Memories Of Yesterday and Today

Keiko blinked, then blushed deeply. "Ah... sorry.... and thank you, Master. It just feels right to me."

~~~~~

Umbra paused. "A bit. I'm more of a nocturnal person, so sleeping at night is a bit difficult for me. Besides, keeping watch seemed like a good idea."

Moses sighed. "Nothing to apologize for. I just really don't understand why since its not like I own you in anyway. Anyway I'll be back out I'm going to get cleaned up first." He went to go into the shower to get cleaned up then came back, dressed but hair slightly damp. "If you like, you can use it yourself."

* *

Irene wasn't too surprised, Umbra had always been more of a night person then she or many of the other Sif were. Karman came in before too long, slightly grumpy but that was normal. Lulu was also slowly waking up.

Moses came out before too long. "Morning, everyone."

"What are we going to do today?" Irene didn't really care, she was more curious.

"I think it would be a good idea simply to travel and get more used to our new surroundings. There's no telling how long we'll be here. Unless anyone has other ideas." Moses said

Umbra cleared his throat. "It might be a good idea to check for any information in strange Pokemon activity. The other Pokemorph's that are out there won't know how to fit in with other Pokemon, or with people. If we gather information in places, we'll either here of certain Pokemon acting strangely, or strange people 'dressed' as Pokemon."

Moses mulled that over, it was a pretty sound idea overall. "I agree. We can do that while on our way, though I'm not sure who to ask. I suppose we'll have to keep our eyes and ears open, perhaps ask a few people if anything out of the ordinary has happened regarding Pokemon. It'll still be difficult but its a start. Once we finish eating."

* *

Once everyone was done, they headed out to begin their journey. No one at the Pokemon center had any information unfortunately so they had to start off with walking in the dark.

Ruffle was curious sniffing flowers on the path as they walked in the forest, occasionally bringing back all matter of things to Lulu. Some of them were pretty useless, like discarded and used trainer items. Others on the other hand were more exotic things, including odd berries.

"When's the closes town?" Karman was keeping a eye out for anything strange or dangerous, just in case hunting parties gave them a surprise.

"The map on the Pokedex says the next one isn't that far away, we should get there before too long at least before night fall." Moses hadn't seen any trainers, he was glad about that because he'd hate to fight not that he would unless he had too.

As they were moving down the path, there was a rustling in the trees, before something stepped into their path. It was a Houndoom, but unlike any seen before; aside from the shallow cuts, and the fact it seemed to be favoring it's right front leg, the Houndoom was nearly eight feet tall, twice what was normal for it's species. It stared the three Sif down, a low growl coming from the back of it's throat in warning. Even injured, it was clear it was still able to fight; and big as it was, there was no doubt a great deal of power behind it.

Moses locked eyes with the large Houndoom, seemingly undaunted by its large size. He briefly wondered if it was a Pokemoprh or not but he would have to confirm that. There really was no way to unless Umbra or any of the others were out, but on the other hand Moses had a almost crippling fear of making a decision that got them hurt. Such as releasing Keiko who was the least suspcious only for the Houndoom to become provoked and attack. He didn't want to fight the Pokemon who already seemed injured either way.

"Let's move away, but slowly." Moses said finally after thinking of how to respond.

"B-but they're hurt.." Lulu protested, she wanted to help anyway, Moses disagreed.

"I doubt they're going to let us get any closer. They're wounded already." In his experience, wounded creatures weren't the most rational if they were wounded. If maybe he had a way to calm them down first, but Moses wasn't eager to risk it.

The Houndoom continued to watch them, but after a moment, it seemed to become more focused on them than caution warranted, and began to slowly approach. It's stance remained aggressive, but it didn't seem like it intended to attack yet. More like it was investigating them.

Ruffle surprisingly, instead of being scared actually went in front of Lulu. They didn't do anything else more like they would try to protect her and the others as best she could. Though Moses and the others actually didn't need it and were stronger then the small Pokemon overall.

At that point, Moses figured running was a bad idea because it would lead to a fight most likely given that it often triggered certain predator and prey instincts. Moses let them approached, hoping that would satisfy its curiousity but if not, then they would have to take what comes.

The Houndoom got within a few feet of them, looking them over carefully, before it began to actually sniff the air. It suddenly seemed startled, and without warning, it seemed to relax and simply collapsed, even as it flashed white, transforming into a young woman with similar features. It was, in reality, one of the escaped Pokemorphs.

Moses and the others were surprised but quickly went over to her as she collapsed. They were a Pokemoprh but they weren't sure who it was exactly. No matter, they needed to get them her out of the way before attention was drawn.

* *

Whenever the Pokemoprh would wake up, they would find themselves in a room of some kind on a bed. Ruffle was out and about, darting here and there to places. Moses and everyone else was there as well, it also seemed where ever they were, Keiko and the others were out again. For the time being so it must have been safe.

The girl slowly sat up, rubbing her head. "Ow... where am I?"

"Safe." Irene said simply as she moved to the bed. "How are you feeling? We managed to make sure you were okay when we brought you here but you were injured a bit when you came to us."

