Trek Through Union Cave::A Secret for Rei

Rei's cold red eyes scanned the inside of the cave. She brushed a bit of her snow white hair behind her ear before pulling a red hood up over her head, casting a shadow over her face. She'd had a bit of a trek to get here from Mahogany Town, but she'd been wanting to explore this cave for some time now, and she felt nothing could go wrong with her partner, Sneasel by her side. The two walked deeper into the surprisingly well lit cavern, Sneasel letting out a little "Snee," as it went about looking calmly.

A beautiful cooing noise like that of a sea born creature had been known to resonate from deep within the cave. This mysterious cry was what Rei was here to investigate. If such a creature truly existed, Rei wanted to meet it. Perhaps it would even make a good addition to her travelling party. For now though, she just sat and listened to the silent cave. Dripping could be heard off some damp stalactites, as could the quiet trickle of a water source somewhere deep within the cave. Rei closed her eyes, tilting her head down to focus and listen, even Sneasel was silent as she did so.

The fluttering of Zubat wings was heard along with a little screech here or there. Shifting soil as the ground types made there way about, burrowing. But she couldn't hear the supposed cry of the mystery Pokemon. "We must need to delve deeper into the cave, Sneasel," Rei said, heading down a sloped tunnel leading further into the mysterious depths.

She could now hear the water more prominently, and could even start to see it around her. Sneasel's claws clicked on the ground, making a light echo in the deep room. Rei knelt beside the water, touching it lightly to create a ripple. "It's cold..." she said quietly, her ripples slowly beginning to freeze as they went about, creating a small chunk of ice in the water. "There must be an ice type Pokemon around here..."

He reflection gazed at her in the water. Her hair lay flat, motionless. The ripples were gone. The water was completely calm, and still. The ice, was calm, and still. All of the other Pokemon seemed to have gone silent. It was just Rei, and the water. Then she was soaked by a huge array of water. Silly Sneasel had fell in the water! She realized a broken bit if ice near him. He must have been standing there and then the ice must have broken. Then she saw a shadowy figure in the water. It swam in circles underneath Sneasel, like a shark. It had a sinister, serpintine dragonic shape, that looked like it would strike at any minute. Rei could have done anything, scream, pull him out, point to it, but before she had time to take any actions towards this odd shadow it was too late. She watched as the creature shot into the air.

It was a cute little Dratini! It giggled as it playfuly splashed around in the water. The scary, dragonic creature was this innocent young Dratini that only wanted to play. It's eyes were sparkling and shining. It's warm glowing smile and big, black, glancing eyes showed nothing but innocence. It frolicked around playfully swimming around Sneasel. It really wanted to play. It seemed as if it was ignoring Rei, or it didn't see her. It seemed to only notice Sneasel as it splashed around the cold icy waters and swam. It suddenly shot some water at Rei from its mouth. The water was headed at her forehead that, if it did hit, splashed her face leaving a moderate dampness in her fringe. I guess it did see her after all. It looked into her eyes. Its eyes seemed to like big black pools. It had an adorable smile. It broke into a giggle and it continued playing. It seemed to really like Sneasel and it also seemed to like Rei.

(You can't say what Sneasel would do, it's my Pokémon and he wouldnt act that way...he's not really playful nor can he swim, but I'll let it slide this time...)

Rei was a little thrown off by Sneasel's actions, especially since he didn't really know how to swim. However, that wasn't where her mind was right now, as her focus shifted to the shadow coming toward the surface of the water. Rei quickly stepped back, palm out in front of her as the air and water crackled with her icy ability. She was ready to freeze it as the creature splashed up from the water, Rei's reflexes almost going off when she notices what it was. The cool and freezing air began to dissipate as she calmed down a bit.

