Disclaimers: Pokemon is owned by Satoshi Taijiri. Doctor Who is owned by the BBC. Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.
"They take journalism really seriously because they know the force that it is and can be." - Christiane Amanpour
Vast White and Deep Black: Reunification
Chapter 36: Cacophony in the Newsroom
(Castelia City, Castelia Street, UBC Broadcasting Station, Ms. Ong's Office, January 22, 2011, 6 p.m.)
In a posh office located on the highest floor of the Unova Broadcasting Corporation's broadcast center in Castelia City, a woman was beside herself with anger as she stood up from the ergonomic chair in the room, bringing her fist down upon her desk with a resounding thud that reverberated throughout the room. She was middle-aged with a slightly curvaceous figure, and was dressed in a red blouse and skirt, with high-heeled shoes matching in color. Nestled atop her head, and styled with her brown hair, her beehive hairstyle shook with every word that flew from her mouth. "WHAT? The last day of the tours was supposed to be yesterday, not today! I can't afford to have visitors treading in here! Not on this important day!"
The target of the woman's anger trembled as she raised her clipboard to cover the lower half of a face, as if thinking the gesture would offer her some protection against her superior's verbal assault. "C-Calm-m-m-m d-d-d-down, M-Ms. Ong-g-g-g..."
The woman narrowed her eyes at the girl. "Calm down? Calm down? The ATV award judges will be watching the news broadcast today, Miri, and you were the idiot who made the mistake of writing on the brochures that tours ended today, not yesterday! I must have made a mistake in taking you on as a temporary intern... At this rate, you'll never get far in the journalism business."
Miri shuddered as she tightened her grip on her clipboard. "P-Please... G-Give-e-e me-e-e a-a-another chance-e-e, M-Ms. O-O-Ong-g-g.
Ms. Ong pressed a hand to her forehead. "Fine. You will be the one that brings this tour group around the building, and you make sure that they don't get into any mishaps along the way. I will consider giving you another chance if today's broadcast goes off without a hitch. Understand?"
"Yes…"
"Good. Now get out of my sight."
Dejected, Miri left the office, almost bumping into a well-dressed bespectacled man in a tuxedo with long, dark brown scruffy hair. "Oh, sorry…"
The man stared down at Miri before clearing his throat. "So you messed up big, huh Miri?"
"You could say that, Carlton."
Carlton shrugged, apparently not even remotely affected by Miri's plight. "Oh don't worry, just treat today as any other day, even though it isn't, and keep your tour group out of trouble. You managed that for the last week and a half, haven't you?"
"I suppose…"
"Anyway, I have to go in and see Ms. Ong. Good day to you, Miri."
Miri shrugged as she walked down the corridors and headed to the reception hall to meet her tour group. "I guess things won't be so bad. I haven't had any problems with any previous tour groups. What's the worst that could happen this time?"
No sooner did the girl walk into the reception hall did she come face-to-face with a very familiar group of people, one of which was a man with long dark brown hair which partially covered his forehead. "Why, hello there, Miri! Haven't seen you in two weeks!"
Miri groaned and slapped herself across the forehead as she caught sight of the man. "The Doctor… I'm so dead…"
(Castelia City, Castelia Street, UBC Broadcasting Station, Corridors, January 22, 2011, 6:10 p.m.)
As the group traversed the corridors of the UBC Broadcasting Station with Miri in the lead, the Doctor flipped through the brochure he had taken from EG Travel Agency the previous day. "It says here that they broadcast around the world. Emphasis on 'around the world'."
Amy groaned. "Yeah, yeah, I get that. Geez, no need to repeat yourself."
"Oh yes, I almost forgot. How about for tomorrow, we go to the beach?"
Amy raised an eyebrow. "The beach? Okay… That literally came out of now here. What's the occasion?"
"Oh, no occasion. I just remembered that there is a very nice beach around Thumb Pier, on the east corner of the Oceanfront Road, just near the Skyarrow Bridge's Castelia City Bridge Gate. Might be a nice place to spend the day, you know, just enjoying yourself and relaxing."
"I dunno about you guys, but I'm up for it!" replied Muyoko.
"I take it that if we have any problems with that, you would just make us go anyway, right?" asked Rory. The Doctor nodded vigorously, his lips curled into a smile that threatened to split his face in two if it grew even a millimeter more. Rory shrugged. "Fine, the beach it is then. Relaxing for the day sounds mighty fine. I could go for that. Just, no chaos like yesterday."
Amy giggled as she lightly punched her husband in the elbow. "Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud, dear. You may not be as adventurous as me or the Doctor, but if the Doctor says we are to enjoy ourselves, who are we to doubt him?"
"Excuse me? Methinks his definition and yours of 'enjoying yourself' apparently differs wildly from mine."
Making a vain but valiant attempt to appear upset, Amy mock-punched Rory again, giving up the struggle to prevent more than a few more chuckles from escaping her lips. "There you go again, ruining the mood…"
The Doctor turned his back on his companions and sighed as he continued to walk forward, his giddy smile rapidly disappearing as he was left to his thoughts. "Unfortunately for you lot, your experience at the beach tomorrow will be far from relaxing. Eventful, yes, but certainly not relaxing. Sorry Pond, but just this once, I need you out of my way for a bit. If it's any consolation, what you'll do tomorrow will be instrumental in helping me stop Team Plasma's plot. I hope you won't be too harsh on me for ditching you for the day. But, know this. I won't truly leave you alone, and tomorrow at the beach, I may ditch you, but I will still be with you, both at the same time. It just won't be in the way you expect."
Miri cleared her throat. "As per the usual program for tours conducted here, we provide a tour of the station, and when the tour ends, just in time for the evening news, you will be brought to a special viewing room where you can watch the news, live, as it is broadcasted across the Unova region."
(Castelia City, Castelia Street, UBC Broadcasting Station, Set, January 22, 2011, 6:45 p.m.)
Miri led the group into an expansive room, where several technicians busied themselves with various pieces of electronic equipment, inclusive of several cameras and recording devices. Set in the far side of the room was a large desk shaped like a low podium, upon which rested a few sheets of typed paper and a pair of glasses. Behind the desk was a tall backdrop depicting the Castelia City skyline. The backdrop served as a false wall, dividing the rest of the room from the large storage space behind. Set between the backdrop and the desk was a swivel chair padded with red cushioning. The large screen of a teleprompter was placed a few meters from the front of the desk, providing assistance to the newscaster in reading his lines. Set on a desk and connected to that screen was a small desktop computer, enabling any manual changes to be made to any script the teleprompter displayed.
Miri cleared her throat. "So you've all seen the control room and the backstage areas, well, this is the last stop before we all head off to the viewing room to watch the news broadcast live." Miri spread out her right arm, sweeping it across the room. "This is the set, the actual table where the newscaster sets when he reads out the news. And the backdrop is where the pictures are projected onto, if the story needs a visual." No sooner had Miri finished talking did the Doctor rush out to examine the set, waving his sonic screwdriver around as he went, with its familiar green light flickering this way and that in line with the Doctor's hand movements. "Uh, Doctor? What are you doing?"
The Doctor continued to wave the sonic screwdriver energetically. "Testing the frequency of the wavelengths of the residual radio waves in this room, and calculating the approximate reach of any broadcasts made here based on that, and blimey, this broadcast station does have a very far reach indeed."
Miri scratched her head. "Well, yes. We do broadcast around the Pokemon world after all." As soon as the Doctor was out of hearing, or so she believed, Miri signaled the rest of the group to gather around her, then proceeded to drop her voice to a whisper. "Listen, I'm really not supposed to conduct a tour today."
