the bottom of a gorge himself. That Marcus Harvester, always getting all the glory... I had more creativity and daring than he ever did, but just because a few people didn't have the nerve to do more than look at Pokemon instead of really working with them... I was the one who opened them up to see what made them tick, and they called me cruel and barbaric..."

He trailed off into incoherent muttering. The other voice said something, interrupting him.

"Well, of course you don't know," he snapped. "Before your time, most likely. He was a researcher who studied the ways of Pokemon in the field. Never worked in laboratories like a proper scientist. We kept an eye on him, though. He kept making big discoveries, and when he made the biggest find of his life, we were a step ahead of him. Some of our members followed him to the Ice Pass and tried to take his notes, but he put up more of a fight than we expected. He fell into the gorge and got himself buried in snow, and the stupid grunts couldn't be bothered to look for him properly. If they'd been able to get those notes it would have been one of Team Rocket's finest hours... but that's ancient history now. Now we must simply deal with two lost children. How boring."

Aurora did not think any of this was boring at all. She was reeling, half from the shock of realizing her friend's father had been murdered by Rockets, and half from the dawning certainty that she and Laine were about to meet the same fate. Where was Scar? If he didn't hurry and get some help, it would soon be too late. Even as she was thinking that, she heard a door open, and heavy footsteps beginning to draw towards her. Wildly, she wondered if they were going to kill her quickly or draw it out, and what would happen to her Pokemon. However, before the footsteps reached her, there was another door-opening sound, and the footsteps stopped.

"You," said the scientist in a surprised voice. "I wasn't told you would be coming here."

"Nobody knew," a voice replied. Aurora's heart leapt as she recognized the voice - Ember! Surely he wouldn't let them kill her... would he? "I was told you had a certain young lady here as a captive, and I wanted to come see if the rumors were true."

"Word travels fast," said the scientist. "In this case, you heard correctly. We've managed to capture the girl that our... illustrious helper is interested in."

"I see," said Ember thoughtfully. "Would you mind if I had a look?"

"Of course not. Follow me."

Footsteps again, and more door sounds. Now she could hear people milling around in the room with her, and she took the risk of opening one eye a slit so she could see. A bearded man in spectacles and a long white coat was standing closest to the door, looking around with a proprietary air. Next to him was a round-faced young Rocket man. Between them was Ember. He appeared to be trying to keep his expression neutral, but she thought she could see a spark of anger in his eyes as he surveyed the cages.

"What are all these?" he asked, gesturing at the captured Pokemon.

"Research subjects, mostly," the scientist answered with pride. "A few of them will be dissected, and the rest will be used for transplants and gene-splicing experiments."

"I see," answered Ember. "That's what I thought."

"I knew you'd approve," said the scientist smugly.

Ember's expression of approval arrived in the form of a fist shoved abruptly at his face, hard enough to make him stagger backwards and strike his head against the wall, and his glasses snapped in half. At the same moment, Scar came bursting in, shrieking like a banshee. The other Rocket made a clumsy grab for the PokeBalls at his belt, but Scar was faster than he was. His beak sank deeply into the man's hand, making him wail in pain. He shook his hand free and backed away fearfully with blood running through his fingers. The two of them looked at Ember and Scar, who were wearing equally murderous expressions.

"Get out of here," Ember growled. "Get out! Get OUT! And don't ever let me see your faces again, or you'll hurt a lot worse than you do now."

The scientist glared at him. Blood trickled through a thin cut left by his shattered glasses, and Aurora thought flippantly that he was going to end up with a scar like her Spearow's, and that it served him right.

"Your uncle will hear of this," he said.

"I have no uncle," Ember replied. "No family at all. Only my Pokemon and my friends. If anyone messes with either of them, I'll find a way to punish them."

The scientist raised an eyebrow. "You are siding with this foolish girl?"

"Yes. She may well be foolish, but she's brave and honorable, which is more than I can say for you. Now go. Get out of my sight before I give you more than a few cuts and bruises."

The Rockets stared at him a moment, weighing their options, but something in Ember's expression warned them that he wasn't making empty threats. They left the room quietly, but Aurora could hear them breaking into a run as soon as they were out of sight. Once they were gone, Scar hopped over to her side and began running his beak through her hair, and Ember came to join her.

"Hey, you. Wake up," he ordered.

Aurora didn't see any reason to disobey him, so she let her eyes flutter open.

"What happened? Where am I?" she said.

"You're in a Rocket laboratory some miles outside of Ecruteak," he replied, "but that's not particularly important. What's important is that it's empty for the time being, so you can make your escape as soon as you're cut free. Hold on a minute."

He went through his pockets and pulled out a small knife, using it to saw through the tough ropes on her wrists.

"This could take a while," he said. "This isn't a very good knife."

"I don't mind. I can wait," she replied. "Maybe while you're at it, you can give me some explanations... like what you're doing here."

"That's simple enough. Your pet wouldn't leave me alone until I came and rescued you, so I figured I might as well get it over with."

"Is that all?"

