Samantha watched the Totodile on the hospital bed, unconscious, but only from fatigue. After analyses, the nurse just told her that the water type was tired out, exhausted from what ever he did last. Those were the nurse's only words, as she had to tend to many other Pokémon wounded by the recent explosion.

Sam placed a hand on the Totodile's cheek, running a finger down towards his stomach, wondering if it was just coincidental. That dream she had before, how they would meet again. Was she just dreaming? Or did it come true? She only repeated the name she heard:

"Hydra…"

News reports were classifying it as an accident. The place was a science facility and what was supposedly a controlled experiment backfired, causing a massive explosion on the facility. A full investigation was currently underway to determine the full story. Of course, Sam and Vyren knew otherwise, seeing armed soldiers on the scene. Something was happening, and it wasn't Team Rocket. Vyren made it clear he didn't identify anyone of those soldiers or Pokémon that attacked, so it was most likely from another regime.

The bulk rest of the group, they were holding out in their room, except for Spark, who remained guarding the chamber where Samantha and 'Hydra' were currently residing in. The pair of Flying types have yet to make a report, making Vyren worried as well. His gaze was out towards the window, wondering where they disappeared to. The sun was beginning to set, just causing the sniper to worry even more.

"Where are you…?" the sniper asked himself, gazing out. He placed a hand on the cold window, though it didn't bother him. Something else was, nagging at the back of his neck. "Why do I feel so light headed?" he wondered, glancing back towards the Pokémon in the room. Their movement seemed sort of sluggish, or perhaps it was just an illusion his mind came up with, he wasn't sure. Though it was odd how he was finding it difficult to keep his eyes open.

His first thought of something truly wrong came when Espe collapsed without reason, though the others seemed to…dazed to realize it. Eventually, each Pokémon began to fall, one by one, though Vyren was too weak to say anything. He too, eventually succumb to the effects of something, falling to his knees first, then flat onto the ground, out cold.

Sam awoke slowly, blinking her eyes as glaringly bright light shined in her face. She forced her eyes shut, but it didn't help much. The Gym Leader could feel cold steel against her back. She tried to move, but found her arms and legs restrained.

"Ah…the subject is awake," she heard from the distance, sort of hollow voice. She tried to look around, by the restraints combined with the glare of the lights made it hard to do as such. The Gym Leader uncurled her hand, preparing to burn her way through the binds.

Electricity surged through her body, causing her to cry in pain, destroying her concentration on her fire attack. The electricity stopped, the Gym Leader relaxing slightly, stretching her fingers out.

"The table is designed to send out a shock on the indication of heat being gathered," another voice came, though equally as hollow, as though it were a speaker. "I wouldn't try to use your fire powers unless you have a death wish."

"So, they know…" Sam thought, closing her eyes, trying to find somewhere comfortable to lie, though that was hard to do considering the circumstances. Instead, she exhaled, trying to remain calm. Hard to do considering the circumstances. Well, on a some what strange thought, she kind of figured how Ryna felt like, being on a bed like this back on Cinnabar Island. She sighed softly, wondering how she could think of humour at a time like this…

"Initiating scan…" the first voice spoke, as machinery begun to hum around Sam. She held still, wondering what they were doing, with this 'scan' and all. A tingly feeling shivered up her spine, but other then that, they just seemed to be…scanning…

She relaxed again, just letting it happen. There really wasn't much else to do. She began to reminisce, wondering how she got in this situation in the first place. She remembered watching over 'Hydra' in the Pokémon Centre. She could recall slowly losing focus in the room, wondering what was wrong with herself. It became hard to focus, hard to stay awake. She could remember distinctly falling over onto the bed, before going out.

