The Longest Journey
Gem Archipelago
Chapter 25: Opal Mines
The Opal Mines were located a little to the west of Opal Town, and they covered a wide range, though most of the area was situated underground. The place was practically deserted, but the entrance, which had been sealed off a wooden doorway with a sign saying "NO ENTRY" had been torn down, leading the way into the depths of the mines.
"…Well, someone came through here," Hiiro mumbled.
"Yeah, and we're about to follow" Ketlin growled out, slowly putting her Kamen disguise on. "So what are we waiting for""
"How about some light gear for those who don't see well in tha dark, kitten?" the girl's father warned, going through his bag a bit quickly.
"Hold on…" Alex murmured as he reached into his bag. "I hope no one's arachnaphobic," he quipped, pulling out a Pokéball and releasing the Pokémon inside.
The Pokémon was a large, yellow spider with 6 eyes, four small ones and two bigger ones, dark blue patterns adorning its body and the tips of its feet.
Hiiro blinked and pulled out his Dex, aiming it at the Pokémon.
"Galvantula. An EleSpider Pokémon. When attacked, they create an electric barrier by spitting out many electrically charged threads. They employ an electrically charged web to trap their prey. While it is immobilized by shock, they leisurely consume it."
"Aww." The girl, minus her mask grinned, pulling up Galvantula up in a hug, nuzzling her nose against the arachnid's forehead. "Aren't you a big sweety huh Galvey? Yush you are!"
The silverhead chuckled, rubbing the back of his head with a nod. "Good thing NJ's not here, he hates spiders…not afraid just really ticked off by em…"
After giving a small chuckle, Alex turned to the Electric type after Ketlin/Kamen had pulled back. "Listen, girl, we have to get through these mines, so I need you to light up our path, alright?"
The spider gave a small chitter, before starting to skitter inside, waiting for the Trainers to catch up. As they were inside, electricity sparked around the Galvantula, before it spread out a Flash that allowed the humans to see where they were going without disturbing the nearby Zubat that hung from the ceiling.
"Right… let's go," Hiiro said with a nod.
Fixing the last bits of her mask, Kamen pulled up her hood, a nod as she took lead a bit in front of Galvantula, not effected the least by her own shadow blocking most of her view. The girl's father frowned, taking something from the bag into his hand, following along with the group, his attention turning from the supports and the local Pokémon. "Hm, not really disturbed, that's an improvement from tha last caves with these guys…"
Alex was silent as he walked, looking back and forth as he attempted to find something out of place. But nothing seemed to be particularly wrong. "…Strange… Besides the entrance, there's no sign of anyone being here…"
Hiiro said nothing as he kept going, briefly closely his eyes and allowing his mind to link with those of a few nearby Pokémon. But that got him just as little results as looking around did. "…where are they?"
"Something doesn' feel right," TJ growled out, keeping his eyes alert. "An why would tha guy be callen Nick from a public phone…"
"…Wait…" Alex whispered, stopping in his tracks. "…did you hear that?"
As they waited and listened, a rumble came from somewhere up ahead, followed by the sounds of a battle.
"…Someone's there…" Hiiro murmured.
The masked girl didn't bother stopping, picking up her pace for the source of the battle sounds. "What are you guys waiting for come on!" she called back as her image disappeared into the darker depths of the mine.
Alex sighed, but hurried after with Galvantula, Hiiro and TJ right behind him.
As they approached, the sounds of battle became louder and louder, and the area around them rumbled ominously. As they rushed on, there was an animalistic roar, followed by a cry of what sounded like an Eeveelution - as well as a scream of pain.
"…! That was Rachel!" Hiiro cried out.
"Rachel? What is she doing here?"
"Who knows right now we better hurry dammit where did…"
As they turned around the corner, they stopped dead as a powerful rumble echoed through the cave and numerous rocks came down and blocked one of the routes they could have taken from there. But before they could start to try and get through, Hiiro choked in surprise and horror.
"Rachel!" he cried out, rushing toward the girl's side where she lay on the ground, her Espeon laying beside her, knocked out. The girl was hissing in pain as she struggled to move, but found herself unable to move as she was carefully pulled up by the boy. "What happened? Why are you even here?"
"…N…Nick…" the girl choked out. "…he… he's… here… but… he's… urgh…" Rachel hissed as she reached for her chest, shaking in pain.
Alex frowned as he crouched down as well, using a Revive on the Espeon to get the Pokémon back up. "Who did this to you?"
"Dammit, here, lay her on this for a second" TJ said, pulling out some spare cloths from his bag, putting it down like a makeshift pillow, looking about for some of his gear from his bag
Hiiro lightly placed her upon the clothes, watching as the girl gasped through her teeth, trying to get air into her lungs without experiencing pain. Her Espeon moved over and whined a little, licking at the girl's cheek.
Alex looked around for a moment. "…Did Ketlin get so far ahead of us already?"
"Looks it, probably chased tha one responsible," TJ muttered, looking over the girl with a frown. "Hm…"
"How bad is it, TJ?" Hiiro asked.
"It's not good, looks like at least a rib's cracked. Rachel, listen, try to take calm, steady breaths for now alright? Better get somethen like a splint or somethen might have a fracture in her back too…" the silverhead grit out, starting to pull some rope and supplies from his bag. "I can take her outta here in a nano don't worry bout us."
