Chapter 3: Kadelast Region: Chapter 2

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

I can't fully express how much joy I feel from seeing my little ember enjoying herself. It's also nice to see the Litleo accepting her as part of the pride. I couldn't help myself from giggling at the sight of the bold Litleo challenging what they couldn't only perceive as their older sibling, to a "fight". Though it's during these times that I'm glad that Amber inherited the family's fire resistance. Young Litleos tend to have trouble controlling the heat of their flames when they're so young, I've seen people get burned because the cubs didn't know that not everyone is fire-resistant. However, seeing Hawk patiently waiting to talk to me made me realize I shouldn't keep him waiting for too long.

"What do you need Hawk?" I asked while still watching Amber chase after the Litleo.

"A representative of Conkeldurr Constructions is asking for help with several mission person cases." I turned to him with a brow raised.

"Serval cases? Like plural, meaning multiple people are missing?" He nodded. "I think you will need to give me a full explanation on this, don't hold back any information."

"Conkeldurr Construction's HM01 division finally managed to convince the mayor to allow them to cut the trees in the Eternal forest. From what I can gather, they augured that the city can save time and money if they can gather their wood near the city instead of importing it.  They started their cutting operation two weeks ago, however, yesterday morning every lumberjack disappeared. Conkeldurr Construction's asked for you specifically to help, and the League agreed" 

"THOSE F^*KERS! They just couldn't accept that I won't let them use my pokemon to chase away any wild pokemon that might not appreciate their homes being cut down. I rent out my Fire Pokemon for cheap to help more people and allow them to go out of the city more often. Not so some greedy corporation can save money when they chase away pokemon living in forests!" Realizing what I just shouted, I quickly turned to look at Amber. And sighed in relief seeing that she was fast asleep. After taking a  couple of deep breaths, I turned to face Hawk once more. "Why did the League agree to send me? The Eternal forest might have lots of Bug and Grass types, but the real danger is the Ghost types that make the forest their home. Hell, I don't even have any Fire/Ghost Pokemon like Chandelure! Wouldn't it have been better to have someone like Virgil help instead?"

"I was told that there are three reasons why they agreed to have you take care of this. The first reason is that Conkeldurr Constructions don't want this incident to go public, and having to fly someone like Virgil here risks people finding out about this. Second, you are already here, meaning that the search can start earlier increasing the chances of the missing people being found alive. Lastly, if all else fails, it won't be hard for you to make a clearing so I can grab you from the sky." Pinching the bridge of my nose, I sigh.

"What about the rest, I doubt it was just lumberjacks involved in this operation."

"The rest of the workers are accounted for and are waiting for us at the site."

"I see, well I'll meet you at the forest tomorrow morning." He tilted his head before glancing his head toward Amber.

"Really? I thought it would take you longer to prepare, especially with what to do with your daughter. Last I heard your husband won't be home until Monday." I rolled my eyes at him.

"Duh, I'm bringing her along. I can't leave her at home alone, and I bet she will love the fresh air and new sights."

"You sure it is wise to bring her along?"

"Tomorrow is the weekend so she won't be missing any school. Also, I'm confident that my little ember can take care of herself, and it's not like she will be alone. You said that not all workers are gone, so I'll leave her with them for the time being. It's not like they can continue this operation while there is still a risk of them disappearing. Now if you can excuse me, I need to take my little ember to bed. Also next time you can just call me, you do have my number."

"I would have flown here anyways, so this is more convenient for me." I couldn't help myself from sighing.

"Just call me next time."

--Amber Pov--

Going along with my mom who is going out to investigate the disappearance of several people isn't how I expected to spend my weekend. But the thought of going out of the city and having a chance to explore new sights did certainly wake me up in the morning. So here I am, wide awake in the back of my mom's car with a backpack full of food and other supplies. Imagining what a place called Eternal forest could look like. Eternal forest isn't a place I can recall, but at this point, I've accepted the fact that a large chunk of the memories is plain useless. 

After an hour's drive where I chatted with my mom about random things like if I'm enjoying school, we finally arrived at our destination. An area in front of the forest where the workers stay during the night. Walking towards the area with the worker's trailers, I saw the same man that wanted to talk to my mom yesterday. The man is talking to who I can only guess is the manager of the mission workers, with a few other adults occasionally saying something. Once we got close enough, the group noticed us and the white-haired man greeted us.

"Phoenix you got here earlier than I expected." Mom nodded toward the man.

"It's like what you said yesterday, Hawk. The longer we take, the lower the chances that we can find the mission workers get." The man that I now know is Hawk nodded and then motioned to a man in red.

