Chapter 16: All's Fair in Love and War (Meeting the Kids Grid)
Wes felt exhausted. Burnt inside and out. It was that sort of feeling in which you ask yourself, "What the hell's the point?" And you have no answer for yourself… because you never really had an objective in the first place.
Mew knew he'd thought he'd had an objective. Snag the Shadow Pokémon for Rui. Ok… but then what? What was he supposed to do with them once he'd Snagged them? Croconaw and Flaaffy seemed to be warming up to him… but otherwise, they were just lumps on his belt, too vicious to even consider using as Pokémon of his own without fearing for his life. Wes had no idea where he was going, why he was even here… and he had just been made to feel like a complete asshole.
"…Stealing is wrong, is it not?"
For some reason, Alexander's lighthearted quote from earlier came to mind. Wes gritted his teeth at it; he should have known better. Being a Snagger could do nothing but bring him grief. That was what it had done all throughout his career with Team Snagem; why did he think that would not persist after he left, especially with the Snag Machine in hand?
…He should have never tried to steal Cail's Furret—even if it was a Shadow Pokémon. As soon as Wes saw the pain written deep within Cail's eyes as soon as he had realized Furret was gone… Wes knew that he had done something wrong. One way or another, he had done a terrible deed.
And really, what was the point to all this? He had no need to do this. Just a silly girl's dream to "rescue the Pokémon," which he felt compelled to go along with.
"Rui…" he murmured, glancing up to where she was standing next to him.
"Hm?" Rui looked down at Wes, concern written all over her face.
"…Why are you with me?"
She raised an eyebrow at the unexpected question. "What? What do you mean?" she asked. ""You're my friend, that's why!"
Wes smirked. "You don't need me as a friend… You could do better. Why the hell…" He stood up and turned away from Rui, glancing over their surroundings. This run-down, decaying city of criminals and waste. "…Why the hell do you think an ex-criminal like me could give you something…?" he finished softly.
Rui looked distressed. "…I… Wes, I like you! I like being with you!" she tried to explain.
"I don't see how you could… you've been kidnapped and threatened and brought to Pyrite Town, one of the worst cities in Orre. Why is that enjoyable?"
"Wes!" Rui was panicked now, her eyes welling up with tears as she desperately tried to make her friend see what she did. "That doesn't matter! I like you! It doesn't matter where we are or what happens… As long as I'm with you, I'm happy!" She sniffed, and looked down at her feet. "…Don't you like me, Wes?" she asked plaintively, as if perhaps the fault lay with her.
Wes looked up sharply at her words. "What? Of course—"
"I'd understand if you don't… You must think I'm annoying, being so happy and giggly and such a crybaby…" she sniffled. "I'm holding you back, aren't I? I'm no good to you…"
"Don't say things like that, Rui!" Wes shouted angrily, getting to his feet and grabbing her shoulders. "I… I do like you, Rui… You've done more for me than I could say… It's just… you're so innocent, so naïve… You shouldn't be exposed to this." He motioned to the rest of the town.
Rui shook her head slowly. "I don't care… I want to be with you, Wes…" she whimpered uselessly, as if that were the only thing she had left to say.
Wes's eyes softened. "Rui… Why…?" he whispered.
She looked up at him tearfully. "I… just do…"
And Wes suddenly realized that maybe that was all that mattered. So what if he and Rui didn't have much of a plan in mind as they went about collecting these Shadow Pokémon? It didn't make their intentions any less good. So they might mess up along the way… but at least they wouldn't be alone. They had each other. And how could something that felt so right be wrong? Wes felt right… with her…
"Rui…" he breathed, pulling her close to him and pressing his face to her shoulder. "I'm sorry… I really am… I've put you through a lot, and you deserve so much more… But I promise, I'll do better for you. I don't want you to be sad or upset or anything… All I want is your happiness. I… I'm glad you like being with me… I'm glad… we're friends…"
Rui smiled brightly at his words, and snuggled deeply into his arms. "I'm glad, too…" she told him, hugging him. "I've never had a friend like you, before…"
At last, Wes's guilty feelings were a thing of the past. He still felt bad about taking Cail's Furret… but he would make things up to the Rogue, he swore it. There was no room for regrets now. As long as he had Rui to support him, Wes knew that he was going somewhere, somewhere better. And that was all that mattered.
Time to push forward again and hope for the best.
"Rui… ya know… I think I've had enough excitement for the day… What about you?" he asked gently, pushing her back slightly to look at her face.
Rui nodded. "Ya… I'm tired of running around Pyrite Town and looking for Shadow Pokémon and getting into battles…" she murmured sleepily, nuzzling into him again.
Wes laughed softly, and put his arm around her as he guided her down the street. "Right… then let's crash at the hotel, then," he said.
"Sounds good to me…" she replied sleepily.
He smiled. A shower and a long sleep sounded great to him as well. Already it was about six o' clock in the afternoon, time for take things easy as the day slowly continued its winding down to the evening hours. And Wes still needed to heal his Pokémon and give them time to rest themselves… They had been battling all day and would be grateful to finally relax.
All these things running through his mind, Wes continued his path towards the Pyrite Grand Hotel with relish.
Another long day had come to its end at last.
Late night in The Under was extremely quiet, save for the one area down by the casino, and even the echoes reverberating from there did not reach where Alexander was, down in the basement of Nett and Megg's house. Lying on the worn couch in the makeshift living room/kitchen, the young mercenary tried to sleep, but despite all that had happened to him today, particularly the swordfight with those thugs, Alexander could not sleep.
