[CONFIDENTIAL] From the files of Dr. Kaminko.
Item No. 091: Holon Security Force
Publicly Released Information:
The HSF is a rapid deployment force based in the Holon region established after the Pokémon-Human war, created to utilize advanced technology and use teleporters and supersonic flight jets to deploy quickly to all corners of the Pokémon nation in case of emergencies.
Confidential Information:
The General and Chief of Staff of HSF is a member of the Pokémon Association Committee and the HSF's budget is approved by Chairperson Sird. The HSF are often used as a suppression force against civilians to prevent unrest while also utilized to illegally disturb Pokémon population deemed disruptive to the Association's business interests.
Kaminko's Notes:
The HSF primarily use Electric-type Pokémon. Gym Leaders Lt. Surge and Wattson are reserve members. The General wields little power over the HSF and Sird can practically deploy them whenever she wants. President Lusamine also has power over the organization. I have contacted my old friend Surge to get additional security for my plan to break away from Sird and Lusamine's control.
[END OF FILE]
Chapter Three: "The Dominoes Fall"
Location: Saffron City, Kanto
Not many people still used the payphones of Kanto, but Wes had no choice. A PokéGear was out of the question due to the possibility that someone was listening in. So, Wes leaned on the wall of a public phone booth, waiting patiently as the ringtone echoed endlessly in his ears.
Finally, it was picked up, and a familiar, overly calm and confident voice came on the line:
"Cheren speaking."
"It's me," Wes grunted. "I'm sure you already knew that."
Every cell in Wes' body was screaming against this decision. But he was committed already. It was a disgusting decision to talk to him, but a necessary one.
"And I'm sure you know what I want to hear," Cheren replied smarmily. "You're making the right choice here, Wes."
"Am I?!" Wes snapped. "I'm selling out one of my best friends here!"
"You know how it is. You're not selling her out at all. We need her, and she will not be harmed."
"And you will keep Lusamine and whoever else wants us dead off our backs?"
"Of course. Like I told you, Kaminko and Lusamine are... well, me and Dr. Kaminko took the operation and made it independent, I could say. EXO is no longer constrained by the Aether Foundation's whims."
"And Iris, and me, and everyone-"
"As long as I'm with you on this, no harm will come to them. So just tell me, Wes… you just need to ask yes or no to my question. I know you're calling from Saffron - is she at the Saffron General Hospital?"
Wes inhaled sharply and closed his eyes.
"...Wes?"
"...yes."
"Thank you for your cooperation. Wes. You were never going to win this, you know. Better to do it the smart way."
Wes couldn't listen anymore. He put the phone down and left the booth, seething with anger. But not at Cheren.
If what I am doing is the smart way, he thought, then it's time to be stupid.
~o~O~o~
A few hours later
Kris lay on her hospital bed. She was completely healed now, but reluctant to face the world after what happened. The bed was warm and comfortable and the room was safe and, to Kris' relief, private. This thought comforted her and gave her enough to hold onto, to stave away the thought of leaving and facing them. Lusamine, N, Sird… and whoever was behind even them.
But she was pulled out of these thoughts fast as a doctor and two nurses wearing facial masks entered the room. Somehow, the nurses both had identical-looking long dark hair and Kris hadn't seen either of them before. The doctor, on the other hand, was someone who had visited Kris before, primarily to state the obvious for five minutes a day. As usual, the doctor lazily picked up Kris' chart and began talking without even looking at Kris.
"All right, patient… Kris," the doctor muttered. "Looks like you're cleared to be discharged today. We just need to check your-"
However, this time, something else happened. Another doctor, also wearing a face mask and what was obviously a bad toupée, entered the room. The usual doctor stared at him.
"Um, do you have the wrong room?" he asked, looking completely witless. "Uh, excuse me, I don't think I've seen you before."
"This is my patient now," the new doctor grunted. "Name's Dr. Payne."
"Payne?" the usual doctor repeated, frowning. "I don't know-"
He was cut short by the new doctor punching him out cold, while the nurses behind him quickly closed the door of the room.
"Now you do!" the fake doctor remarked.
As Kris had expected, "Dr. Payne" pulled off his mask and wig to reveal the familiar face of Dr. Blaine, who grinned at Kris.
"Been holding onto that one long?" Kris asked him sardonically. "What's happening?"
Blaine raised his eyebrows. "Gee, we're saving your life right now, I know it's hard to get you to show enthusiasm, but-"
"From soft pillows and good air conditioning?" Kris wondered as she slowly sat up.
"From the goons at Holon Security!" answered one of the nurses with a harsh voice. "We have intelligence that indicates they're gonna try to grab you from here!"
Kris stared as the nurses removed their wigs, masks and nurse getups, revealing a red-haired woman with a wide grin and a purple-haired one with a devious-looking scowl. They were Mars and Jupiter, former high-ranking Team Galactic members. Though they had quit and joined up with Kris before to help take Cyrus down, Kris was still wary of suddenly seeing them, especially with her in a helpless position. It didn't help they still wore their Team Galactic jumpsuits.
"Blaine!" Kris snapped and put her feet on the ground, using her right arm to get herself upright and out of the bed. "What are they doing here?"
"They were in need of a job," Blaine said with a shrug. "As soon as you got checked in here, we knew somebody might have an interest in harming you. At first we thought N might come back, but then Wes told us about Domino running with Holon Security-"
Kris narrowed her eyes at Blaine. "I can handle her myself," she said briefly.
"Yeah, maybe hit her with your stump," Jupiter remarked. "Just pay us for keeping an eye on you these past few days and we'll be gone then."
"She's just kidding!" Mars said quickly. "We'd actually like to be paid for the full service! So we're getting you out."
