FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Author's Note: Can anyone believe this? Chapter twenty, wow. _ _I'm honestly still surprised that this has the following it has. Going to stop rambling now. Enjoy the possible unexpected.

Brimcon: And now for something completely different.

Disclaimer: Pokémon is copyright of Nintendo, Game Freak, etc. Individual characters are my own imaginening, and are not intended to be any part of main cannon / plotline. Individual characters like Aaron, Song, Zin, etc, are my own creations, so please ask before using. Thank you.

Chapter 20: Of Men and Mortar

For the last three hours, I did nothing, other than watching Nurse Joy work like a maniac. She was registering new information or updating old ones, documenting whatever someone was being brought in, making sure that no one was seriously injured, among other things. The Chansey's under her command were becoming more and more irritable as time passed, only being matched by Nurse Joy's degrading attitude. Tired of all this, I stood up and stopped her as she almost bowled over me.

"What is it?" she asked tersely.

"I can take over the desk for you, if you'd let me." I said, frowning. "I've handled it while I worked back at home in Solaceon."

She frowned at me, the distrust completely understood. "Why should I trust you?" she asked.

Joy slapped my back, laughing. "This kid isn't too bad, sis."

Nurse Joy looked at Joy for a moment, before blinking. "Isa-"

"No, just Joy will do." she said, a note of finality on the matter. "Later. But anyway, I trust Aaron, and you should, too."

Nurse Joy shook her head. "Only if you'll keep an eye on him." she ordered.

Joy saluted. "Will do."

Now I had something more beneficial to do than sit on my butt all night long. With me running the front desk with Joy's help, Nurse Joy managed to handle her side better. The mood slowly became lighter as the Chansey's began chanting happily as they worked. Nurse Joy would come over, asking for status reports on the front desk. Other than more trainers getting out of the thunderstorm, no urgent care was needed. If they needed their Pokémon healed, Joy was more than willing to operate the healing machine. Supervised by a Chansey, of course.

Thankfully, it was just all busy work. Typing was the major call of my abilities tonight, so I was allowed to relax more than I thought. Joy was a constant source of entertainment, if one could consider insults entertaining. She often tried to guess what kind of Pokémon a trainer would have. It was funny to see her guess and be completely wrong. Sometimes, though, she would be completely right. I would never consider someone with spiked hair in the style of a Mohawk be the trainer of a Phanpy.

As soon as we had a lull in the stream of trainers, I turned to Joy. "Do you think Jon is alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, I think so. He's tougher than we give him credit for."

Seeing as to how his Tyranitar would stop two Ice Beam's with just Sandstorm, I am inclined to agree. Still, it bothered me how strongly he reacted.

"I still wonder why he said that before disappearing into one of the rooms."

"It isn't our business." she declared, frowning. "He's probably making contact with his boss. Don't worry about it. The sooner we get to Blackthorn, the sooner we can all go our separate ways and be better for it."

Was it that simple? I almost voiced my concern when Jonathan stepped up to the counter.

"We're leaving at first light." he said grimly. "I just got report of Zapdos leaving the area of Goldenrod. I suggest you two get what rest you can. We're not stopping for anything."

He left without a word, storming off. I almost opened my mouth to say something, but Joy placed a hand on my shoulder. She shook her head from side to side, frowning.

"We'll handle it." Joy said soothingly. "Things are going to work out, alright? I'll let sis know what our plans are."

I nodded numbly, watching her stand up and leave without a word. While I did start alone, it's been a little easier to handle everything with a group. With the possibility of Darkrai following my every move, I didn't want to chance another encounter by myself.

The thought of facing one of those monsters alone sent a chill down my spine.

====================///////////////////////////============================

"Remind me why we aren't flying to get closer to Blackthorn." Joy said, rubbing her neck.

"I don't want to risk getting shocked in midair, only to meet the ground afterwards." Jonathan said patiently.

"And you haven't explained the whole Zapdos thing, either." she reminded him.

"Right now I'm not going to. It takes way too much time, and we don't have much of that. As soon as we get somewhere safer, I'll explain everything."

"Define safer." I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Someplace that won't be blown up by a lightning bolt." he said simply.

"And you think that Zapdos would blow up a building in the middle of a city?" I asked.

He nodded. I wanted to press my concerns further, but he shook his head. "I promise I'll answer your questions. Right now, can we focus on walking? I don't want to be caught off-guard again."

Again? What would he mean by that? I looked over at Joy, who shrugged. I'm pretty sure she understood my concern over his choice of words. Unsurprising, the route was deserted, and it wasn't due to the light shower over our heads. The sky was covered in dark clouds, the threat of heavy rain hanging above us. Thankfully, no threat of thunder or lightning was present, but we hurried all the same. Sprinkles of rain fell on our heads as we continued our march.

Joy walked next to me, tapping my shoulder. "I'm hungry."

I swung my backpack in front of me, grabbing one of the breakfast bars and passing it over to her. I grabbed one for myself, feeling a bit peckish.

"Thanks, kid." she said, unwrapping the bar and taking a bite. Her face contorted into something in between overwhelmed and excited.

"Holy shit, when did you buy these!" she demanded, grabbing my shirt. I laughed, shaking my head.

"I was saving them for emergencies." I replied, pulling myself away from her grasp. "And when Joy is hungry, I get the feeling that things tend to go wrong for those that cross her path."

"Why you!" she exclaimed, before punching me on the shoulder. I expected it to be a hard slug, but it was more playful than not.

"Alright you two, quit it." Jonathan said, speaking seriously. "We need to keep going."

"At this rate, we'll be halfway out of National Park before it's sundown." Joy pointed out.

"I want to be in Eucrateak before sundown." Jon clarified. "We can take the Dark Cave and shave some time to get to Blackthorn."

"The Dark Cave?" I asked. "What did I tell you on the flight? Caves are NOT our forte."

"The Abomasnow?" Joy asked, grinning.

"He won't listen to me." I said, exasperated.

"Regardless, it's the way we have to take. I'd rather avoid Mt. Mortar at all costs. More get lost in those depths than in the Dark Cave, not to mention the fatality rate."

The mention that people have died going through Mt. Mortar made my skin crawl. I swallowed the lump on my throat, gulping for air quickly afterwards. Jon looked at me with sadly.

