Ezekiel (Zeke, Cardinal North) Star
Order of the Sun
Sunos, Claw's northern headquarters, Cardinal's office.
Affected Rp'ers: N/A

Zeke let out a sigh of relief as the USF officer took the bait. Most of the time the cover worked fine, but it was always a hassle to quash rumors and investigations that risked revealing Claw's presence. Well, it was alright now. Zeke watched as Davison's team finished collecting their equipment, having caught three rotoms, and head out away from the rift. He had to admit, he was surprised the rift was still open. Normally they vanished fairly quickly. Well, it wasn't his problem. Not yet anyway.

Shutting off his monitor Zeke stood from his chair and stretched. He needed to head out and see if he could find his brother. If that gardevoir was what he thought it had been, Leo should be on his own and an easier target to try and follow to his 'secret valley.' Well, that pokemon could teleport so they'd probably meet up fairly quickly anyway, but might as well.

As he stepped out of his office the secretary sitting outside immediately stood up at attention. "Good Day, Cardinal." She said in a crisp, authoritative tone.

"You can Sit, send a message to the Southern Branch that Davison's team might need some cover in case of an investigation. Some USF officer saw them working, but took the bait with the special Ops ID. Also, please call in for a report on what my brother is doing, I'm going to be out on the field tailing him."

The secretary nodded, then re-seated herself at her desk and began sending out messages. After a moment of pressing buttons and relaying information to the tracking department she looked back up and reported, "You brother is currently on a bus heading south into the city of Sendrel. His ETA will be roughly 7 minutes."

"I see. Keep me notified if anything urgent comes up. Davison's team should be arriving through the Western Portal, most likely Erana but don't count on it. West's Mamoswine is still rampaging but I doubt for much longer. Once they're back have them go to the internal trade department, they'll have some rotoms that'll be needed by the other branches."

"As you say, Cardinal North." the secretary replied to zeke's back as he headed out toward the elevator that would lead him down to the portal station. Claw had a secret portal station in almost every city in every nation. Even some between cities, though that was mainly in the overly populated south. As Cardinal he had his own personal portal set up, which allowed him access to nearly every portal in the Claw network. Excluding the boss's offices of course. In any case it had only been a few minutes since the Cardinal had left his office that he found himself stepping out of a portal into the Claw headquarters of Sendrel.

Leo Star
Order of the Sun
Bus into Sendrel, cave southwest of Sendrel near Aluna Border.
Affected Rp'ers: N/A

Leo was in fact on the verge of arriving at Sendrel. He couldn't help but wish he'd had a way to portal travel to the city, but without Gardevoir's teleportation he'd have had to take a bus to Sunos to get access to a portal anyway. Well, you gotta do what you gotta.

Many miles to the south west, Gardevoir and Ninetails had awoken from their resting. Despite Gardevoir's best intents they ended up sleeping anyway. Luckily no one had noticed the two pokemon so the pshycic pokemon had gotten a much needed rest undisturbed.

We should get moving. Gardevoir informed the fox pokemon, standing up and peering out of the crevice they were sitting in. They wanted to get back to the valley as fast as possible,

"Hold on now, I am thankful for your help with those humans, I do not have any plans to follow you further, gardevoir." The ninetales cut gardevoir off, still sitting back in the cave.

I know a safe place, if you come with me I can give you a place where hunters can't reach.

"Well, that is an appealing idea, but surely only an idea."

Gardevoir sighed, clearly it wasn't going to be so easy to convince this pokemon to come with them. Sitting back down they looked out the entrance to the crevice.

"If you are determined to help me, as it seems you are, tell me about how you have survived in this world beyond the rifts."

Gardevoir turned back to the ninetales. They'd never really gotten a chance to converse with other pokemon like this sicne coming through a rift. If it went well perhaps they could convince the ninetales to accompany them.

How long have you been in this world?

"A few weeks, the rift appeared near my den in the northern mountains. As the one the strongest fighters in my pack it was my duty to inspect it. Well, you can see how that turned out, can't you."

The northern mountains, I did not know ninetales inhabited those areas. Aren't they covered in snow and ice? Surely your pack would have preferred a more hospitable place?

"Yes well, according to the elder tales we were driven north many years ago and had chosen the place so they could hunt ice types easily. I wonder how my pack is getting along. I have nothing of other rifts appearing, but I can only assume they are."

yes, quite often in fact. Each rift brings more pokemon from our world to this one. There was one earlier today in fact, near a place called Erana.

