Hello, all. It's strange - I've been rather dyslexic as of late. So, if you see evidence of it throughout, I apologize.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, nyoron.
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'Admin Neptune?'
A young woman sitting at a large desk sighed and pushed away her paper work. She tossed her navy blue hair over her shoulder carelessly and picked up her radio.
"Yes, Jordan?"
'We've brought the two captives. Shall we bring them up to you?'
The woman smiled, her sea green eyes lighting up. "Yes. I want to see them right away."
These rebels amused her. The fact that they had irritated Jordan made her laugh, and god knows she needed it. Cyrus had been breathing down her back as of late, harassing her to do all that research about Dialga and Palkia.
The doors at the far end of her office opened automatically, causing her to look up. Jordan strode in, along with the two captives, each escorted by two grunts. Mimi trailed in shamefully after them, whimpering.
The female captive had red puffy eyes, as if she had just stopped crying. Her blonde hair stuck to her face from the tears. But the male captive…now he was interesting. Fierce, almost feral red eyes glaring at her from behind thick black hair.
"What do you want with us?" he snarled. Oh, his teeth were oddly fang-like.
Neptune smiled and stood, circling her desk and sitting on its polished surface. Hiroshi noticed a magenta and navy tattoo just under her left eye that looked rather like a crescent moon.
"What'll I do with you? Oh, I'm not so sure, yet…" She grinned at them. "How about you tell me your names?"
"Ryan." Hiroshi blurted instantly.
Lily twitched – it was her father's name. Well, that made it easy for her to choose a name. "I'm May." she said.
"Ryan and May?" she repeated, tapping her finger to her chin. For a moment Hiroshi thought she recognized the names, but she simply shrugged.
"Fair enough. Where were you going?"
"What's it to you?"
Neptune chuckled, "Sassy, are you? Well, considering it's up to us whether you make it there or not, it would be in your best interest."
Hiroshi cursed silently to himself – she was blocking him at every corner. She must have been used to things like this. Well, he might as well tell partial truths for now…
"We're just tourists. We were on our way to Canalave City when you ambushed us for no reason." he replied evenly.
A look of surprise came over Neptune's face. "Canalave? Really? Then, you'll be near the Canalave Library. I was planning on doing some research over there, actually…"
"Then let us go!" Hiroshi interrupted. "Let us go there, and we'll do all the research you want."
Lily cast a worried glance over at Hiroshi. She had kept quiet because she was sure to blow it if she spoke. Still, she hoped that Hiroshi's thoughts could keep up with the situation. Hers certainly couldn't.
Neptune hopped off her desk and walked over to Hiroshi slowly. "Really? You'll do all that research if I just let you go?"
He studied her face, then nodded slowly.
She smiled and leaned over to whisper where his ears should have been. "Remember, I said I'd let you go. I never said I'd let you go free."
His eyes widened as she stepped back. She hooked a stray strand of navy hair behind her ear almost coyly.
"Welcome to Team Galactic."
--- --- ---
"Damn it!"
Hiroshi kicked the wall angrily and scowled as he paced restlessly. Lily sat quietly with Gale on her lap, petting the Raichu with a brush. Senko sat near her, watching her angry child with a frown.
"Damn it damn it damn it!" he cursed again, punching the wall.
The steel warped a little, bloodying his knuckles. His fangs were sticking out of his lips again, cutting their familiar trails. His pupils were no more than slits.
"Hiro-chan…" Lily began cautiously. "Calm down…"
"Calm down? How the hell can I calm down?! We're in Team Galactic, Lil – not exactly a low profile position! And worse yet, they gave us these!"
He pulled up his sleeve to reveal a crescent moon tattooed on the inside of his forearm, much like the one Neptune had on her face. It was a mark that all Galactic members carried to identify each other in the field.
Lily lightly rubbed her tattoo as well – it still hurt from the whole procedure. She didn't think that the whole situation was that bad…at least they had a team to protect them, right?
Hiroshi flopped down and leaned against the wall, his face in his hands. Lily knew that his mind was whirling, trying to analyze every little detail to form a plan. He sat like this for ten minutes – rather long for him – and finally spoke.
"Okay, I've thought of something. Chances are that we won't be too closely monitored while researching, right? We'll find what we need and get out of there. Ah, but as a precaution, we need to look enthusiastic about our new positions…"
He looked up at her and sarcastically smiled, "We're Team Galactic grunts, Lil. Doesn't get much lower than that."
She smiled and stood, approaching him carefully. She reached out her arms and put them around his neck, laughing when he stiffened.
