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They shouldn't have left Katarina.

The Z Team had taken to wandering the wilderness once more. Zinnia had thought that they knew what they were getting into; after training in the stadium for so long, her team was more than enough for any aggressive wild pokemon they might encounter. The money that she'd earned allowed them to bring plenty of supplies for the long journey. And, even if those ran out, the Z Team already knew how to live off the land alone because of their jaunt fleeing from the clutches of Team Rocket.

She thought that they were prepared.... but they weren't. Not for this.

"Zyk..." Zinnia murmured to the zubat in her arms. "How are you feeling?"

Zyk didn't respond; it hurt to much to move, or to speak. His breaths came in shallow pants, each sending a jolt of pain through his body. He had grown steadily worse over the past week; something was terribly wrong.

Tears came to Zinnia's eyes. Was Zyk going to... die? He was her first pokemon... They'd been through so much together. She couldn't afford to lose him. Not now.

"Go!" She shouted at her other pokemon. Fear, desperation, and knowledge that her friend was suffering and there was absolutely nothing she could do left her feeling angry. "Dreydonna, Zebo, Zarya! Go find berries-- something-- anything! I need to heal him!" She glared at her pokemon until they slunk off, one by one; even Dreydonna was not up to her usual tricks. They all felt the oppressive force of the knowledge that Zyk might not get better.

Soon, Zinnia was left with Zyk and Shadow Mew. Zinnia's determination to keep up appearances broke; she began to cry. "Shadow..." she whispered brokenly between sobs, "Can you teleport us back to the pokemon center?"

Shadow replied as gently as she could.

"'Near' isn't good enough!" Zinnia exclaimed. She saw Zyk flinch and attempted to lower her voice to save the sick zubat's sensitive ears. "We-- we need a professional healer. Where... where is Hartless? Or Heal?"



Zinnia gulped. "Let's go to Motterossa then... As soon as we can. I don't know how much time he..." Zinnia trailed off, sniffing loudly as she looked down at her beloved pokemon. "Take us there, now!"

Shadow responded. She knew that the others would be angry at Zinnia for abandoning them, but the young teen was not in a good state of mind in any case; there would be no reasoning with her until Zyk was healed. The rest of the team would forgive her, in time. A few seconds passed, and the trio suddenly blipped away from the clearing.

Shadow and Zinnia, still holding Zyk, reappeared in the outskirts of Motterossa. It was silent outside the sleepy city.

"Please help!" Zinnia's voice cut through the still air. "Please, my pokemon is sick! We need help!"

Zinnia started walking quickly toward the city, sucking in breath in preparation for another shout, but Shadow Mew quickly darted in front of her, jerking the girl to a stop.

Shadow said.

Zinnia's eyes widened as Satori and Walpurgis came into view. She rocked on her heels, her eyes darting from Shadow to Walpurgis, but finally she dodged around the mew and ran the rest of the way to Walpurgis.

"Please help me," she gasped breathlessly. "He's going to... He might... Please..." She gently lifted Zyk away from her chest, and the zubat's plight was plain to see. "I don't know what's wrong!" Zinnia said, fresh tears gathering in her eyes. "He hasn't been battling! He just got sick... Do you know a healer?"

Shadow Mew still floated behind Zinnia. As the trainer made her speech, the mew's bright purple eyes locked onto Walpurgis's face. She waited, wondering what he would do. Walpurgis had already shown his skill as a trainer, and his pokemon were powerful. It would be very difficult for her to protect both Zinnia and Zyk if things went sour. Just how badly did this Rocket want to complete his mission?

"Thank you!" Zinnia said, hurrying to keep pace with Walpurgis. She didn't feel relieved; not yet. She knew that Walpurgis was dangerous, but Zyk was her main concern. She would finally be able to relax once she knew that he would recover.

Shadow stuck close behind Zinnia, still wary of Walpurgis and Satori. It seemed that he truly was going to help them... but why? Could it be that their pursuers were merciful? It seemed much more likely that Walpurgis was leading them somewhere where he would have the upper hand; an ambush, perhaps? She readied herself to teleport Zinnia to safety, just in case. She hoped that it wouldn't come to that, however; Zyk needed medical attention right away, and it wore on the mew to teleport other people too often.