"If only I could find another rifts... then surely I could return to my pack and our old world." The ninetales let out a huff of frustration mingled with a sense of lonely exhaustion. Gardevoir couldn't say they hadn't felt the same feelings before themself.

Many of the pokemon in the valley hope a rift will appear there one day and they can go back, but for all I know I've never heard of any pokemon being able to return to our world once they've come to this one.

"Do you know if any have tried? Surely some pokemon must have had that lucky chance to re-enter a rift, or, I fear such a thing, have the humans attempted to cross through the rifts to our world?"

Each rifts brings out new pokemon into this world, I believe no human has been able to safely get through the wary newcomers to approach a rift before it closes. They do close fairly quickly, never have they really given the chance for anyone to go back through the portal to our world.

"So these rifts are slowly pulling our world into this one. Like a pool of water slowly filling up a second puddle until it balances out, perhaps humans are somewhere being brought to our world unwillingly, like we were brought here."

If they have I haven't heard any reports of such things. Perhaps they have been kept secret by those humans who run things, but no word has reached me despite my travels.

"You did seem experienced dealing with those humans earlier, just how long have you traveled in this world?"

Well, for starters I came through a rift roughly a year and a half ago.

"Oh? Where did you come from?"

I used to live in the great coral forest in the west-

"The Great Coral Forest?!? the psychics from those lands are of legend! I didn't think you were from one of those ancient clans!"

Gardevoir gave a nervous laugh, they'd forgotten about that particular legend about their homeland. There were some great psychics there, but I'm afraid I certainly wasn't one of them. No I was often shunned for my lack of skills.

"Even so, surely your powers were amazing. You said you had a safe place, who else could have done such a thing but a great psychic? These humans are nasty and vile but too cunning to be avoided forever. Only someone like you could trick them to keep a place safe for us, for pokemon."

No really, I had help. I couldn't have done all of this alone. But does that mean you believe me? Will you come with me?

"A gardevoir from the Coral forest, even if I do truly believe I would do my pack a disservice by refusing to chance to see a work by someone the elders would whisper legends to us of."

You yourself are a powerful pokemon, just look at what you did to that human after all. You seem to put a lot of stock into a clan you've never met, one that is forever lost to us.

"You're too humble. And you don't know it's lost to us. Why if we work together surely we could find a way to travel back through the rifts."

I don't know... right now my only focus is to protect pokemon who have come to this world with my partner.

"You said you had help, who is this partner of yours? Surely they could help us discover a way to travel back."

Oh he would.. or at least he would foolishly dedicate himself to it until he ran himself into the ground. His name's Leo, and he's stupidly kind to all the pokemon he meets. I couldn't ask him to take on such a ridiculous task.

"Hmmph. Still, I want to meet this Leo. What kind of pokemon is he anyway?

Leo's not a pokemon, he's a human-

"WHAT!?!" The ninetales jumped to its feet, its fangs bared in a snarl. Gardevoir jumped as well, they were accustomed to pokemon having hostile reactions to learning Leo's identity by now.

I'm aware you don't-

"You would partner yourself with one of these vile humans?! Those things that hunt us for pleasure, torture us for knowledge, drive us as slaves to do their personal bidding?"

Leo is different! He protects pokemon! Gardevoir tried to explain, but the ninetales snarled again. Flames sparked throughout the fox's fur.

"Do not lie to me! No human exists that shows kindness to us. They see us as nothing but stupid animals to be put in a cage and tested upon. Your 'Leo' is no different. Are you under his control? Do you willingly bring other pokemon to him for whatever sick experiments he performs?"

Do not lump Leo in with those hunters and poachers that chase you! I judged him! I judged him until there was no doubt left in my mind that he would help pokemon, not hurt them!

"So he showed you kindness, and you got fooled like a lost child who runs to the first sight of warmth. Well Here's the truth, that's no kindness. It's nothing but vile, cold cunning intended to keep you on a leash like an obedient pet. Only to be kept until you're no longer of use."

Don't speak of Leo that way! You haven't met him, you too would believe in him if you would only give him a chance.

"I don't need to meet every human to know the same sick intentions and desires run through each and every one of their heads. Is this why you're so determined to give up the search for a way back? Afraid that your clan will lean the truth that you lowered yourself to a slave before the vile race known as man? Well!? Or.. perhaps you too are have been pervaded with their thoughts and nonvalues, do you too see other pokemon as beneath you? That your former clan and world nothing were but a barbaric wilderness of dumb creatures? Are you one of them?! Are you one of those cold heartless creatures that care not for family or origin? Are you a one of those monsters who'd burn everything they leave behind for no other purpose than to make it easier to control what sits in front of their eyes?!"