"Are you sure?" Alex asked. "It's a long way back, and without Galvantula, it'll be almost impossible to see if you head back."
"Tom can lead my way with his nose." The silverhead nodded, quickly waving the pair off. "Right now somethen bad's goen down in here and we'd be in tha way right now an I'm tha one with experience this kinda stuff, so cha two go on an help Ket!"
The two boys were silent for a moment, before they looked at each other and nodded. Getting up as one, they gave the older Trainer a quick nod, before they started rushing off, with Alex's Galvantula leading the way.
The masked girl snarled, rushing along the darkness with ease, if anything she seemed even more active, feral almost as she looked around. "Where are you, hurting someone then rushing off like…"
As she said that, though, an echo resounded from up ahead as someone moved a bunch of rocks, before steady footfalls followed it, moving gradually away from her.
Hearing that, the masked girl growled, rushing after the footsteps, jumping about the rocks snarling out "Get back!"
But the footsteps did not stop, they just kept going regardless, undeterred. But as the girl got closer, a familiar scent assailed her nostrils.
"…NOW I'M MAD!" the masked girl snarled out, speeding up with renewed vigor. "GET BACK HERE SO I CAN KICK YOUR BUTT, NICK!"
Finally, though, the footsteps halted, and as Kamen Trainer came close, she could see a single person standing there, carrying what looked like a torch in his left hand and wearing the typical Aether Grunt uniform, so to say. He faced away from her for the moment, but after a moment more, he turned around without a word.
"…"
"Seriously how much of an idiot are you for this! Going to work for these creeps, hurting people? What is wrong with you!" the masked girl snarled out, he fists clenching so tight they risked bleeding.
"…"
The boy just looked at her from behind his mask, the little that was visible of his face not giving away anything. He merely stood there and watched her, completely indifferent.
"Did you do that to the girl…"
"…"
The masked girl looked to him, before, slowly, she began to shift, rearing her feet at the heels, she was readying for a kick "Guess you took your steps…wrong way or not…"
"…" The boy still refused to answer, not even seeming to care about what she was saying.
The girl didn't say anything else herself, before rounding out, sending a kick that launched her Pokéball flying from her heels, a flash, and the Fire/Fighting pig Pokémon was launched out, snarling angrily as he stomped into the floor. "PIIIGNITTE!"
"…"
"We're going to beat you down, an drag you back, Nick…" the masked girl growled, her and Natsu's neck giving a snap as they jerked the joints suddenly.
Nick watched the Fire/Fighting type for a moment longer, before he brought up his right arm and flexed his hand, causing a Pokéball to drop into his hand, before he lightly tossed it forward. The Pokémon that emerged from it was slender, sleek and had an elongated body covered by jade scales, and several spines were protruding from its back, shoulders and ankles. It had a thin set of wiry antenna protruding from along the inner workings of its nose, coiling around horned 'ears'' to hang down by neck, and its eyes were a pale golden. Its tail was long and thin with several spine like tips protruding along the end.
"…Deal with them… then come find me…" Nick said solemnly, then turned on his heel and continued the way he had originally been going.
The masked girl blinked, her own Pokémon looking a bit in surprise, before she snatched up her PokéDex, looking at the screen as she flipped it open to the new Pokémon. "What the…"
"Shenleon. A Regal Dragon Pokémon. The energy from being traded caused the dragon scale to radiate, triggering this mutation in Eevee's Genes to evolve. Its sleek and thin body hides a great strength of dragon muscles, exampled mainly through its flexible and highly coordinated tail, which is said to have enough muscle strength to topple an Onix in a single swing."
And no sooner had Dex finished or the Shenleon was upon Natsu within the time it took him to blink, smashing its head into Natsu's gut and throwing the Pokémon back to skid across the ground.
"PIG!/GAH!" the Pokémon/trainer yowled out, skidding back from the impact with a wheeze. "That hurt I'll admit…not stopping us…get out of the way, Shenleon!"" Kamen Trainer snarled, Natsu rushing forward with a series of thrusts.
But Shenleon moved aside and lashed out with its tail at Natsu's back, smashing the Pokémon into the ground and shattering the rocks beneath him.
The pair yowled again, wincing from strike to their backs. "Ugh…why always…the back?" Ketlin heaved out, gritting her teeth as Natsu began to push himself out with a growl, looking to the Dragon type Eeveelution. "I know dragons are tough…"
Shenleon took a short breath, before exhaling a pulse of energy that slammed into Natsu and knocked him back.
"NIITEE!" Natsu shouted, twitching a bit from the dragon pulse attack, it was a wonder him, or Ketlin for that matter, was still conscious as he tried to pull himself from the stone wall. "Piiig…niiite…"
"Nurgh…wha…what the…heck…" The masked girl panted, gritting her teeth as she looked to Shenleon. "This is…really starting…to tick us off…"
Before Shenleon could leap for Natsu again, a shining web suddenly flew at it and sent the Pokémon flying back with a yowl as electricity ripped through it.
"Kamen!" Alex called out as he came up beside the girl. "Are you okay? What happened!"
"Grunt…Aether…it was Nick…that's his Pokémon," the masked girl hissed, straightening herself back to her feet, Natsu doing so as well though it was an obvious strain on both. "He's…getting himself…time to get out of here."
