Chev said
She turned to look at the Cipher trainer and motioned for him to sit down across from him."Tell me young man, why did you join Cipher?" She asked as she poured herself a cup of tea from a kettle near the end of her desk and poured a second cup and offered it to him. "What motivated you to make the life choices you did?" She asked.

"I didn't make the choice, my family did. My mother is one of the higher ups, she gave birth to me and raised me to take her place. It never felt right doing what we did, if people were attached to pokemon like I am mine we ripped parts of their souls away every time we took one. For this reason, I quit, ran from the home I knew. What more would you want from me to completely run from my family and everything ever known to get away from it... have you ever had to do something like that?" At this point Milo had began crying, not loudly but more tears of rage for someone to question him like this, he knew it would come if someone knew of his family, he thought he was prepared, but he wasn't. Being reduced to nothing but a sniveling child.

Fateen took a sip of he tea and looked at the Cipher trainer and then looked at the small cup of tea on his side of the table. "Drink your tea before it gets cold." She said as she took another sip of hers before continuing to speak.

"Your mother made a decision for you. A decision that in my opinion put you on the wrong path. And yet, here you are sitting in front of me. Instead of trying to steal the Pokemon that you saw in the name of Cipher, you came clean about your past. You felt horrible about stealing the Pokemon of other trainers so you left the organization. Now, I've never been someone who took many risks in my life, but if you ask me, what you did took courage. More courage then I have ever seen one man posses except for one.

Fateen slowly rose to her feet.and looked down at Milo. "You left an organization that most people believe is pure evil. The only other man I've seen do something even remotely similar to that was Wes when he stole the Snag machine from Team Snagem all those years ago. You posses courage. In abundance I might add to leave Cipher. Which is why I have decided that you and the others are capable of doing what needs to be done."

"Grab your tea and follow me." She said with a gentle smile as she headed for the entrance behind the bookcase.

"Thank you..." Milo managed to mutter out. Reaching slowly he grabbed the tea and took a sip before getting up and heading to the door like he was asked to. His mind a little distracted now thinking about his family, about his mother and what she's probably doing, the father he was never certain who was, and his sister who he never got to see grow up. His mother abandoned her a long time ago. Milo let out one of the two remaining pieces of his family, Theta his little flareon. "Hey Theta little buddy, we're gonna go see some others. I know we don't get to often so play nice buddy," he said petting Theta.

Following Fateen they got to the door which she opened. Looking around Milo saw everyone already together and relaxing. Theta kept close to Milo for a while before saying hi to the other pokemon. "Look I know you hate me, I know you have the right, but that doesn't mean the hate is well placed."

Fateen looked at the assembled trainers and their Pokemon and stood next to Krane and Duking. She looked at Krane and then Gonzap who was standing over to the side of the room. "It's time." Fateen said simply as she looked at everyone.

Krane stepped forward and looked over the trainers. "You know what Cipher has done to Orre." He said driving straight to the heart of the matter. "They've stolen Pokemon away from their trainers. They've attacked families of those who have stood up to them and they've taken something or someone from nearly everyone here." He looked over at Fateen.

"Fateen managed to bring us all together. It's thanks to her that all of this is possible."

Gonzap stepped forward. "Many of you may know me as the former head of Team Snagem. When Cipher had no more use of my gang, they wiped us out one night to the last man and left me for dead. Thanks to her abilities, Fateen was able to find me and brought me back to Pyrite town where I was able to recover. After a while, I was able to recover one of the few remaining schematics to the first generation portable snag machine."

Duking stepped next to Gonzap. "My name is Duking. I used to keep law and order in this town before Cipher rolled through. When Cipher managed to drive me out...I lost hope for awhile. I was living in a shack out in the wilderness. Fateen showed up one day and told me that she needed my help. I was skeptical at first, but then she told me what Gonzap here had brought to the table. I was able to use my remaining connections in town to get the parts needed for our little project." Duking motioned for Krane to speak next.

"My name is Professor Krane and I used to be a Pokemon researcher before Cipher took over. I was traveling Orre after Cipher burned my lab to the ground and destroyed all my research when I came to Pyrite town looking for work. Fateen found me one day and told me what she had planned. With the schematics provided by Gonzap and the parts provided by Duking...well, how could I refuse?"