ENOUGH!!

The ninetales took an involuntary step back as the psychic pokemon emanated such a wave of grief and anger that the fox pokemon felt itself nearly brought to tears. Gardevoir stood before them, hands clenched in shaking fists and their head bowed. Emotions broken free from whatever internal prison they'd been locked away in radiated from their psychic's slender frame with the force of tidal waves upon an unsuspecting beach. Clearly a nerve had been struck, no, the mother of all nerves, the deepest darkest secret feelings of those who put on the brave face had been been broken into with all the subtlety of jackhammer. The ninetales could do nothing but stand there and attempt to shield their own mind from the onslaught.

Do you think I do not miss them? The brother's and sisters I lost? Do you think I don't think of them every day? See them every night in my dreams? The home I can no longer reach, thefood I can no longer taste, the loved ones that are nothing but memories now?

Do you... Do you think I wanted to come to this world?! And suddenly gardevoir broke down, collapsing to their knees and covering their face with their shaking hands. Sadness emanated stronger than ever as the last vestiges of resistance to their own despair broke down inside the pokemon.

They Knew... they all knew and told me not to go near it. Not to investigate the rift, But I... I hated them, I hated their strength and knowledge and wanted to have something they didn't. All I wanted was their acknowledgement, to show them all I wasn't the weakling, the failure I was. But I didn't listen... and I lost it all. Everything I loved, everything I hated and desired, everything I knew was ripped from me because I was too stupidly jealous to listen to their warnings. Alone... it left me alone and weak and without anything. I realized that... when I saw the rift close behind me I knew. I had desired everything but in my folly I had reduced myself to nothing, I had no identity, no existence in this foreign world. I was truly without anything.

There is nothing... was nothing I desired more than too return, to beg and cry and apologize to my clan for my stupidity if only it meant I could go back to a place where I wasn't so entirely alone. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't go back. And I couldn't give up on life. So all I did was go and lead an empty existence, protecting other pokemon in vain hope that it would one day appease whatever horrible fate that had lead me to this world. I didn't care what happened, I didn't care if one day I would be captured and tortured and forced to work for those people who hunted us mercilessly. I didn't have a purpose.

"I- I went too far, I'm sorry-" the nintales tried to cut in, but gardevoir didn't even seem to recognize the words, merely continuing to ramble.

But... But then... I met Leo and he gave me a purpose. Together, together we built a secret place, a place of safety where pokemon can live in peace just like in our old world. Even then and even now I'm chasing a foolish dream, living through my memories in a vain attempt to recreate what I lost. Leo is... the only thing that has given me identity in this world. Without him I'd just be an empty shell of memories. And even so all I've ever done is force him to help me chase this impossible dream...[/i]

As Gardevoir broke down in fresh tears, the ninetales could see the truth, fueled by the emotions coming from the psychic. They were alone. Just as gardevoir had said there was nothing too them in this world. Their past, their packs and clans and family, their beliefs and knowledge, their identity, the very things that had made them who they were did not exist in this world. All things were meaningless. To chase after those things that had not come through the rifts would lead only to the life that had driven this Gardevoir to this maddened state.

But... no that wasn't entirely true, surely. Even if they were nothing but memories now, they were their memories. No other living creature had them and that gave them identity, a reason to live on so that their memories would live on with them.

"Where is this Leo? If he is truly as you say, a human who shows us pokemon kindness, then we should meet him as fast as possible." The ninetales told the Gardevoir, attempting to inject their voice with a level of authority in an attempt to bring this gardevoir back to their senses.

He- the valley needed some supplies... he likely went to Sendrel, a human city, to get them. Gardevoir replied, looking up at the ninetale's sudden leadership.

A human city huh... well this Gardevoir could teleport. And they were rested up now so they should be able to escape properly if trouble did come.

"we must go immediately. I trust you'll be able to teleport us there?" Gardevoir nodded, getting to their feet and placing a hand on the fire fox's side, "Then I'll also trust you to guide us to the correct human."

With one final nod, the psychic pokemon and the fire fox silently disappeared from the cave. Leaving nothing behind them a lingering burnt smell and an air of sadness.