Training of Tooth and Claw

Briskly walking to the entrance, Amber didn't dare look back as she crossed out of the doorway into the outside world. Turning the corner, her quick walk sped up as she wanted to put some distance between her and the building before the person or any other in it grew suspicious and realized she had duped them. "No," she answered in a short breath, "and I'm sorry we couldn't have stayed there longer. I was afraid that the real, well, whoever it was I was pretending to be would show up. That would have gotten us both killed." She was now a few blocks from the building, and Lavender was staring back at the faded silhouette of it in the distance with an acute interest and disgust.

Kneeling toward the Arcanine, Amber placed a gentle hand on her head. "I'm sorry we didn't find your puppy," she apologized, "but I'm not giving up. This isn't the last I'll see of the organization, and I won't see the last until I rescue your pup. I promise you that, even if I have to leave Castelia for the time being. I'm afraid if I stay here I may run into one of them, and that wouldn't be good. I promise I'll come back and save him. You can count on me and my Pack."

The arcanine simply understood Amber's precaution. "I wish owner would let me come with you," she told the girl. "Even if it was only temporary... I want to help and rescue my pup..." She then started crying over what she had seen, it clear that behind the most-feared face of the officers was that of a terrified mother, simply fighting and hoping that someone would turn their attention to the facility. "Someone lend us a hand," a voice yelled from far away, two people rushing by with the officers from earlier on portable beds. "Someone get to the Pokemon Center. There are two pokemon on portable beds following us!" It seemed that something had happened whilst Amber was inside the building, but what?

Without hesitating, "I can get you to one!" Amber called, always there to help any Pokemon in need, no matter how inconvenient the situation might be. She looked around to see the source of the cries for help, and her eyes scanned for the Pokemon Center in the distance. "Arcanine," Amber prompted, "can you run to the Pokemon Center and warn them that they're coming?" she asked, knowing the nurses would be better prepared if they knew of the arrival beforehand. "Lavender, hop on my shoulder, I'm going to go help them." Nodding, the Espeon crouched down then launched herself up and onto Amber's shoulder with a graceful accuracy. The trainer looked around to see the people that needed help in order to assist them.

The arcanine did as told, rushing to the Pokemon Center as fast as she possibly could. The two people with the pokemon started pulling Amber along, them asking her if she recognized the pokemon. It was the other officer's arcanine, and it was clearly damaged by something catastrophic.

"Oh Arceus," she said, looking up to the other men and helping push the cart faster along toward the Pokemon Center. "What happened?!" she asked in a shout so she could be heard above the roar of the cart's wheels rushing through concrete. She put all of her effort into pushing the cart and saving the Arcanine. I let one fellow canine die today, I'm not about to let it be two...

The man that was helping push the cart with the arcanine on it simply shrugged. "I don't know... All I know was that they were down and covered in scars when i got there," he spoke to the girl. "There was a small path of red leading from them though. Looks like the person that tried to hurt them tried close combat."

Artemis bit her lip as the image of the nameless man came to her mind. I know he did this, she thought before guilt had crossed over her, if only I had helped them before leaving... As if sensing her master's grief, Lavender rubbed her cheek across Artemis's own in an attempt at comforting her thoughts and saying 'you couldn't have done anything to stop what happened. Now you just have to stop the worse outcome.' Nodding to herself, Amber pushed away her guilt for the moment and narrowed her eyes toward the rapidly approaching Pokemon Center. Picking up the pace, it wasn't long before they reached it.

Springing into action, Amber opened the doors for the gurney to go through. Then, she glanced around for the nurses that would be forewarned by the other Arcanine. She would make sure the injured one got the attention it needed, even if it meant delaying her own plans. "We're here," she announced, "and we need help now!"

A couple of the nurses were prepared as Amber had planned, the arcanine from before sitting silently in a corner. She wasn't saying anything or barking, but she was keeping her eye on someone strange. However, she wasn't making it known she was watching.

As the nurses took the other dog Pokemon into her care, Amber glanced around the Center until she took sight of the other Arcanine, who seemed a bit preoccupied. She made he way over to her and sat in the chair beside her, releasing her other three packmates from their Pokeballs once she was settled. Amethyst instantly jumped and curled up into a ball upon Amber's lab, shyly looking around her for any familiar faces. Azure seemed to find interest with the other Pokemon and trainers in the Center and he happily bound back and forth, attempting to greet all of them with a happy bark. Ash took his place laying at Amber's feet where Lavender soon joined him. Both scanned the surroundings with concern, not entirely sure Amber was out of the deep end just yet.

