This story was co-developed by Titan127 and beta read by ShonnaRose.
[4-2] Paging Ground Control
He knew he should have purchased first class.
Ciel and Laina crammed themselves into the two seats closest to the window, out of eleven total in the row. They really wanted to pack passengers like a Remoraid can. Laina stuck out her tongue, reveling that her smaller body letting her fit more comfortably in the limited space.
"Passasjerer, velkommen ombord på League Airlines Flight SC009, direkteflyvning til Lily of the Valley internasjonale flyplass," came a voice over the intercom, and the language threw him for a loop. "Ombordstigning er nesten fullført og vi drar om femten minutter kl. 11:50."
The siblings shared a lost expression, but they were saved by a subsequent announcement in Unovan. "Passengers, welcome aboard League Airlines Flight SC009, nonstop service to Lily of the Valley International Airport. Boarding is proceeding smoothly, and we will be departing in fifteen minutes at our scheduled departure time of 11:50."
Already impatient to get off the ground, Laina dug a pamphlet out of the seat pocket. She ripped it wide open until it spilled over into both Ciel's seat and the poor sap sitting by the aisle.
"Ooooooh. Did you know about this place? A town with flowers all year like magic," she said.
"Sure. Like magic," he repeated.
"Floaroma," said the spectacled man in the aisle seat. Both Ciel and his sister turned to him. "I live there, actually, and it really does flower year-round. It's a beautiful place to visit, but it's never done wonders for my allergies."
Laina seemed satisfied with the explanation and continued flipping through the pamphlet. It covered a variety of travel destinations around the world, though every other page showed an expected favoritism towards Sinnoh.
"Isn't this your first time flying? You don't seem very nervous," said Ciel.
"Umm, I went to Hoenn with you and Mom and Dad."
He blinked thrice. That's right, she was on that trip. He could barely remember at this point, aside from it being where he met Raven. And got lost in a cave. And almost got eaten by a Seviper.
"What about you, Ciel." Laina wiggled her eyebrows. "Aren't you scared?"
"I've hugged the back of a flying Dragonite for five hours. In a saddle mind you, but still, an air-conditioned cabin is a massive upgrade."
Another bilingual announcement buzzed around the plane, and this time he waited patiently for the dumb foreigner reprise. "Attention passengers. Boarding has completed and we will be taking off shortly. Please direct your attention to the video demonstration on the monitors in front of you and review the safety protocols pamphlet."
Ciel placed his chin in his palm and made company with the window. The dark tarmac cleaved through snow-laden fields, monochrome just like the city proper. The aircraft lurched beneath them, the engines powering up, and it taxied towards its takeoff destination.
Habitually, he grabbed at his boots, only to find his capsule clips empty. His three active Poké Balls were disabled somewhere in the cargo hold below. It had been strange, really, not having Raven with him for so long. He never kept her in stasis more than a few hours each week, but it was his only option for the time being.
"So, what is the Grand Axis anyway?" Laina asked, pointing at the pamphlet. It was a two-page spread of the archipelago. "You said you wanna head there."
"I read into it over the summer," he explained. "Basically, the first CEO of the Pokémon League built a vacation home on some islands in the middle of nowhere. He was mostly undisturbed until one of his corporate rivals caught on and then created his own vacation house. And then another person followed, and another, and… you get the idea. It became the hottest vacation destination on Kibra early in the 20th century."
Ciel tried to recall as much as he could, only to realize that he jotted some notes down about it somewhere. There weren't many books that he didn't spare a few scribbles for. He eyeballed the collection in his backpack, but he was interrupted by the sudden acceleration of the plane. He gripped his seat tight as they blasted down the runway and the ground escaped beneath them.
After reaching back into his backpack, he picked one out—about April was when he read that Grand Axis history, so he chose his April-May journal—and eventually found some diagonal writings on the corner of a page. "Ooh, here it is. Artus Terminus, also the family of Kaioma Yarrito, two of the original founders of Silph Co, they all took up homes there. More people eventually followed when they figured out the most powerful economic leaders in the world were gathering, and a city sprung up out of nowhere. Nowadays, it's basically the center of the world. Most major companies are headquartered there, all international shipping stops and starts from there, and it's the home of the World Trial."
"And that's where you wanna be?" she asked.