He sighed, shifting his legs, and winced as he accidentally brushed the tender bruise on his leg against the side of the couch. You need sleep, he berated himself. You need your strength for tomorrow…
Alexander had already come up with his next plan of action. He would return to Pyrite Town to check on Wes and Rui, and see what they had come up with in their quest for the Shadow Pokémon. From there, he would either stick with the pair for a little while, or go straight on to investigate this "Realgam Tower" he had heard about Lady Venus… During their intense make-out session, Alexander had cleverly managed to make light conversation with her in between kisses, in which Venus revealed choice bits of information that gave him ideas as to where to go. Realgam Tower was one of these places, which seemed to be that enormous tower they were constructing in the middle of the desert. He had glimpsed it on his way to Pyrite Town, but had paid no mind… Now he would go back to see what sort of tricks Team Cipher was planning there…
"Alexander?"
Startled, the young mercenary sat up quickly and turned to see Megg coming towards him in a nightie and with a stuffed Teddiursa in hand; the perfect picture of an adorable, innocent little girl waking up in the middle of the night. He smiled at her as she rubbed her eyes and approached him, sitting on the floor next to the couch.
"Miss Megg. Whatever's the matter? Can you not sleep?" he asked.
Megg shrugged. "…You can't either," she pointed out, avoiding his question.
Alexander smirked, and lay down again. "I wish I could," he replied wryly. "…But whatever are you doing up?"
"…I had a weird dream," she admitted, sounding ashamed. "I'm not sure what to think of it…"
"A weird dream?" Alexander repeated. "Do tell."
Megg frowned, considering her words carefully before she began. "Well… I don't remember everything," she said. "But I remember… I was looking at the sky… and I saw something flying… Two forms… a gold one and a silver one… The gold one was beautiful and magnificent, yet so bright that I couldn't see what it was. And the other… was cloaked by an intense darkness… I couldn't see what it was either…. They flew off… and then everything faded… Then I saw two people, at a distance… the first was dark at first, but was backed by lots of shining colors, like a rainbow… The other seemed normal and bright at first, but there was something dark about the person I didn't like… They had Pokéballs in their hands, and then… something…" Megg's brow crinkled. "I don't remember. But after that I woke up."
Alexander smiled slightly. "I'm very impressed… I usually don't remember my dreams at all, much less with that much detail," he said.
Megg nodded. "I know… that's what bothers me… It was eerie…" She curled up her legs to her and clutched her Teddiursa toy close. "…I don't know why, it was just weird…"
"I understand…" Alexander murmured, reaching his hand out to take hers comfortingly. "I'd be weirded out too, by such a dream… But don't let it worry you, ok?"
"But what… if it was the future? Or a vision of something? Maybe I'm psychic!" Megg gasped.
Alexander couldn't help but laugh, though in his mind, he was thinking almost the same as she was. No ordinary dream was this. He had a hunch he knew what the mysterious flying forms could have been… but the people, he was confused as hell about. But in any event, that meant this dream was significant. He'd have to remember it and perhaps ask someone much wiser than himself about its meaning…
"Dearest Megg, whether that's the case or not, you should not let it worry you so," he soothed, his loose hair falling across her face as he bent to kiss her cheek. "Fate will unfold as it will, whether we see it coming or not. But it's up to us to decide how we react to the events that arise from fate's design..."
Megg looked up at him. "Where'd you get that from?" she asked skeptically.
"From a… rival. Of sorts. Very wise about such things…" Alexander murmured. "Now, I think you ought to go back to sleep, you're still a growing little lady."
"Oh yeah?" Megg replied, getting back up and crossing her arms. "Well, teenagers need much more sleep than even 8-year olds do… so there!" She stuck her tongue out at Alexander's surprised face.
The young mercenary laughed. "I just can't win against you, can I?" he asked, sticking his tongue out at her in return. "Sheesh… fine, go to bed."
Megg giggled, before giving Alexander a big hug. "Night, Alexander… Thanks for talking to me."
"But of course," Alexander replied, smiling at her as she returned to her bedroom. "Goodnight, Miss Megg."
As her door closed, a frown replaced Alexander's smile as his thoughts went to other things. So much to think about… so much to find out… One young man such as himself could not hope to understand everything, but he was determined to find out what he needed.
Only then could he finally reconcile with the past… and figure out a future.
For Sierra, waking up the next morning to find that her being in the Team Snagem Hideout hadn't just been some horrible nightmare, and that she still was in the hot, dumpy, pathetic excuse for a building was reason enough for her to groan.
"Why…?" she complained to herself, burying her face in her pillow. "Why me…? I don't wanna be here…"
Sierra turned over to look at Travis's sleeping form in the bed on the other side of the room, comforted slightly by his presence there. Thank goodness she wasn't alone… The 16-year old Cipher Direct Subordinate was arrogant at times, but even she knew that she couldn't survive in a place like this alone. And besides… she needed all the help she could get during her discussions with Gonzap.
Errgh. Thinking that reminded Sierra of what she had to talk to him about that day. Today she'd be asking him to trade Kimberly for all the conditions that had been outlined the day before. Great… She was not too keen to ask him for his own direct subordinate as a replacement for Nascour's. According to Travis, Kimberly had been raised in Team Snagem since she was but a baby. Such a loyal and long-time member of the team was not likely to be given away without a fight. Sierra sighed at the profane language she knew would quickly be flying fast and furious at her upon asking Gonzap for such.
