I'm getting out this chapter late this week, for I'm leaving to go see my brother graduate from college on Friday, and I won't be back till late Sunday. Anyway, if you think the big secrets have been revealed, hang out for a while, because I can assure you, this is just the beginning! As I write this, I'm still waiting to hear ideas from my readers. Come on, don't be scared! Any idea that you think might be a great addition to the plot, let me know. I'll give credit where it's do! Anyway, here's Chapter 11. Enjoy! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chp.11- Enter the Followers... Needless to say, I was still very angry, even as the sun started to come up. I still hadn't made my way back to the city, and the sun was starting to rise. Something inside of me knew I had to get back, but another, more powerful part of me refused to go back. I still had too much to sort out, and I still couldn't bring myself to tell Joy what I was told. Why hadn't my parents told me the truth when I was still at home? I would've learned to understand. Now all this was coming out at the worst time possible. Sara's still missing, Bulbasaurs still missing, I'm still trying to control my powers, that girl is after Vaporeon; now I just had salt poured into an open wound. Maybe I should lighten up on them a bit...after all, they took me in, despite my looks, and tried to raise me like a normal child. They did the best they could, despite all the trouble I caused. I can't believe I was such a little thief...could I really do all that? I was just a baby at the time. Still, who knows what happened in those six months when I dissappeared? I moaned and shook my head. This was too much to try and deal with all at once. I was scared, angry, and worse, confused. I needed to find a spot where I could settle down and figure this all out. Wandering around the outskirts of the city, I believed I found a place where I could do just that. A small wooden building was hidden away deep in the woods. It looked old, but was still in good condition. I made my way over, noting that someone had made a clear path through all the surrounding brambles and other junk. Probably just a grass-type using Razor Leaf to cut a way through. I studied the worn away picture on the door before I went in. It was painted all in red, and was very crude. It looked like something on a cloud was throwing a bolt of lightining down at something on the ground. I couldn't make out what was throwing the bolt, and the paint was totally worn away where a target should've been. I slowly stepped in, keeping my ears open for anyone or anything. No one was moving around at all, and I couldn't see anything in the darkness. Holding out one finger, I focused all the electricity I could to it. Soon a large spark appeared on the tip. It wasn't very big, but it cast some light through the dark place. The place looked like the lobby of my old church. I saw a table, a coatrack, a big holder loaded with pamlets, a stairway and wicker basket on a shelf that looked like the one that got passed around during offering. Looking at a painting on a wall, though, I realized this was nothing like my old church. "What the..." It was a painting of a person, but not any person I knew. The person...if it was a person...looked like a normal guy, save for the fact he had the head of a Ponyta and there was a streak of fire running down his back. He stood in a wide open plain, seeming to be just enjoy being there. He kinda looked like a Hybrid...but all the Hybrids I'd met, including myself, seemed to be a nice blend of both human and Poke'mon. This guy seemed to be mostly human, except for the total Ponyta head and flame. He looked off balance compared to myself and the other Hybrids. Before I had much of a chance to continue looking around, I heard what sounded like someone walking around in their socks, judging by the softness of their steps. Whoever was coming was just around a corner. Fearful of being caught, I cut my light and scrambled up the staircase. Just as I reached the top step, the other person stopped moving. I instantly froze. A few tense seconds past, then the other person left and went away, though I didn't move till they were out of range of my hearing. "Rai..." I let out a little sigh of relief. It seemed like I was in some sort of attic now. There was a large square opening in one of the walls that looked outside. Other than that, it looked pretty bare. There was some dust, but honestly, does anyone give a Ratatta's tail about dust? I glanced out the hole cautiously to see what was out there. It was about a thirty foot drop to the ground, but someone had put large mattress down on the ground. If I'd leapt down, I'd probably be fine. Still, my acrophobia(fear of heights) kept me from doing so. It's not a real problem on planes, just when I can actually reach out and touch the air, which means I can also fall through it too. I slowly backed away from the hole and looked