"What happened back there?" Sam thought, trying not to let the humming disturb her. "What about the others?" she asked herself next quickly, a more prudent question. She hoped they were alright…

Vyren was quickly awakened by some water being splashed up him. He quickly shook the wet liquid off his face, glancing around, wondering what just happened. What became clear was that he wasn't at the Pokémon Center anymore, more in a mechanical prison. Before him stood a guard, with a plastic cup in his hand, obviously the person who doused him. He dropped the cup and crushed it under his feet, before heading off, weapon shouldered. The guard stopped at the entrance/exit of this 'prison', keeping an eye on the person. Vyren instantly recognized the guard as a Team Rocket operative. The sniper cursed mentally, be unarmed, and already being caught by them, and not even a day. Sighing, he glanced around the chamber some more.

Upon inspection, Vyren noticed he was in some chamber with one exit. Very plain looking, just like a holding cell. The only distinguishable feature was a rather large pane of glass that was basically one of the walls. It was out looking an arena. Vyren took a closer look. The arena was rather basic, with a moat of water around, probably the boundary. The centre wasn't elaborate at all: flat, grey, shiny. One fact that stuck out was Charles laying on it, unconscious. Glancing around, he also noticed cage dangling over the moat, with a Flareon inside.

"What…are you…going to do?" Vyren thought, glancing around his surroundings again. The other Pokémon were accounted for except for Spark and obviously the pair inside the arena, as well as his own pair of Flying types. He knelt down, arousing the Espeon, Umbreon, and Totodile in that order. They awoke, seeing the face of the sniper before them.

"Where are we?" Espe asked softly, glancing nervously towards the armed guard. Umbre also gazed nervously there to, though Hydra didn't seem very much fazed by the person. It was as though he were conditioned to see as such...

"Prisoners of Team Rocket," Vyren answered in a low tone, not wanting to alert the guard that much, though they probably had the room bugged and under camera surveillance. The guard apparently didn't mind their socializing.

"Where's mom and dad?" Umbre asked softly, noticing there were only three Pokémon in this chamber. "And Spark too…" the Umbreon added, then finally looked out towards the window. He gasped, prompting Espe to glance to, and gasped as well.

"Dad! Mom!" they both exclaimed, pressing their paws against the window. Try as they might, it eventually dawned on them their parents couldn't hear their cries. Eventually, they turned their gaze towards the guard, who seemed to be enjoying the moment. Both Eevee evolutions gaze him a dark stare, but dared not to attack an armed person. Instead, they just waited.

All the while, Hydra seemed uncaring of the situation, just sitting down in a corner, without much energy. He seemed to give up even before trying. There was depression in his eyes, and Vyren wondered what was up with the water type.

Spark was awakened with an rather painful hit to his head. He quickly shook the dizziness out of his mind, feeling himself being transported off cumbersomely in some sort of silver cage. He tried to find his bearings, but before he could even do anything, the cage was roughly shoved into some container. There was lights inside, bright enough to be annoying. The place the cage was inserted from was shut by a resounding slam of a metal door. The wall of the door held a speaker, though Spark wasn't sure it was for receiving, outputting, or both.

Other then that, Spark didn't exactly enjoy the condition he was in, confined in a small area. He wasn't sure where he was anymore, but it was clear not in the Pokémon Centre. He only recalled becoming strangely tired, before blacking out.

The Growlithe didn't much like his environment, throwing a Flamethrower attack into the door. It did little to door, and even less to the cage. He was about to use a Fire Blast attack until he was interrupted.

"Don't bother," a voice boomed through the speaker. Spark was taken aback by the volume of the tone. "The walls and cage are fire proof beyond your ability, and if you do try to Nova Arc, you will be greeted with a dire fate." The Growlithe growled softly, but knew it was best not to push the limit. If they did know he could use a Nova Arc, then they were prepared. How else could they have taken him without any resistance? He cursed softly at his weakens, and wondered how everyone else was doing. The Pokémon hoped they were well and unharmed…

Charles slowly aroused, blinking groggily. The cold floor was the first sign that he wasn't at the Pokémon Centre, as was the fact it felt much cooler in the chamber he was in. He staggered towards one side, still dizzy from the effects of whatever hit him, trying to shake it out of his mind.

He found himself in some sort of large chamber, with a moat of water surrounding him. He wasn't sure where he was, but a faint red figure inside a dangling cage caught his attention. The Charmander recognized who it was immediately.

