4-6

Chapter 4

Once I met up with Alakazam and placed him in his pokeball, I started walking. I still had the fish we'd cooked last night, so I wasn't going to be hungry. For now, I'd be able to make my way to the volcano after a nice long walk.

"Fuck this, fuck this, fuck this, fuck this."

Okay, maybe I'd gotten used to hiking in the Pokemon world, but I still freaking hated walking. I marched down the road alongside the ocean, one boring step after the other.

This was so much more boring than in the Pokemon world, too. At least there I'd had Mudkip, Tyrunt, or any of the others to talk to as I went. Here, forced to hide my Pokemon, I was feeling kinda lonely. I pushed onward.

Cars passed me on the road, people walked past me, and the humidity and sun beat down. And I kept on walking.

After about 2 hours, I'd gone about 8 miles at a guess. I needed a break. I headed over to the ocean, dropping near a secluded beach, and brought out Mudkip.

"Mudkip?" he looked around, confused. "Mud?"

"Nah, not yet. I just wanted to get some water," I gave him a chuckle when Mudkip rolled his eyes. "I know, I know buddy. But I've been walking in the hot ass sun for two hours."

"Mudkip, Mud," he shook his head with a sigh, and nodded. 

A few Water Guns later, and I no longer felt like I was dying of thirst. I passed Mudkip some more fish, and we sat by the ocean for a bit, my legs recuperating from the long walk. After the break, Mudkip slipped back into the pokeball, and I got back to marching.

At some point, I really needed to get more clothes. The shirt I was wearing was starting to get soaked through. I walked through the town of Paaulio, then 'Ō'Ōkala. Well, they were more like groups of buildings than towns.

Four more hours of walking and night was beginning to fall. I took my time about it. Technically, I could walk pretty damn fast, but the last thing I wanted to do was expend my energy on something stupid. Slow was better than exhausted.

"...Why did I leave the raft behind?" I said with a sigh at one point. 

Well, because… Goddamnit. I didn't even think of it until now. I'd just fallen back on the habit I'd built in the Pokemon world of walking where I could. A couple of times I'd hired out a Taurus though. That had been FUN. Riding on the back of a superpowered bull, crashing through boulders as I laughed.

Filled with nostalgia, I soon reached the outskirts of a farm. The moon shone down on the ocean, a beam of silver light on blue that reflected across the sky. I breathed in the chill ocean air, feeling the breeze push past me to whistle through the trees. I thought about stopping to rest. I could still continue walking for a few hours, but my instincts told me to sleep. 

I looked over at the farm. It was very quiet now, with the road I'd been walking on empty of any cars. That didn't surprise me. Even when the sun had been up, barely anyone had driven past me. This place was as quiet as the countryside could get. That was the nice thing about the country. Night time was a real thing, not a vague suggestion with people still working and roaming around in brightly lit cities.

I took a small deteor from the road to head into a grove of trees, hoping I could find a good spot to nap. As I headed in, I realized that despite my thoughts earlier, the farm I was near was relatively active.

The farm was next to the ocean. As I came up to the grove, I could see that the large barn and house blocked the view of some docks, where I could see a large boat being set up. People were roaming from the back of the barn to the boat, carrying packages as they went. Two guys were standing guard.

I hid away when I saw they were holding guns, ducking into the grove of trees.

"What the fuck?" I twisted my head out of cover, keeping to the shadows.

Yep. Guns. Two men were watching the area around them as more men of Asian and Pacific Islander origins continued carrying packages. I slowly fell back until I was behind the trees enough that no one could see the red flash of a Pokeball opening.

Alakazam opened his eyes as he appeared, meeting eyes with me. Our minds met.

"We got trouble. A bunch of guys with guns transporting shit onto a boat."

At that mental warning, Alakazam narrowed his eyes. Together we moved to the grove of trees, Alakazam cocking his head at the sight as we hid in the grove.

"Hm, you are correct. So what?"

Testing me again. No problem, I'd actually thought things out a bit. 

"Can you read their minds and tell me what they're transporting?"

"One moment," he closed his eyes. For a moment, I waited. I knew how he liked to work. Alakazam COULD have ripped the information out of the minds of the guys. If he wanted to be phenomenally cruel, take forever, and make them freak out as he did. There's a reason mind control tends to be an insidiously slow affair. It's better to make people think it was their own idea to do what you wanted.

In the case of Alakazam, all he had to do was ask them a simple question, using their own mental voices.

"Why are we here?"

Save your RvB jokes until later. 

Alakazam opened his eyes after a couple of minutes. "They are smuggling drugs and guns into Hawaii from California and Canada."

"Seriously?" I sighed, finally speaking, though I kept my voice very low. "Still, this can be good for us. I'm guessing they have already paid for it?"

Alakazam smirked. "They have. The money is being guarded by several men. What are you thinking?"

"We take advantage of the sudden boon we've found," I stretched my head out, narrowing my eyes. "We have a small army of bad guys. Usually, I'd ignore them."

Alakazam gave me a very skeptical look.

"I'm serious," I scowled at him. "I want to get us home. One group of bad guys smuggling isn't going to end the universe. So usually, I'd leave them. But if we head in there, not only can I steal a gun or two, but we can take their money and buy things we NEED. So yeah. We go in."

"Yes, let us make this entirely logical attack, with no moral reason to do so."

"You're a smart ass, you know that?"

"I take pride in it, young one. What is your plan?"

"Divide and drown."

------

I hid back and brought out my full team, making sure Alakazam hit them with thought-speech to be as quiet as possible. I scratched out a quick map of the area to describe our jobs.

My initial plan was to have Gurdurr, Tyrunt, and Slugma burn down/destroy the barn and house, but that was a lot of destruction that could be traced back to my ass by cops. So for the moment, I'd keep things subtle. For a Pokemon Trainer, anyways.

This wasn't going to be like the operations we'd done before though. In some ways, they were easier on my Pokemon, and harder on me. When I ran in to punch people in the other world, bad guys were shocked enough that I could knock them out and leave their Pokemon masterless. If I did that here, I'd get shot. I had to rethink how I fought.

After explaining the plan, I had to contend with one little thing.

"We're in another world, about to fight possible trained killers… And you want to be on standby?" I asked Alakazam.

"The others need the experience," Alakazam said simply. "As do you. I will keep the team in contact together, I will interfere if something truly dangerous happens. But you all will be able to handle this."

I decided to concede to that. Alakazam was a powerful asset. But I needed to let the others get stronger as well. Only so long as Alakazam was really ready to jump in if need be. 

"Fine. Then we'll get to work. Mudkip. You're up. Slugma, I'll wait for Mimikyu to make her move, then hit the cart so you can make your move," I said, indicating one of the carts that was used to transport things. "I doubt I need to go over the plan again beyond that. Let's get started."