"Just a Dratini..." she said, letting out a small sigh of relief. As she did so, she felt the spit of water hit her face, causing some of her hair to cling to it. She groaned a bit, taking her hood down. She bent over, helping Sneasel out of the water as he began to flail a bit. Apparently the shock of the Dratini had reminded him of his inability to swim. Rei took off her shoes, and unzipped her pant legs to make them into shorts before sitting by the water, dipping her legs into it.

"But I thought Dratini were native to Blackthorn City and the Dragon Den...so you're a pretty rare site out here, aren't you?" Rei asked the small dragon. Her voice was friendly, although not perky in the least bit. Sneasel joined at Rei's side, grooming his feather now that he was soaked.

((Thought you're allowed to mod trainer Pokemon? Oh well editted it))

Dratini looked at Rei. His eyes clouded up a bit. He might just have gotten water in his eyes. No, it wasn't water from the pool. Dratini was crying. A silent tear trickled down his cheek. It ran along the side of his chin. Dratini looked very sad. It dripped into the water. The quiet splash sound echoed throughout the cave. Something about that question had upsetted Dratini. What could it have been? Perhaps he got lost? No, why would a Dritini leave Blackthorne City? There's no where to go, so that wasn't it. It couldn't be from around here either. Succh a young Dratini would still be with his mother and father and the rest of the family. So if it wasn't lost, and it wasn't from around here, then what on Earth was it doing in the middle of an ice cave?

Everything was silent. The only sound was the dripping of Dratini's tears. It looked so sad. Dratini hid under the cold, icy water. Only its eyes were sticking out. The sound of its tears disappeared. It was silent for a few seconds. Rei's reflection stared at her from the water. Suddenly the peace and uite was interupted by the sound of Dratini blowing bubbles under the water with its mouth, which may have startled Rei and Sneasel. Once again, Dratini stopped. He gently nudged Sneasel with his head. He than moved back and sunk under the waves again. Just blowing bubbles. The sound echoed throughout the cave. More tears began trickling down the cheek of Dratini. He looked at Rei, reviving the earlier silence, as if asking what he should do. His sad eyes looked at her for about a minute. He then eyed Sneasel. After about a minute he began to completely sink underneath the water.

(Modding a trainer's Pokemon is like modding the trainer themselves. You could if they give you permission, but otherwise it's godmodding. Union Cave isn't even near Ice Cave, btw...)

Rei just stared at the crying Dratini as she watched it dip down pathetically into the water and begin blowing bubbles into the water as it sobbed. She'd apparently stepped on a sensitive spot, now she had to decipher the creature's tears and figure something out to help it. Sneasel scooted closer to Rei, so that he could be as close as possible while still being safe on the ground.

"So, Dratini..." she started, trying to think. She was never very good at situations like this. They always felt awkward to her, as though there was some emotion she couldn't empathize with, so she did her best to sympathize. "Did you get separated from someone all the way out here?" she asked, hoping to get some sort of answer. "Did you have a trainer? Or did Pokemon Poachers get a hold of you and drag you away from your family...?" she continued, asking a few more questions to try narrowing down the problem.

She knew it was odd for a Dratini to be out this way, though for some reason she hadn't thought too much of it until now. It did look rather young to be alone, and the rest of this part of the cave seemed rather still. Yes, the three of them seemed to be alone at least in the immediate vicinity. Rei even looked from side to side, then around the expanse of this section of the cave to really make sure. Not even a zubat hung from the ceiling in here, which was odd since most caves were swarming with them in every section.

It now felt a bit eerie in here, and though Rei herself was eerie, she didn't like feeling the stagnant air. It made her feel like she was being watched, or that something bad was about to happen. Regardless of her cold disposition, she didn't like tragedies. "Dratini, would you like me to help you?" she asked, turning back to face the Dratini while still keeping a look out through the corners of her eyes.

Dratini slipped it's head up from the water carrying it's worried look and a poignant feeling through the air to Rei. Dratini then slithered across nodding and appearing to wish for her help being a combination of scared, lonely and worried. Dratini flicked a gaze from it's reflection in the water to Rei hoping that Rei would realize it was signaling for it's species and/or family having been separated by a group of poachers when out playing in a lake by the mountains.

