ONBS
Shortly after purifying Houndour and Spheal, Michael went up to the Name Rater's tent, seeing the Hoppip Tribe decorations still around the walls. "Welcome once again, Michael and Liz," the Name Rater said, sitting in his usual spot for his job. "And welcome to you as well, Dr. Krane. I haven't seen you in a while."
"Chief Kotori, good to see you too. It's been three years, right?" Dr. Krane said. "How are the wife and kids?"
"They're all doing well, Ankti is about to bear our third child," Kotori said with a polite smile. "You look like you've seen some rough times recently."
"Oh, the bruises? They're nothing," Dr. Krane said. "Just a gift from Cipher."
"I see. You'll need to tell me about it sometime soon," Kotori said. "For now, how might I be of service to you?"
"I have two Pokémon that need to get their names back," Michael said, sending out Houndour. "He's an energetic one, though." To prove his trainer's words, Houndour began jumping around the room, barking happily and seemingly trying to get attention from everybody in the room at the same time.
Kotori laughed as he petted the little Pokémon. "I didn't even need to ask him. He's saying 'Hi, I'm Erebus, please be my friend!' Though, to be honest, Erebus here is likely only a puppy by Houndour standards. He's not quite at the level of power befitting one named for a primordial deity of darkness…the one known as Darkrai.
"Well, I can't say no to such a happy face. Even if he's not at that level right now, I'm sure he can make it there easily." Michael said as Erebus rolled over beside his trainer. Michael just smiled and rubbed the little puppy's belly happily while letting out Spheal. "And this is the other little guy who was just purified."
Kotori spoke to Spheal briefly before speaking. "Hmmm…seems he has a name belonging to the same region as Erebus," he said with a chuckle. "He is Boreas, named for the god of the northern wind…a Suicune from southeastern Kalos."
"Wait, isn't there only one of each legendary Pokémon?" Michael asked in some confusion, petting Boreas and Erebus together.
"It depends on which ones you mean," Kotori said. "Those responsible for creation itself, such as the dragons of Sinnoh, the weather trio of Hoenn, or Mew, those are each only one in number. However, those associated with world maintenance, such as Entei, Raikou, and Suicune, or the bird trio, there are a set of them for each region. Unfortunately, Orre long since lost those creatures."
"Didn't Wes capture and purify Entei, Raikou, and Suicune ten years ago?" Michael asked.
Kotori nodded. "That he did. He then released them, knowing that they were needed across Orre. To be honest, those three alone have helped to improve the condition of this region," he said. "But, the bird trio of this region is still missing without a trace. That alone makes the region struggle."
"That's certainly true, Kotori," Lily said from the doorway, surprising everybody inside the building.
"Uncle Richard!" Jovi said happily as she leapt through the door, hugging the man happily. "I missed you so much!"
"Hello, Jovi!" Dr. Krane said with a smile. There was also a happy barking from the doorway as Ella, the Poochyena, came through the door, jumping onto Michael's lap excitedly.
Ella and Erebus took notice of each other, sniffing curiously with their tails starting to wag happily. Ella was the first to make a move, going into a play-bow as she barked playfully. Erebus leapt onto his feet, barking playfully. The two Pokémon began to run around the room, playing a game of chase, radiating joy through the room. Boreas then began to throw little balls of ice into the air. The two puppies began to jump into the air, Ella especially enjoying the new game.
Lily came in and hugged Michael tightly. "Glad to see you three are safe," she said, kissing Michael on his cheek. "And, Liz, your father asked me to tell you that the device you asked for is ready."
Liz nodded. "Perfect. Now Michael and I won't need to switch the Snag Machine between battles," she said, smiling as Jovi went to hug Michael as well.
"So, quick question," Michael said as the three Pokémon in the room began to tire a little from their game. "How do you three know each other?"
"We all went to Orre University when we were younger," Kotori said casually. "I was in a Pokémon Psychology course when Lily was a teacher's assistant, and I met Dr. Krane in a Pokémon Physiology class shortly after that."
"Wow, so you've known each other for a while?" Michael asked.
"We have, but we've been so busy with the Purify Chamber that we haven't had any chances to catch up," Dr. Krane said.
"And I completely understand," Kotori said. "But, now that it's completed, I think we might have more chances."
"I think we could make that happen," Lily said happily. "But, for now, we should be getting everybody back to the HQ lab."
Michael recalled Erebus, with Lily getting Ella into her Pokéball, bidding Kotori a fond farewell before they went outside to the Orison family's car, which was parked beside Michael's scooter. "Liz, will you join us in the car, or are you going home with Michael?" Lily asked.
"I'll go with Michael," Liz said, wanting to spend some alone time with him.
"Alright, then we'll see you two back at the lab. Take your time getting back, but don't be out too late. With Cipher around, we need to be careful," Lily said, a knowing look in her eyes as she went to the car.