Hiiro stepped up beside them as well, looking over to the Shenleon as it broke free from the web, flexing its claws a few times. Hiiro's eyes flashed blue for a moment, unseen by Alex and Ketlin, before he opened his mouth and spoke. "Shadow Pokémon…"
"Shadow wha…?"
"I was afraid of that…its attacks…" Ketlin hissed, shaking her head as she gripped onto Hiiro's shoulder for support, Natsu snarling as flames began to build from his nostrils. "Gotta…hit it hard…fast…"
"But… Dragons are only weak against-"
"…Let me get this straight; this Pokémon won't hesitate to harm us, right?" Alex asked suddenly.
"Huh? Y-yeah…" Hiiro said slowly. "What are you…?"
"It won't stop…till we're down…or it's down…" Ketlin growled out
"…Then I guess I have no choice… Good thing this place is so big…" Alex mumbled, reaching for his belt and pulling out an Ultra Ball. "Time for some more action… Let's do this, Reshiram!" he shouted, throwing the Ultra Ball forward as Galvantula hurried back to his side.
"Reshi-wasn't that?" Hiiro choked out.
But before he could finish the thought, the Pokémon materialized, its white body glowing so brightly that it lit up the entire cave, and even if that didn't, its 'tail' did when it flared up a vicious fiery red. It had large, powerful wings with claws attached to them, its body was covered in what looked like hair, but it seemed smooth like scales, its eyes were a bright blue in contrast to the fire it obviously controlled. It let out a cry as it spread out its wings wide and stared down the Eeveelution that seemed like an ant to it.
"Take a dragon with a dragon," the masked girl muttered, recalling Natsu, snapping her back with a wince as she nodded. "Ooh, better for now…"
"Th-this is Reshiram?" Hiiro choked out, actually taking a step back in awe.
"Gawking…later," Kamen trainer said, gritting her teeth to the Eeveelution with a nod. "Better get to it, Lexicon."
"On it!" Alex said with a nod. "Don't let him fool you with his size, Resh! This Pokémon won't hesitate to do serious damage!"
"Its attacks will hit you with everything, even if you were strong enough to negate it it'll hurt!"
Just as the girl shouted that, the Eeveelution snarled out, and took a deep breath, before exhaling a powerful burst of wind. Reshiram winced slightly in pain, but it merely glared down at Shenleon. Its tail almost seemed to flare up with more and more fire, before it opened its mouth and released a powerful blast of air that slammed into the Eeveelution.
The Legendary's Dragonbreath was, by far, stronger than the Shadow Pokémon's, and actually launched it into the wall with a howl.
Biting her lip, the masked girl growled: "…don't stop…"
Shenleon somehow managed to get back up, shaking its head briefly before glaring to Reshiram. It let out a snarl as dark energy spiraled around its claws.
"…! No! Don't let that hit!" Hiiro shouted, but it was too late…
Shenleon was instantly upon Reshiram and dug its claws into Reshiram's throat - and the Legendary actually howled in pain.
"Resh!" Alex shouted in alarm. "What-what kind of move? Gah! Never mind! I hate having to use this… BLUE FLARE!"
Hearing that, Kamen Trainer quickly grabbed Hiiro, pulling him down as the legendary's attack got ready
Reshiram looked back briefly, before snarling and letting out a cry, the flames on its tail flaring an intense, but beautiful, blue flame that soon engulfed the two Pokémon, before it detonated into a powerful, soundless explosion.
When they could look again, the Eeveelution was on its side, knocked out and not moving any longer.
"Whew… that… was surprising… Resh, are you alright?" Alex called out, hurrying to the large Pokémon's side. The white Pokémon gave a soft call, nodding its head, even though blood was running down its chest. "Shit… no way… Ugh… you better get back to rest," he said softly, bringing up his Ultra Ball and recalling the large Dragon/Fire type.
The masked girl sighed, gritting her teeth as she looked to the fallen dragon type "Shadow Pokémon's attacks…they're nothing like the original version attacks…always hurt…and their power is… as scary as the way you get a Shadow type…"
"…Does it matter?"
At that voice, the trio whipped around to face Nick, who had just come back into the room, still carrying his torch in one hand. The boy said nothing for a moment, before opening his mouth.
"…Power is power… wherever it comes from… does not matter…"
Hiiro frowned a little in thought, before he choked, eyes widening as he stepped back in horror. "N-Nick… y-you… wh-what did you do! What have you DONE to yourself?"
Looking to Hiiro, the masked girl was speechless, before frowning, understanding what he meant. "Nick…you moron…you heartless moron…"
"…" Nick didn't answer immediately, before he spoke in a solemn monotone. "…Does it matter? …I merely disposed of some excess baggage… nothing more…"
Alex frowned, not understanding what was going on, until Hiiro shouted: "Excess baggage? You-you-! You'd go that far? You'd go as far as to lock away your own heart just to escape the pain?"
"Wh-what?" Alex choked out.
"…"
The masked girl's fists tightened more so, shaking her head solemnly. "Shadow Pokémon are made…by sealing their hearts…these guys…figured how to do it to a human…that makes you a shadow person…you idiot…"
Nick didn't even bother to respond, as he brought up his Pokéball and recalled Shenleon. "…I see no more reason to stay here…" he said suddenly, releasing his torch. "…My mission is done…"
And then the torch hit the ground and was extinguished, and the boy moved so fast the group had no time to respond. He was past them and running back the way he had come originally with more speed than should be humanly possible.
