Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own Pokemon... yet.
A/N: Yes, I know it's been a while. I blame bassoons, Vocaloid, and writer's block.
Into the Shadows
Chapter 13- Loss
The guards roughly guided Terra along the glass- lined walls, taking her towards the end of the hallway. At the end of the hallway, one of the cell's walls were encased in concrete, with a small barred window being the only way to see inside the cell. From the window, Terra could see a young woman sitting slouched over a table facing the wall. A sudden slamming sound rang through the hallway as the guards nearly threw Terra into the concrete- lined cell, with most of her body's weight landing on her recently stapled arm, causing her to cry out in pain. The woman didn't seem to notice, still slouched over the table.
"Good luck." One of the guards sneered as the door slammed shut.
Terra examined her painful wound, running a finger along the cut, feeling for any loose staples. Fortunately, none of them seemed loose. After sitting up, Terra examined the room. It was rather large, with two small beds placed in one corner. The woman still was hunched over the table, not moving at all.
However, after a few minutes, the woman turned around. "Are the guards gone?" She asked in a hushed voice.
"They should be." Terra replied.
"Good." The woman let out a sigh of relief. "Well, you're going to be here for a while. Mind as well get to know each other. I'm Leah. Leah Onlara."
"Terra Rohare."
The woman flinched after a moment of thought. "You're the woman who helped Eldes escape! Tell me, how is he?"
"No, no, I'm not." Terra said. "My friend did that. Ashley Clorus."
"How is she?" Leah asked, a slight smile on her face.
"Dead." Terra said bluntly.
"And Eldes?" The smile was gone, replaced with a more tense expression.
"Also dead."
"Oh. Just like Andrea. Kill everyone before they can kill you." Leah said flatly.
"Wait. How did you know about Ashley, Eldes, and I?"
"Andrea suspected that I orchestrated it somehow. She mentioned your name and I guess I just confused you and Ashley."
"Why did she tell you about this?"
"I was a prominent leader in the rebellion. I led the resistance in the Phenac area. She decided not to kill the leaders." Leah sighed.
"Why?"
"Well, she says she wants to kill us after she shows us what she's done to the world." Leah trailed off, mumbling something incomprehensible.
"Haven't you already seen what Cipher can do?"
"Yes, but only secondhand. I was never a resistance member."
"What made you resist now?"
Leah took a deep breath. "I... I knew Andrea. She was a close friend of mine in school. She hasn't always been this way. Back in school, she was much gentler. She even openly disapproved of Cipher, especially the first time when her father was a prominent leader of the organization. Now she's the leader of Cipher. I'm suspecting her father has something to do with all of this."
"What if it was just a ploy to keep the law off of her trail while her father groomed her to become the leader of Cipher?" Terra asked.
"I was over at her house a few times, and her father called her down, alone, just to do some quick chores, and she tried to convince him to defect from the organization. Almost every conversation those two had was about Andrea's disapproval of what her father was doing. Besides, it was never illegal to be in support of Cipher. You were only a criminal if you were a member. If she was in support of Cipher, she had no reason not to show it, especially if she was to become the leader in the future." Leah looked down at the floor. "I just want the old Andrea back. I guess that's pretty selfish of me, isn't it? I mean, most of Orre wants her dead. And here I am, trying to keep her alive..." Leah sighed.
"No, it's not selfish. Not at all. You'd be taking down the most dangerous person in Orre, and best of all, no bloodshed." Terra smiled, just a front to comfort Leah. "Do you know how to get her back?"
"No. I really haven't been able to spend much time with her. Haven't figured out what caused her to change so dramatically."
"Well, you're probably going to see a lot of her while I'm here. You could try to ask her." Terra sighed.
Leah chuckled softly. "You on death row?"
"No. I-" Terra paused, biting her lip.
"Then what does she want with you? Interrogation?"
Terra took a deep breath. "I- I work for her. I'm here because Andrea wants me here."
Ashley was lying on her bed, limp but still conscious. Her eyes were glassy, and the only proof that she was alive was the occasional blink. Her breaths had become so shallow and ragged that Ein had to put his ear next to Ashley's mouth to hear the faint breathing sounds. She was still in pain from the chemicals Ein had injected her with earlier. Ein had taken several blood samples, testing them for the compound that made her so ill. The newly injected compound had been working. Now, all he needed to do was wait. Maybe administer some pain medication, or the other chemical designed to neutralize the pain caused by the one flowing through Ashley's veins. However, he wasn't sure what effect it would have on the other compound, so pain medication was his safest option. He walked out of the room, headed for his office. He knew he had some sort of drug for pain in there, and, considering Ashley's current state, it was probably best to hook her up to an IV as well. He should also tell Terra that Ashley was going to be okay, but Ashley was his top priority at the moment. Terra hadn't come running back, so she was probably still talking with Andrea.
Ein walked through the hallways quickly yet calmly, eventually arriving at the familiar door to his office. He opened it and walked over to another door on the opposite wall, leading to a large closet, filled with vials of varying sizes, as well as laboratory equipment and medical supplies. He retrieved an IV and hooked it to a wheeled pole, wrapping the tubing over the top. He obtained a syringe and a box containing equipment for the IV from a nearby drawer, and walked over to a wall lined with large vials. He retrieved one of them, filled about halfway to the top with a clear liquid. This was the medicine. Cipher had this from a few yeas back, from when Andrea needed Cipher to remain docile while they quietly infiltrated Orre's government. Each member of Cipher's lower ranks was required to take at least fifteen milligrams of this a day, but, after seeing the effects it had on their work, she quickly weaned everyone off of it. A few people still came to Ein from time to time to receive a dose of it. He gave them smaller doses then they were used to, usually only five milligrams so their work wouldn't be affected as much, but they still left his office satisfied.