"What's wrong?" Amber asked the Arcanine, "I'm sure your son is going to be okay, trust me." She gave a small smile, trying to comfort the great dog, mistaking what was truly on her mind.

The arcanine turned her head to Amber a bit, as if gesturing for her to silence. The stranger that was standing a little ways away was chuckling a bit, him standing up from a mightyena. It was wearing a collar that was strikingly similar to the one that the other man's houndoom had worn, the stranger petting his pokemon lightly. "It's strange," the arcanine told Amber, keeping an eye on the man. One of the nurses eventually walked out and over to Amber, her sitting down beside her. "Can you remember anything about the incident," she asked. "it would help in tending to the pokemon's wounds to know what it has been through." One of the people that had been helping the officers to a hospital walked in a bit later, looking to Amber. "There you are..." He walked over then, noticing the nurse sitting beside Amber. The stranger turned, him returning his pokemon to their balls before he headed for the exit quickly.

Amber motioned to the man that had just joined them, pushing her concern about what the Arcanine had pointed out until after she spoke. "I wasn't there myself, just in the aftermath," she looked toward the man she had gestured toward, "he can fill you in better than I can. All I ask is that you do everything you can to help the poor dog- they have to catch the guy that did it." Shaking her head before she ranted on about people that hurt Pokemon for their own gain, she stopped her statement. "Is there anything else you need?" she asked the Nurse, not wanting to bring up the Arcanine's observations until there were less prying ears.

The nurse simply nodded, contempt with Amber's explanation. She took the man that had approached and started leading him away to hear his explanation; however, he had something to tell Amber. "Hey, stranger! One of those officers was asking about his disappeared arcanine," he called to her a bit loudly so she'd hear. This caught the arcanine's attention really well, her head lifting whilst her eyes turned cold a moment. The stranger had mentioned an officer, as well as a missing arcanine, and when you put the two facts together, she arcanine started yelping. She got up and ran out of the doors of the Pokemon Center; in fact, she had nearly shattered the glass. She started running towards the building where the two officers were being cared for, and she started clawing and scratching when she found it had been locked so the two could get the utmost care. "I know who the officer is! Let me in," she yelped, though she wasn't really focusing on talking to anyone. Strangers just watched a barking pokemon scratching at a door to get inside somewhere, them confused.

Amber, without hesitation, shouted "Wait!" before running off in pursuit of the Arcanine. Her quick departure startled Amethyst, who managed to jump off of her master's lap before she was forced off of it by Amber standing. A bit dazed, all of her Pokemon took a few seconds to realize that they were leaving the lab, and Azure bounded giddily out first followed by Lavender, Ash, and Azure. They all caught up to Amber as she reached the building that the Arcanine was clawing and scratching at.

Knocking lightly at the door, Amber did her best to keep the Arcanine from damaging the glass any more than she could. "Excuse me," she said, unsure as to if they could hear her behind the glass, "this Arcanine belongs to one of the people inside, she needs to see her trainer." Just in case they didn't hear, she motioned toward the Arcanine, then the door, then toward the inside of the building. Hopefully one of them would put two and two together if they couldn't hear her.

One of the people at the front desk walked to the door, staring at Amber and the arcanine. "Sorry ma'am, but we can't let anyone in... It'll risk infection to our patients... Please wait a moment, and I'll have areport on their status for you."

Amber looked down at the Arcanine and placed a comforting hand on her head. "Is that fine with you?" she asked the dog, "he is your master in there, so it's all your opinion if you want to wait or not," she smiled and tried to cheer the canine up, "I'm sure he' going to be fine."

The arcanine looked up at Amber. She didn't want to wait, but she supposed that there wasn't really a choice in the matter. She sighed and laid down, the person at the door turning. She seemed to disappear into the building for a bit, her returning, looking as though she were hiding something. "I have news," she told Amber.

"What?" Amber asked, not liking the look on the woman's face. Something about it didn't exactly radiate great news!, and Amber couldn't help but kneel down toward Arcanine and run her hand down the Pokemon's back, knowing that the canine will react to the news much more than she would, so she decided to make her more comfortable for fear of bad news. "Tell us," she said, looking to the woman and waiting for what she had wanted to share about the Arcanine's trainer.