Skylar raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Miri sighed, feeling a deep sense of indignity at having to explain her blunder again to more people. "I mean, I made a mistake with the brochures, and accidently typed that the last day for tours was today, instead of yesterday, the actual end date. I know, my mistake. Ms. Ong was furious when she found out."
"Ms. Ong?" queried Sophie.
"The director of this broadcasting station. I swear, she almost threatened to tan my hide! I am genuinely scared for my life right about now, to be honest with you." replied Miri.
"She the director, isn't she? Wouldn't she have discovered the mistake a long time ago?" asked Muyoko.
Al rolled her eyes, her voice dripping with ounces upon ounces of sarcasm. "Wow, someone almost as incompetent as the Doctor. I never thought I'd see the day."
Al's words were interjected by a quick and snippy outburst from the Doctor, whose back was turned to the whole exchange. "I heard that, Diamond!"
Miri gasped. "Then does that mean the Doctor heard everything we said?"
Rory sighed. "Probably. But there's really not much you can do about it now, I'm afraid to say. Just carry on."
Miri thought for a moment, before clicking her fingers as she remembered. "Oh yes, well, Ms. Ong is very busy, and frequently takes a hands-off approach towards the way most things are run here. But not today. She's going to personally oversee today's news broadcast. And therein lies my problem, as well as the reason's she threatening me."
"Why?" asked Max.
"Because there are judges from the ATV Broadcasting awards watching the UBC's news today, and Ms. Ong is eager to win the award. She's been chasing it for years and kept driving it into our heads for the week and a half I was here. The tours over the last week were a way to prepare for today's broadcast, to show that the news could be conducted in front of a live studio audience without a hitch. I'm just one of the few interns helping out in preparation, which I signed up for so I could gain some valuable experience in the news business, and as a possible career path in future. If everything goes well, the newspaper that I work for will get a boost in sponsorship from the UBC, and they really need that."
Max nodded. "I see."
"Please, you must not tell the Doctor any of this! He seems to have an uncanny knack for disrupting other peoples' important matters at the worst possible time!"
Amy rolled her eyes. "Uh, newsflash to the journalist, what part of 'he probably heard all that' do you not understand? Nevermind, we'll help you to keep an eye on him."
The Doctor spun around to face the group, raising his voice with each word. "Are you all just going to fixate yourselves on me and then make me the center of your attention? Watch my personal history and violate my privacy?" The Time Lord cleared his throat, adopting a more subdued tone of voice. "Well then, you lot. Just watch me and nothing else and the dull news can wait. Because everything I do is practically news, is it not? There's no room for 'boring' in what I do, never a dull moment, always full of entertainment and the like. I mean, the news is just watching some nondescript bloke in a suit reading scripted words about events already past. Events already past… Come to think about it, gives me another group of people to point and laugh at. But anyway, why watch the news when you can live it? Besides, news broadcasters only show what they want to show, truth or not. So in effect, watching the news is boring, unless something happens. What's that news and variety show airing all across Sinnoh, hmmm?"
"The 'Sinnoh Now'?" offered Katrina.
"Ah yes, the 'Sinnoh Now'! Now there's one worth watching, if only for a small part."
"What's that?"
"The boom microphone operator guy. Must be lacking physical strength in the upper body department, keeps losing steady grip on the boom microphone and repeatedly hits the anchor on the head with it. Now that's comedy at its finest."
Katrina nodded. "Rhonda? I watch her show sometimes."
"Yeah, and when that happens, oh, I laugh. I just laugh. To have something so spontaneous happen on a live broadcast, something so unexpected, something so unplanned, oh, it's just so amusing. Spontaneity is one of those things I live for. The threats by Rhonda to send boom microphone operator guy to the mailroom just adds to the atmosphere, rather than kill it."
"So that sort of thing amuses you?" asked Katrina.
"Well, Rhonda hosts a variety show, and I think it's an excellent way to insert some variety into her on-air performance. What better way is there?"
"Doctor, do me a favor." requested Amy.
"Hmmm?"
"Shut up." The Doctor closed his mouth with a pout.
Miri stared quickly at a nearby clock. "Alright, we really should be moving now. There's only seven minutes left before transmission." The group moved to leave the set quickly, and in the rush, Amy's promise to Miri to watch the Doctor was forgotten, a fact that the Time Lord utilized to his advantage as he continued to linger around on set.
(Castelia City, Castelia Street, UBC Broadcasting Station, Viewing Room, January 22, 2011, 6:55 p.m.)
The door opened to a room with a large screen set into the wall, switched on to show a head-on view of the set. Behind the screen were several rows of chairs. "Alright, you'll be watching the broadcast from the make-up room, while I head back onto the set." Miri turned back and faced the group. "Hey, where's the Doctor?"
Rory shrugged. "Last, I saw him, he was still on the set, but I haven't seen him since."
"Y-Y-Yeah, m-me too-o." stuttered Nigel.
Amy and Miri gasped as they came to the same conclusion simultaneously. "HE'S STILL ON THE SET!"
(Castelia City, Castelia Street, UBC Broadcasting Station, Set, January 22, 2011, 6:57 p.m.)
The Doctor strolled around the set, thankful that the technicians were too engrossed with their respective roles to notice that he still lingered there. Holding out his sonic screwdriver, he walked around the room as he scanned his surroundings. "The broadcast waves in this station are excellent! According to my readings, this station definitely has the capacity to broadcast to at least the whole of Unova, just as the brochure said. If I can tap into that, I'll be able to make contact with them. It's been quite a while since they last heard from me, so they must be eager to get my message."
The hairs on the back of the Time Lord's neck bristled as he heard a voice just outside the set, switching off his sonic screwdriver in response. "All ready, Carlton?"
Another voice spoke in approval. "Yeah, should be the same as usual, Oscar."
"But don't forget, Ms. Ong is pushing for our station to win the ATV award this year, so keep on your toes. This broadcast must go off without a hitch."
"Oh boy, don't want her barking up my back." Carlton's voice faltered briefly. "Huh, I forgot my glasses, they should be on my desk in the set."
"Well, just go get them, we have three minutes left until transmission." replied Oscar.
The Doctor froze briefly. "Oh blimey!" He scurried to leave the room, his foot lodging against the legs of a stand on which a large boom microphone was perched, placed near the door. The Time Lord tripped upon the apparatus just as a well-dressed man in a tuxedo with long, dark brown scruffy hair sauntered into the room. The boom microphone fell forwards, smashing into the crown of the hapless man's head, and sending him to the floor unconscious in a messy, sprawled heap.
Picking himself up off the floor, the Doctor straightened his bow tie just as he caught a glimpse of the man sprawled out next to him. Thinking fast, the Time Lord sent out his Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott, all of whom gave him strange looks at the sight of their Trainer standing next to an unconscious man with a boom microphone lying to the side. "Alright, I need the three of you to do something for me, and I need you to do it quickly."
"Sni."
"Te."
"Osha."
The Doctor pointed to the piece of fallen apparatus. "Straighten up that boom microphone. And don't just stand there, hurry, hurry, hurry!"
No sooner did the Doctor's Pokemon scramble off to follow his instructions did he jump as he heard a voice speak out behind him. "Doctor, what are you still doing here? We all went to the viewing room a while back!"
The Doctor spun around, coming face-to-face with Amy, followed quickly by the rest of the group. "Oh, Pond. Yes, I was er..."
Miri caught sight of the man on the floor. "Nevermind that! Carlton? Why is he just lying there?"
