Sean tensed as he watched Giovanni tilt his head up, revealing his handsome features beneath a sleek black fedora hat. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his black trench coat and his fine tailored suit stood out beneath that. For being about the same age as them, he didn't seem to be on their level. The man had a powerful presence about him. His look screamed rich and mysterious. Giovanni eyed Sean with dark eyes, asking Nate calmly. "Everything alright?" Nate nodded, answering uneasily. "Ya, I was just-" Giovanni removed a gloved hand from his pocket waving off Nate's answer to cut in. "Doesn't matter. Retrieve it and let's go. We are wasting time." Sean saw Nate's hand move back to the jewel, but Sean snatched his wrist. Nate tensed for a fight, but Sean pleaded with him desperately. "Nate, no! This is a set up! Please, believe me!" Nate stared at Sean a minute before his eyes drifted to Giovanni. Giovanni slowly turned around to face them, stating out coolly. "Nate, who is this man? Why are you hesitating?"

Nate swallowed, saying nervously. "He's no one." Sean pulled Nate's hand away from the jewel, holding his wrist lovingly as he told him in a hopeful voice. "Nate. You are who you choose to be. You are not a grunt!" Giovanni walked up to the edge of the lake now, drawing Nate's attention. Giovanni straightened himself up to his full height, telling him casually. "Why are you allowing this Mystic trash to talk? Dispatch him and let's go." Sean released Nate's wrist, facing Giovanni now as said aloud. "Leave! He's not your property!" Giovanni huffed, replying lightly. "I never said he was. This was HIS plan. Not mine." Sean felt his blood turn to ice, but tried to keep himself focused. Even if it was Nate's plan, Giovanni was the problem. Sean shook his head, shooting back to him seriously. "You want him to think that. You're here for Articuno! And I'm not letting you take him!" Giovanni rolled his eyes, casually replying. "If I wanted Articuno... I would have him already."

Sean was confused, until Nate uttered out softly beside him. "Mew..." Sean looked to Nate with concerned eyes, asking abruptly. "Mew? How would-?" Sean froze, jerking his head back to Giovanni as he blurted out. "Oh my god... The reanimator!" Giovanni reached into his trench coat, removing two rolled up blueprints as he flashed Sean a smug grin. Sean couldn't breathe as Giovanni told him in a cool tone. "I've got what I came for. I just need to cover our tracks with... a little experiment that my scientists have been working on." Sean whirled around to face Nate, rushing out. "Nate! I know Mystic treated you badly, but Giovanni-!" Sean was flung across the cave and hit the icy wall before he could finish. Landing in a pile of cold snow, Sean looked up to see Alakazam's eyes glowing a bright pink from using a Psychic attack. Zoey growled, then stopped when Giovanni looked at her. Looking back to Nate, Giovanni extended a hand out, saying in a loving voice. "Nate, let's put this place behind us. All the bad memories. All the pain. After today. It will all fade away."

Nate shuffled his feet looking between Sean and Giovanni. Giovanni took another step toward him, adding sweetly. "Nate. Baby. He's trying to get into your head. He only cares about his job. He doesn't care about you. He's like the rest of them. They'll say whatever they have to make you doubt yourself and your cause. They're afraid of change. But they force change on those that don't fit in. So, let's break their flawed system!" Sean shook his head, rising to all fours to shout something, but an invisible force tightened around his throat to stop him. Sean clawed at his throat, barely able to breathe. The Alakazam was still focused on him with intense eyes. Holding him prisoner to the spot. Even though he was unable to speak or move from his spot, he looked to Zoey and snapped his fingers. Zoey turned her attention away from the way Giovanni was moving closer to Nate, looking to Sean with her ears perked up. Sean pointed to Alakazam, then held his throat. Zoey's eyes moved to Alakazam, her eyes narrowing on him. Zoey looked to Nate for any commands, but Nate's eyes were on Giovanni.

