Chp 15

	"Get up! I wish I had some coffee. But that's no excuse, get a move on, we gotta go!" Ashley spouted out, pacing back and forth at the slope out of the cave.  

	Phantom was slowly getting up, gingerly pressing his right forepaw to the floor. He drew in a hissing breath. "I think I sprained something." He experimentally set it down, seeing just how much weight he could put on it. One way or the other, he was going to be slowed down. 

	Mystic was in a similar mood. She could not stop yawning and felt drowsy. "Can't we just sleep longer? I'm not ready to go." She attempted to bury her head in her paws, but Ashley gently pounced on her. Her head was placed between Ashley's paws and shaken lightly. 

	"WAKE UP!" She yelled cheerily, uncontrollably smiling. "Think of all the adventure you'll be missing!" 

	"Don't make me regret letting you join..." Mystic threatened. 

	"We gotta get a move on, grouchy pants." She said teasingly. 

	"Yea, we just gotta get to the top, then we can get a room and you can go back to sleep." Phantom said, offering a paw to help her up. 

	"Ughh" She groaned. "Fine. But I get something. I don't know what yet, but something, later, is mine." She got up and slowly followed the other two pokemon outside. 

	Phantom took the lead, guiding them back onto the main path, which moved side to side in an S shape up the mountain. 

	"What are you guy doing? Is this how you've been going up? No wonder you didn't make it. Nobody actually uses this old path anymore. Follow me." Ashley said. She turned off the path and began to walk straight up the mountain. Her tail were fanned out and against the ground to clear a path through the snow for them. 

	"This is kinda nice." Phantom said. "The snow feels good on my sore paw." 

	"Then let's pick up the pace! Can I take the lead on this one?"

	"Once we find the culprit, I guess. Just be discreet. We were sent to gather information." 

	"Got it, like a spy." 

	Phantom looked back at Mystic, who was last in line, to see how she felt about that. He found her with her head drooped to the side and eyes half closed. She made a indecipherable noise at him when she noticed him looking. He turned back and looked past Ashley, who blended nearly perfectly into the snow, and up towards the peak. It wasn't too far away now. He could even begin to make out the tops of buildings over the crest. 

	Sure enough, not long they made it to the top. They crossed over the top of the hill, to find a mostly flat area where the small town was situated. The mountain itself wasn't that high, but the clouds certainly looked closer as they floated by. Phantom turned back to look back down. He felt his stomach drop from the sheer height. The town they had came from looked tiny now. 

	"Can I take a nap now?" Mystic asked. 

	"Yea, this way. We can get a room at the spa, and we can get in the baths later." 

	"That does sound nice. It's been a while since we took time to relax." 

	"SLEEP!" Mystic shouted, charging headlong towards the main building of the hot spring. When they caught up with her, she was already harassing the froslass behind the desk. "I need a room! Now, now, now!" 

	"Madam, please calm down. If you would pay, I'd be happy to give you a room."

	"Pay?! Pay? Alright, I... shit... Phantom! Money!" She turned back and yelled at him. 

	He stepped up to the counter and took out his badge, handing it to the froslass. "Don't you work at the inn at the base of the mountain?" He asked her.

	"No, that is my sister. Is she doing alright?"

	"Yea, we just came from there. Nice place."

	"Well, I believe we have it better up here. But you'll just have to see." She said, smiling. She handed the key over to Phantom. Mystic immediately snapped it out of his paw, looked at the number, and dashed off. 

	"Wait, what's our room?" Phantom shouted after her, but she was already out of the room. 

	"Cabin number eight." The froslass told him. "Here," She gave him another keycard.

	"Thanks." He and Ashley left and headed for their room. The spa area was divided into three areas, the main building, the spa, and the cabins. The cabins were small single room wooden shacks, separated from each other by only a few feet. Each one had a chimney, hinting to the fireplace inside. They came to right one, and went inside. Mystic was already on the bed, wriggling to try and get comfy. 

	"Either join me or beat it." She said.

	"Jeez." Ashley said. 

	"I'm going to leave the box here." Phantom said. He reached in and took out their badges. "Hmm..." 

	"What is it?" Ashley asked.

	"The box is a dead giveaway for an adventurer, and so is the badge, but we might need it. All our money is stored with it..." He rubbed his chin in thought. "Here's the deal. You take the lead, and I'll take the badge and hide it." 