"Well, about that..."
Before the Doctor could say any more, his ears perked up they registered another voice, its speaker walking quickly towards the entrance. "I heard a noise." The group scurried to stand in front of Carlton's body, hiding it from view just as a technician walked up to them. "Hey! Why are you people still here? You should all be in the viewing room!"
The Doctor cleared his throat. "Well, I just tripped over and knocked down a boom microphone, clumsy bloke that I am. My Pokemon are fixing it now."
The technician nodded he saw a Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott doing as the Doctor described. "Okay then. Miri, get all of them off the set and to the viewing room and be back here pronto!" With that, he turned around and walked away.
Miri was frantic. "Get Carlton to the make-up room! We have to wake him up as quickly as possible, there's only two minutes left before transmission!" Rory and Szac moved hastily, picking up the unconscious man and bringing him out through the door before any of the technicians noticed. The rest of the group, save for the Doctor, followed behind them, eager to evacuate the set fast.
The Doctor glanced around the room, thankful that the technicians were too busy in their bid to make the upcoming news broadcast as perfect as possible, and as such, not noticing Carlton's absence or the fact that he was still lingering on the set. "Now that's an issue. I just knocked out the newscaster! Now there will be no one to read the news!" He soon caught sight of Carlton's glasses resting upon the set desk. "Unless..."
Out of view from those present on the set, the teleprompter placed in front of the set desk and chair began to spark ever so slightly, small yellow bolts of electricity dancing along the frame of its screen and between the keys of its desktop computer's keyboard.
(Castelia City, Castelia Street, UBC Broadcasting Station, Control Room, January 22, 2011, 7 p.m.)
Standing from her spot in the control room, Ms. Ong cleared her throat as she prepared her technicians to begin the broadcast. "Okay, opening titles standby, in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Roll tape, and go." The screens turned on to show the opening titles for UBC News, before to a view of the set. "Cue Carlton." From the screens, Ms. Ong could see the set desk, with the swivel chair behind it, its back facing the camera, with a full head of dark brown hair visible above its top. The chair spun round to reveal a bespectacled man seated in it, unfortunately, he put a little more force in the spin than he intended, causing him to spin in circles, in full view of those watching the transmission.
Ms. Ong blinked, her face contorting in astonishment as she soon realized that the man sitting in the chair on the set was not Carlton Hubris. "What the?"
The man on the set managed to stabilize his chair and stop its spinning, grabbing hold of the papers on the set desk and stacking them atop its surface. "Good evening..."
(Castelia City, Castelia Street, UBC Broadcasting Station, Make-up Room, January 22, 2011, 7 p.m.)
His body lying on the sofa in the make-up room, Miri frantically waved a container of smelling salts over Carlton's face. "Come on, Carlton! Wake up! Wake up!"
Ruka perked up. "The Doctor should know what to do here."
"What makes you say that?"
"I mean, he performed a cricothyrotomy on a Liepard two days ago and he delivered that baby yesterday, so why not? He clearly knows his stuff." replied Ruka.
Amy nodded. "Oh yes, so Doctor, what do you..." The woman paused as she looked around the room, so noticing the absence of the person in question. "Doctor?"
Sophie groaned. "Not again... Has anyone seen the Doctor?"
Skylar shook her head. "I don't think any of us have seen him since the time we were last at the set."
Szac pointed at the television set in the room, noticing that it had started screening the news broadcast. "Hey, that newscaster looks just like the Doctor."
Miri glanced at the television for a split second before turning her attention back to Carlton's face. "Oh, yes, yes, interesting..." She did a quick double-take as she realized that the newscaster meant to read the news was instead lying unconscious on the couch and thus could not be physically present on the set. "Wait, the newscaster is right here, and he isn't in a state to read the news at all, which means... IT IS THE DOCTOR!"
Miri shrieked in shock as she stood up, bounding out the make-up room before anyone could react. Amy turned to Rory. "We better go after her. Who knows what she or the Doctor might get themselves into?"
(Castelia City, Castelia Street, UBC Broadcasting Station, Set, January 22, 2011, 7:02 p.m.)
Miri rushed onto the set, noticing that the Doctor was sitting calmly at his place, looking around rather aimlessly due to lack of anything to do. She hastily pointed in the direction of the control room. "Rory, go into the control room! I'll try and figure something out with the Doctor!"
As Rory dashed off, the technician standing next to the teleprompter pressed his earpiece, putting him in touch with Ms. Ong. "Come on, cut transmission, cut transmission..."
(Castelia City, Castelia Street, UBC Broadcasting Station, Control Room, January 22, 2011, 7:03 p.m.)
Rory rushed into the control room with a start. "Take him off the air! Cut! Cut! Cut! Cut! Do something!"
Initially stunned by his sudden appearance, the technicians moved to comply with Rory's request, but they were soon vetoed by Ms. Ong. "And lose my ATV award? No way! Wait, this is something new, it might yet bring me the award! Give me Cam 1." A technician pressed a button as the many television screens in the control room displayed a wide low-angled camera view of the set, while the Doctor continued to shift his head around with no apparent sense of direction. "No, Cam 2." Another push of the button switched the displayed camera angle to a close-up, eye level view, giving the viewers a straight, head-on view of the Doctor's upper body.
Noting that the Doctor was still moving his head around aimlessly, Ms. Ong furrowed her brow in frustration. "Cam 1, Cam 2." The screens switched between the two camera angles before Ms. Ong slapped the control panel hard. "Will someone just tell that idiot to keep still?"
(Castelia City, Castelia Street, UBC Broadcasting Station, Set, January 22, 2011, 7:04 p.m.)
All present waved their arms wildly at the Doctor, eventually succeeding in getting his attention. The technician jerked his thumb at the teleprompter's big screen, to which the Doctor pointed to in response. "Oh, I'm supposed to read from there." A few thumbs-up from those present was enough to focus his attention on said screen.
The Time Lord squinted at the words upon the screen, quickly regretting his split second decision to wear Carlton's prescription glasses, as they blurred his sight, disrupting his perfect 20/20 vision. While he could still vaguely make out the majority of the words, some were simply too fuzzy and beyond his full comprehension.
GOOD EVENING, I'M CARLTON HUBRIS, AND THIS IS UBC NEWS.
Seeing as he had already said the first two words, the Doctor opted to skip them as he began to read from the teleprompter's screen. "I'm Carlton Hubris, and this is UBC News." The words on the teleprompter's screen continued to scroll upwards as the Doctor read them.
YESTERDAY, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE FLEE AS A SWIRLING BLACK CLOUD ATTACKS THE CITY OF NIMBASA.
The Time Lord squinted, visibly straining to make out the a few words in the sentence. "Yesterday, thousands of people free as a swirling black cloud attacks the city of Seven Pizza."
Max scratched his head in confusion. "The Doctor seems to have some trouble reading the words on the screen. Is it 'free' or 'flee'?"
Miri groaned. "It's 'flee'! And 'Seven Pizza'? How can the Doctor read that from 'Nimbasa'? He just started reading and already he goofs up."
THE CLOUD, IDENTIFIED BY POKEMON RESEARCHERS AS THE FORM TAKEN BY THE LEGENDARY POKEMON ZEKROM AMIDST STORMY WEATHER, TORE THROUGH THE CITY AT A BREAKNECK PACE, CAUSING MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURAL DAMAGE WITH ITS LIGHTNING BOLTS. REFUGEES FROM THE ATTACK BY ZEKROM HAVE BEEN SEEKING ASYLUM IN THEIR HOMES AND IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS ON THE BATTLE SUBWAY NETWORK WITHIN THE CITY OF NIMBASA. (INSERT PICTURE)
"The cloud, identified by Pokemon researchers as the form taken by the Legendary Pokemon Zekrom amidst stormy weather, tore through the city at a breakneck pace, causing major infrastructural damage with its lightning bolts. Refugees from the attack by Zekrom have been seeking" The Doctor squinted again at the screen, trying to make out the last fuzzy word. "...asyluma in their homes and in various locations on the Battle Subway network within the city of Seven Pizza, insert picture!"