"Well, yeah. If I want to speak to the world, it's like a stage that always has the curtains drawn and that everyone's always watching."
"So why do you need a Challenge thingy?"
"Actual residence there is... I guess the best way to describe it is 'impossibly difficult'. For one, we can't afford it. For two, you need to provide proof of contribution to society, some real classist thing," he said. "The World Trial is one of the most surefire ways to prove to the Pokémon League that you need to be there. And if I'm not famous enough after battling in the greatest tournament on the planet, then I'll already be in the best place I could be."
He turned back to his sister, realizing he'd begun to talk more to himself than to her. A sly look took over her face. "You've done a lot of nerd research."
"Hey!" he exclaimed. She was technically right. He'd outlined this plan he'd gone over more than ten times to his parents and his notebooks. Returning to the journal, he skimmed through the remaining things that five-months-ago-Ciel had thought were important.
"The only other people living there were indigenous peoples who, oh. Uhh..." Ciel trailed off, not sure how much of this was appropriate to say to say to a twelve-year-old.
Laina slipped her pamphlet back into its place, gently, and sat back in her chair. Her fists clenched in her lap. "They hurt them, didn't they?"
Ciel nodded, wondering what she'd learned in school that led her to the correct assumption. His tone dropped low. "Well, uhh, most of the tribes on the Grand Axis had their territory taken. They got no support from the city government when most of their hunting lands were destroyed by the expansion. And… and a few other things."
His sister nodded and turned forward. Ciel gently clapped the book together and returned it to its home, and a silence hung between them.
The Grand Axis didn't represent any shining pillar of society to him. It was merely a tool. Once his name had infiltrated its back streets and was plastered on billboards the world over, he'd have the power to change anything about the world that he hated.
He didn't want people to suffer. He didn't want himself to suffer, or his family, or his friends, or his hometown, or his Region, or his world. No one deserved to look back on their life and regret the circumstances of their birth. Ciel, and everyone else, would walk forward.
But maybe that was presumptuous of him. He was just one measly Johtoan kid. Or one man, he reminded himself, still not feeling like an adult. But that same kid-man was going to walk right up to the Viceroy and force his Gym Challenge back on track.
As they rose higher and higher, Ciel felt the pressure leave his body. He surveyed the other passengers down the aisle.
Families. He could see two young kids and a tired-looking father at the far end, and a couple with their hands interlocked in the middle segment. And just as in the city, they were lifeless. The children tried to get their father's attention, but he couldn't seem to bring himself to smile, and the couple looked blankly away from each other.
A small commotion started. A scruffy Sinnohan man unbuckled himself and stumbled down the aisle, only to be stopped by a stewardess. Their exchange, though invisible to Ciel, appeared to escalate alongside their voices, until another man joined in counsel to help calm him down.
Ciel busied himself with his most recent notebook as they climbed higher and higher. He looked over some of his most recent pieces.
Need replacement substitute for Clovis. Didn't realize how strong mobility was until I left him with Brent, but I guess I wouldn't have beat Jasmine without him.
The more Arden pumps his flames, the more inaccurate he gets. Technically Fire Blast? According to some textbooks, but we can do better. Maybe we can get Blast Burn as a last resort move.
Hector's armor solidified on evolution. No more ripping plates for Rock Throw. Other range options? Rock Blast? Rock Slide?
Ciel considered the third set of scribbles for a moment, then crossed out "Rock Slide".
Nope, also needs material. Drill grows back quick, maybe can launch it. Do practice exercises to test.
There were a few more lines from his most recent training sessions. A lot of them had to do with Raven, her lack of success against specially oriented enemies, and her gradual increase in physical strength to the point where they've had to hold back against some wilds. Is this what Gym Leaders felt like? He added one more at the bottom.
Raven in bad condition since Sinnoh. Perfectly fine before getting here. Pokémon Center doesn't know. Talk to Mom to talk to Elm to talk to shorts guy in Hoenn. He might know? Worst case, if things go south, leave Sinnoh and see if she gets better.
By the time he'd finished rounding out his objectives for his next training session—whenever that was—they had reached cruising altitude. His sister sat uncharacteristically silent next to him with papers of her own in her lap. Ciel teetered a bit to get a better view of the content, what looked to be simple geometry with right triangles. And she attacked it feverishly. He witnessed her write an answer to her question, consider it for a moment, then scratch it out in frustration to start again. On one question she did this four times until she finally settled on a true, or at least acceptable, solution. Despite the tedium, she never seemed to grow discouraged. He waited until she got to the end of her worksheet to nudge her.