	She nodded and he started for the door. She looked over to Mystic to make sure she wasn't watching, and grabbed her sister's badge, hiding it in her tails. She then followed him back outside, pulling the door shut and allowing Mystic her rest. 

	"Alright, let's go investigate."

	"So is this what it's like?"

	"Hmm? Oh, no, not really. This is just a special job. We can do some easy jobs when we're done here." He took the lead for now, going out into the town. 

	"Oh dear..." Phantom heard someone say. He looked over to see a worried looking Jynx looking towards a burned building.

	"Excuse me." He said as he approached her. "What happened here?" 

	"This building burned down last night... Are you visiting?"

	"Yes, we came to see the hot springs."

	"I probably shouldn't gossip, but I can't keep this a secret anymore. My husband works as the night watch for the town, and he says he saw Cole, the manager of the springs, walking away from the sight just after the fire started..." She gasped. "You don't think he'd..." 

	"No, probably just a coincidence. Well, it was nice meeting you." He said, eager to get away. Once he returned to Ashley, he informed her of what he learned. 

	"The spa manager? Well we'll have to hunt him down." Her excitement was clear. She took the lead this time, taking them back to the hotel. They went to the hot spring area. 

	The springs were separated by gender but Ashley ignored the doors and walked around the side, until she found a door marked "Employees only". She ignored this too, and went inside. There were several mechanical looking things, and two pokemon, a buizel and a torkoal. The torkoal noticed and addressed them.

	"Who are you? What are you doing in here?" He asked. His voice did not match his body. While he looked old, he sounded quite young. 

	"Are you Coal?"

	"Senior or Junior?" He asked, sounding a bit snarky. 

	"That sounds like a yes. In that case..." She moved her tails, bringing the one Mystic's badge was attached to forward. "Freeze!" She opened her mouth and swept an ice beam across the floor, freezing their feet in a prison of ice. "What did you have to do with the fire last night?!" She yelled, getting in their faces. 

	Phantom just stood there with his mouth hanging open, too stunned to do anything.

	"What are you talking about?!" Coal yelled.

	"Maybe we should-" The buizel started. 

	"Shut the hell up, Rivet! We didn't do anything!" 

	"We... we did it." Rivet said. Coal let out a loud hiss. He breathed fire down and melted the ice containing his paws. "Don't do it!" Rivet shouted.

	Coal charged forward and hit Ashley aside with a powerful body slam. "I'm not goin' to jail!" He roared. His head turned to Phantom, and smoke began to puff out of his shell. 

	"Coal, stop!" Rivet tried to reason with the raging torkoal. 

	Phantom did not have time to reason anymore, and his survival instincts kicked in. He ducked to the side as a few balls of fire shot by and let out a burst of paralyzing electricity, locking Coal in place. This did not stop him however, and he began to build up another attack. Until a blast of water hit him, that is. 

	Phantom looked over to see Rivet with water dripping from his maw. "If you keep this up, we'll just get in more trouble!" He ran forward and leaped onto the fire types back, holding him down. Coal tucked his limbs into his shell, and an angry growling could be heard coming from inside. 

	Phantom instinctually reached down for the box, but found nothing there. "Oh yea... Ashley? Watch over them while I go get someone." 

	Ashley was already up and keeping a stern eye on them, but she nodded once he finished speaking. 

	Fairly sure that she would be fine, he left and ran back to their room to contact Hunter. The moment he burst in the door, Mystic let out an angry groan at being woken up. "I'll just be a sec." Phantom said. He grabbed the orb and left as fast as he could. Once outside, he activated the communication orb. 

	"Phantom, what is it?" Hunter asked when he answered. 

	"We captured somebody. Would you come here and help us?" 

	"Of course. Be right there." The orb disconnected. 

	Phantom sat there, expecting Phantom to teleport to him with his signature ribbon. When nothing happened, he started back to the maintenance room. Oh shit. He must have teleported to Mystic's badge. Which Ashley had. Phantom picked up the pace. When he opened the door, "Young lady, stealing a badge is a serious crime." 

	"Yea but..." 

	"It's okay Hunter." He said. "She joined our team. Speaking of which, could you get her a badge?"

