FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

“We missed you, James." a pink haired man wearing a white nurse's uniform said while standing next to the suspended police detective. “Some of us thought that you had decided to give up coming here," the shorter male looked into a windowed room in between them, his orange eyes refusing to look into the face of the man he secretly lusted after.

“Sorry about that Kiki, but I was away on assignment." there was no point in hiding anything from the other, considering that they were childhood friends.

“You work too much." a stray hand reached up to push away a lock of long pink hair hanging in front of the nurse's face.

“Heh, you're one to walk. When was the last time you sat down to have a good home cooked meal?"

“Two weeks, at least." a sour smile graced the effeminate man's lips, “We've had new cases pop up recently and the doctors on the top floor have been trying to do everything they can to keep them, and us, from getting out of hand." James's red eyes narrowed at hearing this.

“How many?" looking into the room at a little boy playing with a Sandshrew doll, James smiled softly. All would have seemed rather benign with this scene had it not been for the fact that the little boy's entire left side was a mutated patchwork of Rapidash muscle. One cloven arm hung limply by the child's side as an IV ran through it.

“Ten, that I know of," that drew the blue haired man's attention, “there's something going on up in the ICU, but no one without doctor level clearance can get up there."

Looking around the nearly vacant hall, James leaned in close, “Want me to see if I can get Mimi to hack into the hospital computer system for you?" that Kiki flushed somewhat hotly was not missed by the older man.

“N-no," nervous breaths left the nurse's pale pink lips as he finished speaking, “I already asked a friend who works here to do that for me." Kiki's heart raced so fast that he sure that his blood pressure was going to spike, “I'm going to see what they can find, and if it turns out to be important, should I have a talk with that reporter friend of yours?"

James could just imagine how much Patrick would salivate over just a bare hint of information as juicy as this, the journalist having been blocked at every turn to report on the happenings of Team Fusion by his superiors.

Looking back at the hybridized child pressing his hoofed hand into his doll as he attempted to pick it up, the suspended detective found himself snarling slightly.

“Sure, but let me know of what you find, first."

“I thought you were on extended vacation?" that earned Kiki a Persian-like smile.

“A cop is a cop, even when he's not a cop." tinkling laughter echoed throughout the hallway, drawing the attention of those passing by.

“That was cute." the pink haired nurse gave the little boy and his Sandshrew a small wave before pulling back to look up at James. “By the way, since you've been back you've yet to organize a poker night. Why is that?" James looked down somewhat abashedly.

“You've been working on this case ever since you were put on leave, haven't you?"

“Kinda." in truth he had been losing sleep looking into every source he could to try and find out what little details he could on the mysterious fusion stones Team Fusion had created. So far he hadn't found anything worthwhile, just bits and pieces of old legends which seemed to lead nowhere.

“I thought your eyes were looking a bit baggy,"

“Shut up." Kiki giggled when the other took a mock swipe at him. “When's the next time you have off?" the suspended officer waved to the little boy when he caught the child's attention, his face tight even though he smiled earnestly.

“Some of us are planning to go on strike soon, so let's say this Friday?"

'Strike?! What the hell?!', James managed to keep his surprise from showing, but just barely.

“Ok. I'll see what Mimi and Matt are into this weekend, and then we can...," a wailing siren caught both men's attention."

“KIKI!!" the pink haired man whipped his head just in time to see a black haired female nurse shouted as several orderlies pushing gurneys ran past her.

“We've got several more coming in! All of them Code Orange!"

Without a word, the pink haired nurse dashed off.

James didn't say a peep as he watched his childhood friend go. Instead, he turned to look at the little boy who was now snuggling into his pillow in an attempt to sleep, the little Sandshrew doll held protectively within his equine embrace.

By the time the blue haired man left the hospital his features were so dark that it looked as though thunder might shoot from his forehead.

'Ten more people and pokemon whose lives are now in shambles.' the man hissed as he made his way from the hospital grounds pass the bus station. 'And what is anyone doing about it? Nothing. Not even the police.' that was the thing that hurt the most about this entire ordeal.

After learning about the leak that had been found within force James had gone from pillar to post trying to figure out who he could trust and who had an agenda. Of the almost hundred members of the main Torren Police Department, James found himself startled by the answer. 'I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that we can't protect the people being turned into chimera when we can't even keep our own house clean!' the growl that filled his throat was deep enough to make several passing heads turn.

As he headed back home, the blue haired man didn't take notice of how dark the sky was becoming, his attention almost completely turned inward. Yet, when a voice called out, the blue haired man stopped in his tracks,

“Hey, can you spare some change, kid?"