"I'm not stupid enough to get on the wrong end of that beak of his. What? Are you thinking I did it out of the goodness of my heart?"

Aurora shrugged. She decided not to embarrass him by telling him she'd heard him call her his friend. He'd only find some way to deny it, anyway. She decided to try another question, something else that had been bothering her.

"Ember," she said. "There's something I want to know, and I want you to give me a straight answer this time."

"I'm not good at straight answers."

"Try. Try really hard."

"Well, all right. What is it?"

She turned her eyes to meet his. "Ember, why do the Rockets want to kill me?"

"I was afraid you'd ask me that one," he answered, sighing deeply.

"You do know, don't you? You hinted you did."

"I do know. The trouble is, I don't think you'd believe me if I told you. It's not something you'll like hearing. I was hoping I could convince you of the danger before you got yourself into a mess like this. You're entirely too certain you can stand up to anything you meet by willpower alone."

"It would help me if you'd tell me what I'm supposed to be avoiding in the first place," she insisted.

"I told you, I don't know how to tell it so you'll believe."

"Tell me."

"All right, all right!" he said. "Anything to stop you from nagging me. All right, where to begin? Hm... Clair is your idol, isn't she? How much do you really know about her? About her history, I mean."

"Well... not a lot," Aurora admitted.

"Time for you to learn, then. Clair started training early, and caught on fast. Legend has it that even when she started out, she never lost a match... and nobody's ever dared to say otherwise. Everyone respected her, regular trainers and Leaders alike. Even Team Rocket gave her a wide berth in those days - wouldn't go near Blackthorn when she first took over. She used to be the kind of trainer you always thought she was."

"Used to be?"

"Used to be. People change, you know. Power corrupts. And sometimes after they do something too long, people begin to lose their edge. For years, Clair went undefeated. She got the idea that she was invincible, and it went to her head. Then when she started to lose her knack and things went downhill, she just couldn't stand it."

"Downhill? I don't understand. She's still the greatest trainer in Johto..."

Ember shook her head. "That's not enough, not anymore. She liked being invincible, and lately she's been doing everything in her power to make sure she never loses another match."

"You mean like... cheating?"

"Cheating's the least of it," said Ember. "She's been throwing matches, certainly. More than that, she's started beating her Pokemon, trying to toughen them to the point where they don't feel pain anymore. And I've heard tell that sometimes promising young trainers who show a little too much interest in challenging her tend to get in inexplicable accidents or disappear mysteriously."

Aurora's face went pale. "You don't mean it. You're making it up."

Ember shrugged. "I told you that woman scared me."

"And you think she's after me?"

"I'm absolutely certain of it."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because," said Ember, "lately, even her most underhanded schemes haven't been enough to make her feel safe, so she did the only thing she could do when a trainer goes rotten... she came to us, and we took her in. Actually, Uncle Giovanni is a little smitten with her - well, I suppose she is beautiful, if you're only looking skin deep. He's been a little too eager to bend to her whims. When she took a notion she didn't like you, well..."

"But - but I haven't done anything to her! All this is crazy."

"Haven't done anything to her? A little girl on her second day as a trainer came up to the woman who was once the greatest trainer on the continent, with nothing but a battered Spearow and not a single Badge to her name, actually expecting to have a chance to be Clair's apprentice. It was a terrible insult to her. That was bad enough, but now you're actually going out and collecting the Badges with relative ease, collecting rare Pokemon, befriending Gym Leaders... my dear young lady, you are shaping up to be serious competition for her, do you know that? You told her you wanted to be a Dragon Master someday, and now you're looking remarkably like you'll be able to do it. You've got her scared, Winter-Hair."

Aurora just sat and stared at him. This was entirely too much to take in. Clair, the woman she'd been looking up to since she was a tiny child, was out to kill her? It was inconceivable to Aurora that her idolized Dragon Master could be that kind of paranoid maniac Ember was painting her as, but... even now, she remembered how Ember had been talking about his uncle being in Blackthorn, how Rockets had been seen sneaking around there. The scientist and his partner had been talking about a "boss lady" in Blackthorn. Morty had said there was a traitor among the Gym Leaders. There was a strange logic about it that she couldn't dismiss out of hand.

"Clair wants to kill me," she said, trying to give the thoughts some solidarity.

"That's right," said Ember, cutting through the ropes on her wrists. "I hoped you'd catch on sooner or later."

"I don't like it," she said.

"That's understandable."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"Well, there was a point where you probably could have saved yourself by turning around and going home," said Ember seriously. "I think that time is past now. You've come too far; there's no turning back now. Every Rocket from here to New Bark Town is going to be looking for you now. Nowhere is going to be safe anymore."

"I see," she said. "So... there's really no point in stopping now?"

Ember shrugged. "Stay put or keep going. Someone is going to catch up to you sooner or later."

"Not," said Aurora, "if someone catches her first."

"What? You're going to blow the whistle on the illustrious Clair? No one will believe you."

"Then I'll prove it," Aurora replied, "but first, I'm going to finish collecting my Badges."

"Good luck," said Ember. "You'll need it."

