WARNING: EXTREMELY LONG CHAPTER. :3
    Also: If you were wondering, Shadow's mom is named Zen.

    Julie POV

Britney, Ben, and I quickly came up with a plan. The other human prisoners were begging for us to release them with Britney's genius life-saving bobby pins (what would we do without them?). So we came up with a plan.

    Ben would stand guard by the door, and if he heard someone coming, we would all jump back in position and pretended we were in those miserable chains. While he was doing so, Britney and I would be unlocking everyone else. When Ben called that the coast was clear, the others would leave in groups of three or four. It was an interesting process- one boy had a leather jacket and a black fedora, which easily helped us disguise ourselves as Liana's workers. One person in each group would wear the jacket and the fedora, so if somebody happened to question them, they would respond with, "Liana ordered me to escort these prisoners. Don't question her." Then that person would run back after the group escaped, and the next group would go with the leather jacket and fedora.

    Until finally, only Britney, Ben, and I were left. We stood awkwardly together in the room. I had already explained to Ben that his Pokemon were okay, and also decided to tell them about the bracelet I no longer had. They had been surprised, especially Britney, when I told her about when Sapling kidnapped me.

    "Jerk," she murmured. I tried to ignore how much Britney had matured since I had last seen her.

    The last time I had seen her was half a year ago- we were the ages we were now, me fourteen, her sixteen. She was immature, rude, oblivious to everything around her. Now... She was serious and thoughtful. I suppose she was still a bit sensitive.

    It was... strange. It felt like I was looking at a different person other than my sister.

    And Ben. I've never seen him before, but I've heard enough about him from Dare, Shadow, Sapphire, and Aurora. He seemed a lot like what his team had explained- thoughtful, serious, but a lot more trusting and calm than Britney. Ben definitely was somebody to team up with.

    "Okay," I said testily. "Ready to go?"

    The fedora and the jacket lay forgotten on the ground. Ben picked them up and put them on, lowering the fedora to look dangerous. "I'm ready," came his muffled voice.

I nodded approvingly, and the three of us left the room.

Our timing was awful.

The second we stepped outside, an enormous crowd of Liana's henchmen stormed past us. One shoved Britney out of his way, and I caught her before she hit the ground. "Thanks," she mumbled.

A few frowned and Britney and I, but noticed Ben, who was holding our hands (in a, you know, guard way!) and quickly darted away.

We started to leave, but I heard one of them say, "I can't believe it- Liana-" his voice was muffled, but I distinctly heard him exclaim, "...bracelet!"

I froze, and Ben and Britney gave me nervous looks.

"Did you hear-?" I started.

"Yeah," Britney replied in a whisper. "But we probably shouldn't-"

"We might be able to get my bracelet back!" I argued.

"But-"

I gave Britney a look. "How about this- we get to the exit, then I take the jacket and fedora, and I get my bracelet back."

"I-" Ben started, but he must have realized I wasn't going to take no for an answer, so he said, "Alright."

Ignoring Britney's shocked look, Ben and I darted to the exit. Britney followed wearily.

We got to the big, scary tunnel, and Ben handed over the fedora and the jacket. "Good luck," he said nervously.

"And don't get caught," Britney added firmly.

"I won't," I promised, throwing on the leather and the hat. I took off, finally making out that big group of workers. I ran over and followed closely behind them, trying to blend in. Luckily, nobody noticed that I didn't have a white Pokeball symbol on my jacket.

Then they all stopped in front of a large silvery-black door. "Are we allowed to enter?" Someone asked nervously.

"I'll enter," someone cried, swinging open the door with an ominous creak.

"Me too!" Another agreed.

"Me too," I called. Nobody gave me a second look as I followed them through the door.

Liana's room was big. It was a large, gray cave, maybe thirty feet by thirty feet. A purple, circular rug lay in the middle of the floor. Other than the rug and a brown door in the corner, the room was empty. I assumed Liana's real headquarters was behind that room.

    The brown door slowly creaked open, and Liana walked out.