"Flare!" he shouted out, arousing the Flareon slowly with the cry. She groaned softly, stretching out before seeing herself captive in some cage. She tackled one of the sides, only causing it to rock back and forth.

"Do that again, and I'll guarantee I drop you into that moat below," a voice boomed out over a speaker, echoing into the chamber. Flare didn't realize her predicament until she looked down. The pair scanned around, trying to find out the source of the voice. Silence came, followed by a soft cough, then the voice came back on.

"I see that you have all awakened," he spoke, though it confused the pair who 'all' was. Flare glanced down towards Charles, who returned a nervous and anxious look. They prayed everyone else was okay…

Sam opened her eyes, upon hearing the voice. She remained calmed, listening to the words of their 'capturer', being not much else she could do restrained on a steel table.

"My new test subjects, some of you have same amazing potent ional I wish to unlock…"

"Do enjoy your stay, you may be here for a very long time," the voice continued. Spark growled at the tone, just tempted to unleash a Nova Arc into the door. Instead, he just tackled it, giving him a sore head. "Don't worry, most of you will remain unharmed, except maybe for a pair of you…"

Espe and Umbre gazed into the chamber that held their parents, getting a strange idea who this person was referring to. Their gazed turned upon Vyren, who kept an eye on the guard, obviously wanting a piece of the person.

"Consider it a test of your power, my dear Charmander companion," the voice continued, as though he were getting a sadistic joy of watching it, though only the speaker could tell. "You survive, so does your mate…you die…well, you die. You don't fight to your fullest…well…I drop that cage anytime I want."

Charles clutched his tiny hands into a tight fist, glancing up at Flare, who shook her head quickly. It was clear the Flareon didn't want Charles to fight at all. The Charmander didn't want to fight either, but he had to now, for his own life, but more importantly, the life of his companion.

The Fire type quickly focused again, hearing the faint rotation of gears, though he couldn't tell from where. He glanced around, but found nothing moving, so he can only assumed it was in the moat around him. He just noticed the floor in front of him slowly roll back, an elevator raising, a Kingler on the lift.

"It is only one battle, but it will mean everything," the voice continued, as the Kingler clapped his giant claws menacingly. To compound the problem, a Dewgong, Gyrados, and Kingdra emerged from the water, making it a four on one with type disadvantage.

"No!" Flare screamed out, only to watch helplessly as Charles took a step forward, preparing to do combat against all four. "No…" the Flareon repeated, sobbing softly, knowing no matter how well Charles can fight, he would not be hold off that onslaught. Charles didn't seem to notice his wife's sobbing though, focussing on the battle. He opened fire with a Flamethrower, directed towards the large crab in front of him.

Vyren still kept his eye on the guard, who was slowly turning his attention away from his prisoners. The sniper knew it was…mean…to not pay attention to Charles' battle, but if he could get out of here, he would have a better chance of helping Charles get out of that situation. The guard took a step closer to the glass, paying more attention. He visibly winced, probably something happening, though the sniper didn't really pay attention.

"Come on Charles, just stay alive…" Vyren thought, knowing the Charmander's family was counting on him. The guard relaxed a bit, watching the battle ever more intently. He winced once more, and Vyren struck.

The sniper tackled the guard, bowling him over as he cried out in surprise. They struggled for a bit, catching the attention of the Pokémon in the room, though they were too stunned or taken by the battle to react at all.

Vyren grabbed the rifle of the guard, trying to break it loose from the guard. He was winning too, but didn't notice something gleam off the guard. The sniper had the rifle in his hands now, but he still lost.

The guard pulled out a .45 calibre pistol, firing three rounds into Vyren's stomach. The sniper didn't even cry, his eyes showed surprise, as he toppled onto the ground, still clutching the rifle. He was in pain, still alive, but not for long. The guard quickly stood up, retrieving his rifle and slinging it over his shoulder. He watched the suffering Vyren, taking his pistol and firing a few more rounds into the arms and legs of the prisoner. Vyren cringed in pain, though still no cries. Grinning, the guard let Vyren suffer more, before putting the last bullet of the clip into the prisoner's head.

