"Is that all for you?" the cashier at the store said as he finished checking all of Daniel's supplies.

Daniel nodded. "Yeah, that'll be enough to get us to Saffron City," Guile said, which caused the cashier to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"You'll be lucky to last through Mount Moon on this. To get to Saffron City, you have to go to Pewter City, then cut through Mount Moon and get to Cerulean City before heading south. That'll take you about a week."

Daniel growled. "Isn't there a shorter way? We don't have that kind of time."

"Well, there is the Diglett Tunnel. That's just outside the Viridian Forest and it would get you to Vermillion City pretty quickly, but I wouldn't recommend a rookie like you going through that. That tunnel is swarming with Diglett and Dugtrio."

"It may be my first time leaving Pallet in a long time, but I'm hardly a rookie. My pokemon and I should do just fine," Daniel said in a tone that really showed no cockiness, just indifference.

"I'm warning you, kid, you’re signing your own death certificate going through there," the clerk said in a serious tone.

"Don't matter to me, there's a lot on the line here," Daniel said before walking out with his supplies, already paying for them. Trust me, there's a bigger threat than a bunch of moles, Daniel thought as he walked away.

"I swear that cocky punk is gonna get himself killed," the clerk muttered after Daniel left the store. However, the clerk realized there was something more to that boy, just the way that he carried himself. Did he not fear death?

Chimera Saga: Renegades
Entry 04: Questions
By: Izumi Ryu
Original Concept by: Theo 'Blitz' Leung
Disclaimer: The Chimera Saga is Blitz's and new characters here belong to either him or me and we require permission for them to be used.

"Catherine, how's Mom?" Guile asked at the videophone in the Pokemon Center. He needed to do one final check before leaving Viridian City for Diglett Tunnel. The Center wasn't really busy at the moment as most trainers were just getting ready to leave now.

"She's fine, she's a little exhausted, but there's nothing out of the ordinary to be worried about," Catherine said on the other end. "Where are you right now?"

"Viridian City, we're about to leave and go straight to Vermillion City," Daniel told her.

"That's straight through the Diglett Tunnel. Be careful, Guile."

"Yeah, I know," Daniel sighed. "I already got an earful of the warning, but I need to get to Ryna fast."

Catherine nodded. "By the way, your mother wanted me to tell you something." That line caught Daniel's attention. "She said she's worried about you, but she's proud of you."

Daniel nodded. "Tell her I'll be fine. I'll live." Then, he shook his head and said, "I better get going. I just needed to check on her."

Catherine nodded. "Good bye." Then, the transmission shut off. Guile got up and turned around, only to come close to tripping over his Charmander.

"Whoa! Watch it!" Charlie yelled out.

"Sorry, Charlie" the boy told the young fire type. Then, he heard Bomber's distinct laughter as he said that. Daniel sighed. "What's so amusing about that line, Bomber?"

"I don't know, it just is," the Pidgey said from his perch.

"Man, Daniel. Isn't it a bit too obvious that Catherine digs you?" Charlie asked. "She's honestly scared over you. Heck, half the time I thought she was ready to mate with you."

"Catherine's not the type to do that so easily," Daniel said. "I care for her, too. And trust her enough to watch over Mom, but..."

"You're heart's divided, isn't it?" Rocker asked. "You also have feelings for another?"

"It's Ryna, isn't it?" Bomber pressed further.

Daniel nodded. "I don't have a chance with her with Tim in the picture, but we are still close friends. I'm not jealous of Tim, but sometimes I wonder..."

"Yeah, you two did have a lot in common," Charlie mused.

"It's beyond something simple like that," the teen told him. "I mean it was like she was my sister. I was that protective of her, and everything. I trust Tim with her life, but now, it's just time I do something. I just can't sit back and see her go through all this."

"So you jumped at the first clue you got to finding her, even if it was a trap or a dead end," Rocker told him.

"Ha! It doesn't matter how smart he gets, he still let's his heart blind him," Charlie laughed.

"Shut up," Daniel and Rocker both told the Charmander, causing the lizard to close his mouth suddenly.

"I don't blame you, since it is the only clue we have, but be careful," Rocker warned. "Team Rocket is known for low tricks."

"Yeah," Daniel said before he picked up his stocked pack. "We better get going. We still have to get through Viridian Forest to get to Diglett Tunnel."

