Drak felt uneasy as night fell, which was odd for him. Usually, he enjoyed the darkness. He had lived in it most of his life, dwelling in an Unknown Dungeon with Mewtwo...his friend. His only parental figure.

It was hard to think of him owning his friend. It bothered him greatly. But that wasn't what was bothering him now. He couldn't place what bothered him as he stared out the window, his messy black hair falling in front of his eyes. Drak was un-used to the common civilities of Society, having been in it for the grand total of 4 or 5 months. He was used to living with Mewtwo, free and un-knowing of all the responsibilities of the modern world. For instance, with Ella E...

Drak sighed as he stared. Even the constant problem of Ella E was not what bothered him...not the feeling that he got as he watched the others contend for her affection daily while Drak could only stumble around, imitating their social graces. Colt had more manners then he did, and had a better sense of tact. But this feeling of inferiority wasn't what was bothering him either. It was a feeling of dread...of foreboding, as he looked out into the deepening night.

His mind flashed to what had haunted his nightmares ever since the horror had stopped...the horrible things he had experienced underground...in the paws of something that was utterly evil...experiencing it's feelings and thoughts as if he were it. He shivered, but knew that the feeling of fear wasn't this feeling either. This feeling seemed like it was waiting for him...something was stalking him. He wasn't sure what or why, but he could feel it in his bones that something was coming for him or Ella E or his friends, and he didn't know if he could stop it or not.

Having identified what bothered him, he felt better. It didn't lighten the dread, but knowing why it was there helped ease it. He looked and watched a bright moon rise in the sky. He watched as it's light sent some of the shadows fleeing. He didn't understand why it made him feel better. Drak usually enjoyed the darkness, the feeling that everything was alone for a moment.

"Why are you awake?" he heard the voice of his Mewtwo speak in his head. He jerked his gaze away, looking around. He didn't see it near, meaning that Mewtwo must be somewhere else in the house. He didn't know where, but he was sure if he tried he could find out. He knew that Mewtwo would be okay if he was, so he wasn't very worried. Drak yawned and looked out the window one last time. He wished he could shake this feeling.

He stood on his feet, roughly clothed with some brown slippers. He limped to the door, his right foot refusing to respond. Ever since that battle in the deep caverns, when Max had thrown the knife viciously at his Mewtwo, burying itself hilt-deep into the Mewtwo's leg, Drak had had a very obvious limp. For a while afterwards, he and his Mewtwo couldn't even walk, but slowly feeling came back, and the two got their rudimentary walking skills. Now, Drak's right leg barely moved, and his limp was painfully evident. It cause Drak a small amount of embarrassment, but he knew the others had their scars as well, and his was small compared to some. Emotionally.

He let his foot drag and noticed the slipper sliding off. He shrugged and left it on the floor. He knew their were bigger things to worry about. He only wished he knew what they were...

Chapter 1

"Adaptation"

Ellas E's house was small, but could comfortably fit four people, considering they didn't mind close spaces and lines to the bathroom. Ella knew her house was small, but because her family only had four people in it, she never viewed it as a problem.

Her mother was the first to realize the problem as Ella E walked home, bloodied and injured, with four boys in tow, one wearing a Team Rocket Uniform. After her mother was roused with a splash of water, Ella E and her friends sat on the small couch in the equally small living room and explained the whole affair. It took some effort on her part to prove to her mother that the Kabuto was stuck and was NOT coming off her left arm.

While the four boys sat stubbornly on the couch, refusing to leave Ella E but feeling embarrassed for forcing their presence in her house, Ella E pleaded with her mother. She sneezed as one of the dozens of Meowths brushed by her nose.

"Please Mom! Please! I promise they won't be much of a problem! They don't fight-"

Her mother looked at Colt and Caleb, who were glaring daggers at eachother and looking as if to say a rude comment to one another at any moment. It was fairly obvious.

"Ella, where will they sleep? You've got to think this through...you can't just put them on a shelf and dust them occasionally. They need things like us!"

"Well, I was thinking that they could sleep in my room-"

A glare from her mother stopped her from continuing. Ella E reconsidered.

"Um..." she turned to her friends. "What do you guys think? You've seen most of the house, right? I think one of you can sleep at the foot of my-"

She looked at her mother and revised her statement again.

"Um...well, one of them can sleep here on the couch."

"Why don't you make Colt sleep outside in the garden? He's used to wallowing in dirt." Caleb said spitefully. Colt raised a fist, and Ella E's mother sighed and looked even more unwilling. Ella E raised a hand inbetween them, and Colt reluctantly put his hand down.