Krane looked over the group of trainers and smiled.

"You have been chosen because Fateen has seen your nature as trainers. You all have good hearts and you have seen what Cipher has done and what they are capable of. Which is why we have decided to entrust you all with these." Krane hit a light switch and a light turned on at the other end of the room revealing machines that were jet black with a wire that led to an eyepiece on them.

"These are Snag machines created by myself based off the designs provided by Gonzap. And you each will be receiving one. It's time we started fighting back against Cipher, and what better way then to snag their Shadow Pokemon away from them?"

Krane looked at each trainer. "Do you have any questions?"

It seems like Cipher had truly destroyed the lives of many others. Keiten listened to their stories, stories of them losing everything they had due to Cipher's actions though brought together by the old fortune teller. He ignored what Milo said as he would talk to him later about this though as of now he was too preoccupied with what these people were telling him. The young trainer truly didn't want to trust him but if Fanteen believed he was okay then he would just have to accept it.

Keiten looked at the Snag Machines that were made and arched his brow. He already had one so why in the world would he need one of those? Surely this one would be more than enough to snag Cipher pokemon. Raising his hand, he asked just that. "So what's so special about those snag machines? I already got one of a member and it should work just fine." He referred to the cold steely one on his arm that was very reminiscent to the one that Professor Krane created years ago.

"So what's so special about those snag machines? I already got one of a member and it should work just fine."

Krane smiled. He was eager to show off the improvements he had made in his Snag machine designs. "I made various improvements to my version of the snag machine. Yes, they are based off the ones made years ago but there are some differences. First off, the ones I created have an eyepiece that are attached to them via the wire on the machine that are able to identify shadow Pokemon by the aura they give off."

"Furthermore, I was able to come up with a device that was incorporated into the final design. There is a red button on the side of the snag machine itself. Let's say you're battling someone with a snag machine and they throw a snag ball at your Pokemon. When the button is pressed, it activates a rather weak energy field. It's not enough to hurt anyone or their Pokemon but it disrupts the snag balls and renders them inert. Let me show you."

Krane walked over and and grabbed one of the machines and handed it to Velis. "Velis. Would you be so kind?"

"Sure. I'd like to see if this actually works." She said with a smile as she placed the snag machine on her arm as Krane placed one on his own arm and activated it. "Just make sure your Pokemon don't get the wrong idea about me." He said with a smile.

Velis looked down at Croconaw and motioned him forward. "Don't worry. He's just demonstrating something to us." She said soothingly. Croconaw nodded and stepped towards Krane who looked at Velis. "Now Velis, when I say so, press the red button."

Krane activated the snag machine and the Pokeball inside it turned a dark red color as it was converted. Krane threw the Snag Ball.

"Now, Velis!"

Velis hit the button and a brief flash of yellow light appeared before vanishing. Velis watched as the Snag ball got close to Croconaw who stood bravely in front of it. Just as the Snag Ball was about to hit Croconaw...it dropped like a stone out of the air and hit the ground with a thud.

Krane smiled as he took off the Snag Machine and placed it on the table before turning to look at the trainers. "The device does have a few drawbacks, When activated, the anti-snag field has limited range and it takes a while for the mechanism that creates the field itself to charge back up. But overall, I feel it's a very useful addition to the snag machine."

He grinned at the look of amazement on Velis's face before looking at the other trainers.

"Any more questions?"

Milo listened intent on all of it, and even shocked by the design of the new Snag Machine. "I've got one question, and one question only. Where do we go first?" the tears had stopped, now there was a confident young man standing there. The confidence even he didn't know he had was there, he was ready to prove he wasn't anything wrong and definitely one of the group. "I think we all know what we're getting into and we know what your machines can do now, I think it's time we know what we hit first. Actually... there's another question how are we all gonna move? I've got my ride, the others need a quick transport vehicle or Pokemon as well."

