Trent was deep in the recesses of his own mind. All it took was for him to refuse the Manachu's request, and the next thing he knew he was out of his body.
It wasn't a nice feeling.
However, Trent did enjoy the freedom of floating. He had never felt so unburdened. Everything seemed so much nicer now, so much simpler. He couldn't understand why he was so upset at the Riachu. It didn't seem logical anymore. In fact, the Riachu was fading from his mind.
Trent suddenly realized that his memory was slowly fading. Something was not right here. He though hard, and brought up a image of his mother. He hung onto it stubbornly. He couldn't forget her. That wasn't what she wanted.
Trent could feel something pulling him. He looked around, and saw his own body. Strangely, this didn't frighten him at all. The over-whelming sense of peace was pervading his mind. The image of his mother Mara started to fade, but he stubbornly brought it back.
Something, it looked like a Vaporeon, had it's teeth sunk into his paw, and was dragging him along. His body looked unresponsive.
Trent could feel his mother close to him. He turned around and saw her, her bone-mask a welcome sight to him. He clutched her in his phantasmal paws.
"Mother! Mother! I found you!" he said. He didn't hear himself say it, but he knew Mara had heard.
"My son...you came to join me."
"Does that mean..."
"You're dead, Trent."
"So we're together again!"
At this Mara's eyes became piercingly sad.
"No. It's your hatred for the Riachu that binds you here. You're a ghost. I'm not. They let me see you one last time, but until you can let go, this is goodbye."
Slowly Mara began fading away. Trent, horrified, tried to grasp at her, but she dissolved into vapor and dissapeared.
Trent stared in unbelief for a moment.
"MARAAAA!" he screamed, tearing at his helmet. His cry echoed into the room, bouncing off the walls, causing the dim light in the room to flicker on and off. NightShade.
The huge creature, the Manachu, seemed unperturbed by this attack. It tried to grab him, but Trent dissolved and reformed a few moments after the paw had passed. Trent found himself strangely used to his form. He floated through the air at the Manachu, whose piercing gaze followed him. This creature must be ghost too. But Trent wasn't sure. It seemed this creature was so much more then that.
"YAAAAA!" Trent shouted, racing towards it. He raised his ghostly paw, complete with bone, and dove for the attack.
"Phase!" he heard a pleasant feminine voice cry. Instantly a Clegencyana appeared in front of him.
"Stop! Please!"
Trent oblidgingly skidded to a stop.
"You can see me?"
"Of course I can!" the creature said. She was using her giant wings, even in this ghost form. He stared into her frightfully piercing eyes, yet found her eerily beautiful.
"What..."
"I'm Lumina. You can't hurt the Manachu! It's the only thing that holds our society together! It helps protect us!"
"That...thing?"
"Yes! Please! Leave if you must, but leave the Manachu alone!"
Trent couldn't stop staring at the furry and winged creature in front of him. It was so radiant.
"I'll leave...if you come with me." Trent said, without even knowing what he was doing. What was he SAYING?
"I can't! Go now!" she said, evidently distressed. She grabbed his ghost paw, and pushed him roughly to where the exit was. "The Riachu is on the way out! Take it out of here if you can!"
Trent could do nothing more then obey Lumina. He floated through the entrance, and saw the Riachu. But he felt there was something unfinished here. He decided that he would wait for Torrent. Something told him that he was a key part of this.

Chapter 35
"Escape"

It had been Alacaxam's unrest that had allowed the others to escape.
When Alacaxam had fell asleep at the door of the Manachu and Ranachu's establishment, it had had terrible dreams. They frightened it, and Alacaxam wasn't familiar with the feeling.
Alacaxam rolled over, and rolled down the stairs that lead down under the ground. It woke up instantly, but it was too late to stop itself.
At the end of it's long turbulent fall, Alacaxam sat and rubbed it's head. Where was it...
It probed the area with it's mind, finding two alien ones, some more Clegencyana's and Gencey's, and the rest of it's compatriots. It also felt Radic and Red's minds, but felt that it could deal with them later.