	"Yes, of course. Now, down to business. What did you two do last night?" Hunter asked, stepping over to Coal and Rivet. 

	"We burned down a house. Nobody lived there though." Rivet said. "Coal, just talk. Maybe we'll get off easier."

	"Yes, I can certainly do something for you if you both cooperate." Hunter said. 

	"Fine! We were told by our boss to burn it down. He was the one who owned it, so it wasn't really a crime." Coal said, his head coming out.  

	"Who is he and why?" Hunter demanded.

	"I don't actually know his name, but he's a tyranitar. He said he had to leave town and didn't want the house anymore. So he paid us a bunch to destroy it. So we didn't really do anything wrong at all." 

	"Was he the owner of the spa, or what?" Ashley asked. 

	A worried look quickly crossed Coal's face as he ducked back into his shell. "We were... he gave us berries, that we sold ourselves and gave him a cut of the profits."

	"The berries were illegal." Rivet added. 

	"I'm trying to save our asses, you idiot!" Coal snapped at him, his head coming back out and looking at the buizel on top of him. 

	"That's weird, cuz so am I!" He said back, a snarl crossing his face. 

	"Both of you shut up!" Ashley said, sick of their squabbling. 

	"Screw you!" Coal shouted back.

	Hunter tapped both Ashley and Coal on the head. "Enough! Young man, you need to respect authority. We're here to keep people safe. As for you," He turned to Ashley. "You need to learn what it means to be on a rescue team. You need discipline."

	"You need discipline." She muttered.

	"What was that?" 

	"Nothing!" She said flustered. 

	"Anyways, Phantom, thank you for capturing these two. You can go on ahead, I'll take care of this and get back to you later. And I'll get a badge for your new teammate." 

	"Alright, thanks Hunter." He turned for the door, followed by Ashley. Just before she left, she turned back, lifted a paw, and pointed at both eyes before turning her paw and pointing at Coal. 

	"So what now?" She asked once they were outside. 

	"Well, we did wake up pretty early, so I wouldn't mind a nap." 

	"That doesn't sound too bad..." 

	They made their way back to the cabin, and quietly went inside. Mystic was lying on her back on the bed, paws clinging to herself. She had also started the fireplace, and there was a substantial supply of logs to go along with it. Both Ashley and Phantom got into the bed, one on either side, and slowly drifted off. 

+++

	Mystic awoke and stretched her legs out as far as she could. Her eyes shot open when she hit something. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was only Phantom. She turned her head to the other side to see Ashley. 

	"You up?" Phantom asked. 

	She rolled back over to face him. "Yea. I miss anything?" 

	"It's a long story." Ashley said. "How about we head for the hot springs and I'll fill you in." 

	"I was thinking the same thing. Phantom, you coming?" 

	"Mmhmm, in a little bit. I'm gonna have a snack first." 

	"Alright, see you there." Mystic said. She hopped off the bed and went out the door, followed shortly by Ashley. 

	Phantom got up and went over to the box. He took out an apple and began to take a few bites. While he did, he took out and activated the communication orb. 

	"Hunter, it's Phantom. I forgot to tell you some things when you were here." 

	"That's perfectly fine. What is it?"

	"So last night, we were attacked by a flygon named Grit. He offered to let us join the group we've been fight. They call themselves the Shadow now. And he said that they cover two major vices."

	"That is... worrying. Phantom, I know you're all in on this, but what I am about to tell you could be very upsetting."

	"It's okay, I can handle it."

	"Alright. I am certain one of the vices is drug trafficking. I suspect the other to be sex slaves. Based on everything you've found so far, it seems more than likely that they have been kidnapping pokemon and selling them for... carnal desires. I'm sorry to put something so heavy on you."

	"That's just... awful. That just makes me want to stop them more." Phantom said, conviction filling his voice. 

	"We will stop them. I believe that they have similar motives to the Blade: money. But their methods are very different. They also live up to their name, as they are very secretive. Perhaps they are learning from their predecessor's mistakes. I already investigated the burned building. There was a basement, like the other, but everything was gone. There was also a tunnel, but it was utterly collapsed. No information at all can be gathered from it. Nonetheless, you have done very well. Take a break and enjoy yourselves before coming back."

+++

	"So then, that Hunter guy showed up and took them away." 

