Chapter 8

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=100 BGCOLOR="#CCCCFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="14800640egdysm.jpg"> <div> <B>Dark Reflection (Beginning):  </B><A HREF="dr_pro.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Prologue"><U>Prologue</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 1"><U>Chapter 1</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 2"><U>Chapter 2</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 3"><U>Chapter 3</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 4"><U>Chapter 4</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 5"><U>Chapter 5</U></A></div> <div> <B>A Master in the Making:  </B><A HREF="mim18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 18"><U>Chapter 18</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 19"><U>Chapter 19</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 20"><U>Chapter 20</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 21"><U>Chapter 21</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 22"><U>Chapter 22</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 23"><U>Chapter 23</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 24"><U>Chapter 24</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id734.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 25"><U>Chapter 25</U></A>   |   <A HREF="mim26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 26"><U>Chapter 26</U></A></div> <div> <B>Dark Reflection:  </B><A HREF="dr6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 6"><U>Chapter 6</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr7.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 7"><U>Chapter 7</U></A>   |   <B>Chapter 8</B>   |   <A HREF="dr9.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 9"><U>Chapter 9</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr10.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 10"><U>Chapter 10</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr11.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 11"><U>Chapter 11</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr12.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 12"><U>Chapter 12</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr13.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 13"><U>Chapter 13</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr14.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 14"><U>Chapter 14</U></A></div> <div> <B>Dark Reflection (Finale):</B>  <A HREF="dr15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 15"><U>Chapter 15</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 16"><U>Chapter 16</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dr_epi.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Epilogue"><U>Epilogue</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#000066" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/oldnews.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Old News</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/zrfic/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>My Fanfics</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/zrart/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>My Fanart</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/a-j/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Authors A-J</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/k-z/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Authors K-Z</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/art/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Fanart List</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/ffsubmit.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Submit a Fanfic</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/fanart_submit.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Submit Fanart</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://pub46.ezboard.com/beeveesmb" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://pub46.ezboard.com/beeveesmb"><U><B>Message Board</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethraltier/links.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.fortunecity.com/zethralti"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=380 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Chapter 8</I></div> <div> <B>Dark Reflection: Chapter 8: Capture and Recapture</B></div> <bR> <div>     Sani and Destiny marched through the Emerald Forest, where they had fled after their battle with Mewtwo six days earlier.  Since that time, they had seen no trace of the psychic, but they had not heard from their comrades in Jade City either.  "So, tell me again why I can't just fly us out of here..." Sani began, and Destiny sighed.  