"Hey, Rocker," Charlie approached the Geodude. Daniel was walking ahead of the two with Bomber flying above them, hidden by the forest's trees. The bug pokemon in the area seemed active today. "I've been meaning to ask, but why are you so interested in Daniel?"

The Geodude sighed. "Let's just say, it's orders from my previous...trainer. The last orders he gave me."

Charlie suddenly glared. "Does that mean you're a spy of some kind?"

"Why the Hell would I admit I'm some sort of spy?" Geodude asked. "His last orders were nothing more to watch over him and protect him."

The Charmander's expression softened, looking confused. "Why?"

"You wouldn't understand even if I explained it."

"Try me," Charlie challenged. "Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Hardly," Rocker sighed. "It's just too complicated, even to explain. Plus, I'm not exactly willing to explain it around him."

"What are you hiding?" Charlie asked, growling.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Rocker said.

"What do you think you're special hiding that kind of information?"

"I have my reasons," the Geodude spat back. "And if you're planning to attack me, don't bother, you know I can beat you any day."

"You asked for it!!" Charlie yelled, firing off a Flamethrower at the Rock-type. Daniel and Bomber quickly turned to look at the two, surprised that Charlie suddenly started attacking the Geodude. Rocker himself didn't even flinch as the flame attack engulfed him. He just stood unharmed, waiting for the attack to subside.

What's going on here? Daniel asked himself. Shortly after Charlie stopped his attack, he rushed straight at Rocker, but Daniel became even concern on what was about to happen. He suddenly spotted something in the corner of his eye, noticing something that was a dull yellow color. Kakuna?

Rocker smirked as the attack subsided, coming out unscathed, but got a surprise when he saw the Charmander rushing straight at him. Without much time to defend himself, Charlie slammed straight into the rock-type and sent him flying.

"No! There's..." Daniel started to warn them, but by then, the Geodude was already sent flying into the nearest tree. As the Rock-type slammed into the tree and fell to the ground, he was suddenly hit by something that fell off of the tree. He looked to see the eyes of a yellow cocoon suddenly look at him, seemingly annoyed.

"What?" Rocker asked it, before looking around, seeing more pokemon just like the one that fell on him hitting the ground. He batted the one that had landed on him away, so he could reorient himself.

"Oh, shit," Charlie swore as he realized what he just did.

"What the Hell was that all about, Charlie?" Daniel asked.

"It's Rocker's fault, I swear!" Charlie shouted back.

"I don't care whose fault it is. Don't you know there could be..." Daniel started before he heard a buzzing sound. He was secretly hoping this wouldn't happen, and cursed his luck that he ended up in this situation. "...Beedrill."

Daniel and the others turned towards the source of the sound he heard. What he saw was several yellow bug pokemon heading towards them, with a large stinger on top of two others at their appendages. "Oh, great," Bomber said.

"Bomber! Use Whirlwind! That should blow them away and give us some time!" Daniel yelled.

"Got it!!" Bomber yelled as he started flapping his wings wildly. He kicked up a large tornado that started to rip through the swarm heading for them, effectively blowing them back. "Now! Get out of here!!"

"Let's go," Daniel told the others as he started to rush in the direction they were going, only to find another swarm of Beedrill blocking their path. "Shit..."

"Daniel! Back away!" Charlie yelled before breathing out more fire, this attack forming a vortex around much of the swarm. Daniel had already jumped back, more out of surprise than anything. Unfortunately, for them, the Fire Spin did nothing more than irritate more Beedrill.

"Geez...piss them off, will ya?" Rocker complained.

"At least you're a freakin' rock!" Charlie yelled.

"Can we quit arguing amongst ourselves and get out of this mess?" Daniel asked, irritated with his pokemon. Suddenly, it seemed like the pendant Catherine gave Daniel was radiating a faint light. Daniel did a double take and didn't see anything strange, but he couldn't figure out what was going on.

Above them, Bomber opened his beak as a strange orange ball started to form, then suddenly shot out as three separate beams before converging into a single beam, sweeping across much of the swarm, eliminating the ones he hit. Bomber was trying to figure out what was going on. He had not even known any of his evolved forms performing such an attack, but he found himself fatigued and started to slowly dive towards his comrades after doing it himself.

Rocker suddenly curled into a ball and started spinning in spot, gaining speed with each revolution. Before everyone's eyes, he suddenly blasted towards the swarm, ripping right through them. Daniel cringed at the crunching sounds that were made as the Beedrill came into contact with the speeding Geodude, some only escaping with their stingers shattered as they tried to attack him, but much of them didn't even survive.

