Again, thanks for the input, Act. The next Chapter doesn't give much more out, but once we hit Chapter 4, things will start to pick up... anywho, here's chapter 3...
Chapter 3: Do What's Right
Treena had not slept well that night. She tossed and turned, constantly dreaming of the flaming horse. The Ponyta.
She awoke with a start, taking a sharp breath as she bolted upright. Her dreams hadn?t been pleasant. Oh yes, they had started out wonderfully. Treena rode atop the gorgeous beast, but something would always go wrong, horribly wrong? In one, the Ponyta stumbled on a rock, and Treena fell off, hurting herself badly. The Ponyta was then pulled away by a group of men dressed in black. In another, the Ponyta was sucked right out from under her by a flash of red light.
For some reason, Treena felt these dreams were a sign. They were too vivid to be purely dreams. It was like? like she knew that this could really happen to the innocent Pokemon out there. Who those men clad in black were and where the strange red light had come from, she did not know nor care. All that mattered was that she saved the Ponyta from that fate.
She dressed quickly, pulling on a tan, cotton jumper-type outfit. She packed a bag with an old tan poncho that she hadn?t worn in years, along with an old, blue bandana. She snuck through the hallway, finding it was merely dawn and her parents were still sleeping.
All the better for her. Treena placed two apples, a carrot, and a handful of sugar cubes in the bag. She slung it over her shoulder and scribbled the following note to her mother and father:
Mom and Dad,
I took the day off in the dessert. I?m taking my own lunch, so I?ll be back by supper. See you when I get home!
Treena quietly opened the barn door, carefully choosing her horse. She knew she couldn?t take Sunshimmer, for her coat was too distinctive. It would have to be one with no markings, no distinctive colorings? She paused before each and every stall, peering at each and every sleeping horse.
She finally decided on Storm. His coat was a pale, dusty brown, and he had no white or black markings anywhere on his body. She quickly roused the gelding, thankful that he didn?t snort or whiney to wake the others. Instead, the easy-going quarter horse nuzzled her hand, waiting for a sugar cube.
Treena smiled and obliged, leading Storm to the tack room and saddling him with the oldest saddle and bridle she could find. Strom took no notice of the squeaking leather or the small amount of rust that laced the very edge of his bit.
The teen clamored aboard his back, heading out the barn?s side door.
Storm was a sure-footed horse, though not as trustworthy as Sunshimmer. It took Treena a moment of two to get used to his slightly jerky movements as they headed over the dunes. She soon found herself gliding along the effortlessly again, grateful that the sand was fairly packed in this section of the dessert.
Treena wasn?t sure where she was going, but something inside her heart guided her. She plodded over the dunes, sand flying from beneath Storm?s flailing limbs. Treena knew she was pushing the average horse above his limits, but she had to find that Ponyta?
The pair continued at Storm?s fastest pace until something caused Treena to halt Storm immediately. The teen?s head snapped to the left, and what she saw made her blood run cold. A tiny flit of a black horse tail and shirt sleeve slashed over the dune.
Treena yanked the poncho and bandana out of her bag, throwing the articles on her. She ignored the sweat trickling down her neck due to the added clothing as she made sure her hair was covered by the bandana. She snuck up over the dune, attempting to stay as out-of-sight as possible.
What she saw disgusted her. Five men surrounded the flaming horse. They were all clad in black from head to toe, so that even their faces were darkened by the oppressive dark cloth. Treena could only imagine how hot they must be, but not one of them looked to be uncomfortable in the stifling, 115 degree heat. Upon closer inspection, Treena noticed an ?R? emblazoned in red upon each of their chests. They each were astride a jet black horse. Impatient equine snorts mixed with malicious laughter as the black men watched the Ponyta rush around the inside of the circle they had formed.
Treena took a deep breath and gave Storm a sharp, swift kick in his flanks. The quarter horse lunged into a full-out gallop, something that he would not have done on the sand normally. Treena continued to urge him through the ranks of the black-clad men, desperately trying to keep her seat as Storm slipped along the sand.
The men were stunned at the girl?s entrance, too surprised to do anything but stare as she halted next to the rearing Ponyta. What the teen did next snapped the men out of their trance. The girl leapt aboard the rearing Pokemon?s back.
The feeling was amazing. The flames lacing the horse did not burn Treena. The fire felt like a solid mane underneath her fingers. She gripped the mane tightly, and the horse stopped rearing.
?It?s a rouge tamer!? one of the men cried.
It was like someone had hit ?play?. The five men thundered in on her. Treena cried out and the Ponyta charged through the ranks, Strom charging behind them as Treena held firmly to his long reins. The pair were unusually sure-footed at this point, which Treena assumed to have much to do with the fact that they were probably running for their lives.
She could hear the black men racing along behind her. They were closing in, Treena could actually hear their angry shouts.