Zyk had recognized Walpurgis's voice. He wanted to warn Zinnia that there was an enemy close by, but he couldn't seem to find his voice. His tiny chest rose and fell with each shallow breath, and his whole body seemed to ache. Sharp pains lanced through his abdomen, and all he could seem to manage was to curl into a fetal position, one claw lightly clutching Zinnia's T-shirt.

"Nothing!" Zinnia exclaimed, following Walpurgis into the cabin without hesitation. "We've been traveling up here from Katarina. We had a few battles with wild pokemon, but nothing serious! About a week ago, I noticed that Zyk seemed kind of tired, so I stopped letting him battle at all. But he just got worse and worse... He stopped eating a couple days ago, and starting last night he couldn't even move." Her voice broke on the last word, and she couldn't continue.

The dark mew was slower in entering the cabin, but there didn't seem to be a place for more Rockets to leap out from. She felt uneasy that both Satori and Gangrel were now out of sight, but she kept watch on Walpurgis. She didn't think that his pokemon would act without his command. They'd overcome her once before, and she didn't care to repeat the experience.

Zinnia regathered the zubat in her arms as smoothly as she could, but she knew that even the tiniest jostle sent pain lancing through Zyk's body. She gently removed the claw that was curled into her shirt and placed him on the table. The zubat began to shiver and tried to move when he suddenly found himself alone on an unfamiliar surface. Without the strength to even use his echolocation, he was truly blind and helpless.

"Shhh, don't move," Zinnia murmured, gently stroking the small pokemon's head. "I'm right here... You're going to be fine..."

Shadow said to the zubat. That seemed to calm Zyk more than anything else, and he gave up his attempts to move. He hated being so vulnerable. Once again, Zinnia was saving him, when it should have been the other way around. At least Shadow was there. The legendary mew was probably the most reliable person on the team; if she couldn't keep Zinnia safe, no one could.

If Zyk were just a bit stronger, he could have been the most reliable pokemon... That was one of his biggest regrets. But in his current state, a magikarp could defeat him.

Zyk bared his teeth as fingers he did not know touched him. The pressure from Walpurgis's fingers was uncomfortable, but nothing compared to how it felt when he pressed on Zyk's stomach. His wings smacked loudly against the table, but he wasn't going anywhere. He lay still with his wings unfurled and droplets of poison gathering like dew on the ends of his fangs.

"Nothing," Zinnia said. Her voice was a bit higher-pitched than normal, and the stress was clear in her face. She was watching Zyk intently, but-- despite Walpurgis's words-- she trusted her former partner. She had no other choice.

Zyk feebly tried to fight against Walpurgis, but after a few moments he realized, with great relief, that the pain had faded away completely. An instant later, he realized that he still could not move; his limbs would not obey him. Panic threatened to grip him. What was going on? What was happening to him? Desperate to know more, he managed to give a few squeaks. The sound bounced off of Walpurgis and Zinnia and Zyk got a brief glimpse of the scene unfolding around him. If he could only move, he would poison Walpurgis with a bite, take Zinnia, and escape... Why didn't Zinnia stop Walpurgis from paralyzing him?

"What is that? Is it going to save him?" Zinnia asked, hovering anxiously. "Do you know what's wrong with him?"

Shadow sensed Zyk's distress. She wished that she could console him, but she had no promises to make.

Zinnia's eyes widened at the sight of the scalpel. "NO!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands protectively above Zyk's body. "You're trying to kill him, aren't you?!"

Shadow Mew came closer in case she had to intervene. She understood better than Zinnia what Walpurgis was planning, but she did not like the prospect of it any more than the blue-haired trainer. She did not want to see her teammate cut open, but she did not know whether there was any other way to remove the foreign object inside Zyk. Still... Did Walpurgis have the knowledge for this operation? Even if he really was a healer, there was no way to know how well he knew his way around a zubat's anatomy.

Zyk had no idea what was going on. His heart beat faster as panic gripped him. Was Walpurgis really going to kill him? Bad enough that the Rocket would want to defeat him in battle and kidnap Shadow-- but he would kill, too? He gave a few more squeaks, but all he could "see" were Zinnia's hands.

Shadow's mind raced. She did not know how quickly Zyk's condition would deteriorate; he could have a few days, or a matter of hours, left to live. The sooner they acted, the better his chances were to pull through.

The mew flew over the table until she was face to face with Walpurgis, their eyes locked. She spoke to his mind alone, so that Zinnia would not hear. she asked. Her eyes narrowed. She did not know how seriously Walpurgis would take her threat, but it was all she could do for her friend.