"Nick! WAIT!" Hiiro shouted. If Alex hadn't been there, he would have considered trying to restrain Nick with his newfound psychic abilities, but with said brunette present, he didn't dare to.
Hissing, the masked girl seemed to drop, using Hiiro as a brace as she growled. "O-ouch…''
"Shit… this is bad…" Alex hissed out as Hiiro caught the girl. "This… this is really bad…
"…We have to get back and tell TJ…"
Looking up along the waiting area, the silverhead Shonen yelped seeing the boys and his daughter come in, or rather the boys, seeing they had to almost drag Ketlin along as they brought her to the front. "Cha alright?"
"We are… Ketlin, however…" Hiiro murmured.
The girl hissed out, leaning onto the boys' shoulders. Her back was visibly bleeding, from numerous points at that, before she snarled "Just get…a nurse…you guys tell, papa," she hissed out, nodding as her father ushered for someone's attention
"Will do… you just rest, alright?" Alex said as she was helped onto a bed by a few nurses, though they made sure to let them know to keep Ketlin on her tummy for the time being.
Once the girl was out of range, Hiiro turned to TJ. "We have a big problem…"
"What is it…" TJ sighed out, looking the boys over, he was obviously worried, and a little nervous to hear their answers obviously.
"Nick is most definitely with Aether, now…" Alex said with a sigh. "And he's using these… 'Shadow Pokémon'… That's what they're called, right?"
"Yeah…"
Hearing that, the silverhead tensed up, his face boiling over in anger at the news, he managed to mutter out, almost as a deathly whisper: "Shadow…Pokémon…"
"Yes… unfortunately…"
"I don't know exactly what's up with these Shadow Pokémon… but it managed to seriously injure Resh enough that he actually cried out from the pain," Alex said. "And you know him; not even a Fusion Bolt can make him do that."
"He partly gets empowered from it," TJ growled, but looked down, anger and regret mixing in his face "A Shadow Pokémon has its heart sealed, it's like a machine. It only thinks to attack, to destroy…it doesn't care about itself anymore either…"
"…Then… Nick is…"
"…yes…" Hiiro said with a slow nod.
"…shit…"
Looking the pair over, TJ blinked in confusion, before absolute cold dread began to come to his face. "No…not him."
Hiiro nodded once again, before he spoke the words he had been dreading to say ever since they left the mines;
"Nick's had his own heart locked away."
The elder Shonen's body shook, before finally, his fist lashed out, smashing into the wall as his teeth ground together. "Dammit!"
Neither of the boys spoke at this point. There was nothing they could say to make this situation any better than it was.
The silverhead was silent, fuming in anger and frustration, before looking over, frowning to the boys, before turning to one specifically. "Hiiro… I need to see cha father…" He began, before the nurse called him over, nodding as he made his way to find some news from her.
"…" Hiiro didn't say anything, before he sighed softly and adjusted his cap. "…damn."
"…What's wrong?" Alex asked.
"…No… it's nothing… forget it…" Hiiro mumbled softly.
Alex looked at Hiiro for a long moment, before he rubbed the back of his head, looking down the hallway. "…You wanna get something to drink?" he asked, pointing to the vending machine up ahead.
"Huh? …Oh, yeah… sure…"
It wasn't long before the two boys were sitting on a pair of chairs, sipping their own can of soda and just staring ahead of them silently. Alex was leaning back, his legs stretched out before him and the hand not holding his can placed leisurely on his opposite hip. Hiiro was sitting straight, his legs partly spread apart and holding his can in both hands with just his fingertips, occasionally spinning it around with the pads of his fingers.
They were just sitting there, quietly contemplating, with Eevee sprawled out over Hiiro's lap happily, nuzzling into his Trainer's stomach.
Alex looked over for a moment and smiled. "It's been a while since I've had a Pokémon like that," he said suddenly, making Hiiro look up.
"Huh?"
"My current team exists of Pokémon who're too big to fit. I'd just get smushed," Alex explained calmly.
"Ah." Hiiro nodded briefly and reached down to pet Eevee. The small Pokémon yowled happily, tail wagging happily.
"…Hey, what's your dad like?" Alex asked suddenly, making Hiiro look up in surprise.
"Excuse me?"
"Well," the Unova Trainer said as he looked into his can and lightly spun it around, making the liquid inside slosh about a bit. "I've never really had a father as far as I remember… he left mom when I was really young, so…" Giving a shrug, he mumbled: "I was kinda curious what it was like. Having a dad, and all…"
Hiiro didn't respond for a long moment, before he turned back to his drink. "…wish I knew…"
"Huh?"
"…my old man… I can't say I have any fond memories of my time living with him…" Hiiro murmured softly. "All I remember is that he kept me inside the house the whole time because I had a weak heart. Mom… I didn't even know why she never came with us. He never really told me anything. Didn't even tell me that my heart was so weak I could drop dead any given day…"
Alex actually stared for a few moments, and more so when Hiiro leaned back and pulled up his shirt until Alex could see the scar tissue on his chest. "Transplant… so, you're alright now?"
