Ch 2
Four bicycles raced through the forests and past lakes and rivers, dead set on heading straight for Goldenrod. Brendan grumbled over the fact that they weren't taking the main roads; Seth had insisted that they go 'as the Murkrow flies' to make better time.
"Okay! That's it! Everybody, stop!" he finally shouted, hitting the brakes on his Acro Bike. The others skidded to halts around him, confused. "We've been biking for three hours! We're lost and it's all your fault! You and your stupid ideas of shortcuts!" he went on, shaking his fist at Seth. The Snagger glared at him as he swung off the borrowed bike. "I'm not budging until we map out a decent route to Goldenrod City and we get contact with this Silver guy!"
"Don't yell at him like that! It's this kind of travel that got us to Petalburg in time to help save May and the gym in Hoenn!" Rui declared angrily. "You're just being a jerk!"
"Can we all calm down a bit here?" May interrupted, jumping off of her own bike, "Let's take a break, get something to eat, maybe figure out what our strategy should be... what do you say?"
"I have to deal with Blaziken and Gardevoir anyway. Might as well." Seth muttered, pulling forth the two Poké Balls that contained the Shadow Pokémon. He tossed them forward and watched them emerge in brilliant flashes of light. The Blaziken looked around warily, then looked back at him, unsure of what it was expected to do. The Gardevoir did the same, testing its new master by trying to lash at him. Seth raised an arm to block the attack and shook his head. "No. That's wrong. You don't attack people." he told it firmly as Rui and May began to gather firewood to build a small campfire and cook up lunch.
"What are you doing now? Those two are nutcase Pokémon!" Brendan griped, "What can you possibly do to them to get them sane again?" Seth ignored him, removing the Snag Machine, his jacket and gloves, then digging into his pack for a long, slender bottle with a Poké Ball shaped top.
"Okay now. You sit here." he remarked to the Gardevoir, leading it to a fallen log. It sat put and looked confused, watching him carefully for strange movements. "You sit here, Blaziken." the Snagger went on, pointing at a spot next to the psychic-type. The bird blinked and cocked its head, then followed the order to sit down on the log. "Okay, let's get this started." Seth said with a grin, popping open the bottle and pouring out a small amount of a deep blue liquid onto his open palm. He set the bottle down and dripped the liquid onto the Gardevoir's shoulders, then began massaging it. The Pokémon tried to jump in surprise, then blinked and relaxed, smiling and cooing in pleasure. The Blaziken watched and leaned forward, sniffing at the Pokémon. It squawked at Seth, looking somewhat jealous.
"Hang on. You're next after I'm done with this one." Seth told it, still grinning as the Gardevoir continued cooing, hands folded neatly in its lap. Brendan scratched his head.
"What are you doing?" he asked, still confused.
"Pokémon massage. One of the ways I purify Shadow Pokémon, if you must know. I'm using the most expensive scent available, but it works the best." the Snagger replied, pouring on more of the cologne and continuing the massage. Rui sat back and smiled, watching him working in only the black sleeveless turtleneck he liked. "Rui, how am I doing?"
"The aura is going down, but you still have a way to go before it's ready to be purified. The massages look like the best way for it so far." she replied, "May's making a stew for lunch, I hope you're hungry!" Seth looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Okay, bad joke. Sorry!" she laughed and hopped to her feet, picking up her bag. "I'm gonna go find a river and wash up. See you in a bit!"
"Okay! Okay!" Seth cried as the Blaziken squawked louder and ruffled the feathers around its neck, "You're next! You're a hasty one, aren't you?" He switched to massage it, pouring the last of the cologne on it and setting to work. The Fire-Fighting Pokémon clacked its beak happily as the Gardevoir sniffed at its arm and cooed, batting its eyes at Seth. "Don't look at me like that. You're a cute Pokémon, but I already have a girlfriend." He pulled out a Poké Block and tossed it towards the psychic-type. "Here, it's sweet."
"I thought you've never been to Hoenn. How'd you get a Poké Block case and candy?" Brendan asked, bringing out a Mudkip to keep an eye on the campfire. Seth finished the massage and stepped back, wiping down his hands on a small towel.
"You ask a lot of questions. Do you have a problem with me or something?" he shot back icily. The trainer sniffed and sat back against the log.