"No one is sleeping outside." Ella E' s mother said firmly. "Maybe one could sleep in the hallway...there's also a big chair and some pillows near that window over there."

Ella E thought hard. Her mother looked around.

"Maybe one could sleep on the couch here and the other at the foot of the couch."

"I call couch." Monty said. The others glared at him, and he was silent.

"Ella, can't you think of us for a change? This house was barely big enough for four people! Now there are seven! What are we going to do! Don't you realize how hard this will make this?"

"Seven? Are there really seven of us alltogether?" Ella E asked, looking around.

"Meeeeew!" A startled cry came from the kitchen, followed by some crashing noises.

"Gen! Gencey gen gen!" Another voice said, sounding worried. It darted around, as if trying to catch things. Soon, the Mewtwo walked in, brushing small fragments of broken dishes off it's purple and white fur. The Gencey fluttered in after it, sitting on it's head. It looked tired.

"Um...the Mewtwo is bigger then most of us...that might make it so that there are really eight of us." Ella E said hesitantly.

"Ella, we can't! We can't hold everyone in this small house...it's just not possible!" Her mother said, sounding tired.

"I don't think it's a option, Mom." Ella E said, looking around her at the four who stared at her. "They won't leave, no matter what."

Ella E's mother sighed, and held her head in her hands.

"...you get to explain this to your father when he comes home..." she said, rubbing her forehead. Ella E smiled.

Sure enough, she did explain it, or tried to. When her father tried for himself to remove the stubborn boys (almost getting a black-eye from Colt, who was luckily stopped in time), he immediately moved to the phone and made a lot of busy phonecalls. Then Ella E's mother came in and demanded they all take showers and get some clean clothes. This took absolutely forever (due to the constant bickering) and caused no short amount of embarrassment in the boys as they sat in borrowed clothes. Colt had to borrow her fathers, while Ella E let the others borrow some of hers. Ella E was feeling exhausted when her father came to talk to her.

"Ella E, this is a house for four people, not...eight." her father said, looking carefully around. "You were old enough to survive by yourself-" her father rethought his statement, smirking in a sarcastic way, as usual. "Well, with SOME help, for a few months, you can survive some more. I rented your mother and I an apartment a few blocks away. That way, you can have SOME space."

"But Dad, you don't have to move out of your own house!"

Her dad smiled. "Your mother and I just think of it as a short vacation. I think it's a oppurtunity to get away from you rotten kids!"

Ella E's father loved to tease her, and she slapped his arm lightly. "Stop messing around Dad! Are you absolutely sure?"

"Until you can get those boys to leave, yes. And don't get any ideas, cause we're stopping by every night until they do."

"Don't you trust me not to trash the house?" Ella E said innocently, blinking her green-blue eyes.

"Not what I'm worried about..." her father said under his breath. He stood up. "Your mother and I have to pack, we're going to check it out tomorrow. One of your friends can stay in Atelli's room for now, as long as they don't touch anything. Atelli'll pound you if her stuff gets messed up while she gone."

Ella E nodded, knowing her sister's likely reaction. She marveled at the fact she hadn't thought of that before. Her father made his way up the stairs, leaving Ella and her four friends in the Living room, watching him.

"See you tomorrow, honey." he said, and walked away.

The instant he was out of hearing range, the arguing began.

"I'm getting the bed!"

"No you're not! It's mine!"

"No way, I want to sleep there!"

"I've still got the couch!" Monty said. He leaped on it, kicked off his muddy shoes, and layed back. The others stared at him, then returned to their fighting.

"You're USED to sleeping on the floor! Go sleep in the hall!" Caleb said to Colt. Colt got red with fury.

"Excuse me? You should go sleep under the stairs, I bet you would fit!"

Colt and Caleb got within inches of each-other, fuming. Drak turned to Ella E.

"Surely I'LL get the bedroom, right?" he asked.

Ella E rubbed her head.

"I'll decide! Stop fighting!" she said forcefully. The others looked at her. Colt made as if to say something, then decided it would be better not to interrupt Ella E.

"Hmm...Colt, you're the biggest, so you sleep in Atelli's room. Don't touch any of her things, or she'll kill me."

"Not when I'm around!" Caleb said protectively. Ella E couldn't help but smile at the short figure in front of her. Colt smirked at Caleb and walked up the stairs proudly. Caleb glared as he left.

"Drak, do you want the hallway? It shouldn't be that bad, considering where you've stayed most of your life..."

Drak nodded and walked off.

Noticing that his last choice was either the foot of the couch or the chair, he looked at Monty, who looked close to falling asleep anyway.