"Uncle Richard, do you have that SD Card we found?" Michael asked.
"Yep, and it will be on Datan's desk tomorrow morning," Dr. Krane said with a wave out the window. "See you at home!"
"I don't know about you, but…I can't believe we pulled that off," Liz said, hugging him from behind.
"I agree…but…it was just…too easy," Michael said with doubt in his voice.
"Either way, we have fourteen rescued Pokémon, and five of them are already purified. We're already making progress toward what really matters."
"Yeah, I guess that's true," he said. He took his seat on his scooter, Liz joining him as they put on their goggles. A minute later, they started driving with the setting sun to their left.
They drove for about an hour, seeing the HQ Lab in the distance, when Liz tapped Michael on his shoulder. "Hey, can we stop for a bit?"
"Sure. Anywhere in particular?" Michael asked.
"There's a small lake nearby…and it's pretty secluded. Some of the girls back in high school used to go there to swim on occasion," Liz said. "I can guide you there."
Michael blushed a little as the sun set completely, switching on his headlight. "Sure. We can go there."
"Then take the next right," Liz said. This couldn't be more perfect timing. A moonlit night by a creek, that should be lovely.
Michael took the turn as Liz said, the road going to a packed dirt trail. "Is this right?"
"Well, it wouldn't be too secluded if there was a big road leading right to it," Liz said with a cute wink as they wound through the path, coming to a clearing in the woods in less than ten minutes, seeing a perfectly clear lake, which looked pristine. The only sounds they could hear now were the rustling of the leaves, and the water of the lake splashing lightly. Michael stopped his scooter and shut the engine off, walking to the shore as he started getting a feeling of what Liz had planned.
"Wow, that's quite the view," Michael said softly, feeling like simply speaking too loudly would break the tranquility of their surroundings. The view got even more beautiful when full moon rose steadily in the sky, shining brightly.
"Yeah, it is," Liz said, hugging his right arm and resting her head on his shoulder.
Michael blushed softly, realizing this was the chance and setting he had unknowingly been waiting to find with Liz all these years. He turned to her, putting his hand on her cheek. She smiled and blushed as they faced each other, Michael's left arm around her back and his right on the back of her neck.
"Liz…I love you," Michael said, his heart racing as he said those words.
"I know," she said softly. "And I love you too." Michael's heart cheered, as did Liz's while they both leaned closer, locking lips in a passionate kiss, something they'd both longed for since they'd entered puberty.
That moment seemed to last forever, but they were suddenly cut off when they felt warm air suddenly rushed over both of them…from the side that was facing the lake. They both broke the kiss and turned, and lost their breath immediately. Before them was a Suicune, looking at them with a stern, yet meaningful gaze, particularly at the Snag Machine on Michael's arm. His purple mane seemed to flow gracefully despite there being no wind.
"No way…are you the same Suicune that Wes purified?" Michael asked. The Suicune nodded, clearly showing intelligence.
"Why are you here?" Liz asked, sounding like she was in awe.
Suicune seemed to smile as his twin tails, which looked like ribbons, began to glow lightly, their tips touching both of their foreheads. Light flooded the area around them briefly. "Accept my blessing. May it bring you strength in your endeavors," it said. The light then vanished along with Suicune, leaving the two teens stunned.
"D-did that just happen?" Michael asked.
"If you're asking whether the Suicune that Wes saved interrupted our kiss and gave us some sort of blessing, I think so," Liz said as she took Michael's hand.
"Good, I thought for a moment that I was going crazy," he said.
Liz smiled as she came out of her daze. "Come on, boyfriend. It's disrespectful to stay by a Suicune's lake too long, even if he just gave us a blessing." She pulled Michael along to the scooter, and, in no time, they were back on the road.
The next morning, Michael was in the room where he'd gotten the Snag Machine, along with the Jovi, Dr. Krane, Lily, Dr. Hanz, Liz, and multiple lab assistants. Liz, however, was the center of Michael's attention right now. Particularly, he was looking at her right arm, which was now clad in a lavender-colored Snag Machine that was almost the same as his. Figures this is what she was planning. No wonder she wanted to try using mine while we were in Cipher's lab. She was practicing for her own. He silently laughed at himself. But…I guess that's just how she's always been.
"You know, I would never have thought that sleeping in my own bed would be so comfortable," Dr. Krane said, smiling in sheer relief as he sat with a cup of coffee. "And I'm really impressed by how everybody pulled together while I was gone."
"It was nothing," Lily said, smiling in joy with her brother returning home safely. "Are you feeling any better today?"
"Absolutely," Dr. Krane said. "I'm feeling good as new." Him wincing as he reached for his coffee on the table, and he didn't inspire a lot of confidence.
Before their conversation could continue, on of the assistants in the lab entered. "Guys, come quickly, the Purify Chamber is powering up with the two access panels!" he said with an excited smile.
