A co-op story done by myself and 1st Lieutenant Fae. Based in a mostly AU world and rated M for violence, criminal activities, mild language, suggestive themes and conspiracy theories...enjoy.
"STOP HIM!" a guard yelled as him and his men chased a single man wearing a long black jacket with a hood and ski mask to completely cover his face.
The hooded man zigzagged his way through the hallway avoiding the gun fire from the guards behind him. Reaching his hand into his long sleeve he pulled out a small purple pellet before throwing it at the ground making it burst into a smoke screen.
The guards stopped and began coughing as they inhaled the thick clouds, "Don't let him get away" the lead guard coughed as he reached toward his belt and started grabbing at nothing, "My pokeballs!" he yelled, "they're gone!"
The other guards checked their belts as well to realize the same thing, "Mine our gone to" another guard yelled, "So are mine!"
The smoke began dissipating and the guards readied their weapons, slowly moving through the smoke to see that their target was gone, "Where is he?" one of them yelled.
"Dammit we can't let him get away"
"The entire building is on high alert he's not getting out alive" the lead guard said.
In the main lobby of the building an air vent was kicked off the wall and the hooded man slid out of the vent. Landing on one knee he quickly stood up and started running across the lobby, but stopped when a large group of guards surrounded him.
"On your knees now!" one of them demanded.
The hooded man slowly raised his arms in the air gesturing his surrender as he slowly got down on his knees.
One of the guards behind him advanced on him and grabbed his arms ready to place the hooded man in handcuffs.
Once the guard grabbed his arms, the man jumped up and spun around, twisting the guard's arm behind his back and at the same time throwing out two red and white balls from his hand as he yelled, "Stun spore, whirlwind!"
After throwing the two balls the hooded man wrapped his free arm around the guards throat restraining him as the two balls opened in a bright light revealing two creatures known as Pokémon. The first looked like a giant pale purple moth with bright, light blue eyes a Venomoth and the other was a giant avian Pokémon with brown feathers on its back and white on its underbelly. It had long black markings running under its two eyes and down to its neck, its tail feathers were red and its long red and yellow crest ran half the length of its body a Pidgeot. The Venomoth flapped its wings releasing a dense yellow cloud of spores while the Pidgeot flapped its own wings creating a violent whirling wind causing the spores to scatter around the lobby paralyzing all of the guards they came in contact with.
The hooded man pushed the restrained guard away from him and into the spore cloud and then dropped to the floor covering himself with his cloak to protect against the spores as they were scattered. After the spores dissipated the two Pokémon hovered over to the hooded man and nudged him letting him know it was safe. The man quickly stood up and asked his two Pokémon to help him take all of the pokeballs from the guards that had been paralyzed. Once all of their pokeballs were secured the hooded man and his two followers retreated through the lobby and into the garage of the building were their get away vehicle was waiting. The hooded man jumped into the driver's seat of the large truck while his two Pokémon dropped the belts of pokeballs they took from the guards in a large duffle bag.
"Great work guys" the hooded man said as he recalled his two Pokémon and started the truck. After the truck started the hooded man looked in front of him at the heavy steel door to the garage and chuckled as he stuck his arm out the window, "Onix!"
Just like last time the ball the hooded man threw opened emitting a bright light sending out a large snake like Pokémon whose body was made of many large boulders and a massive spine protruding from the top of its head.
The rock snake roared as it was released from its pokeball and looked at its trainer with a happy gaze.
"I know you're happy to see me buddy, but we're pressed for time" the hooded man said to his Pokémon, "You see that door right there?" he asked the Onix pointing at the garage door, "I really need that out of the way before a bunch of guys with guns come to kill me.
The giant rock snake roared as it looked at the door and charged toward it head first, smashing its way through.
"Ha-ha woo" the hooded man cheered as the truck drove out of the opening the Pokémon made, "Outstanding Onix" he yelled as he drove past his Pokémon and recalled it before speeding down the street.
Driving down the street, the man pulled a phone out of his pocket and pressed a single key, "Yeah I'm out" he said after holding the phone up to his ear, "Mostly clean I'm heading to the dock now with the objective and quite a few souvenirs to".
Hearing a loud siren behind him the hooded man looked in his rearview mirror to see a police car following him with its lights flashing. "Yeah I may have a bit of a problem" he said his voice suddenly becoming comic like, "I did get out clean, but speeding down the street tends to attract attention…Is the boat ready or not? Good then I'll see you and everyone else when I get there".