"Monty, get off the couch. I'm sleeping there."

Monty opened an eye and looked at him. He rolled it and closed it.

"Like heck you are. I called it."

Caleb sulkily kicked Monty's foot, but didn't fight. Monty, glad that he had won his little verbal battle, began drifting off.

"So Caleb, guess you get the chair." Ella E said apologetically. Caleb grumbled and reluctantly moved off.

"My Mom and Dad are moving out tomorrow, so that'll free up their room. I'm going to try and find blankets for everyone. Wait here."

Ella E dashed through her house, raiding whatever blankets she could find. After making sure that her friends each had sufficient covering, she moved to her own room. She closed and locked the door, and then flopped on her bed, exhausted.

She couldn't believe how much trouble this was! It hadn't seemed like it would take this much effort to lodge them all when they were on the road. She stared at her ceiling, where she had gotten her father, a long long time ago, to put a large Growlithe poster. She smiled happily, and felt satisified. For all the effort, this was definitly worth it. She got what she had always wanted. She changed into a striped nightgown and crawled into bed, shooing away the many Meowth's that were sleeping on it. She fell asleep as soon as she hit the pillow, not aware of her parents looking in on her.

"She's a difficult child..."

"I hope she chooses the right one, when she's old enough..."

~~~

"No way! That is so wrong!"

"Don't touch them, you're ruining them! Stop it! Hey!"

"Look at this, you clumsy beggar! You broke one of her glasses!"

"I did not! You did! You jostled me! And don't call me that, shorty!"

"Improving our vocabulary? Jostled is new! Wouldn't expect that from someone of your intelligence!"

"I'll show you intelligence! Come here and clean this up!"

"Hey, I didn't break it, scum."

"Stop it! Look, you spilled the butter!"

"Who ever heard of butter on eggs? Living by yourself in a cave is a lot different then living with people!"

"Maybe it's cause I'm not MAKING eggs, I'm MAKING pancakes, thank you! Give me that frying pan!"

"Pancakes? We don't have all the ingredients!"

"Yes we do, just improvise!"

"You don't improvise in food, that results in something called Salmon-"

Ella E walked into the kitchen, looking exhausted, worn, tired, and annoyed.

"Ella E!" Monty finished his statement. "What a nice surprise! We were hoping you'd sleep in."

"We were going to make breakfast for you." Drak said, holding up a frying pan.

"If some clumsy moron's wouldn't break the glasses." Caleb said, crossing his arms and looking at Colt.

"Don't call me a Moron, shorty! I bet you wouldn't even have to lean over to pick those up!" Colt said angrily, blushing furiously.

Ella E surveyed the scene through blurry eyes as she sat on a chair pulled out by a overly-helpful Monty. Colt was dressed in her fathers pajamas, striped both ways. Caleb was dressed in her old night-shirt with some shorts she had leant him, and both Monty and Drak were wearing some long shirts and pants. There was a broken glass on the floor, the counter was a mess, and the Mewtwo was sitting on the table, it's body glowing bright blue as various silverware floated over near the table, surronded by the glowing light. Eclipse was fluttering above, directing the silverware to it's correct position.

"Nya..." the Nyashock yawned loudly and fell asleep beneath her stool, trying to ignore the whole spectacle. Ella E rubbed her head.

"It's a nice thought, I must say." she said, feeling more and more exhausted. "But couldn't you at least do this without arguing or breaking anything..."

"I don't think that's possible." Drak said, shoving Monty roughly away from the oven as he placed his pancakes in. Monty was deeply offended.

"How the heck did you learn how to make pancakes anyway in a CAVE!" Monty said, trying to move Drak out of the way. The Black-haired boy refused to move, however.

"Mewtwo read someone's mind and told me how." he said. He closed the oven. Monty sniffed.

"Well, do what you want, I'm making eggs. They're gonna be the best eggs you ever tasted, Ella E!" Monty said eagerly. Ella E sighed.

In the end, Colt finally sweeped up the glass, swearing under his breath the whole time. In front of Ella E was more food then she would ever eat, including pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, juice, cereal (compliments of Colt), and various fruit. They sat at the table and watched her eagerly. She felt uncomfortable.

"What?"

"What are you going to eat first?" they asked at the same time, then glared at eachother. Ella E looked down. She wasn't sure. She looked back up, then smiled nervously.

"Um...don't you want to eat too?"

She looked at their expressions and realized they hadn't thought of that. She giggled.

"Go ahead and eat. Maybe we can finish this all off."

She took some of every plate and began eating. Noting that none of their food was spurned (even Colts), the boys eagerly ate. During their meal, it was Drak who first broke the silence.

"You know, Ella E..." he said, swallowing. His Mewtwo sat next to him, eating his own share of food under the watchful care of his mother. "Have you gotten a weird feeling lately?"

"Weird feeling?" she said, confused. The others looked at him.

"Yeah...a feeling like something bad is going to happen."

The others looked serious, and then Colt laughed.

