Location: Mistralton Cave, Unova
"The gist of it is, the Ultra Beasts are coming, Giratina is on the verge of return, are you in or out?"
Victini had just managed to explain the situation to Cobalion, the leader of the Swords of Justice. The aqua blue Pokémon with a large tuft of white fur under its neck stared at Victini, then at Suicune, and then at the two Pokémon on Suicune's side: Virizion, and Terrakion, another member of the Swords, a bulky, gray Pokémon with massive horns protruding from its head and curling forward.
After assessing the situation, Cobalion nodded, causing Victini to sigh.
"Finally!" it exclaimed. "We've been running around the region so much just to lay the groundwork. Now that all three of you are together-"
But Cobalion shook its head and tapped the ground with its hoof four times.
"There's a fourth one?!" Victini shouted. "But during the war, it was just the three of you. Did you know about this?!" Victini yelled in Suicune's ear, causing Suicune to almost throw Victini off its back. "Ow! Okay, fine! We'll make one more trip, this better be good!"
Chapter Two: Training Days
Location: EXO headquarters, unknown region
Kris woke up again in her small bedroom at EXO's headquarters. The living quarters were modest, with each operative getting a room with nothing but a bed, a chair and a writing desk with drawers for personal belongings. The positive was that everyone had a private bathroom, even if it was quite crowded as well, containing just a toilet, a sink and a shower crammed in a small space.
It took a few seconds to understand why she was sweating with tears in her eyes and why she had woken up at 4:52 in the morning, according to a digital clock hanging on her wall. Then the dream she had last night was rushing back into her mind. The vivid image of the Masked Man, Pryce, holding her friend Lunick by his head before the fateful snap. That event had played in her head over and over since it happened, like a video on a constant loop.
Trying to get her mind off it, Kris put on her jumpsuit, focusing on what was to come. The tour she and the others had received from Hilda had already given her so much to remember. The HQ was enormous and had three floors above ground and several more below. Although going outside further than the grounds immediately around the base was strictly forbidden and nearly impossible due to the automated defense systems in place, there was plenty to do around the base as well. A large cafeteria and rec room took up a big part of the first floor, where there were also multiple gyms, a swimming pool and a VR training room that Hilda had mentioned could also be adjusted for movies and games. The first floor also had a place where everyone's Pokémon could also roam freely and next to it, a large greenhouse which supplied a large part of the food. Apparently, the base could sustain itself for a long time, with certain supplies coming in once a month through an automated system - the supplier would just leave the items in a predefined location where an automated drone would come pick them up. The grounds as well as the underground tunnels leading into the base were full of Pokémon specifically for guarding the base: attack Houndour and Houndoom, exploding Voltorb and Koffing as well as more imposing Pokémon like Machoke and Gurdurr patrolling the area. The base also had a number of security personnel working for it.
And the best part was that every need anyone had, it would be met. Food? There were cafeteria staff working around the clock. New clothes? There was a huge warehouse full of them. Entertainment? The VR training room's computers had practically every piece of media Kris had ever heard of. Supplies like food and medicine for her Pokémon? Again, rooms chock full of them and more could be ordered by simply asking. The base also had its own generator for supplying power and a small medical facility operated by many Chansey and Blissey, most of the work done by machines.
When it was finally getting close to 6:30, an excited Kris left her room and descended to the first floor for breakfast, slowly joined by the other recruits. Afterward, she, Lyra, Wes and the other newbies followed Hilda as the tour continued from yesterday. Hilbert was nowhere to be seen, as Dr. Kaminko had told them. Aside from introducing the facilities, Hilda was also telling them the basics.
"Breakfast is from 6:30 to 7 AM every day," Hilda spoke as she made the recruits walk around the facility's long corridors. At the moment, they were going through the atrium that housed an empty reception desk and a few benches, Kris wondering if any visitors actually ever came. "Your training starts at 7:30 AM with a theory class, then physical training at nine. From 11:30 to 12:30, lunch break. Then, another theory class, followed by Pokémon training and practice battles, followed by more physical training until it's 7:30 PM and time for dinner. After dinner, you are free to do whatever you wish. Recreation rooms are closed at midnight, though training facilities are still open. Operatives must undergo VR training at least three times a week."
"12-hour days?" asked Hau in disbelief. "You're kidding!"
"We had 14-hour days in Alder's task force," Hilda said simply without looking at Hau. "This isn't a summer camp or a boarding school! Our job is to mold you into a group of highly skilled operatives capable of fighting extranormal threats with cutting-edge technology. Oh, speaking of which, better throw out your calendars entirely, there are no weekends here. Operatives here get one day off per month, so use it wisely."
"Believe it or not, she's less of a hardass now than during the task force days," Wes whispered at Kris, who barely suppressed a smile, not wanting Hilda to think any less of her.
The group descended into the first basement floor, where they arrived into a place resembling a giant office building, only with just a few offices, with most of the rooms containing laboratories of varying sorts. Scientists observing things through microscopes, working with chemistry sets or typing on computers were all over the place - there must have been two dozen scientists on this floor alone.
"EXO is divided into three parts," Hilda said as the group walked through the laboratories. "Operational, which is our division. Administrative, which takes care of all the day-to-day stuff required to run the operations, like finances, logistics, security and so on. And finally, the Research division, the biggest of the three, divided into various departments. Dr. Kaminko is the head of all three of these divisions, though of course he has delegated responsibility to many people, such as yours truly, who is currently heading your training."
"This is about half of the Interconnectivity Department," Hilda continued explaining. "What they study here is… um… ah, well here is the man himself to explain it. Yo, prof Elm!"
The tall, thin, brown-haired scientist in his early thirties shuffled nervously closer to the recruits, adjusting his large, round glasses, carrying a messy pile of documents under his arm as usual.
"Ah, hello there!" said professor Elm, which caused Kris to break into a smile. Professor Elm resided in the same town as Kris and had supported her from day one, spending more time with her than her own parents ever did. Kris was aware that he had also joined EXO and tried to catch Elm's attention, but he was all business today.
"Professor Elm is the head of this department, right?" Hilda asked him.
"Um, yes," Elm said in his usual way. "We developed and continue to maintain your, um, chips, which will no doubt be explained to you later. But apart from that, there are tons of support features that go into it. We study how to better improve the bonds between you and your Pokémon, how you can get the most out of your new powers and how to improve the flow of operations through many of the tracking and monitoring technologies we use. Um, among other things."
"Yeah, I guess what he's trying to say is that if our stuff is broken, they fix it," Hilda said, pointing at Elm with his thumb. "Okay, let's keep going."
As the group walked on, Elm started walking away, but briefly stopped next to Kris to quickly whisper at her: "Good luck, Kris. Say hi to Blaine if you see him."
Feeling her spirits lifted a bit, Kris followed the others past the laboratories as Hilda continued on, pointing around the room to the various doors.
"About half of the Pokémon biology department headed by professor Juniper is over there," she spoke. "The other half in the lowest level, too many hazards there so access is restricted. Oh, that's the head of the Exology department, professor Cozmo, they work one level down - don't talk to him unless he talks to you, guy's unbearable."
"Sorry, what-ology was that again?" asked Trace, holding up his hand like a student.