Miri's eyes widened in shock as she heard the last two words from the Doctor's mouth. "No, no, no, no! Don't read that! Don't read that! The picture is behind you! Behind you! The picture is behind you!"
The Doctor turned to look at the backdrop, seeing it unchanged from the time he first laid eyes upon it, unaware that a map of the Unova region, with Nimbasa City highlighted, has been digitally inserted upon the backdrop in the televised broadcast, and was thus visible to all viewers of said broadcast. "Where's the picture?"
Miri groaned. "Oh, just carry on."
The Doctor shrugged. "Sorry, everyone, no picture today. It hasn't developed yet."
(Castelia City, Castelia Street, UBC Broadcasting Station, Control Room, January 22, 2011, 7:10 p.m.)
Ms. Ong slammed her hand against a table in frustration as the Doctor ignored the words on the teleprompter. Grabbing a booklet of paper, she waved it with a flourish. "Tell him to stick to the script! Stick to the script!"
(Castelia City, Castelia Street, UBC Broadcasting Station, Set, January 22, 2011, 7:11 p.m.)
A technician waved at the Doctor to get his attention, before pointing at the teleprompter.
THIS ATTACK COMES FIVE DAYS AFTER THE PREVIOUS ONE, ALSO AT NIMBASA. THIS IS THE FIFTH REPORTED SIGHTING OF ZEKROM THIS YEAR.
The Doctor cleared his throat. "This attack comes five days after the previous one, also at Seven Pizza. This is the fifth reported sighting of Zekrom this year."
"Well, that's one sentence the Doctor didn't mess up." muttered Amy.
"Apart from the city's name." added Katrina.
IN OTHER NEWS, A ZOO IN FUSCHIA CITY HAS SUCESSFULLY MATED TWO ENDANGERED FARFETCH'D IN CAPTIVITY.
"In other news, a zoo in Fuschia City has successfully..." Another squint from the Doctor as he attempted to get a close look at the fuzzy word. "...martyred two endangered Farfetch'd in capipipitivivity."
Szac chuckled. "Martyred? I never knew zoos had a policy of killing endangered Pokemon."
The next few words escaped Miri's mouth through gritted teeth. "It's mated, not martyred! Mated!"
AND HERE IN THE UNOVA REGION, THE UNOVA COUNCIL OF THE ARTS HAS ANNOUNCED NEW MEASURES TO HELP PEOPLE IN UNOVA BECOME MORE ARTISTIC.
"And here in the Unova region, the Unova Counture of the Arts has announced new measures to help people in Unova to become more... Uh..." The Doctor squinted at the last fuzzy word on the teleprompter screen. "...Oh I got it!...autistic." Amy and Miri slapped themselves on the foreheads, prompting amused chuckles from several members of the group.
SEVERAL HOURS AGO, THE ONPOT HAS ANNOUNCED AN EXCITING DISCOVERY PERTAINING TO THE LEGENDARY POKEMON THAT IS ZEKROM'S COUNTERPART,
The Doctor squinted again as he stumbled across a word he did not recognize. "Several hours ago, the on pot... Eh? What is the 'on pot'?"
"O.N.P.O.T.! O.N.P.O.T.! O.N.P.O.T.!" hissed Miri.
"Oh. The O.N.P.O.T. has announced an exciting discovery pertaining to the Legendary Pokemon that is Zekrom's counterpart, Reshi-" Over at the teleprompter's keyboard, sparks began to fly from its keys as the text displayed on the machine's big screen began rapidly scrolling upwards, beyond even the Doctor's ability to read and articulate the words quickly. "Reshi-, Reshi- Oi! Oi! Oi! It's going up very fast, can you slow that thing down a bit?"
The Time Lord's Snivy perked up as she made her way over to the teleprompter's desktop computer, grabbing the mouse with the vines extending from her shoulders. "Vy! Sni!"
The Doctor nodded. "Okay, okay, you take over."
Eager to offer his assistance as well, Tepig scrambled over to the keyboard and began to jump on it, in a misguided bid to slow the rapidly scrolling wall of text, incurring Snivy's annoyance at the same time as he jostled with her for space to work. "Pig! Te!"
Detaching his scalchop from his chest, Oshawott flung it at the monitor, only succeeding in leaving a small gash in the screen's plastic casing, which began to spark wildly, as the text on the teleprompter's big screen began to rapidly scroll downwards as well, making the words dizzying for the Doctor to look at, doubly so with his purloined pair of glasses. "Wott! Osha!"
Miri dashed to the teleprompter's keyboard, trying to wrestle the mouse from Snivy's vines. "No, no, no! Let me do it!"
The Doctor frowned at the chaos erupting from Miri struggling with his Pokemon, which did nothing to alleviate the rapidly rising and descending wall of text on the teleprompter's big screen. "Oi! Oi! Oi! One at a time! One at a time! It's still going up and down! Up and down!" The technician next to the teleprompter waved at the Doctor, who attempted to read whatever snatches of text he could see, his speech becoming less and less coherent and he mixed and matched various headlines together. "Uh, uh, uh, today police have seized X-rated videos…which the Unova Counture of the Arts…says were…65 people in Unova…hunger, uh…for foreign films…more people in Unova are called to take part in, uh, such events in future. A deft swipe by Miri for the teleprompter's mouse only knocked it to the floor.
Snivy tapped Oshawott on the shoulder with a vine as she hopped away from the keyboard. "Sni. Sni. Vy. Sni. Snivy. Vy." "You know, with all that chaos here, no one will notice."
Oshawott flashed Snivy a puzzled expression as he retrieved his scalchop. "Osha? Wott?" "Huh? Notice what?"
"Sni. Sni. Sni. Sni." "Us leaving for a bit."
"Oshawott?" "What? Why?"
Snivy walked off in the direction of the backdrop, quickly disappearing behind it. "Vy. Vy. Sni. Vy Sni. Vy. Snivy. Snivy. Sy. Sni." "Come on, don't ask so many questions. Just come with me."
Oshawott shifted his head around uncertainly, before making the quick decision to follow Snivy. "Wott." "Okay."
Observing the scene with mild amusement, Tepig chuckled as he saw the two Pokemon leave. "Pig. Pig. Te. Pig." "Oshawott, you lucky bloke."
(Castelia City, Castelia Street, UBC Broadcasting Station, Control Room, January 22, 2011, 7:20 p.m.)
Ms. Ong clutched her beehive hairstyle in both her hands as she bore witness to the rapid degeneration of her newsroom into chaos. "Oh no!" Sensing that Ms. Ong was on the verge of a mental meltdown, Rory took it as his cue to leave, running from the control room onto the set. The technicians, too busy concerning themselves with the plight of their boss, failed to notice his exit.
(Castelia City, Castelia Street, UBC Broadcasting Station, Set, January 22, 2011, 7:21 p.m.)
Rory ran over to the newscaster's desk and stood next to the Doctor, in full view of anyone watching the live news broadcast. "I'm terribly sorry, everyone, he's not really a newscaster." The nurse took hold of the Doctor's arm, pulling the Time Lord to his feet. "Come on, Doctor."