"Nothing bad will happen, Drak. Relax." he said. Drak was not convinced.

"I felt it too. It is not a hallucination." the psychic voice of Mewtwo spoke to all of them. Colt continued his comments.

"If you two are connected, then you hallucinate the same stuff." he said, and took another large bite of pancake. The others stared at him, but didn't say anything. Ella E turned back to Drak.

"I haven't felt anything, but then again I've been too tired." she said. She put her left arm on the table, and Static loudly complained. "I couldn't feel much of anything last night."

"Neither could I, sleeping in that stupid chair..." Caleb grumbled as he ate. No one payed attention to him.

"I don't know what to do about it though..." Drak said, more to himself then anyone else. "I don't think I can make whatever is causing this feeling to go away...it feels BAD..."

Colt was getting frustrated at Drak's moody manner. "Sounds like someone woke up on the wrong side of the side-board this morning." Colt said, looking at Drak.

Drak was surprised to find himself more hurt then he expected that no one believed him. He pushed his plate away and stood up.

"It's okay if you don't believe me, I didn't think you would..." Drak said quietly, walking out of the room.

"Drak, wait!" Ella E said, calling after him.

The Mewtwo, immediately disturbed from it's breakfast, got up and left the room, followed by it's mother.

In the awkward silence that followed, everyone looked at Colt. He looked up, noticed everyone staring at him, and shrugged.

"What?"

They continued staring.

"Okay, that was a bit low, but I didn't think he would take it seriously! I mean, that guys usually as tough as nails! He usually never gets angry or upset like that!"

They still stared, and Colt realized what they wanted. He rolled his eyes and shoved his plate away in bad grace.

"Fine, fine, I'll go talk to him. Not my fault though, honestly..."

Colt stalked out of the room, finding himself blushing. The others paused, looked at eachother, then resumed eating.

Chapter 2

"Vibes"

Drak leaned against the door to Ella E's room, looking down at where he had slept the previous night.

Wrong side of the sideboard...Drak thought to himself. Why did that bother him so much? He had slept on dirt and rocks for most of life...why was the casual reference to sleeping in the hallway bothering him?

He thought hard, but couldn't quite grasp what kept flitting in and out of comprehension.

"Are you okay?" the voice of his friend spoke in his mind. Drak let his physical self go and retreated to the mental bond that he and Mewtwo both shared. It was peaceful there...Drak felt as though here, whatever had made him feel so jumpy last night would not only have to deal with him, but with his friend.

Drak was surronded by darkness, pure and black. That was how he envisioned his mind as he waited for Mewtwo to make the connection. He did some idle flips in the air, and watched as the darkness faded to let a glowing blue figure come towards him. The Mewtwo smiled at him, a expression that was not used very often.

"You seem troubled, and not because of the presence we felt." The Mewtwo said, his mouth moving along with his words. Here, in their minds, anything was possible. Drak sighed, leaning back on what appeared to be a solid clump of shadow.

"It's not the presence that bothers me, but the fact they don't believe that it's there. That's not quite it either..." Drak said, frustrated at his in-ability to speak. The Mewtwo regarded him carefully.

"I think what is hurting you is that they do not trust you enough to take your warning's to heart." The Mewtwo said. Drak blinked. As usual, The Mewtwo had hit the nail on the head.

"But why was I hurt at the side-board comment?" he asked, as if he were a small child asking a question of a teacher who was full of answers. Since the two were connected, they felt what the other felt. It was useful when one was confused, because the other could provide some insight.

"I wouldn't know..." The Mewtwo raised a paw to it's face, thinking hard. "I'm not sure. Perhaps it was not the comment itself, but the fact that Colt said it?"

"Why would that matter?" Drak said, thinking himself. The Mewtwo gestured, and something appeared. As usual, in this semi-dream state, Mewtwo could alter reality to it's will. A small disk appeared, and from it a hologram of Colt. Mewtwo studied this carefully. It revolved, and he and his friend stared at it.

"I believe it is because Colt is naturally the one everyone looks to for protection, considering he is the most physically able. Since I am usually away from the group and my recent disability..."

"Ours...and it's only a limp." Drak said, but he didn't mean the words. He felt sometimes like his whole leg was asleep, and then would wake up with the pricking pins-and-needles feeling customary to such. Other times it would feel like there was a inch of some substance covering his leg, making him feel odd, but there would be nothing there. Other times his leg felt like it was made of lead and wouldn't respond. There hadn't been any improvement in a week, and he was beginning to wonder whether his leg would be like that for the rest of his life. It made him feel even more useless.

"Sometimes, Mewtwo, I feel-" Drak said, sighing and leaning back.

"I know. You feel as if I am the only reason they keep you around. Because I, a Mewtwo, am a valuable asset in battle. You feel like a...how would Colt say it? A third wheel, I believe."