"You didn't think being a trainer was all sunshine and rainbows now, did you?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Not after seeing Darkrai cut off Song's psychic abilities. Not after that."

He looked satisfied with that, nodding at me. For the first time all day, a small smile split through his stoic visage. "Mind passing me one of those cereal bars?"

I nodded, more than happy to share. "Totally. Here." I said, passing it over.

He caught it, biting into it after ripping off the wrapper. "Vanilla. Nice."

"Didn't take you for a vanilla fan." I said as I slung my backpack behind me again.

"And what did you take me for?"

"Chocolate guy." Joy chirped in.

His face contorted into a wince. "That stuff is disgusting." he said flatly. "Give me vanilla any day."

I laughed, shaking my head as they both promptly got into a loud argument on how either vanilla or chocolate was better. It was better than seeing Jonathan down or so serious, that's for sure. Two kids were walking towards us in the distance, one tossing a sphere in the air while the other one just walked. They were talking rather animated, and I could see that they were both wearing shorts and loose shirts. Jonathan approached them as we reached each other.

"Hey, do any of you know about the conditions around Ecruteak?" he asked.

The kids, both boys, looked at each other before shrugging. "Not really. After Code Lightning was brought down, we came over here for the bug catching competition."

The other kid shook his head. "I heard that Dark Cave suffered a cave-in a few days ago. Something about two Steelix having a territory dispute. I don't know, though. I overheard someone say it at the Ecruteak Pokémon Center."

Jonathan looked startled for a moment, but smiled and nodded to hide his concern. "Thanks. Good luck with the competition. I saw someone catch a Beedrill."

"Hah!" the boy with the ball in his hands shouted. "I caught a Pinsir! I totally have today's prize in the bag!"

I grinned. "Well, go get there, before they start awarding the prizes. You don't have that much time left, I think."

"Oh darn, you're right, mister! Let's go!"

With that, both kids took off running. I looked up for a moment, hoping that it didn't rain on their little award ceremony.

"If the Dark Cave is indeed caved in, we have to go through Mt. Mortar then." he said solemnly. I shook my head.

"We don't know that yet." I said quickly. "Let's get to Ecruteak first, before we decide on anything. We can plan better with more concrete information than not."

Jonathan nodded, but his features didn't relax. I pulled out my Pokédex, idly fiddling with the features. Joy pulled a device similar to mine. While I wasn't surprised that she had a Pokédex, I was surprised when music started playing.

"Awesome! We still have reception." she said happily.

"We aren't that far away from Goldenrod." Jonathan said, shaking his head.

The music was ending, a male voice replacing it. "Good afternoon! Hope everyone is safe and sound out there. While it's most likely that all of Johto knows by now, Code Lightning has been called off, if for the moment. Reports from the Blackthorn Rangers state that the Zapdos is seen back near Mount Silver. So we all know what that means.

"Now, what I want to say before we cut over to more music, is that there have been increased reports of mysterious Pokémon appearing around Olivine and Cianwood cities, and even around the Lake of Rage! We have no official reports from any authorities, only witnesses calling in like crazy. Either way, it's this DJ's advice to stay well away from those areas if you can.

"Enough of that depressing stuff. On to some more entertaining news! It seems that someone stole the stuffed Pikachu from the lead singers head during the Catch-Em's show in Jubilife. Whoever did it, you got guts, and I salute you! And now, some music!"

Joy's face went scarlet at the last comment by the radio. She smiled though, letting the radio play out the music. I looked at her as she closed her eyes and bobbed her head to the music.

"I'll never understand her." Jonathan said, before he started laughing.

I shrugged, trying to remember what the radio said. "Other Pokémon seen around?" I asked aloud.

Joy didn't stop humming, but Jonathan shrugged. "Has to be the Darkrai," he said solemnly. "We have to be careful."

That shocked me. I suddenly wanted to be off the ground and nowhere near a cave. The idea of having to fight another one of those crazy embodiments of shadow left me with the feeling of bile rising to my throat. I sped up my pace, Jonathan quickly matching it with Joy raising complaint that we were moving too fast.

========================////////////////////////=========================

Covered in sweat and dirt, exhaustion was quick to settle as we finally found our way to Ecruteak City. Rustic was one way to put it. It immediately made me think of Solaceon, but more ancient. The homes were built differently, that much was obvious. It felt like a large town rather than a small city. I wanted to feel safe here, but I didn't let the feeling sink in. I felt rather safe in Celestic Town, and Darkrai decided to ruin everything.

"Can we sleep now?" Joy asked. She looked as tired as I felt. A yawn escaped her efforts to stifle it.

"When we get to the Pokémon Center." Jonathan said. "We're not that far away."

"That's good. We really need to get cleaned up." I said, fixing how my backpack rested on my back. "Walking since seven A.M. isn't much fun."

We all agreed on that. Joy's radio was still blaring music, something not related to the Catch-Em's, for once. It died down slowly, finishing with a guitar solo as it slowly faded away.

"Good evening everybody! It's a beautiful night tonight here in Johto! That was the Shredders with their hit from their latest album, "Dragonite Nights"! This bit of news was recently given the green light to spread around. If you're near the area of the Dark Cave, listen up! We have a confirmed cave-in inside, meaning that the shortcut to reach Blackthorn is no-go. Something about a Steelix dispute, apparently. No idea when it'll be cleared out, but if you need to hurry over you're in for some tough luck. Mt. Mortar isn't a walk in the park. Find someone else to go with you, and pack up supplies. We all know how many people go missing in there.

"Meanwhile, sightings of our elusive Zapdos have been down to a minimal. She's been around the Mt. Silver area again like reported earlier, without any signal that she's left recently or leaving anytime soon. So everybody take a deep breath and relax on that. Hopefully she'll stay calm and not shock my tower again.

"In the subject of Pokémon sightings, the Blackthorn Rangers don't have anything to report on the matter. Seven Rangers have been deployed to the previous areas I mentioned, with nothing noticed or deemed out of the ordinary. While this may be true for the moment, it doesn't take the fact that it's been mentioned to me that certain Pokémon have been found missing or missing their powers. Psychic types without their telepathy and Fire types without being able to breathe fire, among other things. It is this DJ's recommendation that all Pokémon stay within their owners Pokéballs, or safely away from whatever is out there. I'll keep reporting what keeps being sent my way, but for now stay safe."