The Doctor flung his arm from Rory's grasp, shoving the nurse back a few steps in the process. "Oi! You're just jealous that I'm reading the news, is it?"
Rory shoved the Doctor in the chest. "Don't push me!"
The Doctor retaliated, giving Rory another shove. "I like to push you, so what?"
The Time Lord soon found himself shoved back in turn as Rory fumed. "Look, why do you always have to push me?"
The Doctor looked forward at the camera as he shoved Rory yet again, electing to speak directly to anyone watching the broadcast instead. "Hey everyone, you just saw that he pushed me, right?"
"I just...argh!" Rory soon seized hold of the Doctor's shoulders, prompting the Time Lord to do the same in turn to the nurse. Soon, both men were wrestling each other on the set of UBC News. Rory pitched forward, slamming the Doctor's back hard against the backdrop behind the newscaster's desk. "You know, whenever I talk to Amy, the conversation just naturally deviates towards you! She just keeps going on about how 'the Doctor did this, the Doctor did that', did you hear about this totally amazing stunt the Doctor pulled off'? It's always the Doctor, the Doctor, the Doctor!"
The Doctor spun Rory around, tackling the nurse against the backdrop. "Well, excuse me, but I didn't ask for the attention!"
Rory took the opportunity to kick the Doctor in the shin, causing the Time Lord to lose his balance and drop to the floor. "No, you just naturally warrant it!"
The Doctor was up in a second. "Yes, aren't I so magnificent?"
The nurse snarled as he backhanded the Time Lord across the face, causing the Doctor's cheek to slam into the backdrop. "No, you're just exasperating!" Rory soon followed that hit with another solid one to the Doctor's stomach. "The way she keeps talking about you, it's almost as if she married you, and I'm just some awkwardly tacked-on third party!"
The Doctor shoved Rory away from his body. "That's not true!"
Rory charged the Doctor, smashing the Time Lord's back hard against the backdrop, causing it to shake and wobble once again. "Oh yeah? Then what is?"
The technician's eyes widened as the backdrop began to tilt dangerously backwards. "Oh no! The backdrop is falling! The backdrop is falling!"
Standing in the large storage space behind the backdrop, Oshawott cast Snivy a slightly cautious glance, uncertain of what his teammate was up to. "Wott. Wott. Wott. Wott. Oshawott. Osha. Wott?" "Okay, so you led me back here, Snivy. What's up?"
Snivy took a deep breath to calm her nerves, as she extended the vine from her left shoulder and used it to scratch the back of her head slightly. "Snivy. Snivy. Sni... Sni. Vy. Snivy. Vy. Vy. Sni. Sni. Snivy. Snivy. Sni. Vy. Vy. Vy…" "Well, the thing is… We've known each other for quite some time now, and I just want to say…"
"Osha. Osha. Oshawott. Osha?" "What do you want to say, Snivy?" probed Oshawott.
Taking Oshawott's hands in her own, Snivy began using her vine to stroke Oshawott's cheek. "Snivy. Snivy. Vy. Vy?" "Can you catch a hint?"
Oshawott felt the temperature in his cheeks rise rapidly. "Wott. Wott. Oshawott. Oshawott. Osha. Osha. Wott. Wott. Wott. Wott. Oshawott. Osha…" "Uh no, I think you'll have to spell this one out for me…"
Snivy's vine gently flicked itself along the smooth surface of Oshawott's cheek, to the further discomfort of the Sea Otter Pokemon. "Sni. Sni. Snivy. Vy… Vy. Vy. Sni. Snivy. Snivy. Vy…" "You are so dense… But I don't think I mind that, because…"
Before Snivy could continue, a loud crash sounded as the backdrop fell backwards, the Doctor and Rory's scuffle having pushed it beyond its capacity to stand, exposing the storage area to anyone watching the live news broadcast. Noticing that her conversation with Oshawott was no longer private, Snivy hastily released the Sea Otter Pokemon's hands and scurried away, cursing both her Trainer and her luck for ruining the moment.
Noticing that the cameras were still rolling, the Doctor pulled himself up to his knees, arms still locked onto Rory's shoulders in mid-struggle. The Time Lord noted the text on the teleprompter had stopped its erratic dance and settled on the words for the end of the broadcast.
THIS IS CARLTON HUBRIS FOR UBC NEWS. THANK YOU FOR WATCHING.
The Doctor quickly read off the last line of text, deciding to ad-lib a cheeky end instead. "Uh, this is Carlton Hubris for UBC News. I'll see you tonight!" No sooner had he finished did Rory pounce on him again, pulling his body to the floor where they both continued to wrestle.
Her face flushed red with embarrassment, Amy marched straight to the newscaster's desk and pulled Rory away from the Doctor, before yanking the Time Lord up by the scuff of his neck as if he was a rambunctious child. Pulling the two men by the backs of their shirts, she dragged them away from the set. "You two, get up! Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was for me to watch that? The three of us are going to have a very long talk about this when we get back the Pokemon Center! Urgh, I can't believe have to travel with such kids sometimes!" Rory groaned while the Doctor chuckled sheepishly as if he was child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
A dull thud resounded through the room as Tepig squealed, alerting the group to an unconscious girl lying by the teleprompter's desktop computer. Ruka walked over to the girl and checked her vital signs. "Uh, I think Miri might need those smelling salts now."
(Castelia City, Castelia Street, UBC Broadcasting Station, January 22, 2011, 8 p.m.)
Outside the UBC Broadcasting Station, the Doctor cleared his throat as he turned to face Miri. "By the way, sorry about your internship, Miri."
Miri shrugged. "Oh, it's fine."
Katrina was incredulous. "What? But Ms. Ong fired you!"
"Yeah, but she was a pain in the butt to work for. But thanks to the Doctor, I now have a great story to write for the newspaper I work for. I can picture it now, 'Cacophony in the Newsroom: Renowned Eccentric Researcher Messes Up Live UBC News Broadcast'. Wait until my readers hear this." replied Miri.
The Doctor scratched his head as he suddenly remembered something. "By the way, what does the 'on pot' do?"
Miri narrowed her eyes. "It's O.N.P.O.T.! O.N.P.O.T.! Not 'on pot'!"
"What does it stand for?" asked the Doctor.
Miri frowned at the Doctor, believing that he was being cheeky when he asked the question. "Organization for the Necessary Protection Of Treasures! They work to secure and protect newly discovered archeological sites from artifact looting before archeologists can excavate them. They also fund museums all over the planet and have launched several initiatives to educate people about the history and legends of the various regions. Basically, they safeguard the treasures of the world! You should know that, since many top researchers are part of their upper management! Heck, you should be part of their upper management!"
"Oh, I thought they were a bunch who smoked marijuana all day for recreation, hence their name."
"It's not a name, it's an acronym!" insisted Miri.
"Well, speaking of marijuana, it's perfectly legal to smoke. Well, at least on Earth in 1799 (1), it was."
"Huh, well, that doesn't matter! What does matter is that it isn't what the 'on pot' does!"
The Doctor chuckled childishly. "Heh. Heh. Heh. You said 'on pot'!"
Miri clenched her fists in exasperation. "Urgh! I meant O.N.P.O.T.! O.N.P.O.T! You know what? I don't want to talk to you for a while, Doctor. But I do want a word with you, Max."
Max raised an eyebrow. "Me?"
Miri nodded. "Yeah, you. You're Nathen's brother, aren't you?"
"Yeah, and you're the girl that's travelling with him at the moment, right?"