"Should be…" Hiiro dropped his shirt and leaned back with a heavy sigh. "But the point is… because of my 'old heart'… my old man kept me locked up in the house. I couldn't even go outside to get some sun." Hiiro paused to bring up his arm, looking at the skin. He was still pale, though a little less so now that he'd been out and about for a while. "I finally got out… somehow… and I don't ever want to go back to my old man… ever…"
"…" Alex was quiet for a long moment, before he murmured: "Old man… you really hate him that much?"
The father Shonen growled, looking around as he walked down the hallways, frowning as he searched around for the two boys. "Tha heck did…"
"Old man… you really hate him that much?" Alex's voice suddenly asked from the hall he had just passed.
"…what do you mean?" Hiiro asked after a moment.
His ear giving a rather sudden wiggle, the silverhead turned his attention for the hallway, at least the side of his head, frowning as he shut his eyes to listen.
"You keep addressing your father with 'old man'. The only people who address their dads like that are people who, at some point, hold a grudge against them. Well, I can't say I blame you after all that… but really, is it fair for you to be acting like this?"
"…What are you getting at?"
"…If you ask me, he was just looking out for you. He's probably been worried sick since you ran off, too."
Sighing, the silverhead shook his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose, before heading to the sound of the voices. "…"
"…So that gave him a reason to lock me up?"
"I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that the reason he was acting the way he did, was only because he worried for you."
TJ stopped briefly, looking to the floor as the other boy became silent, dreading the thoughts that were obviously bothering Hiiro at the moment.
"…your name's Lionel, isn't it?"
Blinking in surprise, TJ looked ahead, that was catching him off guard as much as it would do Hiiro.
"…! Huh? H-how did you?"
"This," Alex said as there was the sound of paper rustling. "I happened to spot one of these while I was exploring Diamond City after you guys went ahead. It wasn't too well hidden under a bunch of other posters. Whoever posted over them, clearly didn't feel like tearing the old ones down."
"…you… you knew all this time?"
"Yeah…"
"…Why didn't you…?"
"Well… Seeing you make such an effort to keep who you are from TJ and Ketlin… I didn't want to put all that effort to waste."
"…I see…"
"Look, I'm not going to call and say I found you, but I am going to say that you should try and work things out with your dad. I mean, he's your dad, after all. Like it or not, he's one of the people who gave you your life. I'm not saying you have to start getting all friendly with him if you don't want to, but at least talk to him. Maybe you can then see things from his side as well."
"…"
Taking his breath, the silverhead walked over, giving a knock on the wall with a nod. "Oiy, been looken for cha two."
"Huh? Oh, TJ. Sorry, we went to get something to drink," Alex said as he raised his can.
Hiiro merely glanced over before focusing back on his own can, absently petting Eevee with his other hand.
Alex looked over to Hiiro for a moment, before he stood from his seat. "How's Ketlin?"
"Hmm" Blinking, TJ shook out of it, nodding with a slight irritated groan. "She'll be fine, she almost kicked tha nurse's teeth out…"
Alex allowed a small laugh. "Somehow I'm not surprised… How long's she gonna take here?"
"Doctor said she'll be alright ta go in a few hours, soo…"
"Meaning she'll be fighting to get out in a few minutes, right?" Alex chuckled out.
"Fraid so," TJ chuckled a little, looking over to Hiiro briefly, before returning to Alex. "Can cha make sure she stays in bed for tha nano?"
"…Sure," Alex said with a nod, walking down the hall as he took a sip from his can.
The silverhead watched, giving a small nod and smile, before his face became more serious again, turning to the other boy quietly. "…Hiiro."
"…don't wanna talk 'bout it…"
"Cha don' have to, jus listen for now…its past cha old man right now…"
"…" Hiiro didn't bother to look up, silently looking at his own drink.
"Hiiro…I'm gonna have to leave cha guys" TJ said simply
"…! Wha…! What do you mean?" Hiiro asked in surprise, looking up to TJ in slight alarm.
Sighing, the silverhead began to lean down, reaching Hiiro's level with a frown, avoiding the boys eyes in turn. "I need to figure some things out…I need a lab I can work in for tha though…"
"…so that's why…?"
TJ nodded, solemnly patting the boy's shoulder. "I jus need cha ta ring him for me, he doesn't have ta know cha put me on tha line…I need a lab tha can have a secured line, specially to cha grandfathers coms. Tha only one in tha entire region I can figure would have tha is cha father."
"…oh…" Hiiro was silent for a moment, looking down for a moment.
"…? Veeee?" Eevee called out, looking up to TJ questioningly.
Smiling a little weakly, the older adventure reach down, rubbing the morphic evolution Pokémon's head silently "I…Part of this mess is soiled inta my hands. Frontlines isn' wha my conscience needs me ta be to at least start ta make things right."
"Veevee! Veeveeveee!" Eevee yipped out rapidly, making Hiiro blink, before he chuckled.
"My Eevee's rusty, wha he say?"
"'It's not your fault. You shouldn't have to take the blame'."
"Vee!"
Chuckling with a smile, the father Shonen's fingers began to playfully scratch the small Pokémon's head "Thanks Eev, I know it. But still, I'm also one of tha few people who saw tha foundation to these experiments, if there's gonna be anythen ta make a dent in it, I gotta get tha old jack mac head burnen."