My Pokemon grinned at me. Mudkip spun and dived into the creek nearby, swimming out to the ocean. Mimikyu kneeled next to me and Gurdurr, who hefted his I-Beam. Tyrunt, with his darker covering, rushed out into the tall grass around the farm. Slugma pulled back into her pokeball, and I hefted it in one hand to get ready for my moment. Alakazam crossed his arms and floated on air, his mind connecting ours.

Mudkip swam towards the boat the smugglers were using, waiting until he was out into the ocean. Then he opened his mouth, sucking in a massive amount of water. I was sure some of what he was doing involved some form of hydrokinesis, or the power to control water. Because when sprayed outwards, a huge amount of water rose upwards from the ocean, rushing forward until it was about 15 feet tall, and moving thousands of pounds of water. 

Which is my long way of saying Mudkip used Surf.

One of the guys on the boat shouted out in shock when he realized what had happened. But by the time his friends realized what had happened, it was too late. The big wave of water slammed into the boat and dock, pouring over the railings and sweeping the men on them overboard. The guys on the shore turned around, surprised as they watched about 8 guys now swimming in the ocean next to sinking drugs and guns. 

Mimikyu struck then with a Shadow Sneak attack. Her shadow extended out from her. I held back a shiver at the chill I felt in the air, like knives on skin, as her shadow stretched out until it was behind the guy pushing the cart I'd chosen. The guy didn't have time to look away from the sight of his allies bopping in the ocean before his own shadow raised behind him to form the shape of a giant Mimikyu of darkness. Then the darkness slammed into him, dozens of hits in moments. He gasped in silent pain as he fell forward. 

That was my cue. I raised my arm and threw Slugma's pokeball. The guy Mimikyu hit flew back from the cart, leaving no one near it. The Pokeball landed in the cart, then snapped open, Slugma appearing in a flash of red light. The smugglers turned to look just as she blew out a burst of flame in the form of an Incinerate that ignited the cart's contents instantly. My plan had been for her to light whatever was in the cart on fire to force the smugglers to choose between the guys who had been swept into the ocean and the cart with burning merchandise.

BA-BOOM!

Instead, the cart exploded instantly. People were sent flying as they screamed, and the fires rose up into the sky while smoke filled the air.

"Oh shit!" one of the smugglers yelled in shock as the sky was rocked by the explosion. I blinked, trying to understand what had happened. "What happened to the meth!?"

At that statement from the guy, I realized EXACTLY what had happened. Crystal meth and fire. They don't mix well.

Then Slugma came out of the flame, looking around in confusion at the remains of the cart she had destroyed. One of the smugglers noticed her, and screamed in surprise, drawing the attention of the others.

"What the fuck is that thing!?" one guy yelled.

"Shoot it!" the guy who said that raised his submachine gun and unleashed hell, bullets flying into Slugma's body.

She blinked as she continued moving towards him. The metal bullets melted into her body. I grinned as her Weak Armor ability kicked in. With every bullet that struck her, she lost a bit of defense. But she also got faster and faster, until she was in the midst of the group. She leapt from the ground and slammed them in the chest with a Return, the normal type move devastating the poor guy and sending him flying back on the ground.

That was when Tyrunt struck. He ran at high speed, the tall grass separating around him in a way that reminded me of a scene from Jurassic Park, the small dinosaur leaping out of the grass. A smuggler who had been shooting at Slugma was grabbed by the back of his shirt. One of the others turns at his scream, only to see a quick glimpse of the dinosaur pulling his friend into the tall grass. He shouted, rushing in after his friend with a few more guys. They ran around in the glass, trying to find their friends. And one by one, Tyrunt stuck, his rocky head knocking smugglers out as he laughed, a barking roar of noise that I found cute.

I don't think the screaming smugglers felt the same way.

In the ocean, the smugglers who had fallen in realized what was going on, and tried to swim to shore. Then one of the guys was pulled under. He screamed just before he sank underwater as Mudkip held onto his ankle. Mudkip was laughing as he let the guy go, then pulled another and another, forcing them back into the ocean. A few guys on the docks seemed ready to aid their friends. 

Then Mudkip jumped out of the water, the moonlight sparkling through drops of water that followed him. His eyes glittered as he opened his mouth, white energy sparkling in his jaws for a moment before a beam of that energy slammed into the ocean. Ice sprouted from the spot he hit, freezing the swimming smugglers. They shouted as they tried to swim away, but were trapped in freezing water up to their shoulders. 

Mudkip landed on the dock and faced the smugglers there, who raised their guns to point at the new monster in their midst. Water surrounded him like a shield and he rushed forward, hitting three men with the force of a Waterfall crashing down, sending them off the dock and skidding across the ice, one man's butt slamming into his struggling allies head.

Then Gurdurr came in with Mimikyu. The fighting-type Pokemon had left his I-Beam next to me, since that thing would have killed anyone it hit. Instead, he ran straight for the distracted and terrified smugglers with his bare fist, a shit-eating smile on his face. One guy shot at him. The bullet barely dug into his tough body before Gurdurr 'gently' decked him in the face. His nose shattered and he was sent down onto his back in a spray of blood. Gurdurr grabbed the guy's rifle and hefted it. With a grin, he lifted his brand-new club and ran forward again, smashing the rifle into a guy's leg with bone-shattering force.

Mimikyu, on the other hand, lashed out with her shadow arms, grabbing a guy and pulling him close.

"No, no, nononononoNONO!!!!"

He was pulled in under Mimikyu's power to the shadows she was hidden in nearby, where his screams continued, begging filling the air. Then two more arms sprouted. Followed by eight more. One guy had tears falling down his cheeks as he shot at the darkness while screaming, only to be pulled by his ankles to fall on his back with a sound like meat slapping concrete, and he and four other guys were pulled into the darkness.

"Guys," I said through the mental link, feeling a little guilty. "Tone it back. They're a lot more fragile than you'd think," I winced again when the sound of a Waterfall attack cracking ribs came from Mudkip's direction.

My Pokemon calmed down just a bit. Thank god, because Mimikyu and Tyrunt's sections calmed down with the terrified screams.

One of the smugglers, to my surprise, made a smart decision. He turned and ran for it, jumping over a shadowy arm, avoiding the tackle Slugma tried to hit him with, then booked it towards the house. 

I narrowed my eyes. There was no one in the house, but there was likely a car he could use to leave…

"We can't let anyone escape."

I looked over at Alakazam. He gave me a look of annoyance before sighing. His eyes glowed for a moment. Then his body did, a bright white, before he disappeared in a flash of static.

