His hands trembling, Kevin slit the envelope and pulled out the piece of paper it contained. It looked disappointingly ordinary, not at all like he had expected a top secret communique marked "for so-and-so's eyes only" to look. In fact, if it hadn't been for the Team Midnight logo printed at the top of the page, he might have assumed it was a simple business memo. But it wasn't and, as he read it through carefully, Kevin slowly realised just how serious this was.
ATTENTION!
proclaimed the message's headline. The rest of it was printed in a smaller font and this was what Kevin now read out to the others.
"Lab tests on early samples brought up from Aquarius confirm our theories. The Rock of Darkness was indeed buried in the area where the underwater city has been built - much of the sea bed contains traces of elements unknown on this planet . . ." He paused as he read the next paragraph, realising as he did so that the answer, part of the answer at least, to everything that had happened lately lay on this page.
"The Rock of Darkness?" Candida said out loud as it occurred to her that such a thing would be just what Team Midnight would be interested in. "I wonder what that is . . ." She gazed round at what had, until recently, been her family's module and thought of her parents and Ryan, enslaved by Team Midnight. A tear pricked at her eye, but she moved to brush it away. She had to be strong for her family's sake.
But none of the others had heard of the Rock of Darkness either, none of them except Kevin. And the only reason he knew about it was because of his interest in Dark Type Pokemon. "According to legend it fell from the sky thousands of years ago," he told them. "So I guess it must have been a meteorite of some kind. Anyway, it's said it had a strange effect on all the Dark Pokemon, made them vicious and blood-thirsty. Then, this guy got his Blastoise to tow it out to sea and bury it deep in the sea bed . . ."
He paused as the others digested this piece of information. How did knowing what Team Midnight were after help them? If all this was because of the Rock of Darkness, what could a group of teenaged fugitives do to stop whatever they had planned? And could Team Midnight be stopped before the Rock was found?
"That's all very well, but how can we do anything?" Autumn asked, voicing what they were all thinking. Her Pikachu burrowed into her arms and whimpered softly.
"I don't know, but we have to do something." Kevin's tone was resolute, his fists clenched as he thought of how he had read the legend about the Rock of Darkness in a library book. At first, many scientists thought it was just a fable, possibly one created by a society which feared Dark Types, but there was just too much evidence to dismiss offhand. Accounts dating from the time the Rock fell told of Murkrow pecking people's eyes out, Houndours, Absols and Poochyenas turning on their trainers - and various other instances of Dark Type Pokemon turning on humans. And the attacks seemed to have ended as abruptly as they began, right at the time when the Blastoise had buried the Rock in the ocean floor.
"If we don't, disaster lies in wait," Kevin added.
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But dealing with Team Midnight would have to wait. The seven of them were all exhausted following their ordeal in the mine and subsequent escape. So they elected to bed down in the Bensons' module and decide what to do in a few hours' time. The four girls decided to sleep in Candida's room, while the boys would sleep in Ryan's.
Candida hauled several blankets out of the linen cupboard and handed them to her friends. "There," she told them. "Make yourselves comfortable - we'll need all the rest we can get if we're to get through this . . ." She paused in the doorway to her room, noticing as she did so the Jigglypuff doll still where she had left it when Team Midnight seized control. The sight of the plush Pokemon set her to thinking; they needed someone to stay awake to alert them to any trouble, possibly one of the Pokemon.
"Pikachu, what about . . .?" Autumn started when Candida suggested the idea. But a quick glance at her Pikachu, whose head was nodding on his shoulders, discouraged her from continuing.
"In that case," said Kelly, "let's try one of mine." She pulled out one her Poke Balls and pressed the button to activate it. "Come on out, Pinky!"
In a flash of light, Kelly's Clefable materialised. Kelly spoke to her quickly, telling her to listen out for anyone approaching. If she heard anything, she was to wake everyone up immediately. "I don't care how you do it," Kelly added. "But NO Metronoming Water Guns."
Pinky nodded, remembering a time when she had used Metronome to wake Kelly and ended up using Water Gun. Kelly, none too pleased at being soaked, had confined the Clefable to her Poke Ball for a week. But, as often happens with Pokemon and their trainers, they soon forgave each other and Kelly could even laugh about the incident now, although she had firmly told Pinky she wasn't to make a habit of it. "Clefable," Pinky said now, acknowledging her trainer's words. She walked out of the room and perched herself on the chair Candida had used to barricade the door.