Rei watched silently as the young dragon gazed into its own reflection. "Others like you? Your family?" Rei asked, kneeling beside the water. "You've become separated, and want me to help you find your family again, is that it?" Rei asked, reaching her hand down to the Dratini. Sneasel approached slowly as well, looking up to Rei then down to the Dratini.

"Snea, snea sneasel," the Pokemon began, speaking to the Dratini. "Rei is kind hearted, though she wont show it. You can come with us for now, and we will help you. Though Rei may ask you to stay with us, she will let it be your choice." He stared into the Dratini's eyes with a very serious look on his face. "Snea sneasel snea?" "Is it your choice to come with us?"

Rei gently placed her hand on Sneasel's head. "Let it think for a moment, Sneasel. Face it, you only made your choice because you grew attached to me over the months it took to mend and heal," she said, the crack of a soft smile appearing on Rei's lips. It was a rare thing to see, and made Sneasel melt a bit. He nodded his head, and sat down beside Rei to allow the Dratini to think it over.

Dratini gave Rei a quick look nodding as a tear appeared in the corner of it's eye thinking... no remembering memories of playing with it's family and friends before the kidnapping by poachers who wished for a Dragonite to use in the process of travel and transport. Dratini thought for a second as Sneasel spoke replying with a tilt of it's head and a nod wishing to travel whilst on the search for it's family making a move for Rei's lap where it placed it's head and cried for a while.

Rei looked down gently upon the young dratini, which seemed like a nearly impossible feat with her normally harsh eyes. She placed her free hand atop the Dratini's head, and nodded. "Don't worry, we'll do our best to locate your family," she said, only wishing she knew the whole story behind it. However, she could only read the body language and emotion that the small creature portrayed, so that was what she went by.

Gently, she lifted the creature into her arms, Sneasel hopping to his feet as Rei stood. "Young Dratini, let's start the search as we move forward. It doesn't seem that anyone is in this cave anymore..." Rei said, slowly walking toward the cave exit in case the Dratini became frightened or panicked. However, Sneasel continued to whisper soft words to calm it as they exited. Where is your family...what happened to them that you would be separated? Rei thought silently to herself as she kept her eyes forward, knowing that forward was the only way to go.

Dratini sniffed up the tears and slowly as they arose began to feel weary remembering he hadn't slept for days so he fell asleep cutely a tear in his eye whilst he was in Rei's arms before he could answer any of Sneasel's questions. It had been a long day and it showed that he didn't really feel like talking just sleeping off the previous couple of days troubles.

Sneasel became quiet as it watched the Dratini drift off, and changed his focus to the road ahead of them. Where had this Dratini been separated at, and where was its family now? Those were the questions they were out to answer. Sneasel put his serious face on as they trekked onward, exiting from Union Cave at its South Exit near Slowpoke Well and Azalea Town.

Rei decided that instead of heading straight for the town, she would search around the base of the mountain outside of the cave. Perhaps they could find some answers there about what had happened. Rei continued on, carrying the sleeping Dratini in her arms as she and Sneasel began to snoop around for any clues.

A couple of scuff marks were found on the ground and imprints from where the landing gear was deployed. Dust surrounded the air around them whilst pokemon were nearby hiding behind rocks each of them having seen the attempted kidnap of Dratini but none of them liking it once they had seen the girl appear carrying Dratini they figured she was one of the kidnapper's and each leapt out the fire type's using ember, the water types using water gun, the grass types using bullet seed and the dragon types using dragon rage on her.

Rei examined the marks as she walked along slowly, taking note that it was definitely a manmade marking from some machine of sorts. Sneasel walked along beside her, rather uneasy with the tension in the air. Something just wasn't right, and when they heard a twig snap, they both knew it. Rei felt the pelting of bullet seeds on her back as she began to run, stumbling back a few feet when she was caught in the cross fire of a Dragon Rage attack.