The running smuggler was panting as he ran. A burst of static appeared in front of him, and Alakazam appeared. He raised a single hand. And the guy froze in place, floating mid-run. His muscles twitched as he tried to keep moving, but was held in the grip of psychic power, his eyes twisting widely as he soundlessly met eyes with Alakazam.

"It was a good idea to run," Alakazam said reluctantly. A spoon flew into his hand, the metal twisting and bending in his fist as he raised it like the weapon it was. "Sadly, your higher level of intelligence has forced my attention. Sleep. And forget this night."

The smuggler passed out, falling onto the ground with a small sigh.

I kept an eye on the battle. Soon though, it was over. My Pokemon were standing amongst piles of smugglers, guns resting around the area as the few men awake groaned and moaned in pain. Alakazam's eyes flashed. Those guys passed out instantly.

It was only then that I came out of the woods. I felt a little guilty that I'd hung back and let my Pokemon fight, something I'd done rarely before. But the various guns on the floor reminded me why I'd done it.

Mudkip used a Scalding blast of water on the iceberg he'd made, melting it apart. I went over with Gurdurr onto the dock and helped Mudkip pull the guys he'd knocked out onto the dock.

Tyrunt and Mimikyu did the same sort of clean-up with the guy's they'd knocked out, dragging them out to lay them on the dock side-by-side. Slugma burbled happily as she chewed on a shotgun, the metal melting in her mouth as she came over to join us.

Alakazam, in the meantime, headed over the barn, where an important package had been waiting.

Soon, working in tandem, we'd gotten the bad guys together on the dock. I looked over the large group. God, fifty guys? What sort of gang had so many guys all working in the countryside? Granted, if I had to bet, they were likely from two different gangs, but still…

Then I looked at the drugs that were laying around the area before ignoring them for the guns.

Damn. I was pretty sure NONE of Hawaii's extremely strict gun laws would allow submachine guns, assault rifles, and shotguns. And yet, there we were. Not just the guns they'd been carrying, but the ones in the crates that had been getting transported. It was a damn armies worth.

I grabbed a pistol out of an open crate. The side of the handle had a 'Sig Sauer' emblazoned on it, while the barrel had 'P365' written on it. I didn't know anything about the gun in particular, but I knew Sig Sauer did good work. I took some ammo and a holster as well. I would have loved an semi-auto assault rifle, but that was rather hard to hide.

Alakazam came over with the package that had been hidden away in the barn, in a secret compartment only a mind reader could have found. A briefcase floated on waves of telekinetic power, landing in my arms. I stared at the lock on the metal case, then passed it to Gurdurr. He quickly tapped the lock, sending pieces of metal flying and denting the case inward. I placed it on the ground and popped it open.

Then I stared at the money. 

"...What the fuck did we walk into?" I asked, shocked.

There had to be over a million dollars in hundred dollar bills there. Enough money to change lives.

"..." I looked around the docks. Then I closed the case and handed it to Gurdurr. "I don't want to steal police evidence, but we might need this money to survive," I said with a sigh. "Hopefully they'll be happy with all the rest of the evidence. But we need a better way to restrain these guys."

Mudkip barked, looking at the water around us. I chuckled. "Not without giving the hyperthermia."

"Slugma!" I looked at my small slug monster. "Slug, ma, ma!"

"...That could work," I said thoughtfully. 

I noticed something then, floating on the ocean. It must have been washed overboard when Mudkip's Surf hit the boat and dock. It was bone-white, with holes drilled into it. I cocked my head to the side as I looked at it, then leaned over and picked it up out of the water. I was surprised by how heavy it was, considering it had been floating. I shook it out and took a close look at it. A hockey mask, the kind that would be worn to protect the wearer from pucks and sticks on the ice. Or, you know, hunt teenagers around Crystal Lake.

"What do you think?" I turned and raised the mask to my face.

Mudkip cocked his head to the side, then shrugged.

"Mimikyu!" the small costumed nightmare gave me an excited look, hopping up and down. She wiggled in place.

"Yeah, I guess I have a disguise like you, huh?" I said with a grin. Mimikyu wiggled more.

"Runt," Tyrunt said, looked a little jealous. I didn't know what to think of that.

"Does this mean you've decided to become a superhero after all?" Alakazam said idly.

"...Let's just get this done," I said with a sigh.

Still, I hooked that cool looking mask on my hip, reminding myself to paint it later.

------

About an hour later, I opened one of the cars we'd found in the house's garage, a big SUV. My Pokemon began to enter the back of the car. Of the five cars that were in the big garage, the SUV was the only one with tinted windows and room for all my Pokemon. 

Mimikyu and Mudkip shared the front passenger seat, sitting closely side by side, since they were short enough for no one to see them. Behind the front seats, Alakazam sat next to Gurdurr, the psychic and fighting-type Pokemon glaring at each other before they calmed. In the very back, Tyrunt curled up his body next to Gurdurr's I-Beam, poking his head over the seat between Gurdurr and Alakazam so he could look out.

That left Slugma and me outside the car. We walked together towards the car, Slugma giving her Pokeball a sad look.

"I know you want to hang out with us, sweetie," I looked down at her. "But if you sit still… well, you know."

She stared down at the ground, trailing slowly next to me. "But we'll be at a volcano soon. And when we do," I kneeled down and held her head in my hands, her warth almost painful against my palms. She closed her eyes. "We'll be together. I promise."

Slugma rubbed her head against my hands, standing still for just a moment. Then I hurriedly grabbed her Pokeball and put her away. 

I looked up at my other Pokemon. Mimikyu and Mudkip gave me sad looks, while Tyrunt let out a sad growl.

Then I got in the SUV and started driving. As we peeled off, the sounds of sirens coming towards the farm could be heard.

I knew what they would find. Several crates of weapons and drugs neatly stacked and opened for the night air. A stack of wallets laid out next to them. 

And a whole lot of unconscious bad guys buried up to their necks, six feet apart, with spotlights from the boat illuminating them all.

As I drove off, I wondered what the cops would think of all that.

------

As the sun rose up over the horizon, an army of police officers were trying to unravel a mystery.

When the call had come in, the police station had thought it was a prank. The towns on the Northeast side of Hawaii's Big Island were small and peaceful, places tourists would go for nice hikes and calm atmospheres. Namely, not a place with very serious crimes.

So when a man who clearly sounded like a teenager called in, the dispatcher wasn't ready for what he heard. 

Around fifty criminals, from possibly different gangs, smuggling in meth and guns into the islands in the dead of the night. It was the kind of thing that happened in movies! Not in quiet towns like his!

"Kid, I don't have time for a prank-" the dispatcher was about to say.

"It's not a prank," the kid said, sounding annoyed. "But I can understand why you're skeptical. Just send a car over. I guarantee you that you'll find something. And hey, if I'm lying, one guy took a short drive."

