I choose you.

[juuchanisu]

"L-Lance?" Riel called out as she walked over to him. It was odd for her to see him like this, and she didn't know what to do. The girl crouched down to Lance's level, examining him closely, "Lance...." She didn't know what to say. She didn't even know what's going on. So to see Lance broken, kinda scared her. She didn't know how to comfort him because she only known for about two days. As she observed him closely, an empty space between his two pokeballs on his belt caught her eye.


Finally, she was able to put pieces together. "Team Rocket..." she mumbled. Anger quickly flooded her. Did Team Rocket steal Lance's Dragonite? How could they? The girl stayed calm. "Lance..." she called out to him gently, "Lance...what's going on?" she had to make sure what she had gotten is correct, otherwise she'd probably embarrass herself.


She sighed, not waiting on his reply and fished out her Espeon. "Faith, can you calm Lance down a bit for me? Lance, let's stop at my house for a moment, we need to get you cleaned up."

 

[Syrrus]

"No." He said, getting back up on his feet. He didn't bother to brush himself of. If he wasted any more time now, he'd never forgive himself. Placing a hand over one of his pokeballs, he twitched when he once again felt the empty space between them. Shaking he threw the ball, watching as Goggles appeared, looking surprised for a short moment before moving in towards Lance's face. It knew that something was horribly wrong.


"Goggles, I need you to get out there and search for any sign of Team Rocket. We need to get Dr- To get him back." Lance swallowed. His throat had started to ache something awful. Goggles simply nodded, once and chirped before heading up, high into the sky.


Was there any hope? Lance picked up the empty pokeball that belonged to Goggles and fastened it against his belt again. If he ever got Dragonite back, he'd have to buy a chain of some sort, something that was a lot harder to break.


His eyes fell upon Riel, not realizing how dreadful and tried he looked. He had always been the one to save other's pokemon, the one to be too careful to have one stolen of his own. He had let his guard down. He knew however, that would Team Rocket be stupid enough to use his Dragonite, hell would break loose and they'd be lucky if anyone survived the anger which his Dragon could bubble up.


"What?" He asked, for no reason. He couldn't think straight.

 

[juuchanisu]

Riel sighed, "You're not gonna find anything in the air. In the bustling city of Lumiose, Team Rocket can be hiding anywhere." The girl turned to her Espeon, smiling gently. "Faith, can you see if you can scent anything...unusual? We need to find atlases a clue where they are headed. Obviously not over there, seeing it is a deadend. So they must've jumped." Riel rambled off, trying to organize her thoughts.


Riel caught Lance looking at her and smiled sadly, "Hey as long as Team Rocket stays in Lumiose, we should be able to catch them," Riel smiled as she stood up and brushed a strand of red hair from his face, smiling softly.

 

[Syrrus]

It wasn't Lance's job to be negative but he saw little logic in Team Rocket staying in the capital, only Flare had been stupid enough to have their first secret hideout below the noisy city. "And what makes you think that they would be? They are looking for a Legendary Pokemon. I highly doubt they took Dragonite from me by accident. Without him... I'm grounded and can't get anywhere fast enough to stop them."


Lance had to lean against a nearby wall, sighing heavily as he looked down at his feet. He had lost his best friend, in a blink of an eye and there was nothing he could do to stop it. If he got Dragonite back he doubted he could look him in the eyes without swimming in deep guilt.

 

[juuchanisu]

"...I wouldn't know, now would I? You're the one who encountered them many times. I've encountered them twice." Riel smiled. She looked over at Asaek, stroking his feathers, "It would be you to figure out where they hide, right?"


She hummed softly, "The most I can do is guide you around Lumiose," Riel said, returning her large bird back to her pokeball.


Riel looked at Lance with sadness in her eyes. "I really can't do much since I never been in this kind of situation."

