**Pewter City -- Museum**<br/><br/>"Let's go." The man growled, urging Renna towards the other man. They walked past mightyena in passing, who snapped at the girl's heels before taking up the rear of the group. "Looks like we got ourselves a hostage." The man said as he approached his companion.<br/><br/>"Maybe she'll help us bargain. I'm sure Samuel would hate to see a girl killed right in front of him. She might actually turn out to be a blessing."<br/><br/>"I hope." The man looked down at the monster by his side. Its heavy shoulders flexed powerfully as it walked in circles, sniffing at the ground. "Mightyena, lead the way."<br/><br/>The creature stopped, looked up, then took off down the hallway. "Heheh. Follow the monster, kid. Unless you like holes in your skull."<br/><br/><br/><br/>Down the hall a good way, Samuel stood with his head still hung. The curator looked at him quizzically.<br/><br/>"Has something happened?"<br/><br/>The old man nodded, finally catching his voice. "Ace is in a bit of a bind." He said, trying to put on as brave a face as he could. "I'm planning to get him out of it, but that's why I need the feather in the first place."<br/><br/>"Oh, I see....." The curator offered an encouraging smile. "Well don't worry, I'm sure that--"<br/><br/>A loud snarl cut off her sentence, and when she looked up, she saw a large black form charging down the hall. Instantly, she knew it was a monster, and she also knew that she didn't have any way to defend against it. Instinctively, she jumped behind the counter, opening up the path to Samuel unintentionally.<br/><br/>The creature was on him in a second, and all he felt was the breath leaving him as it sprang into the air and plowed into his chest and full force. After that, he didn't remember much until he woke up on the ground, flat on his back underneath the slathering jaws of a dark creature he'd never seen before.<br/><br/>The security guard came forward, armed only with a flashlight and a pokeball. He released the contents, putting his monster onto the field in hopes of distracting the one that had trapped Samuel. His heavily armored manectric jumped on the back of the mightyena, and started a violent brawl that tumbled to the side. The two monsters fiercely engaged, the security guard moved to help Samuel up.<br/><br/>That was when he heard the click of guns.<br/><br/>Slowly, he looked up, and saw two men, one with a weapon pointed at them, and the other with a girl in his grip, gun to her head.<br/><br/>"Samuel Oak?" One of the men spoke up.<br/><br/>Samuel sat up slowly, in a bit of a daze. He had to blink a couple of times, and when his vision cleared, he almost wished he COULDN'T see what was going on. He held up his hand in a halting gesture. "Wait, don't--"<br/><br/>The man with the pistol fired a warning shot into the floor, right at Samuel's feet. The old man went pale.<br/><br/>"Don't move." One of the men warned. "Or we kill the girl and possibly you too. Are you Samuel Oak or aren't you?"<br/><br/>Samuel swallowed hard, looking at the poor young woman helplessly. She was really very pretty, and he might have been instantly attracted to her, if not for the fact that he was sort of fearing for their lives at the moment.<br/><br/>"I am...."<br/><br/><hr/><br/>**Cinnabar -- Lab**<br/><br/>"Ah Blane, it's good to hear you again. But I didn't call to chit chat." She cut straight to the point, which the woman often did. "I heard about your discovery. That's an impressive finding. The Dragon Clan has been looking for those tablets for some time, considering that the creature in them is sort of...a family symbol. She's on our family crest at the very least, and we have an interest in knowing what the tablets say. I was wondering if you might let us have a look, or else tell us what you've found so far."