Ein exited the room, with the various supplies he had obtained in tow. He walked through the hallways quickly, arriving at Ashley's room after a few minutes.
"I've got good news, Ashley." Ein said, wheeling the pole over to the side of her bed. He placed the vial of medication on a nearby table. "You're going to be fine."
Ashley didn't respond, but her eyes moved to observe the vial. Looking closely at her eyes, Ein thought he saw the slightest bit of fear in them. In her weakened state, this slight expression probably meant something much more, but Ein chose to ignore it.
"I'm going to start you on an IV, and give you some medication to help with the pain." Ein indicated.
Ashley's eyes still had the look of fear in them, but Ein continued on. He unwrapped the needle for the IV, and hooked it to the tubing. He carefully examined Ashley's arm, looking for a vein. After a few seconds, he inserted the needle into Ashley's arm, and after a few more preparations, liquid from the IV bag was flowing into Ashley's veins. Then, Ein injected the pain medication into the IV tubing.
"I'll be back to see how you're feeling in a few minutes. I'm just going to go tell Terra you're fine." Ein did not wait for a response, he knew Ashley had heard him. He exited the room and made his way to Andrea's office, a room he was all too familiar with. He politely knocked on the door before opening it. Inside, Andrea was sitting with her back to the door. She had three small marbles orbiting around her head, manipulated with her telekinetic abilities. Ein calmly approached the desk.
"Yes?" Andrea asked without turning around, the marbles falling to the floor. There was a slight hint of anger in her voice.
"I-I'm very sorry for interrupting you-" Ein began.
"And? Do you have a reason? I was in the middle of something. Now, if you don't have any reason to be here, I suggest leaving." Andrea interrupted, her voice very intense.
"I want to know where Terra is." Ein stated.
Andrea chuckled, turning to face Ein. "She's imprisoned." she stated.
Ein stepped back, startled. "What? What did she do?"
"I'm using her as leverage to get an escaped prisoner back here. Why? Do you need to tell her something?"
"Yes. May I speak to her?"
"What do you need to tell her?"
"Just that Ashley will be fine."
Andrea smiled. "She's in cell A- 200 if you want to tell her."
Ein flinched. Cell block A was death row. The most secure place in all of Cipher's headquarters. The guards assigned to that post were ruthless, and most of them had been brainwashed by Andrea. One misplaced word and he was dead. "Why cell block A?"
Andrea chuckled. "I just wanted to see what would happen with her. Maybe find new ways to break prisoners. Please, when you go to tell her about Ashley, tell me how she seems to be faring."
"She hasn't been in there for long. Shouldn't be too bad. But I'll just check." Ein said as he turned to exit the room.
"So. You're with the enemy. Fancy that." Leah sighed.
"I'm not against you as long as I'm in here." Terra said confidently.
"Thanks, but, there's no point whose side you're on. The rebellion is over. Cipher has won. Just focus on keeping yourself alive if you can. Even if it means siding with Cipher."
"Wait." Terra interjected. "Who said the rebellion is over?"
"Well, Andrea got all of the rebellion leaders: Nett, Perr, Secc, Marcia, Megg, and I. Without us, the rebellion fell apart. Really, after Andrea got us, she just had to lie back and wait for the resistance to take care of itself. We hadn't really formed any sort of cohesive unit when Andrea caught us. Without the leaders, the rebellion was just a group of vigilantes with a common goal. No sort of organization."
"Oh." was all Terra could reply as she looked down at the floor.
Suddenly Leah shot up, moving quickly to a corner of the room. "Guards. I can hear their footsteps. Stay still if you want to live. They'll think you're trying to escape if you move too much."
The same two guards that had escorted Terra to this cell came in view of the window. After a few seconds, the door to the cell opened, revealing Ein to be in between the two guards. They pushed Ein inside of the cell.
"You've got two minutes. This cell is bugged, so I'd watch what you say in here. We'll take you back to Andrea's office when you're time's up." one of the guards said as he slammed the door shut.
"Ein? What are you doing here?" Terra stepped forward suddenly.
"I just needed to tell you that Ashley will be fine." Ein said calmly.
Leah perked up. "Ashley? You mean Ashley Clorus?"
"Yes."
Leah's expression brightened. "So she's alive?"
"Not the one you know." Terra interjected. "This Ashley's a clone. Cipher created her so that they could conduct experiments on a human subject. She's just suffering from the aftereffects of a test."
Leah's face relaxed. "What kind of test?"
Ein stepped forward. "Why do you want to know?"
"I want to know what you're doing to what used to be Orre's one light of hope, that's all." Leah said, her voice slightly aggressive.
"I don't have time to explain it fully, but basically I have been experimenting with a serum that can turn humans into Shadow Pokemon- like beings." Ein said, his voice not showing any emotion.
Leah's eyes narrowed as the guards opened the cell door, guns drawn and pointed at Ein. Ein walked calmly out of the cell, the door slamming shut behind him. "Bastards..." Leah muttered.
"What's wrong?" Terra walked up to Leah.
"Isn't it obvious? They've taken Orre's last chance... and corrupted it! Cipher has won!" Leah yelled as she fell face first onto her bed.