The dispatcher thought for a moment. Technically, it didn't matter what he thought. All calls had to be taken seriously by regulation. But he wanted to teach the kid a lesson for misusing 911. Finally he sighed. 

"Okay kid, we'll have an officer there in 20 minutes."

Nothing was supposed to follow that. One car was sent out, got to the farm, and went to the back. Then the officer panicked and called everyone he could about the insane mountain of evidence he'd found.

Now cops filled the area, digging the criminals out of the ground, cataloguing everything they had, and keeping back a small group of reporters that seemed shocked at what was happening. So did the police. None of them had ever encountered anything on the scale they found that day.

The sun had risen completely when the sound of helicopter blades filled the air. Everyone looked up to see a white and blue striped aircraft singing through the air, coming towards them. It landed in a cleared off-space near the barn. On the side of the copter were three letters.

FBI

As the rotors shut down, one of the officers, an older man, came running up. The helicopter door opened, and a man came out.

He was a dark-skinned Polynesian man, average in height, but thickly built with muscle, his biceps flexing through the brown suit he wore. He had thick black hair cut in rough shape that spoke of a lax barber, a craggy face that seemed unused to smiling, and deep dark black eyes.

Despite his average height, he seemed to loom over the older man that came over to him. "You Chief ʻŌpūnui?"

"Y-Yeah!" the chief said, sweating heavily. "You're the FBI guy?"

"Samuel Makoa," the man looked around, his eyes taking in the view. He dismissed the drugs being photographed by crime scene techs. He was unflinching at the sight of enough guns to arm every man and woman around him being catalogued. It was on the men being dug out of the ground and handcuffed that he finally stopped. He noted a few men being pulled into ambulances with broken arms, ribs, or other injuries.

"How many we got?"

"Fifty-three men," the older man said, his voice weak. "This is the worst thing that's ever happened here. Or at least the worst since I became chief."

"Then you're lucky," Sam said.

"Lucky!?" ʻŌpūnui gaped at him. 

"No one died," Sam looked around, his eyes hard. "Someone came here. Several someones," Sam pointed at some footprints on the ground, trailing his fingers around. "Someone's with very strange feet. Claws, paws, some sort of… tentacle? In fact, I'd say only one of them was human. They somehow took down fifty men armed with more weaponry than I've seen outside a Rambo movie without a single death, leaving broken arms and legs."

Sam scowled, his face somehow suited for the motion, placing fists on his hips. "These were supers. We're in big trouble."

"Superheroes?" Chief ʻŌpūnui smiled. "Oh, that would be quite nice."

Sam, veins throbbing in his neck, his jaw jutting outwards, looked at the chief. The chief swallowed.

"R-Right?"

"First, I said supers. People with powers. Not necessarily heroes. For all we know, these were a rival gang. And second… you have no idea who these guys are, do you?" Sam said with a very tight lipped smile. The chief shook his head. "I'm going to guess less than half own that piece of shit," he pointed at the dock, where a small cargo boat rested in the sun. "Transporting all the weapons and drugs in. But the rest are Silicon Dragons."

Chief ʻŌpūnui tilted his head and pressed his lips together for a moment. Then his mouth opened. "Oh no."

Sam's tight lipped smile gained some teeth. "That's right. They'll hear about this soon. And when they do, they'll start more trouble than anyone in this island will ever be able to stand."

Chapter 5

Now that we were in one of those incredible inventions known as cars, I could finally get to relax and get some things done. Especially with my ill-gotten gains. Which I would get rid of as soon as possible. Having a briefcase with a whole lot of cash was just asking for trouble. 

So, a road trip in action.

With me driving, a few things happened. FIrst, Mudkip and Mimikyu kept changing the channels on the radio, flipping back and forth. Mimikyu wanted as much heavy metal as she could find, bouncing in place as we drove. Mudkip, on the other hand, was a fan of Rap and Hip-Hop. They didn't fight, but whenever the music changed from one to the other, they were nearly opposite in their excitement.

Tyrunt got insanely bored at one point, forcing me to try and figure out games for us to play when he almost started chewing on Gurdurr's girder. It was that or have two super strong monsters destroy an SUV by starting a fight.

So we played a few car games. One that was immediately useful was I Spy. The only problem with that was Tyrunt. Who quickly got way too competitive.

"I spy something white," I said at one point, looking at a sign in the distance.

Tyrunt growled. 

"No."

"Gurdurr."

"There isn't a cloud in the sky."

"Tyrunt!"

"N-"

"Tyrunt!"

"It's not that."

"Gu-" Gurdurr went to say something, only to let out a choking sound. I looked over my shoulder.

Gurdurr was panicking, pulling what looked like a random boot that had been in back from his mouth. Tyrunt gave me a very innocent look.

"...Tyrunt."

I turned back to the road with a creased brow. "Yeah. Yeah, it was a sign."

"Tyrunt!" my dinoboy cheered, giving Gurdurr an haughty laugh.

"Unfortunately, physical abuse aimed at the other players leads to a loss of one thousand points, so Gurdurr is winning the game."

Tyrunt gave me the most betrayed look he could, while Gurdurr finished spitting out the boot, coughing.

Despite that little hiccup, most of the ride was more boring than anything. We made good time, and eventually reached our destination after an hour or so. Kīlauea. The most active volcano in Hawaii.

Well, the visiting center. It was still very early, since we'd started driving in the middle of the night, so the place was empty right now. Perfect. 

I parked in front of the one story building, noting some tourist trap-style stuff around the place, though it was relatively tasteful. We hopped out of the car after Alakazam took a quick psychic scan of the area. Mudkip hopped onto his place of prestige onto my shoulders, while Mimikyu was held in my arms. I heard a small 'bam' sound. When I turned around, Tyrunt and Gurdurr gave me innocent looks, despite the bump on Tyrunt's head and the fact Gurdurr couldn't hide his satisfaction.

"Oh wow. I wonder why Tyrunt has a bump on his head," I said as deadpan as I could.

"Tyrunt," a very prideful dinosaur said, unwilling to admit what happened.

"Ah, well, I suppose rocks falling from the sky happens everyday."

When I turned away, I could see Tyrunt and Gurdurr trade a grin at their masterful deception.

Honestly, that was just how they got along. They'd fight, scrap, and compete, then suddenly become best friends again. Alakazam sighed in annoyance, while Mudkip shared a smirk with me. Mimikyu, not really understanding what her big brothers were up to, just snuggled deeper into my arms.

I popped Slugma's pokeball. She appeared in a flash, looking around. Then she looked up at me and smiled.

"Slugma."

"Good to see you too," I said with a smile. "Welcome to Kīlauea."