"So kind of you," Kris sighed.
There was little use resisting, and Kris knew in the back of her mind that they were right. After Kris got dressed, Blaine instructed her to sit in a wheelchair while he put his mask and wig back on. Jupiter and Mars also donned their surgical masks and nurse fatigues and opened the doors as Blaine pushed Kris out of the room and across the halls of the hospital.
For the most part, nobody paid too much attention as the four headed into an elevator, which took them to the hospital's underground parking facility. In there, Kris leaped out of the wheelchair and followed Blaine, Jupiter and Mars to Blaine's familiar van, parked close to the elevator. Blaine and Kris hopped on the front seat while Jupiter and Mars got in from the back. As he started the engine, Blaine also handed Kris a Poké Ball with a blue 'T' on it.
"I didn't want them to confiscate Croc," he said softly. "You're gonna need him."
After that, Blaine drove out of the parking garage and merged into the busy traffic on the streets of Saffron City. As the car slowly made its way through the traffic, stopping at traffic lights every few minutes, Kris finally got her head together to make conversation.
"How did they get involved?" Kris wondered, looking at Blaine.
"I reached out to some of my old contacts," Blaine grunted, looking annoyed at the car driving in front of them. "Turns out that they've been taking jobs all over, and came here after hearing about Holon Security locking up Lavender Town, hoping to cash in on the panic or something like that."
"Charming," Kris muttered.
"Yeah, well, it sucks, but I remembered that they've worked with you before, and they seemed to be eager to help you out," Blaine said. "Turns out they initially tried to apply to work for Holon Security but almost got killed by them instead. Both the authorities and criminals in Sinnoh have put a bounty on them. So, they hate those guys as much as we do."
"So what's the plan?" Kris asked Blaine. "I've been on the run from them before, but I don't wanna hide forever."
"We're still trying to hit the source," Blaine said impatiently, as if tired of explaining it. "Once we found out where EXO's base is, we're going to drop in for a visit. Once we convince those guys to cooperate, they'll lead us to the Aether Foundation and Lusamine."
"And she will lead us to Sird and the Committee, I hope," Kris grumbled. "I can't keep going on wild Swanna chases forever, Blaine. I know this goes up to the highest level. They ordered Holon Security to make a mess in Kanto, they run both EXO and the Aether Foundation and they released the Ultra Beasts as well."
While leaning against the car window as Blaine drove up the ramp to the freeway, Kris took a look at the side mirror on her side of the car and quickly saw something familiar. Not one, but several cars adorned with camouflage patterns were weaving their way through the traffic behind them - and approaching them at an alarming rate.
At that exact moment, Kris heard an alarming noise from the back:
"Guys, don't freak out but I think they know we're here!" shouted Mars.
Kris and Blaine exchanged looks, and Kris gripped on to Croc's Poké Ball tightly as she entered the back of the van, joining Jupiter and Mars who were peering through the small windows in the van's back doors.
"Remind me again why we're risking our necks for her," Jupiter said rudely, nodding in Kris' direction.
"For the money, of course!" Mars replied perkily.
"...oh yeah," Jupiter said with a nod. "Okay, time to earn our pay, then. You ready, Blaine?!" she shouted.
"Go for it," came the grunt from the driver's seat.
"Hold on tight, Kris!" Mars said, looking almost excited despite the camouflage-patterned cars approaching even closer.
Kris did as told, sitting down and holding onto a handle as Jupiter and Mars opened the van's back doors, the change in air pressure almost making Kris fall down - the van was going faster and faster, indiscriminately changing lanes to make its way past through Saffron's busy traffic. The skyscrapers and busy streets of the city were slowly getting smaller as the van drove further towards the surrounding suburban areas.
And indeed, now Kris could see three cars in hot pursuit of the van, all with three or four uniformed soldiers inside, many of them wearing face-obscuring gas masks. Atop one of the cars was a Magneton crackling with electricity.
Jupiter and Mars opened their Poké Balls, letting out their Skuntank and Purugly, respectively.
"We're gonna do this clean," Jupiter said, though the look on her face was clearly indicating her excitement to do some violence. "Skuntank, Acid Spray, down there!"
Kris didn't see where Jupiter was pointing, but her Skuntank did: it sprayed bubbling and steaming corrosive acid at the nearest car's tires, popping the driver's seat front tire. The car swerved recklessly before hitting a barrier dividing their lanes from incoming traffic, while furious honking was heard from drivers unfortunate enough to be stuck behind them.
But two more HSF cars remained in hot pursuit. The Magneton atop the other one fired a Thunderbolt towards them, but at Mars' request, her Purugly jumped in front of them and absorbed the hit into itself. Kris winced, but apart from its fur getting puffed up with static electricity, Purugly looked no worse for wear.
"I've been feeding this chonker well!" Mars told Kris. "Purugly, Shadow Ball!"
"Skuntank, Flamethrower!" Jupiter shouted.
Looking ridiculous with its puffed up fur, Purugly nonetheless fired a dark sphere from its mouth at the car with the Magneton. The sphere hit the windshield, and though it didn't break the armored glass, it obscured it with a dark shadow even after breaking, rendering the driver blind. Meanwhile, Skuntank's Flamethrower attack knocked out the Magneton, which fell back into the car through the sunroof.
Now there was only one car left in pursuit, but when Jupiter attempted to repeat the Acid Spray maneuver, the HSF car quickly avoided it, having grown wiser to their tricks.
"Hold on, kids!" shouted Blaine from the driver's seat. "I'm taking the next exit!"
Kris quickly looked out through the window. There was indeed an exit about to come, heading in the direction of Celadon City. And following that was a sharp turn, which gave Kris an idea.