Without a word, everybody ran out of the room, across the hall, and into the room of the purify chamber, seeing the two hologram platforms, one marked with an "M," and the other with an "E," using the initials of the trainer's PC to which they were linked.
"Alright, Michael, Elizabeth," Dr. Hanz said from behind them. "You should both go onto the platforms and start your work."
"You got it," Liz said as she and Michael stood on the platforms. With a glow of light, the platforms began to lower into the chamber. When they were both inside the Chamber, the virtual projections came up.
"Can you guys hear us?" Dr. Krane's voice said from speakers around them. "Your control consoles should appear now."
Michael raised his hand slightly, and a virtual screen appeared, showing nine tabs, labeled as sets. "I've got mine up," he said.
"Me too," Liz said. "What do we do now?"
"Let me explain how the system works. Each set can hold one Shadow Pokémon and up to four non-Shadows. The Pokémon you put into the set, and the order they are placed in are very important too. Do you see one platform surrounded by four others?"
Michael looked up and saw a virtual platform right above him, with four others swirling around him. "Yeah, we see them. For the order of Pokémon that you mentioned, what do you mean by that?"
"Well, based on the typing of the Pokémon in the set, and the order they're placed in, you can increase the tempo of the purification process, which you should see a gauge for next to each set. If a Pokémon has a type advantage against the Pokémon immediately clockwise to it, the process will be faster than if the placement were reversed," Dr. Hanz said. "It doesn't have to be both types, so if you were to put Erebus and Boreas into the set, then Erebus's fire type would be marked as an advantage over Boreas's ice type, but Boreas's water typing would have an advantage over Erebus's fire type."
Michael, wanting to see how this would look, pressed the tab labeled a "party" then dragged Seedot from the party to the center of Set 1. He then took Erebus and Boreas and placed them onto two platforms. Suddenly, a white ring appeared around the set.
"Good, Michael. That ring shows a that it's a great match-up for purification. I also see that Seedot is ready to be purified now. I think it would be good to initiate that," Lily said.
"Liz, it looks like Mareep is also ready to be purified. Try putting her into one of your sets, then we'll teach you both how to purify a Pokémon," Dr. Krane said.
"Already on it," Liz said as she placed Mareep into her Set 1, putting Titania into the set for just the introduction to the process.
"Now, there should be an option on both of your consoles to purify, but the system can only perform one purification at a time. Liz, I remember that you and Michael agreed that you would be the first to purify using the chamber, so go ahead," Dr. Krane said.
Liz pressed the command on the console, making the area around her glow green, the walls being illuminated for a moment as green energy formed on the ceiling, dropping down to Mareep. From there, the process was the exact same as the natural purification process, with energy swirling around and dissipating as the shadows were purged. A text box appeared on Liz's console, saying that Mareep had grown to level 20 from her experience in battle. Then Mareep, likely having been on the verge of evolving when she was turned into a Shadow Pokémon, began to glow brilliantly. When the glowing faded, Mareep's form had turned into that of the bipedal Flaaffy, with less wool covering her now pink skin. Her tail had grown longer, and the gem at the end had turned pink as well.
"Very well done, and congratulations on the evolution!" Dr. Hanz said. "Now, Michael, it's your turn."
Michael was already moving as he pressed the button on his own console, the green energy flaring up once more before swirling around Seedot, purging the shadow from his body. Like with Flaaffy, Seedot gained enough experience from battle to reach level 20. And, just as the electric sheep had, he began to glow brightly, growing into a small, humanoid creature made of wood. The Nuzleaf seemed confident in his evolution and purification, but Michael was getting the same sense about him as he'd gotten from Francis and Ella. He wasn't going to be a fighter.
"So, Dr. Krane, one question: how will we get all of these slots filled in each set? We need to have as many Pokémon in our teams as we can, and there aren't wild Pokémon in Orre," Liz said.
"Not to worry," Dr. Krane said. "We haven't had the chance to do so, but those of us at the lab can help out by donating our Pokémon to your efforts. We are working to make the process as fast as possible, so we all agreed to help once the Purify Chamber had proven its effectiveness."
"I see," Michael said, taking Erebus and Boreas back for his party, while Liz did the same with Flaaffy and Titania. "So, if we place our Shadow Pokémon in the different sets, the others at the lab will lend us Pokémon just for this?"
"Exactly," Dr. Krane said.
"Awesome, this is an incredible system," Liz said, placing Numel and Carvanha into her sets. Michael was now putting Spinarak, Baltoy, and Gulpin into his sets, but, for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to put Shroomish in. He decided he would purify her naturally.
"Alright, most of these Pokémon are close to being purified, the system should have them ready in a day," Lily said.
"Wait, one question, there's a gauge labeled Flow by the Tempo. What's that for?" Michael asked.