Candida flopped down on her bed as Kelly, Sandra and Autumn made up their beds on the floor. She let a sigh escape her lips; it was going to be a long night.
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In Ryan's room, Kevin was lying awake, his mind dwelling on what Team Midnight could do to his Murkrow, Sneasel and Houndour. Whatever it was could hardly be anything but bad and, now that he knew the Rock of Darkness was involved, there was no telling how far things would go. He planned to become a Pokelogist specialising in the study of Dark Types when he was older and, at seventeen years old, had already written an essay on the subject. His theory was that ancient human society, fearful of the unseen forces that might be lurking on a dark night, had turned on anything associated with the night, vilifying it and call it "evil". And, since Dark Pokemon were at their most active then, many had had their reputations sullied. The same thing had, to a lesser extent, happened with Ghost Types; even now, there were those who wouldn't venture near known Ghost habitats such as the Tower in Lavender Town unless they absolutely had to.
He stared at the ceiling as he thought over everything he had learned about Dark Types. Like all Pokemon, they were all right once you got to know them, but their nocturnal habits and often secretive ways had caused ancient peoples to regard them with dread, a dread which some people still held today. Could that be what Team Midnight were planning? To exploit ancient superstition for their own ends?
It certainly seemed that way. And, if the Rock of Darkness was as powerful as the legends said, there could be big trouble ahead. Who would dare stand up to a pack of vicious Dark Pokemon? Who would stop Team Midnight from taking over the whole world? If their plans succeeded . . .
Kevin sat up with a start as he realised the enormity of what would happen. If Team Midnight had his Pokemon and the other Dark Types in Aquarius and managed to get hold of the Rock of Darkness on top of that, there was no limit to what evil they could do. There was only one thing left to do - find out where Team Midnight had been keeping the confiscated Pokemon and get them out before it was too late.
But, as he got up and made to leave the room, he accidentally kicked the door. "W - what?" Marc mumbled, woken by the resulting expletive. "Kevin, what's going on?"
"I'm going to try and get my Pokemon back," Kevin replied, looking the younger boy full in the face.
"We don't even know where they are!"
Kevin sighed. Marc might have been the youngest member of their little clique, but he had a knack for being spot-on a lot of the time. Aquarius was a vast underwater complex and there were any number of places the stolen Pokemon could be. The odds of one teenaged boy finding the location in time and being able to hold Team Midnight off until the rest of the people in Aquarius rose up against their captors were not exactly favourable . . .
"That's what I mean to find out," was all Kevin said in reply.
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But, as he made his way to the door, he found Candida standing with her arms folded, blocking his way. She too had been woken by his shout and had promptly gone to head him off before he could do anything reckless. Correction, she thought to herself, anything more reckless than what he had done already since coming to Aquarius. So far they had been lucky, but there was always the possibility that the next time they got into trouble might not be so fortunate.
"Where exactly are you going?" she demanded now, fixing him with a penetrating stare. Her Togetic was hovering near her shoulder, her normally gentle face echoing the hard stare Candida was giving Kevin.
"To get my Pokemon - if you'll get out of my way." Kevin tried to push past the girl blocking his passage, but she refused to budge; it was as if she had sprouted roots and planted them firmly in the floor. He glared at her impatiently. Couldn't she see this was an emergency? And how would she like it if her Lapras and Togetic were the ones who might become part of Team Midnight's evil plans?
"And I suppose you know where they are." Candida's tone was heavily sarcastic. "I suppose Team Midnight have put up a neon sign - Stolen Dark Types, this way!" She snorted with derisive laughter. "Kevin," she added, "I thought we agreed not to . . ."
"Damn that!" Kevin shot back, cutting her off in mid-sentence. "Do you realise what Team Midnight could do if we let them get away with this?"
"It's too risky. Even if you could find your Pokemon, you'd still have Team Midnight to deal with. One kid against all of them - I wouldn't fancy my chances if I were you."
"Chances schmances! I'm not gonna sit here and do nothing, even if you are!"
