Chapter 8: Scouting
** Jake's POV **
Finally we left the lab, I don't know why but as soon as I went inside I got the same feeling as I had when the Arbok was looking at me from the grass. A predator staring down it's prey, and the feeling stayed with me the whole time we were there, it was creepy.
When we got home dad left the two Arcanine outside to keep watch so I let Growlithe out as well so he could spend time with his family. It was nice to see the three of them rubbing against each other in greeting. We went inside and found that the house was quite peaceful, the kids had calmed down, Daisy was still wrapped up in her mom's arms but the two boys were playing my SNES. Mom and Delia were just about done cleaning up the aftermath of the party and Red was sitting on the couch watching the kids play.
"Welcome back boss. What's the situation?"
"The Commandant is putting together a subjugation squad and we start scouting tomorrow, we have five days to find the Arbok nest."
Red was surprised at the answer he got.
"Is it really that serious?"
"You have no idea. Join Blue and I in my office it's not something the kids need to hear."
The three men left the living room and I sat down on the couch next to Beth and Daisy.
"Are you ok Daisy?"
"Y..yes. Th..thank y..you." She stuttered and squeaked out before blushing and hiding her face against her mom's shoulder.
"Yes, thank you Jake. You saved my daughters life. I don't know how I can ever repay you."
"You don't have to thank me. If I hadn't suggested we play outside we wouldn't have been in any danger."
"No Jake! That's where you're wrong. We didn't know the Arbok was in the area, what if it went into another families yard; one that didn't have the protection of strong Pokemon. Someone likely would have died before we even knew there was a danger to be aware of."
From the entryway to the kitchen my mom spoke with Delia nodding along.
"She's right Jake. A lot of people are safe now because of your actions. If what your father said is true about a subjugation squad being sent out the situation is really bad and we only know about it because of you. Don't down play your part in this, your father and I are both very proud of you."
I just nodded and said "Thanks mom." I honestly didn't know what else to say. I had never had anybody say anything like that to me before, it felt good. But all of the attention was making me a little uncomfortable, I got up and told my mom.
"I'm going to go check on Growlithe."
I dashed out the front door and heard chuckling behind me.
I sat down next to Growlithe and leaned up against one of the Arcanine, it had a fresh woodsy smell so I guessed it was my mom's that had been at the lab. Sitting there I remembered that I still had a Daily Mission to do so I pulled up my System and read the Mission again. It says scan a Pokemon with the Pokedex, it did not specify a new Pokemon. Figuring I should give it a try I scanned Growlithe again.
[Ding.....Daily Mission completed awarded one regular pokeball and ten SC.]
[Ding.....Hidden Mission 'Don't I Know You' completed unlocked loyalty indicator.]
A hidden mission? That's kind of cool but what is a loyalty indicator? I closed the System and looked at Growlithe only to see a floating one hundred above his head, above the heads of the two Arcanine was a 61 and a 67. That's not really necessary, this is kind of useless. I stayed there with the Pokemon for about ten more minutes before heading inside.
** Green's POV **
After we got into my office and the door was closed I gave Red a rundown on the situation, the look on his face can only be described as stunned.
"We don't know how far the nest is from town so we have to be fast and efficient. Starting at the town center I'll split the area in three and we will scout individually. If you see anything suspicious tag the area on your Pokenav, DO NOT LAND, and we will check it out together."
"Understood boss. How far are we going?"
"We go until we find the nest and then at least ten miles farther to be sure. We leave at first light and we only have five days to find the nest or we will have a subjugation squad sitting around doing nothing until we find it."
"Anything else boss?"
"No, take your families home and make sure they are safe, we will be busy for a while."
With that I pulled up a map divided it into sections and assigned each of us an area so there would be no hold ups in the morning.
Red and Blue left shortly afterwards with their families in tow. After they left I flopped down on the couch, put my head back, and closed my eyes before letting out a deep bone weary sigh. Emily walked behind the couch and started massaging my forehead.
"Are you ok babe?"
"No Em, this situation is complicated and extremely dangerous. If we mess this up people could die, it's not like my normal Search and Rescue jobs where someone is very likely already dead and it's a blessing when we find them alive. This time everyone is alive but could end up dead because of my decisions, I never wanted this much responsibility when I joined the Rangers."
"Just do your best honey, nobody will find fault with you if you just do your best."