"That is for the Pokémon directly linked to the Shadow Pokémon. The Shadow Pokémon should have a type advantage over the Pokémon they're linked to fully maximize the speed of purification," Dr. Krane said.
"Understood. Now, how does the system treat two normal-types in terms of match ups?" Liz asked.
"We decided to make normal-type effective against itself for this system. So, a set of four normal-types would give you a maximum tempo," Dr. Hanz said. "Oh, and there is one more thing you should know: the more sets you have with maximized tempos, the faster the purification process will be."
"Makes sense," Michael said. "Now, for the supply of Pokémon to fill the sets, what will we have?"
"There's an option on the side which opens the list of our Pokémon that you'll have available," Dr. Krane said. Surely enough, when Michael clicked on the tab, he saw a list of low-leveled Pokémon. For Spinarak's set he put in a Spoink, a Machop, a Murkrow, and a Gastly, with Spoink connected to the Shadow Pokémon. For Baltoy, he put in an Aron, a Zubat, a Lotad, and a Torkoal. For Gulpin, he had a Hoppip for the link position, followed by Psyduck, then Diglett, and finally a Geodude. Finally, with Delcatty, he put in a Sentret, a Rattata, a Bidoof, and a Zigzagoon.
Liz also went through the list of non-Shadows for her sets. Linked to Numel was a Pikachu, with a Taillow, an Oddish, and a Sandshrew. Her next set, for Carvanha, had an Abra linked to the Shadow Pokémon, and it continued with a Mienfoo, a Pawniard, and a Shuppet.
"Looks like you two have the hang of it now," Dr. Krane said as they switched off the holograms and brought the two platforms out of the chambers. "You can connect to the chamber to edit these sets from any computer terminal connected to the PC Storage System. However, you need to come to the actual chamber to purify the Pokémon."
"Great, then whenever we're home, we'll purify whichever Pokémon are ready," Michael said as he and Liz stepped off the platform.
"Now, I have a different question for you two," Lily said. "Which one of you started you two on your romantic relationship?"
"Oh, um…" Liz started with a blush, but couldn't continue out of embarrassment.
"I wouldn't say it was either of us individually. We both just…kind of decided to stop concealing how we felt," Michael said. He noticed that, while everybody in the room was smiling slightly, Dr. Krane was smiling the widest. Jovi was just looking confused at the whole situation.
Dr. Krane then walked over to the two of them. "Well, we're all happy for you two. But, we do have more pressing matters to attend to. Could you guys go check on Datan, and see what progress he's made on that SD card we got from Cipher?"
"Yes, absolutely," Liz said, glad to have any excuse to leave this incredibly awkward situation. "Come on Michael, let's go find Datan!" She grabbed his hand and almost dragged him with her the whole way to the elevator.
Once the door closed, the entire room groaned, except for Dr. Krane. "Seems I was the only one to bet that they would both make a move at the same time," he said. "Guess that means I'm the one who wins the bet."
"Yeah, go ahead, rub it in, Richard," Lily said as every adult in the room got out $100 in cash, handing it to the man. "Enjoy the winnings of that nine-year-old bet."
"Damn…knew they were going to tease us about being together," Michael said as he and Liz got out of the elevator. She just smiled, her left hand holding his right, kissing him on the cheek.
"But now I can do that to you, and people are okay with it," Liz said cutely, giggling at Michael's blush. "Come on, let's go see Datan."
"Right, of course," he said as they walked through the halls leading to Datan's office in the lab. Surprisingly, though, the coder wasn't at his desk. The office was just empty. "Huh…he never leaves the office during the day. I wonder where he went."
"Maybe he went for a walk," Liz said. "Maybe the code was harder to crack than expected."
As she said that, a lab assistant, named Trisha came into the room. "Oh, Miss Hanz, Mr. Orison, great to see you. Are you looking for Datan?"
"Yeah, Dr. Krane asked us to come check on him," Michael said. "But, Trisha, you know you can call us by our first names. We don't mind."
"I know, Michael, just wanted to address you two formally," she said. "And I think Datan was just walking out front, looking overwhelmed."
"Thank you!" Liz said happily. "Come on, Mike."
Michael just sighed happily and followed her out of the room and to the other elevator. This time, his gaze was on her milk-chocolate-colored hair, which had been styled in a cascading wave. It looked absolutely perfect on her, and her usual purple shirt was just as beautiful in complementing her looks.
"Like what you see?" Liz teased when they got into the elevator, her usual confidence showing more now that she didn't have to hide how she felt about Michael.
"Very much so, yes," Michael said, giving Liz a quick kiss and earning a blushing smile from the girl.
"You know, I'm not sure why we didn't start dating in high school. In hindsight, it was pretty clear we liked each other," she said, sounding like she wanted to kick her past self for being hesitant.