"Exology is a field in Pokémon science studying Pokémon and related phenomena from outer space as well as alternate dimensions," explained Gladion, to everyone's surprise, as the boy had said almost nothing until now. "No doubt they're investigating those famous 'Ultra Beasts' there."
Everyone turned to look at Hilda, who just shrugged.
"Yeah, sounds about right, I guess," she said and continued walking. "The teleporters we use to send people to other regions are in that department as well, but they require specialized technicians to calibrate. I shouldn't even need to tell you this, but don't try to use them on your own. Last guy who did got all of his fingers teleported in ten different places."
"Uh…" said Lyra meekly. "Is that true?"
Hilda smiled. "Not sure, but it makes for a good story, doesn't it?"
The group walked on, exiting the laboratory through a pair of double doors, continuing on a corridor that housed the elevators. Passing the elevators, they came across some more doors.
"Medical facilities are in there, a human doctor has a reception time, and in emergencies, the Pokémon staff and machines will treat you," Hilda explained. "And over there, we have Dr. Blaine's office. Light is out, looks like he's not in. Blaine is our chief geneticist, but he also insisted on replacing our old head of security, claiming he wasn't doing his job properly. Off his rocker, I tell you. Be careful around this place."
Trace, however, was ignoring Hilda's instructions, his curiosity getting the best of him. He reached out for the doorknob and tried to open the door, only for the doorknob to suddenly shoot out of the door and hit Trace in the stomach, making him double over.
"Son of a-!" cursed Trace, then looked up at Hilda. "I'm okay, ma'am!"
However, he stopped being okay when Blaine exited his office, slamming the door open with enough force to knock Trace on the floor.
"Who tried to come in?!" he demanded.
Blaine was a tall man like professor Elm, but much more rugged and rather fit for his age, pushing the mid-fifties. He wore black shades and he was completely bald except for his thick, graying mustache. He wore a lab coat like the rest of the research staff, but it was quite worn and slightly singed in parts.
"Oh, today's the tour day, huh?" Blaine said gruffly. "Keep the newbies in check, Hilda. You're lucky today's not electrocution day. And tell them not to touch my office door!"
Kris couldn't pass on Professor Elm's message as Blaine returned to his office without apologizing to Trace, slamming his door shut. Blaine had been friends with Elm for a long time. Kris had met him just a few days after starting her journey but the two had taken an immediate liking to each other, even if the good doctor was a lot to handle sometimes.
As Hau helped Trace up, the group continued forward. When arriving at a pair of particularly impressive doors, Hilda turned back to smile at the group and scanned her ID badge at the door, making them slide open.
The view that awaited Kris was something she hadn't expected. The room they had stepped in was surprisingly small, just a few computers and monitors hanging on the walls. But she soon realized the room was just a balcony, overseeing an enormous room with many levels, technicians in white uniforms working on computers, chatting and observing monitors on every level. At the very end of the very large room was an enormous screen that showed various statistics Kris couldn't understand.
The only two people on their level, the highest one, turned around. Kris immediately recognized the very tall, very muscular man with an orange buzzcut as Marshal, a member of Unova's Elite Four. He had leaned over next to a man sitting by the computer, a very thin, bespectacled man with short, neatly cut brown hair who smiled at the arrivals, while Marshal folded his arms and looked serious.
"This is the Operations Room," Hilda explained to the gawking recruits. "A bulk of the members in our division work here, supporting our adventures. They process data, send people on missions, gather intel and practically run our very organization as they monitor for unusual energy emissions or other activity indicating Ultra Beasts or similar dangerous creatures, among other things."
"This," Hilda continued, gesturing at Marshal, "is Commander Marshal, my boss and head of the division. He answers directly to Kaminko. And the geek over there is Celio."
Celio raised his eyebrows at Hilda, but when she didn't continue, he voiced his opinion:
"Yes, Celio, the Head Combat Technician!" he piped in. "Personally mentored by the legendary programmer Bill! I am the one who is in charge of communications and the flow of the data from the operatives to command!"
"Yeah, he considers himself real important," Hilda commented.
"WELCOME!" bellowed Marshal strictly, causing everyone to involuntarily stand at attention. "Why, in ALL OF MY YEARS, I have NEVER seen such a group of…"
Kris winced at the loudness of Marshal's voice.
"...EXCELLENT-LOOKING CANDIDATES!" roared Marshal. "I look forward to training with you all!"
Everyone just looked at each other in confusion, but Marshal continued on, slightly less loudly.
"This is the heart of EXO's headquarters, the Command Center! It is HERE in this very room, where I, Commander Marshal, will be stationed, alongside Mr. Celio, professors Elm and Juniper and sometimes even Dr. Kaminko HIMSELF! When you finish your training and go on missions, you will be guided and instructed from THIS VERY ROOM!"
"Yeah, that's the plan, anyways," Celio commented. "Hilda and Hilbert's fight against the shadow Lugia was kind of a trial run and everything went smoothly, but we haven't had any real action since. Basically, our satellites as well as the sensors from your chips and other equipment transmit information to us that allows us to monitor your surroundings, the physical condition of you and your Pokémon, et cetera. While you're in the thick of it, we can kind of be the Yanma on the wall, seeing the best course of action more clearly."
"But you will also gain a piece of my TACTICAL MINDSET once you finish your training!" shouted Marshal with an excited glint in his eye.
The doors of the Command Center suddenly slid open as a girl with waist-length brown hair and blue eyes wearing a lab coat walked in, reading from her notes. It was Leaf, a friend of Kris' from Kanto who had also been recruited to the science team. Although only a year older than Kris, she had apparently done some good work at Professor Oak's laboratory and the Pewter City Museum.
"Hey, Marshal," she said casually, looking at her notes. "Professor Juniper wants you to look over this… oh."
Leaf had just noticed the arrivals. Brushing her hair back, she smiled at them.
"Hi," she said brightly. "Leaf Greene, Pokémon biology department, I work as Juniper's assistant. Nice to meet you… all."
Leaf's eyes had met those of Silver's. Kris knew there was something between the two, but wasn't exactly sure what it was. Silver nodded at her without changing his expression while a flustered Leaf quickly handed the document to Marshal.
"Well, bye," she said sharply as she exited the Command Center. Kris tried to see Silver's reaction, but he gave very little indication as to what just happened or what his current relationship to Leaf was.
"I think that concludes our tour!" announced Hilda. "There are several levels further down, but even I can't usually waltz around there. There are some training halls there that you'll definitely see later, but for now, most of your activity will take place on the floors above ground."
"I will have the HONOR of holding your first class today after lunch!" announced Marshal. "LOOK FORWARD TO IT, YOU GREAT BUNCH, YOU!"
And so, their training period began. Their very first lesson happened immediately after the tour, where professor Juniper would explain to them about the many ways a Pokémon's biology affected Pokémon battles and what kind of vitamins were most suitable for what Pokémon for optimal strength. For example, although Kris had used Croc's physical and special moves as the situation warranted, Juniper explained to her that Feraligatr, by their nature, are strongest in physical, close-range battles, particularly when it came to using their sharp claws and powerful jaws, as well as their huge bulk. Juniper suggested a protein-heavy diet for Croc, who, upon hearing it, became excited, no doubt expecting Kris to give it the permission to snack on any wild Pokémon it would find.
