Aryan's POV

After running blindly through the forest for a few minutes I forced myself to stop and take a deep, calming breath. I had royally messed up. Because I had not been able to follow through with my simple job of keeping Serena away from pokemon contests, Ash was in even more danger and who knew what this would do to Neptune's timeline to destroy the earth.

I really should have just arrested her, I groaned inwardly. But those thoughts were unproductive. What was done was done and now I needed to figure out what the next step I needed to take was.

"Aryan!"

I blinked and looked over my shoulder, surprised to see that Serena and Bree had apparently followed me into the forest after I had returned Salamence and let Ash's Pikachu go off to find his trainer. I had planned to follow the mouse pokemon, but he had been way too quick and now I was stuck at a crossroads. Did I abandon the girls to go after Ash and try to help him? Or did I stick with them to protect them if Neptune decided to jump the gun and trigger Armageddon?

I waited for Serena and Bree to catch up to me and noticed that Serena was out of breath but Bree seemed to be doing fine. Although her face was hard with anger and confusion.

"Why are you chasing after Satoshi?" Serena asked between gasps. I flinched at the raw pain in her eyes as she looked up at me and wiped at the sweat under her bangs.

"And who was that chick he was being all friendly with?" Bree asked with a growl in her voice. Serena physically winced at the mention of Neptune and I realized that seeing Ash drag her away had been a bigger blow to her than I would have hoped.

I let out a sigh and turned towards them.

"You two girls need to be quiet and listen to me for a minute. And whatever I say you musn't repeat to anyone. Do I have your word?" I asked them firmly, looking pointedly at Bree. She was giving me a full-on sneer and I could just see her thinking 'you could have done this a long time ago', which wasn't entirely untrue.

When neither of them said anything but had nodded their agreement, I let out one last sigh before beginning to speak.

"Satoshi is not who you think he is," I said slowly, trying to figure out the vaguest way to explain things without giving any important details away. Bree cocked her eyebrow up challengingly at this and Serena frowned slightly but neither of them interrupted me so I continued.

"That woman he was with is called Neptune. She is the leader of the reformed Team Galactic." Understandably Serena gasped and looked mortified at this news, but Bree just narrowed her eyes, so I plunged on. "Satoshi has been... undercover for the last several months trying to gather enough evidence to stop Neptune and her team's plans. Your Majestoat came from one of Neptune's genetic experiments that she deemed a failure. She ordered Satoshi to dispose of Roisel back when you met him, but he chose to give her to you instead, Serena, so now that Neptune has seen Majestoat..."

"Satoshi is in danger?" Serena asked in a choked voice. "Because of me?"

"Don't think like that, Serena. It was Satoshi who gave you Roisel in the first place and it was Aryan who kept his mouth shut when he could've just said this and you never would have gone to that contest," Bree said, her words nearly acidic in their ferocity.

Serena did not seem comforted by Bree's shift of the blame, but it sure did a number on me. Although I didn't have time to dwell on how I had failed. I needed to work towards fixing this mistake rather than beating myself up about how the mistake had come to be.

"In any case, now that Neptune has seen that Satoshi disobeyed her, things could get very difficult for him. I need to go after him to back him up, so I need you two to stick close together and take care of each other, alright?"

Bree's mouth opened immediately. I could just see her getting ready to argue, but I tossed up a pokeball and released Salamence, who cut off whatever she was going to say with a bellow.

"I need you to look for Neptune's jet, Salamence. Stay up high so they won't be able to tell it's you, but come back and get me as soon as you find it, understand?"

Salamence bellowed once again before flapping his wings, blasting all three of us with a strong gust before he climbed up the narrow gap between the trees and took to the sky. I watched him until he had become a speck in the sky and then turned back to see that Bree was giving me a very dissatisfied expression.

"Why should you go off on your own to help Satoshi? If he's undercover can't he ask his superiors for help?" Bree asked fiercely. To my surprise, even though her tone was harsh I thought I saw some genuine concern in her green eyes directed towards me.

"I want to help," Serena interjected, taking a step forward with a pleading expression. I grimaced at her innocent desire but I firmly shook my head.

"You've improved immensely, Serena, but you are not ready for going up against an organized team like Team Galactic. And I can't waste my concentration on protecting you."

Serena flinched at my blunt statement, but I wasn't about to take it back. The last thing I needed was to look after a civilian if I managed to infiltrate the enemy's headquarters.

"And being undercover isn't as glamorous as you may think, Bree," I said, turning to look her square in the eye. "Unless Satoshi can get to his gear that connects him to his superiors then they will have no clue that he is in trouble until he misses his check-in, and by then it may be too late. As you said, this is partially my fault, so I'm going."