Slugma looked around. She seemed very interested in one particular direction, but circled around me while waiting.

"It's what we're here for," I said reassuringly. "Lead the way, little lady."

Slugma laughed happily, the sound like steam dancing in the air, and charged forward. We all followed her as she headed in the direction of lava.

Well, to be specific, the direction of the best place for her to be able to Dig down to it. She'd know where the thinnest place was. 

We walked for a bit, entering the woods. This late, there probably would have been mosquitos, but the living lava creature we followed was sending up puffs of smoke as she went along, bits of the wood that she slid across turning to ash. I made sure to put it out as we went along.

"This island is beautiful," Alakazam said at one point. 

"Yeah, it is," I took in the green forest around us, glowing in Slugma's red light.

"Slugma!" she was happier about getting to the lava she was feeling. Not much for forests, my girl.

After a bit, we were out of the woods. I stared at the sight before us.

The floor was mostly grey stone for what seemed like miles, with a couple of small plants sprouting up from the ground. In the distance, a plume of smoke rose upward into a sky that was just becoming lit up by sunlight, giving the place a hauntingly beautiful look.

"Wow," I said softly.

Tyrunt roamed forward, rushing up to a sign that said something. He stared at it for a bit. Then he lashed out, biting the plastic sign and ripping it apart, then ran past it triumphantly. I looked at the remains of the sign.

One of the ripped parts said 'Do Not'. The other said 'Enter'.

Of course.

Slugma ignored the antics of the Rock/Dragon asserting his dominance across the land to move around, her eyes focused on the ground. 

"Mudkip?"

"Slugma."

Mudkip hopped onto my head and looked around curiously. We followed Slugma. The heat began to rise slowly. And soon I saw it. 

Lava. Deep in the crater, sitting calmly at the bottom. Slugma gave me a proud smile.

"Nice job!" I said proudly. Mimikyu hopped out of my arms to give Slugma a hug, Slugma wrapped around to hug her back before she had to get moving again.

"We had best get to work," Alakazam reminded me gently.

I nodded my agreement. "We'll base ourselves in this area then. Hide somewhere near the ocean."

"Gurdurr!" 

I sighed. "Yeah, you'll get to build a base. And yes, you'll be allowed to go all out."

The smile I got from the little guy was pure joy, like a kid who'd just tasted his first ice cream.

"Slugma, go ahead and do your swim," I pet her on the top of her head, getting a happy burble of noise in response. "Stay in contact through Alakazam's link. Try and find gems if you can, but don't feel pressured to."

I don't think the last part sank in, because she gave me a small smirk. Then she glowed alight with red fire, jumping up and diving into the lava with nary a splash.

"...Tyrunt," the dinosaur said while giving me a look.

"Bud, I know you can withstand a lot of fire, but that's molten magma."

He gave the lava a look like he was still tempted to prove himself, before following us.

We walked in the direction of the ocean, Alakazam keeping Slugma in our mental link. Soon we reached a beach made of black stone from years of lava flows cooling there. In some ways, this place was a snapshot of the very thing that had given birth to the islands.

"Okay, Gurdurr," I looked at my fighting boy. "We've got one thing we need. A base. It needs to be secret, out of the way from tourists or park rangers, and have access to the ocean."

The last part was for Mudkip. While he was built for swamps more than anything, he was still more than capable here. So opening up a base to the ocean would give us not just an easy way for Mudkip to hunt for food for everyone, but also a good escape route. After all, around here, Mudkip was an Apex predator in the ocean.

...Well, on my Earth. Forgot that the DC universe had a different set of rules when it comes to the ocean. There's a reason Aquaman's role as king of the ocean is a powerful fucking threat.

"Gur…" Gurdurr twirled his I-Beam around thoughtfully as he looked around. He looked at Tyrunt. "Durr?"

"Runt," Tyrunt said with a shrug.

Gurdurr, unsatisfied with the lack of a real response, gave him a glare. Tyrunt growled out a sigh. "Ty, tyrunt."

Gurdurr smiled and nodded. When he looked at Mudkip, my small water-type nodded.

"Mudkip."

Then Gurdurr looked at Alakazam, opening his mouth to speak.

"No need," Alakazam said immediately. "I am willing to aid you. I do believe it is a mistake to allow you such free reign," he gave me a look, which I ignored. "But I will follow your plan."

Happy with that response, Gurdurr pointed at a cliff in the distance. 

"Gurrrrrrrdurr!" then he charged off towards the cliff, the rest of us following along at a rush. As he got there, he twirled his I-Beam. Tyrunt's jaws opened wide. Mudkip jumped off my head.

A metal I-beam slammed into the side of the cliff. Massive teeth dug into the earth. Mudkip hopped over to help. He blasted the excess dirt with powerful bursts of water, sending it away as simple mud that flowed away into the ocean. Quickly, Gurdurr and Tyrunt began creating a tunnel into the mountain, Mudkip sending the dirt away with blast after blast.

"We'll need to put it back as it was of course," I mentioned.

"Gurdurr!" yeah, he knew.

"Okay. Then I'm going to head into town with Mimikyu," I decided at last. "We need a few things if we want to make a home here. Might as well spend some of the money we stole."

Not all of it, of course. There were over a million dollars in that case. No way that I was going to walk around with that much money.

"Let me know if you need us," Alakazam said gravely.

"I will. See you guys soon," holding Mimikyu in my arms, I headed towards where we'd parked.

------

In the SUV, Mimikyu and I headed into town, reaching some place called the Kilauea General Store. Mimikyu followed me inside, sticking stealthily to the shadows, only my mental link to her letting me feel her presence.

As soon as I entered, I marched towards where a bunch of clothes sat, placing underwear, t-shirts, jeans, socks, shorts, a pair of sneakers, and sandals, all in a cart, avoiding the Hawaiian shirts with all my might. Then I went for the food. Mudkip and Gurdurr loved spicy and dry food, so I got them a bag of spicy fish and meat jerky. Tyrunt and Mimikyu were both more fans of sweet and dry, so I got them chocolate covered popcorn, Mimikyu sending me a small burst of happiness as she watched me put them in the cart. Alakazam liked both spicy and sweet food, so I got more of the jerky and popcorn. Slugma liked bitter and spicy food. As weird as that was, I still adjusted to that, getting her some sriracha covered green peas.

Walking around the general store, I picked up some basic fruits, veggies, and meat, taking care to grab what would last longest. Once done, I also grabbed a sleeping bag, pillow, map of the area they sold to tourists, the basic essentials. While I was grabbing those, I felt something interesting from Mimikyu.

She was curious. Fascinated, really. I followed our mental link to turn and look at her.

Then I froze. She was no longer hiding in the shadows. Instead she was out in the open, staring at someone. I looked the same direction.