It wasn't long before a large fire attack suddenly whipped by Daniel, followed by others in rapid succession. Not many pokemon could use Fire Blasts more than a couple of times at once, but what flew by Daniel was at least 10 Fire Blasts in a span of 30 seconds. He turned to look at the Charmander, who was showing signs of fatigue after attacking all-out like that.

That solves that problem, Daniel thought, trying to make sense of everything that happened. Of course, he grimaced at the sound of more buzzing. And with all three of his pokemon, most likely tired out from the last melee, couldn't handle that much. "How on Earth are there any left?" Daniel sighed, now irritated by the constant attack.

"Get away!" a feminine voice shouted. Just as Daniel looked up, he suddenly saw something yellow flash right by them, emitting lightning that struck the Beedrill it passed. Then, it streaked past them again, attacking another portion of the swarm, and continuing its attack in different angles, before the swarm was decimated.

"And I thought deus ex machina was just a poor plot device," Daniel muttered as the attacking creature suddenly landed in front of the group. Daniel recognized the yellow form as a Pikachu pretty quickly, a pretty common pokemon, really.

The yellow rodent suddenly turned to the boy, a look of disappointment showing on her face. "You're not Ryna," the Pikachu said. As Daniel analyzed the Pikachu, he noticed a few things seemed strange on it, like what looked like mechanical implant on her eye. Plus, something didn't seem right about her electric sacs.

Daniel slowly approached the electric rodent, not wanting to stir it. Even if this human wasn't Ryna, there was still enough of her scent on the boy to make her think he could be trusted, and maybe find her. As he got closer, she started to distinguish Tim's scent on him. "Are you okay?" Daniel asked the rodent.

"Yes, I'm fine," the Pikachu replied. "Who are you? And why are Tim's and Ryna's scents on you?"

Daniel stopped and blinked a couple of times. "You know them?" Daniel asked. "They're close friends of mine. I've known Ryna for years back in Pallet."

The Pikachu nodded, fully understanding what this boy was. If Tim hadn't come into Ryna's life, this boy might have been... "My name is Lin," the Pikachu greeted. "I was with Ryna during her journeys."

Daniel, Charlie and Bomber suddenly gawked at the rodent. Rocker was only confused by the reaction. "You...were Ryna's pokemon?"

"I'm as surprised as you are to find someone like you," the Pikachu explained. "By the way, where is Ryna?'

Daniel looked down as she asked that question. Of course, she would want to know where Ryna was. "Ryna was kidnapped by Team Rocket."

Lin looked like she was in shock at the news. She gaped at them, not sure what to even think at the moment. She hadn't expected this at all. "I assume you're tracking her down now," Lin finally said, it seemed cold for her to say this in this situation. "Allow me to come with you then. I want to find her as much as you do."

Daniel nodded, expecting such a request to come from her. "Let's get out of here. I don't want to be in this damned forest any longer."

The group had decided to set up camp between the exit to Viridian Forest and where they'd be entering Diglett Tunnel. Guile had already gathered some firewood and started a fire with Charlie's help before he started to cook dinner. In the dark night, it seemed peaceful, with the possible exception of the friendly sparring match between Charlie and Bomber. It was hard to believe that they had this much energy after fighting the Beedrill swarm. Lin sighed as she watched the match, but turned away when she lost interest in the battle after a minute or so. Of course, Charlie reminding her too much of Charles, the Charmander that once accompanied Ryna, didn't help with things. It made her wonder what the fate of this team was. She had seen too many groups fall apart, with some of their members even dying.

"Kids will be kids, eh?" Rocker asked the Pikachu.

The Pikachu nodded before turning her attention to the Rock-type. "Give them a few days of Hell and they'll change," Lin remarked, both in a joking and bitter manner.

"I can see that, considering you're about as young as they are," Rocker observed. "They had it easier compared to us, or Daniel for that matter."

Lin nodded, noticing that kind of demeanor in Daniel. It was a complete contrast compared to the two pokemon fighting each other. Lin looked over at Daniel who he seemed like he was concentrating solely on cooking tonight's meal. Or rather, he seemed preoccupied and was just trying to focus on something else. "So...does he know?" Lin asked.

"Know? Know what?" Rocker asked confused.

"About the Chimeras," Lin explained.

Rocker flinched at the mention of that word. "No, and I would like to keep it that way until it was necessary. He has enough to worry about than the fact that he's some freak a couple of sick-minded scientists created," Rocker replied. "How do you know about them?"