That afternoon, they had fitness training, as Hilda had threatened. Kris had never been an athletic person, though she told herself it was only her lack of physical strength in the way… as well as lack of hand-eye-coordination, stamina and balance. But apart from that, she could have been an athlete if she wanted to!
As the recruits started training at the gym, and to Kris' surprise, she wasn't doing badly. She had certainly gotten more fit compared to when she was training for the Silver Conference back in Johto so many months ago. While she didn't quite have the endurance needed to keep up with the demands of Hilda, who kept pacing around the recruits yelling encouragement and insults alike, she noticed she wasn't doing as bad as Trace and Hau, the latter who took a quite relaxed attitude to the training and the former trying too hard to impress Hilda when she walked by and ending up hurting himself.
Wes, for being such an outdoors person, was also clearly struggling. Sure, he was more fit than her, but Kris couldn't help but to suppress a giggle when Hilda was telling him that his technique had been wrong in literally every exercise he had done and he was likely to hurt his body more than help it at his rate. To Kris' relief, Lyra's training was going around the same pace as Kris'.
Meanwhile, others were doing a bit better. Despite his wiry stature, Gladion seemed to be doing well, silently completing every task Hilda had given them. Silver was doing even better, and Kris noticed that it almost looked like he had grown taller from the last time she had seen him. He certainly appeared more broad-shouldered and generally less sulky and more relaxed. Kris wondered what he had done after realizing former Team Rocket leader Giovanni was revealed to be his father and where he had gone with him, but whatever it is, it had preoccupied him for two months. Kris made a note of catching up with him when she had time.
Unfortunately, at the end of the day, Kris felt so sore that she didn't even have the energy to engage in small-talk with Lyra and Wes, she simply retreated into her quarters and went to sleep, plagued once again by nightmares about Pryce and Lunick.
They offered Lunick a spot in EXO too, she had thought as she woke up way too early again and couldn't fall asleep. He would still be here if he hadn't… if I hadn't failed him.
The next day, the recruits and their Pokémon gathered in a large, open hall like a dojo. Hilda and Marshal were present in instructing them, but Hilbert was gone again. Hilda was with her Emboar and Marshal with a large, sepia-colored Pokémon carrying two imposing concrete pillars in its hands. It was a Conkeldurr, as Kris had seen Marshal battle with it on TV.
As for the others, Silver had his Weavile, Gladion had a Crobat, Trace had a Jolteon and Aldith had a Unovan purple feline Pokémon that Kris recognized as a Liepard. Hau's Pokémon was an impressive red and black muscular feline Pokémon from Alola that Kris didn't recognize but Hau identified to her as an Incineroar.
"GOOD MORNING!" shouted Marshal, making everyone flinch. "Welcome to your first battle class! It is HERE where we determine your most important skill."
"The gist of it is, we divide you into pairs and have you battle in front of everyone so we can tell you exactly what you did wrong," Hilda said casually. "To start us off, let's see… Kris! And… ah, Wesley! Show us what you got!"
Surprised to be picked first, Kris nonetheless assumed her place at the opposite side of the battlefield to Wes, the two bowing to each other at Marshal's insistence. Kris just realized that she had never actually battled Wes before, and he seemed to be thinking the same.
"Sorry for what's about to happen, Krissy," he said with a wink. "I know you're pretty good at this, but when it comes to my experience… well, I'll try to go easy on ya."
Kris just smiled. After the shock wore off, Kris realized this was perfect. Wes was the oldest of the recruits and no doubt had a long history of battling… which made it all the more sweeter when she would triumph over him.
Kris called out for Croc while Wes called for Umbreon. While Croc took its time to get on the battlefield and it roared at Umbreon while the dark-type Pokémon gracefully assumed a fighting stance.
"Umbreon, Flash!" Wes yelled, starting the battle.
Feraligatr had to close its eyes, snarling in annoyance at the bright light. This allowed Wes to call for a Feint Attack, with Umbreon rapidly closing in on Croc. But Kris wouldn't let Croc go down so easily.
"Aqua Tail in the air!" she ordered.
Wes was surprised by this move. Still blind and holding a hand over its eyes, Croc's tail was surrounded by a veil of water as it swung it around dangerously. It didn't hit Umbreon, but forced Wes to call for his Pokémon to retreat, buying enough time for Croc to recover.
"Confuse Ray!" Wes ordered.
This time, Kris wasn't sure how to avoid it, and sure enough, Umbreon's eyes flashed a sinister purple light at Croc, who started becoming disoriented.
"Okay, Quick Attack!" yelled Wes.
"Slash!" Kris tried to counter.
But Umbreon was too fast anyways, managing to land a blow on Croc, and when the Feraligatr tried to resort, it hit the floor instead in its confusion.
"Shadow Ball!" Wes ordered next.
"Crunch!" ordered Kris.
Though the spherical dark energy projectile came directly at Croc, the Feraligatr's big jaws merely snapped down on the attack, giving the impression that Croc had literally just eaten the hit like it was snack. It seemed to have shaken off the confusion as well.
"Aww, man," Wes couldn't help but to groan. "Okay, another Feint Attack!"
"Try Slash again!"
Umbreon vanished and hit Croc again in the stomach, clearly hurting the Feraligatr, but before Umbreon could retreat, Croc swiped it with its claws, sending the dark-type on the floor, where it struggled to get up. Wes shouted at Umbreon to escape, but Kris took advantage of his panic and ordered a Dynamic Punch.
As Croc's fist collided with Umbreon, producing a small explosion and a puff of smoke, the battle was over. Umbreon was knocked out. Marshal declared Kris as the winner, and immediately after that, two Chansey appeared, placing Umbreon on a stretcher as they carried it away.
"Your Umbreon will be in fighting shape in no time!" Marshal told a concerned-looking Wes, then turned at Kris. "GOOD BATTLE! Both of you did great! Congratulations, Kris!"
"Yeah, yeah, grats," Hilda said impatiently. "But that was painfully average from what I'd expect from Operative candidates. Kris, you gotta learn to defend sometimes! You're all attack-attack-attack! And you only used a Water-type move once during the battle!"
Kris' mind was full of indignant replies and sarcasm, but Hilda turned to chew out Wes next.
"And you!" she snapped at Wes, who looked even sadder. "Learn how to play to your Pokémon's strengths. You're too reckless! The start was okay, but you should have stayed back more and forced Feraligatr to use special moves. Umbreon's Special Defense is higher than its physical!"
"I… yeah," Wes sighed.
"All right, enough of that!" Hilda said briskly. "Our next battle pair will be… Trace and Aldith!"
Kris hung back to watch the remaining battles. Trace and Aldith were surprisingly even in their battle, with Trace surprisingly coming out on top despite his ignoble performance in physical exams. Gladion triumphed over Hau, just as Kris had expected, while Lyra and Silver's battle lasted so long that Hilda had to call a draw. She didn't have criticism to offer for either of them.
In the afternoon after fitness training and lunch, their training became even more intriguing as the recruits entered a room resembling a firing range in the second sub-level. However, there were no weapons to be seen, no bullet holes on the walls. There was a closed crate in one corner of the room that all recruits wanted to mess with.