The sound of shuffling papers came from Joy's Pokédex. "Oh, this just in! Apparently, we've gotten wind of a Cresselia sighting! Not official, mind you, but at least it's better than Zapdos or whatever other crazy critters are out going bump in the night. At least Cresselia won't go sucking out your soul, or whatever it is these Pokémon do. Anyway, stay safe out there. Music time!"

Music started to hum along, something that sounded more classical than the heavy metal stuff that was on a few minutes ago. I looked over to Jonathan, but he didn't return my attention. I turned to face what he was looking at, but I ran face first into a door.

"You need to pay more attention." Joy said, failing to stop her laughter.

I rubbed my nose. "Gee, thanks."

At least she made sure I hadn't broken anything. Deeming me fit enough to suffer a flick on my nose.

The Pokémon Center had a distinct lack of people in the main lobby. It seemed that trainers weren't willing to risk staying in such a high risk area. I wouldn't blame them, either. If I knew Zapdos was coming here, I'd run for the hills too.

Nurse Joy came and greeted us, after making sure that all our Pokémon were safe and sound. It was funny to see her react so strongly, but we complied when Joy insisted that we listen.

"Sis!" Nurse Joy exclaimed. "It's been so long! You never called or anything!"

Joy looked guilty, nodding. "Yeah, that was my bad. I got distracted."

Nurse Joy scoffed at that, but grabbed Joy and gave her a hug regardless. "Isabella, when have I not been happy to hear from you?"

Isabella? I looked at Jonathan, and he looked over to me. We both turned to see Joy squirm in her sisters grasp.

"Don't call me that!" Joy yelled, struggling. "How many times do I have to tell you never to call me that?!"

"Oh, I don't know, Isabella. Maybe a few hundred times in the last year? I might be exaggerating, though."

I coughed politely, and Nurse Joy turned to me. She immediately dropped Joy from her grasp, politely curtsying with a smile. "I'm so sorry for behaving so unprofessionally! Please, accept my apologies."

I shrugged. "I think you need to apologize to Joy."

Nurse Joy stood up straight, giving me a bright smile. "To her? Not a chance. You're a cute one, though, so I might have to think about it."

"SIS!"

"Oh, are you jealous now?" Nurse Joy asked, grinning at her sister brightly. "Don't tell me you haven't gotten him by now."

OK... totally wasn't expecting this. I looked over to Jonathan, who was shrugging at me. Thanks for the help, mister Ranger dude.

"Nurse Joy, is it true about the cave-in inside the Dark Cave?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

She nodded, walking around to her desk and spinning a monitor in our direction. The report stated that it came from the Blackthorn Rangers today, declaring that the Dark Cave was to be closed due to a cave-in. It continued to say that all trainers not authorized were to stay clear of the area. It gave a timetable to say that the cave would be ready for travel in about a weeks time. Jonathan looked over my shoulder and nodded.

"Yeah, sounds about right." he said, shrugging. "It'll probably take an extra week, all things considered. We don't have that kind of time to just waste. We'll press through Mount Mortar tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" I exclaimed. "At least let us rest for a day. Besides, I don't think that Nurse Joy would appreciate if we abducted her sister so soon."

"I'd be quite miffed, in all honesty." Nurse Joy chirped.

Jonathan sighed, shaking his head. "Fine. I'm going to sleep, though. Nurse Joy, can you make sure my Pokémon are fully healed?"

She nodded, smiling brightly. "Of course! The machine should be almost done right now. If you can wait a few minutes, I can give them to you."

He nodded, and Nurse Joy gave me a grin.

"So, has Isabella tried to get in your pants yet?"

"SIS!?!"

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Morning light barely filtered through the cloud cover above. It was a cloudy morning, but at least they were clear clouds instead of the opposite kind. Myself, Jonathan and Joy were standing in front of the ruins of the Brass Tower. Ruins was an understatement. Only the first floor was left, leaving a rather wide view of where the ceiling would stand. A flight of stairs led upwards to where the second floor would be. If, you know, if the whole tower was still intact.

I walked cautiously, Mist floating by my side the entire time. Baast stood close to Jonathan, while Ocelomah did the same next to Joy. I still couldn't think of her as Isabella. Maybe after some time I could, but not right now. Not after calling her Joy for all this time.

The boards under my feet groaned as I stood on a particular spot. I backpedaled quickly, my feet reacting before I knew what I should be doing. My heart pounded in my chest, the effort to breathe the chilled air burning my throat.

"Are you alright, Master?" Mist asked, her 'hands' on my shoulders. I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine now." I said panting. "Just lemme catch my breath."

"Hey, there's a flight of stairs that leads lower." Joy said loudly. "You guys want to check it out?"

I looked over to Mist, who smiled at me. "I will protect you, Master."

I nodded, heading to Joy's direction. The stairs looked extremely worn and rightly so. Who knew when the last person stood on these same wooden steps? I'm actually surprised that they've survived through the supposed fire. They're wood, right? It's not like there's some mystical power protecting some steps.

The wood didn't creak under our feet as we stepped lower and lower. The light didn't penetrate from above. I was in front of the group, Mist hovering nearby to guide me. Baast was right behind me, with Jon right behind her. Joy and Ocelomah were in the back. I grabbed Zin's Pokéball from my waist, revealing my Houndoom.

"Wow, it's dark." Zin remarked loudly. "Hey, where are we?"

"We're in the basement of the Brass Tower." I answered her. "Come over here for a second. I need your fire to help me find my flashlight."

She pressed against my side when I kneeled on the ground. Her teeth would spark, my vision taking in bits and pieces of my surroundings. I almost asked her to just hold a bit of flame for a moment, but it probably took more effort and energy than necessary. After some fumbling around, and almost getting a few sparks in my face, I managed to get my flashlight from the depths of my backpack. The light pierced the darkness around us effortlessly, revealing more fire damage than the first floor.

Statues in the shape of some kind of large bird rested in the darkness on the ground. The floor was rotted away in some places, revealing stone underneath. A shadow seemed to move out of my light, making my heart leap into my throat for a moment.

"Baast?" I called softly.

"Yes?"

"Can you detect if there's anyone down here? Pokémon or human?"

"I can try." she said softly. Silence followed her voice before she spoke again. "I do not detect anyone here, either Pokémon or human."