"You think you're so hot, don't you, Hero of Orre? Took out an entire team and organization by yourself, now you're a hotshot hero. Saved all of these 'Shadow Pokémon' and became a saint to them." he sneered, "Granted all kinds of powers like talking to them and using their moves. What do you want from the rest of the world after this adventure? A freakin' medal?"
"I didn't do it to gain attention, if that's what you're thinking!" Seth snapped back. The two Pokémon looked over at him, surprised. "I didn't risk my life like that to get publicity or fame or any of that crap! I'm not a trainer! I'm not some Colosseum or League Champion, I'm not even a stupid, lousy scientist!" Rui walked in, hair still wet, and blinked in surprise at what was happening. "I did it for redemption! I did it to save my friends, Jupiter and Pluto!" Seth looked lost, spreading his hands out before him, "I did it because I wanted to make up for all the evil I did when Cipher had me under their control. I'm a Snagger, I was a member of Team Snagem, the team that stole Pokémon from honest trainers and turned them into this." He waved towards the Gardevoir and Blaziken still watching the argument. "Into shadows of their former selves. I was just like them for all my life." Seth released the Eons and knelt to pet them. "Until I stole the eggs that hatched and gave me these guys. If it weren't for Jupiter and Pluto, I'd still be stealing Pokémon, stealing money and TMs, and probably being used in whatever Cipher is planning now to conquer the world."
"I knew it! You were one of the bad guys!" May jumped up and declared in triumph, "That explains the Snag Machine and why Team Snagem was gunning for you that whole time!"
"So the great hero is nothing but a back-stabbing traitor to the team that caused this whole mess." Brendan chuckled and shook his head. "That's just great. We're here in Johto because of a lunatic grunt who thinks he's a Pokémon." Seth stood and stiffened, glaring at the trainer.
"Seth? Why did you tell them who you are?" Rui asked softly. She looked confused and held her pack tighter to her, "What's going on?"
"Seth? Are you okay? What's happening? You're burning up!" Jupiter whimpered, stepping back from him in fright. The Snagger barely heard the Espeon, his fury at the accusations and jeering churning within him, searching for a release. It found one.
"It's getting really hot now." May suddenly remarked, looking at the fire. "But our campfire is still small. Did that Blaziken use Sunny Day?" Brendan wiped a film of sweat from his forehead and studied it in confusion.
"No way. This feels like Groudon's Drought ability. But I haven't let him out. What's causing this?" he replied and looked up at the sun, which seemed to shine brighter. Rui blinked and looked over at Seth, who was now staring at the ground as if it were some disgusting thing that dirtied his shoes. In a neat circle around him, the grass had withered and died, and the green all around the group was beginning to yellow and wilt from the heat and dryness. Blaziken looked fine with the weather shift but the Gardevoir was withering, gazing up at Seth with a fearful look. Rui ran to him and grabbed his arm, startling him out of his trance-like state and nearly causing him to fall on her.
"There's a river not far from here. Follow the tracks I left." she murmured, pushing the Poké Gear into his hand and pointing him in the river's direction, "Go there and cool off for a while. I think you're causing this weird weather shift."
"Me?" he hissed back, "It's that idiot with the stupid hat!" He shot the two trainers another angry look and sighed. "Fine. Watch my things at least. I'll be back in an hour." he amended and stormed away. The Gardevoir watched him leave and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, wiping at its brow and then fainting into the Blaziken's arms. The bird blinked and looked down at the Pokémon in his arms, then grinned hugely at Brendan.
"What now?" the trainer grumbled, bringing out a small battery-operated fan and switching it on, "Get a room!"
The river wasn't more than a few yards from the campsite, and the weather shift was starting to normalize with the setting of the sun. The Poké Gear rested on a boulder, radio station tuned to Pokémon Music, while Seth tested the limits of his underwater side. Clutching a tree root near the riverbed, he let the water flow past him and waited, holding his breath as long as he could. A Goldeen swam past, paused, then turned back to look at him.
"What in the name of all that is pure in the sea are you doing?" it asked in exasperation, "You're never going to get kelp like that!" Seth shot it an irritated look. "Well, fine! Be that way! Upstart Pokémon like you never get anywhere in life without a human trainer to set them straight..." it grumbled and swam on in a huff.
