Chapter Three—A Day with the Admins
(20,000 points to ANYONE who knows where the names Ranbrage and Gimubar come from. )
It was night.
"Don't! Stop!", cried Char, slowly backing into his hovercycle.
A shadowy, armed figure approached, familiar blade glinting in the moonlight.
Char froze. Fumbling for a pokeball, he stuttered meaningless warnings and mumbled useless threats.
Whrrr..clink! The knife thrown, connected with Char's pokeball, knocking it from his hands and onto the ground.
"Nothing will save you, Char! Nothing can save you from me.."
"No! Get back!"
But it was too late. The figure rushed forward and seized Char, pushing him up against the hovercycle.
"You're mine, Char, mine and only mine.. Now why don't you submit to your master?"
"No, no no no....", said Char, beginning to cry..
---
"No, no no!!", screamed Char, jumping up in bed.
He was greeted with Nascour's bewildered face, trying to figure out what went wrong..
Before he could even speak, Char was pressed against him, eyes scrunched shut, tears welling up. But Char wouldn't cry.
"Why?", Char managed to say, clutching onto Nascour as if he were a desperately needed lifeline. "Why did you..."
Nascour understood. Putting his arms around Char he hugged the boy close, whispering in his ear. "Char, I'm sorry.. I don't know why! I just, I just..."
Char just held Nascour close, shaking his head and trying very hard to keep some kind of composure.
"I'm so sorry.. I love you Char.. I don't know why.. Please.. Please! Forgive me, Char. Forgive me.", said Nascour, rocking Char in his arms, tears beginning to form in his own eyes.
Char sniffled, and looked into Nascour's eyes. Could he really be afraid? Could anything stop him from loving him?
Placing his head against Nascour's chest, Char let Nascour's steady rocking lull him to a peaceful state.
When he had finally calmed, he spoke.
"Nascour?"
Nascour looked at Char, giving him his full attention.
"I swore—before all of this, that I would kill you. And at times like these, when all the pain you caused me resurfaces, I can understand why I said that. But—when I think about it now, I realize, that—I could never kill you. I love you, I'll always love you, and as far as I'm concerned, the day that I first touched you, the day I first claimed you as my lover, I forgave you for your actions. And I still forgive you now."
Nascour was silent. Char normally didn't express his feelings like that. He was about to say something about it when Char gained a mischievous gleam to his eyes.
"So now that you're forgiven, and that's all over with, why not move on to something more...fun?"
Nascour only had a second to nod yes before Char was on him.
---
It was now pretty late in the morning, as Char and Nascour had decided to take extra long getting ready for the day..
Char had then, walked downstairs, leaving Nascour at his computer upstairs.
In the kitchen were a few of the newly recruited Cipher peons, one who had gotten breakfast ready for him, without being asked.
"So this is the life of a Cipher boss!", Char laughed. He was really enjoying himself.
After his meal, he decided to go see what everyone else was doing.
'I'll spend a day with the Admins.', Char thought—he'd always been curious about how they lived.
Walking around on the lower floors, he soon heard familiar music.
"This place has everything, doesn't it?", Char asked of himself, as he walked into a large room with many speakers. The open space wasn't so open though, as 4 Ludicolo filled it, one of them, Shining.
A raised platform was in the center, an standing on it, in all his Pokeball hair glory, was Miror B.
One arm raised to the ceiling, and one pointed to the floor, he grooved to the beat, guided his pokemon, and smiled at Char, all in the same movement.
"Char! Nice to see you. Have you come to dance?"
Char wasn't much on dancing. "Not really. I just came to talk."
"Talk? Well, I guess we can talk, now that we're not enemies anymore. Ludi-Ludi! The music please?"
The Shining Ludicolo quickly shut off the music, and then waddled back over to Miror B.
Char sat down on a chair, and Miror B pulled up another chair.
The Ludicolo quickly gathered around the two of them, making little noises and fidgeting.
"Hey, one thing I was curious about—so far, out of the Cipher whose pokemon I know, you all seem to nickname your strongest pokemon.", said Char, eager to learn about how Cipher's elite operated.
"Ah yes, it was something that Nascour wanted us to do. Evice never liked it... but he can go on a one-way trip to hell for all I care..", Miror B said, laughing at the end.
"Why did Nascour want you to do that?", Char asked, even more eager to learn about Nascour.