"Out of my way!" she told Jupiter and Mars. "Croc, come on out!"
Jupiter, Mars, Skuntank and Purugly quickly scurried away as the large Feraligatr materialized in the car as Kris opened its Poké Ball - the first thing that happened was Croc bumping its head on the roof of the car, growling in anger.
"Sorry," Kris told her Pokémon. "But there's something I need to do. Get ready to douse the road with all the water you got in ya. Can you do that?"
Croc nodded, and got into position as Kris instructed, barely fitting in the doorway. Kris was holding onto Croc for support, feeling Blaine slow down as he got ready to go down the ramp and into the sharp curve. The Holon Security car still followed, and Kris saw a window roll open as a uniformed man wearing a gas mask emerged, brandishing some sort of energy weapon.
"Now!" Kris shouted. "Hydro Pump!"
Croc ejected all the water it could out on the street, forcing the car in pursuit to slow down, but it wasn't enough to make it crash. But Kris was prepared for that, too.
"Ice Punch!" she told Croc.
Croc understood the assignment, punching the ground as its claws glowed blue. The massive puddle of water it had created froze instantly, and as the HSF car's tires hit the ice, it soon began spiraling out of control and soon crashed the side of the ramp, almost falling off, half of the car helplessly stuck.
"Yeah!" Mars cheered and she and Jupiter high-fived, as if they had just done that.
Kris, for her part, thanked Croc and returned it to its Poké Ball to lighten the load on Blaine's van. For the next few minutes, the van made its way towards its destination in complete silence, the suburbs changing to countryside and the occasional forests as they made their way towards Celadon City.
However, instead of following the main road to Celadon, Blaine suddenly took a left turn and drove into the forest, driving on a deserted dirt road for a while before finally pulling over by a two-story wooden building with its doors boarded shut, surrounded by overgrown grass. There was a car parked behind the building.
"We switching cars?" Kris asked Blaine as they all got out of the van.
"No way!" Jupiter said harshly. "This is for me and Mars! Come on, pay up, old man!" she yelled at Blaine.
"Such a pleasure doing business," Blaine grunted, but nonetheless gave a big wad of cash to both Jupiter and Mars.
"Hey, this was a good gig!" Mars said cheerfully. "Kris, you mind getting hurt again? Protecting you is some easy money. Boring, but easy."
"Yeah, we could even break a few bones right now if you want!" Jupiter said half-seriously.
"I'm fine," Kris deadpanned.
As Jupiter and Mars eagerly got into their car and drove away, Kris followed Blaine, who let out his Magmortar. At Blaine's request, Magmortar walked to the van and aimed its cannon-hand at the dirt road, as if standing guard. Blaine himself walked to the boarded door and started using his question mark -shaped cane to pry it open.
"What are we doing, exactly?" Kris asked Blaine, who was more focused on prying the boards away. "And where are we doing it? Don't tell me this is where you're stashing me, I can practically hear the cars from the main road."
"This is the old checkpoint to the Underground Pathway," Blaine grunted, his face getting red as he used all his strength to get one of the boards off, only able to use one arm for the job. "The one that leads to Lavender Town. It's been sealed off for years now, so Holon Security didn't bother guarding it."
"We're going there?!" Kris wondered.
"Oh, definitely not!" Blaine said as he got to work on removing the last board. "We're heading westward. But there's too many people in Celadon City… so we're gonna go under it! Eugh, come on!"
With one last grunt, Blaine managed to remove the last board. Before his hand was even on the door handle, the door was slammed open, and Kris almost jumped in the air. But to her relief, it was Hilda, easily carrying a heavy-looking shoulder bag, looking confident as always as she looked at Blaine.
"Need help?" she asked him casually while chewing on a piece of gum.
Blaine grunted in annoyance. "You could have broken the door ahead of time if you were there already," he groaned.
Ignoring Blaine, Hilda nodded at Kris. "Hey," she said. "Feeling better?"
"In some ways," Kris said, still confused by all this. "Where exactly are we-"
"MAG!"
Blaine's Magmortar suddenly made a strange sound, looking back at its trainer and aiming its hand cannon higher. Blaine put his finger on his lips and began listening. Soon Kris heard it too - the sound of a car getting closer, breaking the otherwise silent atmosphere.
"You think that's Jupiter and Mars coming back for more money?" Kris asked, knowing the answer.
Blaine shook his head. "That's more than one car - and they're heavy."
"You good?" Hilda asked Blaine, which Kris didn't understand.
"Yeah, I'm fine!" Blaine snapped. "Go, go, go, I'll meet you at the place!"
Kris wasn't sure what was going on, but Hilda was already dragging her inside. The wooden shack was dark, devoid of furniture, with only a bit of light coming in through the filthy windows. But Hilda moved aside a pile of wooden debris to reveal a hatch. As she opened it, Kris saw a ladder leading to some dark tunnel, but wasn't sure if she was on board with it.
"Where is-"
Before Kris got a sentence out, she suddenly saw the shack filling with smoke, and flashing of bright lights through the windows: the shack was being set ablaze by Blaine and Magmortar.
"What is he doing?!" Kris shouted.
"Holon Security is coming, but we can at least prevent them from following us," Hilda said quickly. "This tunnel will lead you to the next checkpoint."
"But…" Kris looked at the grime-covered windows with hesitation. "Blaine…"
"Kris!" Hilda snapped. "We're doing this for you! You want to make it actually worth something? Then get in!"
Hilda had always intimidated her a bit, so Kris didn't need to be convinced for long as she began descending down the ladder into the tunnel. Hilda followed suit, and as the hatch closed, it suddenly became pitch dark. Hilda turned on the lamp of her Pokétch, giving them at least a little visibility.
