"Any sign of anyone?"
Crimson watched Sarik analyze, the lower the Power Scope. "Nope. No sign of anyone."
"This is bunk," Tag walked up to Crimson. "Why are we moving so slow?"
"Because this isn't normal," Crimson responded, looking around at the rest of the group. "I have no idea where we are, but it's certainly not the Isle. So I don't know who or what we're going to encounter. And if we do have to fight, I want to be ready for it. Wouldn't you all?" Sarik, Pert, and Meryl nodded their heads. Tag sighed.
"Okay, I guess so," Tag answered.
"Do you think the rest of the Guild know where we are?" Sarik asked, uncertainty filling his voice. Sarik went back to looking through the Power Scope as they trekked.
Crimson thought for a moment. "I don't know, but we did tell them where we were heading. Seema will send a rescue party, don't worry. For now, we have to focus on getting back."
"Well I hope that it's not Dooma and his group," Meryl muttered. "They'll probably brag about it."
"Wait, hold on," Sarik stopped the group. Crimson made a motion for them to stay here and went up to where Sarik was. "What's up?"
"Group of six humans, up ahead," Sarik reported, keeping his Power Scope trained up ahead. Luckily for Crimson's group, the five were out of sight. "And they look gritty."
"Hmm..." Crimson looked around at the rest of the group, then back in the direction of the humans. "What are they doing?"
"It appears they're having an altercation of some sort," Sarik responded. "The entire group is tense. They have tech that I've never seen or begun to contemplate before. And they have a LOT of it."
"What?" Crimson motioned for the Power Scope so that he could see. Sarik gave it to him. Tag, Pert, and Meryl approached, but slowly. "What's going on?" Tag called out. "You guys okay?"
"Yeah, we're fine," Crimson called back and examined the group. Sure enough, the amount of tech he could see on them was immeasurable. He wanted to learn all of it. "So, any plan of action?"
"I say we stay out of it," Sarik immediately retorted. "It's not our fight. We shouldn't get involved."
Crimson lifted a brow. "Come on now. We've been in the same group for this long and you think that I'm gonna let this opportunity go? We could learn from that batch of tech they have there."
Sarik shook his head. "I'm as curious about it as you are, but we don't know what it does. For all we know, it could be some extremely advanced Pokeball thing. I am NOT becoming a slave, I promise you that. It's not worth the risk of the group's safety."
Crimson pondered the thought for a moment. "You're right. It's not worth losing the entire group over. So you guys stay behind and hidden. I'll give you the signal if I need your help. I'm going to at least give it a shot."
"Crimson..." Sarik started.
"Don't worry," he reassured. "I can handle it. It's not like I haven't done something like this before. It just takes a little elusiveness." He winked at Sarik and turned to the rest. "Stay hidden for a little while. I'll be back soon."
With that, he tapped into the shaded region of his mind and transformed. Suddenly, his fur was black, his fire-lit tail becoming sleek and whip-like. His eyes were a dark gray, thank goodness. He didn't want them to turn red again.
"Do any of you have a PT, just in case I need to talk to them?" Crimson asked. The group shook their heads. "Alright, then I'm off."
"Go get 'em!" Pert called as Crimson left. Crimson smiled. Never can get used to that optimism, he thought.
Tag, Sarik, Pert, and Meryl left the path and went into the trees, hidden from view. Sarik still had his Power Scope on the group. Crimson also stayed in the trees, using his fur and the shadows to keep hidden. As he approached the group, he could hear the voices.