?How are we going to get out of this?!? Treena murmured as they continued to pound along the sand.
As if in answer to her question, the Ponyta spun around, it?s coal black eyes glowing red. The five black-shrouded faces were growing closer and closer. They were practically upon them when a jet of flames escaped from its mouth.
The flames acted like a wall, driving the hoard of men back a few paces and successfully blinding. Treena then had to clutch the horse?s neck as it bolted to the left. It took the teen a few, frightening seconds before she regained control of the bolting horse. Strange enough, Treena found herself at the oasis.
She climbed off the young horse?s back, rubbing its forehead gently. ?What am I going to do now?? she asked herself as she handed both Storm and the Ponyta an apple.
They munched happily as Treena pondered her hopeless situation. She pulled off the Poncho and bandana, stuffing them into her bag. She couldn?t just take the Ponyta to the barns. A flaming horse would not be easy to keep from her parents. But, she couldn?t just leave it either, or those black clad men would get it.
She thought in circles for quite some time. She paced back and forth, analyzing the pros and cons, debating between the two, and looking at her situation from every angle imaginable.
Coming to a decision, Treena walked over to the Ponyta. There was just no way logic could allow her to let the Ponyta get captured by the men with ?R? emblazoned shirts.
She cautiously slid a rope around the Ponyta?s neck and tied it to the horn of Storm?s saddle. She mounted the dusty-colored horse and the trio began the slow journey back home.
Treena swiftly and silently stowed the Ponyta in an empty stall, praying that her parents would stay out of the barn for a couple of days. At least long enough for her to figure something else out.
She took all of Storms tack off and groomed the horse back to the perfection he was in before she?d taken him out. The teen had thought her alibis through thoroughly at the oasis. She raced outside with Sunshimmer and patted sand and dust over the horse?s gleaming coat. She also threw dust on the tack she typically used when riding her Arabian. She tossed the poncho and bandana into the compost pile with the used beddings from the barn. She took a few steadying breaths before entering the house.
Penelope greeted her daughter warmly. ?Have a good day off, Treena?? she asked, putting the finishing touches on the hot dish before her.
Treena nodded. ?Sunshimmer and I had a wonderful ride.?
?Oh is that who you took out?? her father asked.
Treena laughed. ?Do I ever take anyone else when I?ll be out all day?? she giggled, her demeanor genuine, though her insides were squirming uncomfortably. She took a mouthful of noodles and burger, attempting not to blanch as the food hit her stomach.
The news rambled on and on as usual in the kitchen. Treena had thought she was going to escape when:
?In news related to the recent Ponyta escape, the Pokemon was sighted in the desert today. A dangerous group known as Team Rocket had caught up with the innocent creature, when they were stopped by a teen girl wearing a poncho and a blue bandana. She rode a brown horse with no particular markings-?
?Sounds like Storm,? Henry mused.
?Impossible, I took Sunshimmer out today,? Treena said calmly.
?-The Scilion society warns us to stay clear of the Team and Pokemon alike. They insist that both are much too dangerous. We, as citizens of Hoenn, are asked to leave the job to the professionals.
Treena choked down the last of her meal. She smiled and thanked her mother before heading to her room.
For a few minutes, she just lay on her bed, waiting for her intricate scheme to come crashing down around her. Her nervous, shallow breaths slowed and calmed. She lay back on her red covered bed and slept soundly.
* * * * *
Meanwhile, in a cave not far from the oasis, the five members of Team Rocket all sat, whispering feverishly.
All voices stopped as a heavily shadowed figure emerged. His heavy-set body caused hit footsteps to rumble like thunder in the cavernous space. The only others sounds in the area were the drips of water falling from the stalagmites and the bated breath of the Team.
?What on earth were you thinking?!? came a voice from the shadowed figure. He spoke in barely over a whisper, but the Team caught every word.
The man paced back and forth, clicking his tongue as though he was chiding a toddler. ?I send one of you to go catch the Ponyta, and five of you go? It shouldn?t take five of you to catch a measly Ponyta.
?But I would have overlooked it had the Ponyta been caught. But you didn?t even manage
that! You let a normal girl escape on it!?
He was foolishly interrupted. ?But sir!? a Rocket Grunt to the left cried. ?She was no ordinary girl! That wicked little one is a born Trainer! How could we have expected that?!?
The offending Grunt cowered as the muscular man flexed his biceps. ?One Trainer? One trainer without a Pokemon? THERE WERE FIVE OF YOU, ALL FULLY EQUPTED WITH A TEAM OF AT LEAST THREE POKEMON!?
The shadowed man took a few heavy breaths before resuming his pacing. He spoke more to himself than to the Team. ?This trainer is strong, too strong for her own good. She cannot be allowed to reach the Scilion Academy. If she does? NO! She?ll never make it there alive or my name isn?t Vladimir, leader of Team Rocket!?