How was she gonna pull this one off?
She considered all the things she could say or threaten or promise, but found she had little of those left—the rest had been used up in the ferocious argument yesterday. With a sigh, she sat up in bed and ran her fingers through her messy silver-and-grey hair, throwing the sheets off of her in one sweep. She reached over the side of the bed and grabbed her cell phone, checking the time on it. 7:57 am. Good… Nascour would be sure to be awake at this hour. Hoping now would not be an inconvenient time to call, Sierra selected Nascour's cell phone number from her phone list and called, waiting patiently as it rang. After about four rings, Nascour finally picked up, his voice soft as he spoke into the phone. "Hello?"
"Master Nascour?"
"Miss Sierra," acknowledged Nascour, sounding happy to hear from her. "How are you? Is everything all right?"
"I'm just fine, sir," Sierra replied. "I'm having a bit of a problem, though…" She quickly went through and explained everything she had had to go through yesterday, particularly the stiff deals Gonzap had forced on her. She also took care to mention Kimberly and how ideal a direct subordinate she would be… if only Gonzap would agree to let her go.
Nascour digested all this in silence on his end, and for a moment, Sierra wondered if her phone had gone bad. But he finally spoke at last, sounding a little annoyed. "That… damn…" he began slowly, then decided to keep his thoughts to himself on Sierra's behalf. "…Miss Sierra, I apologize for putting you into such a position, I didn't dare think that Gonzap would overstep his authority that much…"
"What should I do?" she asked, deliberately sounding afraid to make Nascour worry. "I don't know what else to say…"
Nascour heaved a sigh. "My dear… Just do the best you can at first, all right?" he asked kindly. "…If that doesn't work, have Gonzap contact me, and I'll deal with him."
Sierra brightened, knowing that Gonzap would not refuse Nascour face-to-face. At least he'd better not. Otherwise, Nascour would have Sierra promptly remove the disrespectful bastard for good. "Oh… thank you so much, Master Nascour. I'm sorry… I try my best, but…"
"Don't apologize," Nascour quipped, "it's not befitting of one of your rank. Even towards myself."
"Forgive me, sir," Sierra replied, bowing automatically even though he wasn't even there in front of her. "I take my leave of you, then."
Nascour laughed softly. "It is given, best of luck to you."
"I hope I didn't disturb you…"
"Just a meeting between Evice and myself."
"Oh!" Sierra turned red. "My sincere apologizes…"
"It is no matter, my dear Miss Sierra. I'd much rather talk with you anytime."
She giggled, despite herself. "All right… till next time, then?"
"Until next time. Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Master Nascour."
Sierra ended the call and closed her phone, looking back up to see Travis roll over in his bed sleepily. She smiled to herself as she got up and began to organize items for the bathroom. Perfect. With Nascour's full backing behind her decisions now, she felt confident that one way or another, Kimberly was to become a new addition to the Team Cipher family.
Whether Gonzap liked it or not.
"Good morning, Wesley!" Rui shrieked, as a way of waking Wes up the next morning.
Wes's eyes instantly shot open, and he stared in wide-eyed shock at Rui sitting on top of him, smiling brightly down at him with Espeon and Umbreon on either side of her. It was all he could muster not to throw her off of him in surprise. "R-Rui! What are you doing?" he gasped.
"Waking you up! Good morning!" she squealed, making him wince.
"Rui…" Wes groaned, and covered his face with his pillow. "Get off…"
Rui made a pouting face. "Come onnnnn… Wesley…" she whined.
Wes stiffened sharply at the name, his eyes growing wide with fear. "…Don't call me that…" he breathed, so softly that Rui could barely hear him.
"What?" Rui asked, startled at his mood change. Espeon and Umbreon purred worriedly, knowing what ailed their trainer…
"Don't call me that name," Wes repeated, his eyes fearful and pleading.
"Wesley?"
"Rui!" Wes sat up sharply, and Rui would have fallen off the bed if Wes hadn't grabbed her hands and pulled her back into a sitting position across his lap. "I'm serious, don't… I hate that name…"
She blinked in confusion, tucking a strand of her reddish-orange hair out of her face. "Your… name really is Wesley?" she asked. "I didn't know… I was just teasing…"
Wes breathed out slowly, rubbing Espeon and Umbreon's heads as they nuzzled him. "I… I know, I'm sorry… I shouldn't have reacted like that…" he murmured. "It's just… I hate that name. It brings back memories of when I was little, and it upsets me… That's all."
"Oh… I'm sorry…" Rui murmured. "I really am… I wouldn't have… I mean…"
"Shh… there's nothing to apologize for, I don't expect you to have known," Wes soothed, smiling up into her worried face. "I'm the one who's sorry… Now smile for me, I love seeing you smile." Rui smiled brightly in response, and he nodded. "There ya go…"
The two were silent for a moment, lost in the depths of one another's eyes as they continue to look at one another. "Wes…?" Rui whispered, hardly even sure why she did.
Wes slowly pulled her closer to him, something within him animating his movements as he lay back down on the bed, with her only inches from his face. "Rui?" he breathed, one hand moving up her arm into her soft, silky red hair.
