Told you.
Ch 5
Rui picked up the forgotten visor and Plusle's Poké Ball, moving with a numbness in her chest as she headed back to the hotel. He hadn't told her the whole plan. He told her that the beast would come after the machine, but they didn't have the chance to set up the trap. Now Wes was gone, along with the real Snag Machine still strapped to his arm. She felt like jumping from the hotel window, but spotted the second machine on her bed. A folded sheet of paper was pinned beneath it. Sniffling, she pulled it free and opened it, reading the words written hastily beneath the Phenac Hotel's letterhead.
"Rui, if you're reading this, then it's a sure bet that the shadow beast made off with me and the Snag Machine. Don't worry too much, I wanted it to take me. It was the only way I could track it without losing the signal to circumstances beyond my control. However, the machine I was wearing is the fake, the tracking chip you got from Nett is inside of it." Rui read softly and blinked, "You took the second chip?! And if that's the fake, then...!" She looked at the Snag Machine set snugly on her bed, gleaming in the light of the hotel room. Shaking her head in disbelief, she returned to the letter. "It's up to you to hunt me down and find out where the beast comes from. Use the speeder to travel, that's why I was teaching you. In your pocket you will find Jupiter and Pluto. They will help you all they can. Wear the Snag Machine, it's the last bit of protection I can offer you. At the least you can make use of it and your own arm as a weapon of sorts. Until we meet again. Seth."
Rui reached into the jacket pocket and retrieved the three Poké Balls, studying them and the speeder's keys in her hands. She looked down at the Snag Machine and the shining visor on her bed, then over at the little jar of zinc oxide Wes had left on the bedside table.
"It's all up to me?" she whispered and blinked, "Wait, if he has both tracking chips, that doubles my chances of finding him." She gripped the balls tightly and glared out the window through angry tears. "Then that's what I'm going to do! I'm going to find you, Wes! I'm going to be the one to rescue you this time!" she declared and pocketed the items, gathering up her change of clothes and the little jar. The visor she plopped onto her head and paused as she reached for the Snag Machine. She began to cry again as she remembered her adventures with its owner.
--
She had been kidnapped by a pair of Miror B.'s thugs and was being taken to Cipher's head boss for 'dealing with' when she was dropped unceremoniously on the ground. Rui could hear arguing, then a Pokémon battle. Afterwards, the bag she was held in was untied and she stood, letting it fall away from her. The first person she laid eyes on was the one who had freed her. Wes.
He'd been colder then, speaking curtly to her and generally lying through his teeth when she tried to make small talk with him on their way around Phenac. He had grumbled and then told her his 'name' when she asked, and she could tell that the name was fake. She didn't care. She could sense something oddly powerful about him that she couldn't pinpoint, but following after him seemed to bring her a good deal of delight. Rui called him her gallant prince and he had cringed, turning his back on her and grumbling under his breath about how dim she must be. She had been a tad hurt, but she forgot about it after she had the idea of stealing back Shadow Pokémon from Team Snagem and Cipher.
--
Rui had jumped in shock and fear when the first Shadow Pokémon they came across had dashed forward and punched him, aiming for his stomach. Wes had blocked the attack and the subsequent ones during the battle but still suffered some injuries from the Makuhita's random blows.
--
Days passed as they traveled together around Orre, her spotting the Shadow Pokémon and Wes snagging them. He grew less icy the more they worked together, but he never ceased to surprise her with many of his actions. The playing of the Time Flute was one, his smile at Celebi's arrival to purify the Entei he had just snagged from Dakim was another.
How many more surprises did he have in store for her?
How many more would be lost forever if she couldn't find him in time?
--
Rui jumped and snapped back to reality as her PDA rang. She pulled it out and checked her mail. Nett had completed a new invention and had hopes that it would be useful for her and Wes. He needed them to come to his house in The Under whenever possible. She checked the time and sighed dejectedly. It was far too late to travel anywhere. Nett would be exhausted from his work and she needed time to recover from the events of the previous half hour. Hugging the Snag Machine to her body, she crawled into bed and fell asleep, dreaming of her soon-to-come reunion with her golden-eyed desert prince.