 

[Syrrus]

Would he know? He would have done, if they were in Kanto. Peering up at the sky above he mumbled to himself. He had no clue where they could be, the fact that he had found their first hide out had been a surprised big enough and it had been thanks to his Dragonite and his fast flying. They wouldn't stay around the big city. "I don't know." He said as he walked towards the end of the ally way, searching it for any kind of clue. He didn't see any proof of a pokemon being there, nor that someone had been jumping.


It was then it happened. The load roar which he recognized all too well and before Lance knew it he had fallen though the street. The payment had opened up as if an earthquake had split it apart, taking the entire street down with it. Lance shouted in surprised and grabbed on to a water pipe, hanging on for dear life.

 

[juuchanisu]

Riel, luckily didn't follow Lance but when she heard the load roar, the blonde trainer quickly ran over, curious what happened. When she saw Lance, her eyes widen. "Lance!" she called out.


She called out Asaek to help the Dragon Master then peered down, "...What is this?" she asked as found a hidden stairway leading downwards.

 

[Syrrus]

Lance took a few deep and quick breaths once he was up on the surface. Goggles, with some convenience landed beside him, chirping with confusion before vanishing into its ball. Lance quickly got up on his feet, turning towards where Riel was looking. A set of broken stairs was leading downwards. The roar kept on coming and Lance wouldn't spend any more minutes just standing around.


"That is Dragonite. Very angry Dragonite." Lance took hold of Riel's hand and pulled her along as he quickly walked down the long and dangerous stairs.

 

[juuchanisu]

"Wah!" Riel called out as she was pulled along. She almost lost her balanced, but the young girl was able to regain herself as she followed behind Lance. She looked around the old musky place, her face crunched up at how dirty it was.


"Lance, how do you know where Dragonite is?" Riel asked as she returned her three Pokemon with her free hand.

 

[Syrrus]

"I don't. I'll just follow the noise." He said, rushing down the stairs just in time for another loud roar and a move he was far too familiar with caused the stairs behind them to break into pieces. Lance pulled on Riel's arm to press her against him as some parts of what he assumed once had been the roof fell towards them and missed them by just an inch.

 

[juuchanisu]

Riel's face paled as she watched the stairs collapsed right behind her. The girl gave a small squeak in thanks as they continued down. The loud roar made her wince, scaring her a bit.


I almost died... Riel thought in a panic as she tried to calm her beating heart and ragged breathe. Once the two reached solid ground, the blonde manage to keep her cool.

 

[Syrrus]

Lance hurried along the corridor, not thinking twice what could be down there. They were doing something to his Dragonite! Either that or he was in a terrible mood. "Dragonite!!" He shouted from the top of his lungs, the pokemon of course responded with a even louder roar and the wall next to the trainer got destroyed by a large orange tail. Team Rocket Grunts had thrown themselves over the big dragon, trying its best to get it to behave itself or get back into the ball which they kept throwing its way.


Lance caught the pokemon ball, his reflexes flawless. Peering down at it and then quickly glaring with anger at the Grunts, he pointed towards them. "Ice punch." He uttered, as calm as he possibly could and the dragon obeyed instantly and punched the grunts back to where ever they had come from.

 

[juuchanisu]

As Riel slowed down beside Lance, she watched as Dragonite punched the criminals back, not feeling guilty at all. She smiled at Dragonite, sighing in relief, "Dragonite, I'm glad you're okay." The trainer smiled. She then looked around at the worn-down place, that looked like it could crash any minute. "Eerm...can we get out? It doesn't seem safe to be down here," Riel muttered as she rubbed her arm, her eyes anxiously darting around.


The 'hideout' was quite worn out, and one large movement could make the roof above them collapsed. Riel shuddered at the thought. She already almost died once, she didn't want to experience it again. She was too young to die! She still had a life full ahead of her.

 

[Syrrus]

Dragonite ran forward and picked his master up with great ease, even with stubby arms. It hugged Lance tight and growled against his chest before licking all over him. It was so happy to see him again. Waking up after his nap in the hands of Team Rocket had been rather scary for the poor dragon and he was hugging its owner awfully tight.