The Dark-Haired boy nodded, looking thoughtful.

"You were saying about Colt." Drak said, prompting the Mewtwo, who was still studying the holograph. He pointed to it.

"You believe that if Colt were to believe you, then the rest would follow suit. This would reduce the risk because everyone is aware and Colt would be able to, most likely, take care of the agressors without my help. Unfortunatly, Colt doesn't seem to believe you, and this makes the others unbelieving too."

"What can I do? Does this...thing that's coming have to do something to us for them to believe me?" Drak said sarcastically. However, his Mewtwo nodded seriously.

"I believe so. This does not bode well at all."

Surprised that his friend took him seriously, Drak shivered as he remembered the feeling in full force.

"Drak!" Someone said near him, and someone put a hand on his shoulder.

Drak turned around rapidly, his eyes flashing back to their normal color. It was Colt. Drak tried to hide the fact he was startled.

"Yes?" Drak said in his customary flat way. It was a tone he had learned from his Mewtwo a long time ago, a sound that was devoid of any feelings or any way of identifing how the speaker was reacting. Colt, who was used to this, shrugged.

"Just wanted to say Sorry." he said awkwardly. Colt looked past Drak at something else, not wanting to make Eye contact.

"Sorry for what?"

"Sorry for that comment...I didn't know you would take it so seriously. It was just a joke."

"A joke..." Drak said, looking distracted. Colt would see a faint glimmer of blue in his eyes and knew that Drak was considering re-connecting the mental link with his friend. Colt poked Drak, and the faint glow faded.

"No way, you're not talking to it again until you accept my apology." Colt said, feeling slightly proud with himself at what he considered to be a rather well constructed sentence. Drak rolled his eyes.

"I won't accept it until you believe me."

"Drak, wouldn't someone else of felt it if it was that strong?" Colt said, still refusing to accept this phantom feeling from nowhere.

"Everyone else was asleep."

"For that matter, why were you awake?" Colt said suspiciously. Drak looked off to one-side, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"I'm a night person...I usually stay up far past the rest of you, looking out into the night."

"Really? I could of sworn-"

"I take a small nap along with you, but I usually wake up during the night to go outside."

"You go outside?" Colt said, surprised. Drak shook his head.

"Not this time. I stayed near the window. I didn't want to go outside because I had a feeling that's what..IT...wanted me too..."

"What's It, Drak? Do you even know?" Colt said, getting slightly annoyed at the boys slightly emotionless nature. Drak was getting annoyed at the fact that Colt was asking him all these questions that he didn't consider pertinent to the situation.

"If I did, I could tell you where to go to take care of it. But I don't know what it is except that it's close, it's bad, and it's coming for one of us."

"Wait wait wait...coming for one of US? Is it Ella E?" Colt clenched a fist, looking slightly angry at his last statement. "They aren't taking her...not over my dead body..."

Drak interrupted him before Colt went into his regular cursing fit. "I don't know who it's coming for. It wasn't one of us, I don't know who. It's coming soon though. We have to be careful."

"Drak, listen. Who would want one of us? We're just three boys, a girl, and a bunch of Pokémon."
Drak suddenly felt as if something lit in his brain, revealing the answer of what they could want. Then, just as he focused inward to look at it more closely, it faded. He was frustrated at his in-ability to remember his flash of inspiration. During this, Colt looked at Drak oddly.

"You're just imagining it. Listen, if you feel it again, wake me up and I'll tell you whether I feel it or not."

"Are you sure?" Drak said, looking cautious. Colt looked at him strangely.

"What? Is there something wrong with that?"

"You happen to kick people if they try to wake you up, you know."

Colt looked angry.

"Then be careful. If you really want to prove this feeling is real, you'll take that chance, right? Now go back and finish your breakfast." With that, Colt walked back to the kitchen.

Drak's eyes glew blue for a moment, his mouth muttering silent words. He nodded, and walked after Colt.

Chapter 3

"Truth"

Drak was wakened by a soft voice speaking to him. Falling asleep in the chair near the window, the area that was now left open as Caleb had fought viciously for rights to Ella E's parent's previous bedroom, was something he enjoyed much more then the hallway. He just leaned back, covered himself with a quilt, and he fell asleep almost instantly. There was something comforting about not laying fully down, but sleeping sitting up. It was as if nothing could surprise him as he was in a good position for defense.

As usual, his sleep had been dreamless. Drak had never had dreams ever since he had met the Mewtwo. The constant use of his mind had rid it of the freedom most people felt when they slept. As others slept, their minds would gain free-reign and create wild fantasies, regardless of logic and reason. Drak had honed his mind through the constant psychic activity that it was almost as if his brain had forgotten to run by itself when he was asleep. Now it only waited for him to wake up, keeping the mental link open. Naturally, when the soft voice spoke, Drak believed it to be his Mewtwo. Who else would be awake?