When Hilda opened the crate and took out one of the many items in there, the recruits became even more fascinated. It was something resembling a wristwatch, decorated with a colorful jewel. Most people didn't seem to recognize them, with the exception of Trace.
"A Pokétch?" he asked incredulously. "Aren't we usually here on time?!"
"It's a heavily modified Pokétch," Hilda said, demonstrating it by putting it on her wrist and tapping it. The small Pokétch screen suddenly grew in size while also displaying a holographic projection a few inches above it: it was a 3D model of what Kris assumed to be the EXO base.
"This is another product of years of development, dating back to Navel Rock," Hilda explained. "The Pokétch Company assisted, of course, but the bulk of the work was done by our scientists as well as research materials we received from Altru Incorporated in Almia, taken from their local Capture Stylers. These Pokétches basically allow you to use every function required from you. Communications, strengthening the moves of your Pokémon, reading briefings, using the built-in PokéDex - and yes, even shooting."
Hilda began handing out Pokétches to everyone, and while the recruits attached them to their wrists enthusiastically, there was incredulous murmuring speculating on how exactly the shooting part worked, particularly from Hau and Trace.
"You will see in a few minutes," Hilda said. "The watches are loaded with small darts of various purposes, like tranquilizing or stunning with electric shocks. But the most important thing is the Z-Crystal."
Hau let out a content "Ah" and Gladion was observing the jewel attached to the Pokétch, but everyone else looked confused.
"Those are from Alola," Hilda said. "I guess Mr. Grouchypants here knows already?"
Gladion replied with a surly look and a "Hmph". Hilda just shrugged.
"Fine," she said. "The Z-Crystal's are an Alolan speciality, they basically strengthen Pokémon's moves by tapping into some energy and condensing it into these jewels. With some modifications from the Aether Foundation, we were able to synchronize the Crystals with your EX Chips, allowing you to practically use certain types of Pokémon moves from the Pokétch itself. Observe."
Hilda walked over to one of the shooting range's lanes, aimed her wrist at the cardboard target at the very end of the lane and pressed a button on her Pokétch. Her Z-Crystal glowed red as a short stream of fire was propelled from the end of her Pokétch, flying straight at the target and burning a hole through it, the stream finally fizzling out as it approached the wall. Trace clapped appreciatively, the only one to do so.
"All right, there are eight lanes so everyone: choose one and get cracking!" Hilda said. "Obviously, the effect of the crystal depends on the bond you have with your Pokémon as well as… well, just try and see!"
Kris did as told, but couldn't resist looking at what others were doing. Trace was having problems even attaching the Pokétch to his wrist, while Hau was already starting but the flames from his Pokétch were quite weak, barely flying for a few inches. He looked back at his Incineroar as if accusing it of this. Aldith couldn't seem to conjure up any kind of attacks and even Gladion was having difficulties. However, Silver was firing dark energy blasts from his Pokétch, hitting every target on his lane with perfect accuracy.
Kris did as Hilda had shown her. She aimed the Pokétch at the target, trying to think of a cool one-liner while doing so. She bent her wrist, setting the Pokétch's reticle as precisely on target as possible, and pressed the button.
And nothing happened.
Kris looked around her again. Wes was struggling with his Pokétch but nonetheless managed to fire energy blasts out of it. Lyra, to Kris' left, was looking at Kris curiously.
"What?!" Kris snapped at her, before composing herself. "Um, sorry, I mean…"
"It's okay, you're just nervous," Lyra said, "and insecure when you see other people doing what you can't."
Kris rolled her eyes, but couldn't exactly offer a rebuttal.
"It's really not that hard," Lyra said cheerfully and took aim like Kris. "Watch this, Kris… all right, you piece of condensed, heavy-duty paper," she told the cardboard target. "Make my day!"
Lyra fired a stream of fire from her Pokétch, but her reckless way of doing so caused it to bounce off the wall and hit a lamp instead, causing it to explode in a pop.
"Well done, Lyra," Hilda spoke as she observed the broken lamp with her hands on her hips. "You stopped the inevitable lamp rebellion."
~o~O~o~
Location: Plasma Frigate, Prime Pier, Castelia City, Unova
N was training as well, but with a sword. Ghetsis walked in circles around the room as N was engaged in a sword fight against two Plasma Grunts, N wielding a long two-handed sword against the sabre's wielded by the Plasmas. All the while blocking their attacks, N had to answer questions Ghetsis was randomly shouting at him.
"Founding year of Unova!" Ghetsis yelled.
"2503 years ago!" said N.
"Last remaining building from the first Unovan city!" Ghetsis said, confirming N's answer from his notes.
"Relic Castle!"
N was beginning to struggle, the two Plasma Grunts starting to corner him against a wall, though clearly reluctant to hurt their king. Ghetsis noticed this immediately.
"You're not using it!" Ghetsis admonished. "Don't let me break your concentration. Construction year of the Village Bridge!"
"207-" grunted N, his hands sweating and his grip of his sword slipping. "Urgh! 207 years ago!"
Eventually, he had no choice. Blocking both the Grunts attacks with his sword, N briefly closed his eyes. But the room had never been clearer to him. The blue, glowing outlines of the Plasma Grunts, the vibrations of the air telling him exactly where the sword would strike.
With a few effortless waves of his sword, N disarmed both Plasma Grunts and made two horizontal shallow cuts to their clothes, signifying that they had lost. The Plasma Grunts bowed at N and quickly left the room. Ghetsis walked over to N, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"That is how you do it!" Ghetsis spoke. "You have a gift, N. Use it to advance our goals!"
"Father…" N panted as he sheathed his sword. "Why is it that I must learn these things?"
"As the future King of Unova, it is a requirement," Ghetsis said simply. "But I chose those to test you. You cannot let your concentration falter, even as information is bombarded to you from every direction. Use your Aura well."
Two of the Seven Sages entered the room. One with a long, smooth beard and short hair in brown robes, and another, with purple robes and longer, curlier gray hair with no beard. The bearded Sage gave N a towel with which to wipe himself.
"Rood," Ghetsis told the bearded Sage. "Please take Lord N to his chambers for his lesson with Gorm."
"Of course," said Rood, bowing at Ghetsis. He then gently guided N out of the room. "This way, my lord…"
As the two left the room, Ghetsis turned to the purple-robed Sage.
"Zinzolin," he said. "Report."
"The Shadow Triad have found the target," Zinzolin announced gleefully. "We only need your command to-"
"Do it," Ghetsis said quickly. "There needs to be no doubt. Those four are an unknown variable in this whole thing. How are the searches in the north going?"
"Giallo's party hasn't had any luck," Zinzolin reported. "He says they need another week."
"I don't care if they take six or eight or one hundred weeks, we must find it," Ghetsis hissed, looking impatiently around the room. "I don't feel safe being here. I received word from our infiltrator. The training has begun. They'll be actively looking for us soon."
"I will tell the men to set sail at once," said Zinzolin and bowed. "To the laboratory?"
Ghetsis nodded, his face twitching involuntarily. As Zinzolin left, Ghetsis stormed out of the room and into the nearest washroom, the pain in his face searing him. Ghetsis stormed over to the mirror and pulled off the eyepiece covering his missing eye.