"Nascour said that when you nickname a pokemon, you're showing that you love it. Because you're essentially, giving it a gift. Something that makes it stand out from all the other pokemon of its type. You're naming it, just like you would name a baby, he said. He said that parents don't name their kid 'Child'—so don't name your pokemon it's species.", Miror B said, "I'm glad that Nascour's back. He was a good leader, you know? Loves pokemon."
Char thought of his Sneasel. "I've always called my Sneasel—Sneasel.."
"Well, that doesn't mean you don't love him!", Miror B pointed out. "Just that you're not creative, like me!"
Char looked at Miror B. "Well, I can't deny that you're... creative."
He felt an awkward silence coming on—when all of a sudden, Venus stormed through the door.
"Miror B!!!", she screeched.
"Oh no, it's the harpy! Save me Char!", Miror B jested.
"Not funny, guys. Now tell me, you overgrown dance junkie—where did you put my Ultimate Luxury Brush? And don't say you haven't touched it!"
"I don't know where it is, just use another one! You have about ten of the things, and that's for KitaKita alone!"
"KitaKita?", asked Char, curious.
"Her rotten Delcatty.", Miror B said, disgusted. "Venus doesn't love her pokemon—she spoils them!"
"Char! Why don't you come help me look for it! Stop hanging out with this loser and do something productive!"
"Hey, he's your boss now, Venus! Better watch it before he fires you!"
"No one's firing me, if anyone's going to get fired, it's you, you useless—"
"I'll help you look for the brush, Venus.", Char interrupted, hoping to avoid a fight.
Her eyes lit up with false adoration. "Reeeally? Oh thank you Char, you're too kind! Come on then!", she said, as she flew out the door.
Miror B waved at Char, and Char waved back.
Life with the Admins was going to be interesting.
Venus walked along, looking left, looking right. She knew that her brush was somewhere!
"Do you know where you last had it?", asked Char, trying to be helpful.
"I thought Miror B took it, but really, it could have been anyone.."
"Well, this place is pretty big, why don't you just use another brush for the time being?"
"KitaKita is not going to be brushed by a dirty brush! The others haven't been washed yet!"
"Well..", Char said, "Why don't you just... wash one."
Venus fell silent. It was as if she'd just realized that as a possibility.
"Well, I.."
"I'll even wash it for you.", Char said, trying to be friendly.
"Wow, that's great! Now I know what Nascour sees in you... you're nice!"
The two traveled up the stairs, headed toward KitaKita's chambers. Yes. The Delcatty had its own chambers.
Off-key mewling was heard from a room ahead.
Char was about to say "is it sick?", when Venus burst into the room.
"KitaKita my darling baby Shining Delcatty-kitty!!", she squeaked, hugging the pokemon tightly and cuddling it.
"Mrowwwwmyu...", said KitaKita, looking squished.
The second KitaKita saw Char, however, it hid in a corner and hissed.
"Mrowiisssss! Mewrrrrr!", cried the Delcatty.
"I don't think she likes me.", said Char, backing away.
"Well, KitaKita is afraid of strangers.", said Venus, petting the pokemon. "It's ok Kitty... Char's not here to hurt you.."
Char quickly located an offensively pink brush, and taking it into the bathroom, he pulled the hair out and scrubbed it clean. Emerging with a sparking clean version of the original brush, he handed it to Venus.
"Oh, thank you Char! Thank you much! Now KitaKita won't be scruffy any longer!"
Char was about to take his leave, when a very flustered Ein burst into the room.
"Venus you camera-snatcher!", shouted Ein, quite miffed.
"I needed it to take pictures of my lovely KitaKita!", proclaimed Venus, trying to justify her actions.
"Well, give it back, I have work to do with it!", said Ein, noticing it on the table. Snatching the camera up, he was about to take his leave when Char followed.
"I think I'll go with you, if it's ok.", said Char, somewhat happy for an excuse to leave the hysterical Venus.
"Fine then, come on.", said Ein, walking quickly out of the room.
Char followed Ein down the many stairs to the lowest floor of the mansion. Down here, was a huge lab, that seemed to rival the capability of the Shadow Pokemon Lab.
"Welcome Char—to the Shining Pokemon Lab."
Char looked around in awe. The lab was simply amazing, with gadgets of all kinds lining the walls. What was most impressive though—was the massive pool in the center of the floor. Char eyed it curiously.
"That's where I keep my prized pokemon. Right now I'm conducting a study on the swimming ability, of my Shining Lanturn, Ranbrage."
Char peered into the pool. The clear water instantly revealed the purple and yellow creature that was, the Shining Lanturn.
"She's beautiful, no? Ranbrage is most definitely one amazing pokemon."