I nodded. "Thank you. I thought I saw something move."

"It is a possibility that you might have seen a ghost." Mist declared softly, hovering next to me. "A ghost that has shifted to the other world is extremely hard to detect with Aura."

"I can detect you just fine." Baast said with a distinct sneer.

"That is because I am anchored to this world." Mist explained, not rising to the Lucario's bait. "If there is a ghost Pokémon here, that is without a trainer, they can reach the other world easier, and escape your detection quicker."

"Either way, let's just take a peek around and get out of here." I said, frowning. "I don't feel all that safe here."

"Oh, don't be such a baby." Joy said loudly, slapping my back. "When do you plan on coming back to Johto?"

"If I have my way, never again. Not by plane, at least."

"Then that's more than enough to make sure that you see this place!" she said, pushing me forward to one of the fallen statues. "When are you going to see something like this again?"

"In a museum." I stated flatly.

She laughed. "Highly doubt that. These things haven't been moved since the fire. I highly doubt that anyone comes down here."

"Apparently the gym leader of Ecruteak takes care of the tower." Jonathan said.

"Well, he isn't here, right?" Joy pointed out. "It's not like we're going to steal one of these giant things. It would take some serious skill to pull that off."

I sighed, slowly walking toward one of the fallen statues. It was on its side, the magnificent brass coat was chipped. From what, I couldn't exactly tell. The statue itself was preserved, the details of the birds features as if the statue was carved just yesterday. The statues seemed to have a uniform coat once, but time and weather haven't been kind to them. The face of the depicted bird was smooth shaped, angled back in such a way that probably improved it's probable air speed. Around the eyes, the brass flakes were darker, probably to display that the feathers or whatever were darker than the rest of the body. The head was connected by a long neck. The body of the statue was huge, and it seemed that the wings were depicted to be draped like a cloak on top of the body.

I waved at Jonathan to come over. His footsteps were the only indicator that he was standing next to me. "Is this really supposed to be Lugia?"

"Probably." he said, his foot tapping. "We're going on legends here, so I'm not positive. Either way, let's move on, so we can get out of here."

I nodded, standing straight and feeling my spine pop. I placed my hand on the statue, feeling the cool metal on my skin. The light flowed over the back, revealing a long tail and what looked like plates on the statues back. I shrugged, putting the information in possible trivia that may be useful in the next twenty years.

Baast was tapping her foot impatiently, waiting for me to reach her. Zin rubbed against my feet gently as Mist smiled at me. "At least, it was an interesting diversion." I said idly.

"I feel sorrow here." Mist said enigmatically. "It feels as if someone died. Either they be Pokémon or human, I cannot say."

"Then let's leave." I said softly. Everyone seemed to wait for us at stairs. We joined them, leaving the old basement behind.

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Apparently, most of Ecruteak awakens during the middle of the day. The streets were crowded with people, entertainers and illusionists parading the corners with their tricks. Hawkers harped their wares, while musicians filled the air with a mixture of melancholy beats and upbeat tunes. It felt like a festival was underway, but nobody seemed to mind or care for the reason.

It was a good thing that we were headed to the relative quiet of the Bell Tower area. Unlike the Brass Tower, the Bell Tower was still in full service. People were still going inside of it, anyone from trainers dressed in casual ware to people that were dressed similarly to the monks from the monastery. Along the stone path that led to the entrance of the tower, there were stone statues. They were depicted of some kind of bird. A more slender face that was more looking of a bird than the one depicted in the Brass Tower statues. The head had a crown of feathers that stood in a row that started from the top of the head and went down to the base of the head. The feathers, though made of stone, were intricately detailed. The tail was like a fan made of stone feathers that stretched behind the statue. There was obvious care for these statues, for the stone didn't show any kind of abuse or neglect. Some statues were decorated with flowers. Others had incense burning at the statues claws.

Nobody paid us any mind that we were complete strangers, but some politely bowed in our direction. We bowed back out of politeness. Trainers with their Pokémon were kneeling, as if praying to one of the statues inside the building. The air, while pleasant, had a feeling that if I spoke, it would ruin the atmosphere of the place. Joy pointed to some stairs and we followed her lead. The second floor didn't have that many people, but the statues seemed to be larger. We continued going upwards, finding that the tower continued up to the ninth floor.

The final floor was a windswept platform, wooden rails protecting anyone from falling off the edge. There was a small roof above us, that housed six glass bells. Even though the wind was gusting, the round bells stood still without making a sound. An odd phenomenon, to be sure.

"It's said that they wont ring until Ho-oh comes back." Jonathan said as he stood next to me.

"Go figure." I said, shrugging. "The temptation to throw my shoe at one of them is pretty high."

Joy laughed, walking over to us. "That would be amazing." she said, grinning. "I'd pay to see that."

"Well, I'm not that stupid." I said, rolling my eyes. "Don't want to be kicked out, thank you very much."

"You know it'd be fun." Joy pointed out, giggling.

I shrugged, choosing not to answer her. She leaned on me, before pushing me between my shoulders. I stumbled forward, barely catching myself before falling face first on wood. Hanging in front of me were the ropes that would make the bells ring. For a moment, the temptation to pull one was pretty strong. Before anything could happen, Jonathan grabbed me and pulled me up.

"You alright?" he asked, brushing my shirt.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

I shook myself, standing by myself for the moment. Looking at the bells, it felt like something was missing from them. It was a feeling I couldn't explain at all, especially when I mentioned it out loud.

"And you just turned weirder." Jonathan said with a laugh. "This tower's been like this all this time, and no one's decided that something is out of place."

I shrugged, trying my best to ignore the feeling. It felt like something was being purposefully ignored. Was it just paranoia, though? The bells did look like nothing had happened to them. While they were out of my reach, they looked like no one had tampered with them. While it was most likely that they have been replaced in the last one hundred years, something still bugged me.

Joy prodded my shoulder, getting my attention. "You awake now?"

I turned to Joy, who had a grin on her face. "Oh, Isabella, what gave you that idea?"

Her grin didn't go away, but the sound of knuckles cracking made me slowly start backing away from her.

"What did I say about CALLING ME THAT?!"

Deciding that running was the best course of action, I did just that.

=====================/////////////////////////============================

The cavern that guided us to the innards of Mount Mortar cave system was brightly lit. Surprisingly, neither Jonathan or Joy mentioned it. I decided to bring it up.