Rui's stomach felt tight with nervousness as she felt Wes's warm breath across her cheek, and she wasn't sure what to think. On one hand, she was afraid; she had no idea what she should be doing in this situation. But on the other hand… she was happy. To be so close to Wes was something she had always wanted, deep down in her heart. Hesitantly, her hand went to Wes's face, her fingers lightly tracing the pale white streak that ran horizontally across his face before cupping his cheek in her palm. His gold eyes widened at her gesture, and it seemed he had to struggle to remember to breathe for a few moments. Barely realizing what he was doing, Wes slowly brought her face closer to his, as if two weak magnets were slowly pulling them together. Rui closed her eyes, feeling his warm lips brush against hers gently, and…
A loud knock came at the door, making Wes and Rui jump and turn wildly towards it. Espeon and Umbreon stared at one another sheepishly as the knock came again, along with the weary call of, "Housekeeping!"
"Fucking damn it all!" Wes swore harshly.
About two hours after Sierra had awakened and contacted Nascour, she and Travis found themselves waiting nervously in Gonzap's meeting room once more, waiting for the Snagem Leader himself to arrive so they could wrap up negotiations. Sierra was slowly but surely nibbling away at the skin on her bottom lip anxiously, not at all looking forward to telling Gonzap things he didn't want to hear, and Travis was fingering his rarely used, rarely seen pistol under the table. The custom pistol, given to him as reward for becoming one of Team Snagem's top Snaggers about two years back, was dubbed the Crystal Xanadu for the fine inscriptions of crystal decorating it. It was built to be as silent as possible, which suited Travis just fine. He didn't want to be in the middle of a firefight of any sort; he'd rather just take his enemies out in one quick shot and be done with it.
Thinking it over, Travis found it rather ironic that he was prepared to use this gun against the very person that had given it to him, but his loyalties were with Team Cipher now. If Gonzap planned to do any harm to Sierra, then on his honor, Travis would take the Snagem Leader down, with no regret.
The door suddenly flew open, and Gonzap came charging into the room with Kimberly right on his tail, looking supremely confident and pleased with things. With barely even a greeting to Sierra and Travis, Gonzap waltzed over to his chair at the head of the table and plunked himself down into it. Sierra sweatdropped as Gonzap propped both feet up on the table and leaned back, grinning over the tops of his boots at her.
"Good morning, Miss Sierra," he quipped.
"…Good morning," Sierra replied stiffly.
"I trust you had a good night's sleep with Travis?" Gonzap asked innocently.
"Yes, I—" Sierra's confirmation died on her lips at the foolishly mischievous grin on Gonzap's face, and she scowled. "We slept quite comfortably on opposite sides of the room."
Travis reddened as soon as the innuendo sank in, and Kimberly shifted uncomfortably where she stood behind Gonzap's chair. The smile faded from the Snagem Leader's face, and he sat forward in his chair as he should. "Well then, Miss Sierra, have you decided what idiot gets the misfortune of becoming Nascour's new slave?"
Sierra's frown only deepened. "No idiot gets that misfortune, Master Gonzap, for Master Nascour would not appreciate an idiot in his service," she explained tartly. "But I've found someone who would do nicely in the role of Nascour's direct subordinate."
"Oh really?" Gonzap looked a little curious at who she might be talking about. "Who might that be?"
Sierra smiled at him unpleasantly as she continued. "After taking a look at all the members of Team Snagem, I've found that the only one capable of filling the role required… is none other than Miss Kimberly Van Kai."
A dead silence. Both Travis and Kimberly pretended to feign complete innocence at Sierra's revelation as Gonzap stared blankly at the young Cipher Direct Subordinate, unable to process for a moment what she had just uttered. Several long moments passed before the Snagem Leader could speak again, his face turning bright red and the veins sticking out on his neck and bald head.
"What… did you just suggest?" he asked, voice tight with some attempt at control.
Sierra's expression barely wavered. "I said that the member I choose to replace Nascour's previous direct subordinate shall be Kimberly."
Like a fearsome beast, Gonzap gave a roar and pounded his massive fist into the table, startling everyone there. "Are you insane!" he shouted, making Sierra cringe in her seat. "My own direct subordinate that I've had for years? I'm not giving her away at any price!"
"Price? What the hell are we talking about here? People or property?"
"Kimberly is MINE, dammit! You can tell that fucking son of a bitch that if he's gonna have problems with his direct subordinates dying left and right, then he ought to put that damn sword somewhere where he won't be tempted to use it!"
"How dare you even think of calling Master Nascour such profane names, you damn bastard! I ought to just blow your fucking ass to hell right now; you wouldn't have to worry about whether Kimberly was yours or not!"
"I'm not going to take any shit from a girl barely half my size!" Gonzap got to his feet angrily, his chair nearly squishing Kimberly against the wall as it slid back violently.
"Good! If you won't take my shit, then maybe you'd rather have my bullets!" Sierra whipped out Zenith Aria and aimed it sharply at Gonzap's forehead, ready and willing to fire away.
Travis gaped in complete and utter horror at the spectacle unfolding before him, unable to even move for the first few moments as Sierra and Gonzap screamed at each other. His eyes went to Kimberly momentarily, who looked like she would like nothing better than to melt into the floor at that very moment. Then, looking back at the two warring combatants, Travis blanched in fright upon seeing Sierra aim her gun at Gonzap, and he knew that this was going to turn ugly. For even as he watched, Kimberly was attempting to somehow get between her leader and Sierra's gun, to protect him from any and all shots. Despite her dislike for Gonzap, Kimberly's sense of obedience to the one she had pledged her loyalties to was far too great.