"Don't be so tense, Hiro-chan, it's just a hug." she teased.
"You act like I'm used to them." he chuckled darkly.
She closed her eyes and mumbled, "Hiro-chan, you're trying so hard to protect us. Thank you."
He sighed heavily and, after a short pause, replied, "You're giving me too much credit. It's my fault that we're here."
Before Lily could argue this point, a grunt opened the door to their holding cell and pointed at them.
"Oi, Ryan, May! It's time for you to move along to Canalave. You'll have an assistant to make sure you follow the rules, eh? Oh, and…"
He tossed them a couple of uniforms in all their monochrome splendor.
"You'll be wearing those underneath your regular clothes at all times, you got that?"
--- --- ---
Hiroshi couldn't say he was pleased with their choice for an escort. This would be even truer for the escort herself.
A very familiar pink haired girl screeched, "There's no way in hell I'm going to escort those two!" She pointed her finger accusingly at them as Hiroshi raised an eyebrow.
"Eh, Mimi-chan, that's such harsh language for a girl." teased the other grunts.
"Stop calling me that!" she snapped.
Jordan broke up the fight with, "Hey, shut up! Mimi, you're the reason we failed at the windmill so it's your responsibility. You're accompanying these two to Canalave."
She wailed, "But what if they murder me and throw my body on the side of the road?"
"Not my problem." he replied, waving her off.
Lily said timidly, "Um, Mimi? You don't have to worry about us doing anything like that."
The younger girl glared at her and snapped, "I don't trust you, you know. I'm going to be watching you carefully…"
She crossed her arms and turned away angrily, puffing up her cheeks in a pout. It was hard to believe that a sixteen year old like her would be in this dark organization.
Lily laughed uneasily, picking up Gale and holding him like a big teddy bear. The Raichu mewed and wagged his tail. Lily didn't know whether or not she should try to befriend Mimi, but she could at least be polite, right?
Hiroshi walked past them and said, "Let's get going. It's almost sundown and we have a long way to go."
--- --- ---
It was already sunset by the time they left the nondescript building in Jubilife. Looking back, Hiroshi would never have guessed it was a base for any sort of criminal syndicate. The only clue was a small G carved into the top right corner of the front door.
Jubilife was a huge city with so many people it was dizzying. Hiroshi had never seen so many people all in one place. Although Lily and Chris told him how the real world was, seeing it with his own eyes was a whole different experience. Still, he kept the façade of calm as to not raise suspicion.
Once they reached the edge of the city, there were two shady border guards loitering around. When they approached, the men surrounded them.
"Hey, looking to get through? It's fifty P, eh?" one leered.
"Otherwise, you'll have to go the long way around. You wouldn't like that." the other chuckled.
Hiroshi frowned, slightly baring his fangs. The two men were startled but didn't back off. He was considering growling when Mimi sighed irritably and rolled up her sleeve, exposing her shining tattoo.
The men backed off with frightened expressions, almost tripping over themselves to get away.
"S-So sorry, we didn't know –"
"You know, we'd never go against –"
"Team Galactic or Admin Neptune –"
"We'll…we'll leave now!"
The two then dashed off, no doubt to find some other gate to hang around. Hiroshi and Lily were left blinking, stunned at the whole incident.
Mimi sighed and tugged down her sleeve. "Scum. Just 'cause they're in Team Galactic, thinking they're big shots all of a sudden…"
She whirled around on her heels and hissed, "Don't you become like that! Team Galactic is no excuse for being the scum of the earth! If you're going to be a part of it, make sure it's for a good reason – like getting money."
Lily said, "Mimi…are you saying that you're in Team Galactic for the money?"
The girl sighed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course. Even a grunt like me can get a decent salary. Half of the grunts are raising families. But what I'm going for is the admin position."
Her eyes began to glint. "Imagine it! The power, the infamy, the money! Admin Neptune makes more than a neurosurgeon, you know? Cyrus pays so well that everyone's signing up! I'm going to become super rich this way and move where no one will recognize me. It's the perfect plan, if I do say so myself."
She trailed off, noting the incredulous looks on Lily and Hiroshi's faces. She pouted again and crossed her arms.
Hiroshi chuckled, "Delusions of grandeur, I see. Well, we might as well keep moving."
He walked through the gate, Senko following closely at his heels. He petted the Umbreon affectionately as he went.
Mimi whispered to Lily, "What is with that kid and his Umbreon? Sometimes it's almost like he's talking to her!"