That was the final insult. Candida was as worried about the situation as Kevin, especially after what he had said about the Rock of Darkness, but she knew the risks of rushing headlong into these things. That was why she had said they needed to rest up and discuss things in the morning. Now, however, she had practically been accused of cowardice. Before she could stop herself, she turned to her Togetic and yelled out the words: "Shadow Ball Attack - now!"
For a second, Togetic continued to hover in mid-air, her body glowing. Then she focussed her energy and brought her hands together, forming a shadowy grey ball as if out out thin air. With a practiced air, she threw the ball at Kevin, striking him full on the chest. He staggered against the wall, stunned by the Togetic's sudden move, before regaining his balance. Candida looked at him sheepishly.
"Sorry," she said. "It was the only way I could stop you doing something stupid."
"Like going after Team Midnight alone?" Kevin countered. "And what if it was your Pokemon they had?"
"Don't think I haven't thought about it - because I have! But . . ." She broke off as Sandra came to see what the shouting was about. "Oh, Sandra, how long have you been there?"
"Long enough." Sandra's tone was neutral. "And, Kevin, I agree with Candida - if you get caught because you did something foolish, you won't do anyone any good. Your Pokemon least of all . . ."
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In a locked cupboard, the Team Midnight agents Drifter had knocked out began to stir.
Crozier groaned and tried to sit up, wondering as she did so how she came to be there and why she was lying under a fellow agent in a rather "compromising" position. What was even more embarrassing was the fact that both of them seemed to be clad in nothing but their underwear. For a moment, she feared the worst, that she and the other agent had got drunk the previous night and ended up having a bit of "private entertainment" in the cupboard. But the absence of an alcohol smell on the man's breath soon disproved that idea - so what was going on?
She had to find out. So, after her head had cleared somewhat, she crawled out from under her fellow agent and knelt to shake him awake. "Hey, you!" she shouted. "Get up, now!"
The man (Crozier knew his face but not his name) groaned and opened his eyes. "W - what happened?" he mumbled as he sat up. "How'd we get here? Where are our clothes?"
"I was about to ask you the same question. We were after some kids last thing I remember and . . ." Crozier broke off as she recalled what had happened, how she and her fellow agent had been looking for the youngsters who had escaped their dormitories when a Skiploom appeared as if out of nowhere and used its Sleep Powder on them. "That damn Skiploom!" she cursed. "It must belong to one of those kids."
"What Skiploom? What are you talking about?"
Crozier rolled her eyes even though the two Team Midnight agents could hardly see each other in the darkened cupboard; the only light was coming through under the crack in the door. "The Skiploom that Sleep-powdered us, dunderhead! One of those kids must have had it knock us out so they could steal our clothes. I'll find them if it's the last thing I do!" She pulled out a Poke Ball and pressed the button to activate it. "Nidoking!" she ordered. "Tackle Attack this door!"
Her Nidoking emerged in flash of light and charged the door as hard as he could given the confined space in the cupboard. The door splintered and began to hang off its hinges as he threw all his weight into breaking it down. Then, with a grunt of exertion, he pulled the door free and stepped into the corridor. The two agents were about to follow when a high-pitched sound caught their attention.
Crozier's Golbat was up, hovering in mid-air. He too had been knocked out by the Sleep Powder (Crozier had not been able to get him into his Poke Ball in time) and was still feeling slightly drowsy. The last thing the Golbat remembered was that they had been after a bunch of kids and he had been using Supersonic to try and track them down. So he tried again, emitting sounds so high-pitched that they were barely audible to human ears. Crozier looked at him impatiently. "Save your energy - those brats'll be long gone," she said shortly as she called him back into his Poke Ball. "What do we do now?" she asked her fellow agent.
"Report this to Agent Rich, I guess."
Crozier looked at him, standing in his underwear, and pictured how it would look if they reported to Rich in this state. At the very least, they would be laughed at for turning up in a state of near undress; at worst, they would be carpeted for "gross misconduct". If that happened, they could be demoted, transferred out of Aquarius just as things were coming to fruition or even kicked out of Team Midnight altogether. "Let's get some clothes on first," she said out loud. Scowling bitterly, she recalled her Nidoking, vowing as she did so not to let this rest. Those punk kids would pay for this insult.