"Impressive, Professor Krane. We better hope that Cipher doesn't get a hold of these machines or else all will be lost." Keiten commented about it, seeing the downside if the enemy were to get one of these snag machine designs. It was truly an amazing device nonetheless. This really does give them the edge over Cipher and maybe it is enough to help them win the war against that dastardly team. He removed the snag machine he stole from a Cipher Peon and rested it down a table and glanced back at the amazing gadgets. "However, professor if I could make a request, could you remove the scanner on mine? I'm not going to need it." He stated in a matter of fact tone though it was true he didn't need it. He was gifted with the ability to read the hearts of pokemon.

He glanced at Milo and nodded in agreement. Just how were they to get around in such a large region on their own? Surely they must've had thought that much ahead and if not, how in the world will they get any vehicles?

Tinder stared at the machine with a clenches jaw. Was she just as bad as Cipher if she took that machine? They were snagging the Pokemon back, yeah...but...still.

Her Gabite nudged her shoulder with a fin. The two were so close and shared a bond that she shared only with her murdered brother and her Metang. She sighed deeply and fit the snag machine onto her right arm.

She'd let the others discuss such matters amongst themselves. For her part, she didn't want to ask any questions. She didn't want to know the answere. Something bugged her about Milo, but she wouldn't let it show.

He was a Cipher...could those murderers feel an ounce of empathy?

Could...she?

As Milo entered the room with Fateen, Justine felt her shoulders tense but she didn't say anything as she knew Fateen would just tell her off if she threatened to attack Milo again. Instead, she did her best to ignore him and instead paid attention to Krane and the others when they started talking. Her eyes widened when they showed off the Snag Machines. "Whoaaa, you're giving us these?" she said. "Neeeeat!" Suddenly, she felt very excited. This was them finally pushing back against Cipher. They'd show those idiots not to mess around with Orre!

It was then the others started asking questions and Milo himself asked his. She gave him a glare and scoffed at his first question. "Who cares? I say we just start taking out those Cipher bastards one by freaking one!" she said loudly, making sure everyone knew her opinion on the matter. "Take the fight to them and show 'em not to mess with us!"

At her side, Jasper gave a loud part of agreement. It was clear that she all for beating up Cipher grunts.

XxFellsingxX said
She gave him a glare and scoffed at his first question. "Who cares? I say we just start taking out those Cipher bastards one by freaking one!" she said loudly, making sure everyone knew her opinion on the matter. "Take the fight to them and show 'em not to mess with us!"At her side, Jasper gave a loud part of agreement. It was clear that she all for beating up Cipher grunts.

"Yes because running in gung-ho is a great plan. Do you know how many there are? No matter how we go at it its not easy and one by one eventually they'll catch on to us when they get reports all of their men are going down. We need a plan, we need people, we need support." Milo said calm, but forcefully. "The end game is they are watching and they aren't stupid we have to cripple them to get anywhere." Milo had expected at least a little understanding that there's a monstrous organization behind every idiot they beat, and that organization gets stronger than the welps they put out here.

Fateen looked over the trainers and raised both of her hands into the air to get their attention as Krane looked at Keiten. "Very well." He said. "Choose one and bring it over here and I'll remove the eyepiece." Krane raises his voice though to be heard. "These machines must never fall into Cipher hands. If it looks like you may be about to lose yours, you must destroy it by any means necessary. They can't get their hands on them."

Fateen spoke up next.

"First of all, we do have transportation for you. Gonzap was able to smuggle hover-cycles into Pyrite town after team Snagem was wiped out. There are hidden near the entrance of the town and are being looked after by people who believe in the same cause we do. I will direct them to you when we are ready. And I have already thought of where you should go first."

Fateen sighed and sat down on a bench near the door. "Agate village. It's where the relic stone once stood in the forest before Cipher managed to finally destroy it. A friend of mine who lives there told me that Cipher managed to draw Celebi out and attempted to capture it. Celebi was able to get away but has not been seen anywhere in Orre since. I feel that if perhaps Celebi could be brought back to what remains of the forest...perhaps we could purify Shadow Pokemon as they are captured. We only have one mean of contacting Celebi and this is it."