Looking down at a man wearing an oversized and ragged coat, James didn't bother to ask any questions as he reached into his pocket and then pulled out a single bill.

“Thanks son," the old guy, who looked to have been missing some teeth, nodded before hunkering down next to a Snubbull who was currently asleep. “Now I can get this chowhound something decent for dinner tonight."

“There's a couple of shelters that will take you and your pokemon in for the night, guy," James had made it a goal to learn where each of the local soup kitchens and rooming houses were during his time off, being homeless for several months while undercover had taught him the value of knowing where to get a good meal could be.

“Hehe, it's ok," the man started hacking, a dry wheeze eating up his voice as he finished speaking. “I won't make it pass tonight, but I did want to get this guy something nice before I set him free."

“Sir?" overlooking the elderly gentleman, the blue haired officer found himself immediately assessing the senior in front of him.

What he saw made James' blood run cold,

'The guy has pneumonia.'

“Don't worry about it none," the unnamed man said with a wave of his hand. “I know my time has been coming for a while now, but I just wanted to stick and around to make sure of something before I left for the spirit world."

James looked ready to say something but before he could a crack of thunder tore his attention away from the man. Looking up, he saw that it was only going to be another few minutes before it began pissing ran,

“Sir, why don't...you...l.." blinking, James saw that the man and his Snubbull were gone. In their place was the single bill that James had given him. “Oh please tell me that I'm not going crazy." Staring at the piece of colored paper sitting on the sidewalk, James reached down to grab for it, but before he could a stray wind tore it from his reach.

Not sure he wanted to analyze the situation too deeply, he bowed his head and then turned to start a fast track home.

The rain caught him long before he was halfway home.

Back inside of his apartment, James made his way towards the kitchen. His entire body dripping wet.

“What do you want for dinner, Chris?" the crimson eyed pokemon looked to him curiously as a masked head popped out from his bedroom door. “Oh, I'm back by the way," a roll of the fighting-steel type's eyes made the human laugh.

Watching as his partner came to stand next to him, James didn't bother to stop the Lucario as the Aura pokemon began to pull his clothes off from his lanky body. It was a well known fact to anyone that knew them that Chris acted like the detective's roommate rather than his pokemon servant. This often became a running joke between those in the police force, Matt even poking fun at the two as he teased James about being so domesticated. This often earned the dark skinned man a one fingered salute.

Once James was stripped down, the Lucario took the wet clothing over to the dryer hidden at the end of the hallway and then dumped them in. Pressing the START button, the masked jackal closed the closet door and then returned to his master's side.

“Thanks Chris." James smiled when a grumbling bark answering his verbal appreciation.

When the fighting-steel type walked into the kitchen where the human was, he pressed his nose into the blue haired man's neck. James chuckled when the Aura pokemon began to sniff him. “Don't worry," the man began as he opened the cabinet to pull out a two cans of pokemon food, “No strangers came and tried to hurt me today. I promise." to say that Chris did not like for his human to leave him alone inside of the apartment was an understatement, however, James knew that the masked jackal needed time out of his pokeball and away from him, and so they had agreed that one day out of the week the Lucario would have the place all to himself, “Did any calls come for me?"

Shaking his head, the fighting-steel type licked his partner's neck, murring somewhat happily as he listened to James giggle, before he pulled himself away.

“Hmm, guess Matt hasn't found out anything yet," the older cop had been going through his own sources trying to figure out the happenings with Team Fusion, but it was like the group had vanished into thin air.

'And with so many people coming into the city for the Annual Pokemon Fair the cases that are stacking up on his desk are probably going to eat away at what little time Matt has to look for them." the blue haired man just knew that there were bound to be more than a few people who ended up Fused, or worse and that made James punch the wall in front of him.

A large paw reached out and rubbed at his back.

“Thanks Chris."

The Lucario gently whimpered as it pressed itself into its human.

Dinner was a simple affair - Rapidash meat filled with dried berry slices - and once finished James and his partner found themselves sitting in the living room, the human idly flipping through the various channels of the house's only digital tv. Chris watched the storm outside, the rain now falling freely onto the outside patio deck. The blue haired man settled on the new, his curiosity about the happenings in the region piqued. This turned out to be a mistake. The reports streaming through the local stations were, at best, dreadfully dull, not mention exceptionally uninformative.

'Guess there must be a press blackout enforced throughout the area.' that was the only reason why none of the reports streaming along the bottom of the screen so much as attempted to make mention of anything related to the Fused, or the people in the hospital.

Outside the studio apartment, the winds howled low and long like a starved Arcanine.