"Uh huh. How is he doing now? Castelia City is his hometown, right? So he should be doing well at home, shouldn't he?"
"Do I detect concern?"
Miri's face flushed red before she shook it rapidly, trying to dispel the crimson shade from her cheeks. "No! Just want to know how he's holding up, that's all!"
Max shrugged. "If you say so. Well, he's absent from home for much of the day, training at the Battle Club. But how come I haven't seen you around? Nathen has been back here for a week and a half now, and he has mentioned you."
"Well, Nathen did offer to let me live in your family's residence while we're here, but I didn't want to impose, so I'm staying at the Pokemon Center. Listen, I know things between you and him seem rather rough at the moment, but I do want you to know that Nathen does care about you a lot."
Max scoffed. "Ha! Did he tell you to say that to me? What, is he too much of wuss to tell me himself?"
Miri frowned as she shook her head again, this time in frustration. "Don't misunderstand. Nathen is a nice guy, and I just don't want you to get the wrong impression of him. What was the last thing he said to you before he started on his Pokemon journey?"
Max frowned as he recalled the words Miri requested of him. "He said: 'Max, when you think you're tough enough, come and find me. If you beat me then you'll have truly earned my respect.'"
"Exactly. Well, he is looking forward to that day where you can challenge and beat him. He wants you to train hard so you can accomplish that. Just think about that for a bit, okay? Look, I'm not asking you to start idolizing your brother overnight, but at the very least, know where he's coming from." Miri turned to the Doctor. "By the way, what was up with the teleprompter? It malfunctioned partway through the news broadcast."
The Doctor scratched his head sheepishly. "Uh, yes. I'm guessing that scanning the set with my sonic screwdriver to determine the strength of the radio waves there must have inadvertently fried some of the teleprompter's circuits. Nothing too major."
Miri checked her watch. "Anyway, it's getting late. I'd better be headed back to the Pokemon Center. It was nice meeting you all, even if the circumstances were rather chaotic for my taste."
The Doctor chuckled. "With me around, nothing is ever too chaotic." Miri sighed slightly before walking off, giving the group a short wave before disappearing into the crowds that formed the hustle and bustle of the city.
(Castelia City, Oceanfront Road, Pokemon Center, The Doctor's Bedroom, January 22, 2011, 8:45 p.m.)
The Doctor came to a stop outside the door to his room, which he shared with Rory and Amy. "Now remember, We'll be going to the beach tomorrow, so be up at around 8 a.m., so we can get there in a timely manner. Good night, everyone." Without another word, the Time Lord walked into the room, closing the door behind him.
The rest of the group dispersed to their rooms as Amy turned to her husband. "Well, I wanted to talk to the Doctor, but I'll start with you first. I have some things I just have to talk with you alone." Without another word, Amy turned and walked down the corridor, beckoning Rory to follow.
Szac paused outside the Doctor's door and whispered to Sophie. "I smell a Rattata. The Doctor tells us to be up at around 8 a.m. to get ready to go to the beach around Thumb Pier, and he already made plans to meet Professor Juniper at the Liberty Pier at 7:30 a.m. for whatever business he planned with her. It sounds like he's trying to give everyone the slip. Just whisper. The Doctor didn't hear us when we spied on him at the mall yesterday, so I doubt he'll be able to do so here either."
"So what do you want to do?" asked Sophie.
"I think I'm going to camp outside the Doctor's door, and make sure he can't get out that way without me knowing."
"You're planning on staying up all night here?"
"If I have to, yes."
Sophie shrugged as she began to walk off. "I think you're nuts, but if that's what you want to do, I'm not going to stop you. I'll just be turning in now. Good night."
"Good night." replied Szac.
Inside the room, the Doctor chuckled softly as he opened the window with his sonic screwdriver, having overheard Szac and Sophie's conversation. "Honestly, there's more than one way out of this room, Szac. Do you believe you can keep me from leaving so easily? Well, you have another thing coming…" Nimbly sliding his frame out onto the windowsill, the Time Lord made sure no one below was watching before he leapt down, landing on the ground in a perfect three-point landing. He stood up quickly, breaking into a run away from the Pokemon Center.
(Castelia City, Oceanfront Road, Pokemon Center, Canteen, January 22, 2011, 9 p.m.)
Finding an empty table in the Pokemon Center's canteen, Amy took a seat, and prompted her husband to sit opposite her. "So let's talk about us. Specifically, let's talk about how my boys (2) embarrassed me in front of the entire Unova region."
Rory blinked before he attempted to speak. "Amy, I…" He was quickly cut off as the woman swung out with her right hand, smacking him cleanly across his left cheek. The nurse winced as he felt the force of his wife's hand knock his face to the side as he quickly brought up a hand to cup his stinging cheek.
Amy slammed her palms down against the surface of the table, noticing her husband cringe at the noise it made. She pressed down against the hard surface, raising her upper body slightly so she was now staring him down instead of the eye level she was at a second ago. "What do you mean by 'it's almost as if I married the Doctor, and you'll just some awkwardly tacked-on third party?' Huh? What do you mean by that? Go on, enlighten me!"
Rory bit his lip as his wife screamed at him. "Amy, please, people are staring…"
"Don't you try to change the subject! I'm waiting for an answer, Rory!"
"Well, since he picked you up in the TARDIS, you've been going on all these trips with him, and you keep talking about him and all that. I feel like our relationship has taken a back seat to the one you have with the Doctor."
Amy raised an eyebrow. "Go on."
Rory sighed. "When we were kids, you kept insisting on playing 'pretend' with me, and you kept insisting that I dress up as the Doctor. You made me eat fish fingers with custard over and over again, and it was ghastly. And then, the Doctor hijacked my stag party and told me you that tried to kiss him. Later, I asked him if he kissed you back."
"And what did he say?"
"He said that he kissed your mouth (3)." Amy chuckled, prompting a frown from Rory. "I'm serious!"
"I know! Typical Doctor…"
Rory was flabbergasted. "But you kissed him! On the day before our wedding no less!"
Amy broke eye contact with her husband and looked away. The nurse could swear that his wife's face showed traced of shame. "Yeah, well, I almost died earlier. The Weeping Angels (4) tried to kill me (5), but the Doctor saved me. I tried to kiss him out of gratitude, but he stopped me and talked some sense into me."
"Well, because of all that, I felt inferior to the Doctor. I thought he was the one you truly loved, not me. I thought this whole time, I had to compete with the Doctor, and I was losing. I just want to live a nice, quiet, mundane life in Leadworth, and the Doctor can offer you the excitement and adventure you crave in the TARDIS. I can't win against the Doctor."
Amy shook her head. "You are such an idiot! Did I marry the Doctor, Rory? Did I?"
"No."
Amy spoke in an impassioned tone. "Who did I marry then, Rory? Answer me!"
Rory looked down at the table. "You married me."
"Why? Because you're the one I love! "
"But you made me be the Doctor when we were kids and…"
"When we were kids. I just wanted to play, Rory, and how many other friends did we have growing up? Not many, you know. You were the perfect choice to play the Doctor. And you worry about competing with him? There was no competition, Rory, none at all, because in my mind, there was only one. And that was you."
"Only me?"
Amy nodded. "Only you. The Doctor is a friend, but you, you're my husband, Rory. There's a big difference." The woman stood up from her place at the table and walked over to her husband's side, cupping his chin and tilting his head to make him face her. "And that difference is while I like the Doctor, I love you, Rory." Leaning in, Amy planted a kiss on the spot where she slapped Rory a few minutes ago, as the nurse closed his eyes and moaned softly at the feel of his wife's velveteen lips on the skin of his cheek. Amy broke the kiss and gazed into Rory's eyes. "Did I hurt you too badly?"