Fateen reached into her pocket and pulled a small box out. It was barely big enough to fit in her hand but she held it as if it was the most precious thing in all of creation. She gently placed it in Velis's hand. "This is a time flute. It has the means of summoning Celebi but only once. You must go to where the Relic stone once stood and play the flute. Once you do, Celebi will come to you. You must show it that not all humans are like Cipher, that we didn't want this. Perhaps if Celebi sees that not all of us are like Cipher and will return to Agate Village in some way shape or form."

She looked at Velis with weary eyes. "You must not fail. This is the last time flute known to us. The other two were destroyed by Cipher, if we fail now, we will never be able to summon Celebi again and any hope of restoring the Shadow Pokemon to their normal selves will be gone. And above all else, Cipher must not know that you have this. If they learn a Time flute yet exists they won't stop until they get their hands on it."

Fateen smiled a bit of a sad smile. "Go on now. Grab your Snag machines and head for Agate Village. There's a way to reach the hover-cycles without being seen by going through the door to the east."

Keiten did as he was told and grabbed one of the Snag Machines and handed it to Krane who soon quickly worked his magic and removed it. "Thanks." He put his new snag machine on. It felt very light on his arm so it wouldn't hinder his movements in anyway. He probably figured that Krane knew that he could see the heart of pokemon when he made his request, after all it wouldn't make sense to remove the scanner then. It was something to be admired, even though it was an old design it was still superior to what Cipher has now.

His whole body stiffened at when he was told to go to Agate Village with the others. It's been so long since he last had been in his home town, he didn't know whether or not if anyone would recognize him if they still lived there. He glanced at his pokemon nervously at the thought of heading back though it seemed like he didn't have a choice in the matter. With a sigh, he took two of his pokemon's pokeballs out and said, "Time for you to go back." A red stream of light came out of the balls and brought the two creatures back into their spaces. For the sake of his Elecatabuzz he hoped that he could purify it soon enough. It was hard to see his pokemon to been in such a state.

"Thanks for everything." Stowing the two pokeballs away, he turned and started to head towards where they were instructed to go. It seems like they may as well go by now why the darkness still can conceal them from Cipher.

Faust woke up the second time that night.

He kept having nightmares about the attacks before he left for Cipher, with people he knew being killed off as he watched, restrained by shadowy tendrils and rendered helpless. They were surprisingly vivid, despite him not being able to tell who exactly they were. The one he just woke from, however, deviated from the others drastically in the way that it wasn't a nightmare. He was still restrained, Faust saw himself dismembering someone; a sadistic, twisted clone of him, dressed in the Cipher uniform he despised. Watching as it turned to his parents, the ones who taught him swordsmanship, Faust felt something like outrage swell up inside him. Somehow breaking from his dark binds, Faust lashed out his sword at the shade, but was immediately countered. For some time, they seemed equally matched, but the shade had no signs of tiring. As they went to clash once more, a different phantom appeared and struck from behind, causing the doppleganger to dissipate.

At that point, he sat up suddenly in his bed, his Farfetch'd letting out a surprised quack and jumping away. In a way it was more of an epiphany. He couldn't defeat Cipher himself; the village important to him would still be in danger. Rather, if someone else -- or a group of people -- could push them back with him, then....
Faust rushed to change into his normal clothes, letting Farfetch'd grab his sword from him. "Thanks, bud." Faust said as he grabbed the sheath and it jumped to his head. He didn't have much time to waste, and it was reflected in his sharp eyes. As he hastily left the hotel, the peon on night duty looked to him. Before he could even start asking, Faust flat out said, "I had a weird dream so I'm going to the fortune teller's! Don't ask!" Despite the slight bags under his eyes, Faust's abnormally sharp gaze stopped the grunt immediately. Although, the guard probably just assumed he was really sleep-deprived or something, and gave it no other thought.

When he entered the building, Faust tried to figure out where Fateen had gone; he heard something sliding before, so he assumed that there was some kind of entrance hidden somewhere. Sitting down in silence, Faust took in the surroundings with his senses as he waited for her to return.

The young woman sighed quietly. It was...hard to hear that her home village was under Cipher control. Of course, she was aware that it was happening--that was why only her family knew she was going to avenge her brother--but to hear it just made it more real. She just hoped that everyone was fine.