"I don't disagree. So, Ein, what is it that you do? Are you the typical mad scientist, or is there more?", asked Char.
"Well...", said Ein, looking over at the pool. "While I do love the study of pokemon, I also enjoy the more.. artistic aspects."
"You're an artist?"
"You could say that. And I'm quite interested in pokemon photography. But my favorite thing to do..", said Ein, reaching for a board that had been turned backward, facing the wall.
He turned the board around. On the other side, was a beautiful ocean scene. In the center, was a Shining Lanturn, leaping out of the water. It seemed to sparkle..
"Is to paint pokemon.", finished Ein, placing the board back against the wall.
"That's beautiful!", said Char, eyes wide.
"Thanks. But I'm sure you didn't just come here for art. How about I show you some of the machines?", Ein said, all business once more. "There's some new technology that Nascour and I have been developing, and it's my job to not only operate it, but to teach others. Feel like learning the easy way to purify a Shadow Pokemon?"
Char smiled. "Sure!"
---
About an hour later, Char had learned all about the Pokemon Purifier (which would return a Shadow Pokemon back to normal), and about Ranbrage's high-tech pool (which had the ability to change temperature based on the mood of the pokemon).
By then Ein had stopped teaching Char, and was tossing food into the pool and playing around with Ranbrage. Char had released Sneasel, and was having a small conversation with it.
Sneasel was telling Char that it hadn't been outside much since they arrived at the mansion, and Char agreed.
Char walked up to Ein, who was petting Ranbrage at the surface of the water. "Sneasel wants to go outside. I'm going to catch you later, ok?"
"Right. Goodbye then.", said Ein, standing up and looking at Char. "Good talking to you."
Char and Sneasel climbed the stairs to the main level, and upon reaching the door they opened it and ventured outside. The outside grounds were simply huge, reminding him of region he'd once read about—called Hoenn. Everything was green and alive, it was quite beautiful.
There were many resident pokemon, just living on the grounds, they were scurrying about at the sight of Char, some in fear and some in curiosity, and some just for the sake of it, but everything was moving. Char felt good.
Until he nearly jumped out of his skin. The ground in front of him and Sneasel split open, and a loud "ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!" was heard ahead.
Not one to stall, Char jumped the fault in the ground, Sneasel following, and decided to check this strange noise out.
Not too far ahead was the answer to his questions. Dakim, and a very powerful looking Shining Golem, who had just split the ground with an Earthquake.
"Gooooo!", cried the ruddy red Golem, who blended in well with the upheaval of dirt.
"Good job, Gimubar!", roared Dakim, stomping his foot against the ground.
"Go.", said the Golem, settling down.
"Dakim?", asked Char.
"Char! What brings you outside? Did you come to train with the Mighty Dakim and the Invincible Gimubar? Hahaha!", Dakim gloated, his pokeball necklace being jerked about with his laughter.
Char laughed. "I seem to remember defeating you in the past, Dakim!"
"Maybe so—but I've changed! I'm a much stronger trainer than I used to be! And Gimubar is a stronger Golem then my old Golem was! Look at that Earthquake! Nascour is right! There is no end to a Shining Pokemon's power!"
Char was indeed impressed by the Earthquake, which ripped a giant fault in the ground of Nascour's once peaceful and orderly lawn. But still—Char was not impressed. Dakim hadn't seen his power. Sneasel's power. He had an idea.
"Hey Dakim? Why don't we have a little battle?", Char proposed, grinning. "Sneasel and I could use the exercise."
Dakim's eyes lit up. He liked where this was going. "Battle? Sounds good Char! And I admit, I like the idea of getting to fight you again, even if we ARE on the same side now."
Moving away from the tear in the earth, the two trainers positioned themselves across a pre-made and drawn out battlefield. Nascour's mansion—did have everything.
"Ready, Char?", asked Dakim. "You ready as well Gimubar?"
"I know I'm ready. You too Sneasel?", Char asked of his small friend.
Sneasel let out a 'Snea!' noise, and that was the signal to begin the battle.
"Gimubar! Start with Mud-Slap!", cried Dakim, pointing straight at Sneasel.
"Go!" The Shining Golem dig it's claws deep into the soil, and then flung its dug-up ammunition at Sneasel.
Sneasel wasn't slow enough for that. Leaping into the air, it awaited Char's orders.
"Icy Wind, Sneasel!", Char commanded. He would start off easy.
"Gimubar! Do what I taught you!"