Hanging up the phone the hooded man pulled out another pokeball and throwing it above the truck, "Flash!" he yelled as the ball opened in another bright light revealing a Magneton a Pokémon that was comprised of three silver balls stuck together via magnetism each with two U-shaped magnets for arms and screws on its body also attached by magnetism.
The Pokémon hovered above the truck using magnetism to keep itself moving at the same speed as it used its body to reflect all the light hitting it at once, creating a massive flash of light directed at the police car following them blinding the officer and causing the car to spin out.
"Good job Magneton" the man said, recalling his Pokémon as he turned toward the docks. Bracing himself, the hooded man rammed the truck through the gates of the docks that read, "Olivine City Port". After ramming through the gates he pulled the handbrake sending the truck into a power slide before coming to a complete stop.
Jumping out of the truck the hooded man grabbed the duffle bag filled with the pokeballs he took from the many guards and ran toward a boat at the end of the pier as more police cars arrived and the officers jumped out of their vehicles with their guns pointed at him demanding that he stop. Ignoring their warnings the hooded man jumped onto the boat and started it, speeding off into the open waters of the ocean.
Once the docks behind him were a mere speck on the horizon the man pulled out his phone again, "I'm clear of the docks we got about 3 minutes before they come after me again…Roger that I'll see you there".
Steering the boat to the southwest he began heading for the dangerous Whirl Islands. "This place sure is scary at night" he said after stopping the boat and looking out at the water. It was hard to see the water around him since it was so late at night, but he could hear the whirlpool waters roaring faintly which meant he was close enough to get trapped in their currents if he wasn't careful.
Looking at the clock on his phone he began tapping his foot nervously as he continuously scanned the waters around him to make sure no one was coming after him. After a few minutes the water around his boat began to erupt as a small submarine emerged from the water, "About time" he said as the vessel that dwarfed his boat broke the surface.
Climbing out of the boat and onto the submarine he waited for the hatch to open where another hooded person was waiting for him, "Come on get in" the person said the voice was female. Quickly sliding back down the ladder she called to him to hurry again.
"Nice to see you to" the hooded man joked as he slid into the hatch.
The hatch closed and the sub returned under the water just a few minutes before the police boats arrived at the scene to find the empty escape vessel. Inside the submarine the hooded man handed the duffle bag to the other hooded person who opened the hatch for him, "Souvenirs courtesy of all the guards in the target location".
The second hooded person opened the bag and was amazed at the number of pokeballs inside, "You stole all of these?" she asked him.
"Stole is such a harsh word" he laughed, "I prefer to look at it as forced sharing".
The hooded woman chuckled at his joke as she set the duffle bag down, "These will all be set free once we return to base, the objective?"
"Right here" the hooded man said handing her a small silver case the size of a notepad.
"So what is it?" he asked her as she took it.
"Classified" she told him.
The hooded man immediately became annoyed, "I just put my life on the line to retrieve that tiny thing whatever's inside better be worth it".
"I haven't been read into it" the hooded girl told him, "You will be told once the higher ups determine if at all you should be made aware of its contents".
"Whatever" he sighed, "So how long until we get back?"
"About 12 hours you should get some rest while you can".
"Care to join me?" he asked her.
"I've got work to do" she told him as she turned around and walked away.
The man sighed in an unsurprised manner as he turned around and headed toward the back of the sub where the small slots in the wall served as the cots for the crew of the sub. Sliding into the cramped slot he grunted as he tried to make himself comfortable before closing his eyes, just another day on the job.
The Oscuro, a group comprised of the most evil and dangerous criminals whose activities range from attempted assassinations to full blown terrorism. Anything really bad that has happened in history this organization was involved in some way or another and for the past fifty years only one other organization has stood against them.
The Ciel Lakras another secret organization made up entirely of exceptionally talented Pokémon trainers whose skills went beyond just their Pokémon. As well as being considered elite trainers they were also hackers, former thieves, engineers, strategists and fighters. For the last five decades these elite trainers have fought and foiled the Oscuro and covered up the existence of both groups to prevent panic amongst the people.
Because of the ruthlessness and resources of their enemies every member of the Ciel Lakras is considered to be a ghost, someone who does not exist. Every mission they are sent on their faces are concealed and they leave no traces behind. No fingerprints, no identification nothing that could reveal their true identity. Each agent is given a special name to keep them safe and completely anonymous while in the field.
Every agent recruited by the Ciel Lakras has had their real names listed as dead or completely erased from the census of any database they were ever involved in. No official trace of any agent existed.
"Welcome to the team" a tall man standing around 6'2 said as he and a young man and woman around 21 years old stepped off an elevator and into a gigantic circular room with hundreds of computers and desks in the center and the outside walls were covered by enormous television screens called Jumbotrons.