He finished sawing her free, and the two of them managed to untie Laine, as her bonds were somewhat looser than Aurora's had been. Once she had revived somewhat, Ember and Aurora hauled her to her feet, and Ember ushered them to the door.

"You two stay out of trouble," he said. "I'm not going to be around to bail you out every time."

"You stay out of trouble, too," said Aurora. "Something tells me your old Rocket friends aren't going to be pleased with you for this."

Ember smiled thinly. "I think I can take care of myself. So long, Winter-Hair."

"See you, Fire-Top... and thanks."

They left the laboratory and began heading back towards the gorge. Aurora's last sight of Ember was of him going through the lab, letting the Pokemon out of their cages.

The Pokemon center was fairly busy that night, with upwards of half a dozen young trainers sitting around the stove, eating and chatting and showing off their Pokemon to each other. All of them seemed to be having a good time... all, that is, except for a pale-haired girl who sat in a corner away from the main crowd. Aurora toyed nervously with her dinner, which she'd barely touched in the half-hour she'd been sitting there.

"Do you think they're done yet?" she asked Laine.

Laine swallowed a mouthful of food before answering. The people at the Pokemon center had been overwhelmed with joy at learning their beloved Snorlax was safe and in good company, and had responded by giving them a free dinner and promising to give the wounded Golbat the best care available.

"They're doctors, kid, not miracle workers," Laine replied. "Give 'em some time... and eat your dinner. Starving yourself won't help a lick."

"Sorry. I'm just nervous," answered Aurora, feeding a roll to Scar. "He was so weak when we found him, and then those Rockets had us captive for so long, and then we had to carry him..."

"And nevertheless I say to you, worrying won' do any good," said Laine. "But if you aren't gonna eat your pie, push it this way. I'm starved."

"I'm going to eat it," said Aurora. She began automatically eating her food, always keeping her eyes on the door of the doctor's office. Sometimes she saw someone walk past a window, but she never caught a glimpse of the Golbat. Finally, as she was finishing her dessert, a nurse came out of the office.

"Aurora Cummings?" she called. "Your Golbat is ready. Would you like to come see him?"

"Yeah!" she said, abandoning the last of her pie. Scar took the opportunity to steal it, while the girls trooped into the office.

The Golbat was lying comfortably on a small bed, wrapped comfortably in a nest of blankets. His wing seemed to be perfectly healed, and he looked much more energetic. He sat up and looked at Aurora when she entered the room.

"Hi there," she said. "Remember me?"

"Gol, golbat," he replied. He rubbed up against her hand, and she scratched behind his ears.

"I guess you do," she said. "You know, I never thought I'd say this, but now that you're all cleaned up, you're really sort of cute."

"He's a fine Pokemon," said the nurse. "You should be proud to have him."

"Oh, he's not mine," said Aurora. "I just found him and brought him here. I couldn't just leave him there to die. No Pokemon deserves that."

"So what are you gonna do now?" asked Laine.

"I don't know. I suppose I ought to set him free," Aurora replied. "Is he well enough to leave?"

"Yes, ma'am. He'll be just fine as long as he stays away from Team Rocket," the nurse replied.

"That's the trick, isn't it?" Aurora said quietly. "Come on, Golbat! Time for you to go join your friends."

She picked him up, and he snuggled happily into her arms as she carried him outside. Dusk was just beginning to fall - the perfect time for bats, Aurora thought. She smiled. She didn't think she'd ever be afraid of them again after this. She held him up.

"Here you go, fella," she said. "Fly on home."

The Golbat gave her one last look. Then he flapped his wings and took off into the gathering twilight. Aurora watched him go, thinking, wondering if he really would be safe, or if Team Rocket would find him again. She'd always hated them for the way they hunted and abused Pokemon. Now she herself was going to have to get used to the life of a hunted animal. She sighed, thinking back to the time - had it only been a few days ago? - when being a trainer looked fun and glamourous. She didn't think she'd ever look at it the same way...

She was distracted from her gloomy thoughts by a rush of wings, and she looked up at the sky in time to see a large dark shape flapping across it - no, lots of shapes, a whole cloud of Zubats, with the Golbat in the lead. He flapped down to her and hung upside-down from her arm, shrieking with joy, and the other bats swirled around her in a living tornado.

"You came back!" she exclaimed.

"Gol, gol, golbat," he answered contentedly.

Much to her surprise, he began to glow softly with a light like the moon. When the lights cleared, he had shifted from his awkward shape to a sleek purple creature.

"What in the-?" she exclaimed.

"A Crobat," said Laine, sounding impressed. "Zubat's highest evolution. It only evolves to that form if it trusts you."

"Is that true?" she asked him.

"Cro," he answered. "Cro, cro, crobat!"

"Cool," she said. "I guess you're staying with me, then, huh, Crobat?"

"What are you gonna name him?" Laine asked.

Aurora thought a moment, then smiled. "Frightful."

Laine grinned. "Perfect!"

Aurora laughed and tossed her new partner into the sky again, watching him swoop and dive through the twilight, and she laughed as the cloud of wings swirled around her.