"Hey, I have to get up. Bathroom," he said. He also asked the same to the man on the aisle.
They squeezed in to let him pass, and he shuffled forward to the service area at the front of their section. From what he could remember, the bathroom was way more cramped than the international plane he flew as a kid. His feet threatened to slip from underneath him from the rattling of the craft.
Just as he finished up, washed hands, and reached for the handle, there came a scream.
His muscles chilled and seized. No. No no no no no no nonononono. He directed all his energy to his arm to throw the door open, but he gripped it tight to prevent it from slamming and making a sound. His legs melting below him, he sidled against the hall and peered down the cabin.
It was that same rowdy man, now up near the cockpit. He was shouting, perhaps obscenities, and there was a stewardess lying motionless on the floor. Standing between them was… a Pokémon. A smooth, teal creature on two legs, with wicked red claws extending from its arms and a churning red sac where its chin would be. Its entire body was moist, likely amphibious. How did he manage to sneak an active capsule aboard?
The man gave his demands in Unovan, to ensure the whole crew could understand him. "Give me your money! Or the pilots go!"
Ciel tapped into his battle mind. The woman on the ground was attacked, and she was writhing, just like Raven. Was she stabbed, or maybe something Psychic?
He couldn't see much blood, so those Pokémon's claws weren't slashing or stabbing implements. He narrowed his gaze at them. They were dripping. Venom.
The man ordered his Pokémon, which leveled its claws at another passenger. They quickly searched their person and removed a wad of Pokedollars, which the man snatched from their shaking hands. No one else made a move. Evidently angered, he vanished towards the cockpit and a scuffle rose from within. He returned with one of the co-pilots in his grasp and with another order, his creature pierced the struggling man's neck. His eyes rolled back into his head and he toppled over the other unconscious victim.
"Not much time before it kills them," he growled. "Give me everything!"
The passengers screamed. Almost everyone scrambled to throw bills and coins at him under threat of being assaulted themselves. Ciel threw his head back to his own section, where he knew Laina was no doubt scared out of her mind. Horrified whispers were radiating throughout the entire cabin.
A fear seized him, far unlike anything he'd ever faced. No, he's felt this once before. In a dark alley of Goldenrod, when that woman had held a knife to his throat and threatened both himself and his family. He'd never felt so terrified. But that Ciel wasn't the same one who stood today, and he wasn't going to let his racing heart pop.
He ripped open his Poké GEAR and sent a quick text to his sister. Get to the other bathrooms at the back of the plane and lock yourself in. It was all he could do at the momentwithout attracting attention, because even with his martial arts training, he couldn't risk fighting that creature without his own Pokémon.
There had to be some access to the cargo hold, right? If some material caught fire while they were far from an airport, they'd need to address it midflight. Ciel's eyes flicked across the empty service area. He yanked some of the colored drawers out of the walls, finding nothing but waste bins, food stores, and an oven, all dedicated to in-flight dining.
His foot caught on a laid rug. He kicked it away to reveal a metal-lined door hidden underneath. Ciel threw it open. Within, a small ladder descending into complete darkness below. He fired up his Poké GEAR and dropped inside, pulling it closed behind him.
When he leapt from the bottom of the ladder, he landed roughly on assorted belongings. His eyes attempted to dilate to adjust, but it was darker than night and he could only rely on the light of his Poké GEAR's screen.
Even if he found his bag and his capsules, they were still deactivated. The only persons that might be able to undo the locks were flight staff or PC admins. Maybe if he contacted the Pokémon League, but they'd turn him away or run him through loops or an automated answering whatever. But how could he—
Kris! She lived at the Pokémon League!
He scrolled through his contacts while dancing between the stored luggage, acutely aware that there were only a few centimeters between himself and the open sky. Desperate, he fumbled with the in-flight wireless and punched in his Trainer Card info, deducting a 1200 charge for the call. An automated voice stole that money and told him that it couldn't find service. He rang again to be sure. Still no answer. He hadn't been able to get in contact with her for over a week.
More screams echoed above him. He said, "Come on, please pick up." But he couldn't reach her.