"Well, you see," the woman started from inside. "The two weren't in the best condition. With a knife in your shoulder and a collar that electrocutes you..." She didn't really want to continue, the arcanine starting to shake and freak out.

"Shhh, you're okay," Amber crooned to the Arcanine, running her hand more gently down the Pokemon's back while she looked up at the woman, "how's his condition, all things considered?" she asked as a weighty sense of dread overtook the question. She glanced down, not able to continue eye contact with the woman, fearing her answer. "How bad is it?"

The woman looked at Amber. "One of them didn't make it through our attempts to help," she spoke. "His collar was still active... Whatever used them set it to twice the maximum output... There were attachments to help with this process... The other one is very weak and ill, and as such, we can't risk infection in his wounds." She turned her head and listened to a scream from elsewhere in the building. The arcanine started whining and howling, her clearly upset that there was a half-chance her owner was gone.

Amber did her best to comfort the Arcanine, but there was little she could do to mend the anguish of loss over a partner as close to he as he was. Instead, all she could do was hope that both pulled recoveries in the end, but that would take time, and time was all but waisted standing uselessly outside of a door, as much as Amber didn't want to admit it. Standing, she looked down toward Arcanine with a sad smile.

"I'm going back to the Pokemon Center to spend the night," she told the anguished dog, "all we can do is hope and wait for the best, and scratching at this door isn't going to make that happen any faster. I'm going to give it a good night's sleep and dream on better news tomorrow. I can't make you come with me, but I want you to know that that is where my Pack and I will be, and I hope you'll come with me and get some rest of your own." Her eyes lifted from the dog and moved to take the Center into sight. Then, she turned and headed back toward it with her Pack following close at her heels.

The arcanine looked to the door. She wanted to scratch worse whilst she listened to Amber speaking to her. She eventually thought to herself that it was pointless, just as it seemed everyone was pointing out to her. "I hope the live one is my owner," she whimpered, her turning and following Amber. The girl seemed to had gotten quite a few steps ahead of her, the pokemon jogging just to catch up quick enough. Nurses greeted Amber at the pokemon center, one taking her towards a room she could stay in whilst the other wrote down their temporary resident. The arcanine had stayed silent for the rest of the trip back to the pokemon center; she had also stopped howling. She was clearly hurt and felt a bit responsible for what had happened to the officers. "I should've been there," she thought to herself, incapable of seeing other reasoning.

I shouldn't have ever gotten involved, if it weren't for me, they'd be safe and these people would be better off. I'm pathetic. Amber thought as she made her way to her room. Like any free living, it was quaint and just had a bed and desk situated across from it. Sighing, she slumped into a sitting position at the edge of the bed. "I'm so sorry guys," she said to both her Pack and the Arcanine, "I've failed you both. If I would have just packed up and headed out of Castelia like I originally wanted, you'd all be better off."

Amethyst gave a small sort of whine and nestled her head into Amber's lap. Azure jumped onto the bed behind Amber and sat, laying his head on her shoulder, him now comforting her own guilty conscious. Ash simply lied at her feet, growling slightly, as if offended by her guilt toward the situation. Lavender jumped up and sat next to Amber, only glancing up at the trainer while the gem atop her head gleamed from the light of the lamp across from them. "Espeon," she said, If you'd have moved on, you would have never met me.

Smiling from the warmth and comfort of her pack, Amber could do nothing more but push inevitable guilt aside and wait for more news. It was getting quite dark out for now, and the exhaustion of the day's excitement overtook her. Looking down toward Arcanine, Amber smiled and patted the spot in the bed beside her not occupied by any other canine. It would be a hard night for the dog, and Amber knew she could use all the comfort she could get.

The arcanine didn't crawl onto the bed; she, instead, moved to a corner and sat. She then laid down, setting her head on her paws wondering on the events that had transpired. She waited until Amber fell asleep to start crying to herself, and in the middle of the night, that wasn't the only thing that would be heard. Glass shattered, the sole window in the room broken as someone climbed in.

Amber, usually a decently heavy sleeper, was perfectly content in her sleep, idly dreaming about swimming in a pool filled with jello. It was a nice escape fro the turmoil that awaited her in the real world, but like any good thing, it didn't last nearly as long as it should. The startling crash of breaking glass made her bolt awake along with the rest of her Pack. All of their eyes scanned the room and widened, trying to lock onto whatever had broken the window.