Tinder held out two pokeballs and returned her Pokemon to them. "I'll see ya soon." she said with a small smile. Metang disagreed vehemently. It wanted to see the hovercrafts! "Later, we can race. Promise." the Pokemon nodded shortly before it was sent to its mobile home.

"Whom should be the one to play the song? I don't think I should." she grunted and ran her fingers through her hair. The cool metal of the snag machine brushed against her scalp, which sent an unbidden shiver down her spine.

As much as Justine didn't want to admit it, Milo did have a point, but she sure as Hell wasn't going to admit that. She turned her attention back to Fateen and Gonzap, listening to what they had to say before nodding. "Okay, sounds good, I guess," she muttered, though she dearly wished they could start finding clues as to where her father was... if he was even still alive.

No, don't think things like that! Justine thought to herself, shaking the bad images of her father lying dead in a gutter somewhere away.

She picked up one of the Snag Machine and placed it on. It was wasn't as heavy as she had expected, but she was a little bit worried about how well she would be able to use it. It seemed to be such a complex device. Oh well, she'd figure out how to use it in time. As her father had always told her, "If you don't know how to work something, jsut press all the buttons and see what happens".

As she placed on the machine, something unusual happened: Coral, who had been still and quiet this whole time, opened his eyes to look at her, something he rarely did when he was outside of battle. She wasn't sure what his expression meant, but she got the feeling he was trying to tell her something. She'd have to try and ask him later, though she wasn't sure how much of an answer she would get.

Noticing that everyone else was returning their Pokemon to their Pokeballs, she followed suit and returned Coral to his Pokeball. As she tried to return Jasper to her Pokeball, the Mightyena gave a low and grudging growl. "Sorry," Justine said with a sigh. "As soon as we get to Agate, I'll let you out." She then returned Jasper to her Pokeball and glanced over at the others. "Well.... I'll guess I'll be seeing you all in Agate," she said and gave them all cheerful wave. "Don't get caught before I see you all next." She gave a slightly dry laugh at what she just said before exiting the room, following after Keiten.

"Whom should be the one to play the song? I don't think I should."

"I can. I don't know the song itself but I did play a few instruments before Cipher wrecked everything." Velis said.

Velis attached the snag machine to her arm and looked down at her Croconaw and Quilava who were looking up at her with an expression that could only be described as unburdened happiness. They knew what had been taken from Velis and her family and how Cipher had left the two Pokemon themselves for dead. Now was a chance to fight back without fear of being snagged by Cipher.

Gonzap looked at her and raised one of his eyebrows. "You know, you remind me of someone I knew once. I used to work with him before we had a difference of opinion on how Team Snagem should operate. Grey hair, blue trench coat and the ability to inspire confidence in his Pokemon. You might know him by the name of Wes."

Velis looked over at him. "You actually worked with Wes?" She asked carefully. Of course she knew who Wes was. Everyone in Orre knew the hero who had stopped the first epidemic. Gonzap nodded. "I know that Cipher managed to capture him and I know that the majority of people think that he's dead but I don't. I found his hover-cycle a couple months ago in the desert. There wasn't any blood or anything in it which is why I have my doubts."

Gonzap sighed. "If you ever find any trace of Wes or that girl who traveled with him, Rui I think he name was, you let me know. That crazy little runt may have destroyed Team Snagem at one point but that doesn't matter anymore. He was fighting Cipher long before any of us were and I feel like crap. I hated him for a long time after he destroyed the hideout but now...well..."

Velis smiled. "You want to make things right, huh?" She asked. Gonzap shook his head but for a moment she thought she saw the ghost of a smile on his face. He handed Velis a small piece of paper. "This is my PDA number. You find him or Rui and you let me know."

"Got it." Velis said as she turned and headed out for the doorway that would lead to the hover-cycles.

Fateen looked up for a brief moment and slowly got to her feet as she headed for the main room of her home. She knew that someone was waiting for her. The fact that they weren't tearing her home apart was something she took as a good sign.

She pressed a button on the side of the wall and the bookcase slid to the side. It closed behind her as she walked through. "Welcome to Fateen's fortune telling." She said as she sat down and looked at the person sitting in her room. "How can this humble fortune teller assist you?" She asked.

