Disclaimer: Pokemon is owned by GameFreak as Developer and Nintendo.
Prologue
In the outskirts of a large city named Rustboro, dozens of yards from the city entrance, stood a tall and mighty fort. A bulwark of power, the wall stood tall more than a three-storey house could match. Surrounding it was forest and plains, farther to the east there was the sea of Hoenn Dukedom.
The beige stone was thicker than once could imagine. Menaces came from the top of the fortress, armed guards keenly watched their surroundings, with muskets, swords, a few shields, and dangerous mythical creatures lurked. Above the gate, a name was written to proclaim who resided in the fortress,
`Devon Foundation`.
Nobody seemed to possibly be unaware of that name. And nothing, or nobody had dared to be the enemy of this certain entity. The testament of its power laid within, a vast array of buildings, with imposing men of arms roamed. Some were prison-like buildings, some were house-shaped.
Behind those bars of those 'prisons' feral snarls echoed through the hallway. The door leading to the sound was banged a few times occasionally. The guards beside the door were wary, their eyes were set upon the metal seal. On the door was written,
'Jack M. I-18364 Werewolf.'
And it was just one of the many cells there. Different noises kept blaring unceasingly.
Now, one of the daily activities was being done. A guard was pushing a medical cart carrying a bottle filled with crimson liquid. He was accompanied by two armed guards, coming from the far end of the hallway. The cart of steel stopped in front of a cell door. The door was void of any crevice except for one near the bottom. Quickly the guard inserted the bottle into the food hole and stepped away with haste and left.
Despite the dreary places in the fort, there was also an amicable spot. At the opposite part of the large fort, there was an area surrounded by a metal fence. There, many creatures, similar to wild animals roamed. Some were like a golden starfish and lived in a pond. Some were like mice, only those were rotund and blue.
The staff in the area fed them what seemed to be blue cake-like food. Some tiger creatures were given raw meat. Not only feeding, they were also trained. Fire and water were breathed by those creatures in the site.
And the most important was the central building within the fort. At the other part of the complex, at the end of the courtyard of the square-shaped wall cage there was a large building. A voice rang inside the building, not very loud yet audible.
"Father, where is this you're referring? Where?" A tall man in his youth asked.
"Wait. I will inform others as well." His father solemnly answered.
"Tell me." The man insisted, a bit brazenly.
His father just smiled, he did not speak nor reproach his son. He only looked at him in the eyes.
"Patience, Steven. Patience." His father who was sitting behind his desk said.
Steven's countenance was not pleased, turning to wroth albeit not fully. He stepped back and ruffled his blue dense hair, fixed his red cravat, then he let go a sigh.
For a while, Steven paced back and forth rather slowly. He seemed to be in deep thoughts. He tapped his feet a few times, while his hands played around his unbuttoned black coat which matched his trousers.
Much later, the door was opened. A few figures came in somewhat hastily. One of them, a man with much less magenta hair, wearing magenta trousers and black shirt rushed to the one who was sitting behind the desk.
"Is it really sir? That you know?" The almost bald man asked.
"I'll disclose this information, don't worry." The men behind the desk answered.
Then the rest of the group that came stood before him, like children waiting for their meals.
"Very well, all of you have gathered here." The men behind the desk said.
Then he stood up. A man in his fifties, wearing a teal suit with black tie. He walked to the right, leaving his desk and headed to a board obscured with a layer of white fabric. Every eye was set upon the old man, the air was not light.
The man pulled down the veil, revealing a map stuck on a portable writing board. They looked at the map, their forehead furrowed at the strange map.
"I've never seen such a map, Mr. Stone." A man wearing a ship captain's clothes said.
"With due respect sir, what is this map?" Another man in white clothes, with a green and purple thin scarf asked.
"Ah, is it an unexplored island?" A tanned young girl wearing a violet cloak asked with excitement.
Mr. Stone then coughed once, then proceeded to stand on the right of the map.
"It seems all of you have a grasp about what I am going to tell now." Mr. Stone smiled.
He paced a bit around that incomplete map. They were looking at the map, the more they looked the more confused they became.
"Before I continue, what I will disclose is confidential. Unauthorized disclosure is strictly forbidden, understand?" His tone became stern.
They nodded in response, nobody dared to ask the reason why. For a moment Mr. Stone paused.
"This is where our missing comrade, Glacia was brought to." He continued.