Lily picked her words very carefully. "Well…Senko – that's her name – has always been there for Hi-Ryan." She stuttered and quickly covered up her mistake. Mimi didn't seem to notice, so she continued, "He's really close to her 'cause they've always been together, you know?"
Mimi shrugged, "Not really. I got my Luxio from Team Galactic, so I've only known him for three months or so. I don't bond well with pokemon, I guess."
Lily frowned – what a sad thing to say about yourself. Mimi noticed the look and puffed out her cheeks in yet another pout.
"Don't go feeling sorry for me – I don't care either way. I just want my money. Anyway, Ryan's almost out of sight! Are we following him or not?"
Lily nodded quickly and started to run to catch up.
--- --- ---
Night fell quickly.
Hiroshi stared at the dying moon as he stood watch for their small group. The fire had long since died down, leaving them in near perfect darkness.
He glanced back to check on the girls once more. Lily was curled up with Gale as they shared a sleeping bag, looking content. Mimi, distrustful as ever, had her Luxio sleeping nearby to keep an eye on Hiroshi, but the lion pokemon had long since fallen asleep.
The morph turned back around and tugged irritably at his bandana, freeing his ears. He shook his hair out with a sigh of relief – much better. With that muffling cloth on, his hearing had been no better than a human's.
The darkness always made him think deeper than he usually did.
The thought of the night happened to be the voice that occasionally echoed in his mind. Senko had told him that it was Missingno, once, but this seemed unlikely. After all, the voice seemed distinctly…feminine. A "glitch" wouldn't really have a gender, right?
"Mother?" he whispered tentatively into the darkness.
'Yes, my child?' She was beside him in an instant, like always. She was never out of calling distance of her precious child.
"What do you know…about Missingno?"
Her eyes narrowed as her ears folded back. He was asking about that again – not good. Curiosity killed many a cat.
'Why do you want to know? Do you still intend to seek her out?'
Hiroshi turned to her sharply. "Her? You've always told me Missingno was a male!"
She cursed to herself and bit back her tongue – damn, she was thinking too much to choose her words carefully like she usually did. Her silence only served to confirm his question.
"I'm right then? Missingno is…a woman? Geez…" He flopped back on the grass and stared at the stars. "That's messed up."
'How so? A woman brings one into the world – it's only natural for a woman to take one out. The giver and taker of lives are one in the same, two sides of the same coin.'
The boy looked up at the Umbreon. "How do you know all this Mother?"
She closed her eyes and sighed, 'It's a diluted, broken up story. It was told it by my mother, and her by hers.' She opened her crimson eyes slightly and said, 'And, as your mother, it's my duty to tell you.'
--- --- ---
I don't know much, she said.
Only fragments of fragments and whispered half-truths. But I will tell them.
What you have heard was wrong, my child. Arceus did have two children, but they were not Mew and Missingno. Mew and Missingno were two sisters that existed as long as Arceus had, and one day they found each other.
It was decided that one would bring life and the other would take it. I do not know how this was decided.
Mew gave birth to a girl. The first daughter of Arceus, Cresselia. Missingno gave birth to a boy. The first son of Arceus, Darkrai.
When Darkrai was still small, Arceus sensed a deep anger and hatred in his neon blue eyes. Whether he was seeing the present or the future, it didn't matter. Darkrai and his mother were to live in a world separate from the "real" world.
It was called the Reverse Dimension.
It is unknown exactly what it's like in that place. Unpleasant, I believe, with all the dead souls floating in an endless void. But the mother and son couldn't leave – Arceus created Giratina to keep the world separate. The place where the worlds came together was called Sendoff Spring, from which you must travel through Turnback Cave.
It is said that Arceus gave Missingno a connection to Dark pokemon as a consolation. A way to have eyes for her in the real world. Even now, she speaks to every Dark type, trying to bring them to her…
--- --- ---
"But if you go to her, you'll die, right?" Hiroshi whispered.
'I'm almost positive the only way to cross over is to die.' Senko replied.
He rolled over in the grass, the whole story circling in his head. This story conflicted with the one May had always told him, but really, what human truly knew of Arceus?
The voice in his head was Missingno. The bringer of death.
The one that would take his own life one day.
He shuddered and curled tighter. He didn't want to think about it that way. It was strange – when he was in the lab, he was so fatalistic. Now, he was just…overwhelmed.
He rolled onto his back and stared into the starry sky. Sometimes he really hated Mew for letting him live.
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So, as a note, the Team Galactic of this time isn't really evil. Not yet, at least. Cyrus doesn't know anything about Dialga and Palkia - he's just a man angry with the world.