The man wore a white lab coat over a silver shirt and tan jeans, he had a rugged black beard that matched his dark hair and a crescent shaped scar under his left eye that reached to his ear. This man was only known by his codename, "Emperor".
Showing the young couple around he began explaining everything, "You have been selected because of your talents. Like everyone else here you are exceptionally skilled Pokémon trainers, but you have other skills we find very useful".
Stopping at another door, Emperor slid a keycard through a digital reader opening the door and escorting the boy inside. "Now that you know about us and have agreed to be recruited you must know that we must erase every trace that you ever existed. Any form of identification ranging from census data to medical history. Officially you no longer exist.
"What does that mean exactly?" the young man asked.
Emperor turned to them, "It means that as far as the world is concerned you were never born. It sounds extreme I know, but the people we are fighting against are ruthless beyond imagining. We choose to be a complete unknown not just to protect ourselves, but to protect anyone we care about as well. When I was first recruited I had to break off all ties to my own family to ensure they would never be in danger because of me".
"So we have to do the same?" the woman asked, "What about our home in Saffron city?"
Emperor looked down at the pit of agents rushing around in heir daily routines, "You're going to have to relocate. As for the estate itself you could sell it or donate it to the city to use as they like".
"Relocate to where?" the young man asked.
Emperor leaned against the railing of the walkway, "You could move here, we have a very large dormitory to accommodate a great deal of our staff or we can find a new place for you".
The young couple exchanged a glance before they both gave him the same answer, "We'd like a new place".
"We're really not much of the indoor types" the young man told him.
"And we like to give our Pokémon room to exercise" the woman continued, "So anywhere with room for them to run around".
Emperor ran his hands over his beard a few times, "There is an old lodge we have in Ecruteak City in the Johto region. Its vacant one of our operatives lived there in the past, but he moved back here".
"Ecruteak City?" the woman repeated, "Hmm…That could work its one of Johto's oldest town's. It has an amazing history the most notable landmarks in all oh Johto were two ten-story tall towers, Bell Tower and Brass Tower. Around 150 years ago or so Brass Tower burned down under mysterious circumstances".
"Impressive" Emperor said looking over to her, "You know about the town's history".
The woman shied as she rubbed her arm and looked away from him, "I read a lot in my spare time".
Emperor nodded and leaned his back against the railing again, "Which reminds me your codenames" he reached into his pocket and pulled out two key cards. The cards were white all around with the exception of a black magnetic strip on the back, "These are your identification cards for our agency".
Emperor walked over to a door and showed them how the key cards worked. Sliding the card through the digital reader he immediately placed his hand on a flat screen like surface next to the reader and looked directly at another screen above the readers, "Whenever you use them to access any part of our facilities you must slid the card, place your hand on the palm reader and then hold still for an facial recognition and iris scan".
Once all of the scans were complete the door opened and Emperor returned his card to his pocket, "If any of these scans fail to go through an alarm will sound and our security teams will be at the scene in under a minute".
The young man chuckled, "You guys really don't fool around when it comes to keeping everything secure".
Emperor turned back to him, "Safety and secrecy are the top priorities here. No matter what we cannot risk the organization's security" he handed both of them their key cards "Now rule 1, these will never be replaced. If they are lost for any reason they will be considered stolen and you will be considered a compromised agent which means you will be detained here pending a full scale investigation".
He turned back to the pit of agents to watch them work, "Rule 2 while in the field or at HQ you will never refer to another agent by their real name. Rule 3 though we are fighting against some very bad people the majority of our activities are illegal by definition so you can expect an occasional run in with law enforcement".
"So what are our codenames then?" the boy asked him.
Emperor smiled at them over his shoulder and nodded to the woman, "Knowledgeable and keen insight into situations you will be known as the Priestess" he turned his gaze to the young man, "Cunning and quick witted and ferocious in combat you will be called Raptor".
"I like it" the young man smiled, "A bird of prey quick and dangerous I think it suits me" he turned to the girl, "What about you Al…um Priestess".
The woman took in a deep breath as she thought about everything, "When do we get started?"
"Right away" Emperor told them, "Your training will begin immediately. Please follow me". Leading the two of them to an elevator door, Emperor began explaining to them the first round of training they would be going through as the doors closed behind them.
"Raptor wake up" a female voice said.