However, it was covering something else as well. A brand of sorts had been placed over his missing eye: a dark purple circle with six spikes pointing out of it in every direction. Blood was trickling down from the mark and down his face.
"I know, I know," Ghetsis grunted to himself. "Soon…"
~o~O~o~
Location: EXO HQ, unknown region (so far)
As the training continued, Kris still struggled with using the Pokétch powers. To her irritation, she still couldn't master her Pokétch powers, and while Lyra struggled too, she was further in her use of them than she was. Still, Kris couldn't hide her enthusiasm as she woke up eagerly every morning to join the tired recruits in whatever challenge Hilda and Marshal threw their way.
Pokémon battles were something she did very well in, having beaten Gladion during her last practice match. However, her boasting about the fact was abruptly cut short when Hilda wanted to challenge her, and her Emboar proceeded to mop the floor with Croc.
Also, the theory classes were, and Kris would have never thought she would think this, quite interesting. Professor Juniper's classes discussed more about the practical uses of Pokémon attributes in battles. Professor Elm would pop in to explain how their Pokétch powers actually worked and how they would get the most out of them, telling that the Pokétches drew the power from their "primary Pokémon", which they could change at will. Apart from offensive skills, the powers could be applied in many other ways as well, such as for defense, clearing obstacles and so on. Shooting projectiles wasn't the only thing their Pokétches did either, as they also generated energy blasts on contact.
Blaine would occasionally come in, mainly to lecture them about security. On missions, under no circumstances were the Operatives allowed to reveal where they came from, who sent them, what their mission was and so on. Whenever exiting or entering the base, they would need to use teleporters or access routes defined on the map, instead of using the door like a normal person. In fact, Blaine implied the facility had no front doors at all.
Finally, Marshal would hold classes about strategy and tactics as well as practical things they would need to do on missions, protocol and such. One day, he was holding up what appeared to be an epipen, only thinner and longer.
"If you ever get seriously injured on your missions," Marshal boomed, "and I mean SERIOUSLY injured, not talking about cuts and scrapes, inject yourself with this. It's a medical solution working with nanobots that close wounds, stop bleeding, relieve pain and generally restore your composure with various chemicals. Should be enough to get you out of whatever situation you're in and to a medic. This isn't exactly cheap stuff, though, so every Operative will carry one one of these at a time when on a mission."
Though Kris' friendship with Lyra was still not what it used to be in their childhood, everything they had experienced together after their rift was starting to heal old wounds. She found herself spending more and more time with her in her few off hours, talking, mainly about battling and their Pokémon, their favorite subject.
One day, they had time off the rest of the day after dinner, so they decided to stay back in the cafeteria to chat, with Wes also joining them, looking miserable. Half of the recruits had been in VR training before, while the other half, with Wes among them, practiced hand-to-hand combat with Hilda.
"Hey, guys," Wes sighed as he sat down at the table, opposite Kris and Lyra.
The two glanced at each other. "You okay there, buddy?" Lyra asked with an air of forced pleasantness.
"Hilda handed my ass to me on a platter, a fancily decorated one with parsley and everything," Wes lamented. "She's just too strong!"
"She's just had more practice," Kris said. "And her personality is just more suited to this type of thing. You're more of a, 'kick them in ribs while their attention is drawn away' -type."
"That's how you see me?" Wes asked and sighed. "Damn. I really gotta improve my image."
"I can't believe it's only been our first week," Lyra said. "I feel like I'm ready to get out there and do something, you know!"
"Uh, yeah, likewise," Kris said awkwardly, not wanting to draw attention to how she was doing with her Pokétch powers.
"What do you think our first mission will be?" Lyra asked excitedly, looking between Kris and Wes.
Wes shrugged. "We'll probably find out before the first Ultra Wormhole appears," he said casually.
"Yeah, yeah," Lyra nodded feverishly. "It's like what professor Juniper was talking about in this morning's class… because of what happened with Hoopa and Deoxys, they're more likely to appear sooner rather than later."
"At totally random and unexpected places," Wes said dramatically. "What if an Ultra Beast pops out from that glass you're drinking from right now."
Lyra put down her glass, giving Wes an ugly look.
"Great, my thirst is totally gone now," she sulked. "And, if you had paid attention in class, Wesley, you would know an Ultra Wormhole would never fit in a place like that. It requires a lot of empty space around it!"
Kris was distracted from Lyra and Wes' bickering when she saw Silver walk past their table, giving them a brief nod as he walked. Leaving Lyra and Wes to it, Kris chased after him, tapping him on the shoulder. Silver stopped and turned around calmly.
"Yeah?" he asked. "What's up?"
"Uh, hi," Kris said, expecting a less cool reception. "We haven't had a chance to talk yet! How are you here?"
"Well," Silver said with disinterest, "when my bastard of a father met my mom in Sinnoh-"
"You know what I mean!"
Silver shrugged. "Why is anyone here? To make a difference, I suppose. Even back in the days when I stole professor Elm's Chikorita, I just wanted to make a change in the world. I feel this is slightly more constructive."
"Uh huh… and why haven't we seen you around in months? Where did you go with... Giovanni?"
Silver gave Kris a curious look, Kris having a hard time imagining what he could be thinking. "I suppose I should have expected Leaf to tell you," he said slowly. "But I wish you wouldn't say it too loudly around here."
"Hey, I totally get it, my parents suck, too!" Kris said with a casual wave. "So, just tell me!"
"We traveled," Silver said vaguely. "He showed me around in Sinnoh, then we came here to Unova-"
"Whoa!" Kris said quickly. "We are in Unova?"
"You haven't looked out the window?" Silver said with a sly smile. "The position of the stars, foliage that doesn't grow elsewhere… sure, they planted trees from other regions to cover it, but that was done sloppily. And professor Juniper and Marshal are both here, even though they have big responsibilities in Unova. Obviously they need to work close to home. And the Pokémon Association's home office is here as well, they will want to keep a close eye on their investment."
Kris was just dumbstruck and didn't say anything. Silver let out a small laugh.
"Anyways, don't imagine that I have forgiven him for what he did to me and my mother," Silver said, "but I have learned a lot from him. He got me a job helping out Juniper's father, this bigshot scientist, and thanks to him, I got this job."
"Fair enough," Kris said and gave Silver a friendly punch in the arm, to what Silver just frowned. "See you around, then! It's pretty exciting to work together again, right?"
Silver gave a small, noncommitted "mm" sound, nodded and left. With one less thing at the back of her mind, Kris returned to her table, where Lyra and Wes suddenly fell silent after talking about something intently. Kris frowned at them.
"What?!" she asked.
"Nothing," Wes said with obviously forced innocence.
"What were you talking about?"
"Nothing, nothing," Wes said. "Um, right, Lyra?"
"No," Lyra said, looking confused. "We were talking about Lunick and then you suddenly asked me to shut up when Kris arrived. Very rude, by the way!"
Wes shut his eyes tight and pinched his nose. Lyra seemed to realize what she said and turned to Kris awkwardly.