“Here," James waved the remote control over to Chris, “you can watch your show. I'm going to settle down and take a nap." the Lucario took the clicker gratefully. Watching the channels change until the the martial arts network popped up, the blue haired man could only smile as he watched how quickly his partner became engaged in the well polished moves that the various pokemon and people shifted into while sparring together on screen.

Shifting himself down until his head was on the armrest, James yawned behind his hand as he let himself drift off. The last thought on his mind being that he couldn't shake the feeling that he was forgetting something.

'Chris'll wake me if anything happens,'

It was hours later when the ringing of his landline phone woke him. Blinking, the crimson eyed human sat up and then looked around. A stray glance down revealed that his partner was now curled up along the floor, the fighting-steel type blinking as one eye opened just a crack to stare at him. Hearing the house phone ring again, James reached out to grab the receiver.

“Good evening?" he answered somewhat groggily.

“Mr. Adali?" James noted that the voice on the other end was female. Somewhat young, at that.

“Yes, this is he. Who is this?"

Several seconds of silence followed with,

“You want to know about the fusion stones, right?"

“I do, but again, who is this?" the Lucario sprung up at hearing the nervous tick within his owner's voice.

“There's something you need to know about those who have been hospitalized after being turned chimera,"

“I'm listening."

“The stone you were given, it doesn't do what has been done to those poor creatures."

“And how do you know this?" it was times like this that James wished he could order a wiretap, but instead, the man had to make due with tilting the phone to the side so both he and Chris could hear the conversation.

“Because I didn't design the stones to be used by those who don't possess the right...aptitude," both James and Chris stared at each other wide eyed at that. “someone else is trying to recreate copies of what I have made, but they don't have my knowledge."

“And what knowledge is that?"

“Have you ever heard of the theory of how, as this world evolves, it will begin to create new lifeforms from a mixture of the two most dominant species until there's only a single organism left to claim the planet?"

“You're talking about the Theory of Amalgamation by Association - Edgar Drice's hypothesis - if I remember correctly." the idea was that because of their close relationship with one another that pokemon and humans were on the road towards a mutation for which had never before been seen. It was somewhat of a ludicrous thought to the learned men of the world, since it would mean that humans were actually pokemon on a base genetic level. But then again, there had been far stranger things to have crept up throughout the world in the past ten years, so perhaps...

“Yes. I...I think that I'm proof of that theory."

“Do you need protection?" James pulled the phone up to his ear as he and his partner made a beeline for the bedroom.

Having been a police officer as long as he had, the blue haired man knew that these were the types of people who were either completely insane...or for real.

And from the steadiness in her voice, James didn't think the mystery woman was playing pretend.

“Haha, that's very kind of you, but no." James was pulling his clothes from his dresser at the same time Chris was looking for his shoes, “What I need is for you to stop those people who are trying to fool the world with their fakes before someone else ends up hurt."

“Keep talking," he struggled to get on his uniform pants while Chris snatched his shirt and vest from the nearby closet.

“These people - they don't have a name for themselves yet - they are manufacturing lookalike fusion stones and giving them out to trainers on the strength that they can make one's pokemon even stronger." James hummed a conformation at that at the same time he threw on his shirt and vest. “However, the sad truth is that they are using the unwitting in order to test the potency of their product."

“Where are they operating from?"

“Their main location is someplace you could never get to,"

“Try me." James was willing to do whatever it took in order to see these people stopped, even if that meant going back underground to the Black Market again to find the perps.

“You…" a short pause followed with the sounds of something slamming in the background. The sounds of bickering voices followed by sharp, but low barks had the hairs on the back of James neck standing up. He just finished tying his shoes when the woman's voice return to the line, a door slamming behind her.

“What's going on?!" Chris's ears twitched as he watched his master frown in worry.

“That fool! He went on ahead, even after I told him not to!" there was fear mixed with aggravation souring the female's voice now.

“Who are you talking about?"

“Do you know where the Torren Fair is?" James nodded and then realized she couldn't see him.

“I do."

“Look for a purple tent that leads underground over there,"

“Can you explain the situation better? It sounds like there's more going on here than either of us can handle."

“Don't worry, I can handle myself."

The tension that brewed within the air became thick enough that James could almost choke on it. Whatever was in this woman's head, the blue haired man knew that it wouldn't be a good thing for her thoughts became reality.

“When you get to where you need to be expect to run into several dozen well experienced trainers, not to mention thirty or so of their version of Fused."

James paused from where he was shoveling potions and berries into his pokebag as he let those words spin around inside his mind,

“That's...a small army. How can they have so much concentrated power?"

“It's all my fault. I let it go this far because I was hoping that your people would stop them. But I was wrong. So now I have to do what I should have done early and cut off the head of this monster I allowed to be created." there was fire in the woman's words that lit a spark within the blue haired man.

