Inferno leaned on my shoulder, calming me down a bit. "Splash, what about the others? Are they still out in the forest?"
I took a deep breath, trying to clear my head. "Yes. They are. Bolt, go treetop and see if they're still under attack!"
"Rodger!" Bolt shouted before zipping up his safety tree and rapidly leaping from one tree to another. I could only watch the yellow blast leap away. A thought entered unpermitted into my head. Was Surf ok?
As if reading my mind (probably because she was), Espeon rubbed my cheek comfortingly. "He'll be all right. In fact, I think the Mightyenas attacking them are leaving..."
As if to confirm this, Bolt blasted back into camp, through the entrance this time. "They were still there, but I scared them off with a bit of lightning." Espeon gave him a look to say really? Bolt shrugged. "Fine, they were leaving just as I got there. Everyone else is ok. Clover's barriers worked wonders."
I groaned. "She would have been safe if she'd stayed with us!"
Umbreon turned to face me. "Look, Splash," he said roughly. "Would those barriers have had any protection against the Mandibuzz? No. Everyone would have been too distracted by the Mightyenas to notice its approach." He cut me off before I could respond. "BUT it doesn't matter! What happened, happened! Now it's YOUR job to stay level and come up with a plan!"
It wasn't exactly a pep talk, but it grounded me. Umbreon was right. I had a job to do. And on my roster right now was saving Clover. "Thanks, Umbreon. All right. If we want to go after Clover, we need the rest of our Clan. Let's go get Surf and Snow, then we'll start tracking the Mightyenas. I'm positive they'd be going to the same place."
The rest of the clan nodded their consent, but Espeon stood up. "Umbreon and I will stay here, just to be sure there won't be another ambush when we get back."
I nodded to her. "Good thought. Everyone else, let's move. Now!"
Clover thrashed about desperately, trying to escape the Mandibuzz's cruel talons. She was getting cuts all over the place. She tried using Leaf Blade again, but to no avail. She just wasn't in the right position.
Where had this even come from!? She opened up the tunnel into camp and had seen nothing threatening. Next thing she knew, a Mightyena attacked her from behind! Leaf Blade had saved her then, but just as she was driving it off with Aura Sphere, the Mandibuzz appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her!
She resumed thrashing, but the Mandibuzz squeezed her harder, driving her talons deeper into Clover's skin. She yelped and quit moving. Even if she could escape, they were too high off the ground. She'd never survive the fall. Another horrifying thought struck her. What happened to everyone else!? Last she knew, Splash, Surf, and Snow were still in her thorn barrier and the camp was obviously under attack. Was everyone at camp ok? What about Espeon's kits? Did anyone in the forest follow her tunnel? Did they get attacked?
Concerns flooded through Clover's mind. She took a breath to focus herself. She had to help her clan, but helping herself came first right now. She had to escape. Obviously, the Mandibuzz was taking her somewhere. Clover might be able to make another, unexpected escape attempt when they were closer to the ground. Heck, if she could manage, she could Dig back to camp, this time into the shelter of Bolt and Inferno's rock den. She could fix the hole later.
They flew on for several minutes. Clover thought she recognized some of the foliage... That oak tree looked familiar. But when had she been here before?
The answer came when the Mandibuzz made a banking turn towards a large building in a clearing. A very familiar large building in a clearing... With a start, she realized where she'd seen this area before. That's the same building where Entei and Suicune were captured!
With horror, Clover realized that this was their destination. She screamed and thrashed in terror, not caring anymore how tightly the Mandibuzz held her. Her feathered captor let out a piercing screech, making Clover wince. A man in a white lab coat and a clipboard under his arm stepped out of the building, looking up at the Mandibuzz. He removed a Poke Ball from his lab coat pocket and held it up.
"NO WAY!" Clover screamed, fighting for her life. She refused to become a slave to this terrible man! The Mandibuzz flew up to the man and hovered in front of him. Clover froze, wishing she could disappear like Umbreon or Espeon.
The man spoke. "Well done, Mandibuzz. You didn't steal this one from another Trainer, now, did you?" The Mandibuzz shook her head and shook Clover. She shrunk away from the man in pure, unadulterated terror. He peered at her, then held up the Poke Ball. "Let's see if it cooperates."
The next thing Clover knew, she was trapped! She threw herself against the sides of an enclosed space she could not see. It gave way. Clover tumbled back into the sunlight. She scrambled to her paws and tried to make a run for it, but suddenly the Mandibuzz was on top of her, pinning her to the ground! The man walked slowly in front of her, regarding her. "All right..." he said, seeming a bit indifferent. "Whatever works for you, Leafeon."
He reached out a hand. Clover tried to bite him. The Mandibuzz put one foot on her head, pushing her muzzle into the dirt. A cold, sterile hand clutched her scruff, and hauled her off the ground, causing the Mandibuzz to push off her back to take flight, giving her more serious slashes. Nevertheless, Clover fought the man. He shook her by the scruff, causing a lot of pain. She yelped again, but continued to fight.
Finally, the man grew frustrated and threw her hard into a tiny, handheld cage near the door. She hit the side hard, with the tightly woven wires digging into her cuts. Stunned by the pain, Clover could only lie on the floor of the cage as the man walked up to it, closed the cage door, and locked it with a resounding click.
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