"Probably because we were both scared of losing our best friend, so we just stuck with what we knew," Michael said in a very exact way.
"If you want to analyze it like that," Liz said with a bit of an eye roll, though she was really enjoying how easily he could read her. She wanted to kiss him again, but she decided against it as the elevator reached the ground floor. "Come on, let's see what's got Datan out and about."
She pulled him along with her as they walked outside to the front of the lab, walking by the fountains, seeing the glass door still being repaired from Dr. Krane's kidnapping. On the lower part of the lab's patio, they saw the man they were trying to find. Datan was standing at the end of the driveway, looking more than a little perplexed. The two approached him, hearing him muttering to himself.
"There's just no way. Seven encryptions with no keys for deciphering the codes…there's no way to crack it…" he suddenly jumped when he saw Michael and Liz. "Dr. Krane, I'm so sorry I couldn't…" He stopped when he saw that he wasn't talking to one of his bosses. "Oh, Michael, Liz, sorry for jumping like that."
Liz held up her hand to signal it was okay. "Don't worry. Are you okay, though?"
Datan sighed. "Personally, I'm fine. But…that SD card is incredibly hard to crack…I've never seen anything so complex."
"Do you think you can crack it?" Michael asked.
Datan just shook his head in disappointment. "No…it'll take a seriously talented coder to get through that security. It's a shame too…there's three terabytes of data stored on that one card."
"Seriously talented you say?" Dr. Krane said as he approached from behind the three.
"Oh, Director," Datan said. "I'm so sorry. I'm not experienced enough with deciphering encryptions. There's no way I can crack the codes on the SD card." He pulled the chip out from his pocket, handing it to Dr. Krane.
Richard just shook his head. "Don't worry. If it's beyond the scope of your abilities in coding, then we will get in contact with somebody who can," he said, taking the SD card. "Don't apologize for admitting to your limits."
"Wait, Uncle Richard, who are you talking about?" Michael asked.
"Nett, the head of the ONBS," Dr. Krane said with a smirk, handing the chip to Michael, who put it into a secure pocket of his belt pouch. "I believe you were in high school when he, Bitt, Megg, Secc, and Marcia were starting the station."
"Woah, seriously?" Liz asked, having been friends with Megg in school, but given the three-year difference between them, the girl from the Kids Grid had been more focused on the newly forming ONBS than on her social life. "It'll be great to see them after so long."
"Yeah, Perr was glad to see us again when we were in Gateon," Michael said. "ONBS is in Pyrite Town, right?"
"Yeah…they made their headquarters in the slums of Orre. We should be careful," Liz said. "It may have been cleaned up since The Under was closed off, but it's still a pretty dangerous city."
"I think we'll be fine," Michael said as he went to the garage to get his scooter out, when he returned, he had the route for the drive planned out. "So, Liz, it'll be two and a half hours on the road. You okay with that?"
"It is what it is," she said as they both put their goggles on. Michael started the engine as they took their seats, her holding him tightly as he drove off.
Dr. Krane simply smirked at Datan once the two teens were out of earshot, he spoke up. "By the way, I won the bet on who made the first move."
"Yeah, yeah, Lily texted me about it," Datan said as he handed Dr. Krane $100. "To be honest, though, your bet was a bit of a cop-out at the time."
"Back then, maybe, but certainly not anymore," Dr. Krane said with a smirk.
True to the GPS's estimate, it took almost exactly two and a half hours to reach the canyon that surrounded Pyrite Town. The city was made up of metal buildings that had rust building up around the structures. There were two buildings in the rundown that stood out. The first was a huge dome covering the Pyrite Colosseum, where trainers could test their skill in battle. The second, however, was the stark white building that housed the Orre News Broadcasting Station. Michael parked and chained his scooter to a bolted bike rack. Pyrite was a smaller city, and there were no real roads for vehicles to drive on. "Holy hell, that was a long ride," Liz said as she stood and stretched out a little.
"Yeah, I'm so glad the scooter has incredible gas mileage," Michael said.
"Really? What mileage does it get?" Liz asked.
"Ninety-five miles per gallon on the highway," Michael said. "About eighty-five for the city."
"Holy hell…I wish cars had that mileage," Liz said, sounding impressed.
"Yeah, me too," Michael said. "After all, it's not really that romantic to go to dates on a scooter."
Liz blushed slightly at the thought of the dates she and Michael would go on. They'd been friends so long that dinner likely wouldn't cut it. Maybe we could travel to another region when this trouble with Cipher is all over, she thought. Her train of imagination was cut short as she saw a familiar woman running to an ONBS van parked nearby, followed by a man carrying a news camera.
"Marcia, wait! I can't keep up!" he said. "And you need me to film interviews!"
"Damn it, Cameron, get your butt in the van, this might be the scoop of the century!" she said as she turned on the vehicle. The cameraman leapt into the van and closed the door quickly as Marcia began to drive off.