That had to be the third time the Mew had asked her that.</div> <bR> <div>     "Because, as you know, we're trying to stay out of sight.  You were the one who said that Mewtwo might be able to sense you when you use your psychic powers, so you should know by now that we can't risk flying anywhere at the moment."</div> <bR> <div>     Sani nodded slowly, "Yeah, I know...  It's just that my feet hurt from all this walking."</div> <bR> <div>     "Don't worry, we'll stop soon," Destiny assured her.  "It looks like there's a stream up ahead.  We'll take a quick break there."</div> <bR> <div>     "Great!  I need a drink!"  Sani ran forward, nearly getting trampled by a Stantler that she startled.  As it ran off into the forest, Destiny was tempted to throw a pokéball or have Sani battle it.  It was gone before she could do either, though.</div> <bR> <div>     Sani had ignored the deer pokémon, intent on getting her drink.  As the Mew gulped down mouthfuls of water, Destiny sat down on a fallen log and looked through the treetops at the Granite Mountains to the north.  "Well, Sani, I think we're almost to the edge of the forest.  Would you rather travel through mountains for a change, or head southeast to Jasper town and see if we can get some more supplies?"</div> <bR> <div>     The Mew frowned.  "Well, the mountains would be hard to travel through, and we'd have less cover.  I don't think they'd be very safe.  I'm not really sure we should go back to a town, either.  All it would take is one Rocket spy and Mewtwo would be after us again."</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny shrugged.  "It sounds equally dangerous either way, but we can't stay in the woods forever.  Not if we want to finish this quest we're on."</div> <bR> <div>     Sani considered that, "Well, I guess we'll be taking risks wherever we go.  Let's just keep going and see if we find anything before we reach the edge of the forest.  Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and find that Forest Temple!"  Sani suddenly noticed that her friend was staring into the woods.  "Hey, Dest?  Whatcha lookin' at?"</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny glanced at the Mew for a quick moment before turning back to the cluster of trees she had been watching.  "I don't know.   I thought I saw something pink moving over there."</div> <bR> <div>     "Maybe it was a Clefairy." Sani said.  "I used to see a lot of them back at our village.  Well, not literally <B>at</B> our village, but in nearby caves.  We're getting near the mountains, so maybe there's a bunch of them around here."</div> <bR> <bR> <div>     From behind a bush, a small, round pokémon listened to the two friends' conversation.  At first, she had planned to run from them, but when they mentioned Clefairies...  She listened carefully, trying to understand what the two were saying, although she was too far away to catch everything.  At the moment, the smaller of the two strange creatures was telling the larger one all about Clefairies.  Wanting to hear exactly what the two were discussing, the little pokémon risked a quick dash to a closer bush, fortunately managing to stay out of sight.  The small creature was still talking, "Actually, I know a couple of the Clefairies.  Maybe I can introduce them to you when we get back."</div> <bR> <div>     The little pink pokémon crouched lower to the ground when she heard that.  These two creatures were in league with the Clefairies?  That was not good...  Not good at all...   She had to stop them while they were alone, and then tell the others.  Taking a deep breath, she began to sing...</div> <bR> <bR> <div>     Sani was in mid-sentence when Destiny interrupted her.  "Wait, Sani.  Do you hear that?"</div> <bR> <div>     The Mew halted her monologue on Clefairies, "Huh?  Hear what?"  Sani  found her eyelids drooping, and wondered why she felt so sleepy.  Suppressing a yawn, she realized what Destiny was referring to.  "You mean that music?  I'm not sure, but it sounds like someone is singing."  This time Sani did yawn, feeling annoyed at herself for being so drowsy.</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny yawned too, sliding off her log to lay down on the ground.  "Sounds nice," she murmured, before falling into a deep sleep.  Sani tried to make sense of what was happening, but she too felt too tired to do anything.  Maybe a little nap would help...</div> <bR> <div>     Sure that the two were asleep, the watching pokémon left her hiding place and ran to get the rest of her clan, humming cheerfully because of her cleverness in defeating the two intruders.</div> <bR> <bR> <div>     When Destiny woke, she was surprised to find that it was almost night and that her hands were bound behind her back with vines.  