Eevee pouted, but said nothing else. Hiiro sighed softly, before he looked up. "Does Ketlin know?"
TJ looked to the boy, giving a serious look as he muttered "Tha doctor was tending to her back with sharp instruments in range…would cha?"
"…Touché." Sighing once more, the boy picked up Eevee as he stood and said: "Where's the phone around here?
Nodding, the silverhead stood, patting the boy's back as they began to make their way. "Besides, this wasn' tha first time she's gone without me. Heck, she snuck out for her first Pokémon adventure kinda like cha did."
"…she did?" Hiiro asked curiously.
"Yeah, scared tha slag outta me. Wings wasn to worried…till I reminded her that Ketlin might revert an start biten people again…" the silverhead muttered a bit abstant mindedly
Hiiro allowed a small laugh, before they reached the phones. "…I'm not talking to him… not yet…"
"Cha don' have to," TJ nodded
After giving one last sigh, Hiiro picked up the horn, and pressed several buttons in rapid succession, listening to it ring once before handing it to TJ and moving out of range.
Giving a nod of thanks, the silverhead propped his elbow to the wall, rubbing the side of his head a bit with his hand as he leaned into it. "…Gar?"
"Shonen. Wasn't expecting to hear from you again…" Gary said, a bit absently. "Look, can we make this quick? I got another line open here."
"I'm coming in to use cha lab."
"…Excuse me?"
Sighing, the silverhead frowned "Gary, I just saw a 'Shadowed' human"
"…You saw WHAT?"
"Oiy I'm older I ain't deaf yet," TJ growled, but went on. "Unfortunately, yeah…someone figured how ta use tha process on human beings…an it's dangerously effective…"
"…shit…" Gary hissed out. "One second." Gary pushed off from the desk, disappearing to the side with the sound of his chair rolling across the floor, which was followed by some typing, before he came back on and tapped another button.
"Gramps, we got a problem."
The silverhead's eyes went a bit wide, hearing an all to familiar aged voice on the other side
"Hm? What do you mean, Gary? Did something happen?"
"Yeah… and you're not gonna like it…" Gary mumbled.
TJ nearly ended up shouting a bit, but managed to cough, calming himself down the last moment. "Sam?"
"Huh, that voice…Ah! TJ? That you?" the aged voice chuckled warmly. "Long time no see, thanks for the honey by the way."
"Cha welcome, cha owe tha boy it really…ah right business sorry…somethen serious," TJ muttered quickly rubbing his neck. "Sam…they've found a way ta shadow people…"
There was a pause, and a small, but obviously horrified gasp along with a clatter of a ceramic upon the ground along the other side of the line, before Professor Oak choked out "WHAT?"
"Told ya you wouldn't like it…" Gary sighed out.
"This, this is horrible! Monstrous even!" the professor began to stammer, even trying to hold back a growl of both anger, but mostly, disappointment. "Are you certain?"
"I'm certain enough ta be heading over ta Gary's ta work with cha guys' at tha lab."
The old renown professor paused, sighing in a small frown. "Using your name, definitely serious and bad…"
"You're telling me…" the redhead mumbled, rubbing his temples with his eyes shut.
"…" Hiiro remained leaning against the side of the phone. Whether he was actually listening or not wasn't certain, but he didn't look ready to move.
"Sam listen, I'm in Gary's region, I'll be by his place at tha least 2 days, think cha can call tha misses for me ta get my old research papers to cha lab?"
Shaking out of his reverie, the older professor nodded. "I'll ask her to have it sent by Charizard post if I have to, we'll have it when you get there."
"Good," TJ nodded, sighing as he gave his face another rub. "Ugh, Sam how do cha pull off haven tha strength for this all these years?"
"Pokémon Poetry of course!"
The silverhead nearly fell into the wall from the comment, sighing as he straightened himself out. "Ugh."
"Geez, Gramps… c'mon…" Gary sighed out.
"You two scoff, but trust me it works, besides. When things get gloomy as this, you have to find the strength to smile alongside your Pokémon or you'd never be able to take a step," the old professor smiled, allowing the sagely advice to sink in.
"…cha gonna break out tha other half of tha poem on us?"
"…erm…" Oak muttered, scratching his chin a little "Maybe later?"
Hiiro was silent, still, not showing any visible response to the conversation. Eevee, on the other hand, was more than curious and wriggled out of Hiiro's grip to jump over in front of the screen with a happy yip. "Gah! Eevee!" Hiiro hissed out.
Gary blinked when he saw the small Pokémon. "What the…? 's He yours, Shonen?"
"Er, no," TJ frowned, picking up the little Pokémon in his arms. "Starter for friend of my daughter's."
"That so?" Gary murmured, looking to the small Pokémon who was now wriggling in TJ's grasp, yipping with his tail wagging. "Well, at least he's energetic."
"Cha should see his owner" TJ muttered with a grumble, shaking his head "Be out here but hes with Ketlin she's getten fixed by tha doctors…"
"Eh? Doctors?" Professor Oak yelped, blinking in surprise. "What happened did she almost drown herself again last night?"
"Shh!…hospital Sam…"
"Oh, sorry."
"…Don't tell me it has something to do with…"
Shaking it off, the silverhead sighed. "Synched damage, she'll be alright…an partly. Either way I'll be headen over so we can work on somethen about this, I'd sell my soul to any Ghost Pokémon ta get a cure for shadowing right now…"
"Veevee!" Eevee yipped up to TJ.
