Chapter 9: Going Under
"I cannot believe I'm doing this." That was what was going through RiRi's head as she made her way up the side of the building towards the window. Being a squirrel did have its advantages however. Once she got to the window sill, she took a quick look around to make sure no one was looking. She then slowly opened the window little by little until she knew she could squeeze through.
RiRi was surprised she had yet to hear, "Oh look there's a Pachirisu up there!" Which was fine by her. Unfortunately as she went through the window she failed to notice there was not enough space to walk out on and suddenly she fell from the window into a pile of boxes that soon went everywhere.
"Damn it, son of a bitch, mother-!" she whispered loudly. She wanted to squeak out more but she had to hide somewhere else quick before she was found. Luckily, the employees there didn't think twice of the sudden event and told someone to stack them back up. Once she found herself hiding between two booths, she took a look around. Thankfully she happened to find a Pokemon, an Electrike, who was sitting close to it's trainer on the floor. The Electrike's trainer, who was a female, was on the phone and the Pokemon didn't look too thrilled to be where he was.
RiRi had to be cautious though, so she decided it was best to address the Pokemon from a safe distance. She then walked up close to it and whispered. "Pst! Hey, you!"
The Electrike turned to look at her and had a confused look on his face. "You talking to me?"
"No you're mo- yes you!" RiRi whispered. Her patience was already thinning and this Pokemon was not helping. "I need to ask you something."
"Hmm… well normally I'm not the one to be giving a tour guide around here or something, but you're cute, so I'll let it pass," Electrike said.
"Thanks… I guess…" RiRi said. "Anyway, what can you tell me about this place, or what's happened here the past twenty years?"
The Electrike looked at her in surprise. "You're new around here aren't you?"
"You could say that…" RiRi said lamely.
"Well… everything at one point was all fine and dandy," the Electrike explained. "Then the next thing people know, all the plant life here practically dies out. Doesn't make a lot of sense if you ask me. Anyway, then there's news that this network called the Kōdai Network takes over the whole place and now everywhere you go there are cameras everywhere. Kind of weird to be honest. It's just not the same as it used to be, and trust me I've seen pictures from before."
"I see then," RiRi replied. "Well, thank you for the help." She then made her way towards the exit.
"No problem at all," the Electrike said. "Hey, maybe I'll see you around, sugartits."
The last word he said froze RiRi in her tracks. "Sugartits! Oh he did not just say that word…I swear to Arceus I should just- no RiRi… stay calm… we can't cause a scene in here…" She then quickly went outside, no longer caring and ran back to where Raiden and Shadow where.
"Hey RiRi," Raiden said. "Did you find-!" He was then interrupted as RiRi latched herself onto him and started bawling. "RiRi what's-?"
"Someone in there called me sugartits!" RiRi cried, sobbing into his shoulder, leaving both him and Shadow confused.
"What the hell does that mean?" Shadow asked.
"Oh… it's just a term involving Mel Gibson or something…" Raiden murmured.
"So from what we know, the events that took place forty years in the past are occurring once again now," Shadow said. "The question is how did it happen and how is Kōdai involved?"
Unfortunately, his audience had other things on their minds. "How can someone say that to me!" RiRi cried, her eyes red and puffy.
"When I find that jackass who called you that his ass is grass!" Raiden growled. Shadow sweatdropped, realizing after twenty minutes the past event was still on their minds.
"Raiden, do I have a big butt?" RiRi asked.
Raiden suddenly flushed red. "Um… well… I mean it's not big…but it's not like tiny either… I mean you have a big tail that you curl up in so that kind of hides it." "Do I want her to have a big butt? Wait, what the hell am I saying?"
"Smooth one…" Shadow said.
"Well… I ask cause well…" RiRi then blushed. "I don't have a big chest of course. In fact, I think my tail makes up about fifty percent of my body. Maybe to other electric-types I'm just that sexy." Raiden cleared his throat suddenly, pretending he didn't hear that last part.
"Okay will you two just drop it!" Shadow then snapped. "Have you two even been paying attention?"
"Of course," Raiden said. "And we all know Kōdai is behind everything."
"It came to you like that?" Shadow asked.
"Well who else can it be?" Raiden asked. "Besides, it's horribly obvious because the villain always is in a huge corporation."
"Team Galactic was the only other group we've gone against," Shadow reminded him.
"Exactly," Raiden replied.