"I know Em. Thanks, I'll pull myself together soon. Can you do something for me?"
"Of course. All you have to do is ask."
"Can you keep Jake with you for the next couple of days? I don't want to trust anyone else with our sons safety."
"I knew you were going to ask me that, and I was going to do that anyway. I already told Delia that I didn't need her to watch him for a while. Beth did the same for Daisy, she is still so freaked about almost loosing her, Delia is still taking Gary though."
"I love you Emily. You understand me better than I understand myself."
"Of course I do, I'm your wife, it's my job, and I love you to Green."
** Jake's POV **
It was starting to get dark when I went inside, I looked into the living room and my parents were acting all lovey dovey so I guess everyone left already. My parents weren't talking but my mom was standing there rubbing his forehead and smiling.
"Mom, I'm getting a little hungry."
Mom smiled at me and pointed at the couch beside my dad. I sat and leaned against his side and he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer.
"I'll pull out some leftovers from lunch in a minute."
We didn't do anything important for the rest of the day, well it was important to me. We just spent time curled up together, all three of us, on the couch before going to sleep.
The next morning dad left early riding his Pidgeot to begin the search for the Arbok nest and mom took me with her to Professor Oaks lab. My mom works as a Pokemon Breeder, basically a researcher who mainly focuses on young Pokemon and helping to guide their growth so she has an office at Professor Oaks lab. As we entered the lab the same feeling as yesterday came over me, why was I feeling like this here? It didn't make any sense.
Beth was sitting at the front desk, she had yesterday off for the party but normally you would find her here acting as a secretary for Professor Oaks lab. Sitting in a chair beside her was Daisy looking bored out of her mind, I guess Beth decided to be a little overprotective today.
I smiled and waved at her and she waved back her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.
"Good morning Beth. I see you decided to keep Daisy with you today."
"Good morning to you as well Emily and I could say the same to you about Jake."
"Yeah, I wanted to teach him a little about Pokemon Breeding and this seemed like a good time." Thinking about something she asked. "Do you want me to take Daisy as well? She looks like she could use a break and a change of scenery."
"Would you? I'm sure she would appreciate it, I brought her before I remembered that this is a lab full of delicate and dangerous items and she wouldn't be able to play freely."
Daisy seemed to leap from the chair before quickly go to my mom and holding her hand.
"Thanks Aunt Emily for taking me along."
Where was the shy girl from yesterday who couldn't even get a full sentence out? I guess it doesn't really matter, being able to talk to her without her running away was a great deal better than before.
We excited out the back of the lab into the nature preserve while my mom looked at the list of requests for Pokemon that had been commissioned from her. Then we spent the whole day just walking around the reserve and seeing how the Pokemon were getting along, which according to my mom is the most important part of Pokemon Breeding.
**Daisy's POV **
Mom said I was going to work with her today instead of going to Aunt Delia's house, at first I was happy I didn't have to spend all day with Ash, he doesn't ever leave me alone, but now I'm so bored. There is nothing to do here, the people in white coats are nice because they work for my grandpa but I'm not allowed to go anywhere.
Then I saw him. Jake came in with his mom and I was so happy to see him. I was so nervous yesterday that I couldn't get a word out but maybe I can talk to him today. Then when I heard Aunt Emily say I should go with her, I was so thrilled I jumped out of my chair. If I learn from Aunt Emily would I be able to spend more time with Jake?
** Emily's POV **
That little girl is so cute. She may only be four but she is crushing hard on my little boy, I wonder if he will he be able to accept her feelings. With my son's situation it's a little strange to think about, he has memories of being thirty years old and is now in the body of a six year old. Will he be able to have a relationship with someone close to his physical age? Green and I will have to talk about it, I think the best thing to do is just treat our son as just a really smart six year old.
I'll see what I can to do to help them spend more time with each other. Maybe she would like to learn about Pokemon Breeding.
** Green's POV **
I've been searching for hours and have found, nothing, even using my mini-map there is nothing. I took the section in the direction of my home and I have gone miles sweeping back and forth and have yet to see a hint of the nest. I wonder if Red or Blue have found anything yet? 'Shake it off Green' we'll find it eventually. You haven't found anything yet but there are still four more days to search. It's almost noon, I'll head back to the meeting point for now and then back to the search.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone