Nothing else to say, but here's the next chapter. Sorry its short… Thanks to those who reviewed, fav'd or alerted.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

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Failed Rescue

Lashing of a whip against exposed skin… Agonizing cries of pain… Cruel, heartless laughter…

These noises echoed all around Lucas and all he could do was watch. Damion's beaten, bruised, and bloodied body lay limp on the dirty cell floor, Team Galactic Grunts surrounding him. Lucas called out to him, but it was like he was invisible. No one could see him, no one could hear him… And no one could save Damion.

Suddenly, the scene swirled before him and vanished, only to reappear a moment later. Now, Lucas and Damion were wrapped in one another's' arms, shirtless. Lucas blushed furiously as Damion opened his amber eyes and stared at him lovingly. His body was free of all the cuts and bruises that had been inflicted earlier.

"Thanks for saving me Lucas." He placed his lips on Lucas' gently, and everything seemed to melt away…

Lucas awoke with a start, body coated with sweat, breathing ragged. His face was flushed and he was feeling an odd sense of arousal… He blushed even more, recalling his dream from just a moment prior… Just normal teenage hormones, right?

Then it hit him. Lucas was in his own room, sunlight just beginning to creep through the half-closed blinds. Tossing the covers off himself, Lucas proceeded to hop in the shower before getting ready. A cold shower was just what he needed to clear his mind and focus…

He barely remembered what happened after he found Professor Rowan and heard the news about Damion… All he knew was that he needed a plan. He needed to save him.

Lucas threw on his clothes and placing his trademark beret atop his crop of disheveled hair before running out of him home and dashing to Sandgem Town. It was still very early in the morning, the sun just beginning to rise. Everything was bathed in a soft, comforting glow, but not even this could console Lucas' restless soul.

Professor Rowan was already in the Lab when Lucas arrived, seemingly wide-awake.

"Ah, Lucas," he said, a solemn undertone discernable in his voice. "I didn't even have to send Dawn out to fetch you." The old man's attempt to lighten the heavy gloom was futile.

As though she was being summoned, the door to the lab opened once more and Dawn stumbled in, rubbing her still bleary eyes. She appeared as though she had a worse night than Lucas…

"Good to see you two here so bright and early. As you may know…"

"What happened?!" Lucas interjected. "Damion – we need to rescue him!"

Rowan stood patiently listening before speaking. "That is why I called you here. I know both of you are extremely capable Trainers but I feel this mission is too dangerous. Team Galactic has become more rogue than ever, even causing physical harm to other human beings. I believe we need police intervention."

"I think that's a good idea Professor. The Sinnoh police should be able to take care of Team Galactic easily," Dawn said sleepily.

"The police?!" Lucas exclaimed. "They haven't been able to do anything about Team Galactic before; what makes you think they can do anything now?"

"You should trust in them Lucas…" Professor Rowan said slowly.

"Dawn and I have taken care of them before! I know we can take them down now!"

The blue haired girl placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He shot her a look, clearly upset she was taking Rowan's side. Forcefully breaking the contact, Lucas stood away from them defensively, glaring.

"If you guys aren't gonna do anything, I'll do it myself!"

Without heeding their cries of protest, Lucas stormed out of the Research Laboratory, heart set on heading to Team Galactic's Base. Professor Rowan and Dawn could only watch him depart with concern.

"Professor, should I -?" Dawn began.

He shook his head sadly. "No. This is a decision that Lucas has made on his own. I'm sure he wouldn't want us interfering. Plus…"

"…He cares about Damion more than we could ever understand," Dawn finished.

"Correct."