A pair of little kids were playing with toys, a girl and a boy. 

"Pew-pew!" the boy had a small Batman figure in his hands, pretending to fight a small monster toy shaped like a bipedal crystal thing. The girl giggled, holding a Superman toy in her hands. She pressed a button on the back of the toy, and Superman's eyes lit up red, shining on the crystal.

Mimikyu, hesitantly, began to walk towards them.

"Mimikyu, wai-"

"Oh!" the little girl said as I realized my mental warning was too late. "Look!"

The boy turned, and soon the little girl and boy were looking at Mimikyu. She wiggled in place hopefully. I stared at the interaction, worried.

"It's so cute!" the little girl said excitedly.

Mimikyu blinked, then shook with happiness, the Pikachu head of her helmet dancing.

"What's under there?" the boy asked, watching as the little girl ran up to Mimikyu, petting her on the head and cooing at her.

By then I'd made it to them, scooping up Mimikyu into my arms. "Hey, how's it going?" I said to the two kids.

"Hi," the little girl shrank back from me, though she kept her eyes on Mimikyu. "Is that yours mister?"

"Yeah, she is," I placed Mimikyu in my cart, where she continued to send out waves of pure joy throughout our link. That was Mimikyu. She was very receptive to praise. It made me glad and sad all at once, that it took only a little bit to make her day.

"What is she?" the boy asked, curious.

"A cat," I said without preamble. Desperate to change the subject. "So you guys like the Justice League?" I asked, pointing at their costumes.

"Yeah!" the boy's curiosity switched to pride, lifting his Batman toy up for me to see. "Batman is the best!"

"Nahuh!" the little girl held up her toy. "Superman is the best! He's the strongest in the world!"

"Well Batman knows king fu!" he said, getting the word wrong and lisping just a bit cutely.

"Superman doesn't need it! He can just go, boom!" the girl displayed what she meant with 

Mimikyu, meanwhile, was staring at the kids arguing with fascination. I noted the way her eyes dropped to the toys in their hands. 

"What about you, mister?" the boy asked me.

"Me? Well, my favorite hero is Wonder Woman."

He gave me a look of disgust, while the girl looked surprised. "But she's a girl!"

I chuckled at the childish response. "She's awesome, man. Super-strong, fast, and a real warrior. I've always been a fan of swordplay, and she's the best in the world at it. She's awesome."

"...but she's a girl," the boy said, as though that was the end all be all.

"So is my mom and sister, and I think they're awesome as well," I told him seriously.

He didn't seem satisfied with that response, but the little girl giggled at that.

"Well, later kiddos," I walked away from them, noting an older Hawaiian woman who had been watching me suspiciously. She calmed down when I walked away, even giving me a smile.

Mimikyu, in the meantime, became very thoughtful. So when I took a detour to buy some sewing equipment for her, she gave me a very grateful look.

------

Slugma

Slugma dived into the earth, happily swimming through the magma, diving down for hundreds of feet as easily as a fish swimming in the water. She loved the feel of warm heat around her, melting into and through her body. Magma was home, a place she hadn't been in it for a long time. Still, she had something wonderfully new now that she hadn't had as a young Slugma, before she met her trainer.

Through her link to the others, she could feel Mimikyu's current contemplation, Gurdurr's determination and joy, Tyrunt's grim pride, and Mudkip's laidback happiness. She could even feel her trainer, a constant bundle of a dozen emotions, anger, happiness, and calm, somehow blending together. Humans were confusing like that, always displaying a hundred emotions at once.

And above it all, Alakazam, keeping them all in contact as they moved about.

Slugma took solace in the link. Once before, she would be alone when she was in the lava. Now, she was never alone.

...In fact, that felt oddly literal now. Slugma looked around. Something was in the magma. It felt like it was sleeping. Intrigued, she swam towards it. The presence loomed in the distance, floating in the molten material. Slugma's brow furrowed.

She didn't really see under the magma. Such a thing was impossible. Slugma really navigated through her skin sensing currents around her, her eyes taking in the smallest of changes to temperature in ways no thermal camera in existence could ever come within miles of. Every part of her became a living sensor within the heat.

She floated before the being she sensed in the magma. Over eighteen miles underground, she swam around it. And slowly, it began to awaken. Gently, Slugma backed away, eyes wide as she stared at it. For some reason, she wasn't afraid. The being's body began to move. And the magma began to flow.

Slugma stared in awe, as miles of molten stone was pulled in towards the being in the center, before flowing away again. Like the world around her was breathing. 

A pair of eyes opened and landed on Slugma. They stared at her. Then, slowly, it moved towards her.

"...Slugma?" the small Pokemon said inquisitively. 

A hand reached out. Okay. Now, she was beginning to feel nervous.

Chapter 6

When Mimikyu and I got back to the others, the cave they'd been digging had disappeared. Everything looked as though we'd never shown up there in the first place, leaving a clean cliff-face. I walked up to it with some grocery bags in hand, Mimikyu carrying a few more in her shadowy… arm… tentacle… hands. As we approached, a portion of the cliff shifted. With smooth movement and no sound, the dirt fell apart. Alakazam stood behind it. Well, floated behind it.

"Welcome," he said as Mimikyu and I walked in. Once we'd entered, he put the wall up behind us.

"Hopefully I got enough for everyone to be happy," I said as I looked around, placing the groceries on the ground and kneeling down.

"That would depend on if you've gotten what I wanted first," Alakazam said very carefully.

I rolled my eyes while reaching into the bag. "Yeah, yeah. You have the same favorite food as my grandma, you know that?"

"A woman of esteemed wisdom and taste, I'm sure."

I scoffed, tossing him the bag of spicy and sweet snack mix he'd asked for just before we left the store. Then I took out another bag, which he caught and gave a curious look. "It's a local snack called Li Hing Mui. Thought you might like it."

He gave the bag an intrigued look, looking it over. As he did, I looked the place over.

Gurdurr, Tyrunt, Mudkip, and Alakazam had been busy. The space we stood in was huge in terms of width, if not so much height. The ceiling was only a foot taller than I was, I assumed because Gurdurr wanted to reinforce things a bit before making it higher. For now, things were relatively smooth, the walls made of volcanic stone. Gurdurr had, at a guess, set up this side as a sort of entranceway. There was another arched doorway across the room. I picked up the bags and walked up to it. Inside was an even larger chamber, made of dirt and stone like the others, with three archways other than the one I'd entered from leading to other rooms. In one of those rooms, I could see Gurdurr. When I went to join him in that room, I stilled at what I'd found there. 