"I'm guessing you figured out we're Sif already or Pokemoprhs around." It was Karman in the corner of the wall. "Names Karman, that's Irene, and the other guy's Moses, Lulu and the ball of fluff that bounces off walls is Ruffle. The others probably just better to introduce themselves."

She blinked a bit, before Minako suddenly was hugging her. "Rika! I'm so glad you're safe! What happened to you? Is Arcania okay? You were with her, weren't you?" The newly revealed Rika patted Minako on the head slightly, looking around.

"Arcania and I were seperated... she should be fine though...." She paused, then turned to Moses suddenly. "You were the one leading the escape, right? Along with a few others, but you were one of the leaders, I believe?"

Moses reluctantly nodded. "In a matter of speaking, I was. I was one of them leading a smaller group out. It's just myself and a few others now since we all had to go different ways to avoid getting captured all at once. How did you get those wounds?"

Rika frowned. "After I escaped, I wasn't sure what to do or where to go. I ended up going somewhere I shouldn't, apparently, and got the attention of some people who were pretty eager to get their hands on a giant Houndoom... from what little I heard, most Pokemon Trainers are regulated, require a license, and the battles have specific rules to prevent the pokemon from being seriously hurt. These people.... they don't seem to follow any of those rules. They force Pokemon to fight until their opponent is dead or dying.... I escaped because of Kazumi..." She shook her head. "I need your help to save her, and the normal Pokemon there. Kazumi is one of us, she turns into a Mightyena. They were so focused on containing her, if gave me a chance to escape, but I can't leave her there...."

Lulu looked mortified about that and hugged Ruffle almost out of reflex who had came up to her as if sensing something. She and the others were already a bit wary of the battling thing, and though they weren't trainers from what was heard it didn't do their outlook any favors.

"Great. More assholes using others in a dick measuring contest because they're too much cowards to get their own hands dirty in fighting." Karman grumbled.

Moses frowned at this. "We can't waste much time then. Do you know where the place is? And would you mind being inside a Pokeball or not? If that's not a normal size of a Houndoom it might attract the wrong kind of attention but can't force you."

Rika chuckled slightly. "No, I don't mind. I've heard it's nice inside them, and that any pain from injuries goes away while inside them." A pause. "Well, guess you won't have to weaken me first to catch me, will you? I just want to help Kazumi... though... be careful. Don't do anything that makes her think you're a threat before you are able to talk to her, she can be dangerous..."

Moses nodded, reaching his pokeball. "So do you know where the place is to lead us?" He was thinking already of contacting any police or anything as well. It would also help with making sure there were no stragglers or other such operations around and if so they could shut it down.

Rika nodded again. "It's in the city down the road, the basement of some big building... I think the sign said Warehouse Nine."

Moses put that into memory, they were wasting enough time as is. "Let's get a move on then."

* *

Once the group was ready, they headed out. This time they traveled faster since Ruffle had been put into a Pokeball. Considering how fast the Sif were this wasn't too hard of a task. When they reached the city itself of course they had to slow down and blend in. Non humans were heard of everywhere unless you lived under a rock, but at the same time it was best not to draw attention to themselves just in case. Lulu stayed behind in the Pokemon center to wait for the group to finish while the others went to see where 'Warehouse Nine' was.

Once they saw something that looked like it, they'd go from there. Moses was also keeping note of people around.

They would eventually come across the warehouse in question. It seemed abandoned, but tracks suggested it was frequently visited; it was the basement specifically. When they went down, they would find, several flights down, a makeshift arena, small crowd gathered at the edges, people placing bets on the 'upcoming fight'. In the arena, an Arcanine was held by a single thick chain around it's leg, while at the other end, a massive Mightyena was being restrained by even more chains wrapped around it's body. The Mightyena was clearly unwilling, and the handlers were scared to get close to it. It seemed many were betting on the Mightyena to win.

Moses quickly assessed the situation in his mind. The people around here seemed like normal humans from scent unless he was mistaken. Even if they had weapons he wasn't too worried unless they were something very serious a civilian couldn't legally get their hands on.

"I'll move towards the center. You two go clock wise."  Moses said as the others nodded. And then they moved.

As the three moved in, Moses listened a bit about conversation before he struck keeping unsuspecting for the most part. He was going to see if the 'ring' leader was nearby. If not then he wasn't going to worry about it because a scene was going to be made very soon as they moved towards their intended goal. Of course, they would have to be careful. They didn't want to fight Kazumi for some misunderstanding.

As the group was moving in, Kazumi stiffened suddenly, nose flaring as she turned her head to look directly at Moses. She knew that scent, along with those of Karman and Irene. She hadn't known them well, but she knew them, at least. She could also smell others on them. 'Rika... that explains why they are here.... hm, Minako and Keiko.... but are they really here to help....' She'd find out soon enough.

Moses suddenly went to the point, moving right up to some of the men. "Who's in charge here?" His tone was to the point and a bit cool.

The men were clearly startled, and became defensive. "Who's askin', eh? Never seen you before, so I don't feel inclined to answer your questions. You here to bet, or will we be escortin' you out?"