"Well…seems that Marcia is as energetic as she was in school," Liz said with a slight smile. "We should go see the rest of them."
Michael nodded. "Sounds like a good plan," he said as they walked through the city. As they approached the news station's headquarters, having a battle at the town's entrance with the self-appointed, green-haired guard, Cail, and later with an engineer on his lunch break from the city's windmill power plant. as they went, they noticed two guys with blonde hair. One had his hair styled to look like a candle's flame with orange tips at the top of the hairdo. The other had on a dark blue beanie over his hair, which looked like it was knock-off of Maple Apparel's best-selling hat. The fire-haired one had a tank-top and cargo pants, while his associate had on a long-sleeved shirt and an orange coat vest with the same cargo pants.
"Trudly, Folly?" came a mildly authoritative voice from nearby. "What are you two doing here?" Michael looked to the source and saw one of the many inept officers of the Orre Police Department.
"Hey, Michael, do those names sound familiar to you?" Liz asked.
"A little, but I can't place it," Michael said.
"Officer Johnson, we weren't doing anything!" the candle-haired one said.
"Yeah, like I'd believe that. Cipher may not be a group anymore, but you two are always getting into some criminal trouble," the officer said.
"Ah, screw this, we're out of here," the one in the hat said. They both began running back toward the Pyrite Colosseum.
"Get back here so I can arrest you two!" Officer Johnson said angrily, clearly not understanding that he couldn't make an arrest without charges. However, he didn't even try to give chase, despite his shouting.
"D-do the police still not know that Cipher is back?" Michael asked Liz quietly.
"I'm not sure," she said with a look of disbelief of the stupidity they'd just witnessed.
Officer Johnson, however, heard them talking about Cipher, so he approached them. "Okay, you two, I don't recognize you, so I'm guessing you're new to town. I'll warn you that I will not stand for it if you continue saying things about Cipher."
"Why not?" Michael asked with a look that seemed to challenge the police officer. "Should we not be telling people the truth about what's happening?"
"Firstly, it's not the truth, because Cipher was destroyed by Wes ten years ago. Secondly, this is your second warning…" Officer Johnson stopped when he noticed the Snag Machines on Michael and Liz. "Are those Snag Machines? Where did you get those, and what nefarious things are you plotting?"
Michael just sighed, pulling out his trainer's license. Liz did the same as they both gave their IDs to the officer. "Officer, my name is Michael Orison, and this is Liz Hanz. We're from the HQ Lab, which just finished the Purify Chamber."
The officer looked over their cards carefully. "So, why do you have Snag Machines? And how can I be sure you won't try to steal Pokémon from others?"
"We got them specifically to help end the new Shadow Pokémon crisis," Michael said, keeping his voice quiet, understanding the officer not wanting to cause a panic. "I really wish it wasn't true, but Cipher is back, and they're stronger, and more organized than ten years ago."
"As for us stealing Pokémon, unless there is a Shadow Pokémon present, these Snag Machines don't even activate," Liz said. "They were specifically designed to avoid theft of non-Shadow Pokémon."
Officer Johnson had a stern look as he gave them back their IDs. "You seem to be convinced of what you're saying. I'll let you go for now, but if I hear of any Pokémon thefts, you're my first suspects, got it?"
"Except for Shadow Pokémon, right?" Michael asked. Officer Johnson just left, heading for the police department. "Well, that was…interesting."
"Yeah…I swear the police are useless here," Liz said. "But we have more important things to do right now. Come on, we need to get that data card to Nett."
Michael smiled as they continued, intentionally avoiding Pyrite's infamous Dueling Square, where trainers would battle constantly. He did want to battle like that for fun sometime, but that could wait until later.
As they got to the ONBS headquarters, though, they saw Trudly and Folly catching their breath. "Damn, we need to get out of this city. We're too well-known by the police. And the boss will be livid if we get arrested," the one in the hat said
"Oh, don't worry about the boss, Trudly. I put the transmitter in his hair. He'll never find it there, and so long as we have the radar, we'll never be surprised when he shows up."
"Good point, Folly. Either way, we need to leave this slum ASAP," Trudly said.
Folly nodded as they began to walk toward the city's southern border. "Then let's go try again. Hopefully we can dodge Officer Johnson again."
Michael still couldn't shake the feeling that he knew the two men from somewhere, but he didn't act on his suspicions. Getting the codes decrypted was more important, after all. Liz just took his hand and pulled him along with her as they got to the entrance of the ONBS building. The massive security guard had a tablet in his hand, looking at something on the screen then at Michael and Liz, presumably looking at a picture sent by Dr. Krane as he nodded and waved them through. As they entered, however, Liz was met with a sudden hug from a floral-perfumed girl. The scent told her just who was hugging her.
"Megg, I missed you," she said as her friend pulled back.