She halted, planting her feet firmly as her hair rose slowly. Her inner power caused the air around her to condense, frost forming over her body before she turned sharply to the fire attack, holding up her hand to quickly douse it with her icy blast. She then turned to the water types, raising the same arm up, bringing an ice wall quickly into existence to block the torrent of water.

Sneasel jumped up to a tall rock out of the fire, and began shouting to get the Pokémon's attention. "Snea sneasel snea! Snea snea sel sneasel snea!!!" "Please my fellow Pokémon, cease your fire! This human is not here to harm anyone, she is kind hearted and has only good intentions!!!" He cried, wanting the ambush to stop. It was clear that whatever had happened to Dratini's family had put these Pokémon on edge with the humans.

Dratini awoke crying and the pokemon stopped attacking as they looked to Dratini and they came out from behind the rocks revealing Magby's, Marill's, Sunkern's and Bagon's all looking to Dratini. They glared at Rei as she held Dratini though they wouldn't attack. A single Noctowl who was unseen sitting on a high up a rock swooped down and landed hopping over and taking a look at Dratini. Noctowl then looked up with a curious eye to Rei and her Sneasel wondering what their purpose was of being with the Dratini unaware that they were also attempting to reunite the Dratini with it's family.

Rei took a couple steps back from the Owl Pokémon as it swooped down before her. She could feel the eyes of all the young Pokémon on her as she stood there quietly holding the Dratini and thinking of what to say. She could only hope they would understand her intentions were pure as she began to speak.

"Sneasel, I need you to translate for me," she said, hoping that if they couls not understand her words that at least Sneasel's would make it through. Sneasel nodded, agreeing to as he translated her every word. "Dear Pokémon, I am not here under any ill intentions. I have only come this way after happening upon this young Dratini, separated from its family witgin Union Cave. Please understand that my only intentions are to find this Pokémon's family, and find out what happened here. Surely you can see that, as I don't hold the Dratini against it's will. Please ask it if you don't believe me," As Rei finishes her speech, she gently held up the Dratini for them all to see, where it could easily escape her grasp if it so desired.

Dratini calmly layed in Rei's hands looking to the other pokemon with wide open eyes smiling. The Noctowl looked to the trainer and nodded seeing Dratini was fine as Noctowl took off performing a sweep of the area searching for the kidnappers who had separated the young Dratini.

Rei let out a small sigh of relief as the Noctowl flew off. She brought the Dratini back to her body to hold it more comfortably. "Good job, Sneasel," Rei said quietly, looking over to her friend on the rock, who merely nodded back before leaping down from it and rushing to Rei's side. "I think Noctowl is going to help us," she said, looking down to both Dratini and Sneasel. Sneasel nodded, then glanced around. "I agree, we can't just stand here like deerling in the headlights. Let's get searching," she said, as she began to walk around and inspect some more, following any sort of tracks she could find that might lead them where their destination was.

Soon Rei would be able to once again see some tracks belonging to that of a vehicle in fact a truck to be exact as they led off somewhere into the distance.

Rei knelt beside the tracks, running her fingers along the grooves. "Humans, definitely. It looks like a truck, it must have been Poachers," she said looking over to Sneasel. He stood guard, watching along the path for anything, but didn't see anyone coming so he hopped over to Rei and examined the tracks as well before nodding. He looked down the path that the tracks led. "I know, Sneasel. We don't know where it will take us, but we have to go," Rei said, standing once more with Dratini still in her arms. The trio then began along the path, following the tracks wherever they should lead.

Soon they reached a large entrance in the side of a cliff with a toll booth cleverly disguised as a ranger base and a convoy of trucks entering it as the bar lifted allowing them entry. One of the poachers had a set of cages fall from the back of his truck containing some Scyther, Magmar and even one containing a set of Dragonair's, Dratini's evolved form and Rei's best bet on who Dratini's family could be. The poacher cursed walking over and re-loading them the cries echoing before the disappeared into the large cave getting quieter each second.

