The idea for this came from how Zero actually didn't get Giratina's powers in the movie. Originally this was going to be part of a later fanfiction in my Original Stream series, but this was a lot faster an easier.
Because this is just a teaser I might not be continuing the fanfiction from here, depending on how many chapters it's going to have.
Zero stared up at the ceiling, willing himself to fall asleep. He had been having problems sleeping for the past few days, even if he was exhausted at night. When he finally would fall asleep he would wake up multiple times throughout the night. Even if he did manage to sleep for a few hours straight he felt like he didn't get any.
He couldn't be tired, not for tomorrow….
The cell door's lock clicked and the door creaked open.
"Zero," the officer standing there said, "You're free to go."
Zero frowned, "What?" He wasn't supposed to be out for a while yet… so why? He didn't recognize the officer, either. Runa was the only one authorized to let him out –requested by the Sinnoh Champion- and her shift was over for the day.
"You're free to go," she repeated.
He got up and cautiously followed her outside. He glanced at the clock on the wall as they passed it. This was when the officers on night shift weren't close by….
A black limo was parked nearby. There was a woman standing next to it, holding a large paper with his name written in big letters. Zero turned, about to ask the officer, but she wasn't there…. He walked towards the limo and noted its out-of-region license plate. The woman smiled and lowered the paper, "I'm Rita, your escort." She opened the door for him.
Part of him warned him against going, but where would he go? He couldn't contact Newton that easily, especially at this time of night. Eventually they would have to stop and he could escape if he had to. He got in and went to the other side. Well, who ever wanted him out obviously didn't care if he knew where he was going. The windows weren't tinted. Rita sat across from him.
Zero stared out the window, watching as the world outside began to speed past in patches of streetlamp light. Why couldn't this have happened the next night? He was allowed to visit Fini for a little longer than usual the next day. "Why was I let out?"
Rita smiled again, "In exchange my employer wants to know about the Reverse World."
Zero turned to her, "What for?"
"The same goal you had: To purify the Reverse World. Or at least a part of it," she played with the buttons on a small remote control, turning on and off the stereo. She looked up, "We do have access to it, but we don't know much about the rules that govern it."
If they found a remote area with clean air, than maybe….
"How long will this take?"
"Depending on when you help. It would be as early as mid to late morning."
After sometime they came to a stop at a dock. Rita led him to a small speedboat. "My employer has an island," she got in and went to the driver's seat.
Zero glanced back. The limo was already gone…. He climbed into the boat and sat in the back. He clung to the guardrail when Rita started to boat.
The only other time he had gone this fast was that one time when Newton wanted to explore Sinnoh's islands, and had claimed "there wasn't a speed-limit". … No, this was even faster.
He wasn't sure how long the trip had been when they finally came to a stop, but knew the island was far away from the coast, enough they weren't even in Sinnoan territory anymore. The island wasn't very big, and there wasn't much other than a large villa and …a airstrip with a small airplane.
Rita turned to him, "My employer's personal plane. The flight will be a few hours, so take the time to get some sleep."
…He couldn't turn back now, unless he wanted to swim back….
By the time he woke up it was dawn. They had landed at some point, maybe recently. Rita was in the opposite aisle, working on a laptop. She looked up and smiled, "Are you ready to go? Breakfast will be ready when we get there."
She put the laptop away and led the way outside.
It was muggy, possibly the cause of his oncoming headache. A city was off in the distance, a tower was in its center, the sphere on top collecting electricity from strangely colored thunderclouds. A mixed flock of Pidove and Pidgey flew overhead, and a group of Pikachu and Plusle and Minun ran around in a field, stopping occasionally to look at the two humans.
Other than the stone pathway and occasional bench and fountain, the land was untouched by humans. The plants were a strange mix of those found in tropical regions like Hoenn and those only found in regions like Fiore. As they got closer to the city, the buildings –houses, maybe- looked like domes, and the city had architecture he had only seen in LaRouse City.
Something was off, though… he watched as a Sandshrew ran along the path, playing with a Diglett that occasionally popped out of the ground, and as a Trapinch walked past with a Drilbur riding on its back. Ground-types that dug burrows and tunnels typically avoided damp areas, and with all the Wooper and Carvevine around, there had to be a swamp or a marsh nearby.
People walked up and down the sidewalks, some with a Pokemon following them, most without. Rita stopped in front of a tall building that had signs in a language foreign to most of the regions that were part of the Pokemon League.
From the time he spent in Orre, Zero could read roughly a few hundred words. One of the words was Illusion, or Mirage, and another was either Unit or Hunters. He wasn't sure because some words looked almost identical to others. Maybe they researched Mirage Spots, or Pokemon that could create illusions? If Giratina wanted, it could distort a reflection….
"This is our office building," Rita said, leading him inside. Many people wearing long, white lab coats walked around the lobby, all with at least one Pokemon out. A television was turned on to a News station, the script rolling across at the bottom in the same language as the posters. Zero couldn't read all of it, only "Sightings strange Pokemon around Holon" Rita pulled him away. They passed two scientists that didn't have any Pokemon out, and were arguing about a mirage project as they stood in front of a vending machine. They both looked familiar….
"Who are they?" Zero asked, looking back.
"Dr. Yung and Grings Kodai. They're assisting in another project." She pushed the "Down" button for the elevator.
"I will be back in Sinnoh early this afternoon, correct?"