"So, anyone surprised that there's light in this tunnel?" I asked.

Jonathan nodded. "Yeah, actually. It might be that someone posted them so they wouldn't get lost."

"That doesn't explain why it stops here, though." Joy mentioned.

The lights stopped at the entrance of a larger cavern. I didn't get a claustrophobic feeling, but it didn't help that I couldn't see the roof of the cave. Stalactites were barely visible from where we were standing. On the ground, there were a few stalagmites, but most seemed to have been cleared out. By what, though, I couldn't be sure. It seems more likely that someone used this to mark their way down, and forgot to continue afterwards.

"Do you think that one of the Rangers did this?" I asked. Jonathan shrugged for an answer.

Either case, I pulled out my flashlight before we moved on from the light. Flicking the switch on, stones as tall as I was greeted us before the light tapered off into the darkness. I couldn't even see one end of this cave from where we stood. Turning around to Jonathan, he gave me a questioning look.

"So, how many reports do you get for missing people here?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Too many, in all honesty. We're guaranteed one every two or three days, though. Some end up being false alarms, while most end up being real. We've saved more than I can count, but there's always that one that just happens and you end up with a life lost."

I didn't want to ask anymore. Joy patted me on the shoulder, a smile on her features. "We'll take it slow." she reassured. "We don't want to rush through somewhere dangerous now."

The thought of running into anything remotely similar to an Abomasnow sent a chill down my spine. If we had to take it slower, than by Arceus we will. Jon took point, leading the way forward through the first few turns. The sounds of something fluttering around sounded like something flying overhead. I looked upwards, but Joy grabbed my shoulders and pushed me forward gently. Turning to face her, she placed a finger on her lips, silencing me before I could say anything.

Jonathan lead us to the entrance of another tunnel. It led us downward, the steps seemingly worn through age. They were maintained well enough, somehow. The how, I decided not to think about. The sound of rushing water was quick to be noticed, considering that any other sound was our breathing and our steps. I didn't count the occasional rustling of wings. They were too infrequent for me to consider them a nuisance or constantly noticeable.

The tunnel was unlit, unlike the first one. How the waters moved was beyond my considerable thought. I didn't see any way that water was coming into the mountain, but it obviously was. The current seemed strong as well, the water lapping at the sides of the stone lined waterway. I looked over to Jonathan and Joy, who were moving over to what looked like a stone bridge. The railing, if there was one to speak of, was made of fine rope that seemed more dangerous to hold than not. They waited for me to approach them, but at least the bridge itself looked sturdy.

I took the lead this time, my light shining ahead. With one hand on the rope and the other holding my flashlight, we moved in a file along the bridge. The ground rumbled slightly under our feet, but nothing came to stop us. The bridge ended, only to leave us stranded in an island. Another bridge connected from the island we stood on to the far side. My flashlight showed a flight of Zubats flying toward us. The wings rustled above us, the screeching echoing all around as they flew. For a moment, my hand went to one of my Pokéballs, but none of the Zubat flew to harass us any further.

The thought of a Pokémon harassing the Zubat didn't bode well for me. It isn't that they weren't easily startled enough, but I didn't want to see what would startle them on purpose. I really didn't want to find a Steelix or something big hiding under a rock.

"So, what are the odds of having an Onyx under us?" I asked. My voice echoed throughout the vast chamber.

"Pretty good. Why do you ask?" Jonathan said.

"Because I want to know if I should be preparing myself to run." I answered, a group of Rattata hissing at us before taking off into the darkness.

"Oh, don't be such a baby, Aaron." Joy said, giggling again. "We'll be just fine."

"What would be odds of still having radio reception in here?" I asked.

"Probably shit to none." she responded, but still pulling out her Pokédex. We were all surprised when the initial burst of static turned into the familiar voice of the Goldenrod DJ.

"Well, good afternoon, everybody! It's one hot day out there, so I hope you all bought some sun screen or something. For those out around the Mount Mortar area, take care. We all know how dangerous that whole place is.

"The Rangers of Blackthorn, Arceus bless them, have reinstated Code Lightning once more. I can already hear the complaining all over here, but at least they say that Zapdos is headed towards the west instead of back around to Goldenrod. So, I'd say that means any of you from Olivine City. We got nothing else, except from the paper that the Rangers handed us. So, I don't know any more than any of you all do now.

"Other than that, the rumor mill spins around and 'round. Calls coming in about more odd Pokémon appearing, though still no confirmation from the Rangers about this new phenomenon. So, I say again, everyone needs to take care and not do something stupid. Stay away from weird looking things that go around bump in the night. Listen to your moms, kids, it might just save your life.

"Also, to whoever stole that stuffed Pikachu from the Catch-Em show in Jubilife. You have people looking for you. Apparently, there's some crazy people that are willing to buy that thing for a good chunk of change. So, if you're looking to sell, come on over to Goldenrod! I got a few contacts that I can give you.

"That's all the news for now. All you trainers stay safe out there, and keep your ears open here on the only station from Goldenrod, giving you everything raw as we get it! Now, to some music. The Shredder's are getting pretty popular now, no thanks to us I bet. Here's another single from their album "Dragonite Nights". I'll let you all listen to the music and not my raspy voice."

With that declaration, the voice swapped for music that began with a solid guitar rift. Joy turned off the radio before the song started getting good.

The water around us splashed loudly against stone, drops of it landing on my skin. While I wanted a closer look to where the water was, it didn't seem like the safest idea in the world. We continued onward, using the second bridge to move forward now.

"You know, I thought this place was dangerous." I said out loud.

"It is. We just haven't reached the bottom yet." Jonathan said.

"Well, so far we've only found Zubat's and Rattata's. They haven't even bothered to stop for longer than screech or hiss at us. Really, so far all this is an overblown distress."

Joy and Jonathan didn't respond to my outburst. I shrugged. "I mean, maybe we'll find something, but it sure doesn't look like it."

"Pray that Arceus favors us and we don't." Jonathan said grimly.

I raised an eyebrow in concern, but I highly doubt he noticed it. We reached the end of the second stone bridge, finding a path that led downwards into around another bend and into flatter areas. The path turned about a few times, leaving me with the impression that the farther we went, the less maintained the path became. Rocks and stone littered the path alongside miscellaneous food items. My light brightened the area, and I noticed an abandoned backpack on the corner. Four crushed Pokéballs lay alongside it, with a crushed hat that probably wasn't originally red.

