Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction belongs to me under international copyright laws and taking it is plagiarism. Thank you. *Phantomness bows*

Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks

Chapter 4

 

            Hey, pretty. A Hitmonlee sauntered up to her. What do you say we have a little fun together?

            Duplica inwardly blanched, getting the gist of what he was saying. She panicked for a moment. What would she do?

            Her pokemon mimicry wasn’t perfect, and if she slipped up…!

            Hey! We’re still working! Flirt when you have free time, Brick! A Whismur hopped by.

            The Hitmonlee scowled, but picked up his shovel and went off, winking at Duplica.  She was getting more disturbed by the minute. She had to get to the bottom of this, and fast!

            Who was commanding all these pokemon?

 

            As she walked deeper into the complex, she saw someone else, in a long, black cloak. He was chatting to a Houndoom, nodding politely.

            Was this her target?

            “I’ve found someone…” Duplica ducked behind a crate. Her eyes widened in a gasp. “He’s-.”

            What more she was about to say was cut off when the Houndoom attacked. Duplica tried to shove the snarling pokemon off, but it was too late.

            “He, he’s w--- black, red, h-!”

           

            “Duplica! Come in, Duplica!” Bill shouted into the receiver. “Duplica?”

            There was only silence on the other end of the line. A moment later, a voice garbled by a mechanical distorter spoke.

            “What a lot of idiot humans! You will never win. Give up your foolish plans to defy me and surrender, or you shall all die. You cannot stop the future once it is set into motion. If you choose to continue this pitiful resistance, you all shall perish in the Shadow Coliseum!”

            “Who are you?” Paul demanded.

            There was only laughter in response.

 

            Bill, Paul and Pryce looked at each other, huddled around the station. The laughter still rang in their minds after the connection had been cut.

            “What-what was that?” Bill asked shakily.

            “Our enemy,” Paul growled. “There is definitely someone controlling all those pokemon!” And they were building a Coliseum!

            Were they planning on using the humans as entertainment? He would not allow that to happen!

            He would nuke the building to the ground first! Hang the consequences, he was not going to be a slave or made fun of!

 

            Now that they knew there was a definite enemy, who was it?

            Duplica’s message was garbled. From what he could figure out, it was a male. That didn’t eliminate many suspects, but it helped a little. Something about black and red…

            Wait, she’d been starting to say something that sounded like an h-word. Could it be hair?

            Was their opponent a male who wore black and had red hair?

            There certainly were not a lot of redheads around. The only one that came to mind immediately was Lance.

            But Lance wouldn’t be that stupid. He was the one who had given them the data on the fact that the pokemon were building something suspicious in the first place!

           

            Bill looked at Paul, worried. “What should we do?”

            “Let me think.” Paul looked at Pryce. “Do you have any suspects in mind?”

            “I’m ashamed to admit it, but what if it’s Lance?” Pryce rubbed his chin. “He’s certainly the first one I can think of that fits the bill.”

            “That was my first impulse too.” Paul nodded. “No one else here has red hair.”

            “If they’re building a Coliseum, that definitely means something.” Bill shivered.

            That power…

            Paul’s hands fisted at his sides. He wanted that power. The power to control pokemon should not belong to some madman!

            He would get to the bottom of this!

 

            “Lance?” Erika knocked on his door a few minutes later, unaware of what was being discussed. She pushed the door open, but Lance wasn’t there. To her surprise, Ash was inside the room, sitting on the bed and reading one of Lance’s magazines.

            “Ash, what are you doing here?”

            “Oh, I was waiting for Lance to come back since I wanted to talk to him.” Ash stated cheerfully.

            Erika nodded. “How long has he been gone?”

            “For a while,” Ash admitted. “Maybe he’s out gathering information again?”

            “Well, when he comes back, Paul wants to talk to him. Flannery told me to pass the message along.”

            “Okay.”

           

            Fifteen minutes later, Lance returned. He was surprised when Paul called him into a meeting room. Bruno, Pryce, Surge, Flannery, and Paul were all gathered around the table.

            “What’s going on?” He asked.

            Paul cleared his throat. “Where have you been?”

            “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.” Lance frowned. “For your information, I was out checking on the northeastern sector again. From the shape of the structure, it looks like they’re building a dome of some sort. Maybe a stadium…”

            “We already knew that.” Pryce said gravelly. “And you would have also, if you had listened to Duplica’s suggestion.”

            “It’s risky sneaking a human in. I had binoculars.” Lance frowned. “Even if you can fool a pokemon’s eyes, you can’t do anything about their sense of smell.”

            Surge paled. “Do you think that’s how Duplica was discovered?”

            “What?” He blinked. “They caught Duplica?”

            “Caught and killed, most likely.” Paul said harshly. “You didn’t think to bring this point up earlier, Lance?”

            “I’m a technician, not a debater.” Lance said. “Besides, I didn’t want to get in any more arguments with you, esteemed Leader.”

            The way he spoke made the title sound like an insult.

           

            “Perhaps that is so, but how come the pokemon have never attacked you during your ‘observations’?”

            Lance looked at Paul. “I’ve been careful. Is there a point to this interrogation?” He put down a digital camera in front of Paul.

            Flannery began looking through the slides. There were several detailed pictures of the Coliseum, from the outside, at different angles. It was truly nearing completion. Perhaps the inner workings were already functional, but Duplica had not gotten that far.

            “No. You are dismissed.”

            The former Dragon Master gave a curt nod and left the meeting room.

 

            “Is it time to use the nuclear weapons we have left?” Bruno wondered.

            Paul was silent, though his teeth ground against each other as he pondered.

 

End Chapter

Started 5/2/08

Completed 5/3/08

Hehehe… and the plot thickens~ ^^

Red: *Hugs Lance* No! Don’t die!
Phantomness: *Shifty eyes*

By the way, I never explicitly said Lance was a traitor to the humans, did I?