Feeling something shaking him Raptor stirred a bit and muttered before opening his eyes to a dim red light and a woman wearing a lab coat and a black shirt and mid length skirt standing over him. She peered down at him through thin rim glasses and her black hair was tied back in a tight bun. She gave him a soft smile before nudging his shoulder to hurry him.
"Don't suppose I can get five more minutes?" Raptor asked knowing the answer.
"In case you've forgotten I haven't slept in almost thirty hours now" the woman said to him, "Now get up we've only got three minutes until we dock".
The hooded man yawned and stretched until his muscles strained thankful to finally be loosened after resting in such a cramped space. Sliding off the cot he rolled his shoulders and neck working the kinks out of his body before hopping back and forth between his legs making sure his entire body was awake and limber. Once he was done he crouched down and stepped through the small portal that led into the next chamber of the submarine and up toward the middle where the woman was waiting for him.
The dim red light turned to blue and began flashing a color coded message to alert the crew that the sub was about to dock. A loud clang combined with a thud sounds dully echoed above them as the sub docked and the hatch was connected to the external airlock. The blue flashing light turned to a solid green and the two of them reached for the ladder at once.
"Ladies first" Raptor said.
"Why?" the woman asked, "So you can try to look up my skirt? Again".
Raptor chuckled sheepishly, "Maybe" he answered, "Or we could just skip the attempt altogether and you could just tell me what color underwear you have on today".
The woman reached up with her hand and slapped him in the back of the head, "Move" she ordered.
"Fine, feel free to check out my perfect ass on the way up" he chuckled again this time to be answered by a kick to the shin, "Ow I'm going".
Reaching the hatch he typed in a code at the keypad just under it and the locking wheel rotated counter clockwise before hissing to slowly pressurize the compartment with the external levels and then slowly it opened. Climbing out of the hatch Raptor rolled his shoulders back again before turning around and kneeling with his hand held out to help his friend. The bright uncolored lighting in the airlock gave Raptor a better look at her features, not that he didn't already know what she looked like, her olive skin and pink lips, her feminine, but athletic frame and his favorite her dark green eyes.
"Thanks" she said as she stood up and patted at the wrinkles in her skirt, "Time for the debriefing".
"Yaaay" Raptor said with false enthusiasm, "I just love being in the same room as Pluto".
"It will take less than twenty minutes" she said to him, "So stop complaining".
"But he's a douche bag" Raptor groaned hunching over, his arms falling limp as they stopped at the door to the inner airlock.
"How is that any different from you?" she asked sliding her ID card and placing her palm to the palm reader and her face in front of the facial and retina scanner.
The computer beeped and the lock was disengaged, both of them took a step back as the door hissed once again to equalize the pressure of the two chambers. Once the process was complete they stepped into the inner airlock and the door closed behind them they were greeted by another olive skinned woman with shoulder length auburn hair. She was wearing a black pantsuit with a blue trimmed collar, her charcoal eyes regarded both of them with heavy expectations and respect.
"Welcome back" she said to them, "Pluto is waiting for you as is Emperor".
"Ah Whisper" Raptor said standing up straight and grinning at her, "How is my favorite co-worker?"
"Well I was fine until you opened your mouth and my headache came back" the woman replied, "Now come along we shouldn't delay".
The three of them exited the inner airlock to an elevator that took them up half a mile up, no to the surface, but to HQ. The ride didn't last long less than three minutes and they had stopped at the ground level to their facility. The doors slid open and they stepped out onto a balcony overlooking a hive of an office space below them was half a millenary of agents and operators surrounded by a cocoon of blast proof glass, all of them going about their business most sitting at cubicles going over analysis data while others were moving about handing in reports. The facility was labeled as the Hive.
A mostly underground facility the Hive reached three miles underground and was complete with office spaces, laboratories, training grounds, firings ranges, cafeterias and even dormitories. A secret institute under ground and partially underwater completely unknown to the outside world it was here that the agents of Ciel Lakras monitored the world in their attempt to fight the evil that controlled it. Almost ten thousand agents made up the Ciel Lakras and the Hive had enough space to accommodate every single one of them and more however the exact size of the facility was kept secret to everyone, but the highest ranked members.
Currently they were in the outer ring of the center facility the Analytics division it was here that the secret organization handled all their data and Intel from around the world it was also the biggest of the five divisions easily making up more than half of the organization's staff.
Raptor scanned over the sea of agents below him, "No matter how big this place is I always feel closed in".