Lance hugged the creature back, patting him gently over the head. "I'm so sorry that I let them take you..." He mumbled against the Pokemon's soft hide. You'd think a dragon Pokemon would have scales but not Dragonite, he was awfully leathery. Dragonite licked him over the face again, something Lance didn't mind, for now. "Forgive me." He looked at the dopy dragon who needed quickly before putting Lance down, just to pick both Lance and Riel back up as soon as the ground started to shake. The roof collapsed and Dragonite had to work very hard to keep the rubble and rocks away from the two humans. It seemed as if Riel's worries had come true.


Lance looked around as soon as the smoke had cleared, they were obviously trapped, now with only one way to go. Deeper. Lance peered at Riel, dusting her off. "Are you alright, Riel...?" He asked with worry.

 

[juuchanisu]

Riel gave a small scream when Dragonite scooped her up as the roof fell, the rumbles hitting Dragonite's back harshly. As she shut her eyes tight, terrified what might happen with her, the girl snuggled close to the dragon pokemon. The soft, worried voice of Lance made her peek her eyes open to glance at Lance with terrified eyes, "Y-Yeah..I'm okay...I think," she mumbled, trying to calm herself, once again.


She dusted off the dirt off her skirt, then turned to Dragonite worriedly, "Dragonite, are you okay? That looked like it hurt..." she said, quickly looking through her bag that was surprising still in tack and pulling out a box of berries. She opened it up and gave a Sitrus Berry to the large dragon pokemon. "Here, for you. Some to heal those wounds and regain your energy," she smiled.


She looked around, sighing. They were trapped and unable to get out unless they dug themselves out with the risk of them getting seriously injured or the other option was go deeper, which Riel felt uncomfortable about. Behind Dragonite, the girl manage to get a glance of something red, making her face go pale. The grunts from earlier were easily crushed under the rocks and now their blood was splattered onto the said rocks.


"L-Let's just find a quick way out..." she mumbled.

 

[Syrrus]

Lance watched as Dragonite received a berry which he instantly and happily popped in his mouth. It would take quite a lot for the poor dragon to show how much pain he was actually feeling, he always tried to keep a happy smile up for his trainer. Lance patted him on the belly. "Tell me if something is wrong, alright? That did indeed look painful." Lance glanced behind the large Pokemon and twitched when he saw what had happened to the Grunts. He hadn't meant to kill them... Not that the roof was any of their fault, but he still felt guilty. It was for the best to just leave, he assumed.


Peering at Riel he grabbed her hand again, carefully not to startle her. He had a feeling that a lot of ghost pokemon was going to show up rather quickly, the amount of Cofagrigus that could appear even worried him a little. If a pokemon was creepy it sure was that one. "Lets see if we can find a way out, shall we?" He asked, with a hushed tone. He decided to keep both her and his Dragonite close, would the roof fall on top of them again as they kept walking through the dusty corridor.

 

[juuchanisu]

Riel didn't bother to say anything but gave him a firm nod as she walked close to him, holding his hand tightly.


The poor girl was terrified right now, unable to think straight without the words "death, blood and more death" running through her mind. She leaned closer to Lance, as a small shiver ran down her spine as a few Gastlys did appear.


"Erm Lance... do you think there is more Rockets down there...?"

 

[Syrrus]

Lance could feel her shiver go through her arm and without thinking he unhooked his cape from his shoulder and wrapped it around her. It was too long on her, almost touching the ground on which they were walking, but he would have thought it cute, would he have time to think about it. "Most likely. Lets just hope we can work together to get out. I don't want to desert any people down here."


A rescue team was probably going to try and save as many people as possible but it could take hours, maybe even days before they showed up to the scene. It was best if both him and Riel tried to do their part in the meantime.

 

[juuchanisu]

A small blush appeared on Riel's face as she felt something heavy resting on her shoulder. She looked up at Lance, then smiled, "Thank you..." She readjusted the cape so it fit better and it wasn't gonna hurt her shoulders later on. "Lance?" she piped, "Why do you always wear a cape?"