"Mewtwo..." his eyes glowed a faint blue, the sign of a not properly-established link, primarily because of his weariness. "Why are you awake?"

No response.

Too sleepy to ponder this, Drak tried harder. "Mewtwo?"

No response.

Slowly, the notion that the person who was speaking might not have been Mewtwo came into his mind and he opened his eyes.

It took a while to adjust to the dark, but Drak was used to it. Living in the darkness for years was what he had done, he was used to such blackness around him when he opened his eyes. The Moon, a slight sliver of white, was shining weak light through the front window where it spilled over the quilt he had over his legs and onto the floor. He looked around the room, cluttered with junk and the various Meowth's that no room was without. Various pictures littered the room, junk was on the floor. They had not obviously expected visitors when he had first arrived here, but the messiness of the living room was something that wasn't of the utmost importance to him. If someone wanted it clean, they would clean it. So far, no one had apparently wanted it clean.

"Mewtwo?" Drak said aloud, wondering whether the Mewtwo had fallen asleep and had accidentally contacted him in a kind of "dream-speak". It was then that Drak decided he would try and listen to what the words were saying and not where they were coming from.

"We're here for the boy..." A soft voice said, sounding like a faint whisper in his mind. It had a slightly humorous accent to it, as if someone was trying to speak seriously when they were suppressing hidden laughter.

"Are you sure he is here?" Another voice said, this one more passive and controlling. The first voice seemed to laugh quietly.

"There is no other place, all evidence leads here...and I can sense the emanations...shall we move now?"

"Let us wait..."

Drak, wondering whether this was a prank his Mewtwo was playing on him, lifted a hand to pull his blanket off and found a Meowth sleeping on him. Drak awkwardly brushed it off, a little too hard for it's liking, and it gave a faint "Meowth!" and ran off. Instantly, all the Meowth's in the room were awake, looking at him with their luminescent eyes. Drak found the sight very frightening.

"I sense something is awake..."

"Is it the boy?"

"...perhaps...let's wait for more..."

Drak could hear the voices, more clear now, as he gingerly stood. He gasped shortly as his leg gave a stab of pain through him. He clutched it and tried to hold his breath. He had forgotten how stubborn his leg could be when he woke up. He focused hard on his mental hearing, but heard nothing. He looked around.

Last night, Colt had explained what the two were trying to do. Since the group mainly trusted Colt, Monty was more then glad (for more reasons then one) to switch places with Colt. Now Colt slept on the couch, his blanket on the floor, his leg over the back of the couch and his head underneath the low slung table that was near it. Drak would have found it comical if he wasn't so concerned over the voices.

"Colt?" he said, inching closer.

"There! It spoke...there is something awake in there. We should move now, before something happens." said the almost amused voice.

The other voice didn't respond. Drak, feeling more anxious then usual, dragged himself to the couch were Colt slept. His leg now didn't respond at all, and he moved awkwardly. In the process, he kicked a Meowth which screeched and ran. The other Meowth's began to stare harder at Drak. He walked over to Colt.

"Colt? Wake up.." he whispered, unable to make his voice higher. In his mind, he could feel the presence of his Mewtwo, obviously awakened by his distress. The strength of this Mewtwo compared to that of the whispery voices was a shock to him and he shivered in spite of himself.

"He is awake and his companion may also be. We must move!" the voice said again. It now sounded concerned. Drak had to strain to hear it, already becoming accustomed to the strength of the Mewtwo.

"Alright, but try to do it quietly."

"Colt!" Drak said, a little more loudly. Colt stirred, placed a hand over his eyes, and grumbled. Drak leaned down to poke him, and then realized the room was darker then it should of been. The only reason for that would be that something was blocking the window. Drak turned slowly, trying to suppress the worry he felt. Strangely enough, Drak didn't feel scared...it was a feeling that he was not accustomed too. He felt only anxiety and worry in case this could turn out badly in Ella E's favor.

Fear was unknown...anxiety was not.

Hovering in front of the window was what looked like a helicopter, but it was strangely silent. It's blades glowed with alternate white and red light. He saw two small forms in the Helicopter, one with large hands and wild hair and the other carrying a pendant. Drak's mouth opened despite his best efforts to stop it, and he watched some dark forms, these appearing human and carrying weapons, quickly approach the window. One cursed.

"He's awake! Quick, load the confinement net!"

"COLT!" Drak shouted, finding his voice. Colt jerked once and as a result, slammed his head into the bottom of the table. This dazed him somewhat, making him unable to respond properly. The figure outside used what looked like a gun and shoved the butt through the glass, causing it to shatter into thousands of glittering fragments. Instantly, every Meowth in the room was gone.

