Cinders

Chapter2

Alain's lungs burned as they took in a breath of fresh air– gasping as they reappeared out of the Teleport, no longer surrounded by the smoke-filled air. A violent cough escaped him, trying to force the lingering toxic fumes from out of him. He could hear more coughing around him, watering eyes cracking open as he took in his surroundings.

He was laying on a cold cement floor, dark towering walls surrounding him. A ceiling stretched up far above them, the few lights doing little to pierce the dimness of the room. There were no windows, though heavy metal doors could be seen on the opposite side of the large room. He closed his eyes, heart racing as he tried to take in what was happening.

"M-mairin," Alain croaked, twisting in search of her. Others laid around him, coughing and shaking, hands tied behind their backs. The grunts that had taken them were removing their masks glaring down at them coolly.

"Alain?" Professor Sycamore rasped next to him. "Are you al-alright?"

Alain stared weakly at the professor, heart hammering as he struggled to push himself to his knees, breathing heavily. His eyes scanned the others who had been taken with him in the Teleport– Professor Sycamore, Ash laying next to a bruised Jessie, Malva sitting perfectly still, and then–

"Mairin!" Alain cried, lunging forward, but the Flare grunts stepped forward, grabbing his shoulders and shoving him back to the ground. He let out a grunt of pain as he slammed into the ground. He let out a growl. "G-get away!"

"I'd advise you to stop fighting," One of the grunts said in a low tone, the Hypno that had teleported them here was standing at their side. "We wouldn't want someone to get hurt."

"Where are we?" Jessie spat, two grunts grabbing her shoulders as she struggled to her feet, forcing her down onto her knees. She bit back a cry of pain as her knees slammed against the cement ground.

"She wasn't one of the ones we wanted," The grunt with the Hypno said, apparently the leader of the ones who had captured them.

The other grunts were grabbing them, dragging them towards where they had Jessie kneeling. Alain struggled against them, attempting to break free, which only resulted in more of them dragging him into the line. He had three grunts pinning him as they forced him to kneel next to the professor.

"She wouldn't leave us alone– we had no choice but to bind her," One of the grunts replied, while Alain continued to struggle. The others weren't putting up as much as a fight as he was– Sycamore breathing heavily, but staying still. Ash had his head bowed, eyes closed as if in concentration. Next to him was Mairin, who was trembling, but was still looking straight into the eyes of the ones who had bound them. Next to her was Jessie, who had gone still, her entire form tense, glaring up at them bitterly.

At the other end of the line was Malva, who only had one grunt near her. He had a hand on the Elite Four member's shoulder, who was making no effort to pull away or break free. She simply stared straight ahead, face expressionless, both her and the grunt almost unnaturally still.

"...We're nowhere near Lumiose," Ash whispered quietly. "I'm barely sensing any auras..."

"So some of you pathetic lot are still around?" Alain spat, disbelief still running through him as he stared at the Team Flare symbol. In the years following Team Flare's fall there had been scattered members and half attempts to 'reform' the group, but what had been seen was nothing but pathetic, having been shut down with ease.

"We may not be what we were before," The grunt said, glaring. "But we are still far from weak."

"Your leaders are dead or imprisoned," Alain snarled. He was about to say more, but a quiet voice made him fall silent.