The Golem quickly formed a ball, and begin to spin. The Icy Wind attack seemed to reflect back off of it.
"Now you're set up! Rollout!", ordered Dakim.
Gimubar surged forward with great speed. If this landed it would do unspeakable damage.
Char was faced with a dilemma. If he ordered Sneasel to dodge, he knew it would be hit by some part of the attack. If he ordered it to attack...
"Sneasel! I know it won't be easy but do your best! Stop that Golem in its tracks! Icicle Spear!"
Sneasel raised it's claws to the sky, and focused. Soon, a long spear of ice formed on each one.
"Now!", screamed Char.
Sneasel raced forward, stabbing like mad at the rolling Golem, each stab chipping off a bit of ice. And each stab slowing the Golem down!
Finally, Gimubar came to a complete stop, right in front of Sneasel.
Char didn't waste a second! "Sneasel! Ice Beam!"
Sneasel fired a powerful Ice Beam, right from its claws, straight into the face of Gimubar.
The attack fainted the pokemon easily. Char had won.
"What? No! The Mighty Dakim defeated?"
"Better luck next time, big guy.", chucked Char, giving Sneasel a pat on the head before turning back toward the mansion.
It was getting dark. He decided to head back in.
"Hey—good match though, Dakim. I'm going to go inside now."
"Farewell! I'm going to keep training. One day I'll beat you!"
Walking back, being careful not to fall into the rip in the ground, Char whistled to himself. His day had went well. He had spent some time with his new friends, his new family even. He'd never experienced a life this close to others. He felt.. secure.
Turning the corner of the mansion, he grabbed the doorknob of the door and swung it open. Several Cipher peons were trying on their helmets and uniforms for the first time.
He walked into the sitting room.
Sitting on the couch was none other than Nascour, with a laptop in front of him. Sneaking up on the unsuspecting man, he threw his arms around him from behind, kissing the side of his neck.
"And how've you been? You've been shut in upstairs all day while I've had myself a grand adventure with my friends, and now you just appear? Working hard, I guess."
"Working for the new Cipher is my job, Char. Be glad you don't have to do the planning and plotting. And your friends? You're bonding with our Admins? Good! They're interesting people, aren't they. They function like one big family, they really do. And I'm sure they won't mind adopting another brother!"
"Yeah, they're fun people. I really like them!"
"More then you like me?", Nascour said, falsely pouting.
Char swung over the back of the couch, landing next to Nascour. Feeling touchy, he took the laptop out of his hands and placed it aside. Sprawling over Nascour's lap, he gave him a look of 'Pay attention to me!'
Nascour couldn't stand up to that.
Gathering Char into his arms he began a flurry of light kisses along his face. He was just about to kiss his lips when...
FLASH A camera went off. And holding said camera, was none other than Venus!
"Aww, would you look at the two lovebirds!", Venus crowed, tilting her head back and cackling evilly. "I wonder how much this picture's worth?"
"Give that here, Venus!", Nascour yelped, not liking to be caught off-guard.
"Why should I—"
Venus was cut off by the plucking of the camera out of her hands. Holding the camera now, was Ein.
"Well well... What do we have here?", said Ein, loving to be in control. "Did someone snatch my camera—AGAIN, without asking? And was someone wasting my film?", Ein asked, checking the pictures taken on the camera. Soon his expression changed from an 'in-control' kind of face to a blush.
"Oh my...", Ein said, holding the camera above his head, out of the jumping reach of Venus. "What have we here, Nascour?"
Nascour lunged forward, almost dumping Char on the floor. Snatching the camera away from Ein, he looked at the picture. It was quite cute, he would give it that, as his lips were gently resting on Char's cheek, and Char's eyes—along with his, were full of cheer.
Venus finally stopped trying to get the camera. "Well, it's not a bad thing Nascour. I mean, it's good that you love him. We always thought you were too lonely anyway, even with all of us around!"
"Yes, she's right.", said Ein. "We're glad that you've found love. We're just playing with you, Nascour. You can delete that picture if you want."
Char finally spoke up. "If you don't mind, I'd like to keep it."
Nascour made up his mind. "If you want this picture, Char, you can have it."
"I'll go print a copy of the picture for you.", said Ein, taking the camera up to his room.
"I'm going to get something to eat.", said Venus, walking off toward the kitchen.
"What about you, Char? Hungry? Let's go eat.", said Nascour, helping Char up from the couch, although he really didn't need to.
Char smiled. "Sure.", he said, walking alongside Nascour.
He had finally found his home.
End Chapter Three