Immediately a guilty look crossed Bree's expression and I was nearly bowled over at the raw concern that was on her usually sarcastic face. Not liking how vulnerable that look made me feel, I turned away from her and knelt down slightly to look Serena straight in the eye.

"Serena. I'm sorry I can't stay with you, but I need you to promise me that you'll stay with Bree," I said gently but firmly.

"But Aryan..." Serena protested weakly but I shook my head and stood back up to my full height.

"No buts. Bree may not be a trained police officer, but she's just as strong as one. Stay close to her and keep each other safe, alright?"

"Oh, stop trying to be all heroic, Aryan! You need help too!" Bree suddenly interjected, looking somewhere between frustrated and terrified. I forced myself to give her a cocky grin and I shrugged nonchalantly.

"All police officers are heroes. Didn't you know that?" I asked her cheekily.

To my utter shock though, Bree suddenly leaped forward and nearly tackled me as she wrapped her arms around me tightly in a hug. Flabbergasted by this show of emotion, I gingerly patted her back as I realized, perhaps for the first time, that Bree really had grown up from the cute little kid that used to follow me and her brother Taylor around. This was punctuated when she pulled away from me and walloped my shoulder in a punch that genuinely made me wince.

"Call in back up for yourself, idiot," she seethed through her teeth and I could see moisture gathering in her eyes. "If Satoshi can't then you darn well better!"

I couldn't help but let out a little chuckle as I rubbed my sore shoulder.

"Aye aye, ma'am," I said with a half-grin.

My eyes moved over to Serena, who was watching from a few steps away and my shoulders slumped when I saw the obvious fear in her eyes. Trying to give her a reassuring smile, I opened my arms invitingly and Serena only hesitated a moment before jogging over to me and wrapping her arms around my waist while she buried her head against my chest.

I patted her head soothingly as I held her to me for a moment before I reached out one arm for Bree. Surprisingly she looked embarrassed, even though she had been the one to initiate the hug last time, but eventually, she stepped forward and wrapped one arm around Serena and the other around my back. I held the girls in my arms and wondered when I had become such a softie.

"Sala!"

All three of us looked up from our group hug to see Salamence flying overhead. He had found the jet. As he searched for a break in the trees to get back down to me, I squeezed the girls fiercely against my chest one last time before pushing them away gently.

"I'll be fine and I'll get Satoshi out of there," I said with a grin at them both. Bree narrowed her eyes at me and I swiftly pulled out my PokeComm to hold up for her to see. "And I'll call in a report too. I promise."

Bree frowned heavily but she eventually nodded her acceptance and Serena gripped her hand tightly. Salamence touched down at that moment and I wasted no time running over to him and climbing onto his back.

"Take care of yourselves! Everything is going to be fine," I shouted to them as a last farewell before I prodded Salamence in the side. He immediately took off, snaking his way through the trees and earning me a couple of lashings from tree branches in the process, but they hardly mattered. He turned immediately to the east and began streaming across the tips of the trees.

I'm going to fix this, I thought fiercely inside my head. Satoshi, Ash, Pikachu Boy, whoever you are, try to talk yourself out of this until I get there!

Serena's POV

Aryan and Salamence had just reached the tips of the trees when suddenly Bree released her Houndoom and began sprinting in the direction that Salamence had turned. Not knowing what was going on, I immediately began giving chase.

"Follow the scent, Houndoom! Don't wait for me, just leave a trail for me to follow," Bree called urgently to her pokemon who was sprinting alongside her.

He barked once in understanding before he suddenly bounded forward, three times faster than I could ever hope to run. A flare of fire came from in front of us and I felt my mouth drop open when in the next instance Houndoom pounced on the tiny fire he had started, snuffing it out instantly and leaving just a scorched mark and some smoke behind as he tore recklessly forward.

Bree suddenly came to a halt and I couldn't react fast enough, so I ended up slamming into her back. We both stumbled but managed to stay on our feet and Bree turned around and gripped my shoulders.

"I'm going after Aryan," Bree said succinctly and I couldn't help but snort at this.

"Yah, I kind of figured," I said through quick breaths. Bree's lips twisted into a half-smile half-grimace as her grip tightened on my shoulders.

"Look, I know I have no business going after him and he's going to be ticked when I show up, but this is not the first time I've gone up against some idiots who think they can use power to get their way. When I was on Alola I faced something similar so I know I can help Aryan and I'm going. But you are still new as a trainer. I can't let you go with me."

"Aryan said to stick with you," I said stubbornly. "And even if he didn't, do you think I would be able to leave Satoshi to face this Neptune lady because I was an idiot and didn't listen to Aryan?"