The both stepped outside, watching the silhouette of a Staraptor growing smaller and smaller as it flew into the distance…

XXX

The great, gray building loomed before him, the menacing spikes jutting out from the sides, filled him with an uneasy sense of foreboding. Truth be told, Lucas didn't have a plan in mind. He believed he could simply storm into the Headquarters, kick a few Grunts' asses and save Damion. Although things rarely went according to the (practically non-existent) plan…

Still, Damion was somewhere in the building, just waiting for Lucas to swoop in and rescue him. Or possibly even break out himself. Damion wasn't one to just sit and wait around. Hopefully though, the teen was all right…

Taking a deep breath, Lucas strode into the office. The "secretary" of the "Galactic Corporation" eyed him warily, but said nothing. Lucas supposed she wasn't informed that he was a threat to Team Galactic, but he wasn't going to complain; it just made his job easier. All he could do now was wander, avoid any suspicion, and find Damion.

Although Lucas was completely unaware that his every move was being carefully monitored…

Commander Jupiter gritted her teeth, a clear look of annoyance flashing across her face. "I should've known that keeping the brat would draw more… Like flies to honey."

"Well," Saturn began, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "We could always dispose of him now, so we have less to worry about later."

"Have fun with that," Jupiter replied, yawning. "I already had to deal with the other one. Pathetic wimp… I say Mars does it."

"Okay!" the red head piped up cheerfully. "I'll make sure he sees his friend!" As innocent as her words seemed, there was a dark undertone to them. Her crimson eyes glinted – was it cruelty? Excitement? Still, a malicious grin appeared on Mars' face as she skipped out of the monitoring room, in search of the intruder.

XXX

Having dispatched most of the Grunts he had encountered, Lucas was now aimlessly wandering the Headquarters. The warp panels were throwing him off, as well as the numerous dead ends. Team Galactic must have kept their prison cells very well protected for them to be this hard to find…

Lucas had just stumbled into Team Galactic's kitchen at the same moment his stomach grumbled loudly. 'Right,' he thought. 'I was too pissed to eat breakfast this morning…' He cautiously opened the fridge in hopes of finding something edible. Hey, what was the harm in stealing from bad guys anyway?

To Lucas' pleasant surprise, the refrigerator, as well as the pantry next to it, were stocked full of snacks and drinks. His eyes lit up in pure joy. Without thinking, Lucas began to pile good into his mouth and arms, briefly forgetting about the mission at hand. Hunger could do those sorts of things to you… When he was content, he turned and shut the fridge door with his foot, but not before pilfering some extra food. Damion was probably starving at the moment…

Shoving a cookie into his mouth, Lucas began to leave the kitchen, stomach full and mind focused. That was until he was stopped by something soft…and warm… Lucas felt the heat rise in this face as he dropped the food and looked straight up at the face of a young redheaded woman.

She smirked deviously. "Well aren't you the cute little Trainer!"

Lucas fell backwards, blushing furiously at the bouncing movements of the breasts his face was just buried in. It took him a moment to regain his composure, and then he stood up, anger restored.

The woman's crimson eyes flashed dangerously as she saw the food discarded on the floor. "You ate my food?!" she roared. "Do you know what I had to go through to get that?! You're gonna pay for this you little brat!"

Without another word, she whipped out two Pokeballs and a pair of Golbat materialized, bathed in white light. The hissed and screeched, tongues lolling out of their mouths, dripping with salvia.

"Infernape, go!" Lucas yelled, sending out his own Pokemon.

Lucas' fire monkey appeared out of its Pokeball, only to be ambushed by the Golbat. Infernape swat at them with flaming fists, but to no avail. With Infernape out of the way, the Bat Pokemon went for the defenseless Lucas, showing no mercy. They swooped down on him, fangs sinking deep into his flesh.

Lucas felt himself becoming dizzy and light-headed as the blood was quickly drained out of him. The Golbat released him, blood dripping from the razor-sharp fangs. The corners' of Lucas' vision began to blur and the darkness closed in. The last thing he saw was Mars, standing over him grinning, before blacking out completely.

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Oh dear, cliffhanger! And I'm not exactly sure when the next update will be… Unfortunately, I lost all the inspiration I had and do not like this fic all that much anymore. I'll probably end up rewriting it…

Though I still would appreciate any reviews!