Shadow sighed. "Raiden, your intelligence amazes me sometimes." Still, while Raiden hasn't noticed, Shadow has been studying him for awhile now. Ever since he and RiRi came back he's been acting differently, much more impatient and getting upset easier. Something was wrong but now was not the time to ask. "But even so, that's not our biggest problem. We need a way to get back to the present and warn the others."
"And how do you suppose we're going to do that?" Raiden asked. "Call out Celebi's name and hope it appears?"
"I am certain that Celebi has been here before and therefore can find us," Shadow said. "But for now, we need to watch our backs and go to the source of the problem."
"You mean…?" RiRi asked.
"That's right," Shadow said. "We need to find where Kōdai is."
"Are you insane!" Raiden yelled. "Now, I don't know how many Pokemon he may have but no doubt wherever he is is probably a fortress. How could we possibly get in?"
"Easy," Shadow replied. "We find where the main building is, find some sort of vehicle to hide in and we'll be in easier than you can say 'Mightyena.'"
"And if we get caught?" Raiden asked.
"We'll probably be killed," Shadow replied simply.
"That seems to be the common outcome around here," Raiden said, sighing.
It was tough maneuvering around the city when all eyes seemed to be watching everything, but the three managed to find just where Kōdai's building was. The only hard part was getting inside. "We have to keep an eye on all traffic coming in," Shadow said as they once again were going through the sewers. "It's a short amount of time but if we hurry, we can get inside without anyone even noticing."
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Raiden asked. "There are most likely cameras in there as well."
"Well that's why we have to tread carefully," Shadow said. As soon as they got back to the surface, they were about two hundred meters from the building.
"There's a van coming already," RiRi said.
"Perfect," Shadow said. "Well, you all know what to do." As soon as the van came by, they all latched themselves to the bottom of the vehicle. It didn't take long for the van to reach its destination and once it came to a stop, the three of them quickly hit the ground, watching the people get out and head towards what appeared to be an automatic sliding door in the back part of the building. Once they went inside, the three Pokemon came out from the van.
"Hmm…" Shadow murmured, peering inside. "No cameras here, how strange. Well, works out for us." He stomped his foot hard against the pad, causing the door to open and soon they went inside.
"You still haven't explained what we're going to do if we find Kōdai," Raiden then said.
"He won't say anything to us," Shadow replied. "But I know his Pokemon will. Plus, there's another reason why we're here. I think Celebi may be here as well, captured."
"How is that possible?" RiRi asked. "Celebi was-"
"If things are the way they are here, then it means Kōdai won, and it also means he has Celebi, who can continue to give him his powers." Shadow then looked down. "Or… it could mean Celebi may no longer be with us…"
"I won't believe it 'til I see it," Raiden said. "Let's get this over already."
"The elevator would the easiest way to get to the top," Shadow said. Raiden nodded and then cautiously made their way towards the elevator.
One of the personnel on the top floor was cleaning the floor when he heard the elevator ring and looked over as it opened. Oddly enough, no one appeared to be in it. Scratching his head slightly, he let it go and continued down the hallway.
Once it appeared to be clear, the three Pokemon dropped down from the ceiling in the elevator and continued their way. "If I was human, this whole thing would be a lot easier to do," Raiden grumbled. They went straight, hoping to perhaps find a sign for Kōdai's office. Instead, doors of executives, CEO's, you name it. It seems the Kōdai Network has grown considerably in the past twenty years.
"It seems rather empty here," RiRi commented. "Are we here on the weekend?"
"Even if we were, there would still be more people here than what we see," Shadow replied. "Something's not right here."
They kept searching around and around until finally, they came across a sign that read, "Grings Kōdai, President." But even his office looked empty, the lights looked like they were off, and even the door was locked.
"Okay, now I'm definitely feeling uneasy about this," RiRi said. "No one is here, not even Kōdai."
"What the hell is going on?" Raiden asked.
Shadow was silent. He was thinking, and it did not take long for him to realize just what was going on. "Damn it," he then said. "I should've known. We've been played this entire time."
"You mean…" Raiden began.
"They knew we were coming," Shadow replied grimly.
"Oh I'm afraid it's much more than that." The sudden unfamiliar voice made their hearts stop and chilled them to the bone as they slowly turned around.
(A/N: Hey everyone, sorry I was gone again for so long. I decided to take a week off and did that while playing Final Fantasy VI, which I just beat today and it was awesome! Anyway, I should hopefully be back on track with everything so I will you all NEXT TIME!)
FoxMcCloud7921