"You didn't damage him too much, I hope?" a woman's voice asked coolly.
'Where am I? I feel so light. Am I flying?'
"He's perfectly unharmed. This time. I suppose it was best to give him those two-three days to heal from the first attempt. God knows he'd get suspicious if we brought him in that way and used the potions." a man's voice replied, a familiar English accent that he thought he recognized.
'I'm up somewhere, maybe being carried? I'm being moved by something or someone. I wish I knew what was happening.'
"Don't drop him! I'll kill you if you drop him!" the woman snapped, "None of you are worth the countless millions my father spent creating him!"
'Are they talking about the shadow beast? It was created for a purpose then? Why? What's going on? Why can't I move? I'm awake, but I can't even open my eyes!'
"What about the millions that went into my Shadow Pokémon research?! Doesn't the fact that all of that data is gone account for something?! And it's all his fault!" the Englishman countered. There were three sets of footsteps, all of them brisk and loud.
"We can't do much about the developments that occurred after his resignation, but we can retrieve the information that he had before he reneged. Once we have that, you had better find out what caused him to turn on us and make sure it doesn'thappen again!" the woman responded irritably, "My father was greatly displeased with the knowledge that he was able to gain enough free will to escape our control!"
"My programming was perfect! It's this hulking bloke that must have ruined it with his constant beatings!" the Englishman declared and a door opened, "Here. Put him over there and remove the device. I'll study it later to see what he might have done with it during his wild romping about with that bothersome girl."
'Are they talking about me?! Romping about?! What the hell do these people think I was doing?! I was just taking back what was rightfully mine! And the legendaries weren't easy catches!'
Seth cried sharply as he felt himself get dropped onto a flat metal surface. The blow seemed to release him and he opened his eyes to take in his surroundings.
"You idiot! I told you not to drop him! Why don't you ever listen to me?! I'm your fiancée! You had better do as I say!" the woman shrieked and bent to look at him with a savage grin. "But I've got you back now, my lovely, lovely moneymaker!"
"Agh!" Seth recoiled, scrambling away from her and discovering himself within the confines of the abandoned Shadow Pokémon Laboratory, abandoned no more. Professor Ein stood beside his computer with a scowl, the woman was new to Seth and as for the one who dumped him...
He cried in pain as a hand gripped his shoulder tightly and a second tore the Snag Machine copy from his arm. Only one man had done the same to him before and could do it again if he had the chance.
"Ah, he can take it, the punk. He's taken worse." Gonzap grumbled, setting the cast on another table. "C'mon, Sera, a punch here and there never hurt him much."
"You weren't supposed to touch him like that at all, you ignoramus!" the woman raged at him and then turned a smiling face on Seth, "Welcome home, sweetie! I've missed you soooo very much!" He rubbed his arm and scowled. "Now, now, that kind of face leads to wrinkles. Professor Ein, is Wesley ready now for the data transfer?"
"Not right now, but in an hour or so, he should be." Ein replied, "Getting him riled up like this tends to disturb and lengthen the transfer process."
"Transfer this." Seth growled and rolled quickly off the table, bolting for the door. Sera whirled and raged at Gonzap.
"Don't just stand there! Get him back here! I'm not about to lose my father's entire fortune when we are so close to rebuilding the Cipher Corporation!" she yelled and watched him run out after Seth. "Little twin brother or no, he is still considered the property of the Cipher Corporation. I'll not have him destroy us yet again."
--
Seth raced down the halls, mind whirling at the revelations. Cipher was behind the shadow beast, Gonzap was back and apparently marrying that strange woman who kept talking about her dad running the thing, Ein was also back in their ranks, and they were apparently after him, not the Snag Machine.
"Fateen, you could have explained these things a bit more, you old hack!" he huffed as he thought of that Sera woman again. She had long golden hair with silver wings clipped to the sides of her head, dressed in a gown of royal violet and another set of silver wings clipped to the back of her dress. "Evil rises on silver wings, my ass! I am really starting to hate that woman!"