Faust let out a deep breath before slowly opening his eyes as Fateen entered. The meditation calmed his nerves slightly, and prepared him for what he was about to say. He doubted he could really hide anything from this old lady, nor would he have bothered to in the first place. "Ma'am," Faust began quietly. "I overheard your plans. Against Cipher.... However, I'm not going to do anything about it." Faust shifted forward. "I plan to help you fight Cipher, but for now, I'm still technically your enemy." Pausing a moment to sigh slightly at how confusing that was, Faust continued, saying, "Agate Village is safe from Cipher, but only because I had joined them; it was a deal of sorts. Since you're against them, I will inevitably have to fight one of those you have recruited. If your group manages to protect the village, then I will certainly help you too."

Faust was sincerely hoping that they would be able to defeat Cipher. Every thing he did was so awful that he shut off his emotions to do them. For a moment he was silent, but then suddenly remembered how familiar the others were. "Oh, also.... Do you know if any of the others were from Agate, too? At least two of them sounded pretty familiar to me."

"Oh, also.... Do you know if any of the others were from Agate, too? At least two of them sounded pretty familiar to me."

Fateen sighed. "Young man, Cipher has already broken it's deal with you it seems. Cipher destroyed the Relic Stone. They attempted to capture Celebi. I have friends in Agate village who tell me that Cipher does have a presence there that is anything but friendly. Granted, their presence there is only a few people but still...can you truly believe that Cipher will not one day simply stomp out everyone in that village?"

Fateen looked over at him. "My friend Eagun, the Mythical trainer who once watched over Agate Village is being forced to allow Cipher to remain there. They hold both his wife and his Pokemon hostage. I'm sorry young man, but Cipher lied to you. They used you since they saw potential in you and they alone wished to posses your unique strength."

"And I'm sorry, I can't give you their names. Not yet anyway."

Agate Village

"Hey Kid! What do you think you're doing?!"

Ross looked up from his PDA and turned to face the two members of Cipher that had yelled at him. Typical Cipher. They were both walking arrogantly towards him. He looked over at his Ryhorn and the Shadow Machoke and sighed before looking back at the Cipher peons. "Just relaxing. Thinking. Plotting about how to bring down your organization." He said the last one sarcastically as the Machoke got to it's feet and stared angrily at the members of Cipher.

"What did you just say?!" The peon dressed in blue demanded. Ross smiled. "You heard me. What, you can't take a joke?"

"Kid. I don't like your attitude. How about we take your Pokemon away and we'll see how tough you are then!" The Cipher peon in blue raised his hand to smack Ross upside the head only to have the Machoke catch his hand before he could bring it down.

"Machoke! Choke! Choke!" The Shadow Pokemon admonished the Cipher peon angrily as it let go of the Cipher member's hand and let him back away. "Big Mistake, Kid." The peon in blue said as slowly continued backing away. "One day you'll get yours. And I'll be there to watch and laugh as it happens." The two peons turned and ran towards a nearby hill.

Ross shook his head in slight disbelief. "Cipher apparently doesn't hire the smartest goons do they?" He asked his Ryhorn and his Machoke. "Who else would pick a fight with a Pokemon trainer that has a Pokemon that lifts boulders as weights when it gets bored?" He chuckled. "Come on. You guys hungry? He asked. Machoke nodded eagerly and Ryhorn let out a happy growl at the prospect of getting food.

"Alright. Let's hit the Pokemon mart. And don't worry, I have enough to feed all three of us." He said with a laugh.

Keiten let out a long whistle when he saw their rides. They were pretty nice considering that it's hard to get anything of good quality these days. "Got to admit, they really didn't cheat out with them." He chuckled slightly as he sat down and turned the key that was for some reason already in it, turning the engine on in the process. He revved the vehicle as he hear and event felt the engine roar as he did that. To make sure that everyone was still there, he turned back to look at his allies and hoped that they were ready. Right now they will not be able to turn back, not after this. "Are you all ready or does someone have to go to the bathroom?" Keiten joked slightly as he tried to ease himself and lighten the mood. They maybe in a serious situation though it would be best if they went at this in a less stressed manner.