Jonathan stood up, and I prayed to Arcues that the grin on his face was for a joke. "See what I mean?"

Without any hesitation, he grabbed the backpack and looked for something inside. We waited for a moment, before he pulled out a Pokédex. It was crushed from what I could see.

"It'll allow us to ID the trainer, at the very least. Not here, obviously." he said, stashing his prize away. "We better get moving. This doesn't look that old."

"Which means?" I asked.

"Which means that whatever ended up killing this trainer could be around the corner." Joy hissed at me. "Let's get moving before we end up being a Crobats lunch!"

"Or worse." Jonathan said, before brushing his knees. "Let's move."

With no more arguments from anyone, we continued onwards, leaving the rest of the previous trainers belongings behind.

===========================//////////////////============================

Our camp was on the same path that anyone would be able to see. With no way to make a fire, Zin was more than happy to help us cook with her flame. As long as she kept the smog to a minimum. I decided to not use any kind of seasoning in the noddles this time, to avoid attracting anything else by the smell.

I passed out the bowls, to the gratitude of Joy and Jonathan. Zin demanded a bowl for herself, so I shared mine with her since we only had three. I also volunteered for first watch, noticing that everyone else was more tired than I was. Zin was more than happy to stay up with me, refusing to rest until Joy or Jonathan relieved me of guard duty.

We didn't bother unpacking our tents, but they did use their sleeping bags. With the 'campfire' out, my flashlight was the only way to see if anything was coming our way. Other than Zin's excellent night vision, of course. Not to discredit her usefulness, but I would prefer if she was asleep. She sat next to me, stoically watching for anything suspicious that might appear from the darkness.

"Master?" she whispered.

"You see something?"

"No, it's not that." she said, her tail thumping against my back. "Where are we?"

"We're inside Mount Mortar in Johto." I answered. The light from my flashlight danced in the darkness as I looked around. "Are you worried about something?"

"A little bit." she answered evasively. "I don't like places like this."

I put my hand behind her horns, scratching gently. She leaned against me, resting her head on my arm.

"We'll be fine." I reassured her. "We've made it this far without any problems. I'm pretty sure we'll be on the other side soon."

She didn't respond, but nodded all the same. I sighed, wrapping my left arm around her. Zin licked at my hand, her body heat keeping me warm. While it wasn't terribly cold or chill inside of Mount Mortar, there was an obvious temperature difference. It was nice to feel heat again.

"You owe me." she said, snuggling against me.

"I thought I paid you back on the airplane."

"Nope. Not enough, anyway."

I sighed, smiling at her. "Hey, when have things gone so bad."

She stared up at me, raising an eyebrow like if I was crazy. I sighed. "OK, ignoring the fact that we have a crazy legendary or two following us as we speak."

"Exactly why you're crazy." she pointed out.

I grinned at her. "We'll manage."

"Uh huh. Is that what you thought when Song lost her powers?"

Low blow. I frowned, shaking my head. "No, I didn't."

"Then what makes you think we have a better chance than before?"

"Because we've been training." I pointed out. "Probably not as much as we should, but we're better than back then."

"I have to believe that we've gotten better." I continued, sighing. "If not... we're dead meat."

========================////////////////////////==========================

"Good morning, everybody! I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this comes from official Blackthorn Ranger business, so listen up. Olivine City was hit last night by our resident Zapdos. The power's out in the entire city, with the sole exception of the lighthouse, thanks to the Ampharos that the city treasures so much. Also, a few buildings have been damaged in varying degrees. So far, I've heard of no injuries, Arceus be praised.

"I also got a report from the Ecruteak Pokémon Center telling me that there's three kids inside of Mount Mortar. You three got a pile of guts, or are straight stupid. Either way, it's my best hope that if you're listening in that you're all safe and sound. I don't want to announce any more deaths from that place, alright?

"No more witness calls for those random sightings of strange Pokémon, either. I wonder if the Blackthorn Rangers put a stop to that? Cresselia hasn't been confirmed or denied, but neither have any of the other sightings. We might have some kind of mystery in our hands. Since when has our little Johto been the center of some wild adventure? I blame that Zapdos, that's for sure. Either way, this is your trusty DJ signing off for now. Time for the All Random button!"

With that, the voice of the radio cut off to be replaced with music. Joy turned it off, grumbling as we stood up and cleaned up our camp. Xola was more than generous enough to blast our cook pot clean, but insisted in walking with us. I only allowed her because of Zin giving me a dirty look. My only requirement is that if I called her back, it was to be without argument.

The path guided us towards another cave, going downwards. I wondered how many more tunnels we had to go through. This one was short, and we were once again greeted by running water. Unlike the previous floor above us, there weren't any stone bridges to take us across. I looked over to Xola, who grinned at me.

"Why are you grinning at me?" I asked.

"Because you get to ride me." she said, sliding her body closer to me.

Bad thoughts go away. Bad thoughts, go away! "Wouldn't it be easier to just use Spirit to fly over?" I pointed out.

She shook her head. "Nope."

I sighed, looking over to Joy and Jonathan who had their flying dragons out of their Pokéballs. Xola wasn't having much of it, insisting that we should swim. I sighed, pulling off my backpack and passing it over to Jonathan. He looked at me with a sour expression.

"You're just letting her do that?" he asked, frowning.

"Either that or making her angry." I said with a shrug. I turned my attention to Xola. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

She slid into the water and began to tread water in front of us. Jonathan sighed. "It's your funeral." he said grimly, climbing on top of Storm.

I nodded, using my flashlight to see where we were headed. Spotting the shore on the opposite side, I pointed at it with the light. "Meet you over there, alright?" I said.

"We'll follow you from above." Joy said, patting one of Zefyra's heads. "We'll dive down and get you if for any reason that light stops moving."

"Don't go hitting no rocks now." I said, pointing upwards. Both Joy and Jonathan laughed.

"I'm more confident in Storm's night vision than mine." Jon said, chuckling.

"Yeah, Zefyra's night vision is second to none, in my opinion." Joy said proudly.

I nodded. "Alright, I'll see you all on the other side."