"I know you want to help, Serena, but this is really out of your depth," Bree said bluntly and I snorted.

"And just how are you planning to follow after them?" I asked, pulling Squeakers pokeball from my hip and showing it to her. "You'll never be able to keep up with a jet on foot."

Bree smirked at me and pulled out a pokeball of her own, releasing to my surprise a disgruntled-looking Whimsicott. He floated in the air with his arms crossed and I nearly laughed when a stray wind caught him and gently turned him around until he was floating upside down.

"I'll use Whimiscott's Psychic. Seriously though, Serena. None of this is your fault. I can't let you put yourself in danger like this," Bree said with terrible guilt in her expression. I frowned deeply at her and folded my arms.

"No way! If you're going then I'm going," I said firmly. "Arguing is just giving them more of a head start, we need to get going."

I released Squeaker, who neighed in delight at being let out. I didn't say a word before I boosted myself up onto her smooth back, foregoing the saddle and bit since there was no time.

"Serena! You're 17 and you only have contest battle experience! This is not the time to do something reckless," Bree said with desperation in her voice, but her eyes were twitching towards the spot that Houndoom had marked for us and the wispy smoke that was beginning to be blown away from the scorched area.

"Pretty sure this is the perfect time to be reckless," I countered her with a goofy grin, feeling an unusual rush of adrenaline going through me. The memory of Satoshi holding me close just a little while ago and asking me to stay safe made me feel slightly guilty, but there was no way I was going to just sit back when I knew he was in trouble.

Bree let out a weary sigh, but then she looked up at me and gave me a quick smile.

"Alright then. But you have to have Absol by you at all times. I'll feel better if he's looking out for you," Bree said while holding up a pinky towards me. I immediately bent down to hook my pinky around hers and sealed the promise.

"Let's go, then!" Bree said, seeming much more energetic now. She poked Whimsicott, who did not seem at all impressed with his trainer's plans, but it didn't take long for a purplish pink haze to surround Bree and soon she was floating several inches above the ground.

To my surprise, Whimsicott then floated over and took a seat behind me on Squeaker, grabbing onto my shirt in preparation for the speed he was about to endure. Bree and I shared a shrug before I nudged Squeaker forward. Squeaker leaped forward and I could not help but let out a whoop of joy as the wind from our sudden speed caught the ends of my hair and tossed it behind me.

I honestly wasn't sure what awaited us wherever we were going, but I knew that I would never regret this decision to go after my precious friends.

Aryan's POV

Just as I had promised Bree, I made sure to send Chief Vic an urgent message explaining the situation and requesting both backup from the International Police and the IIA. Once that was done though I concentrated on my surroundings. It didn't take long for Salamence to take me to a clearing where a slick black jet had been parked. I was surprised that Neptune hadn't bothered to camouflage it in any way.

Not wanting to announce my presence, I had Salamence descend in the thick of the trees before I returned him and made my way to the clearing. Hiding myself the best I could, I listened intently. The jet suddenly whirred to life, much quieter than I would have expected, and I cursed when it began to take off.

They're already in the jet? I hope Satoshi is okay, I thought to myself as I ran over to the jet's blindside.

Swiftly I released Salamence and began running towards the wing of the jet. Salamence understood instinctively what I had planned and he leaped forward, gliding across the ground and then latching onto the underside of the jet's wing where it fused to the jet. He then snaked out his long tail and wrapped it around my waist before tucking me protectively between his scaly belly and the jet's wing. I felt the jet lifting slowly and I promised Salamence as many Pomeg berries as he could eat when this was all over. Salamence growled appreciatively at the offer before painstakingly crawling his way to the bottom of the jet in order to not unbalance the machine and tip off to Neptune that she had some stowaways.

The trip took hardly any time at all and I stayed nice and cozy nestled against Salamence's large stomach. He was gripping onto the strange metal material of the jet with his sharp claws and I was impressed that even with the wind he had not been knocked off. After an indeterminable amount of time, I felt the jet slowly beginning to descend. I held my breath, praying that Neptune didn't have anything that would be able to see a large Salamence and his trainer hiding out on the bottom of her jet.

When the huge wheels of the landing gear were released I breathed a sigh of relief and tensed my body at the time. As the jet smoothly descended I shimmied so that I was facing into Salamence's stomach instead of looking at the underbelly of the jet. At the same moment that the jet touched down, I returned Salamence to his pokeball and dropped to the metal-covered hangar floor.

Several moments went by as I did my best to hunker down behind the huge wheel propping up the jet. It didn't take long for the jet door to unlatch and slowly touch down until its edge met the floor. Two sets of footsteps walked down the platform and I held my breath as I remained hidden while listening intently.