Rory shook his head. "No, it's fine. Did I embarrass you too badly?"
Amy giggled. "Yeah! On national television, you did! But it was sweet, in your own special way, that is. Still, tone down the attention next time for me, okay?"
"Okay."
Amy took her husband's hand, encouraging him from his seat. "Let's go to bed, Rory."
The couple soon reached the closed door of their room, and Rory clenched the doorknob, trying to turn it. "The Doctor locked us out of our room!"
Amy turned to her husband. "Wait, don't we have room keys as well?"
"Do you have one?"
"No, I left it on the desk in the room since I didn't want to lose it."
Rory reached into his pockets and dug around for a second. "I forgot mine."
"What?"
"I don't have a key either."
"So we're stuck out here." Amy furrowed her brow as Rory and Szac quickly moved to shield their ears from long-term damage. "DOCCTTTTOOOORRRRRR!"
(Castelia City, Outskirts, Vertress Hall, Cour d'Honneur, January 22, 2011, 9 p.m.)
Several miles away from the Central Plaza, and encompassing the area all the way towards the outskirts of Castelia City lay the city's suburbia. This residential district, far removed from the copious amounts of traffic which plagued the five main roads of the central business district, proved to be a considerably quieter place than downtown Castelia, fit for residents who preferred the hustle and bustle of the big city, while avoiding the hassle of actually living there. Freed from the urban sprawl which dominated the central business district, suburban Castelia enjoyed a lower population density, and thus, could afford to house its residents in moderately-sized single family homes, in contrast to the matchbox apartments those living downtown were often forced to dwell in. While houses in the suburbia were larger on average than downtown apartments, few approached the size of Vertress Hall.
Located near the outskirts of suburban Castelia City, close to the encroaching Desert Resort the city once occupied prior to its relocation south, Vertress Hall was a mansion well-suited for nobility. An English country house, Vertress Hall had a dull yellow facade, and consisted of a large, rectangular three-storied corps de logis with a triangular roof, held up by six Corinthian order stone columns, with black double doors between the third and fourth columns as the main entrance. A pair of long, rectangular two-storied secondary wings flanked either side of the corps de logis, providing the country house with plenty of living space. Vertress Hall was surrounded by an expansive lawn of well-kept grass, assisting it in exuding a stately feel from those that laid eyes upon it.
As the Doctor stepped onto the cour d'honneur and gazed upon the house, he sighed as he tilted his head back, allowing himself to behold the full splendor of the building. "Ah, home sweet home. Well, it's not as big as Smithwood Manor (6), but it's still home anyway. Gosh, it's been a long while since I was last here… Trust me to name this place after a type of cloud… Then again, that's what I did for the settlements in the entire region."
Reaching into his pocket, the Time Lord produced a key with which he proceeded to unlock the front door, gaining access into the country house. Stepping through the corridors, he soon reached the grand living room, with a large oak wood antique coffee table in the center, surrounded by a few comfy couches. A furnace set in the wall at the center added to the room's homely atmosphere. Lining the walls were ten framed portraits, all of them of men who appeared to be of various ages, from late sixties in the first to mid-thirties in the last, but in reality, they all depicted the same subject. The very man who now wore the face of one who appeared to be in his late twenties, and chose to take a seat in one of the couches.
Reveling in the comfort of the couch, the Doctor gazed at all the portraits as they stared back at him, his face adopting a meditative expression as he beheld the men his past lives were. He was now in his eleventh incarnation, but no matter how many incarnations had existed or will come to exist, one thing was certain, there would only be one Doctor. Sighing, the Doctor leant back in his seat. "I never would have thought Szac would attempt to keep vigil at my door to see if I would try to sneak out early. But I will give him props for being right on the money. Shaking him off proved to be unbelievably easy, but then again, I've been hunted across endless worlds by my enemies for centuries. There's a reason why I'm still alive to this very day."
Reaching for his backpack, the Doctor extracted a familiar steel box, from which he produced a manila folder filled with several sheets of charred paper. Thumbing through the pages, he halted as he reached the one he wanted, and began to read.
-4-
I: Ah yes, V, the embodiment of victory, capable of producing prodigious amounts of energy and wielding it to launch powerful attacks. It was also capable of sharing this energy with others and as its title suggests, it was said that anyone who had V as an ally will find it impossible to fail at anything he set his mind out to accomplish.
K: Using a powerful Pokemon as a demonstration to convince other powerful Pokemon to join you. It is a technique that is rather effective, if I may add. Simplistic, but effective. The Musketeer Trio recognizes V as a powerful Pokemon in its own right, and the fact that it joined T must mean that it decided to throw its faith completely behind him.
L: V basically convinced the Musketeer Trio that T had a good heart, and was someone who would act in the best interests of Pokemon everywhere, bringing such an issue to the forefront. And so, a valuable partnership was forged. The Musketeer Trio rendered their allegiance to T.
R: T did use them to great effect, having them thwart some attempts by the Kami Trio to destroy the crops of peasant farmers and regrow them after exorbitant sums were extorted. He also informed them of any Pokemon poachers who were catching Pokemon for their own greedy profit, and dispatched them to deal with the threat accordingly. The criminals were often brought back to T to face swift justice at his hands.
O: Rather impressive for such a young boy.
M: But aside from R, V must have been his most important Legendary Pokemon.
R: Yes, for it was the one that makes all his interactions with the strongest of Pokemon possible. From what I can garner, T first encountered V in a forest and managed to coax it into coming back to the castle to live with him.
I: Befriending a Legendary Pokemon like that so easily, that must be quite a feat.
L: That is not the impressive feat. What is impressive is feeding V's insatiable appetite for sweet treats and games. It had a very child-like personality, punctuated by naivety and innocence.
M: Sounds like a perfect match for T, if you ask me.
O: Well, after the incident, V has apparently disappeared. Our attempts to track it down have failed. Unlike G, we are able to confirm that it did escape the destruction of the Relic Castle alive.
F: Apart from the loss of R, T seems most affected by losing V. That small piece of news will surely bring some small comfort to him.
(Castelia City, Outskirts, Vertress Hall, Living Room, January 22, 2011, 9:15 p.m.)
The Doctor inwardly chuckled as he set aside the page he had just read. "Small comfort? Small comfort? It was an immense relief! I do owe my gratitude for being told that, but it was not like I could act on the news at the time, with the Time Lords buzzing around my head like angry Combee after what had happened. Well, that will all change tomorrow."
The Time Lord soon turned his attention to a chest at the far end of the room, which he quickly opened with the sonic screwdriver. Reaching in, he retrieved a small rectangular box with a flap held shut by velcro. Diagonal lines running along the surface of the box divided it into three equally sized triangular portions, each with a different color. On the back of the box, the top portion was dark blue and inscribed with an Elder Futhark Ansuz rune, ᚫ. The middle portion, colored bright yellow, bore the Elder Futhark Haglaz rune, ᚺ. The box's bottom portion, a crimson red, had the Elder Futhark Thurisaz rune, ᚦ, upon its surface. The Doctor turned the box over in his hand, before placing it in his backpack. "Odin, Thor, Loki. Prepare to fight alongside your master once again. Prepare to liberate it from the prison it has occupied for so long. To find it, your assistance is vital."