	"So we found the pusher, but not the mastermind. Well, at least we put a stop to it." 

	The girls went in, through the small locker room and into the spring. Mystic stepped right in, the hot and steamy water feeling wonderful on her fur. 

	"Wait, can you get in this hot of water?" She asked Ashley.

	She reached down and stuck one paw in the water. "Yea, it's just kinda tingly." She slowly began to get in more and more, until she was fully in. "Ohhh." She moaned. "It's been so long since we've been here. Last time was about two years ago, when we all got together and came up here for the weekend."

	"What was she like?"

	"Who, mom?" 

	"Yea... I know what happened, so if you don't wanna talk about it..." Mystic offered. 

	"No, it'll be good to get things off my chest. I'm scared to talk about it with dad. He's been... down ever since. Mom was really nice, kind hearted, always looking out for others, you know. She worked her tails off to keep everybody happy. When you disappeared... she started acting weird. She basically stopped doing anything, and would spend all day on the porch, watching for you. Then one day..." She closed her eyes and her jaw clenched. 

	"It's okay, you don't have to say anything else." Mystic said, afraid that she was about to burst into tears. 

	"I want to. I need to. I woke up one day and when I left the house..." She drew in a hitching breath. "She was lying on the porch, half buried in snow." A single tear ran down her cheek and splashed into the water. 

	Mystic stepped forward and licked her between her ears. "It's okay. We're going to get revenge." 

	"While I'm confessing things... Remember how I've been doing theatre? Well it's a part of the school, and they pay graduates to come and perform and show the kids how it's done. Well, they don't pay very much. So when I needed money, I started working part time as a dancer."

	"Dancer? What's the difference?"

	"An adult dancer. A stripper. At the local strip club. I was super popular, and eventually got a boyfriend, and so on. We broke up after our first time. He was probably hunting for virgins." 

	"That's awful. And I've only been gone for two months... wow..." She felt sorry for her sister. "Listen, we are going to stop the Shadow from ever doing this again, from hurting anyone else the way they did us."

	"I'm glad to see nothing changed for you. You were always a motivated girl. When you decided to do something, it was gonna get done, no matter what. I remember all the times you got in trouble with mom and dad when you nearly destroyed the house doing stuff. Like the time you tried to bake a cake and lit her flower garden on fire from the kitchen window." Ashley said, smiling at the pleasant memories. "We've gotta find a way to get your memories back, maybe we should try and find a powerful psychic type."

	"We tried that, with an old slowking."

	"No, I mean like a real psychic type, like one with tons of experience. The rescue federation has to have some unbelievably strong pokemon. Like that Hunter. I could just feel how strong he was, just from being around him." 

	"Maybe he would know someone... he is the leader of the federation..." 

	"Wait? He is?! That guy, your boss, is the leader of the entire federation?!" 

	"I don't know about entire, but he leads the base in Journey town." 

	"Well that's the big city, so he's gotta be important."

+++

	"Excuse me? Young man?" An aged torkoal asked Phantom on his way to the spring. 

	"Yes?"

	"Are you the boy who caught Coal?"

	"Yes, that was me." 

	"Thank you. I'm his father, Coal senior. He was supposed to be taking over maintenance of the springs, but I guess he was just too young. Your scizor took them back with him for punishment." 

	"Okay then. You're welcome." He said, stepping around and continuing to the spa.

+++

	"Hey, remember how you said you were trying to get with Phantom?"

	"Yea..." Mystic said, already suspicious.

	"Well, I'm kind of an expert at sex, so maybe I could help you two out? Maybe a threesome."

	"I appreciate it, but no, not yet. We already have plans." 

	"Not yet? Does that mean you're open to it?"

	"I guess. Maybe it'll help him get over his shyness." She said jokingly.

	"If you don't mind sharing, he could have two girlfriends." Ashley said, trying to make it sound like a random comment, but Mystic could see her intent.

	"I'd be fine with that, just don't hog him all to yourself." She said, playfully splashing some water at her.

	"Really? Cuz I think he's kinda cute. The whole shy thing is so adorable. Though he can be a rough kitty when he needs to. He's the one who captured those thugs." She said while shaking her head fluff. "And don't do that again, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry." She said darkly. 