"Sorry," she said meekly. "We were just, um, wondering… we haven't really talked about it, and it's been more than a week already…"
It had indeed been more than a week. But his nightmares about what happened to Lunick had lessened a bit when she had remembered that Lunick had by no means died during that time. He was hovering between life and death, and EXO, if anyone, had the resources to cure him. They had placed another friend of theirs, Dawn, in a highly expensive facility to treat the damages done to her mind after Hoopa's attack. She also knew that Hilbert had sustained grave injuries before but was now back in action, no worse for wear. So who's to say the same couldn't happen to Lunick?
Still, she didn't want to talk about it in front of Wes and Lyra, so she retreated to her room for today.
The next day was a day off for the recruits, their first one. During breakfast, Aldith mentioned something about extra study materials she wanted to run through Blaine. Kris, Lyra and Wes as well as Trace and Hau went to the large outdoor area in the middle of the base's ground floor where their non-active Pokémon were held. Kris had her Chandelure and Froslass there, floating in a secluded corner and mostly associating with each other, not much caring for other people's Pokémon. The rest of her Pokémon were at professor Elm's laboratory, Kris hoping Elm's substitutes were taking good care of them.
Well, all except for…
"Shrew!" Kris called. "Shrew, where are you?"
And then, a small but irregularly fast Sandshrew stormed out from the bushes to meet Kris. However, its first target was Lyra's Typhlosion, Scorch, who Shrew happily sniffed around and greeted affectionately. It even allowed Wes to scratch it behind the ear before jumping into Kris' waiting arms.
"Honestly, are you mad that I didn't pick you over Croc for the training?" Kris asked it, but nonetheless scratched it affectionately. "Not that long ago you would have scratched Wes' eyes out, now only one of us wants to."
"Hey!" protested Wes, but laughed with the other two as he went to greet his own Pokémon, soon joined by Lyra.
After spending some time with her Pokémon, Kris' next destination was professor Elm's office on the second floor. However, she was expecting a warmer reception when she knocked on the door and heard about a dozen "ums" and "ahs" before rushing to the door.
"Kris!" professor Elm said frantically, opening the door just barely to stick his head out. "Shouldn't you be in training?"
"It's our day off," said Kris, expecting Elm to know of this.
Elm seemed dumbstruck for a moment, then sighed, adjusted his glasses and opened the door for Kris to come in. As Kris entered, Elm immediately returned to his computer and began typing, Kris taking a seat on the opposite site of his desk.
"Sorry," Elm said absentmindedly while typing and glancing at notes attached to his screen. "I know things between us have been a little, ah, formal for the past week. Dr. Kaminko isn't exactly giving us time to rest. The EX Chips might be ready but they are being constantly optimized and upgraded, as are our other systems. On top of that and keeping up with your courses, my free time is practically…"
"What?" Kris asked when Elm didn't finish his sentence.
"Um, about as long as you're going to spend here…"
Kris rolled her eyes. "Well, after we finish our basic training, then what?"
"Well, um, it's true that my calendar will have a few more empty slots," Elm said vaguely as he resumed typing. "But, uh, of course, mission planning, data gathering and the various research projects we have going on… it, I'm afraid, never ends. Of course, I knew what I was signing up for and the end goal is, um, saving the world, but still-"
"Fine, fine, I won't ask you how you're doing," Kris said sharply to interrupt Elm's rambling. "I actually wanted to ask you something, and I don't want you to tell Dr. Kaminko."
"Kris, he's my boss-"
"Don't be a snitch!" Kris snapped. "Anyway, it's nothing too bad, I just don't want anyone to think I have second thoughts about this EXO thing but… the chip. Aside from Kaminko, you seem to know the most about it."
"Ah," said Elm, now more excited as he adjusted his glasses unnecessarily. "Like your Pokétches, they are imbued with pieces of Z-Crystals. However, they also monitor your body's functions so we can optimize it into the ultimate fighting machine and synch it with your Pokémon."
"How do I use it, then?" Kris asked impatiently. "Lyra, Silver and even Wes can use theirs and they're improving every day. Why cannot I?"
Elm glanced at the door nervously and then back at Kris.
"It's still the first week of your training," he said softly. "But, I suppose I can give you a hint to help you get going. The chip works only as well as your body does. And, um, well, you weren't exactly the picture of healthy lifestyle habits before…"
"That was back when I was living in the basement!" Kris protested. "Ever since I started this journey, I've been improving so much. I don't get winded after ten seconds of running anymore."
"Well, yes, but your emotional wellbeing is also important," Elm said hastily. "The mind and the body are connected, there is real science behind it. There are certain mental blocks that might stop you from performing adequately."
"Well, then, is the chip in my brain?!" Kris asked in alarm. "Did you guys mess with my brain? Is that why I'm putting my jumpsuit on the wrong way around recently?"
"Nothing like that," Elm said quickly and got up, a marker in hand.
He walked over to Kris and seemed to reach for her left shoulder, but hesitated and just looked awkward. Sighing and rolling her eyes, Kris unzipped the top part of her jumpsuit and took her arm off the sleeve, offering it to Elm, wearing a pink tank top underneath the suit. Relieved, Elm drew a line on his marker down from the top of Kris' shoulder down to her armpit.
"Why there?" Kris asked curiously.
"Your heartbeat and your body's own electrical current are what powers the chip," said Elm with an air of authority and much less stuttering than usual. "Your chip is located close to where your arm meets your torso to be in close proximity to your heart as well as to quickly transmit nanobots through your circulatory system. Your left arm will be the first to feel its effects by a few nanoseconds."
"So, will it just stay like this forever?" Kris asked in a meek voice. "I mean, I'm not expected to be here forever. The contract specified five years."
"Of course, of course," Elm said. "The chip is made entirely of bio-organic materials that, just like in the case of the prototype chip you had before, will eventually break down into even smaller fragments and leave your body completely harmlessly through the usual…" Elm cleared his throat. "Well, the usual way your body disposes of waste."
"Cool!" Kris exclaimed, both impressed and relieved. "But… what if I don't ever get the hang of it? What if I fail this basic training?"
Elm pondered the answer for a while, but as he did so, his office door was opened, with Blaine marching in without knocking, Hilbert following closely behind, though Blaine towered above him. Kris waved at Hilbert, who smiled and waved back calmly. Kris remarked that he looked awfully pale, and just realized she hadn't seen him in several days.
"Sorry, Kris, didn't know you were in here…" Blaine paused and frowned, his eyebrows disappearing under his shades, as he looked at Kris' exposed shoulders. "Uh, professor Elm, I need you to explain something right now!"
"Ah, sorry, I asked him to show me where the chip was, that's all!" Kris said quickly as she put her jumpsuit back on. "Really, Blaine, the guy's too awkward to even touch my shoulder, good thing he only researches Pokémon and not people."
Blaine grunted. "Fine." He looked up at Elm. "Elm, it's time to go. Did you forget we have to… run the tests today?"
Elm glanced at his computer and winced.
"I lost track of time!" he moaned. "I'm just swamped with all of this work."
Blaine nodded in understanding. "Yes, Aldith kept me busy for the longest time, too. Well, shall we?"
"Yes, yes, of course."
Elm was already storming out of the room, but Blaine looked at him expectantly and blocked his path. Slapping his forehead dramatically and laughing nervously, Elm walked back to his computer and locked his desktop, hiding whatever he had on his screen before walking out with Blaine and a nonchalant Hilbert.