She tugged at the restraints for a moment with no success, then tried to sit up, discovering that her feet were similarly bound.  She found that Sani was lying beside her, still asleep, but in the same predicament as her.  Destiny elbowed her a few times until she woke up.</div> <bR> <div>     The Mew groaned, "Ow, stop that, Dest.  I was having the greatest dream..."</div> <bR> <div>     "Forget the dream, someone tied us up while we were asleep!" Destiny growled.</div> <bR> <div>     Sani pointed with her tail.  "You mean them?"</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny turned and found nine pokémon watching her very closely.  "Jigglypuffs!  I should have known.  No wonder we both fell asleep..."</div> <bR> <div>     One of the pink pokémon stepped forward and addressed them angrily.  "Jig jigglypuff jig puff jiggly!"  Destiny did not understand a word of it, but the Jigglypuff apparently did not notice.  "Puff, jiggly jigglypuff jig," it continued.</div> <bR> <div>     "What?" Sani asked in confusion.  "Clefairy friends?  What do you mean?"</div> <bR> <div>     "Jigglypuff jig puff.  Jig jiggly jiggly <B>jiggly</B>!!!!"</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny frowned at her Mew friend.  "Translation, please?"</div> <bR> <div>     Sani shrugged, "I'm not quite sure what he's talking about.  First he said that they wouldn't let us help our Clefairy friends, then when I asked them about that, he yelled at me to stop acting like I didn't know what they meant."</div> <bR> <div>     "Let me try."  Destiny smiled at the glaring Jigglypuff, trying to come up with something.  "Um, we don't know about any Clefairies around here," she began.  Before she could go further, the Jigglypuff cut her off, yelling something in an accusing voice.  Now glaring herself, Destiny decided to interrupt him too, "I can't understand a word you're saying, so shut up until I finish."  Amazingly, the balloon pokémon actually listened, although the other Jigglypuffs were grumbling among themselves.</div> <bR> <div>     "We're just travelers." Destiny tried to explain.  "We have no idea what Clefairies you're talking about.  We haven't even seen any Clefairies around here yet."</div> <bR> <div>     The Jigglypuff started up again, his voice still filled with suspicion.  Suddenly Sani burst out laughing, which earned her glares from everyone else present.  "Oh, is that it?" she giggled.  "No, we weren't talking about any Clefairies around here, we were talking about some Clefairies from far, far away that I used to see.  We just wondered if there were any around here too.  Why did that get you so upset, anyway?  Is there something wrong with the Clefairies that live here?"</div> <bR> <div>     The balloon pokémon began to talk and gesture, making Destiny more confused than ever since she could not understand him.  Destiny wondered just how detailed his explanation was, because he kept going for far longer than she had expected.  When the pokémon finally started slapping at the air, she decided to interrupt again.  "Whoa, whoa, hold on.  Could you explain some of this to me, Sani?"</div> <bR> <div>     The Mew nodded, "Yeah, sure.  It sounds like the 'puffs are just about at war with the Clefairies.  They say that they've had Clefairies steal the food from their gardens and attack them for no reason, so they've been forced to fight back.  Prylo here was just taking his time to describe the whole conflict from start to finish."</div> <bR> <div>     "Have they always had those kinds of problems with the Clefairies?" Destiny asked, beginning to understand the reasons for their capture, not that it made her feel any better about her predicament.</div> <bR> <div>     "No," Sani explained, "Prylo said that it just started about two weeks ago."</div> <bR> <div>     "I see."  Destiny said, still feeling a little angry, especially since they were still bound.  "Well, tell Prylo that if he doesn't release us, then he's going to have a worse problem than mean Clefairies on his hands.  My hands are going numb, and that makes me very unhappy."</div> <bR> <div>     The Jigglypuff glanced at her mistrustfully for a long moment, then signaled to one of the others.  "Jiggly!"  The pokémon, a lone Wigglytuff, walked around behind Destiny and freed her hands, then did the same with Sani.</div> <bR> <div>     "That's much better."  Destiny told the Wigglytuff, "Thanks."  She scowled at Prylo, as she reached down to free her feet.  "You can't keep tying up everyone who comes through here, you know." she told him nastily.  "Someone might just get mad and decide to make your problems worse."</div> <bR> <div>     Sani frowned, not used to seeing her friend in such a bad mood.  "Chill out, Dest, it was just an accident.  I'm sure it won't happen again."  The Jigglypuffs nodded in agreement.