Sean watched Nate back up from Giovanni, mumbling out. "If you got what you want, then let's just go. The other islands will take a hit and the damage will be done anyway." Giovanni lifted Nate's chin with a finger, telling him sweetly. "Oh, Nate... You're not going soft on me now, are you?" Nate shook his head, replying a little shaky. "No... I just..." Giovanni brought his lips closer to Nate's, whispering to him coolly. "I understand. This is a sensitive job for you. So, let's go home." Giovanni stepped aside, gesturing Nate away from the shrine. Relief eased into Sean as Nate moved away toward Zoey. Zoey pointed discreetly at Alakazam and whispered something in Nate's ear. Sean's eyes drifted back to Giovanni and he practically choked. Giovanni's other hand removed the jewel from the mouth of Articuno's statue and slipped it into his pocket. Nate whirled around to face Giovanni, snapping out. "Call off Alakazam!" Giovanni jogged up to Nate, telling him swiftly. "Certainly. Let's go, shall we?"

Sean tried to scream and tried to point at the shrine, but Alakazam constricted his movement more like he knew what he was thinking. Giovanni wrapped an arm around Nate, guiding him to stand by Alakazam. Just then a loud explosion sounded from farther down the mountain, shooting a cloud of thick black firey smoke up into the sky. The mountain shook violently, causing snow to shift and slide as it formed into thundering avalanches. Nate and Giovanni staggered a bit from the shaking as Nate yelled out. "What the hell was that?!" Giovanni checked his watch, then straightened up to say calmly. "The lab. Right on time. Time to go." Nate's eyes widened as he looked at Giovanni and blurted out. "You blew up the lab?! WHY?!" Giovanni grabbed Alakazam's arm, telling Nate firmly. "I'll explain later! Come!" Before Nate could move, from above a loud screeching bird call rang out loud and VERY CLOSE. Alakazam broke his concentration on Sean as something landed in the branches of the ice tree. Sean coughed, jumping to his feet to run straight at Giovanni. He couldn't let him leave!

Giovanni saw Sean coming for him, waiting until he got within range to release Alakazam's arm and spin kicked Sean across the face. Sean hadn't expected Giovanni to move so fast. Landing in the snow completely stunned, Sean rolled over to his stomach in case Giovanni came at him. Nate jumped back from them, yelping out. "What are you doing?!" Giovanni adjusted from a defensive karate stance, telling him sternly. "He attacked me! Let's go!" Giovanni grabbed Nate's arm, yanking him closer as he reached for Alakazam's arm with his other hand. Giovanni grabbed Alakazam's arm starting to command him to do something, when a jet of flames shot between Giovanni and Alakazam! Giovanni yanked his burned hand back, while Alakazam flinched away with a yelp of pain as the flames hit his slender arm and shoulder. Whirling around the Alakazam raised its spoons to fight. Sean looked behind him to see Mark sitting on a growling Siochain. Sitting up, Sean yelled at Giovanni. "Leave the jewel!" Nate jerked his head to look at the shrine in shock, then yelled out. "OH SHIT!" Mark's eyes widened too, causing Sean to whirl around to look for himself.

Hoping down from the icy tree branches, Articuno landed by the shrine with tense large blue wings that were so cold that they misted with frost. Articuno's soft blue eyes turned to a solid blazing white as it saw the jewel was gone and jerked its head in their direction with a sharp caw. Articuno's long blue ribbon tail drifted menacingly behind it as it stomped toward them on strong powerful grey bird legs. Sean had never seen Articuno up close. He was massive! His sleek blue feathers glistened with an icy look to them. His call had a haunting echo to it that gave Sean goosebumps. Articuno let out a series of light chirps, causing the jewel to glow in Giovanni's pocket. Everyone moved away from Giovanni, watching Articuno arch its wings and storm toward him with an angry screech! Sean thought it was odd that Giovanni wasn't running. Instead, Giovanni removed what looked like a tiny mace looking container and sprayed a purple liquid at Articuno's face. Articuno jerked to a stop, lifting its head to scream and thrash its head.