"We can have you back by noon." They got into the elevator and Rita pressed the button for the basement floor. "You'll need to tell us what you know, and if you'd like you can help with a project to freely travel the Reverse World."
If he did that, than he could just go back within minutes. With the Reverse World, all you needed was a reflective surface to create portals….
"Would I be able to help with that project now, go back, and come here later?"
"We don't necessarily need the information immediately…." She shrugged, "I'll have to ask, but I assume that will work."
The doors opened and they walked out. The hallway was long, with only one door at the end. Rita spoke into a device Zero didn't recognize, the technology being more advanced than a Poketch or a PokeNav Plus. Neither of those devices allowed you to actually see who you were talking to. Whoever it was could barely be seen, possibly having theirs turned on on a desk as they worked, judging by the angle and rustling of papers.
They spoke in that foreign language. He understood the words that could either mean "laboratory" or "facility", and "experiment" or "project". After a short time the one Rita spoke to agreed and ended the call.
Rita turned to him and smiled, "One of our scientists will be down shortly. He will help prepare you for the trip to the Reverse World."
"To set up an artificial portal or to find the nearest one?"
She nodded and looked up as the elevator opened again. "I'll talk to you later."
She very briefly spoke to the scientist before leaving.
"Follow me," the scientist said. His accent was from one of the regions with the Pokemon League, but one that was a bit difficult to tell apart from others. Even with how distant the regions were, there were certain areas that seemed to share a similar accent to others.
He led Zero to the end of the hall, quickly tapped a code into the door's lock and slashed a card through it. A tiny light turned green and there was a click. The door opened to a single, white room. The room was very open with a high ceiling where bright lights shown down from. High above were windows that allowed people in other rooms and hallways to see into the room. Interestingly, there was no furniture.
"The portals are created with energy?" Zero asked. Artificial portals were unpredictable, but did allow travel to the Reverse World.
"Yes, specifically the kind Deven creates," the scientist removed a vial with clear liquid from one pocket and a handheld device from the other. "Roll up your sleeve."
Zero eyed the device warily. Needles…. "What is that?"
"Uh… a small amount of toxin from the Reverse World. It's well below lethal levels," he attached the vial to the device, "Given in small doses will eventually make you immune, so you can travel the Reverse World freely."
Zero rolled up his shirt sleeve and looked away, slowly breathing out. He would see Fini later, it was worth it.
"Zero?"
At first Zero squeaked in response, correcting it halfway through, "Yes?"
"It's over," the scientist cleaned where the injection had been, "You might feel a little dizzy and nauseous, but that's normal," he avoided eye contact, "I'm going to open a portal. Use it a few times until you're used to it." He left, closing the door behind him.
The scientist went up to the observation room and stood next to the one he worked for, looking into the plain room used for this very experiment. "Are you sure about this?"
"He's stronger than the past subjects. His chance of survival is higher."
"The longest anyone has lasted is just a few minutes…."
Zero wandered around the room to pass time, trying to get an idea of how big the portal would be. His headache was getting worse, now, and his arm ached. Where was…? He took an uneasy step forward and collapsed, pain coursing through him.
Snowflakes slowly drifted from the pale gray sky, like it would be for the rest of the day, according to the forecast.
Newton took no notice, too entertained playing with the car radio. Cynthia glanced at him while she waited for the light to turn green. "Newton…."
"What? Zero never let me change the radio. Or drive."
The light turned green and Cynthia drove ahead. "You're skipping songs on the CD." She parked outside of the prison and took the CD out, switching it to a station at random, "You're not worried Runa called you this morning?"
"She said Zero could be out until tonight. Runa was probably just reminding me." They got out of the car and walked up the steps.
…True…. "Visiting hours isn't for two hours yet. What's he going to do until then?"
Newton shrugged, "Maybe get a few gifts for Fini. Of course I'll be paying for them…."
"The hospital called last night," she smiled, "She's starting to make up." It had been four years since her sister fell into the coma, and now finally…. No one had an explanation to why she had fallen into it. Not long after that, Zero had become obsessed with the Reverse World, and part of his insanity (or missing Fini) was in the form of the digital assistant he created to help him in the Reverse World: Infi. Even though Infi was based on Fini's appearance, she didn't share the girl's personality.
Runa greeted them, looking anxious. "I'm sorry for the short notice."
Newton frowned, "Did something happen?"
Runa nodded, "We don't know where he is. He got out sometime last night," she shook her head, "I don't know how."
"Did you check the security cameras?" Cynthia asked.
"Yes…." She looked up, her face paling, "The one that let him out doesn't work here."
Zero slammed against the wall, snarling. Transparent portals constantly materialized and shattered around him. His eyes were wild, the pupils looking like the portals he was trying to create for freedom. Behind him the door opened. He whipped around and lunged forward.
The one standing there pressed a button on a small device. Zero fell, screeching in pain. His eyes changed back to normal as he lied there, panting heavily. He blinked, puzzled, "What?" He looked up, "You!" He rose unsteadily, "Why-" He screamed again as he temporally went back into the state he had been in.
"I control your fate, boy. If you do as I say the process will be less painful."
Zero glared at him and glanced at the device. He hung his head. Unless he listened, he was never going to see Fini again….
If anyone has any ideas for what could happen, who the employer is (I want him to be a canon character) and his real goal, or even who the scientist is (I also want him to be a canon character), let me know.
If I get enough ideas I can start writing.