</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny rubbed her forehead, "You're right, Sani.  All these misadventures must be catching up to me.  I'm getting kinda grouchy..."</div> <bR> <div>     "Don't worry, Dest," Sani said, smiling cheerfully.  "I'm sure you'll feel better after a good rest."  The Mew looked back and forth at Destiny and the Jigglypuffs, who were all staring at her strangely.  "What?"</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>     The Jigglypuffs showed Destiny and Sani to their caves, and told them that they could spend the night if they wished.  The Wigglytuff that had untied them stayed with them, although the other Jigglypuffs went back to their usual routine.  According to Prylo, the Wigglytuff, Rhalii, was there to be their host, but Destiny suspected that she was also supposed to make sure that her two charges did not cause trouble.</div> <bR> <div>     Rhalii was quite friendly, though, and she made sure that Destiny and Sani had some fruits and berries to eat.  After their meal, Sani curled up beside Destiny and fell asleep.  Destiny, however, was not feeling the least bit tired because of her nap in the woods.  So, instead of sleeping, she stayed up to chat with Rhalii.  Or at least, she <B>tried</B> to chat, since she had a hard time understanding the Wigglytuff without Sani's help.  Still, she was able to make out a few sentences from the pokémon's gestures.  Even then she had trouble.  It was late, so she was hardly able to see the Wigglytuff in the dark.</div> <bR> <div>     At the moment, she was trying to decipher the Wigglytuff's latest question.  Noticing her confusion, Rhalii waved at the walls of the cave, then pointed at herself.  "Wig, tuff wigglytuff?" she repeated, pointing at Destiny.</div> <bR> <div>     "Where do I live?"  Destiny asked tentatively, once again thinking that it was just not fair that wild pokémon could somehow understand her without ever hearing her language before.  "Is that it?"  Rhalii nodded, smiling.  "Well, Sani and I come from a land far away.  It's northeast of here, but you have to go through a special tunnel in the mountains to find it." Destiny explained, deciding not to go into too much detail.  It would only confuse Rhalii anyway.  "There's these old temple ruins there..."  </div> <bR> <div>     Destiny trailed off as something ran past the entrance to their cave.  As far as she knew, the other Jigglypuffs had gone to sleep an hour before, so she wondered what that was.  "Hey, Rhalii?  Did you see that?"  She turned and found that the Wigglytuff had jumped to her feet and was on her way to the cave entrance.  Scooping up the sleeping Sani, Destiny followed.</div> <bR> <div>      "Wiggly!"  Rhalii exclaimed, pointing.</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny squinted and could just make out a figure over at the Jigglypuffs' gardens.  "Yeah, I see it.  Let's try to sneak up on it."  Rhalii and Destiny crept toward the shadowy figure, which Destiny recognized as they got closer.  It was a Clefairy, picking berries from one of the bushes.  Unfortunately, just as they were getting close, Destiny tripped on a rock, falling over and dropping Sani to the ground.  The Mew awoke with a yelp.</div> <bR> <div>     Hearing the noise, the Clefairy spun around to find them sneaking up on it.  As Rhalii ran toward it, the Clefairy bolted away.  Destiny jumped to her feet, grabbed Sani again, and took off after them.  Even with Sani's extra weight, Destiny found that she was quickly catching up with Rhalii and the Clefairy.</div> <bR> <div>     "Where are we going now?" Sani mumbled, rubbing her head.</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny tried to point, but almost dropped the Mew again.  "It's one of those Clefairies.  It was stealing some of the Jigglypuffs' berries, but it ran off when we found it."</div> <bR> <div>     Sani jumped out of Destiny's arms and ran along beside her.  "I see it.  It looks like it's going to go through that big gap in the rocks."  Destiny nodded, spotting the gap in the steep rock wall that Sani had mentioned.  She realized that the Clefairy was leading them farther into the mountains, probably heading for its home.</div> <bR> <div>     Reaching the wide gap, Destiny ran through and nearly tripped over Rhalii, who had stopped suddenly.  "What's wrong?  Why did you stop?" Destiny asked.</div> <bR> <div>     "Tuff wigglytuff.  Wig tuff wig-wiggly."  Rhalii answered.</div> <bR> <div>     "She said that the Clefairy disappeared.  She's not sure where it went." Sani translated.  The Mew looked around for a moment.  "Uh-oh"</div> <bR> <div>     "What do you mean, 'uh-oh'?" Destiny asked.</div> <bR> <div>     When Sani did not answer, Destiny turned around, and found five Clefairies holding short wooden spears.  