Sean's wanted to help Articuno but was terrified to get close to him. Articuno rubbed his face across the snow, but whatever that was... it was working. Articuno's bright blue coloring was getting darker and darker. The mist puffing off Articuno turned a strange purple and Articuno's eyes turned into a blazing red. Nate gawked at Articuno, yelling out at Giovanni. "What have you done to him?!" Giovanni held up the canister, telling him excitedly. "It's the future. Forced evolution. Just a little kick to boost his power and give him an advantage in a fight!" Nate looked to Giovanni, yelling out. "A fight against who?!" Giovanni turned guarded eyes on Nate, before answering coolly. "Everyone." Before anyone could say anything, Articuno let out a loud screech that made everyone cover their ears. Spreading its wings, Articuno leapt off the ground and burst through the ice ceiling. Breaking free of the cave, it rose into the air and sent out a blast of Sheer Cold in all directions that was so strong it shattered the ice tree and shot off toward the other islands!

Sean screamed as the cave began to crumble, causing ice blocks large enough to crush a person to fall around them. Every block of ice that fell made the cave shake hard enough to stagger them all. Giovanni grabbed Nate, yanking him against his chest before an ice block crushed him, then grabbed Alakazam and yelled out. "TELEPORT!" Mark tried to get Siochain to get him, but an ice block fell in front of her, forcing her to reconsider her attack as she yelped in fear. In a split second, Nate was gone and so was Giovanni. Zoey's name was the last thing on Nate's lips before he vanished. Zoey leapt to the spot he was in with a growl, then whined in distress when she went through him a second too late. Sean jumped aside as an ice block landed where he was, yelling out to Mark. "GET OUT OF HERE!" Mark hesitated to leave, yelling back over the loud crumbling ice blocks. "COME HERE!" Sean started to run for him, then was tackled to the snow by Zoey. Behind her, a large ice block smashed into the snow. Pulling him up to his feet, she told him to run and followed behind him.

The smaller ice blocks that landed in their way, she smashed apart with her claws. Mark had to move closer and closer to the exit as more ice blocks began to fall. Finally reaching them, Sean hopped up onto the back of Siochain. Huddling up to Mark, Mark kicked Siochain's sides and told her to go. Siochain spun around, heading for the exit behind Zoey, when it began to shrink from the shifting ice blocks. Siochain crept through the small claustrophobic tunnel, whining loudly as ice blocks nudged her sides. Zoey turned around at the end to hold up the last big block of ice, growling out to Siochain. "MOVE IT! I CAN'T HOLD IT!" Siochain crawled out a little faster, making it out just before Zoey lost her strength and was forced to drop the block of ice. Siochain jumped a few feet from the collapsed tunnel, barking something in a panic at Zoey. Zoey looked up and screamed as a long chunk of the broken ice tree finally snapped off and fell across the rubble of the tunnel. Zoey turned, dashing toward them at full speed as the ice branches hit the ice blocks, shattering them into small ice shards that shot off in all directions.

Siochain turned to face the shards, roaring out a Fire Blast to melt the shards that she could. She managed to get a lot of them, but as Zoey straightened back up... a shard that would have hit Sean... hit her instead. Impaling into her shoulder. With a startled yelp, Zoey fell to the snow and didn't get up. Sean slipped off Siochain, rushing to her side. She was breathing, but tired. Helping her up, he told Mark to help her onto Siochain. Mark pulled her on in front of him, while Sean told him seriously. "I've got a potion we can give her, but we'll have to do it on the way down!" Mark adjusted Zoey, then pointed to the cliff before them and yelled out. "SEAN!" Sean whirled around, noticing the snow was shifting from the peek of the mountain now that the cave had collapsed. Sean smacked Siochain's ass, yelling out. "GO! GET HER DOWN THE MOUNTAIN!" Siochain whirled around before Mark could say anything, dashing down the stairs as fast as her paws could take her. Her paws rippling with fire as she used her Fire Blitz to race down the stairs without slipping on the icy parts.

Sean tossed out his pokeball, calling out Suzie. Suzie let out another irritated roar at the snow, before letting out a startled cry at the wall of snow that was coming toward them. Hopping onto her back, he told her to take off and she didn't hesitate. Leaping into the air, she soared over the stairs to glide over Siochain when she saw her. When the avalanche got too close, Sean had Suzie turn to melt the snow with her powerful blue flamethrower that was more powerful than a regular Charizard's flamethrower. Flying along the wall, they worked to melt the snow to try and slow it down. If he didn't try... the top town would become buried in it. To Be Continued...