Kris couldn't help but to wonder what the three of them could possibly be doing. Running what tests? Come to think of it, Blaine was apparently working on some secret project Kris knew nothing about. If he needed Elm's help on it, it could be related to the chips in some way. But Kris also knew that Blaine and Elm were old friends and it could just be Blaine only trusted Elm to not blab about whatever he was doing and simply needed some other kind of help. Elm was knowledgeable about Pokémon evolution, but what could it have to do with Hilbert?
Kris perused Elm's office and the notes on his desk for any information, but the drawers were all locked and the notes were written with illegible handwriting. On the shelves, there was nothing of note either, just science textbooks and a picture of a younger Elm from a few years back with a woman and a baby. Kris still remembered the day of their divorce and the wife's departure from New Bark Town, but had never discussed it with the professor. She wondered if she was finally old enough to hear the truth, or if Elm's wounds had been healed yet.
Her pondering was suddenly interrupted as a voice echoed through the corridors of EXO, coming from the speakers placed at nearly every corner.
"Recruit Kris, you're needed at reception," the voice of a security guard said. "Repeat, recruit Kris, please report to reception."
Kris frowned. Who could be visiting her? Iris was the only one outside the base who knew what she was doing right now, but with all the secrecy, there was no way they had told her where EXO's headquarters were. Confused, she walked out of the room while contacting the security room with her Pokétch, where she could dial any of the EXO HQ's facilities when needed.
"Kris here," she spoke as she walked. "Who is contacting me?"
"Uh, some tall guy, dark-haired, spoke in a weird way," replied the security guard through her Pokétch. "Said that he's just been released from the hospital and the Boss has offered him a spot as an Operative. He had the weirdest name, what was your name again? Ah, said his name is Lunick."
Kris stopped on her tracks and stared blankly at the wall, ignoring the security guard on the other line completely. It felt as if her insides had just turned 180 degrees.
Lunick.
She had seen his neck get snapped by Pryce, who was inhumanly strong at the time. How could he be alive, or at least not permanently paralyzed? But it couldn't be anyone else, obviously he had recovered in whatever facility EXO had sent him to and then shipped to the base.
Kris didn't even realize that she was running towards the stairs. She was overwhelmed with pure emotion, of thoughts of training with Lunick, getting to apologize to him. He had been a warrior, a fighter from a different time, he would fit in perfectly in EXO. Yes, a fight against evil side-by-side with Lyra, Wes and Lunick. If Iris had been there, she would have had all her favorite people under one roof, but maybe Kris could persuade her if she could ever get in contact with her.
Reaching the stairs, Kris had to slow down to not tumble down them. She didn't want to make a bad impression. She was painfully aware that she was sweating already and looking more frantic than usual, most likely making a bad impression, but she didn't care. Finally, the nightmares could be over.
And then, at the foot of the stairs, Kris froze. There, wearing what appeared to be a black raincoat, stood a tall, dark-haired young man, leaning on a reception desk, his face obscured. Finally, Kris thought. Finally, she could-
"Kris?" spoke the man.
Kris froze. No. This wasn't right.
"You're not Lunick," Kris simply said.
"Obviously," said the man, removing his cloak and pulling off his wig, revealing himself to be red-haired instead, though otherwise resembling him a great deal. "The name is Barret. A faithful servant of King N… and the destroyer of servants of the system like you."
Kris looked around her. No security guards in sight, none of her fellow recruits to be seen, Croc resting in her quarters. She didn't even have weapons.
"It took a lot of work doing this, you know," Barret said and pulled out what was undeniably a handheld energy weapon, aiming it at Kris' face. "Sneaking into the hospital, reading the records, getting in touch with the right people… but it was worth it for that look on your face, sycophant."
"What…" Kris said, tears in her eyes now. "W-what are you talking about?"
Barret gestured around the room dramatically with the gun in his hand. "You, and the rest of you 'recruits'! You chose your fate! You're part of the problem now. I know I'm not leaving this place alive, but I will make my King proud. Even if it means having to carry the name of a dead man."
Kris shook her head in disbelief. This couldn't be it. Lunick couldn't be-
"This is for all Pokémon worldwide, and for Team Plasma!" Barret yelled and aimed.
Instinct took over and Kris ducked, her Pokétch hand on the ground. As Barret fired, her Pokétch's Z-Crystal glowed and blue energy formed on the ground, instantly forming a wall of ice so dense even the energy blast from Barret's gun couldn't penetrate it.
The next thing she knew, Kris was acting like how she had done with Pryce, only fully aware of it. She placed her palm on the wall of ice and pressed a button on her Pokétch, causing the ice to crack and send a piece flying at Barret, knocking him off his feet and making him miss his next shot.
As Barret lay on the ground, Kris, screaming fiercely, rushed to him. He was attempting to pull a knife from a sheath on his waist, but Kris reacted first. She bent her wrist and fired another blast from her Pokétch, this time a stream of water, hot water, that scalded Barret's hand and made him drop the knife. Finally, Kris drew back her arm and punched Barret in the face, her hand briefly encased in ice as she hit him and floored him, the ice quickly disappearing before Kris even felt a thing.
But it wasn't enough. Barret lay harmless on the ground, and Kris could hear footsteps behind her. But she didn't care. Taking Lunick's name just to get to her. And making her believe that he would be back. Kris sat on Barret's chest, punching him repeatedly in the face until security guards, along with Lyra and Wes, dragged her away with great difficulty, barely containing her anger and grief.
~o~O~o~
Location: Forest north of Floccesy Town, Unova
Keldeo, a cream-colored equine Pokémon with a thick red mane and a large horn was in trouble. Its peaceful, uneventful life in the forest had come to an unexpected turn as three white-haired humans in black outfits had ambushed it and chased it around the forest, attacking Keldeo with their own swords as well as their Bisharp, all three of them having one. All Keldeo knew was to run, to take the fight away from the weaker Pokémon in the forest, but the Bisharp and the Shadow Triad stabbed and slashed Keldeo relentlessly, pursuing it until it fell off a cliff a dozen feet on another cliff below.
The Shadow Triad emerged on the edge of the cliff, one of them brandishing a crossbow and aiming at Keldeo, who was too weak to even try and move its head, let alone escape.
But the Shadow had to drop his crossbow as a sudden Ice Beam froze it solid, nearly taking the Shadow's fingers off with it. The Shadows and their Pokémon turned around to witness Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion, Suicune and Victini, having cornered them.
"Fellas," said Victini and snapped its fingers, lighting up a fireball that hovered in the air above its hands, "I don't know what your problem with Junior here is, but it's gonna have to wait. Stand aside or you're all going down this cliff."
The Shadow Triad weren't going to argue. Red flashes brightened up the cliffside as the Bisharp were withdrawn, and soon after, the Shadows disappeared, leaving only their smoke bombs behind. The Swords of Justice made no attempt to stop them, instead approaching the edge of the cliffside to peer down on Keldeo. Victini and Suicune soon joined them.
Keldeo finally had enough strength to raise its head and look up. Its big eyes widened as it saw the Swords of Justice looking down on it, transfixed on their regal postures, the sun reflected from the blades on their horns.
