13 Chapter 13: The Syndicate

"They are going to kill us."

Aeron's words entered Nessa's ears, leaving the girl stunned.

"W-What do you mean? Don't they need to keep us as hostages if they want to save themselves from the League?"

Aeron shook his head. "Have you ever heard of Team Rocket keeping hostages? I am a native of Kanto and know what kind of criminal organization they are. They poach Pokémon, smuggle them, maybe injure trainers, and sometimes their fights lead to the death of some trainers but never useless ones like me, like us."

Although it may sound absurd to anyone, this was Aeron's understanding of Team Rocket.

"If they wanted hostages, why not stop at a few? Why not kidnap some important people? Why kidnap so many? " Aeron thought about all the trainers that went missing, and none had any high social standing, just like him. They were all random. "At least fifty, if not more. If they needed hostages, even one would have been enough." He looked at Nessa and then toward the door. "That woman was lying about keeping us as hostages. We are lambs that they are preparing for slaughter."

*Gulp*

Aeron heard an audible gulp and looked at Nessa, who had cold sweat covering her forehead.

"H-Have you been in a situation like this before?" She asked, and the black-haired boy shook his head. "T-Then, how are you so calm?"

Wasn't it odd that a fifteen-year-old stayed calm despite a death threat lingering on his shoulders? Even Aeron was stunned when Nessa pointed out the fact. Why was he so calm? He touched his forehead, covered in a cold sweat from fear, but his mind was as calm as possible.

Hasn't it always been like this? His patience was commendable for his age and his will, except a few times. Even though he had been at a disadvantage before, he had always been calm unless people mocked his hard work. It had always been his weak spot.

He thought back to the day Axew hatched. Yes, he was surprised at a Dragon hatching from the egg and one as rare as Axew, but he was pretty calm about it, unlike any other kid who would be jumping and shouting in joy and excitement. Or the time he found out Axew feared fighting. Instead of being frustrated and angry, he calmly took the whole situation and changed his plans accordingly.

What kind of fifteen-year-old kid who wanted to become a Pokémon Trainer would want his starter to be a wuss who was scared of fighting? Yes, many would keep calm, but a lot more would be fuming in anger and frustration, wanting to vent it.

The more Aeron thought, the more he found many instances where he was calmer than he should be. It was difficult for one to see their flaws and habits but easy for an observer. Aeron himself had just noticed it when Nessa pointed it out today. Even when he woke up after being kidnapped, he was calm and started conversing with Nessa instead of panicking like an average kid.

"Aeron."

"Yes?" He looked at Nessa, who was calling out to him. Realizing he had drowned in his thoughts, he shook his head. There was a better time to play detective on himself.

"What should we do?"

Aeron leaned back on the wall, thinking about what they should do. What could they do? Their opponents were strong with Pokémon, which had received proper training, unlike his, who wouldn't want anything to do with fighting.

"Can you fight?"

"A little bit. You?"

Aeron gave the same reply.

"If only we had our Pokémon. We could have at least escaped from this cage." Nessa looked at the locker with all their equipment and pokeballs. "Those bastards took away all our Pokeballs."

"Maybe not," Aeron said, and when Nessa raised an eyebrow at his words, he placed his hand inside his clothes and took out the chain hanging around his neck with a black Pokeball on it.

"H-How?"

"Another fact that proves them not to be Team Rocket members but impersonators. They might be criminals, but not professionals."

"You had it on you all this time?" Nessa raised her voice, and Aeron immediately covered her mouth, pressing her against the wall. Her words became muffled until she realized what she had done. Aeron removed his hands, and Nessa whispered this time. "Why did you not use it all this while?"

"I was hiding it as a trump card till I figured something out," Aeron replied calmly, then frowned at his words. The moment he woke up and realized he had Axew's Pokeball on him, rather than calling out his Pokémon right away, he decided to keep it hidden until the right moment. He had unconsciously formulated a plan.

Back to the time at Viridian Forest, Aeron knew he would get caught by 'Team Rocket.' Instead of running the first moment he saw them, he called Axew in the Pokeball and tucked it inside his clothes.

Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he knew that escaping was impossible. Every action he subconsciously made at that moment was in hope...no, for a chance that something like this would happen, where he would have his Pokeball on him instead of being taken away by the kidnappers.

Now that Aeron had become conscious, he could tell how something was different. But once again, whatever it was, it was not as important as getting out of this place.

"You are too close..."

*Ahem*

Aeron faked a cough and moved away with an embarrassed laugh.

Nessa had already learnt her lesson, so she continued to whisper instead of speaking. "Should we escape right now?"

Aeron shook his head and hid the Pokeball once again. His intuition told him now was not the time. Not yet.

"We wait."

-0-

"Boss, how long are we going to hide?"

In a dimly lit room, sixteen people stood opposite a man who had his eyes closed with a cigarette in his eyes. His legs were on a table; if the people standing did not know better, they might think the man was asleep.

The woman who brought Aeron to the hideout stood behind the man and was also the one who had asked the question.

"League should know by now that it isn't Team Rocket but someone else kidnaping their young trainers." The man took a puff from his cigarette and below a cloud of smoke. "They would create a team which should be running around the Viridian Forest, trying to look for us."

The man smirked, opened his eyes, and looked the woman straight in the eye.

"Shouldn't this be enough reason to finish our mission and get away as soon as possible?"

"Dina, why do I see fear in your eyes?" The man looked at the woman.

"It's the Kanto League we are talking about. As strong as we are, we cannot face them with just seventeen of us, even if we have you. None of us can fight the ones they will send after us." There was fear in her voice.

"And that is precisely why we must hide until reinforcements arrive." The man explained the next part of their plan, something they had yet to learn about beforehand.

"Reinforcements?"

"The Syndicate knows how important this mission is. If we want to increase our influence and step into Kanto Region from Orre, we need to do something significant with the least casualties on our side. Therefore, they are sending us at least twenty more men to ship these kids to Orre. The brainwashing will commence as soon as we reach the HQ."

Unlike what Aeron, Giovanni or the rest of the League higher-ups thought, the organization behind the kidnappings, The Syndicate, never wanted to kill the young trainers to create chaos. Instead, they planned to kidnap the kids and transport them back to the Orre region to make them a part of The Syndicate.

For every organization to thrive, it needed young blood to bring it to a higher level. But the Region of Orre lacked the so-called young blood.

The whole region was littered with crime, and every person born struggled to survive. They did not have the luxury of sitting and learning about Pokémon when they had to worry about what to eat at the end of the day. And so if they could not get talented people from their Region, The Syndicate kidnapped the ones from the Kanto Region closest to them.

The time they chose matched perfectly with the National League Examination.

They knew the new trainers loved starting their journey from Pallet Town, the Town of Beginnings. So they waited and made Viridian Forest into a net that would trap these young trainers.

"Those fucking idiots should be worried about these brats' life and death, making plans to save them from our grasp. We would be long gone when they find this place."

Other group members laughed wickedly at their boss's words, but Dina frowned. 'The Syndicate is underestimating The League. No matter how many they send, none will make a difference.'

The man closed his eyes once again and gave an order. "I want one of you to keep watch on those brats constantly. Even though we took away their Pokeballs, we must be extra careful lest something unexpected happens. Jinga, I will give that responsibility to you."

"Yes, Boss."

Jinga was a man of small height. Even though he was in his thirties, he barely reached five feet, but when it came to the strength of his Pokémon, he was ranked third among the people standing in the room. He was also highly trusted and valued by both the Boss and Dina.

Everyone started to leave the room, going back to their posts.

As soon as they left, Jinga made his way toward the compound all the 'fresh blood' was stored. The Syndicate had built an underground compound with different rooms for this purpose.

-0-

"When are we going to get out of here?" Nessa asked. Since Aeron told her about the possible future that awaited them, she wanted nothing more than to run away from the place. But she also knew Aeron was the only person who might make it possible.

"Not yet, but I have a plan."

-------------------------End of Chapter-------------------------

Author's Note:

- Is there any Pokemon you want on Aeron's team? Drop a suggestion and see if we can make it happen.

- Drop some Power Stones to support the book.

- Peace!