“Don't do this alone. Let me help you."

“You can't." there was a strange finality in those words, “What I have to do is like nothing you've ever dealt with before."

“If you have so much power at your disposal, then why call me at all?" it was a simple bait to buy time as picked up his cellphone from off his nightstand. Dialing one number, James prayer that he would get an answer so late in the evening.

“Because you're the only one who that idiot will listen to." the sound of motherly annoyance made him smile, “nothing I've said, or can say, will change him. I see that now."

“What's so special about me? I'm nobody."

Someone picked up on his cellphone...

“True, but you still have have faith in people, and that alone is why it has to be you and nobody else." the woman's voice echoed through the two receivers.

James dropped both phones.

****

“I hope you know what you're doing." Matt whispered as he and three others walked through the silent Pokemon Fair. Given that it was so late the only person around was a half asleep security guard easily knocked unconscious by a quick tap over the back of the head.

“I wouldn't have dragged you out here if I wasn't." the blue haired man's voice was calm as he checked his pokebag for the third time in the past ten minutes.

“But you have to admit, this sounds like a trap if ever there was a design for one." Mimi hadn't been too thrilled to be asked to leave her lab, but at the moment she was one of the few people in the department whom the crimson eyed man could still place his trust in. “This woman you spoke of, I'd like to run some tests on her to see what her story's all about,"

“If she's anything like what we were told, I highly doubt you'd live long enough to get a sample of her DNA." Matt admitted morbidly.

Kiki shivered as he huddled close to the taller woman.

“But you trust her enough to put our lives at risk?" James chuckled at the forensic expert's words; sometimes she could be more paranoid than the average.

“I don't know what to think about her or that story she fed me, but my intuition tells me to trust her," hard lines appeared on James's face as he continued to speak, “so I'm going into that tent and not coming out until I get some kind of answer, one way or another." zipping his bag, the blue haired man slung the backpack over his shoulder before reaching down to stroke Chris's pokeball. “I know it may be a little bit late for this, but you don't have to come any further if you d..."

“James," Matt cut him off. “shut up."

The blue haired man smiled.

The group walked through the empty fair until they found themselves staring up at a small purple tent. The sign next to it read 'freak show'.

'Someone's got a sick sense of humor.' James sneered.

“Where do we go from here?" Mimi inquired while pressing her glasses up across the bridge of her nose as the group walked into the interior.

Looking around, there didn't seem to be anything that stood out around the tent, “There's probably a trap door or something hidden around here."

“And you said that there's supposed to be several dozen trainers and thirty plus fused pokemon-human hybrids waiting for us, right?" Kiki asked nervously. “Maybe we should go and find some extra help before we go in there?"

“I have a feeling that we don't have the luxury of time," Mimi's green eyes twinkled mischievously, the faint sense that they were being watched made the forensic specialist reach down to stroke the six pokeballs at her side.

“And it's not like we can trust anybody at the station to come in until we're sure that they're not on the payroll of whoever's running the joint," Matt said with a snort as he thought over how pitiful it was that this is what 'justice' had come down to.

Maybe it was time to turn in his badge and go back to wearing red and black again.

Looking around, the four trainers searched around the empty cages for any sign of some clue which would lead them to where they needed to be. The dense darkness made it difficult to see within the enclosed area; the group grumbled as they realized that none of their pokemon knew the ability Flash. Given this fact, it was a great amusement to the three males when Mimi literally stumbled over a concealed hatch placed discretely by the backstage. The purple haired woman kept most of her dignity by making it seem as though she meant to flail like a klutz before slamming face first into the ground by casually standing up and dusting herself off without saying a word.

James, Matt, and Kiki made sure to cough at exactly the same time when the forensic specialist glared at them after hearing something like laughter.

“I wonder what we should expect when we go down here?" Matt asked as he and James worked to pull open the trapdoor.

“Hopefully the answers to the Team Fusion mystery."

“But I thought you said Team Fusion wasn't behind the people we were going after?" Kiki inquired as the metal barrier flew open revealing a strong stream of light.

“They aren't, but whoever made the false fusion stones must know some in depth details about the group." James said as he climbed down the stairwell leading down into an underground series of catacombs. “If nothing else, we'll hopefully get the name of the team's leaders out of all of this."

“And their locations, right?" Mimi winked.

Making their way through a long tunnel, the group found themselves within what looked like an offbeat processing plant of some sort. Wall to wall grey metal framed the interior, the kind which would look typical in a B science fiction flick. The rank stench of chemical disinfectants soured the air making nearly all eyes water. Kiki released his Butterfree, which quickly covered the group with a sweet pollen, blocking out the ammonia-like smell.

“If this isn't the place, I'd like to ask whoever is in charge here why they disinfect with such strong cleaning supplies." Matt had the collar of his shirt pressed over his nose, muffling his voice as he spoke.

“It's probably because they want to cover up the smell of blood and fear," Kiki pointed out.

“What do you mean?"

“When a pokemon is in pain, many of them release strong pheromones which agitate other pokemon with strong sense of smell." Kiki began. “This keeps more aggressive creatures away from them, in order to give the wounded time to recover. I know they use a type of plant mixture at the pokemon center in order to clean the walls and beds for those pokemon who have been severally injured, but...this is just ridiculous."

'It probably means that a lot of creatures died here,' James thought angrily, his mind almost able to catch the phantom cries of those pokemon who had been experimented on.

“We need to hurry and find what we're looking for," the blue haired man stomped forward without looking back.

Three pairs of eyes watched him nervously.

Further on inside the group found numerous stairs and unlocked rooms littering the expansive facility. Checking each of them provided the team with a number of interesting tidbits of information and evidence for which the police could look into, not to mention a couple of guards who were easily taken down by Matt's Arcanine.

“I'm surprised that whoever is running this place has such wealth to just throw around," Mimi murmured as she looked through a file cabinet filled to the brim with various documentations. “It almost looks like they had been planning for this WAY ahead of time."

“Do you think this could be the culmination of the antics of all those other 'teams' out there?" James questioned as he flipped a vanilla folder.

“I have to think so, seeing as there looks to be a very huge money trail coming in from various sources throughout the regions."

“Are any of them named?"

“No, we're not that lucky," Mimi grunted.

“The chief can probably assign someone to look into these acronyms to see what pops up." Matt pointed out as he looked over the purple haired woman's shoulder to the file she was glossing through.

Taking some of the paperwork, the group ended up stumbling into a small storage room filled to the brim with boxes of glowing yellow stones.

The light made James feel sick for some reason.

“Isn't it a bit odd that they would be so careless with this stuff?" Kiki asked as he looked around the room for hidden cameras.

“Why would they be cautious in their own home?" Mimi chimed. “After all, if you can't keep your own house stable, it won't be standing for very long."

James hissed at that.

“Good point, but this is just…" the nurse began, his hand reaching out for one of the shimmering stones.

“DON'T!" the pink haired man nearly jumped out of his skin at hearing the sudden command. Turning, he looked to James with wide eyes. “We don't know how they work, and the last thing I want to see right now is you turning into a puddle of goop." the blue haired man's crimson eyes were hard like steel.

“Y-yeah," Kiki cautiously backpedaled from the open container. “that would be bad."

“I wonder how these stones are made?" Mimi mused while looking around for a processing machine.

“They're probably manufactured someplace else, but shipped here to then sent out into the world." Matt knew of more than a few people in the underground who used such means to distribute their 'products' throughout the world.

“We should be able to find a longer paper trail leading us back to whoever made these things if that's the case." James couldn't help the eagerness that honeyed his voice.

Nodding, the four trainers moved silently back throughout the hallway. A couple more trainers dressed in black and yellow caught sight of James and his team, but they were all swiftly dispatched; the combination of Mimi's Alakazam and Kiki's Chansey proving to be a deadly duo, as always. Once Matt picked the lock on another door down the hall, the group entered into what appeared to be a terminal room.

“Ok, that was a little too easy," Matt said, his muscles tight as though expecting an ambush at any moment.

Mimi didn't seem to care as she walked over and then sat within one of the cubicle present. Flipping on the computer screen, the purple haired woman had no problem logging into the system, her hacking skills proving to be a sharp as ever. Yet what the woman found once she broke into the archives chilled the hearts of all four adults,

“I think now would be a good time to call for backup." the blue haired man didn't bother to comment when he saw Kiki run over across the room to hurl.

The video playing in front of them made even the cool headed Matt's stomach turn; the piercing screams of humans and pokemon so visceral that his mind began to slowly shut down.

“Don't get mad, but I already phoned the chief before we came." Mimi said, her eyes narrowed at the sight before her.

“Thank you." James fought back tears of indignation as he said these words.

It took the group almost fifteen minutes to recover from the atrocity for which they had seen, in that time Mimi had uncovered various information which pointed to several prominent members of the pokeworld being blackmailed into giving 'charitable donations' to various organizations whose business dealings were more than a little undisclosed.

“I'm surprised that no one caught on to these people," the purple haired woman hummed as she stroked a lock of hair off from in front of her face. “all of their publicized ventures basically scream 'this is a front'."