All of them, minus Steven, became serious upon hearing that.
"This place is known as Sinnoh Kingdom. Far in the north from us" Mr. Stone said.
The name sounded strange to their ears. Steven squinted his eyes, his hand was on his chin. The question was why would such information had been a secret all the time?
"It is an ancient lost kingdom, last contact was made a century ago." He continued.
"And this is where Glacia possibly is now?" Steven suddenly asked.
"Correct, according to the Mr. Briney, their trajectory led here, the only possible destination." He answered.
But instead of answering their questions, more questions and wondering came to them. Somehow, such information was kept hidden from them.
"With due respect sir, I found such a notion… strange." The man in white clothes commented.
"What could they gain for kidnapping her and running so far?" The man with teal hair continued.
Chatter, whispering were happening among them. The more they knew, the more they wanted to ask about.
Mr. Stone became still. A slight smile was there, plastered on his lips. The whole group could only speculate, but they dared not to answer.
"That is for you to answer. But one thing we know." Mr. Stone said.
Steven tightened his palm, the two metal rings on each hand pressed hard but he did not care. He held his breath as the next sentence came.
"The cult of Magma and the cult of Aqua brought her to their kind." Mr. Stone revealed.
The man in white clothes had his eyes widened for a few moments, his smile faltered. The tanned girl was taken aback, while the man in captain outfit crossed his arms. Another man who wore black shirt with goggles was also surprised. And the almost bald man put on a snide face.
Moreover, Steven held his breath when he heard that. Such a thing was unheard of. Now, the reality he was facing made him confounded.
"Then, we are heading to-" Steven spoke, but what he said was not finished by him.
"Yes indeed, an isolated kingdom…"
Nobody continued. As it could be said that they did not have anything to say, their feelings and thoughts constricted their lips.
"Of vampires."
Steven exhaled his breath, his eyes were determined. The stake would surely be only two, their lives, and their humanity.
The office of Steven Stone was as usual as always that day. On his paper-strewn desk, he sat down, scratching his head occasionally. On the desk front part was a board stating his job.
`Chief Director of the Extermination and Securing Division.`
It was an irony that the same title brought the itchiness on his hair now. He shook his head occasionally reading the paper. Another daily activity of his.
On one of the papers there was written a report about successful werewolves capture missions in Petalburg Woods. On the other sheet, it was about a possession case by a ghost Mystical in Mt. Pyre. The said Mystical was a being described as round and consisted of gas, being similar to a poltergeist. Not to mention unlicensed Mythical ownership, one more type of complicated case.
If all of those papers had been limited to reports regarding Mystical or supernatural entities, perhaps he could have simply sat down with ease and raised his foot on the desk, while drinking a whiskey. However, on the other side of his desk, papers about his division's tactical squad members were laid. Another headache to address personnel management.
Now, he was reading another paper. He signed it and put in on a stack of already acknowledged reports. He switched to another paper and gave the same signature. Hours passed by as he assessed each of those one by one. Till he finally tidied those documents up and stacked each according to the content respectively.
"Finally. I'm done with these."
He rubbed his temple a few times. He stood up and stretched his arms and legs a few times. a few times. Looking at the time, the grandfather clock on his right marked 2 P.M. He took a bell on his desk, making the chime rang through.
What was the chime for? He waited for the answer by looking at a painting on the wall, just above the big brown clock. It was a painting of him as a young boy and his father. He smiled.
The door opened. A woman dressed in white dress with tied brown hair came in.
"Yes sir, did you call?"
"Lina, please hand over these documents to Administrator Roxanne."
The woman picked up the clipped documents. She made sure each paper was grouped together appropriately. Quickly she skimmed over the piles.
While his secretary was sorting, Steven picked his coat from his chair, wearing it. He took a longsword kept under the desk the whole time, buckled it on his belt along a revolver. It seemed he was about to leave.
"Are you leaving early today, sir?"
"Yes, I am. Ah, please notify the Vice Chief."
"Yes sir. Have a good day."
The stoic woman left. Steven soon walked out and locked his office. It was not too long before he exited the building where his office was, a brown Greek Revival style building.
Soon he reached the central part of the complex in this fort. It was his father's office. Without hesitation he walked in. A few guards, dressed in black coats and steel breastplate bowed to him as he passed the ornate hallway. Though he could not shake the feeling those men had unpleasant stares.
`knock` `knock` `knock`.