"Come on, then!" Hilda said, tapped Kris on the shoulder and began walking further in the tunnel at a rapid pace.
Kris had to do a half-jog just to keep up with the taller Hilda as the two walked into the tunnel in complete silence. Kris wondered how far down below the Earth they were, as she couldn't hear a single sound from the surface except for a faint breeze from the air vents. The only other sounds were the echoes of their footsteps.
"Where," Kris said, having a hard time talking out of breath, "are we going, exactly? I tried to ask this already, but-"
"Agatha's safe house," Hilda said curtly. "Not the one you were hiding in when you got your arm chopped off, but a different one we've been using as a hideout. Wes will meet us when we reach the end of the tunnel to tell more."
"Everyone's been waiting there?" Kris asked, getting a bit tired of Hilda's impolite tone. "Did Iris and Lyra come as well?"
For a while, Kris just stared at Hilda's neck in silence. Finally, the answer came with the same snappy tone.
"Iris left for Unova the day before yesterday," she said.
Kris frowned, wondering why Iris would have left while she was hospitalized. But Hilda still hadn't answered her other question.
"And?" she asked.
Hilda didn't reply as the two just pressed on.
"Hilda!" Kris snapped. "Where is Lyra?"
Hilda turned around to look at Kris, with Kris almost crashing into her. Hilda's face was stern, no sign of the breeziness she had when they had met in Celadon City.
"We don't know, okay?" she said harshly. "She went to check out something in Pewter City, and didn't report back. But right now, we're risking our lives to get you to safety, so forget about her for a bit, shut up and do as I say!"
Hilda turned around and began half-jogging herself, forcing Kris to run to keep up with her.
But after this had continued on for a while, the end of the tunnel was finally on the horizon. As they reached the end, Hilda cranked open the bullhead door and Kris was briefly blinded by daylight.
As her eyes adjusted, Kris saw that they had just exited a tunnel near a large drainage pipe, properly used for maintenance. And before her eyes was a view of beauty, with lush green forests on either side of a wide river that Kris saw flowing into the sea.
"We're near Route 16, the Cycling Road's northern part," Hilda explained. "We cross the river and it's only a two hours walk to Agatha's."
"Maybe at your pace," Kris grumbled.
"There, take a look!"
Kris looked at where Hilda was pointing at, noticing Wes emerging from a hiding spot in the bushes from the other side of the river, waving at the two.
"Let's get going then!" Hilda said firmly, taking out a Poké Ball from her vest.
Hilda sent out a Samurott - one that Kris knew belonged to Hilbert - while Kris used Croc. At their trainers' command, both Pokémon jumped into the river and let their trainers climb on their backs. Both Pokémon then began swimming towards the other side. The river may not have been wide, but the fast current made progress quite slow, with Kris feeling like they were crawling an inch every few seconds. But no one was around, which made her wonder why she was so nervous.
"KRIS!"
Oh, that's why, Kris thought dejectedly.
"Crap!" Hilda exclaimed.
Kris looked to her right, seeing at least four boats approaching them, with three Holon Security troopers in every boat. And leading the charge, wielding a megaphone and shouting her taunts was Domino - still no doubt bitter about getting left in Ultra Space all those months ago. Of course, since Domino had been trying to do the same to Kris, she didn't exactly have a lot of sympathy.
"THERE'S NOWHERE TO RUN!" Domino shouted. "FRY THE REST, BOYS! BUT SAVE HER FOR ME!"
Hilda's Samurott responded by pulling out its shell-like sword from the sheath on its forearm while Hilda quickly grabbed a crossbow from the bag on her shoulder.
"My turn next!" Hilda said calmly as she readied the crossbow. "Go on and swim already!"
Kris couldn't think of what to say. Seeing Hilda charge headfirst towards the HSF boats made her feel even worse than leaving Blaine up there to deal with the cars, as now she would have to see it happen. All of them, putting themselves in so much danger - for her sake.
"Kris, hurry up!"
Kris looked up, seeing Wes riding his Pidgeot. At Wes' command, Pidgeot began rapidly flapping its wings, creating a Whirlwind that knocked at least one HSF soldier off their boat and into the water. As they approached, Kris could see they all had either an Electrode or Magneton hooked into the boats, powering them up without need for external engines, oars or sails.
"SHOOT IT OUT OF THE SKY!" Domino shouted.
The Electrode and Magneton began firing Thunderbolts at Pidgeot, who was trying its best to dodge them. This gave Hilda the opening to tell Samurott to use Surf, summoning a large wave that knocked another HSF soldier off their boat, though the others dodged and avoided the attack.
Suddenly, as Kris was only a few meters from the shore, she heard a loud screech. Pidgeot had been hit by several electric attacks at once and was staggering, plummeting into the river. Wes yelped and recalled Pidgeot before hitting the drink himself.
"I thought he was rescuing me," Kris muttered. "Croc, help him!"
Though annoyed, Croc nonetheless swam to Wes before the current took him, grabbing him with his teeth. Kris tried to help as best as she could with one arm, but fortunately Wes was able to climb aboard Croc himself. As soon as he was back on, Croc swam to the other side of the river, and all three got back on land.
"DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING MYSELF?!" Domino screamed into the megaphone. "IDIOTS!"
"Let's run!" Wes told Kris, pulling her jacket.
"But…" Kris looked at Hilda, who engaged in a fistfight with an HSF grunt, standing on Samurott as the soldier stood on a boat, the others too distracted by Domino's shouting and unable to intervene without hurting their comrade to do assist.
"Hilda gave me an order!" Wes snapped. "Come on!"
Once again, it hurt Kris' heart too much - but she didn't have the energy to resist. She tapped Croc's shoulder, and the lumbering Pokémon ran after Kris and Wes into the woods.