around again. For an attic, the place was pretty big. My guess was that it covered the whole building. Who'd want an attic that cover the whole... "PIDGEO!!" "What th...OW!OW!OW!OW!" Out of nowhere, a Pidgeotto swooped down and started pecking me in the head. It chased me around up there for a while, all the time pecking me whenever it could. Being the brave soul I was, I ran around, yelling, "Get Rai off me! Get Rai off me!" This kept up for about a good two minutes, before it occured to me I had a type-advantage here. I formed my finger light again as I ran, then turned on the winged terror. When I reached for it, it flew above me, then perched itself on a nearby rafter. "Raichu that for?!" I yelled at it, forgetting that the person was still here, and might overhear me. "Pidgeo want Pidg Pidgeo." It said in a shrill voice. "Chu want something?" It nodded. "Rai?" "Pigedo!" It flew over to a spot in the attic and started making tight circles around it. I followed it over to the spot, trying to see what it wanted. It looked just like the rest of the attic, except I noticed small holes in the floor. Pidgeotto landed and looked down through one of them, so I dropped to my hands and knees to see what it was looking at. On the floor below us, a bunch of figures sat around in a circle, wearing cloaks and not saying anything. They sat inside a circle of scented candles, and inside the circle that they formed with their bodies was something painted in red on the wooden floor. There was too little light to get a real good at it. "What are Raichu?" I asked silently. "Pidgeo, with Pidgeo." "With what?" "Pidge!" This was going nowhere. I watched this for about ten minutes. They continued to sit in total stillness and silence. I was starting to getting a little scared and stiff. Finally, I got up, getting ready to leave. CRUNCH! My right foot crashed through the wood. Panicked, I yanked at my leg, trying to pull it out before I was spotted. Unfortunetly, my movements only caused the hole to grow bigger. My other foot slipped in, and about a second later, I crashed through. "AH!" In desperation, I grabbed for something as I started to fall through. Pidgeotto dogded my first grab and caught my hand as I started to fall. It grabbed my hand in its talons and started flapping frantically. I still fell through, but my fall was slowed dramatically. "Raichu the save." I thanked the Pidgeotto as we slowly fell. The figures in the circle continued to remain still. Even after I was dropped about five feet onto a bed of flowers someone had planted indoors, they didn't move. My next reaction changed that. "YEOW!" I quickly scrambled out of the flowerbed, desperate to get away from the stingers. "Chu dropped me on Raichu of roses!" "Pidgeo..." Pidgeotto came to land on my shoulder. The once still figures now surrounded us in a semi-circle. They wore cloaks that covered their entire bodies, hoods covering even their heads. One of them slowly reached into one of the huge sleeves of his cloak. My mind kept screaming, "He's got a knife! Run, you furry idiot!" but my feet refused to respond. I drew back and closed my eyes when he pulled out the object. There were a few tense moments, then I realized there wasn't any sharp pointy objects giving me a few extra holes. I opened my eyes to see why. He didn't hold a knife in his hand, but... "Rai apple?" "Yes, Leader." the figure said in a low voice. I was sure now it was a guy. "These are you're favorite, are they not?" Leader? This guy was weird, but the others were even weirder. They were all down on their knees, heads bowed forward. Were they...worshipping me? Normally, I probably would've been taking the oppertunity to run. When I saw all these people on their knees, facing me,...I suddenly felt like I'd gained a respect I'd never had. These people actually appricated me for who I was. They weren't running away or screaming or calling me a monster. They...praised me...for who I was... I walked up and gently took the apple from the lead cloaky(I nicknamed them that, since I didn't have any real names for them). While my favorite was really pizza, it suddenly looked so tasty. As soon as I had a firm grip on it, he too fell to his knees. I ate it slowly, all of the cloakies continuing to stay there, watching me eat this apple. If it hadn't been so akward, it would've been funny. When I was finished, holding only the core, the cloakies rose. The leader slowly approached me and held out his hand. Not sure what else to do, I put the core in it. He took it and put it in his cloak sleeve again. Is there anything he won't put in there?, I wondered. "Come, Leader. You must be tired from your journey. Please, follow me." I did as instructed, following the cloaked leader. He lead me to a luxurious bedroom, or at least compared to sleeping out in the woods. Sheets, pillows, a mattress; I was in heaven! "Please, stay here. We'll come for you in the morning." With that, the door was closed behind