"I missed you too, Liz. How have you been?" she asked eagerly.
"I'm great, all things considered," Liz said, her gaze turning to Michael.
"And Michael, how are you doing?" Megg asked, hugging him as well. "I haven't seen you two in ages." The black-haired girl smiled as she walked back to the receptionist desk.
"I'm doing well, despite Cipher's best efforts," he said, getting a slight laugh from Megg.
"I see you've still got a sense of humor," she said. "That's good."
"That he does," Liz said, though her tone and expression showed more than just her appreciation of his humor. Megg noticed.
"No way…are you two…" she asked.
"Yeah, we're a couple," Michael said.
"Well, it's about damn time!" she said, smiling. "Literally everybody in school knew you two would be a couple sooner or later."
"Well, seems they were right," Liz said with a slight blush. "But, as much as we'd like to talk and catch up, we need to meet with Nett."
"Right, Dr. Krane called us about two hours ago. Nett's office is in the rooftop suite. You can't miss it."
"Thanks a lot, Megg," Michael said, smiling at the Shroomish she had on her desk with her. "See you later."
Megg waved sweetly as they walked through the marble-floored halls. "It's so beautiful in here," Liz said as they passed a studio, where two girls were juggling batons that changed colors. They went into the elevator, and were met on the next floor by a little girl, who couldn't have been more than 5-years-old. "Sweetheart, is everything okay?"
The little girl shook her head. "I can't find my mom. I went potty, and she said she was going to be in her dressing room, but I forgot where that is."
"We can help you find her," Michael said. "Besides, I kind of want to see more of this building."
The little girl smiled. "Thank you," she said sweetly, taking Liz's hand.
Michael walked to the first door they came to, hoping to at least get some help finding the little girl's mother. Upon opening it, though, Michael saw it was an office space. "Huh?" came a familiar voice. Michael stepped inside and saw Secc, who was wearing a light blue shirt with a darker blue wave over the chest and a yellow wave below that. He had a set of high-end headphones hanging from his neck as he looked over at the door. "Michael, is that you?" Secc asked.
"Hey, Secc. How've you been?" Michael asked with a smile.
"I'm good. Just working out the details of the next few broadcasts," he said with a slight smile. He then noticed Liz in the doorway with the little girl beside her. "Liz, good to see you too…but, what are you doing with Kandee?"
"I couldn't find my mom's room," the little girl said. "They're helping me find her."
"I see," Secc said before turning to Michael. "She's on the third floor, the second door from the elevator."
Michael nodded. "Thanks. We'll need to catch up later, though. Nett's waiting for us upstairs."
"I'll hold you to that," Secc said slyly as Michael left the office.
"It's nice seeing all these guys again," Liz said. "I just wish it was in better circumstances."
"Well, when we get a chance, maybe we can go get a few drinks with them," Michael said, glad the drinking age of Orre was recently dropped to eighteen.
They walked straight to the next elevator, which took them to the third floor. Surely enough, there was a woman looking worried standing in the second door of a dressing room. Her expression immediately brightened when she saw Kandee coming off the elevator.
"Kandee, thank Arceus you're okay. Where did you wander off to?" the woman asked.
"I was going potty," she said almost sheepishly. "But I got lost."
"Well, please be more careful next time," the woman said before standing and looking Michael and Liz. "Thank you both for helping my daughter. Please, take these." She handed them both bells that chimed softly, making a calming sound.
"Are these Soothe Bells?" Michael asked, knowing the items helped to increase friendship between Pokémon and trainer.
"That they are. I know Pokémon are a rarity in Orre, but I hope these can help you both regardless. After all, strong bonds are crucial for trainers."
Liz smiled as she put the bell in her pocket. "That's a very good point," she said. "And it was no trouble at all. She's such a sweetheart."
The woman smiled softly. "Well, I won't deny that."
The two trainers then took their leave, walking out the room with a wave, heading to a set of stairs with natural light flooding in. They went up and through a glass door, finding themselves on the roof, where they saw what looked like a miniature version of the ONBS building, with a blonde-haired man in a red sweater and dark khakis standing guard out front.
"Hello, are you two from the HQ Lab?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm Michael, and this is Liz. Is Nett ready to meet with us?" Michael asked.
The man walked to an intercom panel on the wall. "Nett, Michael and Liz from the HQ Lab are here to meet with you."
"Great, please send them in, Detro," came another familiar voice.
With a smile to the two trainers, Detro stepped to the side, letting the two trainers pass. They opened the door to what looked like a small apartment, with a fancy desk to one side, and multiple couches on the other.
"Welcome, both of you. Last we saw each other, you were both freshmen, and I was a senior," Nett said with a slight smile, his attire similar to Detro's but he had a white collared shirt under his sweater. Next to him was the much more casual Bitt, who wore a white Maple Apparel t-shirt with a green wave pattern around the chest with black khaki shorts and a black hat.