"Hey, kid," Victini told Keldeo. "From the look on your face, I'm guessing we got the right beast. Long story short, the band I'm managing is short of a fourth member, and the wheels of destiny says it's you. You wanna join us for our next gig, kicking the Ultra Beasts' ugly asses back to where they came from?"
Suicune and the Swords turned to look at Victini.
"Fine, I'm dropping the metaphor," it groaned in frustration. "You guys are boring."
~o~O~o~
Location: EXO HQ, somewhere in Unova
Kris was not able to withstand interrogations or queries from anyone present. Since the incident was very clearly not her fault anyway, no one could punish her, but there was no one around to comfort her either. She sat in the corridors outside the base's hospital wing, eyes transfixed on a small spec of dirt in the otherwise immaculate wall.
Eventually, it was Hilda who located her. Though she saw Kris sitting in the corridor, leaning on the wall doing nothing, she approached her slowly, trying to think of how to say what she wanted to say tactfully.
Once she had reached Kris, Hilda still hesitated, but finally spoke up:
"That Barret guy is in interrogation right now. Dr. Kaminko himself should get to the bottom of things."
Kris just nodded, only half-listening.
"It seems that there's a leak in not only our base security, but in the intelligence department also," Hilda continued. "Somehow Team Plasma was able to find where Lunick was treated, get access to Lunick's profile, the one we set aside for him, while also transmitting false information between us and the facility he was kept in."
Kris nodded again.
"Dr. Kaminko also asked me to tell you," Hilda said, now more slowly, "that you did a good job apprehending the intruder. And he praised you for mastering the Pokétch technique."
Kris was able to make eye contact with Hilda. Somewhere in Kris' subconscious, she felt a small tinge of joy.
"Thanks," she whispered.
But what Hilda had to say next seemed to pain her. She opened and closed her mouth many times before finally saying her message in a shaky tone.
"I was also asked to tell you," Hilda said, "that, two days ago, Lunick… passed away from his injuries. There was nothing they could have done and they kept him alive as long as they could."
Kris turned to look at the wall again.
"I knew it," she said hoarsely. "They couldn't risk the real Lunick turning up. They somehow delayed the message of his… his passing, or intercepted it or something, then got a hold of the information on how to reach the base."
"He was escorted in by our own security team," Hilda said. "From the look of things, he doesn't know our exact location. But to leave him alone in the reception like that… we are going to need to ask Prez Lusamine to change some of the staff."
"Is that all?" Kris asked Hilda sharply.
When Hilda nodded, Kris left her company. She couldn't stand to be around her or anyone else at the moment. As she walked towards the elevators, intending to head to her quarters, however, she felt her anger subsiding at every step. For over 17 years of her life, she had never relied on anyone, especially after the rift between her and Lyra that had only recently been mended.
But now, she thought, things were different. Professor Elm was busy, but still helped her out. Wes was a friend she could trust. But as much affection as she had for them, there was only one person she wanted to talk to now. How stupid she had been before, telling her to leave during her emotional turmoil after taking down Barret. As she reached the second floor and the wing containing the Operatives' quarters, she passed her own room and instead rang the doorbell on the door opposite to it.
A moment later, the door was opened. A pale and messy looking Lyra stood at the doorway, staring at Kris, whose gaze was fixed on the floor.
"Hey!" Lyra spoke in surprise. "Kris, are you okay?"
"Y… no," Kris said truthfully.
"Oh," Lyra moaned sympathetically. "I'm sorry…"
Kris and Lyra stood in awkward silence. Kris really wished Lyra could pick up signals better… but then, she wouldn't be Lyra.
"Is it okay to come in and talk about this for a bit?" Kris asked meekly. "Um, please?"
As Kris dared to look up, she saw Lyra smiling at her.
"Of course," Lyra said. "I've wanted to have a good talk with you. Come on in."
Meanwhile, in the lowest sub-basement level, there were chambers quite different from the rest of the EXO HQ, where the Operatives had not ventured yet. Those contained two rows of prison cells, currently unused. Kaminko had them built specifically to deal with people who would stumble upon the base, and as an added measure, there was an interrogation room in the same chambers, with a thick door designed to muffle all sounds coming out of it.
Dr. Kaminko, Marshal and Blaine were in the room, the former two observing Blaine screaming in the ears of Barret, who was tied to a chair with heavy iron chains.
"TALK!" Blaine shouted. "Who is your man on the inside?! How much does Team Plasma know!"
While Blaine was busy, Kaminko took Marshal aside for a moment.
"Dr. Blaine is under intense pressure, managing his own project on top of micromanaging our security staff," Kaminko muttered. "I want you to take a load off him and share the position of head of security with him for the time being, to prevent further incidents like this."
"Of course, sir," Marshal said quietly. "Are you… going to report this to President Lusamine?"
Kaminko shook his head. "And I don't want word to spread or she will doubt our security measures. She is a… frightening woman, and she is a part of the Pokémon Association Inner Committee. Our funding will be the smallest of our concerns if they start coming down on us. We'll just have to rely more on our internal security."
Marshal nodded, looking relieved. He and Kaminko returned to Blaine.
"Enough, Blaine," Kaminko told Blaine loudly. "And you," he said to Barret, "look at me."
Blaine twisted Barret's head to force him to look up at Dr. Kaminko. But despite the bruises and blood covering up his face, Barret managed to smile triumphantly as he stared at the older man.
"Why did you do this?" Kaminko wondered. "We've reviewed everything that has happened, and this was a suicide run from the beginning. Sure, you managed to do a number on the security in our external facilities, but the gig was up as soon as you got in the base. Why bother?"
Barret just giggled, even after Blaine grabbed his neck in a stranglehold, only letting go enough for Barret to speak.
"For the glory of Lord N!" Barret spat at Kaminko. "If I can hurt even one of your precious human weapons, I will have succeeded. And I did!"
Kaminko sighed.
"And why does Team Plasma wish to fight us?" he asked.
Barret grinned maniacally. "Lord N will release all Pokémon! He will take his rightful place as Unova's ruler. And then, those loyal to him will get the ultimate reward!"
"So Team Plasma found out about what happened to Lunick, about him being a candidate to join EXO and the place where he was held," Kaminko listed. "You got your hands on his profile and his physical description and prevented the medical facility from alerting us about his death. Instead, you passed on a false message that he had recovered and was on his way here, fooling the security team into escorting you here. However, you were blindfolded the entire time. You have no way to know where our base is and no way to contact your comrades."
Kaminko took a step closer to Barret. "No one knows you are here," he said, "but it's clear that you know someone. There is a spy here, and either you are going to tell us who it is or you will spend your days in this room with no food, no light and no water, except for whatever you can suck off the walls."
And with that, Kaminko left the room, followed by Blaine and Marshal, who turned off the lights and locked the door behind them, leaving Barret imprisoned. As Blaine and Marshal argued about how to get information out of Barret, Kaminko went over scenarios in his head. There was only one explanation for how and why Team Plasma was after them.
Ghetsis was still alive.
A/N: Thanks for reading so far. Next up on Dawn of the Ultra Beasts, Chapter 3, "Project Z", where we delve deeper into the conspiracies of EXO.