Two of them were pointing the crude spears at Sani, the other three at Destiny and Rhalii.  The Wigglytuff hid behind Destiny's legs, then yelped and ran around in front of her.  Destiny turned to find seven more Clefairies and a Clefable behind her.</div> <bR> <div>     The Clefable stepped forward and pointed accusingly at them.  "Fable clefable-fable, clefable fable!"</div> <bR> <div>     Sani huddled beside Rhalii to avoid the sharp points that were poking in her direction.  "He says that we've intruded on their land, and now we're his prisoners."</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny raised her hands in surrender.  "Here we go again..."</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>     Destiny jumped as a something poked her in the back, accidentally smacking the top of her head on the low ceiling of the Clefaries' cave.  Grumbling to herself and rubbing her head, she scowled at the Clefairy that had prodded her with its spear.  It gestured for her to follow it, so she complied.</div> <bR> <div>     After they had been captured the night before, the Clefairies had taken the three captives to their caves, where they had been separated, each spending the night under guard.  Destiny had actually managed to get a little bit of sleep, but that was hardly helpful under the circumstances.  The Clefairies had been undecided as to what they should do with their new prisoners the previous night, but apparently they had made up their minds.</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny was happy to find Sani and Rhalii waiting for her, although she would have been more pleased if the armed Clefairies were not around.  She noted with some amusement that Rhalii had been gagged.  "I suppose the Clefairies aren't music lovers." she said; and the Wigglytuff nodded, looking rather annoyed.  Destiny reached over to take off the offending strip of cloth, but a Clefairy thrust its spear towards her before she touched the fabric.  "Ok, ok, I'll leave it alone.  Don't get excited." she growled.</div> <bR> <div>     "Hey, Dest," Sani said.  "Here comes the big chief guy again."  Sani was right; the Clefable they had seen last night was striding towards them.  He fearlessly walked right up to Destiny, even though her hands were not bound.  He started talking, and Sani quickly translated for Destiny.  "He says that he's Chief Strongwind of the Falling Rock tribe.  We're going to be used as hostages to stop the Jigglypuffs from attacking them and stealing all their food..."  Sani stopped and frowned at Strongwind.  "Hold on a minute.  <B>You're</B> the ones who've been doing all that, not the Jigglypuffs!"</div> <bR> <div>     Chief Strongwind yelled angrily, so Sani shouted right back at him. "Don't tell me that you're innocent!  The only reason we ended up on your land was because we were chasing a Clefairy that we caught raiding the Jigglypuffs' gardens!"  Sani jumped back as two of the guards poked at her with their spears.</div> <bR> <div>     The sharp points were knocked away by a third spear, as Destiny ripped the weapon away from the nearest Clefairy.  Grabbing Chief Strongwind, Destiny waved her appropriated spear in his face.  "That's it.  All of you better put down your spears now, or your big chief might get a few holes in him!"  The angry Clefairies complied, throwing their weapons to the ground.  Sani and Rhalii picked up the weapons and carried them over to Destiny, then Sani helped the Wigglytuff take off her gag.  As soon as it was off, Rhalii pointed at Strongwind accusingly and growled something at him.  He snarled back and the two started up a loud argument that made Destiny wonder if they should have ungagged Rhalii after all.</div> <bR> <div>     "All right you two, break it up.  I don't know who attacked who first, but fighting isn't going to solve anything."  Strongwind and Rhalii both stopped yelling, then each pointed at the other and shouted something at Destiny instead.</div> <bR> <div>     "Don't give us that," Sani grumbled.  "I'm not going to believe that neither of your tribes have done anything to the other.  As a matter of fact, I'm starting to wonder if maybe you're both at fault."</div> <bR> <div>     Suddenly, Sani paused and frowned, cocking an ear down one of the tunnels.  When Rhalii did the same, Destiny began to wonder what was going on.  "Sani, what is it?"</div> <bR> <div>     Sani shook her head, "I'm not sure, but I suspect we'll find out soon.  It's a Clefairy shouting something, and it's heading this way."  Destiny gave Sani a quick nod as the sound came closer.</div> <bR> <div>     On a hunch, Destiny stepped away from the tunnel, just out of sight of anything coming down it.  Still in her grasp, Chief Strongwind started muttering, until Destiny poked him with the spear she was still holding.  "Quiet, I want to see what this is all about."  Destiny expected to see a Clefairy run out of the tunnel, possibly prepared to attack if it saw her before it saw its captured leader.</div> <bR> <div>     She was only half wrong.  A Clefairy <B>did</B> shoot out of the tunnel, but not after her.  It was chasing a Jigglypuff, which was holding something golden in its hands.  Both of them stopped in their tracks when they found Destiny, San, Rhalii, and the other Clefairies surrounding them.  "Clefairy clefairy!" the Clefairy yelled, pointing at the Jigglypuff as it tried to bolt part Destiny.</div> <bR> <div>     Sani and Destiny both grabbed at the fleeing Jigglypuff and missed.  Rhalii, however, jumped in front of the other pokémon, yelling angrily.  She grabbed it by the ear, berating it.  The Jigglypuff yanked away, trying to push past Rhalii and escape.  Destiny and Sani trapped the balloon pokémon from behind.  However, before they could grab it, it somehow slipped <B>through</B> Rhalii, as if the Wigglytuff was not even there.  Rhalii yelped and recoiled as the strange Jigglypuff ran out of the caves.</div> <bR> <div>     The rest of the group looked on in shock.  "Wow..." Sani murmured.  "I've never seen a Jigglypuff do that before."</div> <bR> <div>     Strongwind yelled something, and Destiny realized that in the confusion, she had accidentally released him and dropped her spear.  She turned to find him with the spear in his hands, but it was not pointed at her.  The Clefable tossed it to her, then grabbed another spear from the pile Sani and Rhalii had collected, pointing the tip of his weapon at the cave exit.  "Fable, clefable clefable fable!"</div> <bR> <div>     "I agree," Destiny told him.  "Let's go find that Jigglypuff!"</div> <bR> <bR> <div>     After an hour of searching, the hunting party met back at the caves, feeling gloomy because of their lack of success.  Rhalii and Strongwind looked especially upset at the circumstances.  Destiny thought it was time to find out why.  "Before we go out again, I want to know what it was that the Jigglypuff stole.  I know it looked like it was made of gold, but I only got a glimpse.  What was it, and is it important?"</div> <bR> <div>     It was not Strongwind, but Rhalii who replied, with Sani translating.  "She says it was a golden medallion with an Omastar on it.  Apparently, the Clefairies and the Jigglypuffs both had a golden medallion with an ancient pokémon on it.  The 'fairies had an Omastar, and the 'puffs had a Kabutops.  Recently, the Kabutops medallion was stolen.  At the time, it was thought that the Clefairies took it, but that doesn't seem to be the case."</div> <bR> <div>     "According to Rhalii, the two medals were the key to releasing an unstoppable monster known as the Rock Demon.  No one really knows what it is, but it's said to be a vicious beast that eats Clefairies and Jigglypuffs and anything else it wants to.  When the Kabutops medallion was stolen, the Jigglypuffs were mad but not really worried, since they knew that the Clefairies wouldn't be crazy enough to release a raging monster that would gobble them all up.  However, now that we know the Clefairies weren't the ones who stole it, they're worried that someone else may be trying to free the Rock Demon."  </div> <bR> <div>     And that means," Sani finished, "that unless we can stop them in time, you, me, and all the other pokémon around here might just end up as lunch."</div> <bR> <div>     "So let's go over this one more time," Destiny said, looking back and forth between Rhalii and Strongwind.  "Your medallions have been stolen, most likely to release a raging monster on the land."  The two pokémon nodded, so Destiny continued.  "Then it's obvious what we have to do.  Let's just go to wherever it is that you have to take the medallions to free the Rock Demon.  That's almost certainly where we'll find whatever it was that took your medallions.  Unless of course, they were just stealing whatever they could grab, regardless of its value."</div> <bR> <div>     Sani rolled her eyes, "Like we could ever be that lucky."</div> <bR> <div>     "I know," Destiny said.  "That's why we have to try to get those medallions back."</div> <bR> <div>     Rhalii turned to Strongwind and asked him something, which sparked some kind of debate between the two of them.  Destiny, not understanding enough of the conversation, once again looked to Sani for a translation, but the two stopped a moment later.  Strongwind nodded at Rhalii once, then started explaining to Sani.  "Ok, he says that we're going to have to go down into the abandoned mines near here.  They were concerned about going down there, because it's so dangerous.  There's been cave-ins down there, and there's deep shafts everywhere."