Hiiro sighed softly and rubbed his forehead with a slight shake of his head.
"Eevee's right Tensuno, you shouldn't blame yourself," Oak piped in with a nod.
Gary briefly shook his head, before he spoke up. "Anyway, I'll see if I can contact the docs from Orre about that "anti-Shadow" machine they cooked up. Might be able to help us make one for humans… much as I hate the idea of it."
TJ nodded a bit, frowning as he put the little Pokémon down to the floor. "Right now Gary, of all things ta be made from effecting Pokémon to us? It's right up at tha top of my list next to hyper potions right now…"
"If only it was that easy…" the redhead mumbled, as Hiiro bent down to pick up Eevee again.
The old professor and great grandfather sighed himself, crossing his arms as he held his chin. "If only they chose to stay the path to bring Pokémon and humans together, I do not mind of technology that blinds the barrier between us…but used so heartlessly…"
Hiiro sighed softly, before he blinked and shut his eyes, hiding the glow coming from them.
'…Hey, Ray? Do you feel…?'
…yes… the heartless boy's here…
Hiiro snapped his eyes open and turned to TJ. "TJ!" he hissed softly. "Nick's here! He's in the hospital!"
"I'll pack my things up this side an be right over to cha place Gary so…" the silverhead began, but then tensed, frowning as he began to look about "Be there in a day or so, see cha." He growled, quickly reaching to hang up.
The redhead merely nodded in response, not seeming to have heard Hiiro, and hung up wordlessly as well.
Eevee blinked curiously, looking up to TJ and then to Hiiro, even as the boy started running down the hall, trying to keep as quiet as he could as he tossed his soda can into a trash bin that he passed.
The older adventurer was on the boy's heels, a hand reaching for his pockets, pulling out two Pokéballs and readying them for anything as he gritted his teeth. "Dammit why would he be here then?"
"I don't know…" Hiiro hissed, then stopped as he rounded the corner.
Sitting on one of the couches in the waiting room, was Topaz, holding some kind of stone slab in his bare hand, his coat slung over his shoulders loosely, and Nick was standing a little to the side.
"Huh… so this's it, huh?" Topaz murmured. "Interesting… Good work, kid."
"…" Nick merely nodded in response.
Blinking, TJ growled, getting ready to call out his team looking to the pair. "Hold it!"
Topaz hummed in thought, looking over to TJ. "Oh. You again?" he asked, while Nick said nothing at all.
Eevee frowned angrily and started yipping, making Hiiro cover the small Pokémon's mouth to quiet him.
"I don't know who tha hell cha guys think cha are doen this kind of junk but…tha boy's comen with me right now ta get help."
"You'll have to ask him yourself, I'm afraid," Topaz said with a shrug. "I can't decide that for him."
"…"
The silverhead glared, but quickly turned to the boy in question, sighing. "Nick, cha have ta come with me, what they did to cha…cha need help."
"…I do not need… 'help'…"
"Would you look at chaself, cha been turned into…somethen awful for cryen out loud!"
"…"
"Actually," Topaz said suddenly. "He asked us to."
Glaring, the silverhead bit his lip to try and stifle the curses he wanted to spit out. "A stupid choice in tha long run by a kid who needs help shouldn' be given a noose by strangers simply cause he asked…"
"When one asks a favor, isn't it natural to supply them properly?" Topaz asked simply.
"Not when the favors to turn them into a soulless machine…"
"Favor is a favor," Topaz said with a shrug.
TJ growled at that, barking out "Would cha stay outta this since cha told me ta talk ta him directly already cha sonova…"
The Admin merely chuckled and shrugged.
And Nick remained silent, watching the conversation go on.
"Nick, would cha snap outta it already, cha might think this is helping cha but it isn' for Arceus's sake cha can' even be counted as alive like this!"
"…"
Hiiro growled before he said: "Nick, come on! This is not how to fix a problem like this! There's much better ways to deal with that!"
"…"
The silverhead growled, then sighed, letting a long breath he was holding out before he narrowed his eyes to the boy "Forget it Hiiro…jus like tha name means…he's jus a shadow of a person now…"
"Um, excuse me?" a nurse called out, holding some kind of silver object in her arms. "Sir, we've finished your request."
"Hm? Oh, thank you," the Admin said with a small nod as he accepted the object, which turned out to be a metal arm.
Wordlessly, the Admin shrugged off his coat, revealing that his left arm had been removed at the shoulder, leaving behind what looked like a port of some kind - in which the Admin shoved the metal arm, briefly tensing and hissing as the limb spasmed a few times, a couple of sparks shooting from where the limb connected to his shoulder. After a moment, he let out a short sigh and looked at his synthetic arm, moving the joints a little before he nodded.
"That'll do," he said simply, getting to his feet and pulling on his coat again.
Hiiro frowned as he saw the limb being shoved into joint. 'Synthetic limbs… did he lose his arm in the war?'
The silverhead frowned, slowly placing the two Pokéballs back into storage form, leaving them in his pocket for now as he growled "Just leave now…"
Topaz looked over to TJ, and shrugged. "In a bit… I actually want to… test something."
