Julie POV

As I stood in front of Professor Sapling's lab, I wondered what he was going to say. Would he be mad at me? Well, obviously... Of course he would. He spent a long time making that translator...

I opened the door.

"Professor Sapling," I called.

The gray-haired man was hunched over his desk. He jumped when I walked in, snapping his head up. His eyes widened.

"O-Oh!" he said. "Julie? Why... Why are you here?"

I shuffled my feet. "P-Professor," I said, breathing heavily. Just say it. "I- I-" Why can't I say it?

Professor Sapling stood up. "What's wrong?" He asked, but there was an edge to his voice.

"I lost your translator. Somebody stole it."

He stood, staring at me for a second.

Suddenly his hand leapt forward and grabbed my arm. As he did so, his sleeve drew back, revealing the translator bracelet.

"You-!" I yelped.

His other hand slapped over my mouth. "Be quiet," he said. "Don't say a word."

He seemed... Frantic.

I tried to twist away, but his hand was still clutching my wrist. Furiously I tried to kick him, but he stepped out of my foot range.

"Don't move either," he said. "I really don't want to hurt you. But I will if I have to."

I stood still.

"I just needed the translator," he told me, tightening his grip. "It was a mistake to give it to you. It's too valuable for a teenager to have."

I tried to speak, but his hand was in the way. He reluctantly lowered his hand.

"Why didn't you just ask me to give it to you?" I shouted.

He twitched. "Because I needed to make sure I would get it. If I asked, you might have said no."

I swore loudly at him. Multiple times.

Professor Sapling looked shocked. "Julie... I didn't realize you swore."

"You don't realize a lot of things!" I yelled.

He gritted his teeth, glancing around. "I don't know what I'm going to do with you now," he said, deflating a little. "I can't exactly bring you to the camp without gaining too much attention... Killing you is an option, but then I'd feel bad..."

"You're pathetic!" I roared.

He tried to cover my mouth again, but I bit his hand. He jumped back, shocked, and let go of my arm.

I spun around and ran towards the door. To my surprise, Professor Sapling didn't follow me. I could hear him dialing something into a phone.

"Hello," he said to the phone. "We're gonna need... Helpers... At my place."

I tried to open the door, but it didn't budge. In a panic I jiggled the doorknob which refused to open the door. I whirled around to see Professor Sapling with his hand on a small white button in the wall.

He set the phone down. "Where are you trying to go, Julie?" He said slowly. "Nobody's going to believe you. I am a trained Professor, and you're a teenager."

I said nothing.

"You're staying here," Professor Sapling said firmly.

Slowly, I sat down against the door, refusing to take my eyes off of the Professor. He relaxed.

"Good," he said. "Liana's workers will be here soon."

Dare's POV

Ace paused, a slight frown on her face. I knew that look (I had seen it many times). She makes that face when she doesn't really agree with someone.

"So what exactly are you asking of us?" She said slowly.

I cleared my throat for the hundredth time. "I'm asking for everyone in the Snow Camp to attack Liana's base and free all the trapped Pokemon."

Ace exhaled. "I'm not really sure what to say, H- Dare. It's really up to the residents of the Snow Camp."

"But will you?"

She looked mildly surprised. Then she murmured, "I have a son to take care of."

My face fell.

"But," she continued, "the Snow Camp isn't the only camp. There's also the Canyon Camp and the Forest Camp."

    "Do you think they'll help?" I asked hopefully.

    "I'm not sure," she said, "but there's no harm in asking."

    "How far away are they?"

    "Pretty far. At least thirty miles to the Forest Camp, and the Canyon Camp is even farther." Ace raised her chin. "But I do have a friend who flies back and forth almost every day... Starry!"

    A few seconds later a Staraptor swooped in. She grinned. "Hey, Ace."

    "I have a request for you," Ace said. "Fly to the Forest Camp and ask Dagger to do us a favor..."