When it felt like staying down any longer was going to crush him, Seth swam up to the surface and checked the time on the Poké Gear. He was startled at the count. He'd been under for nearly ten minutes! Climbing back onto the land, he sat against the boulder and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to think things through. Groudon's DNA gave him the ability to withstand the desert heat, survive Earthquake attacks, and maybe even cause a hot weather shift for a short time. Kyogre's genetic strands gave him the ability to hold his breath longer underwater, which probably accounted for his lasting time in the lagoon of Ever Grande in Hoenn, and what possibly looked like a Water Pulse attack. The only thing he lacked was DNA that could help him cope with the sky.
"Is that why I'm afraid of heights? I'm not designed to deal with it?" Seth murmured and waved his hand at his ears when he heard an odd buzzing sound. The buzzing then died down and became lost in the music emitted from the radio. He picked up the gear and turned it over in his hands, studying it. It was very strange to him. He was used to his PDA, the silvery gadget in his jacket pocket that would open a half dozen little flaps to display a screen and mini-keyboard that required a stylus to operate. The PokéNAV was another device he found to be very odd and -in his opinion- very useless.
The music was soothing and Seth closed his eyes, leaning more comfortably against the warm boulder as he set his arm down beside him, still holding the gear face up towards him. After a moment, the DJ came on.
"Hey, all! Are you peachy keen tonight? I hope you are! Never mind all those nasty attacks on your darling Gyms and just listen in to the great CD playing tonight!" the announcer cooed. Seth flinched slightly. The voice sounded familiar. "It's not a track to dance to which, to me, is no track to be heard, but it's a very special song dedicated to a very special little boy out there. I hope you're listening, because this goes out just for yooouuu!" He flinched again as the music began to repeat and the buzzing spiked for a moment before being lost among the instrumental flutes and violins.
"Miror... B..." Seth murmured in recognition, too drowsy to do anything else but go limp. "The... music..." The code embedded in the classical piece played into his mind, accessing, writing, programming. It wouldn't let him leave or move until it was done, ordering his body into a sleep-like trance to prevent him from shutting off the Poké Gear.
"I know I've been playing this 'round the clock, darlings, but it's all for a very good cause. Sweetie, darling, you little chickadee! If that special someone out there has been listening in on this station, and who wouldn't?, then please do come down to the station here in golden Goldenrod City for a wonderful gift!" Miror B. purred. Seth opened his eyes halfway, their golden color now dark and dull, and looked down at the gear, slowly getting up.
"Goldenrod City. Report in for further instructions." he murmured and began to walk away towards the city some five miles from the campsite, the device falling from his fingers as he left.
"I don't know about you but this music is getting on my nerves." Miror B. grumbled as he spun around in his chair. Fein/Seth shrugged as he leaned against the table. Team Samba had stormed into the Radio Tower some four, maybe five hours earlier with the fake Snagger helping to lead the attack, declaring Seth's name as the ultimate thief of Pokémon. His attack afterwards on Azalea Gym was successful, not only had the Gym finally fallen, its Gym Leader named Bugsy sealed away in the Slowpoke Well, but the Johto Champion had also fallen. Upon searching the Champion's pockets for his strongest Pokémon to steal, Fein had discovered his greatest secret. Silver was also hidden away, trapped deeper within the same well.
"Who cares? Long as it works, you shouldn't complain. I should be heading out in another hour to take out the Gym in Ecruteak. Most of the legends around here talk about Ho-Oh being up there. Getting Seth back means getting the legendary dogs of Johto back as well, then the two of us can nab Lugia and Celebi, whenever Ein finishes brainwashing the punk again." he remarked off-handedly and looked outside the window at the entrance to the tower. A car pulled up to the tower and one of the doors opened. Intrigued, Fein stuck his head out the window and listened as well as he could.
"Okay, kid! This is the place! Don't be walking around on the main roads this late; I nearly ran you over!" the driver called out as a dark-clad figure stepped out of the vehicle and walked towards the doors.
"Call me nuts, but I think it worked." Fein remarked with a smile, "I'll go down and see to our little winner. You can go ahead and stop the CD. Now that we have him, we can continue conquering the Gyms."
"I think I'll switch to some nicer music now, instead!" Miror B. laughed, flipping switches and pulling out dance music tracks, "I'm enjoying myself tremendously here!" Fein rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"Fine. I'll check up on the Champion, then, and you can keep an eye on the Snagger until Ein shows up for him." he muttered and headed off.