"COOLT!" Drak shouted, trying to back away from the figure that approached him. He came quickly and reached out a hand to grab Drak, but Drak ducked, trying desperatly to get his leg to obey him.

"Drak? What is happening?" The Mewtwo's voice said in his mind. Drak was too busy to reply. Mewtwo sensed the danger and worry in Drak's mind.

"I'm coming! Hold...agh!" Mewtwo made a small cry of pain as, Drak guessed, he stepped on the limp leg they both shared. Drak felt the twinge himself and fell to the ground.

"Don't be difficult!" A distinctly male voice snarled at him from behind the gun.

Colt leapt up, having shaken off the dizziness that came with the blow to the head, and looked at the man with what appeared to be a gun and Drak on the floor.

"Drak? What the-EVERYONE! WAKE UP!" Colt shouted, his strong voice echoing through the house. The Man with the gun cursed loudly.

"We didn't come for you!" he growled at Colt, aiming the gun directly at Drak. Drak tried to scramble to his feet, but his limp and painful leg was not responding. His hand slipped on what felt like a Meowth's yarn ball and his arm gave out, dropping him on the floor. The Man fired, despite Colt's best efforts to stop him, and out of the gun came what appeared to be a large net, glowing with a strange, almost orange-ish light. It gravitated instantly to Drak, although he scrambled to one side, and wrapped itself tightly around his body, preventing further motion. He summoned his mental power to cry for help from Mewtwo, but found in response a burning flash of pain and blackness.

"Get away from him!" Colt said, throwing himself around the man's shoulders. Despite the fact that Colt was rather strong for his age, the Man was far more skilled than he. The Man seemed to regard Colt in amusement, then slammed the gun butt into Colt's forehead. Colt flew backwards across the table, his head bleeding. Colt struggled to regain his senses, but the room was spinning around him and he felt burning, aching pain in his forehead. The Man grabbed the limp bundle that was Drak and laughed scornfully before leaping out the broken window, deftly avoiding the broken shards of glass that marked the bottom of the pane.

Colt tried to regain his senses. The whole room spun around him and was blurred with the pain from his head. He was vaguely aware of the others running into the room, looking dissheveled.

"Colt? Colt, what happened?" he heard Ella E's voice say. She gave a short cry at the sight of the broken window. "The window's broken! Where's Drak?"

"Look!" A Voice he recognized as Monty's came from near the window.

"Hey! Come back here! They've got Drak!" Caleb's annoying voice came to Colt. Colt tried to stand, but found his muscles refusing to respond. Ella E's horrified voice came from above him.

"Colt! Colt! Oh my god! Your forehead...what'd they do!"

Colt tried to respond, but found himself falling into blackness.

Caleb dashed across the lawn towards the strangely silent helicopter, chasing the man who carried Drak underneath his arm. Before he could reach him, the Man had hopped in and the Helicopter began to rise. Caleb, unable to see any other option, jumped forward and grabbed the skids.

When you have just been woke from sleep, reflexes and motor skills aren't all they should be. Caleb soon found that out as his sleepy and cold fingers slid from the skid, causing him to fall heavily on the grassy lawn. The Helicopter continued to rise, it's silent blades cutting the air in what seemed to be slow-motion.

"DRAK!" Caleb screamed, raising a hand futiley at the fastly vanishing Helicopter. "COME BACK HERE! LET DRAK GO!"

The night sky was as stubborn on the response as the Helicopter which continued it's silent journey into the rapidly all-consuming night. Caleb watched helplessly as the Helicopter rose further and further away from him.

Monty came to him and helped Caleb up, unable to think of anything comforting to say. Caleb leaned on him thankfully, feeling woozy and weak.

"They've got Drak...what do we do?"

"Right now we can't do anything..." Monty said, finally finding his tongue. He looked up at the night sky, glittering with a uncountable amount of bright stars. Without the moon's bright light, however, the night looked darker then it should have. "First we have to find out who did it and why..."

"Mewww!" there was a angry cry from the house, and the badly-limping Mewtwo stumbled out onto the lawn. He looked up at the sky, noticing the fastly fading black form of the helicopter. Sensing his friends presence vaguely, Mewtwo raised two paws. Instantly, he formed a dark energy ball, crackling with furious blue energy, and sent it towards the Helicopter, hatred gleaming in his normally impassive blue eyes.

Unfortunatly, the Helicopter was too far away to aim properly and the Energy ball sailed off into the distance harmlessly.

The Mewtwo's leg gave in, and he fell to the ground. His eyes glew a furious blue and he began to scream silently. Frustrated, he broke off the one-ended link and stared at the sky where Drak had been taken.

"MEEEEEEEWWWWWW!" The Mewtwo screamed in fury and pain. Monty stared at him and began to walk back to the house, Caleb leaning heavily on him, unable to think of anything to do for the poor Pokémon that had just been robbed of his one true friend.