	Mystic looked away and began to whistle innocently. When Ashley looked away from hearing a noise on the other side of the fence separating the spring, Mystic brought out her soaked tails, and let them drip onto Ashley's head. 

	Her head whipped around to look at her. "Oh hell no! It's on now!" She said, swinging her tails through the air and spraying water all over.

+++

	Phantom passed through the locker room and got into the waters. He shut his eyes and smiled at the feeling of the soothing liquid, before dunking his head in for a moment. When he surfaced, he stopped to look around. There were only two other people in the male bath, a growlithe and a riolu. They were both near the fence, heads facing it and pitched forward, like they were whispering to each other. 

	As Phantom leisurely swam into the deeper end, he heard something.

	"This is awesome. Which one do you think is cuter?" 

	"The white one, totally." 

	Phantom looked over, and from the angle he was at now, could see a small hole in the fence. 

	"I'm gonna get you!" Mystic shouted from the other side. 

	They were... Phantom bared his teeth in rage. "Hey, quit it!" He shouted.

	"Excuse me?" The growlithe said angrily. 

	"Yeah, what's it to you?" The riolu said, also turning to look at him. He took a step forward, adopting a fighting stance. "Beat it, before we beat you." 

	"Raggh!" Phantom roared, letting out a burst of electricity, electrifying the water. Both the canines yelped and jumped. It was enough energy to give them a jolt, but not really hurt them. Phantom likely would have, but there was too much water for it to seriously injure them. 

	"Aw, what the hell was that?" Ashley said from the other side. "Well, it doesn't matter. Let's go back. I'm kinda hungry. See you there Phantom!" She shouted over the fence. 

	"Dammit, now what?" The growlithe said. 

	"Screw it, let's just go. Shows over. Thanks for that." Riolu said sarcastically. They quickly departed, not wanting another shock. 

	Phantom continued staring daggers at them as they left. Shortly after they were gone, he was ready to get out. His feeling of relaxation was long gone. 
	
	When he got back to the cabin, he found the girls eating dinner. It wasn't apples though, they had gotten room service. 

	"Here," Mystic said, patting the stool next to her. "We got you some."

	"So what was going on over there?" 

	"There were... just some kids trying to pick a fight. I had to give them a little jolt to get them to leave me alone." 

	"Oh, that explains a lot." Mystic said. "Did I do anything weird today? I can't remember much from before my nap."

	"Well you were being kind of a bit-" Ashley said

	"So, we why don't go on back?" Phantom interrupted. 

	"What do you mean?" Ashley asked.

	"Back to the base. We might as well. We're done here anyways."

	"No way we can make it back tonight. Do you know how far away Journey town is? Like a 2 day walk."

	Mystic looked at her with a smirk. "How bout we finish eating before we blow your mind." 

	A short while later and all the food was gone. "Alright, check this out." Mystic said. "Phantom, hit it." 

	He nodded and tapped each of them with his badge before tapping himself. When he arrived at the base, Ashley was looking around in confusion. 

	"Where are we?" She asked. 

	"Welcome home." Mystic said. "We're at the base. We can teleport back here anytime." 

	"Sweet!" She said.

	Due to the time difference, the sun had just set in Journey town and the night was not too dark yet. They went in and up to the second floor. Once they were there, Mystic and Phantom were scooped up and hugged tightly. 

	"Hey Zys, good to see you too." Mystic said. She rubbed her head into his chest. "Hope you didn't miss us too much." They were soon set down, and all four pokemon went into Hunter's office. 

	"Oh, you're back." He said, standing to greet them. "I didn't expect to see you so soon. I've got no news for you, or even work. So do whatever you want for the time being. Keep that communication orb and I'll let you know if anything comes up. And I got these for you." The scizor approached and handed them two badges, one small and one large. "For Zys and Ashley. They're a part of your team now, and thus your responsibility. Now sorry to shoo you off, but I have plenty of work to do." 

+++

	"They left."

	"Hmm, Reaper?" Carver said, raising his head and looking around his cabin. 

	"They are no longer on the mountain." Reaper explained, his head sticking out upside down from the ceiling. 

	"Well there goes that plan. You should probably find them again. If you see Hearth, tell him I've got some things to take care of before I head home." He lowered his head and took another bite of his steak before looking back up. The decidueye was gone.