Meanwhile, in the cell...
Weedle panted and gasped, resting on the floor.
"Weedle, ya can't give up now! Please, keep trying!" Hitmochan said encouragingly. Weedle's whole body ached. His wings were tired, and his drills felt dull from all the work they had been doing.
Hitmochan looked at him through the hole in the wall. It was big enough for Hitmochan to look through comfortably, but not for her body to fit.
"Let ME try!" Eeeee said angrily. Hitmochan looked angry, but stepped aside. The Vaporeon tried again to squeeze her head through. The ruff around it was causing problems, but Eeeee refused to give up. She struggled hard, managing to get her ruff out on the other side of the hole. Her head was through. She kicked her legs feebly in the air.
"I'm stuck! Help me, Hitmochan!" Eeeee said desperatly. Hitmochan considered not helping for a moment, but then shoved against Eeeee with all her might. Eeeee shrieked.
"AAAAAOW! WATCH IT, GLOVES-FOR-BRAINS!" she screamed. This hurt! Hitmochan growled angrily, her eyes turning red.
"SHUT...UP!" Hitmochan said angrily. She shoved on her last word hard. Eeeee shrieked again, and managed to pop through the hole.
Eeeee had some scrapes on her legs and was rather dusty, but otherwise unhurt. She brushed herself off haughtily, then looked for Weedle. He was laying on the ground breathing shallowly.
"Weedle! Are you all right?" Eeeee asked, running over to him. Hitmochan peered through the hole, which was slightly bigger now.
"What's wrong? Did something happen to him?"
"I don't have TIME for your STUPID QUESTIONS!" Eeeee suddenly shouted.
Hitmochan punched the wall angrily, wishing that she was punching Eeeee. She didn't say anything, only turning around and leaning on the wall.
Then she noticed Alacaxam.
"Alacaxam! ALACAXAM! Ya weren't captured! Come get me out!"
Alacaxam stumbled groggily to it's feet.
"Huh...Hitmochan?"
"It's me! Get me OUT of here!"
Alacaxam was to confused to reply, so he put his spoons to his head, and focused. A concentrated beam of light shot from his chest, shifting Rainbow colors. It hit the bars, and the melted. Hitmochan was again glad that she had not given Alacaxam a reason to attack her with Psybeam.
She jumped out of the opening in her bars, and checked in the cell next to her. She saw Weedle, looking very haggard, along with a concerned Eeeee.
"How did you...Alacaxam! Help us get out!"
Alacaxam complied, and Eeeee flipped Weedle on her back and jumped out into the hallway. Lumina was no where to be seen...apparently she had something to do.
"Is Pixel here?" Alacaxam asked.
"We heard Lumina talk about it. It's somewhere over..." Hitmochan pointed to the left, "That way."
They headed off as fast as they could go, down the twisting curves of the hallway. They saw some empty cells, and some full ones. They were in too much of a hurry to tell, but one seemed to hold an Electabuzz.
Finally they heard Pixel's mechanical voice counting off.
"1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8..."
Alacaxam stared at the Porygon, who was pacing back and forth in the cell, measuring the length from one side to another.
"Pixel?" Alacaxam asked. The Porygon looked up at him with it's unblinking eyes.
"So you have come to faciliate my departure."
Alacaxam concentrated, melting the bars. Swiftly, Hitmochan jumped in, grabbed Pixel, and jumped out. Then they heard some crashes and screams coming from the large chamber in the center of the underground catacombs.
They dashed in, and even Alacaxam and Pixel seemed amazed at the site of the Manachu.
"RADIC!" Hitmochan screamed angrily as she saw her former trainer clutched in the Manachu's massive fists. She dropped Pixel roughly.
"Hitmochan, don't!"
But it was too late. The Hitmonchan ran as fast as she could towards the Manachu, but found something zoomed in front of her. She stopped short and stared.
It was a very ruffed-up looking Gencey, with tiny horns, a halo, and a tail with a poof on the end. It's wings weren't nearly as impressive as the Clegencyana's, but Hitmochan was in too much of a hurry to care.
"STOP!" the Gencey cried, but Hitmochan punched it roughly to one side. The Gencey gave a tiny cry and fell to the ground.
Hitmochan was far too angry to notice how huge the Manachu was. She leaped at it, and saw a flash of black.
In an instant she was pinned to the ground by one of the middle pairs of paws on the Manachu.
"Who dares attack me?" it rumbled in it's awful voice. Hitmochan couldn't breathe, the massive weight of the paw was overwhelming.
"Look! A Marowak!" Eeeee said. She ran over and sunk her teeth in it's paw. She shuddered when she realized it was dead, but didn't care. She dragged it's body away from the battle.
Alacaxam stared into the dark eyes of the Manachu, trying to probe it's mind. It was shocked to learn that instead of it learning the Manachu's secrets, it was learning the Alacazam's! Alacaxam was terrified, but tried to keep it's stare.
"Pixel! Convert to it's type! Tell us what's effective against it!"
Pixel glowed for a minute. It's eyes shot open and it made a rumbling noise, as if some massive changes were going on in it's body.
"Ghost, Electric...Dragon and Psychic."
Alacaxam blinked, it's eyes tearing at trying to keep the Manachu's gaze.
"Excuse me? Pokémon have 2 types at most."
"I know. But this has four."
"This creature is so powerful...So what's good against the thing?"
"Ice, Ground, Bug..."
"Okay, we have none of those...wait!" Alacaxam tore it's gaze away, staring at the Beedrill Eeeee had dropped, "Weedle! Wake up! We need your help!"
Weedle refused to wake up.
There was a explosion of water in front of them.
"Listen! Come with me, I'll show you out!"
The Ranachu didn't wait for their reply, only running for the exit.
"But what about..."
"No time! It's not safe here!"
Alacaxam began to run after it, followed by Pixel. As Alacaxam ran by, it grabbed Eeeee's tail and pulled. Eeeee was jerked along roughly, but kept her teeth latched in the Marowak's paw.
They reached a hallway where the body of Riachu lay, and the group panted. Torrent looked very frightened.
"We must get out of here. We have to keep moving!"
"But...what about Hitmochan! And Radic and Red? And Rai-chu? And Weedle? And Ratty? We have to go back!"
"We can't save them now. That monster doesn't let go of anything once it has it."
Eeeee stared back at the cavern with tear-filled eyes.
"I'm not leaving while pokémon still need my help!"
Slowly something began to form in the middle of the ring of creatures. It was a Marowak and Clegencyana, very ghostlike.
"Leave while you can! We'll take the Riachu!"
The Clegencyana materialized into a solid shape, grabbing the Riachu and flapping her wings down the hall. The Marowak followed her.
"Listen, if you really have a death wish, you can stay here and try to help." Torrent panted, "but we can't wait. I'll leave marks on the wall for you to follow, although I doubt you'll ever see them."
Eeeee watched, torn apart inside, as Alacaxam, Pixel, and Torrent ran down a hallway, dragging the body of the Marowak. She blinked back tears, and ran back to the cavern.
"MANACHU!" she shrieked. The huge creature looked down on her, almost looking amused. it had Weedle in it's other middle paw, and now was sitting upright on two paws. Radic was still getting shocked from the Raichu, but he seemed too unconcious to care.
"What is it, little one." the creature said, it's chilling voice freezing her body. She steeled herself.
"I can't let you have them!"
"It's not like you can stop me."
Eeeee tried to stay brave. That voice was burning her very skin.
"Listen to me. 5 Unwilling captives are not worth as much as one willing one. The Unwilling will only cause problems trying to escape."
"What are you getting at?" the Manachu said, blinking and looking almost surprised.
"..." Eeeee gritted her teeth, "I'll take their place."
"Even this one?" the Manachu said, holding out the Hitmonchan, who was unconcious and unmoving.
Eeeee secretly didn't want to save Hitmochan. Hitmochan was mean and didn't like her. She didn't think Hitmochan deserved to be let free. But something told her it was the right thing to do to let Hitmochan go free.
"Yes."
Instantly the Manachu dropped what it was holding into a pile. Then gave it one glance, and the group either stood or flew, waiting for a commands.
"Go outside to your friends." the Manachu said. Eeeee realized they were under hypnosis.
"Yes." They all said mechanically. They walked off to the exit.
"Can they find their way back?"
"Yes."
Eeeee trembled with fear, but kept it to herself.
"Well then so can I!" She shouted, and tried to run. There was whomp, and instantly the bones in the end of her tail were crushed as the Manachu slammed one huge paw down on it.
"Going back on our deal?"
Eeeee realized what she had gotten herself into, and finally accepted it. There would be no escape... "...No."
"Good."
The Vaporeon felt huge claws grasp her body and bring her right up to the Manachu's eyes. She didn't struggle.
"This is a situation I've never experiences. A willing captive! It should prove to my liking, however. You're screams should amuse me for a long, long time." The Manachu smiled.
Eeeee whimpered.