“But look at what they're written off as," James pointed out the names of the companies and their founders.

“Non-profit charities," Kiki noted.

“Right. We usually don't look into things like that, since, anyone can begin a non-profit, so long as they show where the money goes to, year by year."

“And from the looks of the documents I see here, nothing 'seems' out of place, at least until you dig a little deeper into the financial records." Mimi snorted.

“Hey," Kiki chirped, making three heads turn towards him, “don't you find it odd that no one else has come by here? I mean, it's been almost half an hour now, and we've only encountered, what?, maybe five trainers?"

Matt moved over by the door. Easing the metal barrier open, the dark skinned cop casually stuck his head out.

When no one came he found his lips deepening into a dark scowl.

“And here I was hoping that it was just Arceus' favor that was protecting us." Mimi said before she pulled and popped her Alakazam's pokeball. When the golden whiskered psychic pokemon had full materialized, the purple haired forensic specialist looked up from the computer in front of her, “Alan, do a scan of the area and tell me how many people, other than us, you can sense." instantly the room was covered in a pink tint as psychic energy flew about as two spoons were clicked together.

Nearly a minute later, the answer the woman received was very startling...to say the least.

“Only ten trainers other and several of those Fused creatures?" the woman asked as she translated her partner's mental transmissions into words.

“Strange, that doesn't fit with what I was told," James felt his eye twitch as he stated his inner thoughts aloud.

“Could...someone other than us be here taking these guys out?" Matt questioned.

A sudden rumbling made everyone jump.

The blazing wail of sirens blaring throughout the air followed soon after.

“I think that answers that question." James chuckled darkly.

“Should we interfere?" three sets of eyes turned to look at Mimi. “I mean, if someone's going to do our job for us, then why get in their way?"

It may have just been the setting, with the wailing cry of the sirens overhead screaming an echo of madness throughout the building, but for some unknown reason, James felt as though something...urgent were taking over his sense. A feeling of...desperation...caution...need...danger...made the blue haired man pant low and long as the blood underneath his skin began to quicken.

Looking between the three people who he had gotten involved in this mess, the off duty detective took a deep breath before opening his mouth,

“How long do you think it will be before the chief has backup storming the place?" Mimi found herself tensing slightly as she looked into crimson eyes that seemed to stare back at her almost as though they were...hungry for something.

“Maybe another ten minutes," she admitted. Knowing the old codger, he had the paperwork for such a mission signed off underneath his pillow.

James swallowed hard before he spoke again,

“I want to know what's going on out there, so you three stay here and wait for backup to arrive."

“Yeah right, like we're letting you go off on your own," Kiki pouted.

James smiled at those words.

Yet there was nothing nice in that look.

Making their way out from the room, the four would-be heroes headed down a set of stairs to the second level of the facility. There, they stumbled into more trainers, many of whom seemed shocked to see them. Dispatching the lot was easy enough, however, when it came to the chimera-like creatures they found on the third floor, things got a little hairy.

“What's with these things?!" Matt asked as he watched his Arcanine's fire breath being pushed back by a humanoid Psyduck-like creature's water gun. The creatures golden skin and pudgy body looked like something from a horror movie, especially with the way the duckling's flat bill was mounted unsecurely onto a human face, however, the way it utilized its water type ability spoke of years of training.

“A benefit of being both human and pokemon, I guess?" Mimi shouted as she watched her Zubat's confusion skill get deflected by a grotesque looking Golem's hardened skin.

“Hey, anyone seen James?" Kiki questioned even as his Butterfree tried desperately to evade the crunching bite of a Croconaw hybrid.

On the fourth floor, a certain blue haired man was busy mulling over a question which had him stumped,

'Who are the guys in the robes?' several people wearing gray coats rushed passed the man as he hid himself within the shadow of an open door.

From the looks on their faces, it seemed as though they were searching for something. None of them seemed to take notice of him, and for that the blue haired man was grateful. Making his way on down and around the almost maze like building, James found himself time and again slipping into the darkness, the robbed individuals never noticing him as they trailed by on their hunt.

'Whatever they're looking for must be really clever to be able to keep evading them,'

And then, something small, quick, and furry, shot past his vision.

'Ahah, so that's it, huh?" he chuckled before tiptoeing out from behind a potted plant.

Twenty minutes of playing hide-and-seek later found James stumbling into an heartstopping sight as a large amalgamation of a human and an Ursaring punted an Eevee through the air with a swift and derisive kick to the chest. The blue haired man was in motion before he could think to stop himself. Jumping into the air, James caught the Evolution pokemon before it could crash into a nearby wall. Skidding to his feet, the detective reached a hand behind him for his pokeball.