Hiiro frowned in thought, not sure what he was talking about - before the Admin snapped his fingers and an orb of black energy formed in his hand, which was then thrown at Hiiro.
Instinctively, Hiiro's arm snapped up as he yelped, his eyes flashing blue and stopping the orb an inch away from his hand.
"Hmm… thought so," Topaz chuckled out, ignoring the startled cry from the nurse.
Seeing that, the silverhead eyes glared dangerously "What tha hell!"
"Oh, nothing. Was just testing if your little friend had what I suspected him to have. It seems I was right," Topaz said simply.
Hiiro glared as he set Eevee up on his shoulder and crushed the orb in his hands. "…So you knew?"
"Hmm… yep."
"And if cha were wrong?"
"Does it matter? Though if you must know… then I suppose he could've staid here a little longer." Topaz chuckled, before he placed one hand on Nick's shoulder. "Well, I suppose we'll be off now. Bye-bye."
And then he snapped his fingers and both he and Nick were gone.
"Dammit! He teleported!" Hiiro snarled out.
Hissing, the silverhead's fist smashed into the wall, giving it a pretty decent imprint of his knuckles as his teeth ground together "…"
Hiiro snarled softly, his eyes flaring blue, before a sharp sting in his head made him yowl.
Enough! Ray's voice said sternly.
"Okay, okay! I get it… urgh… ow… No need to fry my brain, Ray…" Hiiro grumbled, rubbing his temples.
"Veeee…"
The older adventurer growled some, slowly turning his attention to the boy beside him. "I don't like tha fact he was curious about cha abilities…"
"Neither do I…" Hiiro murmured, lightly fisting his hand.
The silverhead sighed, crossing his arms, before he blinked, hearing several nurses rushing around on alert. "Wha tha…slag…"
"Huh?"
"Ketlin, get back here!" Alex's voice called out.
"…Ah."
"NO WAY I'M FINE!" the young Shonen girl growled, rushing on along the hallway, pulling on her shoes and a jacket quickly, going into a baseball slide past a nurse's knees.
Hiiro watched for a moment, before he sighed heavily and shook his head, before the blue glow returned to his eyes. And just as Ketlin passed another nurse, she was suddenly lifted into midair, a pale blue glow surrounding her.
A yelp, and the girl flailed about, hissing as she was held above the ground. "HEY!"
Alex blinked in surprise, before he looked over to Hiiro. "How did you…?"
"Later, okay?" Hiiro mumbled. "Ket… there's something you need to know…"
"If it's I gotta stay in the hospital you're nuts!"
"Could you settle down and listen? Your dad's gonna leave us!" Hiiro exclaimed with a bit of agitation lining his voice.
"…I was gonna wait till she was out of tha hospital an a better mood Hiiro…" TJ said, with a frown as the girls eyes began to narrow. "Bad move…"
"She's gonna figure out anyway…" Hiiro said with a slight sigh.
"!"
Alex winced. "Ket… hospital…"
The girl didn't seem to hear, or at least care, starting to flail so madly through the air it was a wonder she didn't somehow manage to use a Flying type's Gust attack "What's the big idea, Papa!"
"Ugh, kitten please calm down alright?"
Hiiro sighed and lifted his hand, then tilted his fingers up, causing Ketlin to be lifted up until she hung upside down in the air.
"Could you please calm down, Ketlin?" he asked calmly.
"Calm down, papa's leaving! Why!"
Sighing, the silverhead frowned, looking up to his daughter shaking his head. "I have ta do some important stuff in a lab I can' do it walken around with cha guys"
"…" Hiiro merely watched the girl, using one hand to keep his focus on keeping the girl in the air.
"…Is this about those Shadow Pokémon?" Alex asked softly.
"Yeah, a bit…" TJ looked down solemnly
"Oh, why didn't ya just say so then?" Ketlin said simply, as if she wasn't running like a wild animal a second ago. Which lead the girl's father to fall into the floor from surprise.
"You calmed down, now?" Hiiro asked casually.
"Sure."
Nodding, Hiiro flipped her back around and set her down on the ground once more.
Growling as he got up, the silverhead looked his daughter over, frowning a little curiously to the rather sudden change, even by the young Shonen's standards.
"So what's this mean about us then? We go on without you, papa?" She asked, still seemingly calm as ever.
"Er…well yeah."
Alex sighed softly. "Well… I'm not going to ask… but, anyway, maybe we should get ready to leave for the desert, huh?"
"Yeah, someone needs ta pack a lill extra," TJ frowned out
Blinking, the girl looked between the group, before she spotted her father's gaze to her. "…eh, me?"
"Get somethen to cover cha back 'til it heals or cha'll pop stitches again."
"True… In that heat, it's probably not good to expose your back to that just yet…" Alex pointed out with a nod.
Giving another growl and pout, the girl began to walk off, passing a nurse who winced and hopped away from her quickly. Given the imprint of a slipper on the woman's face, it was easy to tell why.
Alex sighed. "Well, guess we're going soon, huh?"
"…Actually, there's something else I need to do before that… I'll be back," Hiiro said, before hurrying down the hall.
"…huh?"
TJ blinked, looking just as surprised by Hiiro's sudden action. Shaking it off, the silverhead gave a nod to Alex "Common, I gotta get packed for my trip anyway"
"Roger."
Shenleon was created and is copyrighted by TJ Shonen.