    I suddenly realized that I had never seen her before, yet I still knew so much about her. She was just as my Pokemon friends described. She looked to be in her mid 20's, with a pale face, striking blue eyes, and long braided red hair. She was wearing a sleek black and white uniform, a lot nicer than the workers. It consisted of black pants, a black shirt, and what looked like a leather jacket with white designs on it. There was no mistaking the large, round Pokeball symbol.

    "Mack," she said coolly, nodding to a man with brown hair. Her voice was swift. "And Kaleb," she addressed the second man.

    Then she turned to me, fixing me with her blue eyes. She studied the blank leather jacket I was wearing, and a feeling of dread swept through me. "What... Are you wearing?" She asked, surprise creeping into her voice. She glared at me.

    "Umm," I mumbled. I was an idiot. Liana was easily going to realize I wasn't one of her workers. And why were her eyes so freaking scary?

    Liana stepped towards me, and I backed up. "I don't recognize you," she said coolly.

    Suddenly the front doors swing open, the ones we entered from. To my shock, Professor Sapling came running in, panting and holding a battered looking box.

    "Sorry, Liana," he panted. Mack and Kaleb both tensed up when he addressed her. "I'm late."

    "I know that," Liana snapped, turning to him. "And what did I tell you about manners?"

    Sapling blinked in confusion. "What? Oh- right, sorry, ma'am."

    Liana exhaled. "You're useless." Then she turned back to me. "Who are you?" She asked dangerously.

    "Hey- Hey!" Sapling exclaimed, and my heart seemed to stop beating. "Is that- that isn't-"

    I wanted to kick him so hard.

    "Julie?" He cried. He tightened the hold on the box, and I had an idea of what might be inside. If I could just grab the box...

    "Hi, Professor," I snarled, staring at him with loathing. Sapling shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "I would appreciate my bracelet back," I said, not even caring what Liana would think anymore. I'm already in enough trouble.

    "Uh," Sapling stammered. It was his turn to be uncomfortable.

    "Julie?" Liana said sharply. "There is nobody working here named Julie. Who are you?" She stepped closer to me, and I backed into the wall. "And how did you know about the bracelet?"

    "What bracelet?" Kaleb asked.

    "Shut up," Liana hissed.

    "It's my bracelet!" I snapped. "And it's in that box!"

    The color drained from Sapling's face.

    "Just give me the bracelet," Liana grumbled, snatching the box from Sapling. I watched angrily as she opened the box and pulled out the bracelet of brown beads.

    As she slipped it on her wrist, I yelled, "No!"

    Liana glared at me. "You're really annoying," she told me. "Are you wondering why I'm not locking you up?"

    In fact, I was. I didn't answer.

    "Because," she continued, "you don't seem like kind of person who would run right now. And if you did, that would be really stupid." She studied me with an unreadable expression on her face. Then she raised her wrist. "Time to test the bracelet and see if Sapling is telling the truth."

    Suddenly the front doors swung open and two men rushed inside. Each of them were struggling with holding a screeching Zoroark in nets. The first Zoroark was missing fur and had scars all over him. And the second one... She had Shadow's violet eyes.

    "So it does work," Liana said quietly, looking at the bracelet in surprise. "Open the nets," she called to the men, and they did so without question.

    The Zoroarks barreled out of the nets, roaring and screeching at everything.

    "Shut up!" Liana snapped, and the Zoroarks must have sensed the authority in her voice, so they froze, but still glared at everyone. "My name is Liana," she continued calmly. "I can understand Pokemon. Do tell me your names."

    ".........Zor-Zoroark."

    "Zits and Zen. I see," Liana said.

    She started up a conversation. Sapling, the men, and I were all standing, glancing around awkwardly.

    After a few minutes, in which Liana spoke in a persuasive voice, and the Zoroarks had completely calmed down, Liana declared to everyone, "Alright! We have sided with... What was it?... The Shadow Tribe!"

    What?

    "They are angered with a couple of Pokemon, which include the Espeon and the Zorua that escaped from us. Not to worry, I have Zekrom himself looking for them now," she told the Zoroarks.

    The Zoroarks glanced at each other and sniggered.

    Wait, what? Zekrom?!

    This is not good. At all.

    "Now, you," Liana said, turning to me once more. "I know how to deal with you."

    She pulled out a Master Ball and opened it.