Emotionlessly, he ejected the clip and discarded it by Vyren's corpse, inserting a new one and threatening the Pokémon with such a fate if they tried that.

Kystel cringed in pain, nearly falling over from his perched location over looking the Pokémon Centre. Karrion quickly turned her gaze towards the Fearow, completely ignoring the police line around the centre now. An abduction of sorts, making it impossible to get near the centre, but that wasn't her concern anymore.

"Kystel!" the Pidgeot exclaimed, hoping over and watching the Fearow. He breathed deeply, the pain passing now, though it was quite a fright for him. He shook his head, glancing at the Pidgeot.

"What…was that?" he asked, looking down at his body. A glint of light caught his eye, as around his neck and mixed with his feathers was a necklace, a small bullet attached to it. Kystel paled, wondering if this was an omen of some sort, especially since the necklace was so much like the one Vyren wore…

Charles screamed in pain, the giant claw of the Kingler catching him in a vice grip. This after taking countless Hydro Pump and Surf attacks from the various water Pokémon tired him out until he could barely move. From there, the Kingler caught him.

"No…" Charles muttered, firing a Fire Blast against the hard shell of the crab in hopes to loosen to grip. No such luck, as it only made the grip tighter, getting another cry of pain from the Charmander.

"Stop…please…" Flare begged, crying uncontrollably now, seeing her husband in so much pain. She wish she was stronger, to break free and help him, but she was helpless, like she usually is, only to see Charles suffer.

The Charmander looked up from his pained vision towards Flare, seeing her cry. Charles regretted being in this, wondering if he could have prevented this before, but the pain through his body kept him from concentrating fully. Instead, he turned back towards the Kingler, concentrating what remaining fire power he had left. One thought came up in his mind, and it was an attack:

Flare Nova

Fire began to charge in the Charmander's mouth, collecting in an orb. The water Pokémon watched in disbelief at the amount of fire being collected so rapidly. In response, they tried to douse it with the combined might of Surf's, Hydro Pump's, and Bubbles, but the more they tried, the bigger the fireball seemed to get.

"Die…" Charles remarked, grinning evilly, before unleashing the ball into the Kingler who griped him. The attack impacted, causing a massive explosion of heat as the entire chamber fired up like an incinerator. The water of the moat did little to absorb the heat, evaporating the quickly. The Kingler disintegrated instantly on contact. The rest of the Water types were not so fortunate, feeling the heat burn through them, as they could not take cover from the searing temperatures. They collapsed onto the floor, struggling. Eventually, their struggling ceased.

The heat dissipated quickly, as the Charmander collapsed onto the floor, struggling like the other Pokémon. He forced himself to turn around, looking up at the Flareon in the cage above. Charles grinned weakly, mouthing five words to his love:

"Take care of the kids."

With those words, his eyes closed, his body unmoving. Flare stared wide eyed, silent, unable to cry anymore.

Explosions rocked all around them as the ground rumbled with the force. Something happened, and it was destroying everything around them. Flare didn't care, who or why the explosions were happening, she just wished it would take her now, to be with her love.

Author's Note:

You may not believe this, but this is the end of Book 4 of the series. You might be asking why I decided to end it here. Let's just say, the answer will become clear in Book 7. Until then, you'll have to wait.

I do not own Pokémon, Nintendo and other related companies do. I do own all the original characters and respective Pokémon. All original attacks are mine as well, as well as new concepts written in this FanFiction (aside from Chimeras, which GTK and I own.)

If you wish to read more about Chimeras, please read GTK's Pokémon: Revelation if you haven't yet, or try Izumi Ryu's Renegades. Both deal in Chimeras that are approved.

Comments and reviews always appreciated. I'll be starting on Book 5 as soon as possible. Until then, I hope you enjoyed reading this.

~Theo 'Blitz' Leung