A hole. It was about fifteen feet deep, and started about ten feet from the doorway. Gurdurr was looking down inside it. When I followed his gaze, I found Mudkip and Tyrunt. Tyrunt was digging into the back of the wall, making a tunnel from which I could only see his tail wagging back and forth, while Mudkip was crouched and ready. I thought about the makeup of the cave. The room was closest to the ocean. So if Gurdurr was doing what I thought he was-

Tyrunt took a big bite into the tunnel's end. And water hit him like a hose.

Tyrunt sputtered, staggering back, and Mudkip rushed in to grab him by the tail, pulling him back. More and more ocean water poured in, sloshing along the walls and bottom of the pool they'd created. Mudkip lifted Tyrunt out of the pool, Tyrunt swinging back and forth in the smaller Pokemon's grip, grumbling at the water below him as if it had offended him.

Mikikyu came up behind me and watched, fascinated, as the water continued to fill the pool they'd made. Gurdurr noticed me then and gave me a thumbs up.

"Gurdurr!"

"Yeah, bud, this is really nice work," I said with some amazement I couldn't hide. Even after all this time, small things like this could surprise me. It would take a team of humans with powered equipment a full few days to move so much earth and stone. It took three Pokemon a few hours.

"Well guys, I come bearing snacks," I put down the bags of groceries. Tyrunt rushed over to the bags, Mudkip sitting on his head, waited impatiently for me to take out a bag of chocolate-covered popcorn. He eagerly ripped it open with his claws while Mudkip took a pair of bags of spicy fish and meat jerky, which Gurdurr also got.

Tyrunt handed Mimikyu some popcorn, getting multiple arms hugging around his head from the happy ghost-type, while Mudkip chewed on his own food as he sat on Tyrunt's back. Gurdurr idly chewed on a stick of spiced meat while looking around, his thoughts obviously on the next step.

"How is Slugma doing?" I asked Alakazam while everyone ate.

"She is on her way back."

"...Why do I feel like you're hiding something from me?"

"Paranoia is common among dimensional travelers."

"Okay, now you're just being-" before I could finish, Gurdurr looked over at Alakazam.

"Durr!"

"Hm. Yes, that would be best."

"A forge?" I asked, looking between them. "No, better yet, why do you want a room with an ACTIVE lava pool running in the back?"

"Gurdurr."

I took in that lengthy explanation before sighing. "All right then. Alakazam, let Slugma know where to go."

"Very well."

I looked over at him with narrowed eyes. Something had happened. And he didn't want to tell me. What had my tiny lava monster been up to?

Mudkip, Tyrunt, and Mimikyu stayed behind, eating happily, while Gurdurr, Alakazam, and I walked into a room that could have been considered the 'back' of the base. It was large, with a nice little ditch in the back of the room that was ringed in stones. The pool from the other room apparently extended into this room, because ocean water was filling towards our right. It looked great. But Gurdurr kept looking around at the place with disapproval. I knew why. I don't think I'd ever given him any freedom to just do all he wanted when building things. Now that he had free reign, all he wanted was to build and build until it was done. The Buildslayer.

...I might have been in need of some sleep if I was comparing Gurdurr's love of building to Doomslayer's love of killing demons. 

Before I could contemplate the weird places my thoughts took, a part of one of the walls began to glow red. As we waited, the small dot began to grow, pieces of the volcanic stone beginning to fall apart and drop. Once it was about two feet across, a small head popped out, a wave of heat following the magma that dripped out to become lava several feet away from us. I stepped back just a bit at the rise in temperature. Slugma looked around, blinking lazily. She smiled at the sight of us, looking more relaxed than she had in a long while. 

"Slugma!" she said to me.

"Good to see you, sweetie," I said, unable to keep a smile off my face at the lazy look of contentment she had on her face. "You look like you had a good time."

She nodded eagerly, coming from the tunnel she'd made. The lava dripped into the runoff ditch and began to pool there. 

"Gurdurr?" the fighting-type asked.

Slugma frowned, looking at the ditch, then at either side of it. After realizing what he meant, her eyes widened. "Slugma!"

Moving fast, she dived back into the hole of magma she'd made. A moment later, she came out from the ditch, followed by a torrent of lava. She went along the ditch and went into the other side of it.

Just like that, we had a river of lava going through the base.

"...OSHA is going to be pissed."

"Slugma!" she popped back up, swimming happily in the lava.

"Good job!"

At my praise, she wiggled happily in the lava.

"You are praising her too early," Alakazam thought. "Young one. Do you have what you entered the mountain for?"

Slugma nodded, and came to the edge of the lava river she'd made. From her chest, a few things began to leave her body. I watched in interest as a small handful of gems of various sizes and colors soon rested on the floor. Alakazam hummed at the sight of them, raising a hand. The gems rose up and floated over to him in his telekinetic grip. Even from where I was, I could feel the heat coming off of them.

"Great job!"

Slugma wiggled happily, while Alakazam gave me a look that I ignored.

"You see anything interesting while you were down there?"

"..."

Slugma slowly sank into the lava river.

"Slugma?" I asked, confused.

She disappeared under the red waves. 

"What the hell?" I turned to look at Alakazam, only to realize he'd disappeared. "Wha- Guys, are you kidding?" 

I looked at Gurdurr. He gave me a confused look. "You ever get the feeling… I don't know... that the secrets being kept from you aren't dangerous or bad, but just annoying?"

"Gurdurr," he said sympathetically.

"Good boy."

One and Half Weeks Later:

Gurdurr had been working almost constantly since the moment we got to digging out our new base. As had the rest of us. We spent a whole lot of time doing nothing but making a home for ourselves, working our butts off.

Well, I tried to. While I did my best to help, my best contribution was just being a human being. I could go out and purchase some essentials. Of course, being a teenager, there was only so much money I could spend without it being suspicious, even with my explanation of 'I'm a dumb tourist and my parents are super-rich idiots.' Still, better than Mimikyu trying to go shopping on her own, adorable as that would be.

It was nice that we got so much of the base cleaned up and ready to go. Of course, I hadn't been able to really buy beds and furniture, but people toss that stuff away all the time, so I was able to furnish the place a bit. It still looked like the cave version of the Ninja Turtles hideout, being very makeshift, but Gurdurr was working tirelessly to change that.

He'd have to keep at it. I had some work of my own to do.

------

In the kitchen, I sat at a beat-up old table I'd found at a garage sale, sitting on a chair made of milk crates tied together with zip-ties as I sipped at some water. I would have loved to have coffee, but if I wanted to attain my future height, I'd need to wait on that. Gurdurr was enjoying his coffee though, tipping the hardhat he'd gotten back as he looked down at some blueprints, stopping to jot down notes. Mudkip was chewing on some Flamin Hot Cheetos™, his new favorite snack, as he sat next to me. Mimikyu was sewing at a small table set up for her, using fabrics I'd bought to make something. Slugma was in the oven. Which was really just a small pool of lava in the corner that we used to cook in. 