~~~

Drak felt a stinging pain in his shoulder, and he tried to respond. His body felt like lead and wouldn't obey his commands. He felt it again, and the blackness in front of him began to fade. He tried to focus blurry eyes on the person who kept hurting him. The figure looked at a taller, stronger one, one who seemed to be regarding Drak carefully. Both were shrouded in darkness, the result of the inner compartment of what felt like the helicopter's lack of light.

"Why won't he wake up? Is he-" the tall figure said.

"He's not dead, sir. The confinement net was designed for M-2 Specimen B, not a human."

"Why did it react that way?"

"The net is designed, sir, to respond with a powerful shock to anything that tries to use psychic abilities in it's webs. No doubt, this Boy tried to do something of that nature and the net responded as if it were M-2 Specimen B. The shock wasn't designed for humans, sir. It's much too powerful."

"It didn't kill him?"

"If he was able to set off the mechanism, sir, no doubt he was attempting to either contact M-2 Specimen B or some other psychic ability. The net is designed to respond to Mewtwo's level of power...which means the boy must have tried to do something equal in strength, sir. Something with that kind of power wouldn't die from the shock, sir."

"Very good..." the taller, stronger figure said, looking at Drak. Or at least, that's what Drak thought. "Just like we predicted. Are Barrier-D and Surepa asleep?"

"Yes sir. They did a very good job at masking the sound of the Helicopter. Maybe you could consider giving them a day off, sir..."

"Good." The tall figure said, basically ignoring the smaller's comment. The smaller didn't argue. "I don't want them to disturb...the boy." the taller figure said, putting what looked vaguely to Drak like a hand to his chin.

"Do you want him awake, sir? I can use the Tazer again." the smaller figure said, holding some kind of device, it's full appearance shrouded in blackness.

"I...I'm...I'm awake..." Drak managed to whisper, hoping they heard him. The first figure smiled.

"Good, good. He's already awake. Good sign. I don't want to talk to him yet, he's still too groggy to answer any questions. He'll just get confused."

"Where are you, Mewtwo?" Drak cried mentally, retreating frantically to the space in his mind he and his Pokémon shared. "I need you to help me...I'm trapped!"

There was no reply, and Drak began to feel panic. He had never been without his friend's presence.

"Fascinating, sir!" the second figure said, looking at him. Something glinted on his face, no doubt a pair of glasses. "The illumination of the eyes is a trait common to those who train psychic Pokémon. Blue is a special color only reserved to the M-2 Series, however. No doubt he is trying to contact M-2 Specimen B. Look how brightly it shines! They must have a strong link. This is absolutely amazing, sir."

The first figure didn't look too impressed. "Give him to Teishi when we get back for him to take care of. Make sure nothing happens to him."

"Yes, sir." the second figure said, scribbling something on what appeared to be his lab-coat sleeve. The First Figure looked annoyed.

"Must you do that? It costs money to get your coats cleaned."

"Was I doing it again, sir? I'm sorry, sir, it won't happen again." the Second figure said, sounding embarrassed. The first figure walked out of the room. Drak began to wonder what exactly was going on. But the Second Figure poked him with something, and all Drak felt after the prick was a deepening loneliness as he faded into unconciousness.