All Alone (BEING EDITED)

Chapter 33: Infiltration

"This must be it." I say, noting the big, ominous cave shrouded in darkness. Milotic whimpers slightly and shivers in fright. I gently rub her head to comfort her and glance back to see Paul coming up from behind on his Swampert. He examines the cave and nods.

"Must be it." he agrees coming up alongside me. Milotic swims forward slowly and enters the cave. Inside the walls are lined with red and a huge, orange 'M' hangs above a doorway. Lava filled tubes run alongside the entrance. Okay, don't need anymore evidence. I quickly hop off Milotic's back and return her, thanking her for the ride. Paul does the same with his Swampert. I cautiously creep forwards, my footsteps echoing around the cavern, and peek around the doorway. Everything is nearly pitch black except for a small circle of golden light at the end. I scowl when I spot it.

"Great. Warp pads." I grumble, still glaring at the pad. Chatot pops out of his ball and lands on my shoulder. He instantly becomes protective when he notices the surroundings. He opens his beak, but I quickly grab it, telling him to keep quiet. He nods and I beckon Paul forwards. Paul appears next to me and stares at the warp pad. He looks at me curiously.

"Warp pads." I whisper to him. He scowls and mutters something. I shake my head and step towards the pad.

"Follow me." I call softly over my shoulder. Paul nods silently and obeys, following me down the hall. I approach the pad and put my foot on it. A yelp escapes my mouth when it pulls me in and everything becomes white. The blinding light soon dies down and I find myself in another room. The only furniture occupying this room are a few tables and even fewer chairs. My eyes narrow as I glance around. There isn't a grunt in sight. The room suddenly lights up and I spin around to find Paul standing on the pad.

"I hate these things." he growls angrily, stepping off the pad.

"Yea, yea, I know, but we have a bigger problem. Did you happen to notice there are no grunts around?" I point out to him. He stops and glances around. Chatot chirps softly.

"I have a bad feeling about this." he whispers worryingly. I stroke his back comfortingly and turn back around to search for the next warp pad.

After a few minutes of walking around Paul finds the next warp pad. We continue the same process of searching for the pads until we arrive at a completely dark room. It is void of all furniture and light, giving it an eerie feel. I shudder and back up a few steps. Oh no. Not good. I can't see anything. I cling onto Paul's arm and, surprisingly, he doesn't shake me off. Probably because he can't see a thing either. Chatot squeaks softly and backs up so he's sitting behind my head.

"W-what's happening?" I ask Paul shakily. He stiffens and I glance up to try and see his face, but the darkness hides it.

"I have no idea." he whispers back. I'm about to pull him back when a menacing laugh echoes through the darkness. My heart starts pounding and I look around frantically. The laugh echoes again and my muscles stiffen in fright. Chatot squawks in surprise and buries his head in my hair. Paul clenches his fists and pulls me closer to him. Suddenly, the lights flash on, replacing the darkness with blinding light. I hold a hand above my eyes as they readjust to the new light level.

Once they have I jump back in shock. Standing in front of us is Maxie, Tabitha, Courtney, and about 20 grunts. My body starts shivering and I can barely stand. How are we supposed to defeat them? Paul also looks worried by the sheer number of enemies. Maxie smirks and the grunts advance towards us.

"You really are foolish, aren't you? To think you actually came here." Maxie laughs and the grunts laugh along. Paul leans down next to my ear.

"I told you so." he says triumphantly. I frown and punch him lightly.

"Shut up." I growl softly. "This is not the time to boast." He still smirks at me before turning back to the group before us. Maxie just smiles evilly and Tabitha smirks knowingly, while Courtney scowls at us. I keep my cool act together and cross my arms.

"What?" I ask nonchalantly. Maxie shakes his head and continues on talking.

"Now that you are here I can keep you here so you don't get in out way and now that I know some valuable information I can use that to my advantage." Chatot screeches irritably. I wince and cover my ear, scowling at him. He looks at me apologetically and I smile back. He relaxes a bit and turns back to Maxie.

"What do you mean? You can't keep us here! Our pokemon are so powerful we can beat all your grunts!" I shout determinedly. I'm still slightly confused though. What does he mean by 'advantage'? What does he possibly know? Maxie grins evilly and Tabitha mimics it. Courtney continues to glare at me. I smirks at her and she turns around, folding her arms.

"I will show you then. Mightyena," Maxie commands. A Mightyena steps forwards and bears its fangs. I snarl and it snarls back. Chatot growls defensively while Paul's hand immediately moves to his pokeballs.

"Use Crunch on the boy." Maxie says mercilessly. Mightyena howls and races forwards, growing closer every second. Chatot is too stunned to do anything, so I do the only thing I can think of.

"NO!" I shout, jumping in front of Paul. My arms cross and a force field appears around us, making the Mightyena bounce off. It rolls over and jumps to its feet next to Maxie. Everyone around me stares in shock, including Paul. Maxie recovers quickly and smiles menacingly, his eyes glinting deviously. I give them all the death-glare.

"You will NOT hurt him." I snarl visciously, making the grunts shudder fearfully. I'm breathing heavily and my heart is pounding in my ears. Adrenaline courses through my veins and my pulse raises. I don't know what this feeling is. All I know is that I like it. Paul just freezes behind me, not knowing what to do. Maxie chuckles softly.

"I was wondering if it was really you. Now I have the evidence I need. Your father will be pleased." he says happily. Everything at that moment freezes. Time just stops and I stare dumbfounded at Maxie. I slowly shake my head, not believing what he just said.

"No...no, no, no. It can't be. I can't go back to him." I say, absolutely astounded. Maxie shakes his head and snaps his fingers.

"It is very much real." he says. Grunts comes up from behind and drag me harshly towards Maxie, throwing me to the ground. Chatot quickly recovers and tries to fight back, using Fury Swipe. One of the grunts grabs Chatot's pokeball, returning him before I have the chance to stop him. They kick me and I collapse, gasping for breath.

Paul snaps out of his daze and runs forwards. Four grunts appear and hold him back before he can reach me.

"Don't hurt her! I swear I will break your necks is you do anything to her!" he shouts furiously, struggling against the men. I glance up at him and his black eyes lock with mine. His are full with anger, hatred, worry, and an emotion I can't quite recognize. Mine must be filled with pain and fear because he starts struggling harder, even managing to punch one of them. I manage a soft smile.

"It's okay, Paul. I'll be fine." I assure him quietly. He stops fighting to stare at me, feeling slightly better. One of the grunts suddenly spots the bandages on my left arm. I completely forgot about those. He strolls up to me and kneels down, tearing the bandages off and revealing the gash that has now nearly healed. My eyes widen when he takes out a pocket knife.

"Sleep well." he whispers, smirking. He places the knife at the top of the cut and swipes downwards. Pain shoots through my body and I let out a high-pitched scream. The edges of my eyes start to go black and my breathing increases as the pain intensifies. This must be a dream. Please be a dream. Please. I beg silently. My senses start to numb as I succumb to the darkness.

"DAWN!" Paul screams frantically as my eyes close.

"Paul..." I whisper softly, weakly stretching out a hand before falling unconscious.