Tyrunt was watching an old TV. I'd bought it and a DVD player while I'd been in a secondhand store, and found some DVDs. To my surprise, the Antonio Banderas Zorro movies were a thing in this world, and he was currently watching the suave swordsman in the black mask dance around a bunch of bad guys while making little growling 'swish, swish!' sounds. The power for it was coming from a generator in the corner of the kitchen, which was also giving energy to a tiny fridge I'd bought for perishables. It would do until we could get Alakazam's plans off the ground.

Which he was having problems with. "It's a simple matter of material. In order to make it, I will need more than just raw chunks of metal," Alakazam was flipping through a manual, frowning angrily at it. "Geothermal energy is simple in concept. Hot water, steam, turbine spinning connected to a generator. But everything else. Internet to conduct our research, resources to build with such as wires, circuit boards… We can make a lot of things. But such precise equipment is needed for all of this… How did this Batman that you spoke of make an entire cave full of technology twice as advanced as this in secret as just one man? Or did he hire and kill contractors to do it all?"

"Nah. He has a butler and more money than some small countries," I said pedantically. "Jokes aside, the Batcave is the product of years of constant work, upgrades, and later aid from trusted friends. So, you know. Us, but without millions of dollars."

"Mudkip," the small blue Pokemon said, looking over at a metal briefcase in the corner, then giving me a smirk.

"Don't be a smartass," I poked his nose, getting a chuckle from him. 

"Mahmou-" Alakazam was about to say before I raised a hand with a sigh.

"I get it. I get it. We need to do a lot more than just sit next to a volcano and work out," I looked over at the place where my weights rested. Granted, my 'weights' were chunks of metal Slugma had brought up and helped form into something with handles and holes in the right places, but they worked. "We'll need to make this island ours. Uh, metaphorically."

Tyrunt rose from the TV, turning it off. Mimikyu stopped sewing. The two of them came over to the table, and all my Pokemon watched me, Gurdurr placing his blueprints down.

"Alakazam, how many teleport points can you make in Hawaii?" I asked.

He closed his eyes. "...Provided that you can find somewhere that will not be disturbed or damaged in some way? I will have to see. We will have to go to those places however. And some may take longer than others."

"There's only one I want and need to be honest."

"Honolulu," Alakazam said. He nodded. "I suspected as much. You wish to begin an expedition to go there?"

"Yes. Ideally, we'd have a location on each island," I rubbed my chin. "In some ways, we lucked out with Hawaii. This place isn't some sort of deserted island, but we're far away from Gotham, Metropolis, or anywhere else that might have supers that might mess with us. If we set up a teleport zone in the right locations, we can move about the islands, grab resources, protect-" I cut myself off before continuing. "Well, the point is, we'll be able to get our goals done."

Mudkip puffed up his cheeks. Alakazam shook his head. Mimikyu and Tyrunt looked confused. I pushed on past my superhero-wanna-be friends with a grimace.

I got it. I believed it was right to protect people, sure. But I'd gone over the reasons why we COULDN'T do that multiple times. No matter what their, or my, thoughts were. For their safety.

"Okay, here's the plan. We need to start with Honolulu. Best way to get there from here is by plane. Alakazam?"

"Hilo International Airport. But you do not have a passport," he said. He didn't sound like he was reproaching me or thinking I hadn't remembered. Just thoughtful.

"I know. I'm only laying out our options," I leaned forward. "Options are sneaking on board somehow. Which, you know. I'm not about to become labeled as a stowaway. Or as a terrorist. Same reason we shouldn't steal a plane or helicopter. I'm tempted to simply place your Pokeball in a box and send it there. Have you open the ball yourself, find a place to make a teleport zone, then you just come here."

Alakazam blinked. "...While that is a simple answer-"

"Yeah, I don't want to leave you on your own while making one of the teleport zones," I said. Making one of those took a lot of concentration for him. While he could defend himself if need be, he was still much more vulnerable when he did something like that. And my Pokemon, while they could still handle things on their own, might need me for any of a different number of things. After all, I was still the expert on this universe, their trainer, and the guy who made the plans.

Doomsday falling out of the sky was still a viable threat in my mind. And before anyone thinks it's outlandish, think of the things that fall out of the sky to threaten heroes out of nowhere. There. You get me.

Regardless, none of us was leaving the base in anything but groups of two, and for a long trip, I'd want to take more than that. 

"Hilo International Airport is off the table… except for emergencies. I think we need to go shady and slow."

"Then who will go with you?"

"..." I looked over my Pokemon. "Ideally, Gurdurr would stay with a couple of you guys to continue his work on the base."

Gurdurr froze. For a moment, his face switched expressions quickly, wincing and frowning, as he placed a hand on his face. "...Gurdurr."

He sounded torn.

"I know bud. I want you to come too," I said. "But I need this base… Which means you need…" I looked over my Pokemon. "Tyrunt and Slugma."

"Tyrunt!?"

"Slug!?"

I winced at the growl of Tyrunt, and the Slugma's quivering lips. "I know guys, I know! But Tyrunt, you can help Gurdurr with the heavy lifting, and you've got the heat durability to help Slugma. You're IMPORTANT for this job. We need you here."

Tyrunt looked me over, eyes narrowed. After a while, he sighed out a roaring little noise but seemed satisfied. 

"And Slugma. While we've got all that money, I'd rather not spend thousands of dollars on things like metal, and the jewels you're bringing up will be a good way for us to get more cash if we end up needing it. Among the other useful stuff."

Slugma's quivering lip calmed down.

"Believe me, I want to take everyone. But we're running on an invisible clock of danger. We might be attacked now, or we might get attacked a year from now. So we need to as much as we can, as fast as we can… Gurdurr. You want to start building the lower levels, right?"

"Gurdurr."

"Then make a list of the stuff we'll need for it. We'll try to grab what we can in Honolulu. I don't want to steal stuff but… Well, we'll cross that bridge later. For now, let's just get there."

"Will we be taking the SUV?" Alakazam asked.

I winced. That thing was a giant damn anvil around my neck. I had to use it sometimes, but it was still risky as hell, driving something that had been owned by criminals and might have been reported as missing by now. "You know what. We'll take it into town. But when we get back. Tyrunt. Slugma," the two looked up at me. "I'm going to need you to eat a car.

Slugma smiled happily at the thought of a snack. Tyrunt grinned at the thought of breaking stuff.

"For now, I think we should get ready to find us a shady guy with a boat," I said while crossing my arms. "And if that's easy, I'll be very disappointed in Hawaii."

Mudkip chuckled under his breath.