"Yes, you may come in."
The door of the president's office opened. Two armed guards turned their eyes toward the guest.
"Oh, Chief Director. You two, please leave us."
And they were alone, father and son. Steven sat down on the guest chair, ready to have an eye to eye conversation.
"I am going home now, father."
"Hmm? Is there something? Is your work done?"
"Don't worry, I have finished those tedious papers. Anyway, where is the 'secret' records
you told me?"
Hearing that, Mr. Stone exhaled a breath and stood up. He walked to a bookshelf and picked an old-looking book.
"I trust you to keep the secret alright." He paused.
"There will be national unrest if a rumor about an old vampire kingdom spreads.
Especially after the recent incident with both cults and the other one."
Steven affirmed his father's warning. His father's serious tone represented the heavy restriction placed upon the sole information.
"Where did this script come from anyway? I even haven't heard this. I mean, was it kept
a secret?" Steven asked.
His curious finger examined, prodded and touched every inch of the book.
"Since the early days of this Foundation. And yes. The Ethic Committee had it sealed."
Steven rubbed his chin. Just how powerful the Ethic Committee was? And how much did they know? Hell, maybe he should talk to them once this is all over.
"Only recently, after Chief Glacia's abduction did they authorize the access. I had the
Administrator dug the deep archive for it. It took them hours to find."
It made him ask himself, just how many things were hidden from him? As the Chief Director of a division, especially relating to the main function of this organization, such secrets should be disclosed to him, right?
"Is there any other individual who has the clearance of this information?"
"Aside from the Ethic Committee, only seven of us, the Administrators,, and the Prime
Minister himself."
Steven opened the book, skimming over a few pages. He nodded. The book seemed very interesting to him.
Closing the book, he looked at his father.
"So I guess the mission has gained approval from the Ethics and Prime Minister?"
"Yes, they entrusted the rescue mission to us instead of the military."
Steven smiled. Everything was going in his favor. Fate seemed to side with him in these times.
"I see. I will oversee the preparation myself, father."
His father stared at him in return. He gave Steven a soft smile.
"You are very eager to rescue her, aren't you? Is my son in love? You do realize she is
Commander Brawly's fiancee."
"Father…"
Steven was like a young teenager teased by his parents about crush. His father laughed at his response. This never grew old.
"Come on, she is older than me, and my mentor. She is like an older sister."
Steven rolled his eyes. The cheeky smirk did not leave his old man's face. As a bachelor in his youth, such teasing especially from own parents was unending.
"I have another reason." Steven said.
He averted his gaze. His face became cloudy, as if he was disappointed in something. His father realized his son's mood swing, and quickly offered him consolation."
"We do make mistakes, Steven. Even I, the President of this Foundation is not an exception. And you too, my son."
Steven looked his father in the eye. For a few moments, there was a pause between them.
"I know. I know. But… " Steven let out a sigh.
"What matters is that you learn from it and rectify it. And I hope you do."
"I will, father. As the person who got this position from you, I won't let you down."
Mr. Stone nodded. He could only hope what his son had spoken would be realized one way or another.
"I have been in charge of searching for her, now it is time for me to finish the job."
His conviction made his gaze hard as a steel.
"Even if in the end, myself is the price."
As the father who heard that word from his son, Mr, Stone's smile faltered. Somewhere in his deepest heart, coldness momentarily made his chest feel hollow.
"Very well, you may lead the rescue team." His father said.
"Thank you father. I won't fail, nor is it an option."
Emotions surfaced like geysers on his countenance. Seeing the brimming eyes of his son, yet the path of treachery he was soon to walk into made Mr. Stone silent.
"Are you coming home late tonight?"
"It appears so. I will have a meeting with the Prime Minister and cabinet in the evening."
His father seemed busy as usual. But with his task at hand, Steven decided it would be best to focus on it, after promising his father so.
"Save me dinner alright."
"See you tonight father."
With that, Steven left the head of the foundation's office. His heart was beating quite wild in here. It went well but he knew what he had gotten himself into was not a flower-strewn pathway. And there was no turning back.
Without him realizing, he had exited the building of the President's office. He quickly brought out a grey and white orb from his pocket.
"Skarmory, let's go home." He said.
Then from the orb a creature was summoned where a ray was fired from it. He brought out goggles from his coat, wearing them. He rode unto that metal bird and flew away into the clouds.
To Be Continued….