"Ryna and Tim are chimeras as well," Lin said. "And when you witness a barrage of catalyst attacks like that, it's not exactly a secret."

Rocker had to keep himself from yelling out, as to not get the others' attention. As his surprise subsided, he spoke softly, "You mean those fuckers created more? I knew they were trying for more, but they actually succeeded? Was it not enough to make Dr. Sapphire's daughter a chimera as well?"

"Whoa! Time out, Rocker. What are you talking about?" Lin asked. "Sarpal was the first chimera created."

"Bull shit," Rocker spat out. "I would know...my last trainer was one of the first." Rocker started to calm down before continuing. It was better that he organized his thoughts before talking to Lin. "It was over two decades ago that my original trainer, along with three other children were created. Two boys were fighting-types, while the two girls were psychics. I don't know too many details, but they were the only survivors of the experiment at the time. That experiment was run by a woman named Dr. Sapphire."

"I met a woman that went by that name out in the Tri-Lands," Lin mentioned. "She did have an abnormal amount of knowledge of the chimeras for a typical medical doctor at the time."

"Well, the Dr. Sapphire I knew was getting disillusioned with the experiment. She felt sorry for the children for having to go through with it from what I could tell. Being pregnant with a girl didn't help matters much, especially when she was forced to give her up in exchange for letting her subjects live. She grew too attached to her subjects for it to be an easy decision. As revenge to the people that funded her project, the children intentionally got the girls pregnant to make them experience their worst fears. Dr. Sapphire kept the pregnancies secret from their sponsors and put them up for adoption shortly after they were born. I was sent to protect one of them, and a Tyrogue was sent to protect the other. If you couldn't tell by now, Daniel is one of those offspring."

"That means he's a...second generation chimera?" Lin asked. Rocker only nodded in response. "No wonder why they'd be afraid. That would mean his potential is greater than most normal chimeras simply because of the potential use of two abilities at once."

"Well, he hasn't established any sign of using his psychic powers yet, only his fighting skills have been polished," Rocker explained.

"I'm curious about something. Did Dr. Sapphire's child stay at that lab?" Lin asked.

"Nope, she was shipped off to some lab in Glacier City." Rocker shrugged, not seeing how it mattered much. "And apparently, she was the only survivor of that experiment."

"I think you and I were talking about the same Dr. Sapphire, then," Lin told him. "Her daughter's name was Sarpal. And she's doing fine last I saw her. She lives in Glacier City on her own."

"She's alive and free? I figured she'd either be dead or still being used as a test subject."

"Knowing her, I doubt that." Lin chuckled. "There are several others that I've come across, Ryna and Tim included. Some lived on this ship called the TRS Sciteneg in the Tri-Lands while some of them escaped. Others were helped to escape from whatever facilities they were created at, and lived among normal people. Each of them figure things out sooner or later, but are never told about what they are."

"Figures," Rocker said. "I guess you know that Team Rocket has been funding them, right?"

"Not all of them. The project that created Tim and Ryna was funded by someone else."

Rocker looked at the Pikachu with a bit of skepticism. "Who in their right mind would fund a project like this other than Team Rocket?"

"Beats me." Lin shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Hey, Rocker. If you and Lin are ready to quit flirting, dinner's ready," Daniel suddenly called out.

Rocker just glared at the human. "Oh, please, she's not my type, and I'm old enough to be her father. Why would I even bother?"

Lin chuckled a bit. Maybe Daniel wasn't as mature as they thought after all, but what could push a boy like him to be so serious most of the time? What was his life like before now?

Daniel and his pokemon stood in front of the entrance to the Diglett Tunnel. The boy didn't know what the big deal about this tunnel was. Were Diglett that tough? Or was there something else about this place. The boy just shook his head and continued to walk into the tunnel. It didn't matter at this point. There were more important things that he needed to take care of. He'll just deal with things as they come.

"So, what's the big deal with this place?" Bomber asked as they continued down what seemed to be an endless cave.

"Beats me," Daniel said. "It's supposed to be crawling with Diglett and Dugtrio, but they really can't be that tough."

"They can be," Rocker warned. "Especially now that we're in their territory."

"We don't bother them, they won't bother us," Daniel replied.

"He's got a point there," Charlie spoke up.

Lin didn't look too sure. It was as if she knew something was about to happen. Then she noted what look like an elongated head pop out of the ground from behind Daniel. "Daniel! Look out!' Lin warned.