The Hive was separated into five divisions, the center Analytics, the north block was where field agents and their handlers did their work most of that division's space was similar to Analytics, filled with computers and cubicles, but it was also where the briefing and conference rooms were. The east block was Facilities a division dedicated to keeping the Hive up and running, building superstructure, life support, engineering and maintenance and the generator rooms, Facilities had the most responsibility out of all five divisions and unfortunately was the most understaffed. In the south block was the Advanced Systems division responsible for research and development of specialized gadgets to keep their agents safe in the field and at HQ, it was also the location of the security force and armory as well as the laboratories, anything and everything was made here. And in the west were the Dormitories, where the housing, cafeterias, and infirmaries were.
Each division was led by a single person with the exception of Facilities, since they were so understaffed and had the most responsibility the staff of that division had been split in half and given a leader for each team, one to focus on Engineering and Power while the second team was responsible for Life Support and Maintenance. Each of the six division leaders held the highest rank in the organization and all frequently met in the director's office the one who oversaw the entire organization.
"I know the feeling" Whisper agreed, "After ten years I still can't use to feeling like I'm trapped in this place" she inhaled a quick, deep breath and released it, "Alright let's go".
Whisper was once a field agent, but now she was the leader of the Advanced Systems division, she often seemed exhausted and zombie like due to overworking herself, but she believed in the organization's goals and had proven it during her time as a field agent when she lost her little and ring fingers on her left hand while escaping a hostile target zone. No matter what her fatigued appearance may suggest, she was tough and determined beyond all meaning of the word and through it all she was still blazing hot in Raptor's eyes. He often tried flirting with her playfully most of the time only to be firmly shot down every time, but not once did it ever deter him.
The two men they were on their way to meet were Pluto head of the Analytics division and Emperor the man who had recruited all three of them, he was the leader of the Field Agents division. The three agents entered the briefing room in the north block where Emperor and Pluto were already waiting for them the latter appeared annoyed as usual.
The Analytics leader checked his watch, "On time for once" he said turning his chair around so he could face them. A tall and muscular ebony man with a bald head and thick beard his green eyes held a direct and cold stare while his voice carried a heavy authoritative tone.
"They've just returned from a successful mission Pluto" Whisper said motioning for the returned field agents to sit.
"Define successful" Raptor requested as he turned the chair around and sat reversed, "We got out clean, but I did cause a bit of a ruckus".
"Completing the mission without being seen was impossible to begin with" Emperor had said, "What matters is you've completed the objective and you're both safe".
"Speaking of which" Pluto said looking to Raptor, "The case?"
"Here you go sir" Priestess said sliding the case over the long table.
Pluto caught the case and eyed them both, "Did either of you open it?"
"No sir" Priestess answered.
"Wanted to" Raptor admitted, "I never could resist the temptation that is the mystery box".
"Will you calm down" Priestess told him.
"I can't man there's stuff in there" Raptor said to her with child like enthusiasm, "What's in the box Pluto?"
"Classified" the dark skinned man told him, "But you three may be read into it once I look over it myself" he stood up case in hand, "Job well down you two. Emperor will take it from here".
Pluto left the room and Raptor groaned as he dropped his forehead against the edge of the chair's back, "Can I go back to bed now?"
"Soon" Emperor told him, "First I need a full recount of the mission".
After giving their report Raptor and Priestess were given leave to return to their dorm, though they would have preferred to go back to their home in Ecruteak City it was likely they would have to follow up on their mission and needed to stay within the Hive. With a nod Emperor dismissed them and returned to his personal laptop once again praising the two of them for a job well done.
"I'm so tired" Priestess yawned, "I'm going to take a shower and go to sleep".
"I'll see you later beautiful" Raptor said as she left only for his partner to give him an exhausted wave over her shoulder.
After Priestess vanished around the corner Raptor leaned against the wall while Whisper was going over a report on her clipboard.
"You know Whisper" he said using his index finger to slowly push the clipboard down, "Every time I look at you I wish I was a lesbian".
"You that's funny" Whisper replied making eye contact with him, "Because every time I look at you I'm glad I'm a lesbian".
With that the division head walked away returning her attention to her clipboard leaving Raptor standing alone in the corridor.
"So feisty today" he chuckled before yawning himself, "Still tired" he muttered, "Back to bed".
He returned to his room, a dorm he shared with Priestess. He could hear the shower running as he entered, he would love the chance to clean up, but he was so tired his body forcefully dragged itself toward his bed and he collapsed forward quickly drifting off.
A/N. Alright first chapter done. Hopefully you readers enjoyed it or are at least intrigued by it. Sadly I will not be able to update often, but I will be working as much as I can on it. This was an idea I've had for a couple years now, but never got around to it, but now that its the 20th anniversary of Pokemon I figured let's go ahead and do it.