</div> <bR> <div>     "Not to mention the resident Rock Demon," Destiny added.</div> <bR> <div>     Strongwind shivered, "Clefable fable fable clefable-fable."</div> <bR> <div>     "Yeah, I'm not exactly thrilled with the idea either, " Sani told the Clefable.  "We have to do it, though."</div> <bR> <div>     "Yes, we do," Destiny said, running over the potential problems in her head.  "And we'll have to be careful when we're doing it.  We won't be able to go down there with an army of Clefairies and Jigglypuffs because it would be too dangerous.  Too great a chance of cave-ins, and if the Rock Demon <B>does</B> escape, we won't want to have his breakfast, lunch, and dinner lined up, waiting for him."</div> <bR> <div>     Rhalii asked Sani something.  "She wants to know who you think we should take," the Mew told Destiny.</div> <bR> <div>     "Well, You and I are definitely going, and I expect that Rhalii and Strongwind are coming too.  Maybe Strongwind can pick a few of his best warriors to come along too.  I don't think we should take more than that."  </div> <bR> <div>     Strongwind gave Destiny a quick nod, then rushed off into one of the caves.  "I guess he's already got someone in mind." Sani remarked.</div> <bR> <div>     A few minutes later, Strongwind returned with three tough-looking Clefairies, two males and a female.  At least, they were as tough-looking as Clefairies come.  Destiny still thought that they all looked like delicate little creatures.  Still, these three Clefairies looked decidedly less delicate than the others, especially one of them, who sported a scar across his head and had a chink out of his ear.  The Clefairy noticed her staring at him, and smiled amicably, telling her something and pointing at his scars.  Sani giggled, then translated for Destiny.  "He says that you should never try to head butt a tree."</div> <bR> <div>     Strongwind caught the exchange and smiled.  He pointed to each of the warriors and said something, which Destiny presumed to be their names.  "The scarred one is Goodheart, the female is Rosebud, and the other male is Moonstone."</div> <bR> <div>     "Moonstone?"</div> <bR> <div>     Sani shrugged, "It's a Clefairy thing."</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny decided not to ask.  "Okay, then.  Now we're all together and ready, so Strongwind, lead the way to the mines!"</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>     After the first ten minutes of exploring the abandoned mines, Destiny was feeling just about ready to turn around and go back.  The mines really were as dangerous as Strongwind had said, and Destiny had proved it by almost falling down a shaft just moments after they entered the creepy tunnels.  Fortunately, Sani and Rhalii had pulled her back from the edge just before she would have toppled over into the darkness below.  The way was quite treacherous, with large mounds of debris hindering their progress, as they were forced to climb over them.  Fortunately, the Clefairies all knew how to use their Flash attacks, so they had enough light to see by.</div> <bR> <div>     Scrambling over yet another pile of rocks, Destiny slid down the other side and came to a stop right in front of another deep shaft.  "Looks like we go down from here," she told the rest of the group, as they slid down behind her.  Destiny searched through her backpack for her rope, then tied one end of it to a metal hook on the wall.  "See, Sani?  We needed the rope after all."</div> <bR> <div>     The Mew shrugged, "I stand corrected.  Of course, if you wanted to risk it, I could fly everyone down there."</div> <bR> <div>     Destiny shook her head, "No, we're still running in anti-Mewtwo mode.  No psychic stuff until we absolutely need it."  Grabbing the loose end of the rope, Destiny started working her way down the side of the shaft.  "I'll give the rope a couple tugs when I get to the bottom, ok?"</div> <bR> <div>     "Ok, Dest.  I hope it's not too far down.  Sometimes those shafts can be really deep."  Sani peered over the edge, as Destiny disappeared into the darkness.  Loosing sight of her friend, she turned back to Rhalii and the Clefairies.  "Hey, Goodheart?  Maybe you or Moonstone should go next so Destiny will be able to see."</div> <bR> <div>     Goodheart was about to reply when there was an ominous creaking sound from behind him.  The Clefairy started to turn, then yelped as the hook that Destiny had tied the rope to snapped off under the stress, slicing across his side and disappearing down into the shaft, along with the rope that had been tied to it...</div> <bR> <div>     "Destiny!" Sani shouted in horror, but it was too late.</div> <bR> <div> <B>To be continued...</B></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>