The number flashed on his screen. He hovered his finger over the touchscreen, and after one more bout of hesitation, he deleted the last digit and replaced it with its lower neighbor. This time, the call only allowed itself two rings before the line opened.
He shouted into the device. "My name is Ciel Fauder, we met at the Goldenrod Showdown. I'm on a plane, there's someone attacking the passengers, and I need your help!"
Now he understood where exactly it was that his mother found her habits.
Inside the Grand Viceregal Library of the Sinnoh League, Sebastian Masuta emulated Cynthia Masuta's more… disorganized research methods. Hundreds of resources were laid out on the antique hardwood and the puzzle of tables he'd set together. Textbooks, papers, and anything else he could find related in subject to his mother's work. Dr. Cassius delivered more pieces to the library as he found them, and he'd received excellent help from the single, mousy cataloger he'd found wandering the dusty shelves. She'd thrown herself at the collection in a rush when he gave her a list of texts, probably glad to finally have something to do.
His Pokémon watched silently from the ledged above. Towering shelves raced to the ceilings, an elaborate pipe organ of the Region's greatest knowledge, and his Yanmega, Noivern, Gligar, and Archeops found perches atop the books. He would have let roam the larger Pokémon in his care if the cataloger hadn't glared at him when he tried.
Saber fought his way through the stacks of unpublished material, opening a tree of inquiry on each page and following each branch to the information sprouting at the end. How many hours had he spent surrounded by nothing but dry paper? The cataloguer came by every other while to inspect him beneath her round glasses, waiting for him to ask for her assistance, but aside from her, he was alone in the endless, empty halls.
Saber stood to let the blood flow to his legs and his brain. He paced down an aisle, glancing at the tall stories of faded rainbows and their elaborate titles. His mind logged all he'd read about the Unown language, and his mother's own thoughts about it. It was dissimilar to any modern language, a completely unique script with no extant relatives. Only a handful of full phrases had been translated. On record, at least. His mother undoubtedly knew a lot more than she let on, but he could only find scraps in her unpublished notes.
And he was getting nowhere! He'd even called Dr. Cassius for some suggestions, and though he offered a select few paths from recollection of past thesis, it wasn't enough to ignite a gunpowder trail to the explosive truth he needed to find.
His Poketch's ringtone disturbed the noiseless aisle. Snapping out of his thoughts, Saber returned to his seat and spied the unknown caller. He wasn't about to respond to spam calls, but who on Kibra would have access to his number?
He answered. The voice was a blaring whisper.
"My name is Ciel Fauder, we met at the Goldenrod Showdown. I'm on a plane, there's someone attacking the passengers, and I need your help!"
Saber had absolutely no idea how to respond. He asked, "Who is this?"
"I just told you! We've met before, you're Kris's brother," said the voice. At first, he thought no picture was coming through, and only after a close inspection could he see dark contours of a face, as if the caller was standing in a void.
"Couldn't you contact emergency services?"
"People were poisoned by a big amphibious thing with claws," he said, which Saber assumed meant Toxicroak or a subspecies. "I need to reactivate my Poké Balls and stop them now and I can't wait for whoever to fly up and intercept us."
"And how can I assume this isn't some prank? My family is no stranger to unwanted attention," Saber said through gritted teeth.
This seemed to deter the caller for a few moments, but then he said, "I was allowed access to the Dragon's Den in Blackthorn! Your mother confided in me about what happened in the Ruins of Alph! Please, stop wasting time!"
Saber drew in a breath. "You're the one that was mugged. And my sister provided you a sound beating."
"Yes! Glad we got that cleared up! Now I need you or someone else in the Pokémon League to help me save everyone!"
Saber shouted across the library for that cataloguer, who appeared not seconds after his voice rang out. She almost tripped on the scattered papers. He said, "Tell the guard outside to contact the police, there's been an incident aboard flight…"
"League Airlines Flight SC009!"
The woman leapt from his library nook to pass on his order, and Saber turned back to the incoming call. He said, "I need you to follow my instructions, Mr. Fauder."
Oh yeah, plane action scene. I'm a bit of a sucker for scenes on places/trains, maybe because they give a strong feeling of movement while still being relatively solid ground. Plus, I've just always loved travel, so there's something interesting about turning the safe, calm ride into something more dire.
Whatever the case, Volume 4 ends next in Part 3: Nonstop Service. See you someday.