"I think it's about time that you understood exactly what I have in store for our new world, Satoshi," a female voice said from above me.

My eyes widened and I briefly felt insanely impressed. I had no idea how Ash had managed to turn around Neptune's disappointment into her taking him into his confidence, but somehow he had done it. Either that or Neptune was even more obsessed with 'Satoshi' than the IIA even knew.

"How much longer before you have everything you are needing, Neptune?" Ash asked, following a few steps behind her respectfully.

I flinched when the mechanical whirring sound signaled that the platform door was moving back up into position and I carefully crouched behind the wheel, only peeking out enough to see Neptune and Ash's shoes. I watched as their shoes moved towards the edge of the hangar and I frowned briefly when I realized that their footsteps and the closing jet door were the only sounds I could hear from the hangar.

"We could be ready tomorrow," Neptune said and it took all of my self-control not to suck in a gasp at this unexpected declaration. Neptune's purple shoes suddenly came to a stop though and turned so that she must be facing Ash now. "However, there is a personal project that I have going on that may take some time. Once it is completed though, you will be the first to know."

"Oh?" Ash asked, and I could hear the nervous edge to his tone. "Why me?"

"Because it will change your life forever, Satoshi. You'll finally become my perfect soldier."

My brows drew together in complete confusion at this and when Ash did not make any response but Neptune turned around to continue walking I assumed he either understood what she meant or was as confused as I was but didn't want to show it. What the heck does she mean by 'perfect soldier'? What have you gotten yourself into, Ash?

Their feet drifted out of my narrow field of vision and I bit my lip before silently reaching down and slipping my shoes off. With painstaking caution, I slowly eased out from behind the wheel to get a better look around me. There were many jets, large boxes, and other machinery around the hangar to provide me with cover, but I would have to be careful. I could see Neptune and Ash approaching the far wall where a huge G, the logo of Team Galactic, was bolted to the wall.

Taking a few steadying breaths, I crouched down low and eased my way out of my hiding spot and towards the next one. My socked feet made no sound against the floor and I amazingly made it to cover without Neptune or Ash having heard my movement. The eerie quiet of the hangar was getting to me, and I could feel goosebumps going up and down my arms as I tried to remain completely alert as I tailed my two targets.

My eyes widened when Neptune pressed something on the wall and suddenly a door slid open, revealing a hidden passageway that looked to have been carved directly out of the mountain. Neither she nor Ash reacted, so obviously this was a normal occurrence in the hideout and I wondered just how far those tunnels honeycombed through the mountain.

Realizing that my window of following the two was closing fast, I swiftly and purposefully moved forward, ducking behind cover every once in a while. When the door was beginning to close and I could only see a faint outline of Ash's body, I took a deep breath and burst forward. I had to quickly turn sideways and I could feel the door scrape my chest a bit, but I immediately tucked and rolled into the shadows along the slightly sloped wall of the tunnel.

I felt incredibly exposed now that I was in the hallway though. Even though the lighting was dim there were no real outcroppings or even boxes to hide behind. I pressed myself against the wall, majorly reflecting on my poor judgment. However, there was a security pad next to the closed door, so going back was not an option, so I just kept my breath as shallow as possible and inched my way down the mountain tunnel behind Ash and Neptune.

Even after several minutes, I was still following Ash and Neptune deeper into the mountain. My entire body stiffened though when a side door of the tunnel began to open. I pressed myself as far against the wall as I could and slipped backward to try to keep myself from view. I could feel my frustration mounting when Neptune and Ash disappeared around a corner of the tunnel while I was stuck waiting for the people to exit the room.

To my surprise though, instead of a person coming through the opened door, the end of a stretcher came into view. I frowned and inched further back as the rest of the stretcher was pushed through the door. My eyes widened and I had to clamp my hand to my mouth to keep myself from yelling when I caught a glimpse of the middle-aged man on the stretcher. A man wearing a white lab coat finally emerged on the other end of the stretcher and pushed it down the hallway that Ash and Neptune had disappeared down. I followed as quickly as I could, not even caring as rocks dug into my feet through my thin socks. The tunnel came to an end in front of a gigantic door with another security pad next to it.

Ash and Neptune were nowhere to be seen, but thoughts of them had blown out of my mind at the sight of the man on the stretcher. As the man wearing a labcoat pressed his hand to the security pad, I couldn't help but inch closer and closer until I could see the man on the stretcher again. There was no doubt about who he was now.

Looker!

A/N Ooof, here we go! Buckle up; I hope you're all excited for the next few chapters. Although I do want to give you a warning: Where I work is having a major event that will last for two and a half weeks and I am going to be SLAMMED. So... I may not be able to update for longer than usual :S I'll do my best though!