"Thank you both for seeing us on such short notice," Michael said as he and Liz shook hands with the two.
"Oh, don't mention it. We're here to bring an end to those terrorists just like you are," Nett said. "But, with the urgency Dr. Krane had in his voice, we don't have much time for small talk. Do you have the SD Card?"
Michael pulled the chip from his pocket, placing it on Nett's desk. "Here it is. Datan was saying that there were seven levels of encryptions on that."
"Seven?" Bitt asked, sounding more impressed than concerned. "Is Cipher even trying this time?"
"Let's check the codes and see for ourselves," Nett said, putting the chip into his computer's massive external hard drive. The folder then opened with a series of complex lines of computer script in a black window. Nett examined it for a moment. "Hmm…I've seen similar encryptions before when Wes was fighting Cipher. This shouldn't be too difficult."
"Wow, then should we just stay here and wait for you to decrypt it?" Michael asked.
Nett shook his head. "No, the codes may be relatively easy to crack, but I still have to input the right keys, and these are lengthy documents. It might take me a day."
"Oh…then we can come back when it's ready," Liz said.
"Hey, Nett, didn't we just send a news crew to meet with Duking in the desert?"
"Oh, yeah, that's something you two might enjoy," Nett said.
"Wait, who is Duking, and what's he doing in the desert?" Michael asked.
"He's kind of the mayor of Pyrite…but he's really laissez-faire about his position. Recently, though, he's been searching for wild Pokémon in Orre," Bitt said.
"Wait…did he…" Liz started with disbelief mixed with a hopefulness. Bitt smiled and nodded.
"Just a week ago, he said he's got two places in particular where wild Pokémon can be found," Bitt said. Michael's eyes lit up.
With that, Michael pulled out his P-DA, with the map of Orre pulled up. "Can you show me where it is?"
"Yeah," Bitt said, touching the screen near the edge. Michael pulled up a map of the route, and was surprised that it was another two and a half hours away. "Well, it's only about two in the afternoon, so you two should be there just in time."
"I think that would be great," Michael said. "Liz, you good with another long drive?"
"Yeah, I want to see wild Pokémon as badly as you do," she said, excitement in her voice.
"Before you go, let me get one of your numbers so I can call you guys directly if something comes up," Nett said. Michael nodded, taking a pen and paper, writing down his phone number quickly.
"And, once again, thank you for your help," Michael said as they left. Nett, however, was already getting engrossed in the codes in front of him, so he just waved to the two of them.
"That's what you get for being pathetic. Stupid plant," Lovrina said as she spat on her Roselia, which was chained to a disgustingly dirty table. But, sadly, it didn't really matter how clean the surroundings were anymore. Not for the Roselia at least. The pink-haired psychopath smirked with a demented egocentric pride as she put away the spray bottle of weed killer, leaving the room. "Peon!" she called to one of the men in the hallway. "I have a task for you." The peon she called to came over, his ID on his belt reading Feldas.
"Yes, ma'am, what do you need?" he asked.
"I need you to take the corpse in this room and throw it into the incinerator," she said as she walked away. "That is all."
Feldas shrugged and started to move for the door when Lovrina's phone began to ring. "Hello," she said. "Oh, Mr. Ardos, is it the chip?…ONBS has it? Good, Gorigan and I will assemble a team to go and retrieve it before tomorrow morning. What levels are you authorizing for this mission?" she paused for a moment. "I'll let the team know. Don't worry, I'll make sure they're thorough. That damned Kids Grid will finally get the message about what happens to those who meddle with Cipher's business. I'll let you know when we have succeeded." She hung up and turned back to Feldas. "You, aren't you the one who got that Ralts?"
"I am, ma'am," he replied.
"Good," she said. "I want you to go with the raiding group. You're to put her in front of a camera broadcasting live around the world while you're there. I want the entire world to know and fear Cipher…there's no more amusing way to do that than to shatter the heart of Hoenn's favorite Gardevoir."
"Understood, ma'am…Should I still go handle the corpse?" Feldas asked, looking in and having no reaction to the dead Roselia on the table. It was common in Cipher for the failures to be killed, regardless of whether they're human or Pokémon.
"Yes, then go to the mission briefing room as soon as you're done," Lovrina said, walking to Gorigan's office steadily. "This is going to be a good night."
And here is the next chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it. Please leave a review to let me know where I can improve.
A quick note: I dropped this story to a "T" rating for a few reasons, but it's primarily because the content is not really graphic enough yet to be in the "M" rating. It may be dark, but trust me when I say these scenes are tame compared to what's coming.
Next chapter will bring us the single best NPC to ever grace the Pokémon Franchise, and, for those of you who know who I'm talking about, I promise he will be as funky and amazing as he deserves to be.
Until next time ~ jmoul18