"Miss Sierra! Master Gonzap! Stop, please!" Travis shouted, grabbing Sierra's arm and pulling her aim away. "Don't do this, remember what Nascour said…!"
Sierra blinked, apparently just remembering what Nascour had instructed her to do in the event Gonzap was too stubborn to agree. "Ah… of course…" she murmured, lowering her arm and sliding her pistol back into its holster. "…Master Gonzap. It seems that continuing our profane little spectacle will get us nowhere. So perhaps… we'd best call Master Nascour to see if he can't persuade you."
Gonzap glowered, not at all keen on speaking to Nascour. "I'm not trading him Kimberly!" he repeated, as if perhaps Sierra had merely not heard him properly.
"If it isn't Kimberly, then it's nothing! You will obtain absolutely nothing that I promised you yesterday, and you will certainly not be held in Nascour's high graces!" Sierra snapped. "Not that he ever held an ass-wipe like you in any light of respect to begin with!"
"Is that so—!"
"Stop! Please!" begged Travis, putting his arms around Sierra so she wouldn't be tempted to leap across the table at Gonzap. "Let's just talk to Nascour…" The Cipher Executive could, at the very least, bring some semblance of peace to the negotiating table… If not, then this alliance with Team Snagem was basically worthless.
Gonzap and Sierra continued to death-glare at one another, but they both nodded. Kimberly, grateful for the chance to do something other than stand around as the two screamed and argued over her, quickly went to a vid-screen on the wall and punched a few buttons that they might contact Nascour at Realgam Tower. Everyone waited tensely for a few minutes, but at last, the picture blinked on, showing—to the surprise of all—not only Nascour, but Evice as well.
"This had better be good," Evice snapped, glaring at the screen. "Nascour and I have been in discussions all morning; I would not at all be pleased if this turned out to be a needless distraction."
Nascour, in contrast, looked absolutely relieved for the chance to stop talking with Evice. "Now, I'm sure they wouldn't contact us if it weren't of the utmost importance, Master Evice," he soothed, turning to the screen with a faint smile at Sierra. "Master Gonzap, is there something we might be able to help you with?"
Gonzap frowned. "It seems that Sierra wishes to enlist MY direct subordinate to replace yours, Nascour," he snarled, not bothering to hide his fury. "That was not the deal!"
"What about everything I've promised you already?" snapped Sierra, unable to stay silent. "The tournament, the Shadow Pokémon, the help to find that stupid girl… That's more than enough to compensate!"
In the meantime, Nascour had focused his attentions to Kimberly, standing quietly to one side and looking up curiously at Nascour and Evice. "Well, is this the lovely lady in question?" Nascour asked softly, smiling down at her.
Gonzap rolled his eyes. "Yes, that's her."
"What might your name be? Don't be shy, my dear," Nascour urged gently, his light-blue eyes taking on an almost-alien gentleness to them.
Kimberly swallowed nervously, forcing herself to look up this Nascour. So, this was the man who wanted her to be his direct subordinate. He seemed so much nicer than Gonzap ever could be. Even though she knew quite well that could be just a front, there was still something that suggested Nascour was a much better person than the Snagem Leader was. "Um… I'm Kimberly Van Kai… Nascour, sir…" she said quietly.
"Kimberly? A most lovely name," Nascour replied, ignoring Gonzap's hateful stares and Evice's impatient grumbles. "Age?"
"…19."
"How long have you been working for Team Snagem?"
"All my life, sir."
"Nascour, do you honestly think that you can—?" Gonzap began.
"Master Gonzap." Nascour quickly cut off the Snagem Leader with narrowed eyes, a hint of red showing within his eyes. "Sierra is right, you realize. That we have promised you much for just one direct subordinate."
"Kimberly is MY direct subordinate, has been all her life!" Gonzap snarled.
"Then perhaps we'd best take our business elsewhere?" Nascour threatened.
Evice frowned. "Nascour, you don't have the power to terminate an alliance like that!" he accused.
Nascour turned to Evice sharply. "I have had enough of Gonzap's disrespect, Master Evice," he said slowly, through clenched teeth. "If he continues as such, I will have no choice but to withhold my support for him, with or without your support."
Sierra and Travis paled as the meaning of Nascour's words took full hold. If Evice refused to agree with Nascour on this, Team Cipher could become seriously split between those loyal to Nascour and those loyal to Evice. Such a split could be fatal to everything the team had worked so hard for! However, if Evice did support Nascour on this, the team would hold, but the danger of Team Snagem withholding its much needed support would be prevalent. What would happen?
Sierra couldn't help but smirk. All this over one girl. Of course, Sierra knew it was more a matter of pride and principle than Kimberly herself… but still. It would be rather laughable if not for the fact that the situation was most serious indeed.
Evice frowned, apparently thinking over the same problems himself. "It seems neither of you two have any intentions of backing down, do you…?" he murmured, glancing from Nascour to Gonzap as he stroked his mustache.
Sierra and Travis exchanged a worried look. If things went from bad to worse, they didn't want to be anywhere near the Team Snagem Hideout. They'd probably be two of the first targets of Gonzap's wrath against Team Cipher.
"…Master Gonzap," Evice said, after a long while. "Supposing we do find you that girl… the one Fera seems to be so interested in… What would you say to that in exchange for Miss Kimberly here?"
"If that were the case, then I would be more inclined to exchange Kimberly," Gonzap acknowledged. "But you don't have her, do you?"