Digging deeper into the chest, the Doctor pulled out another box of the same dimensions, this one white, with the image of a red dragon inscribed on its back. The dragon possessed a serpentine body, which was curled into a near-circle, the elongated jaws of its large head nearly touching the end of its intricately detailed pointed tail. Sprouting from its mid-back was a pair of massive wings, positioned over its body. Midway between its head and wings was its hand, in which the dragon clutched an object that was shaped vaguely like a heart. An equally sized foot was positioned on the dragon's body midway between its wings and tail. The Time Lord smiled as he caught sight of the symbol. "The seal of the Crimson Dragon." He curled his fingers around the small box, smiling as the same image of the red dragon that was on the box appeared on his left pectoral muscle, glowing an illuminating crimson-red. Noting a clip on the back of the box at the top, the Doctor clipped it to his Pokeball belt, just next to the red-and-white spheres.
Six additional boxes were soon removed from the chest, all of them also white, but each was marked with a different red symbol. The first box the Doctor held bore the line drawing symbol of the Crimson Dragon's head, and as the Time Lord laid his fingers upon it, the same dragon head mark appeared on his left forearm, with the same crimson-red glow as the mark on his left pectoral. The next box held by the Doctor had the Crimson Dragon's wings inscribed on its back, and as he picked it up, the associated wings mark appeared across his shoulder blades. The third box depicted the Crimson Dragon's foot, which soon appeared on his right iliac crest. Picking up the fourth box, the Doctor noted that the image of the Crimson Dragon's hand was on its back, a symbol that appeared on his left iliac crest. The fifth box to be studied by the Time Lord had the line drawing of the Crimson Dragon's tail, and as his raised his right forearm, the same symbol appeared right before his eyes. Finally, marked on the sixth box was the Crimson Dragon's tail, whose image appeared on the Doctor's left iliac crest, nestled within the fingers of the Crimson Dragon's hand mark, which had appeared earlier.
The Doctor shifted all six boxes to his backpack in turn, before leaving the living room, the marks all disappearing from his body, save for the full dragon mark on his left pectoral, as he strode down the corridors.
Using the illuminating red mark of the Crimson Dragon to guide himself through the dark of the night, the Time Lord walked from the house out onto the lawn. Looking up, he beamed as a distinctive crimson-red star shone against the backdrop of the star-studded night sky. As he gazed silently as the red celestial body, a bright flash of light from his side caught his attention. Noting that the first white box he took from the chest was still strapped to his Pokeball belt, the Doctor popped it open as the light radiated from it. Reaching for the box's contents, he extracted a card from it, staring intently at its blank white front. The card flashed briefly as an image flickered across its front for five seconds, the image of a majestic white dragon. As the image disappeared for good and the card became blank again, the Doctor's eyes caught sight of the word printed across the card's top, but missed the last three letters.
"Reshi-"
The Doctor sighed slightly as he lowered the card and looked towards the sky again to see the red star. "It's been far too long, Crimson Dragon. And this time, I will unseal my own destiny. The last Signer Dragon to be unleashed, and ironically the partner of the first Signer, the Legendary Signer." "I can sense that the Earthbound Immortals are growing restless in their subterranean restraints. It's been five millennia since they've tasted freedom. The third cycle is just beginning. It's only a matter of time now. Soon, my successors and his will clash once again, fighting for the fate of all mankind. To think that him and I are still a part of all this, after so long..." He turned and reentered the house. "Better get myself to bed early, I have a big day ahead of myself tomorrow…"
Author's notes: Well, I sure managed to get this chapter out way sooner than I intended, which is always a plus in my books. Hopefully, this chapter will tide you over until the next one, which I anticipate will be a big one and take quite a long while to write. In writing this chapter, I did not mean any offense to people with autism or people who use marijuana for medicinal purposes, so I apologize if anyone got offended. Anyway, here's the glossary for this chapter.
(1) According to the novel "Christmas on a Rational Planet", consumption of marijuana, cocaine, and caffeine was legal on Earth in 1799.
(2) At the end of the episode "The Vampires of Venice", Amy termed the Doctor and Rory as "her boys", a term which Rory initially disagreed with but the Doctor was quick to accept.
(3) In the episode "The Vampires of Venice", after the Doctor crashed Rory's stag party, the nurse confronted the Time Lord about how Amy kissed him in the previous episode "Flesh and Stone". The Doctor told Rory that Amy kissed him first, prompting Rory to ask if he kissed her back. Taking the question literally, the Doctor replied that he kissed her mouth.
(4) Weeping Angels are an alien species that resembled statues of angels, so called because they had the ability to quantum-lock themselves, turning to stone when observed by other living creatures (including other Weeping Angels), making them resistant to harm. Their unique nature necessitated that they often covered their faces with their hands to prevent trapping themselves in petrified form for eternity by looking at one another. This gave the Weeping Angels their distinct "weeping" appearance. They were known for being murderous psychopaths, eradicating their victims "mercifully" by dropping them into the past and letting them live out their full lives, just in a different time period. This, in turn, allowed them to live off the remaining time energy of the victim's life, their primary food source. However, when this potential energy paled in comparison to an alternative power source to feed on, the Angels were known to kill by other means, such as snapping their victims' necks. When not being observed, they could move incredibly fast, though they appeared to slow down the closer they got to their prey; they appeared to like "playing with their food". Because of their defense mechanism, Weeping Angels were very hard to kill, being immune to all kinds of weapons. However they were capable of starving to death if left without time energy for too long. It was also possible to defeat Weeping Angels by forcing two Angels to look directly at each other, which would cause them both to constantly see and quantum-lock each other. Another way of defeating them and the only way of killing them apart from starvation, was to cause a paradox which would poison the time energy they used to feed.
(5) The Weeping Angels had the ability to transform ordinary statues into Angels (or at least animate and control them, and give them the abilities of true Angels such as quantum-locking). Anything with the image of the Angel, such as pictures or film, also gained the abilities of an Angel and would eventually become an Angel. When victims looked an Angel in the eyes, the Angel could infect their visual centers, creating an image in their mind. The victim could be mentally influenced by the Angel until it became fully grown, at which point it could escape the person's body, killing them. This ability could only be stopped by shutting down the visual centre. Examples of mental influence included making the victim count down the minutes to his or her death, and making the victim hallucinate that a limb was petrified. In the episodes "The Time of Angels" and "Flesh and Stone", Amy was infected in such a manner after looking an Angel straight in the eye, and they sadistically made her count down to the time when the Angel in her head would escape her body and kill her. When the Angels admitted to the Doctor that they did that "for fun", the Time Lord sent them hurtling through a crack in time in retaliation, erasing them from time and saving Amy, as this also erased the Angel in her mind.
(6) The Doctor is known to own properties on various planets all over the Universe, which he utilizes as bases of operation and occasional residence. The most prominent of these is Smithwood Manor, a large estate located on Allen Road in Kent. Referred to as "the house on Allen Road" by his companions, the Doctor's antics at the house has led to the property becoming a magnet for extraterrestrial and paranormal activity, causing residents in Kent to dub the street it is on as 'Alien Road'.
OCs will still be considered and accepted until the Doctor's group gets to Nimbasa City. Reviews and constructive criticism are welcomed. Flames will be deleted.
For credits:
Miri Olean belongs to Windy Rain.
Skylar DeVienne belongs to Scheherazade's Sonata.
Szac Selthez belongs to Gunzi's Poochy.
Sophie Summers belongs to yuukifan001.
Katrina O'Rear belongs to memessa.
Muyoko Ginkotone, Alexandra Diamond, and Nigel White belong to Chicken-Wings93.
Ruka Chance belongs to Kurono-Angel.
Maxwell Pierce belongs to Final Heir.