Rei ducked behind a bush, watching as the trucks rolled in through the gate. As te cages fell out, she gasped as the Dragonair were revealed. "Poachers..." she said, watching them quietly as they entered deep into the cave. "Don't worry, I'm coming to save you," Rei said, standing with Dratini and Sneasel once the coast was clear. "We have to be sneaky about this, and draw as little attention to our intentions as possible..." She paused, and thought up a plan. "Sorry about this Dratini, but you need to play along so we can save your family," she said, pulling out a white pillow case. "In you go," she said, gently placing Dratini in it as though it were a make-shift sack.

She lifted the sack over her shoulder, and took a deep breath. "Come on, Sneasel." She walked toward the gate with a look to her as though she belonged, Sneasel by her side. She stopped at the check in station, "They forgot one," was all she said, hefting the bag up to draw attention to it. She hoped the ploy would work, and get the trio into the cave.

The guard however was too caught up in a tv show to notice she wasn't wearing a uniform or badge hitting the button raising the bar and waving her on. Dratini kept calm within the sack waiting.

Rei walked in calmly, rushing after she was out of sight deeper in the cave. She paused for a moment in a silent part of the cave to let Dratini out of the bag, and picked it back up. "Alright guys, let's go in and break those Pokémon free," Rei whispered, Sneasel nodding in agreement. The three of them continued inward, looking for where they were keeping the captive Pokémon all the while making sure to stay quiet and in the shadows to avoid detection.

Max had been crouching in the bushes for about half an hour now and he was getting sick of it. He had slipped past the guard easily and he was planning to enter the cave the second he got in but a convoy of trucks had held him up and he was stuck watching them take hundreds of pokemon into the building where they would be kept in cages, feed horribly and most likely abused.

Max wasn't here because he was one of those environmentalist, save the trees types. He was here because this is the closest thing to a lead he's ever had. A lead on his missing pokemon Growlithe. Max had searched high and low for his Growlithe but he had found nothing and had all but given up. But stumbling across this disgusting place was pure luck as he was heading for the Union Cave.

As the last truck went by, Max was about to get up and slowly sneak towards the cave. But as he got up from the bushes, he noticed someone. A girl a few years younger than himself walking through the front gate with a sack. What she was doing here he had no idea but he noticed the sack was moving. There was a pokemon inside it! This was more than Max could take seeing a girl so young help an evil group of poachers, She had a sneasel at her side but that would be no problem with Heracross at his side. He walked over to the girl calmly with Heracross trailing behind and angrily snatched the sack away from her before she could do anything to stop him

'What do you think you're doing?!' Max snapped, in a loud whisper. 'How dare you help these jerks. You should know better!'

(She already let Dratini out but...okay >_>)

Rei heard something behind her, then spun quickly when she felt the bag tug free from her hands. Fearing it may be a poacher, she quickly raised her hand, the air crackling around her with the cold energy stored within her. The tips of both hers and Max's hair froze solid before she realized he was merely another trainer. Slowly, she lowered her hand, cold eyes staring back at Max.

Sneasel quickly hopped over, snatching the bag back out of Max's hand and returning it to Rei, who then finished letting Dratini out of it. "I should be asking you the same question, shouldn't I? Or do you just make it a habit of stalking young girls?" Rei asked, picking Dratini gently back up into her arms. "Clearly I'm more clever than you, as I can see you aren't dressed the same as the Poachers, whereas you merely saw a sack. This Dratini was the victim of these people, separated from its family."

Rei turned to face deeper into the cave. "If you had any sort of intuition it might have told you that, some trainer," she said, huffing and taking a step further into the cave. "I plan to set the Dragonair and all the other Pokemon here free, so don't get in my way," she said coldly, Sneasel nodding as they both began walking deeper into the cave once more.