"This is Ben, he is a Ranger who agreed to help us with this investigation." Mom greeted the Ranger.

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"So did you learn anything that can help us with the investigation?"

"There are signs of a struggle where they disappeared, and the workers fighting type pokemon were unable to fend off the attackers. So I'm guessing a more physical ghost pokemon. "

"I see," Mom turned to face the group of workers. "Did any of you notice anything strange occurring before the group disappeared?" The group looked at each other before a lady with short brown hair spoke up.

"Some of the logs we gathered went missing, and the trees that were being cut have been healed."

"I see, I think I know what we are dealing with. Hawk, you should tag along, if I'm right then you'll be a big help in this. Also with you there with me, I might not have to burn down a large chunk of the forest." Hawk nodded before walking towards the entrance of the forest with the Ranger following close by. While mom turned and crouched down to my eye level. "Mom will be gone for a bit, be a good girl and wait for me." She kissed me on the forehead. "See you soon my little ember." Mom stood up and faced the manager(?) who nodded and called over the same lady from earlier.

"Know be a good girl and go with."

"Kate."

"Go with Kate, and don't cause too much trouble for her." After waving my mom goodbye, I turned to Kate who smiled at me.

"Hello, young lady, you want to see something pretty?" I nodded and followed her to a small area full of flowers. Kate sat down and patted the ground next to her. After placing my bag down, I sat down next to her and started plucking flowers as we chatted.

"So Ember what's your favourite pokemon type?" 

"It's Amber, with an A. Also, I'm not sure, I only really met fire and water pokemon. So I can't say what pokemon type I prefer without meeting them all."

"That's uh, a pretty mature answer, and sorry Amber. I heard your mom calling you ember and thought that was your name." I shrugged.

"Mom told me she calls me that because she knows I'll one day shine bright like a roaring fire." As I talked I started to tie the flowers together. "While dad told me that she wanted to name me Ember, but he argued naming me that will put too much pressure on me to be a fire-type trainer. So in the end they agreed to name me Amber because it sounds like Ember and it's the same name as my grandmother."

"That's, um, nice?"

"It's not like it's a bad name, and it's funny hearing kids from my school betting that my first pokemon will be an Aerodactyl because of my name." 

"Kids your age make bets?" I nodded.

"Mostly on snacks and trading cards. Most of the bets are usually on which pokemon some kids will get as their first one. Because my mom and dad are pretty well known, and each of them specializes in a different type. Kids started betting if my first pokemon will be a Water-type or a Fire-type, with a third group betting on it being an Aerodactyl." A chuckle a little seeing her confused expression. " Here you go." I handed her the flower braided bracelet, which she accepted with a smile. After an hour of talking, Kate sent out her Machoke so that I can meet him. And after a few minutes of pleading, I managed to convince them to let me ride on Machoke's shoulders.

"I'M THE EMPRESS OF THE WORLD!" I shouted as sat on Machoke's shoulder, causing both Machoke and Kate to laugh at my antics.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

"Mac, mac Machoke." Kat rolled her eyes.

"Yea I know you're doing all the work, I'm not trying to take any credit." Machoke beamed. "Now how about we go eat some l-" Kate was interrupted by the sounds of shouting and what sound like a car being crushed. We all turned toward where the sounds came from, with Kate noticing something as she told Machoke to put me down. "Amber stay here and try not to be seen," Kate said before she along with Machoke ran back to help the rest of the workers fend off whatever is attacking them. 

I stayed low to the ground with my bag next to me, looking out for any potential attackers. I wasn't sure what I was hiding from, but it's a safe bet that whoever took the lumberjacks wasn't satisfied with their first kidnapping. However, I noticed something small peeking out from behind a tree near the edge of the forest. Overcome by curiosity I decided to check it out, and maybe find out what could be taking the workers. After making sure the coast was clear, I carefully made my way toward the forest. 

Once I got close enough, it became clear what pokemon was nervously peeking from the tree. The pokemon spotted me and quickly hid behind the tree. "Hey don't be afraid, I'm not here to hurt you." The pokemon peeked out, and after seeing I was alone moved out from behind the tree. "Hello, little guy. Are you alone?" They shook their head, before pausing and then started shaking their head. "I'm glad to hear that, but you should probably go back to your friends or family. It's quite dangerous to be here right now." Looking at them I suddenly had the urge to do something. "Um, can I pet you?" They tilted their head, before nodding as I stepped close enough to pet their head. "This is nice, you know you're the first-" Before I can finish the sentence I felt something wrap around my ankles, and before I know it I was dragged into the darkness of the forest.