Kris followed Wes, who seemed to know what to do, but unlike Hilda or Blaine, he wasn't even trying to make conversation. Not that there was time for it anyway - only after a few minutes of running, Kris could hear the thumping of boots and shouting not too far behiind. While it was a relief that it took the heat off Hilda, Kris wasn't sure how much longer she could run.
"Wes," Kris panted. "Just go on without me. I can fight them. I don't need your…"
Kris stopped to spit, tasting the blood in her mouth.
"...help", she continued, every syllable hurting her throat while her sides felt like there was a superheated knife between every rib.
Wes looked around him, his mind clearly racing, trying to think of a way out. Eventually, Wes suddenly approached Kris, grabbing Croc's Poké Ball from her and withdrawing the Pokémon.
"I'll run into the woods, make a ton o' noise, draw 'em to me!" he said quickly. "You just run that way, fast as you can!"
"I don't understand!" Kris shouted. "Why are you all making such a big deal for me?!"
Wes just shook his head and sent out another Pokémon - his Zebstrika, which was also his loudest. Wes and Zebstrika ran the other way, with Wes shouting fake directions all the time. Kris had no choice but to continue running the correct way, and as Wes had predicted, the sounds of the troops following her became quieter and quieter, eventually fading away, too busy chasing Wes.
Making sure she couldn't hear anything, Kris stopped to lean against the tree to catch her breath yet again. Even after the months of EXO training, her physical fitness was not that high, especially after a month of inactivity at home in New Bark. Worse yet, Wes had only pointed a general direction, which Kris wasn't even sure if she was following any more. But there was nothing but forest around her, not even a sign of a path.
She considered her options. Croc was the only one who could carry her, but she wondered if bringing him out again would cause attention. Her mind was also racing with the possibilities of what was happening to the others. Blaine in particular was so far away - how could he get all the way to Viridian from where he was, especially now that he was a public enemy to the HSF?
But the biggest problem of Kris' was what to do even if everything went well. What could she say to the others once they met her at the safe house? She only had vague idea of what to do, but no idea on how to pull if off. And yet, people still thought she had a plan. That responsibility made her even more sick than worrying about the others.
All this thinking had to be interrupted as she heard rustling from the nearby bushes. As much as it hurt, Kris had to drag herself up, but she didn't even have a chance to grab a Poké Ball before that something emerged.
Fortunately, there was no need, as Kris instantly recognized the monstrous black, gray and brown Pokémon made of various disparate parts with a strange helmet covering most of its face, a large axe on top of it. It was Type:Null, and riding it, a boy with blonde hair and a sour expression.
"Why are you here lazying around when you should be getting to the hideout?!" the boy, Gladion, asked harshly, not even bothering to ask how Kris had been. "Hop on!"
Grateful for the rescue, Kris got on Type:Null's back and sat behind Gladion, holding onto him with her one arm awkwardly. The ride to the safe house went by quite slowly, however, as Gladion didn't seem to be in a mood to talk, so it was complete silence, with only the sounds of Type:Null's footsteps giving Kris' mind something to cling onto.
Finally, they arrived to the safe house. It was a rough-looking wooden shack, even moreso than the one Kris had stayed in while previously on the run. But it wasn't like Kris had any options, so she entered it.
Professor Elm immediately rushed to hug Kris as she entered the house. There weren't even any words said until many awkward moments later, followed by Elm stuttering and trying to get out what he wanted to say.
"It's," he stammered, "Kris, I, uh, I was fearing- when Wes suggested this plan, it didn't- well, I- oh, it's just really good to see you're okay!"
"Yeah, likewise," Kris said, having no idea what else to say. "Uhh…"
"Do you need me for anything else?" Gladion asked Elm.
"Oh, uh, nothing at the moment!" Elm said quickly. "I'll inform you as soon as I find out anything.
"Hmph," Gladion just said and left.
Kris could hear Gladion get on Type:Null and quickly dash away, leaving her with just Elm, who broke the awkward mood by quickly rushing to his computer and opening a news website.
"Oh, yes, Kris, there's something I want to, uh, show you," he said. "Not exactly anything helpful, but, um, I feel like you ought to know."
Elm clicked on an article, which also came with a video. Kris could see the headline 'Criminal group wanted for questioning regarding the Lavender Town incident', which instantly made her blood boil.
In the video, Kris recognized Chairman Rose, the suave-looking Galarian who headed the International Pokémon League. Next to him, Kris also recognized Looker from the International Police, alongside a serious-looking lilac-haired woman in a black suit.
"We now consider this group to be a prime target for culpability in the Lavender Town incident," Rose boomed to the cameras. "They were known associates of the terrorist leader of Team Plasma, and were seen leaving the area after causing the incident that forced Holon Security Force and the Aether Foundation to step in and seal the area."
"So this was not a natural disaster after all?" a reporter from the crowd asked.
"The efforts of the International Police have uncovered some new information that revealed it to have most likely been a deliberate terrorist act," Rose said smoothly, not even blinking an eye telling this bold-faced lie. "Though the Aether Foundation and Holon Security were able to dismantle the gang, these co-conspirators, among them high-profile scientists who could have helped in creating a weapon of mass destruction, managed to escape."
"Where are these people now?" another reporter asked.
"I'll let Commander Cutter, head of Holon Security, to field this one," Rose said, looking to his left.
Indeed, the camera panned past Looker and the lilac-haired woman to reveal an old man with a thick beard wearing a captain's hat.
"Cutter!" Kris gasped. "I worked under him at S.S. Anne. Since when did he-"
"I heard he got offered the job around the time of the Hoenn League," Elm said, frowning at the video.