Seth stopped and looked around, panting as he tried to get his bearings straight. He heard Gonzap's heavy footsteps and spun to face his old boss, back pressed to the wall.
"You'd better stay right there till I get ya, if you know what's good for ya." Gonzap growled, walking up to him, "Me 'n Sera's got plans for you, Wesley; you and your punk Pokémon buddies and the world."
"You stupid roach, you know my name! It's Seth! That Wes crap is just some name I thought up to tell Rui!" he snapped back, sliding across the wall to keep some distance.
"That's where you're wrong, you little smart-ass." Gonzap told him with a leering smile, "Project: WSLY, Cipher's fancy name for the ultimate database system and regenerated Pokémon. Also known as Wesley. You."
"Don't give me that bull. Probably drunk as hell and high off of that ditz woman you got back there." Seth hissed, leaping back when the older man lunged for him.
"Heh, always the smart-ass. Never wondered why you were able to pick out the best Pokémon to Snag, never wondered why you always looked kinda funny, why you could survive the desert better than the other scumbags in the gang." Gonzap went on, pressing closer to corner him. Seth glanced over his shoulder briefly and jumped back again when he tried to grab him a second time. "Or why you knew the names and kinds of all the Pokémon catalogued without ever learning about them."
"Shut up." Seth growled, "You don't know anything about me!"
"I know that you're worth a ton of loot, and I'm gonna get me some of that money right now!" Gonzap yelled and lunged again. Seth leaped forward, catapulting off of his back and racing down the hall again. "Blasted brat! Ein!" he called into a small radio, "He's getting away! Send out that shadow thing of yours again!"
"I knew you couldn't handle the job. The Chaser was designed to fetch Wesley anywhere it wound up, especially if you did something as stupid as lose it." the professor griped.
--
"They're lying, they're lying, they're lying..." Seth chanted as he ran, shaken by the words Gonzap had spoken. Was that why Fateena had called him Wesley? Had she seen or known what he really was? It couldn't be true! He wasn't some thing that Cipher created! He was a living, breathing, thinking human!
He stumbled and fell, still dazed from the confrontation. His arm ached, now his sides hurt. This was more running than he had ever done before. Picking himself up, Seth pushed onwards, thinking as clearly as he could despite the doubts growing in his mind. The idea that he was some kind of living data storage unit explained the data transfer talk between Sera and Ein, but what about the Pokémon regeneration crap? Did they expect him to believe that he, Seth, was a Pokémon?! The idea of it made him laugh as he staggered down the hall, one arm wrapped around his side, the other steadying him as he walked by using the walls as support.
Seth hadn't gotten very far when he noticed the lights go out and heard a strange soft roaring that made him stop and look back. The shadow beast stood in the hall, smaller than when he had met it last night. The purplish-black color made it stand out in the darkness, glowing eyes watching his every move. He pushed away from the wall and faced it angrily.
"I don't know what the hell you are, but you're obviously not a Shadow Pokémon, so you'd better get lost if you know what's good for you." he growled and the roaring turned to whispering in his mind. He shook his head, trying to get the voice out. "Stop it! Whatever you're doing to me, stop it!"
The beast walked forward slowly, never moving its gaze from him. The whispers grew more insistent, with Seth futilely pressing his hands to his ears, trying to block the sound. Brief glimpses of what appeared to be notes of some kind flashed through his mind's eye.
--
"Date: Day 1460.The experimental combination of the DNA samples taken from the Hoenn battlefield within the Sootopolis Cave of Origin is highly unstable. A third genetic strand must be used to cement the union and create the most powerful Pokémon the world has ever seen."
--
"Date: Day 2190.The end result of the regeneration experiment is an enhanced form of human, taking characteristics from the more complete samples of the DNA collected. Ms. Sera Evice decreed that the test subject be used as a living server to ensure the corporation's data security. Under the project name designated by Mr. Garik Evice, the subject will be tested for obedience and intelligence. Ms. Evice has named the subject after the legendary Egyptian god, Seth. Tests will begin at 0600 hours."