"Not at the moment…"
Just who the hell is this girl that keeps popping up? Sierra wondered. And Fera… who is she? Some contact outside of Orre, I know that much… But why does she want this girl? Why is this girl so important?
Nascour impatiently toyed with a stray stand of his long hair, sounding rather annoyed as he spoke again. "If we do agree to work at finding this girl, would that be to your liking?" he asked.
Gonzap shook his head. "That guarantees nothing, Nascour. Supposing your team never finds her, then what? I have nothing!"
Nascour's eyes reddened quite noticeably, making Kimberly and Travis blanch in surprise, and Sierra frown. She had seen this happen before, but that made it no less eerie. "You're going to have nothing all right, not even your life—" he threatened, before Evice cut in.
"If Team Cipher agrees to compensate you for your loss of a direct subordinate… would that be acceptable?" the Cipher Head asked hesitantly, wanting to keep both Nascour and Gonzap happy. He could hardly care less about their personal hatreds of one another, but their cooperation was essential to the progress of Cipher's plans for Orre. "Suppose I offer… 9,000,000 Pokéyen in addition to our promise of assisting Team Snagem's efforts to capture this girl. What would you say to that?"
Nascour, Sierra, and Travis all gaped at Evice's casual offering of such a large amount of money, but Gonzap looked absolutely thrilled. Apparently, money was even better to the Snagem Head than keeping his direct subordinate. "Well… If that is the case… then I accept your terms, Master Evice," Gonzap replied, grinning broadly.
Travis and Kimberly sighed in relief.
Sierra shook her head in despair, amazed that it took so much just to acquire one girl into the ranks of Team Cipher.
And Nascour fumed in pure frustration.
Evice found all of this quite funny as he sat back in his chair, pleased with himself. Money and pride isn't everything, Nascour, he thought, rather proud of the fact that he not only kept the Snagem/Cipher alliance in one piece, but also that he was able to show Nascour that he was the one in control of Team Cipher. Not Nascour, the one who had founded the team. He, Evice, was leader.
"If that is that, then Miss Sierra should be allowed to return to Realgam Tower with Miss Kimberly… and whoever that young man there is," Evice said calmly. Travis sweatdropped, but nodded along with Sierra at his command.
Gonzap bowed. "My utmost thanks to you, Master Evice," he said, unable to control his triumphant smirk. "Good day to you… and to you too, Master Nascour." He said Nascour's name with a more than obvious hint of contempt.
Nascour's eyes only reddened more. "Good day," he replied stiffly.
The vid-screen went blank.
So did Sierra, Travis, and Kimberly's faces as Gonzap began to laugh, laugh loudly and uncontrollably. He pointed at Sierra, and roared with laughter at her as his face crinkled into an ugly mask of victory. "So! You thought your high and mighty Master Nascour would take care of things for you, did you?" he taunted. "Guess not! Master Evice is in control, not your precious little mercenary! And Master Gonzap comes out ahead once again!"
Sierra crinkled her nose in disdain at Gonzap's spectacle, looking anything but impressed at his words. "We'll be preparing to leave, Travis," she said, not even bothering to acknowledge Gonzap as she got up and left the room. "Miss Kimberly, prepare your things as well, your new home awaits."
Travis and Kimberly quickly got up to follow Sierra, with Gonzap's manic laughter ringing in their ears all the while. Sierra fumed in anger and humiliation, but not for herself. For her leader, the one she respected above even Master Evice.
"Master Nascour… if it's the last thing I do, I swear, I'll kill that bastard in your name," she hissed, gritting her teeth as she disappeared into the corridors of the Snagem Hideout.
Wes found himself unable to look at Rui for the better part of the next hour, too embarrassed to face her after the awkward events of that morning. All through breakfast, he mumbled unintelligible responses to everything she said to him, his face nearly in his cereal bowl as he tried to hide the burning red branded across his cheeks. He could tell Espeon and Umbreon were laughing at him all through breakfast; their quiet little snickers nearly tempted him to kick them once or twice out of frustration. But by the time breakfast was over Wes came to the interesting conclusion that Rui was just as embarrassed as he was, for not once since they had left the hotel room had she even mentioned what they nearly did.
Why the hell had he done that? Wes hadn't the slightest idea. It just seemed so natural to want to take Rui in his arms and kiss her, feel her soft lips on his own as he expressed what his words never could. But… he had no right to do that. He had no right to want to kiss her! Rui, who was so sweet and cute and innocent and understanding that he could scarcely believe it, deserved so much better than him…
Wes decided to never try it again.
But judging from Espeon and Umbreon's grinning expressions as he looked down at them, that was going to be a lot easier said than done…
He pushed it to the back of his mind as he and Rui exited the restaurant, full and ready for another day of adventure. Rui smiled brightly at Wes, her wide azure eyes full of expectant hope.
"Where are we going now, Wes?" she asked.
Wes smiled, despite himself. "I'm not entirely sure," he admitted.
"Well, good morning," came a quiet voice from nearby, making the two turn around. As per usual, Cail was leaning against the side of the building, looking as Rogue-ish as possible, but with an empty, subdued look in his face. Sitting on the ground next to him was Willie, polishing his harmonica carefully and not wanting to take part in the conversation.
Wes wasn't sure what to say. "Cail… and Willie. Good morning."
Cail smiled slightly, nodding at Rui. "And good morning to you too, little lady," he greeted.