me, leaving me and Pidgeotto alone. "Well, this Rai certainly weird." I said as Pidgeotto flew over to one of the bedposts, using it as a makeshift perch. "Pidgeo, Pidge Pidge Pidgeo, downstairs!" "Downstairs? What are Chu talking about?" "Pidgeo! Pidge Pidge downstairs!" "Sorry, but all Rai hear is 'downstairs'." I gave my new feathered friend a pat on the head. "Enjoy Raichu. It's not often Raichu worship Chu." It continued to rant on, but I tuned it out when I found a book on a small table near the door. The front was labeled, "The Followers Worship Guide". I flipped it open, and ended up on a page that had been looked at often, judging by the way the binding was worn in; it opened to that page immediatly. "...and one day, when he believes his followers are ready," the page read, "the leader shall come down from his spot on the heavens and lead his people to victory. He shall weild the powers of heavenly lightining with great ease..." Heavenly lightining? These people thought I was some kind of God? I closed the book and sat on the edge of the bed, stunned. No wonder they bowed to me. They thought I was a God...of course I wasn't, but still, when someone calls you a God and gets down on their knees to worship you, that's not something one easily forgets. Pidgeotto gave up trying to talk to me and flew over to the doorknob , trying to turn it. That didn't work, so I tried it. It was locked from the outside. "Give it up, Pidgeotto. Raichu stuck." Geez, for people who were just down on their knees, these guys weren't very trusting. Oh well, I thought, heading back to the bed and crawling under the covers. Probably just some sort of test. As Pidgeotto flew over to a bedpost and started to doze off, I figured I'd make some sort of excuse. Besides, these people loved me. What would they do to me? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PECK!PECK!PECK! "OW!" I waved my arms about frantically, scaring off Pidgeotto. Moaning, I rubbed my head. "Rai do Chu keep doing that?" "Pidgeo!" it said. I could hear knocking at the door. "Leader? Are you awake?" "Yeah, Rai awake..." I muttered. There was a click, and then the door opened, revealing the lead cloaky. "Come." He motioned for me to follow him. "We've prepared breakfast for you." At the mention of food, I was out of bed. Pidgeotto stayed in the room. We went through a series of halls with more ofthe odd paintings like the ones I'd seen in the lobby. Thinking back, there was no religion I'd ever heard of with paintings like this. I was expecting a giant feast when we entered what looked like a kitchen. I'd got one alright...if you consider ten different ways of making apples a feast. There was apple pie, carmel apples, cooked apples, and just plain apples, to name a few. I hoped this wasn't a sign of things to come. "Please, Leader. Won't you join us in our meditation?" "Sure..." Even being praised still didn't change what had happened. Maybe if I could get some time to just sit around, I could figure out what to do. We went back to where I'd crashed through the ceiling. Many other cloakies where already seated around where'd I'd seen them last night. I tried to join the others in their circle, but they insisted I move into the center. "You are of too high of stature to be with lowly people like us. Please, go into the center." "O.K., I'll...ah!" I started to move to it, but quickly leapt back. In the center of the circle was a pentagram. Looking back, that was a common shape used in demon summoning. I didn't think about that the time, but I could see that it was painted by something that looked suspiciously like blood. "Is Chu blood?!" I asked, now that I had the living daylights scared out of me. "Of course. Anything less would be insufficient for this ritual. You should know that as well as any of us." These guys were nuts! I didn't ask whose blood it was. Chances were, the owner probably was six feet under at this point! "I'm sorry we couldn't use our own blood. We took many packages from donors at the hospital. Please forgive our weakness..." "Rai..." at least I felt a little better. Still, I was suddenly unsure I wanted to have these guys praising me. "Excuse me...Chu is much for me to do...Rai require some rest so Rai can continue to...hold this form." With that, I quickly started back for my room. I was gonna grab Pidgeotto, and then we were gonna haul tail outta here! I opened the door to the room where I'd last left Pidgeotto. "Pidgeotto, come...Chu!" It suddenly blew past me and down the hall. I chased after it, naturally confused. Maybe now it was going to try to show me what it wanted before. It made several sharp turns, and twice I thought it was gonna splat against a wall. Thankfully, it always made it, and all of the cloakies were at the ritual, so none of them saw us moving through the halls. Pidgeotto stopped and flapped in front of a door. "Is Raichu trying to show me here?" I asked. "Pidgeo!" I held the padlock that held the chain