I approached the water, pleasantly surprised that the water was of room temperature. If something, I'd say being dumped with near boiling water. Xola looked fine, but it worried me that she was hiding if the water was uncomfortable. She didn't let me voice my concern, sliding in place so I would be sitting on her back. Before any words left my mouth, Xola was swimming across the water. My hands gripped her scales tightly, but she didn't give any indication that she was in pain. I was just thankful that there was no current to throw us off course. Water splashed on my flashlight and soaked into my clothes, but Xola continued on.

Something bumped into my right leg, but I didn't bother to see what it was. I didn't feel any sharp teeth or anything tearing off my leg, so it was better not to press my luck. I kept my focus forward, continuing to point my light to where we could climb out of the water. Thankfully, only the earlier brush up was the only encounter we found, the flapping sounds above us making me look up. Joy and Jonathan landed soon after we washed up on the beach, both of my friends nodding at me.

"Good thing you didn't find anything threatening there, huh?" Joy said, shoving me gently.

"It could have been worse." I said with a grin.

The ground rumbled slightly underneath us. Jonathan gave me a deadpan glare.

"You just had to say that, didn't you?"

We stood our ground, but nothing immediately happened. No gigantic Pokémon threatened our safety, and I began to relax. Joy grabbed my collar and pulled me out of the way. Before I could say anything, a boulder flew through where my head was a moment earlier.

"Gravelers!"

I noticed the plural use. Using my flashlight, I guesstimated where the rock came from. The four hands of the rocky Pokémon were easy to spot. Xola took direct action, blasting a powerful jet of water toward her target. The Graveler lost its grip and fell down.

"Jon! Are we near an exit?!" I yelled out.

"Start running!" he said, recalling his Dragonite and running towards us. Joy recalled her Hydreigon and grabbing me to get me started. I whipped out my own Pokéball to recall Xola. I wasn't going to have her hurt again. Her outline glowed red, and saw her being recalled back to safety. My hands placed her Pokéball back in place on my belt, allowing me to focus on running. Rocks pounded around us as we ran. Jonathan turned a corner, turning left and disappearing from my flashlight's range. Joy followed Jon, and I noticed the cave entrance that they took. Following them, the stairs led upward this time unlike the other two. The ground rumbled, throwing me off balance for a moment. A hand grabbed me from behind, pulling me backwards and throwing me off balance. Rough fingers dug into my skin, my shoulder popping as I tried to pull myself from the Graveler's grasp.

My flashlight fell against the stone steps, my free hand grabbing a Pokéball but failing to grasp it completely. I could hear the metallic pinging of the sphere hitting stone alongside the plastic sound of my flashlight. Pain shot through my right shoulder, the spot feeling like as if a needle speared right into the bone. I screamed as those stony fingers tightened their grip on my skin and pulled me backwards.

The rocky fingers let go of me, my body slumping against the stone steps. My shoulder ached, but I managed to ignore it when I saw Deoxys standing in front of me. His body was covered in a golden light, a light in the darkness. The sound of rock grinding against rock echoed in the tunnel, the grip on my body leaving me instantly. I closed my eyes as pain lanced through my arm as I struggled to stand. Deoxys grabbed hold of me, lifting me up from the ground to allow me to stand.

"Are you alright?" he asked, though his voice was softer. I would dare say more feminine, but I think I would blame that to insanity.

"Something hurts a lot." I said, gritting my teeth. "My shoulder hurts."

I didn't see Deoxys acknowledge me, but I did feel my feet being lifted from the ground. My body protested by shooting more pain, but Deoxys was as considerate as he could. The flashlight floated next to me, and his Pokéball landed on my stomach. My left hand grasped the sphere, fingers clutching it tightly. The feeling of being hopeless being forefront in my mind. Strangely, there was no jarring as Deoxys carried me up. Was Deoxys walking at all? I couldn't look down to his feet, but I couldn't feel him taking any steps.

We emerged from the tunnel, Jonathan appearing and looking surprised. "What happened?!" he exclaimed, grabbing hold of my arm.

"A Graveler grabbed hold of his shoulder, displacing it." Deoxys said calmly. Again, his voice was a different pitch.

"Is he going to be alright?" Joy asked. "And are those rocks still after us?"

"My Master will be fine, I assure you." he said soothingly. "And no, I do not think so."

It bugged me that his voice was starting to sound like a mixture of Zin's and Xola's. Joy and Jonathan didn't react any more than being relieved that we weren't followed. I frowned, trying to figure out if it was just me hearing things. Deoxys noticed my troubled face.

"Did you change the pitch of your voice?" I asked.

Deoxys smiled at me with his eyes again. He nodded. "Yes. I noticed that all of your Pokémon are female, and I thought you would be more comfortable if I matched the tone of voice that you are used to."

I blinked, feeling confused. Pain boiled through my right arm again, making me hiss in discomfort. Deoxys placed me down, sitting me on a rock as he looked over me. My flashlight was still hovering due to his power. Wait, should I think of Deoxys as a him or her now? I sighed, feeling more confused than ever on such a simple seeming subject.

"Were you more comfortable with me speaking as a male?" she asked, placing her hands on my shoulder.

In all honesty, it was confusing that Deoxys could shift his / her voice to be either sex. The cynical part of my mind wanted to label him as an 'it' and declare it done. I shook my head.

"You should talk however you want." I said, sighing. "If you're more comfortable talking like a guy or girl is none of my business."

"I would rather prefer to keep speaking this way, if you do not mind." Deoxys said, in his feminine speaking voice.

"I guess I'll have to start thinking of you as a female, then." I said, shaking my head in defeat.

"I'm going to set your shoulder back in place. Feel free to scream." she said stoically.

"What are you do-"

I screamed, pain like I've never felt before shooting through my body. Tears marred my vision, my lungs desperate to take as much air as they could hold. Joy came over and slapped me across the face, silencing me effectively. Deoxys narrowed her eyes at Joy, as if debating if to blast the human apart.

"I believe he is well in his rights to scream if he is in pain." Deoxys said plainly.

"Not if he's going to wake up the two Steelix that are around the corner." she hissed back.

I sighed. "Jonathan?" I called.

"Don't get me in your lady problems, alright?" he said, still looking down the tunnel we climbed up with my flashlight.

"I was going to ask how far away we are from the other side."

"Oh. Well, we're through the worst part. So, probably another day?"

Awesome.