"We are working together with Inspector Looker and Chief Anabel to apprehend the culprits," Cutter said, with much less enthusiasm and gravitas than Rose. "They were last seen in Kanto, but we cannot share any further details regarding this ongoing investigation. Nonetheless, anyone with information about these six should contact the International Police's hotline immediately."
The video now showed mug shots of Kris, Iris, Wes, Hilda, Blaine and Gladion. Kris was curious as to why Lyra wasn't included, even after her hostile confrontation with Lusamine a few days ago.
"The leader of these individuals is theorized to be her," said the lilac-haired woman, Anabel, when the footage switched back to the press conference, showing a very unflattering picture of Kris to the camera - Kris remembered it being taken when she entered the Whirl Cup, having been on a worse mood than usual that day. "Kris, an 18-year old Pokémon Trainer of some repute from New Bark Town, who has reportedly trained a vicious, man-eating Feraligatr."
The video now showed an obviously photoshopped Croc with a crazed look in its eyes. Kris scoffed.
"I didn't teach it to eat people," Kris remarked, "he learned it on his own!"
"Kris, please," Elm said, watching the video intently.
"The group also includes some notable figures," Anabel continued. "One, a Gym Leader from Opelucid City, Unova. Another, a former Gym Leader from Cinnabar Island. All of them are considered highly dangerous individuals!"
The door was suddenly slammed open, with Wes, Hilda and Blaine entering, all of them having seen better days. Blaine's lab coat was singed and he seemed to be covered in ashes. Wes' clothes had been cut in various places and he had a fresh new scar on his face. And Hilda's hair was still wet while she had a bleeding wound on her shoulder. Without even looking at Kris, Hilda marched into one of the bedrooms and collapsed face-first on the bed. Wes mumbled something about needing a bath while Blaine just tossed his lab coat on the floor.
"Did you cook anything?" he asked Elm. "I'm starving over here!"
~o~O~o~
There was little time for joyous reunions, as soon after the group had returned, Blaine had them and himself sent on what he called "assignments" for the next two days. Apparently, they were looking into possible clues about EXO's headquarters, any weaknesses in Holon Security's supply chains, a mysterious facility with many Aether Foundation employees near Fuchsia City and the whereabouts of Lillie, whom Elm theorized was no longer with Lusamine, but rather kept as a hostage somewhere, probably to prevent anyone from going after Lusamine herself. With everyone's faces plastered all over the news, they had to be sneaky about it, and rarely returned to the shack to do much else than sleep. Kris hadn't even seen Gladion at all since he had taken her to the hideout.
Worse yet, with her being public enemy number one, Kris wasn't included in these assignments. Wes in particular was very insistent that Kris stayed safely in the hideout, where there was little to do but lie around and listen to Elm muttering to himself as he poured himself into research, doing something with a setup of two computers and four monitors, plus a laptop.
"Kris, come over here, I wanna show you something!" Elm said suddenly, sounding excited.
Kris doubted it was anything interesting, being busy with cleaning the hide of her Sandshrew, who was snoozing contently on the table. But as there was not much else to do and she had been cleaning the Pokémon for the past hour, she figured she might as well. Lazily, she walked over to Elm's chair, seeing him scan a device connected to his computer. It looked like a mix of a camera-equipped PokéGear and some sort of handgun, albeit red in color.
"I just 3D-printed this according to the schematics Cozmo sent me," Elm explained proudly. "Do you remember Deoxys?"
"How could I forget," Kris groaned.
Kris remembered the alien Pokémon that members of the Giratina-worshiping cult, the Circle of the Torn World, had captured to try and kill and mutate people at the Sevii Islands. The one there had been destroyed, but only after a long, grueling battle. Another one still roamed Ultra Space, as far as Kris knew.
"Well, unfortunately, bad news on that front," Elm said. "According to Cozmo, his team had been sent to retrieve a sample from the Sevii Islands to clone another Deoxys at EXO's base."
"Great, the Ultra Beasts weren't enough to deal with," Kris sighed. "At least it's just the one."
Elm looked bothered. "I'm afraid not," he said. "Err, it seems EXO was able to create at least seven of them in total."
"Seven," Kris repeated, feeling nauseous again. "But… I thought Deoxys multiply by infecting other humans or Pokémon?"
Elm's sad look was all the answer Kris needed. She knew EXO and the Pokémon League were corrupt, but to think they'd be doing this…
"Anyways," Elm said quickly, "Dr. Kaminko is not a stupid man. To keep the Deoxys in line, he ordered Cozmo to develop a countermeasure, which we now have."
"That gizmo?" Kris wondered. "Looks like a toy."
"Indeed, the materials I had were not optimal," Elm said, "but this gizmo is tuned to destabilize the Deoxys' core through the use of fine-tuned radiation waves. At close enough range, one pull of the trigger can immediately destroy a Deoxys!"
"That's a relief," Kris said sincerely.
"Quite," said Elm, "and moreover, it can cure a person should a Deoxys infect them!"
"Really?"
"Um, well, yes. It will destroy a virus in a person… at the cost of the host's life, however. This is incredibly potent radiation, after all."
Kris found herself dismayed by this piece of information, but nonetheless accepted the device when Elm handed it to her. She hoped she would never have to use it.
"I will have us all using those soon," Elm said, "but to make it work at a longer range, I would need to consult a paper I have… unfortunately, not scanned. It's at home in New Bark Town."
"You're going there?" Kris wondered.
"Well, it seems that I'm not one of the 'Sinister Six' or whatever the media is calling you," Elm said, smiling slightly. "Uh, it's probable that they haven't discovered that Cozmo was leaking info to me as he was using a proxy server we set up in our university days. I still wonder why my face wasn't up there. Maybe they think I'm a weak link and will betray you guys in exchange for a better lab setup…"
"Would you?" Kris remarked.