It was a curious, innocent question. Riel had seen Lance never without his cape, excluding now and she had always wondered why he wore such a thing. It made him look imitating, yes, but Riel didn't see any reason why he must wear it 24/7.

 

[Syrrus]

Why does he always... Oh. She had to ask that question did she? Peering around a corner, to make sure they wouldn't get ambushed he responded. "It suits me. And it's sort of a Dragon Master thing... Not the cape but to wear strange and... powerful looking clothing. Either a cap or very large teeth and I don't fancy the savage look. We gotta look like Dragon Masters somehow..." He said it all with a bit of a turn in voice, going from professional to proud to embarrassed to sheepish in one sentence was rather difficult, but he succeeded.

 

[juuchanisu]

Riel stifled a giggle at his change of voice but nodded anyways, "I see...I guess there are just certain fashion designs for certain people," she laughed. When she turned to look around, a Haunter was faced to face with her. Squealing, Riel jumped back, stumbling into Lance and her eyes widen. The pokemon gave a large laugh, and Riel cracked a smile as well. "Goodness, Haunter you scared me." she said as she quickly regained her posture.


The Haunter floated over to Riel, smiling largely. The girl gave a nervous giggle, "Erm...Haunter, can you please back up?" she mumbled. The Haunter gave the girl a large lick on her cheek, making her squeal, "Haunter!" she cried out. She quickly tried to wipe off the saliva. "That's gross..."

 

[Syrrus]

Lance twitched rather heavily when the young girl bounced into him. Turning his head he went face to face with a Haunter, damnable ghost Pokemon. They did indeed enjoy a little scare, though he had never met an unfriendly one. Perhaps he needed some scary support of his own, to keep the ghosts of their tail? Deciding not to put Dragonite back in the ball he instead summoned the only dark type he had.


Hydreigon appeared next to its trainer, yawning loudly with all three mouths before throwing a mean look the Haunter's way. Instantly understanding its purpose. Dragonite waved happily at his old friend and instantly tried to hold a conversation with her. "Perhaps this will be a little easier... Less scary too, don't you think?" Lance asked Riel, kindly.

 

[juuchanisu]

"Yeah..." Riel mumbled, looking at Hydreigon. She smiled at the Pokemon and sighed, "How long do you think we'll be under here for? I'm pretty sure it's getting late and we're both exhausted." Riel mumbled as she successfully wiped the saliva off her cheek with a hankercheif she had in her bag.


A small op resounded from her belt, and Devon made his appearance once again. Annoyed, Riel allowed him to climb onto her shoulder and sit there, draining more of Riel's energy until her shoulders ache and she'd kick him off.

 

[Syrrus]

Dragonite would catch the little thing and place it upon his head. It was the best spot to be and he would be able to grab onto it rather easily, would the roof fall on top of them again. He hoped it wouldn't but he could never be too sure.


Hydreigon yawned again, clearly not at all interested in what was happening around them. If it wasn't for the fact that she feared Lance anger like the plague she probably would have returned into the pokeball. What was the purpose of her being out in the first place, if there was nothing to fight?


"We'll be here until we find a way out, and so far we just seem to be slithering downwards. Perhaps we should set up camp... somewhere here." Lance mumbled as he looked up, the roof was leaking and water was dripping down at them. At least nothing seemed to be on fire, smoke would be a big problem for all of them.

 

[juuchanisu]

"Alright," Riel said as she looked around. She flinched at the small drop of water that fell onto her nose. Riel sighed, as she wiped it off and looked for a semi-safe place to set camp.


"What about over there?" Riel pointed over to a small opening, with only a few water dripples falling and the roof above them looked pretty secure to stay under for a few hours. Though, Riel knew they couldn't stay in same place or they'd be at risk of the roof crumbling down on them once again. They would have to always be on the move and hope they get out safely.