Rui smiled in return. "Good morning, Cail, good morning, Willie."
"Morning," Willie murmured, sounding rather sleepy as he ran a cloth over the silver surface of his harmonica.
A very awkward silence.
"Um… Cail…" Wes began, feeling obligated to say something to him, "I… I'm sorry… about…"
Cail held up his hand. "Wes. Look, I… I'm not mad. Not anymore."
"You're not?"
"No. I'm not," Cail replied. "…True, it kinda hurts, but in hindsight… I think maybe it was right that you took Furret. Something terrible was done to it, and somehow, when I look at you two, Wes and Rui…" A smile twitched at the corner of his lips. "…I kinda know that you'll make it right again."
Willie blew an experimental note into his harmonica. "Cail's been philosophical all morning, don't mind him…" he teased, before getting kicked in the leg.
Wes smiled, almost embarrassed. "You really aren't angry… are you?" he mused, putting forth his hand and shaking Cail's, as way of apologizing.
"Nah… I knew all along this wasn't right… But it's my fate to be a part of the Shadow Pokémon mess…" My fate to fall in love with one of Cipher's top members…
"…I'll make things up to you, Cail, I promise."
Cail shook his head, and abruptly changed the subject. "So where you two heading?" he asked.
"We're not sure," Rui admitted. "We've already been to the Colosseum, but… somehow we're not sure if that's enough."
Cail frowned. "It isn't, is it…?" he muttered. He knew exactly what was going on in Pyrite, every single loop and plothole that made Cipher's plan here so intricate and unstoppable… But he couldn't just tell Wes all of it. Cail could not bring himself to do that. "…Maybe… you could talk to Duking."
"Duking?" Wes repeated. "Who's that?"
"He runs the Pyrite Colosseum," Cail explained, satisfied with giving the two this much. It wasn't telling them anything that couldn't be found out from someone else, and if they went farther with it, then more power to them. "He lives in that house over there." He pointed down the street, to a house near the Pyrite Grand Hotel.
"…Cail, you really don't owe us anything, that you should help us like this," Wes murmured, glancing down the street at Duking's house.
"Maybe not. But I'm helping you anyway. So what're you complaining for?"
Wes smirked, and nodded in appreciation. "Thanks."
Rui giggled happily, excited that they had a lead once more. "Ohhh, thank you, Cail!" she squealed, throwing her arms around the Rogue in a strangling hug. "You're so nice!"
"Gah, let go… can't… breathe…"
"Rui… I think you ought to let go of him before he chokes…"
Willie sighed, ignoring his struggling friend as he began his harmonica music at last. "Sheesh…" he muttered to himself. "Why does Cail get all the luck with the ladies?"
Once Wes had convinced Rui to let go of Cail, the pair headed off to Duking's house not too far down the street. The exterior looked just as rundown as any other building in Pyrite, but the relatively new air conditioning units installed on the sides suggested that someone was attempting to live it up a little inside. With only a slight hesitation, Wes knocked on the door, and waited politely for a reply.
No response.
"Try again," Rui urged, poking her head out from behind Wes. Next to her, Espeon and Umbreon purred with caution, sensing something wasn't quite right behind the door.
Wes tried again, but to no avail. For a moment, he wondered if no one was home, but his faithful Pokémon's warning purrs made him suspect otherwise. He placed his ear to the door, listening… and heard voices. Angry voices. Or rather, an angry voice. One person seemed to be shouting at another, but the other person wasn't putting forth any response.
"Rui, listen," Wes urged, beckoning her forward to listen as well. Rui frowned as she heard the angry voice, and she looked around.
"Maybe we can hear them better over here," she said, running to a dirty window open ever so slightly on the side of the house and crouching under it. "Come on, Wes, I can hear what they're saying!"
Wes, Espeon, and Umbreon rushed over to her and hid under the window as well, craning their ears to hear. Sure enough, the voices—or voice, rather—could be understood. Feeling bold, Wes poked his head up to see through the partially open window, with Rui quickly following suit. They saw a young boy, about 12 or 13-years old with short, silver hair, and a blue shirt with black shorts and shoes, leaning over a desk with an angry expression on his face. He was facing a large, muscular man with a dark mustache and a dejected frown, who was refusing to look at the boy standing before him.
"How can you just sit here and do nothing while Pyrite Colosseum becomes overrun with criminals, Duking?" the boy shouted, banging his fists into the desk to try and get the older man's attention. "Don't you see what's happening? Don't you see that you're being used?"
Duking merely crossed his arms in response to the boy's question, as silent as before.
"So! You just clam up then!" the boy said, clearly frustrated with Duking's lack of response. "I've lost faith in you, Duking! I thought you would stick up for what you believed in, but apparently I was wrong!" He turned on his heel to leave. "Fine then! I'll be the one to save the Colosseum! Just you watch!" And with that, the boy took off out the front door, down the road towards Duel Square and the Colosseum. Wes and Rui watched him run off, before glancing inside the house at Duking again. They saw the man give a sad sigh, lowering his head on his desk as if he were utterly defeated.
"Poor guy… something's wrong…" Rui murmured.
Wes nodded. "No kidding… I wonder what's going on? If he's the head of the Colosseum, why doesn't he do something about Team Cipher running the show?"
"…Maybe cause he can't."
Wes and Rui both jumped nearly a mile in the air as they whirled to face a little girl, about 10 years of age, with red hair in a bow and a worried smile on her face. "Hi," the girl said. "I'm Marcia. Duking's daughter."