"Well, depends on how cool the computers are," Elm said, smiling at Kris, who actually managed to chuckle a bit. "Anyway, please stay put for now. I know it's, erm, frustrating to you-"
"And how!" Kris complained. "I feel more trapped now that when I was locked in the hospital, having to worry about my friends being hunted day and night!"
"It's for your own safety," Elm said as he began packing up his belongings, including his laptop. "When you got hospitalized, we all had to take big risks in setting up this hideout, and again trying to get you out."
Kris frowned. It was not as if she had asked any of that, but couldn't really argue against it either.
"When you arrive to New Bark," Kris said quietly, "can you check on Lyra? Ask her parents and stuff."
Elm sighed. As always when avoiding painful information, he took off his glasses and began wiping them unnecessarily.
"Kris," he said carefully, "we talked with Blaine, and the fact that her face was not in there-"
"Don't say it!"
"I have to!" Elm snapped, sounding desperate. "Kris, we're doing the best we can to find Lyra. But since she wasn't mentioned with the rest of you, it must mean she's either dead, or she has made some kind of deal with them."
"Nobody's accusing you of that, and your mug is not there either," Kris said, scowling at Elm. "You've known her almost as long as I have. Why would she do that?!"
"I don't know," Elm said. "And I'm trying my best. But Kris, I…"
But whatever Elm wanted to say, it seems like he couldn't spit it out. Instead, he just nodded at Kris, grabbed his belongings and left, leaving Kris alone.
Surely I can handle it, Kris thought. I can be alone until one of the guys gets back. After all, they've got food, water and beds here. What else do I need?
Except it had been over 48 hours since she had arrived there, and she was none the wiser about anything. Elm hadn't even let her step outside for fresh air or to let her Pokémon for a walk since then. And since nobody was there…
"Come on, Shrew," she said, shaking the sleeping Sandshrew awake. "Let's go for a walk!"
~o~O~o~
Location: EXO HQ, somewhere in Unova
A figure in a futuristic, black full-body suit zoomed around the darkened training room. Even without lights, they could move incredibly fast, their abilities boosted by the suit's powers. They moved at an amazing speed, even running on walls to gain momentum, across the training field that had been set up. The only light around came from the glowing, golden visor on the suit, but it completely concealed the suit's wearer's identity.
Moreover, when two fake, inflated Koffings suddenly appeared from opened hatches on the walls, the suit's wearer extended their arm. Two Poké Balls shot out in rapid succession, hitting the targets accurately and "catching" the fake Pokémon right away.
Suddenly, five more targets popped out. These were human-shaped cardboard targets which surrounded the suit's wearer.
But all the suited person had to do was nod, and the place was suddenly illuminated by the fires of a Typhlosion that had an ominous red aura emanating from it. The Typhlosion opened its mouth and blasted the targets away with a Flamethrower attack burning everything to ash faster and more effectively than it normally would.
More targets, inflated Magnemite, floated towards the suit's wearer from the ceiling, but both the suited person and the Typhlosion with them destroyed the targets in seconds, moving so fast they were almost a black blur.
With all targets down, the lights of the room turned on. The suit's wearer removed their visor, and the red aura around the Typhlosion subsided immediately.
"Nice effort, Scorch!" Lyra praised the Typhlosion as she put her visor down.
"And you too, Lyra!"
Lyra turned to look at a monitor that had turned on at the walls. She saw two people observing her through it: Dr. Kaminko, and another, slightly younger scientist with receding blonde hair, wearing horrendously ugly, large, green, translucent shades and a white lab coat adorned with the trademark gold emblems of the Aether Foundation.
"Well, Dr. Faba," Kaminko told the other scientist, "the Expansion Suit is indeed a success."
"I got it from a colleague in Kalos after he failed to properly use it," Faba said as he stroked his goatee and stared at Lyra. "But after my improvements, she will be a forced to reckoned with. Nobody can stand up to us."
"Yes," Kaminko said. "We have her, we have the Heat Razor, and we have the Deoxys waiting to go. The corrupt old fools in Unova will finally feel the fear that the rest of us deal with every day."
"A deal's a deal, Kaminko!" Lyra yelled at the monitor, wondering how loud she would have to be for the microphones in the room to pick her up. "Let me talk to her!"
"Yes, Dr. Faba and Ms. Wicke have taken care of that as well," Kaminko said calmly and turned to Faba. "You have chosen your side well."
Faba snickered. "Lusamine's screwed me over for a promotion for too long!" he snarled. "Once this is done, I'll show them how to run that Foundation!"
"Celio," Kaminko said, looking to his left, which confirmed to Lyra that Kaminko was in the Command Center. "Patch her through."
The feed of Kaminko and Faba disappeared, revealing instead Lillie. She was sitting in a completely white room, which made Lyra's eyes hurt. However, she was undoubtedly alive and well, and with no Lusamine to hold her hostage anymore. Lyra smiled at the sight of her.
"Lyra?!" Lillie gasped. "What's going on?! Ms. Wicke said I have you to thank for-"
"Everything is under control," Lyra said, smiling back at Lillie. "Where are you?"
"I have no idea!" Lillie said, shaking her head. "Those guys blindfolded me and Ms. Wicke before they took us here! I can remember being in a plane, for a few hours at least… but I can't tell anything."
Lyra bit her lip. Kaminko had used "mercenaries" to transport Lillie and Wicke somewhere near the EXO base. He had told Lyra it was for their safety, but could those people really be trusted?
"You will be safe there!" Lyra assured her. "Once I'm done with my work here, I'll come see you!"