latch close. Great, it take forever to find a key. Where the heck was I gonna look, anywa...What the... "Pidgeo?" Pidgeotto seemed confused, and with good reason. My tail had moved around so the tip was in front of me, moving right for the lock. This was done by no thought or action on my part. It's like my tail had a mind of its own! I watched dumbfound as the lightining-bolt tip inserted itself in the key hole. It contracted near the top to fit in easily, filling up where a key should've been. It moved around in there a bit, though I wasn't exactly sure what it was doing. Soon, there was a click, a sharp but quick pain in the part of the tail that was in the lock. The lock opened, and my tail removed itself, returning to it's normal position; hanging just above the ground behind me. "Whoa..." I wasn't sure exactly what just happened, other than I'd just done something I shouldn't have been able to. Still shaken up, I removed the open lock and popped the latch open. Going downstairs, it was hard to see anything. I started my finger light, but that didn't provide much help. When I hit bottom, it was like I was in a crypt. It was cold, dark and creepy. "Rai hope there's something Raichu down here." I told Pidgeotto, who was now perched on my shoulder. "Over here!" A new voice called out in the darkness. I followed where the sound was coming from with my ears. "Hello? Where are Chu?" "Over here!" "Whe...ah!" I yelped, seeing the red glowing eyes suddenly staring at me from my left. "It's alright. There a switch on the wall." That voice...it sounded familar. I carefully felt my way around the wall, and found a light switch. I flicked it, and a single, dim lightbulb lit up. Despite it's weak light, the bulb revealed one of the most important things I'd seen in a while. "Sara!" "Pidgeo!" Sara was the owner of those glowing eyes. She blinked a few times, and they returned to their grey color like when I'd first seen Sara. She was wearing the same clothes too, but there was one thing different about her. She was locked in a cage, barely big enough for her to stand in. She was also soaking wet. "You know Vul name..." She sounded confused, as she should. As far as she knew, I didn't know her name, for I'd never seen her in Hybrid form. "Of course Rai know Chu name. We did crash Raichu police station back in Chu town, didn't we?" "Vulpix didn't. That was me and Railina..." She paused for a moment, then exclaimed, "That was Vulpix I gave a bath?!" "Rai bubble one, at that." "Vul...how?" "Don't worry Raichu." I told her. "What happened?" Sara started off on a long story, which began after she was teleported. When she came to, all the cloakies had surrounded her. At first, they praised her too, but she was scared, and tried to leave. They caught her on the way out, and asked her why she wanted to leave. When she told them that she just wanted to get away from people who praised her for being a freak, someone bought out a Horsea and hosed her. In her weakened state, they dragged her down here and locked her in here. Since then, she hadn't eaten anything or even been let out. "Vulpix you found my Pidgeotto." "Chu Pidgeotto?" I suddenly remembered that Railina had mentioned that Sara also had a Pidgeotto. Apparently, Sara was none too pleased with being locked in a cage, and was showing the cloakies the extent of her vocabulary. Her Pidgeotto, who had been teleported with everyone else, happened to overhear her shouts. There was a broken window which she flew through(I could see it high up one of the walls.), and Sara asked her Poke'mon for help. Since it couldn't get the lock open, it'd been trying to get someone else to help. It'd happened to see me in the attic, and had been trying since to get me down here. I suddenly felt sick with myself. I'd been up, feeling all high and mighty about being praised, and not five hundred feet away, Sara was being treated like a demon. I'd let my own ego get in the way of people I was trying to help. I felt like puking in disgust with myself. "Don't worry, Raichu getting Chu out of there." I held the padlock that locked her cage. Soon, my tail should pick the lock, and then... "Leader? Are you down there?" A candle-holding cloaky came down the stairs, when he saw me talking to Sara, he suddenly ran down. "Please, Leader, get away from her! She is a demon!" "Demon? Rai..." "You've had contact with her! Oh, all hope is lost!" He continued to rant on like this, and soon, the rest of the cloakies came down and started whining themselves. I didn't care about that, but I realized I was going to have problems getting Sara out of here, since I was outnumbered about 35 to 1! "We must destroy the demon before she can infect our leader!" The lead cloaky reached for a Poke'Ball he had in his cloak. When I saw him pull it out, I tried to tackle him and wrestle it away, but he threw it out just before I reached him, forcing me to jump back and get ready for a fight. "Paras!" "Sleep Powder!"