“That wasn't very nice, you overgrown teddy bear!" expanding and then popping the red and white sphere, he shouted, “Chris, Power Up Punch!"

Instantly the blue and black jackal phased into existence, took one look at the creature in front of him, and then set himself into motion. With its entire form glowing red as the fingers of its left paw balled together, the Aura pokemon slammed its fist into the hybrid, snarling with some delight as a wet gasp parted from the human-bear's burly throat. The chimera's large brown form went sailing through the air like a rock, rebounding off the ceiling up above before crashing into the ground with a thunderous thud.

“Nice as always, Chris!" James cheered as he looked over to the Lucario who was crouched down in expectation of another assault.

When none came, the masked jackal sighed, stood up, and then turned around to give his master a 'what the fuck' look. Said gazed instantly turned murderous when the fighting-steel type took noticed of the small, furry bundle in his partner arms.

A growl resounded throughout the air a second later.

“No," James rolled his eyes, “I haven't captured him, so cut that out already." the Lucario continued to glare.

James tried not to think about how jealous Christopher could be; the memories of him trying to capture another pokemon ending with the man getting beaten by the blue and black jackal time and time again.

“He needs help," he made a motion and the Lucario slowly went behind him and unzipped his backpack. Reaching around until it found something, the fighting-steel type moved forward and then offered a small yellow berry with orange spots to the injured fox-like pokemon. Black eyes blinked open as the brown furred creature's nose twitched, “Go on and eat it, it'll help you heal faster if you do." large ears swiveled up as the Eevee turned to look at the human holding it.

With tentative motions, the small pokemon leaned forward, cautious of the crimson eyed Lucario glaring at it, and then bit into the sweet smelling fruit. A few soft chews, followed by a large swallow later, the Eevee yipped in glee. Hastily devouring the berry, the human and Aura pokemon watched as the pain literally faded from the tiny creature's body. When Chris's finger was impolitely gnawed upon, the Lucario let out a rough growl of warning.

“Stop that." the Lucario huffed but restrained itself from biting the little twerp back. “After you've healed, will you take us to where your master is, little Eve?" the brown fennec cocked its head to the side.

Obviously, the other didn't understand the human tongue.

“Chris, if you would you please translate?" the fighting-steel type looked to its master and then down to the fennec-like creature. A grunt of annoyance was followed by the masked jackal playing translator.

A happy yip answered the man's previous question.

Quick as a flash, James found himself chasing behind the Evolution pokemon after it tore itself free from his hold. Chris grumbled but resolutely began jogging behind his human.

'I hope you know where you're going little guy,' James wasn't sure, but it looked as though they were being led nowhere. The various twists and turns for which the fox took both himself and Chris down seemed to be almost endless. And yet, the small fennec-like pokemon moved without hesitation as its small paws ate at the tiled floor underneath its feet. 'Especially since Christopher is so on edge,'

Beside him, the fighting-steel type looked calm as it jogged steadily beside the human, and yet, having been with him for so long, James could tell that the Lucario was nervous about something.

When the amalgamation of a Granbull and a human stepped into their path both James and his partner were in motion. Like choreographed dancers, the two rose into the air, lashing out with their left legs with such precision that their legs looked like knives as they attacked the chimera together as one. The bulldog-like creature had no time to react as the force from the dual assault sent it tumbling across the ground. It crashed heavily against a nearby wall a second later, falling completely unconscious as it did so. Not missing a beat, James and Chris curled their bodies after rebounding off of the monster's massive form, rolled across the ground, and then shot up to continue running after the Eevee.

“Just like basic training back at police camp, right?" the blue haired man smirked as he watched his partner wink back at him.

It was almost five minutes later when the duo stumbled across the little Eevee's master. However, the sight that greeted them when they did was not as either would have expected,

“Glaceon, Ice Beam!"

A roar followed with a bright cannon of sub zero energy being released from a solid blue and white fennec-like pokemon's muzzle. The glacial torrent ran precisely as it hit the chest of a massive Smeargle chimera. The paint pokemon growled as it was forced back; the cold which bit into its lungs so strong that for a moment the hybrid's breath became visible.

“Give up and you won't have to suffer anymore!" a man with green hair shouted authoritatively.

Dropping to its knees, the Brushtail pokemon spat a dollop of frozen spit off to the side. When it had collected itself, the chimera turned dark brown eyes narrowed with hate at the human. Slowly getting back onto its feet, it was obvious to all that the beagle-like creature will to fight remained unwavering.

“Can't take away...our dream…!" that the creature could talk caught James by surprised, though not the unnamed trainer in front of him.