Lillie seemed hesitant and distressed, however. "I don't understand," she said. "Thank you for doing this, really, thank you for standing up to my mother! But… what are you doing? Where is your friend Kris?"
Lyra shook her head. "Look, just - don't worry about it! Sit tight!"
Lille was about to say something, but the feed was cut, and replaced instead by Dr. Faba in the Command Center. Kaminko had apparently left.
"That's quite enough!" the scientist's oily voice came through the room's speakers. "We don't want to accidentally reveal her location if the Foundation is listening, do we? Rest assured, Kaminko enlisted the help of a top-notch talent scout to find some reliable people to protect them. Without me and Wicke and with Prez Lusamine stuck in Orre, the Foundation cannot do a thing! What you need to do is to keep running those tests on the Expansion Suit! You will be leading the frontlines when we march to Castelia City and show those Pokémon Association suits what's what!"
The monitor turned off, and Lyra was left with a horrible feeling of uncertainty. She still wasn't exactly sure if she had got what she wanted.
~o~O~o~
Location: Somewhere near Viridian City, Kanto
Kris couldn't have bared stay in the shack much longer, and she and Shrew were now walking around the quiet, tranquil forest, hearing only the chirping of Pidgey, the rustling of leaves, the crunching of dead leaves beneath her feet… it was like heaven compared to where she had been.
She took care to memorize where she was going, though. Even as she walked and walked and walked, Kris memorized every rock on the ground, every broken branch on a tree to ensure she could return to the shack. But being outside gave her space to think. What could she do?
Targeting EXO was the obvious choice, Kris thought, but was it too slow? Kris knew the authorities all over the world were looking for her - but what for? Domino and the soldiers sent after her probably weren't going to be very kind with her, but if Kris surrendered to some other unit, she thought, would she be taken to whoever was in charg? Lusamine, or that Sird?
If she could only get close to Sird… Kris thought over everything in her mind. She was the one responsible for all this. She was a member of the Circle of the Torn World, which meant one way or another, she was connected to people trying to bring back Giratina. And Giratina could plunge the world into darkness and chaos. The Deoxys and the Ultra Beasts and Kyurem would only be a prelude for the horror that would happen then.
But Kris wasn't a leader, or a hero. She wasn't Red. He was the one who started all this, Kris thought. Red had found out something was up with the Pokémon League, and had quit. He had collected a small group of friends to work with him, as Kris had done… and for his troubles, he had disappeared without making the slighest impact on the corrupt government. Was that the fate that awaited Kris as well?
And how could she stand up to that legendary trainer anyway, Kris thought. Her strongest Pokémon was an out-of-control beast. She had lost an arm due to her own foolishness. And she had signed on to work at EXO, thinking she was going to be a hero fighting the forces of darkness when those forces had actually swallowed her instead.
Kris couldn't help but to wander what Lyra was doing. Did she know something Kris didn't? Was she out there, figuring this out and saving the world instead? She had always been more skilled, and unlike Kris, she had never been tempted with power. Lyra had only joined EXO to be with Kris, and even after all the arguments they had over the years, she would give anything to talk to her right now.
Stopping on her tracks, Kris wiped her eyes on her sleeve. She looked down at her Sandshrew.
"Sorry, Shrew," she said. "I don't mean to be this pathetic."
"Could have fooled me!"
Kris flinched and almost fell over when Domino suddenly stepped in front of her from behind a tree, followed immediately by five Holon Security soldiers stepping from the bushes, accompanied by Electabuzz and Manectric.
"Finally," Domino said, taking the familiar black tulip from her pocket. "I knew you weren't far. Only you would be stupid enough to hide in the same area twice. Either that or you and your little group are all out of options."
Kris looked behind her. No soldiers there, but the ones in front of her had their blasters aimed directly at her. One wrong move and they would knock her out. But would Kris even survive all the way to Sird if Domino was there?
"You should have known," Domino hissed. "I would have burned down every single tree in this place to get to you if I had to. What makes you think I would give up after only two days, huh?!"
"Domino…" Kris said weakly. "I'm…"
"Ohhh, I would love to hear this!" Domino said and folded her arms. "Come on, then. Beg. Tell me how sorry you are for what you did to me. Not that it matters, the boss wants you out of the way regardless, but you should still keep me happy for as long as you can."
"I'm… sorry…"
"Yes," Domino said excitedly, "go on!"
"Sorry that…" Kris stopped to take a deep breath. "That your parents didn't love you. Or whatever else made you such a twisted freak!"
The soldiers glanced at Domino, but she only smiled. Not even wickedly, it's like she had been genuinely amused and touched by what Kris had said.
"I've been waiting for this," Domino proclaimed. "Troops!" she shouted suddenly. "Beat her and the Sandshrew until they can no longer walk, then drag them over to me! I owe them both some payback!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Kris reached for Croc's Poké Ball, ready to fight, while Shrew revealed its claws, but something unexpected happened.
The soldiers, as they were about to rush Kris, suddenly stopped, looking around like idiots. They slowly approached Kris, but they were looking over her shoulder, as if they couldn't see her. Domino stepped forward, making angry and frustrated grunts, looking around her.
"It's a trick, she came prepared!" she shouted at the soldiers. "Find her, you idiots! Find her!"
Find me, Kris wondered. I'm right here.
But Domino and the soldiers instead rushed to the forest instead, leaving her be, as if she wasn't there. Kris was confused… for a short while anyway, until she saw who was approaching her.
It was a young, short person with longe blonde hair, wearing old-fashioned clothes and a large straw hat. They struggled to keep up their arms which were emitting a bright glow, but still managed to, through gritted teeth, smile at Kris.
"I'm glad you're okay," Yellow told Kris. "We need to talk."