Torrent burst out into the sun, waiting for the others to follow him. Alacaxam and Pixel, carrying the Marowak's body, blinked in the sun. They stared in amazement at the group that stood near a tree.
Weren't they just captives? Radic and Red seemed utterly confused, Ratty was shivering, Weedle was flying around, puzzled, the Riachu was looking at something everyone else couldn't see. The Raichu looked tired. Hitmochan was rubbing her head.
"What happened?" Radic said groggily. Red looked as confused as he did. Violet ran up to the pair and hugged them ecstatically.
"You're here! I thought you were lost!"
"How did you get out here? Didn't Eeeee go and help you?" Alacaxam asked the group. The Pokémon shook their heads, and so did the trainer's after the comments had been translated.
"I don't remember seeing her after the battle."
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" A piercing scream rang from the inside of the cave they had just left. Everyone was shaken by the pain. Lumina phased into sight. She looked very pale.
"I just went and looked. I asked some friends, and they saw it all. Eeeee volunteered to take all you creature's place. The Manachu is torturing her now. It's awful."
"Eeeee...took our place?" Hitmochan said, rubbing her head.
"I say we go back for her!" the Marowak said. Lumina blocked it's rush inside.
"No, Don't! She made a agreement, we should let her keep it."
"What kind of establishment is this, anyway?" Weedle buzzed. Torrent stepped forward.
"It's a symbiotic relationship. The Manachu protects the Gencey's and Clegencyana's from harm, and they give it anything shiny they can find, or any captive Pokémon they get."
Radic and Red were very quiet after Ratty's translation, and abruptly Radic started crying.
"My Vaporeon! She sacrificed herself..." he sobbed. Red, unsure of what to do, let Radic cry on his shoulder. Violet put a hand over her heart in respect.
"Why'd you help us?" Weedle asked the Ranachu. It growled.
"I never liked that Manachu. It treated me like I was inferior. I was glad to muck up it's plans once in a while."
So the large group of Pokémon, along with three people, sat down in the grass of the forest and silently wondered what they were going to do now.

The End...
Or is it?