Wes relaxed at this. "Oh… hi. I'm Wes."
"I'm Rui," greeted Rui brightly. "And this is Espeon and Umbreon." The two Pokémon purred in response. "We're sorry we're sneaking around your house… but we wanted to talk to Duking. But we heard an argument and couldn't help but be curious…"
Marcia nodded. "I understand… I'm sorry you had to overhear that…" she murmured.
"Who was that kid who was yelling at Duking?" asked Wes.
"That… was Silva. He's a friend of ours, and helps my dad out a lot… But lately, Silva's been very frustrated with my dad… cause of Cipher…"
"Cipher's taken over the Colosseum, hasn't it?" Rui asked.
Marcia nodded. "Yes… and my dad can't do a thing about it…"
"Why not?"
"Well…" Marcia hesitated, considering her answer. "…Why don't you come and meet my friend, Secc? He's the head of the Kids Grid here in Pyrite Town, and I'm sure he'll be able to answer your questions."
"Kids Grid? What's that?" Wes questioned, as they got up and followed Marcia towards the back of the house. The little girl ran over and revealed a hidden control panel on the back wall of the house, and pressed a few buttons to reveal a hidden back door.
"Come on, this is one of the ways into our hideout!" Marcia said, entering the building and heading down a set of stairs. Exchanging a glance, Wes and Rui followed her down the dark stairwell into an underground cave, which was lit with several lights hanging from the ceiling. A few tables and computers were set up here and there in the room, and in the back of the cave rushed a small waterfall into a small pool of water. Three other little kids were seated at the tables, looking up as Marcia and her newfound friends entered.
"Marcia? Who are these big people?" asked a boy with short, reddish-brown hair, looking up from studying a laptop.
Marcia smiled. "Don't worry, these are my friends," she assured. "This is Wes, and this is Rui, and these are Espeon and Umbreon."
"Aww! Cute!" A girl wearing a pink dress, with her long brown hair in two pigtails, suddenly ran over to the two Pokémon and hugged them, squealing excitedly. "Hi cuties! I'm Megan!"
Marcia giggled, and beckoned a little boy with tan-colored hair hiding in his seat, trying to become unnoticed. "This is Aaron," she introduced, placing the little boy in front of her. "He's very shy."
Rui giggled and patted Aaron on the head. "Hi, I'm Rui," she said. "And this is Wes. Don't be shy, we're nice people."
The boy at the computer smiled, seeming to like these newcomers right away. "My name is Secc," he introduced, getting up and going to Wes and Rui. "I'm the head of the Kids Grid here in Pyrite. Our objective is to stop Team Cipher from taking over Orre!"
Wes smiled, impressed by how determined Secc seemed. "It's good to meet all of you," he said, shaking Secc's hand. "We're trying to stop Cipher as well, but we're not entirely sure of what's going on."
Secc smiled. "Really? That's great!" he exclaimed, looking excited to hear that. "It's been so long since anyone outside of the Kids Grid has said they're against Cipher, instead of with them…"
"So… Cipher really has a strong hold on Pyrite, doesn't it?" Rui asked, letting Aaron sit in her lap as she sat at the table.
Marcia nodded. "This whole town basically belongs to them," she said. "Not even my dad can do anything about it anymore."
"Why not?"
Secc sighed. "Well… when Team Cipher started accelerating their Shadow Pokémon distribution plans for the Colosseum, Duking's beloved Plusle was kidnapped," he explained. "We're not sure who's behind the kidnapping, but we do know it's a top member in Cipher. At any rate, we think that Cipher is threatening to harm Plusle if Duking tries to stop them, so he has no choice but to let them have their way. He loves Plusle too much to let anything happen to her."
"Oh… how sad…" murmured Rui, feeling sorry for the poor Pokémon.
"Silva doesn't know any of this, though," Marcia added. "Neither Duking nor us kids in the Kids Grid wanted to tell him, cause we were afraid of what he might try to do…"
"Silva's very noble, but also reckless and headstrong," Secc explained. "He might try to rescue Plusle himself, and end up putting both Plusle and himself in danger."
Marcia sighed. "But even still, he wants to try and help. He's the oldest member of the Kids Grid, but he never stops to think things through first… Honestly…"
Wes and Rui exchanged glances. "So… basically, Duking can't do anything because Cipher is using Plusle as a pawn…" mused Wes. "Silva's the only one who's trying to do anything about this, but doesn't realize what's really going on…"
"Exactly," Secc replied, with another sigh.
The group sat in silence for a moment, mulling over the sparse bits of information they had. After a long while, Wes put forth a thought that he had had for a while, ever since visiting the Pyrite Colosseum yesterday.
"Where are the Shadow Pokémon given away? At the Colosseum?" he asked.
Secc frowned. "No… I think they're given away in that old building near the windmill, but you can't get in without a pass," he said. "People only go there to receive their prize Pokémon."
"Oh really…?" Wes looked interested in this.
Rui looked up at Wes curiously. "What are you thinking?" she asked, knowing that devious look in his eyes when she saw it.
Wes smiled at his interested listeners. "Well, it seems logical that Team Cipher is using that building as a base for all their Pyrite activities, doesn't it? That must be where Plusle is as well."
Marcia nodded. "Yes… So what, are you going to break inside?" she asked.
"Even better…" Wes grinned. "We're going to win the chance to get inside."