Daniel stopped, but it was too late for him to react. He felt the sudden pain of four sharp objects running across his back, which caused him to yell out in pain. He suddenly yelled out in pain and got down on a knee, still seething from the pain. His pokemon gathered around him, while Rocker took a look at his back. Whatever hit him tore up his clothing and left four thin trails of blood where they were cut open. The scratches weren't so deep, but were still worrisome. "Do you have anything to close these wounds?" Rocker asked.

"Nothing that big," Daniel replied. He stood up once the pain subsided to a bearable level. Then, he turned to what attacked him. An angry Diglett stood at the floor of the cave. "What was that for? I didn't even want to bother with you."

"We're sick of you humans trespassing in our territories. More of our kind disappear from this place the more you 'trainers' appear," the Diglett responded.

"Then, you don't have anything to worry about. I had no intention of capturing a Diglett or a Dugtrio. I'm just passing through to Vermillion City. If you leave us be, we'll leave you be," Daniel told the Diglett.

"We can't even trust your words, human. Leave this place at once," the Diglett warned.

"And what if I don't and try to pass through?"

"Ummmm...Guile?" Rocker said, getting the human's attention, using what he learned was the boy's nickname.

"What is it?"

"Look around you," Rocker told him.

Daniel turned his head all around him, only to find himself surrounded by masses of Diglett and Dugtrio. Daniel started to see why he was warned against this place. "Anyone feel like playing Whack-a-mole?" Daniel sighed. "I don't have time for this."

"No choice on the matter," Bomber remarked. "We go through them or die. Your choice."

"We created this tunnel, we have every right to it," a nearby Dugtrio growled.

"If you want to play like that, then..." Daniel stopped there before he quickly kicked at the Dugtrio that he thought was the last to speak on the side wall. His foot hit nothing but dirt as the Dugtrio retreated.

"Okay, now, I'm worried," Bomber said, before looking around. All of the Diglett and Dugtrio had retreated underground. "What on Earth is going on now?"

As if to answer Bomber's question, the ground around them started to tremble, forcing everyone planted on the ground to stumble. "An Earthquake!" Daniel warned.

"Multiple tremors," Rocker said. "It's like they're all launching an Earthquake attack at once."

"Everyone run!" Lin yelled as they tried to retreat back the way they came. They could find a different way to Saffron if they needed to, but they had to get out of here first. Suddenly, the Earth above them collapsed in front of them, forcing them to stop and turn back, as it continued to approach them. The group was outrunning the cave-in, but it was still moving in their direction. Before they knew it, they noticed the ground was collapsing around them from the other direction as well, forcing them to stop where they were.

"Oh, man, this is it," Daniel said. "Killed by a bunch of moles, what an obituary."

"Rocker! Can't you tunnel us out of here or something?" Charlie asked.

"From this deep? No. I might survive it, but you won't," the Geodude shot back.

Daniel couldn't believe this. He couldn't accept this as his end yet, but there was no hope. Too many people were relying on him for him to die now. He wished solely that he were in Saffron City now, finding Ryna. He had to find her before he could even think of dying.

The group of pokemon had gathered around David to watch the world crumble around them. Then, Daniel looked up as some earth started to fall on them. Before the large amounts of soil and rock could crush them, the entire group disappeared. The tunnel had fully collapsed in on itself, leaving it impassable to almost any living being.

The group materialized on the roof of a building. Charlie, Daniel, and Bomber were trying to comprehend what just happened. However, Lin and Rocker sat back, breathing heavily. They knew what happened. Just before they were going to be killed, Daniel tapped into his psychic potential to get them out.

Daniel suddenly clutched his head, exhaustion starting to seep in. "What just happened?" he asked.

"You teleported us all out of that tunnel, Guile," Rocker said. "You've had the potential for psychic powers since the day you were born."

"How would you know?" Daniel asked.

"I'll explain later, we need to get you somewhere to rest and get those wounds treated."

Daniel nodded, his mind feeling fuzzy, but he had to try and figure out where they were. However, his answer came in the form of the skyscraper in the middle of the city that towered over everything. It was the headquarters of Silph, Company, a group that researched pokemon products. "We're here," Daniel said. This was the place they could find Ryna, but where could she be? At the moment, even Daniel didn't feel like answering that question. He had too many other questions inside his head. The wind blew at his back, forcing him to cringe as the sharp pain hit him once again.