Aaand I'm back as promised! This chapter is pretty muvh where J will make a formal appearance. Our heroes are going to meet her for the very first time, so shall we begin?
Chapter 4: Forest Plans
A few tree branches and scratches later, Sycamore found himself on forest ground. Tapping on his phone, quickly and quietly, he found he wasn't too far away from the conference spot.
It would be even less with flight. "Garchomp, I need a hand!" he muttered, tossing out his best friend's Pokeball.
Garchomp appeared in a flash of light, and proceeded to give her trainer a rather scratchy hug.
"Garrrr," it rumbled.
"We have a long way to go, Garchomp," he murmured. Professor Sycamore realized with a jolt that he wasn't so worried about the whole J threat because of himself. He feared for Garchomp, and what would happen if…
He shuddered inwardly. No need to think about it as yet. The marker could be seen from above ground only. Quickly, he scrambled onto Garchomp's shoulders and soared into the air, keeping close to the treeline. The marker would be a large oak, they had said, with one red glass leaf positioned where he could see it. There would be one hidden in the tree for each attendant, and to get in, they had to throw the leaf into a certain slot.
He was fairly sure he was the last.
Suddenly, he felt Garchomp tense imperceptibly under him, and let out a low rumble. He glanced down, and saw a glint of red. He flew a little closer, and inspected the leaves. Oak. There was a single red leaf, hugging the branch. He reached to touch it. It felt smooth, but it had been excellently carved. Without touching it, there was no way one would've realized that it was glass.
He landed at the base of the great oak. The tree was old and gnarled, covered with rough imperfections.
He ran his hands over the oak, feeling for unnatural edges. His hand grazed a thin slash. The edges were smooth, freshly cut. Hoping and praying that he had picked the right slot, he dropped the leaf through.
For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then the ground opened like a huge maw under him and he was pulled into the darkness below.
A few crashes, bumps and bounces later, he tumbled into a clean, well-lit room that smelled pleasantly of forest. The walls were pale mahogany, everything in shades of brown and white.
A large, white table stood on the far right. There were three small steps leading down to few large white couches and armchairs, with a big screen.
Scattered all around this room were the people Sycamore had gone to so much effort to meet. He could see Alder's wild orange hair, Cynthia's flowing blonde tresses, Steven's bright blue eyes, Lance's wild pink spikes. The Professors were present too, along with a few notable Elite Four members.
Diantha, he noticed, was trying to suppress her laughter, along with everyone in the room. Alder, Steven and Aaron, he noticed, were flat-out in stitches.
"Cynthia, I'm all for marvellous entries, but wasn't that a little too much?" he asked, as he tried to stand up and brush leaves off of himself.
"You were the last one here," Cynthia commented, smiling mischievously.
"Actually, there was a bit of an emergency. I had to deal with it," he told them, hearing the grimness settle into his voice.
The laughter in the room died instantly. Laughs were replaced by confused and worried frowns.
"Emergency?" Diantha asked, her voice crisp. "Of what kind?"
Sycamore took a deep breath and plunged into his story.
"So there were spies inside the chopper? The one we sent for you?" Lance asked incredulously.
"Three of them. Hopefully they're locked away in a jail cell now," Sycamore said wearily, flopping down onto an armchair, only to be given a rather friendly pat (read: whack) on the back by Alder. "It was a stroke of genius, jumping ship like that," he said.
"J's spy network is growing," Cynthia commented. The screen flashed on. It showed a map of the world, and a myriad red lines crisscrossing one another. They all originated from a bunch of points, arcing over and then landing at others.
"They never stay in one place, and they're often the last person you'd expect," Diantha said, reaching out and tapping one of the red dots on the screen. Multiple pictures appeared, each of completely normal-looking people.
"Most of her spies are adults, as she can't win any trainer's favour in any way, but you do come across a few who have been promised protection or whose loved ones have been threatened," Professor Juniper said. "One such girl. Her name is Kyrie. She came to me, desperate, because the choice for her had been between coughing up her own Pokemon or giving up the locations of others. Kyrie now lives under a disguise, the original believed to be dead," Juniper said grimly.
"So if we know her spy network, we know which Pokemon are to be caught and when," Professor Birch commented, his eyes dark.
"But as you said, it's huge and practically invisible. She's got them acting as guards, cooks, lawyers, the stream is endless! What do you propose we do?" Cynthia asked.
"I have an idea." Aaron said slowly.
"What is it?"
"Like Professor Juniper said, some spies have got to be getting cold feet from this. Let's see if we can help them. Don't forget, many are just nice people who have been brutally threatened into silence. This girl, Kyrie, does she know others? She may be able to help us," he said.
"Kyrie would love to help, she's a lovely girl. But what do you plan to do with them?" Juniper asked.
"Let them play double-agent. J isn't a kind person. Most of her spies don't like her. They'll be holding grudges. If we can offer help and protection, maybe they'll agree," Juniper said.
"That's a brilliant idea, and it can be executed with style and grace, but tell me, can these spies be trusted?" Caitlin queried, looking dubiously around the room.
"Yes. According to Kyrie, J has a lot of the spies' Pokemon captive, and she'll sell them if they place a foot wrong. So that's not an issue. Kyrie is among one of these spies, but her aunt in Kalos is being threatened, so I think her credibility is a sure thing," Juniper said.
"Ash and his friends can come in there. Along with a few of the LC finalists, we can pair them up and send them to sites where J is due to capture her Pokemon. They can stop her there," Sycamore said.
"But there's still the multitude of Pokemon she's got. What of them?"
"I was thinking of that too. We can send a group to infiltrate the aircraft. It'll be risky, but it's the only route I see, other than a direct approach and then it'll be a bloodbath. J's not afraid to kill," Professor Rowan offered.
"True. Let's get this much done first, and then we'll decide our next move. I believe we have a few visits to make to our young spies and trainers," Steven said.
Kyrie was staring into space, looking up at the sky. Professor Juniper had been a godsend. Her caramel hair was now concealed under a wig of aqua hair, her grey-green eyes hidden by coloured contacts.
Life under disguise was easy, but delicate. She had hidden away any of her spy material, but there had been some close shaves. She just hoped and prayed that Grace and Serena were all right.
Author's Note: So here is the first of the 2 promised chapters. The second will be out as soon as possible, and I'm aware that it was due last week. But, unfortunately, school and ill health came calling.
That was quite a twist I tossed in there, huh? Kyrie being Serena's cousin. But it adds a whole new definition to the story. It was a slightly tough chapter to write.
But, irrespective, my usual sincere, heartfelt thanks to all my brilliant readers, and another one to the words that Amourshiper35, Strawhat Quilava, YellowFlashCannon and 1 guest lent me.
See you all soon!
Review and keep smiling,
Leaflame.