“Your dream is nothing but a nightmare that I have to kill, and if you don't surrender, you'll be the first casualty towards my goal!" the depth of severity within the other's voice rang clear in James's ear.

'Whoever this guy was, he's killed before,' both James and Chris looked at each other out the corner of their eyes as they shared the same thought.

The Smeargle growled before opening it's mouth wide.

Everyone tensed when the sudden influx of pale gold energy began to emanate from the Fused lips.

'He's insane! There's no way that he can get that attack off in time!' James turned to look at the green haired man whose blue eyes were now hard like steel.

“Glaceon, Frost Breath!" A barking cry pierced the air before the small fennec's eye shone bright and it's muzzle opened once more.

As predicted, the Smeargle didn't have a chance to get it's attack even halfway ready before a dusting of snow permeated the air around it. James had just enough of a mind to step back before an extreme cold ripped the space around him apart. The sound of ice quickly forming was like that of glass being shattered. The chill that dusted over the area from the assault was so great that it made Chris's golden chest fur puff up as the fighting-steel type reached up to wrap its arms around itself. All eyes watched in horrified awe as the chimera was slowly frozen solid, its face still a mask of anger even as it's chest, arms, and head became entombed in ice.

Once the Glaceon's attack had finished, the Fresh Snow pokemon turned away from its now subdued opponent to return to its master's side. A slim, almost dainty hand reached down to stroke across the chilled body of the ice type,

“Thank you, Max. You can take a rest now." a canine bark was the pokemon's only response before a red beam shot out at it. A second later the two foot tall creature was gone, its pokeball nestled safely within the green haired man's hand. “Did you enjoy seeing that?" a cool voice inquired.

“Not really," James answered, cautiously stepping over to the stranger once he was sure that the danger had passed.

“It's sad that things have to go that far, but some creatures just don't understand the meaning of surrender." that the words were spoken wistfully was the only reason why James suddenly felt sympathy for the other.

“I can understand that, but are you sure you can live with what you've done?" standing so close to the green haired man, James could see his features much clearer. In looking at him, the blue haired man found himself blinking at how very...ordinary the mystery trainer was. In plain orange jeans and a loose hanging muscular shirt, the green haired youth looked more like a college kid than the stout hearted warrior for which he had just proven himself to be.

“Of course I can," look up at him with bright blue eyes, the man smiled before saying, “after all, it's a dangerous world we live in. You have to be tough in order to survive out here."

A happy bark made both men turn. Like a brown and white furry missile, the forgotten Eevee darted for the green haired trainer, completely interrupting James's thoughts.

“Thanks for taking care of this one for me, he can be a real handful, I know." the Eevee wasted no time as it began licking across its owner's face, “You probably have a lot of questions, most of which I'm not going to answer." James couldn't stop the slight twitch that caught his left eye at the sudden audacity of the punk. “Just know that after tonight, these people will no longer be operating anywhere within the world, you have my word on that." a slight bow from the other had the crimson eyed man staring forward in utter disbelief.

'Is he for real?'

It was thirty minutes later when James and the other met up again, the blue haired man having been waylaid by the green haired trainer after being provided with some interesting information. As expected, all three of his friends screamed at him about going off on his own, but James merely smiled and waved them off.

“It wasn't like I got hurt or anything", he challenged.

Kiki just kicked him in the shin for that comment.

The Torren Police Force came upon the group a few minutes after they made it back topside. A massive team of nearly twenty-five armed policemen and their pokemon stormed the inside of the tent right as James and the others gave their testimonies to the chief of police.

“I'm not sure whether to congratulate you on making such a bust, or to arrest you for being so stupid, but since you didn't get yourselves killed, I'm going to do neither." the older man said as he stared down two of the most talented men he had ever had the displeasure of knowing.

“Thank you, sir," both Matt and James said at the same time.

Kiki merely giggled.

“Now, about this man you said who took down the leader of this little operation, I don't see him,"

“He...left." the blue haired man admitted softly.

“Mmhmm, and you didn't to stop him so that we could question him?" the older man's harden stare could have made a boulder melt.

“He...said he didn't want to have to answer any awkward questions," the chief merely narrowed his gaze. “plus, I'm technically not authorized to arrest anyone, so...yeah." if there was ever a man alive who could make James feel like a five year old again, it was the chief.

Shifting his sight until he could see Matt out the corner of his eye, he noted that the brown skinned man was doing his best to make himself small and unassuming.

“I see." James breathed a sigh as he thought he was off the hook. “I want your statement in on Jessica's desk tomorrow morning; nine-thirty, sharp."

The blue haired man felt his stomach drop.