--
"Date: Day 2200. Project: WSLY is absorbing the data quickly. It will lose roughly seven years' worth of memory to the server's information banks, but it is highly probable that Wesley, read Seth, will neither notice nor care. Data retention has been tested at 100 percent accuracy, and will not deteriorate with time."
--
"It can't be true... They're lying..." Seth moaned softly, dropping to his knees and finally collapsing before the shadow beast. It merely gazed down at him before ending the whispering torment and picking him up by the waist, turning to take him back to the lab.
The glare from the sun's light kept blinding her. Rui had pulled over several times, rubbing at her eyes as she waited for some kind of cloud cover to block the light. The Snag Machine weighed on her left arm, adjusted to fit her snugly. The warmth it held from being worn by Wes for so long was a bit of comfort for her.
"How in the world does he drive this thing without going blind?" she muttered and reached into her pocket, pulling out the jar. "Does this stuff have something to do with it? He's always wearing it." Rui tentatively dipped a finger into the jar and applied a small bit to her face. It was cold and smelled a bit odd, but it seemed to do the trick. The sunlight wasn't as bright to her eyes, but it still hurt. She pulled the visor down from her head and grinned. "Hey! That's a whole lot better!" The light was dimmed a bit further, but she was still able to see clearly. Her eyes didn't ache so much now.
Resuming her travels to Pyrite Town and The Under, Rui kept the speeder steady as she sneaked a peek at the PDA wedged under the cable of the Snag Machine. Ever since last night, the two spots of light representing Wes hadn't budged after stopping some sixty, seventy miles north of Phenac. The Shadow Pokémon Lab.
"Whatever it is, it's staying put and that's good. It'll be easier to hunt it down and get Wes back if it doesn't move." she told herself and continued on.
--
Nett raised an eyebrow in silent wonder at Rui's appearance. She stood before him, dusty and ragged, with a strip of white across her face and the silvery visor on her head. Upon crying out in surprise at the fact that she was wearing the Snag Machine, he couldn't help but feel depressed by hearing that Wes had been captured by the shadow beast. The only other thought he had after the shock had passed was that Rui looked a lot like a female version of the Snagger hero. He didn't mention it to her, though.
"I see. Well, as long as he has the tracking chips, we should be fine. I can't promise that he's in the same condition, though." Nett told Rui and held out a strangely heavy and decorated flashlight. "This is the device I was telling you about." Rui took it in her hand and studied it, perplexed. "It looks like a normal flashlight, but it fires a beam of pulsing light. It should tear that shadow to bits if you hit it enough times. I just didn't have time to really test it out."
"How did you figure out how to make this thing?" Rui asked, swinging the device experimentally and testing its ability to be used as a weapon.
"Cipher's database still has some useful info left, even after most of it was scrubbed in the Shadow Pokémon Lab and the Realgam Tower information center. I found some notes about the shadow beast there. Apparently, it was created by Cipher during a Pokémon regeneration experiment." Nett replied, "They were trying to create the world's most powerful Pokémon, but they got the shadow beast and some other thing out of it instead."
"So Cipher kidnapped Wes? That's bad! They must want revenge for our stopping them from taking over the world!" Rui cried and ran for the stairs.
"If I find anymore information, I'll e-mail you!" Nett called up as she left, "Good luck!"
--
Rui left Pyrite as fast as she could, speeding towards the lab in the distance. Cipher had been behind the shadow beast, so why hadn't Wes known about it? He had worked for Team Snagem, who worked for Cipher, for years! He should have known that the monster was one of their experiments! Or maybe it was so secret, he never knew of it? And maybe they actually succeeded in that Pokémon regeneration thing? They might try testing the power of their new Pokémon on Wes!
"Hang on, Wes! I'm coming! Don't give up!" she cried, pressing harder on the gas pedal. He trusted her to find him, find him and save him. She wasn't about to let him down! "Wes, you better not be dead when I get there, or I'll never forgive you!"