A roar shook the ground, as my light flashed over the polished metal of a rising Steelix. The only other indication was the ground shaking that they were awake. Jonathan turned around and I grabbed my flashlight from his clutches. I traced the bodies up to their faces, finding both of their faces staring down at us.

"This is bad." I said unnecessarily.

"No SHIT!" Joy screamed at me.

Both Steelix dove for us. I grabbed Spirit's Pokéball and was about to release it when Deoxys stepped forward, jumping towards the giant Pokémon. Deoxys' tentacles slapped the first Steelix out of the way, a beam of ice appearing from the other two stopping the other in its tracks. The ground rumbled as the first one stood back up again, lunging at Deoxys from behind.

My warning didn't make it in time, the Steelix ramming its gigantic bulk against Deoxys small frame. Joy grabbed my hand before I could open Spirit's Pokéball. I looked at her, trying to escape her grip, but she shook her head. Turning back up to see how Deoxys was holding up, the one that tackled her from behind was looking confused. Where was Deoxys? The Steelix looked like it was asking itself the same question. The second Steelix stood up again, half of its face covered in a sheet of ice. Another beam of ice hit the half frozen one from behind, as Deoxys moved to a better position. As that one went down again, the other turned to face Deoxys, to have a beam of ice blasted to its face, too.

The still standing Steelix decided to back out of the fight, rumbling away before Deoxys decided that it needed more encouragement. Both Pokémon could be heard rumbling away as Deoxys came back down to our level. I looked at her with my mouth slightly agape.

"Is there a problem?" she asked calmly.

====================/////////////////////////========================

It was late afternoon as we came out of Mount Mortar. The sunlight was still bright in my eyes, and I was squinting to block out the most of it out. Deoxys was still out of her Pokéball, and my brain was still trying to process how he went from male to female.

Thankfully, the route to reach Mahogany Town wasn't very long, taking us the rest of what was left of the daylight to get to the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy didn't argue our case, but demanded that I rested here for at least a day to make sure that no serious injury would occur. Jonathan argued, even pulling out rank on her, but Nurse Joy refused to budge. Deoxys didn't help his case when she admitted that she relocated whatever it was back into place.

"Yeah, we're not going anywhere, Jonathan." Joy said with a shrug.

He sighed. "Get better quickly, kid." he said, before turning around and taking Joy with him back outside the center.

Nurse Joy sighed, shaking her head, before turning to me with a worried look. "Can you walk?" she asked.

I nodded. "I think so. My legs didn't get injured."

"Lets get you over to one of the medical rooms, just in case." she said, leading the way. Deoxys and I followed her lead, keeping up with her pace easily. Down the hallway, we passed a few doors before Nurse Joy opened one to our right. Inside was a bed with a chair in the corner, medical equipment at the ready with a Chansey saluting.

"At ease." Nurse Joy said, saluting back at the Chansey. "This trainer is to be monitored for any more bodily harmed. His Pokémon have been given a clean bill of health, so now we have to concentrate on his."

Nurse Joy and Deoxys helped me get on the bed, Chansey bringing all kinds of tools to Nurse Joy's disposal. A blood sample was drawn, as a few things were pumped into my system. I started to get drowsy, but I couldn't tell if it was from something that was injected or just general exhaustion.

"We'll let you rest for now, and I'll come check on you in a few minutes." Nurse Joy said, patting my good shoulder and walking away. Chansey followed, while Deoxys pulled the chair and sat down next to the bed.

I turned to face Deoxys, but these stupid fluffy pillows make it easy to relax and go to sleep. "Since when did you think that being female would make it easier for us to talk?" I asked bluntly.

Deoxys blinked, looking confused. "I am sorry if it wasn't your wish. I could change back if you desire."

I shook my head, frowning. "It's fine. Really, it is. I just want to know why."

Deoxys nodded, her eyes wide. "You seem to interact better in the presence of a female. I wish to interact with you more, in all kinds of levels of being."

"Deoxys." I said, but she stopped me by shaking her head.

"Spirit acts like a mother to you, Zin and Akalia are like mates to you, while Xola is like a younger sister or close friend. Mist takes the older sister roll. I do not know what Song is, seeing as I did not interact with her directly. But, you were extremely close to her, so I can infer that you know each other very well.

"I want to know about these connections. Why are these individuals so deeply tied to you? What do they gain from being so close? And where do I fit in?"

Suddenly, having Deoxys with me is becoming more complicated than I dared think. Is Joy having any similar problems with Victini? Somehow, I highly doubted it. Just because it's the nature of these things. My left hand covered my face, rubbing my eyes in a vain attempt to understand what was going through Deoxys' brain.

"Let me get this straight." I said, sighing. "You want to get to know me better, while finding out how you fit in this weird family that I seem to have. Is that it in an Apricorn?"

She looked at me quizzically, her eyes widening larger before Deoxys nodded slowly. "I want to know where I belong." she said simply. "That is all I want."

I frowned, the anesthetic drugs beginning to kick in. My thought process felt slow, but I tried to reach out to her with my good hand. Deoxys gently took hold of it, holding my hand.

"I'm going to say this while I'm still conscious, and still sane despite pain and drugs. You're here because you want to be. If you want to be more, you can take that up with Zin, Akalia, and Mist. I'm more than willing to be your friend. You don't have to ask for permission to be that. You saving me today was enough to seal the deal, like being here putting up with my stupidity wasn't enough."

I looked at the door for a moment, and shrugged. I silently hoped that Nurse Joy wasn't evasdropping. "All I'm going to say, if you want to be more... physical... you run the idea past everyone else. I'm pretty sure they'll want to know beforehand. I really don't want an angry Houndoom biting my leg. Or getting shocked by a Luxray. Or being spirited away by a Mismagius. I really don't. That's all I'm asking."

She sat there, staring at me like I just revealed some grand secret to her. Deoxys' hands were around my neck, hugging me gently against her chest. Did her body grow breasts, too? I wasn't going to argue with what my brain told me.

"You should rest now, Master." Deoxys said, looking down at me. I sighed, shrugging as best I could.

"I figured as much." I said, sighing. She relaxed her grip on me, brushing my hair back from my face.

I closed my eyes, slowly dwindling to sleep. I could still feel her touch on my arm, and it was the last thing I remembered as I slipped into unconsciousness.