Just a warning, this chapter contains spoilers for Kris vs Gold, so avoid the first paragraph if you are reading that story. Sorry for another delay, on holiday now, hope things will come along faster
Interlude Eleven: Six Degrees of Madness
"Well, I guess that's me done for the night. I might as well head off if we have nothing else to discuss."
"Mmmhhhhmm."
"Girl, are you even paying attention? What are you still doing out there anyway, it's getting late."
"What, it is? I had no idea! I could have sworn dark meant it was morning! But you are the expert on these things; I shall have to take your word for it."
"Well, I am here only to serve you, my Champion," Karen replied with a broad grin, unfazed by the younger girl's sarcasm. She strutted out of the dining room, her black boots clunking on the wooden floor, and stepped out once more onto the balcony. Kris Soul did not seem to notice, too focussed on staring across The Champion's Park, currently hidden within the darkness of the night, tiny pinpricks of golden light penetrating the gloom.
"Can you even remember what I came here to talk about?" Karen asked, leaning against the railing, feeling tired and light headed from her several glasses of wine, but she felt a need to check on things before leaving. It took Kris several moments to respond, her attention not wavering from the darkness beneath her. "Kris?"
"We discussed the Open Day that's happening in three weeks, and you reminded me that I am to have an exhibition battle with all four of you so I should really start training again, as you also reminded me that it has been six months since I last battled someone, and a further nine months since I last checked into my proper facilities," Kris responded quickly, tilting her head and smiling back at Karen for a moment before returning to her night view.
"Very good," Karen replied. "For a second I thought you had completely disengaged your mind for the duration of the night."
"I am the bloody Champion, my job description is essentially battling and paying attention to what I am told," Kris said coldly, and she raised a glass tumbler to her lips, taking an over-long slug of Hoenn wine. Karen remained silent, staring down at the folders clasped in her aging hands, allowing Kris to drink in peace. She recalled a discussion she had had the other day with her fellow Elite Four members, their concerns suddenly rushing back to her; she had thought them silly, not worthy of much note, but after tonight, Karen had quickly realised the warning signs about Kris had been right in front of her for months, that she had simply been ignoring them.
"I really should go before it gets any later," the Dark trainer said after several tense moments of silence. Kris gave no response, her attention drifting back to the nothingness below her. Karen turned to leave, but she before she could stop herself, words came trickling from her mouth. "However, I feel that you need some advice before I leave."
"Isn't that what you're here for?" Kris snapped. Karen rolled her eyes, unable to bite her tongue any longer, and she turned back to her Champion.
"Kris, we are all worried about you," she said, though she almost spat the words out, her calm, cool demeanour evaporating in a second as the concerns she had harboured for months burst through. "You have not been right for a while now; months, if not years. I cannot pretend that I know what is happening inside that head of yours, but all I know is that you are far too young to have gone through the things you've been through, but also far too young to become a bitter little bitch that treats everyone around her like dirt. I want to see the passionate young woman that first defeated me four years ago, not her ghost that seems to be here by force rather than choice. You have three weeks to get things together before the Open Day, otherwise the entire region will know and that will make everything worse, and I am sure more media attention is the last thing you want. You are the bloody Champion, so it is time you bloody act like it."
With that, Karen set off, marching through the living room, leaving Kris alone on the balcony. She felt that she may have been too harsh rather helpful, and probably a bit rash, but as Karen descended the staircase, she simply hoped that her words would have some effect.
Kris sat there, listening to Karen disappear. She retrieved her glass from the table, still processing the words of the woman who, currently, was probably her only friend in the world.
The bloody Champion, here by force, not choice, she thought bitterly, and downed the last of her wine. She felt a slight rush to the head, but whatever was in this that should make her feel better wasn't working; Kris felt as down as she had for the past two years.
"The passionate girl… passion… you were the one that told me to fight with passion, and look where that got me!" The teenager muttered to herself, hearing her front door slam shut, catching a slight shadow gliding across footpath before it disappeared into the night. "Passion… this is no place for passion…"
It had been four years since Kris had won the title of Champion, though it had taken two battles before she was finally allowed to claim that honour. She had fought her eternal rival Ethan Hartley, a battle that had nearly killed several of the Pokemon and had ended with him being arrested, his drug cheating ways finally being exposed. Kris had thought she had finally triumphed, but Gold was able to get one last thing over her: Lance, the previous Champion, the glorious, the powerful, the popular, demanded a battle, as it became clearer that he had only lost to Gold due to his cheating.
For the second time in only a few months, Kris was forced to battle on a truly Champion level. Afterwards, she had been told the battle was 'beautifully epic', 'a masterpiece', and 'the greatest battle Johto had ever seen.' To Kris, it had simply been two of the most gruelling, exhausting and painful hours of her life. Her Pokemon push themselves to the limits, but Lance's Pokemon were powerful, years of experience making them nearly unbeatable. It had taken Latios to finally secure the win, nearly killing herself to bring Lance's Salamance, Hydregion and his oldest and strongest Dragonite down.
And when a Pokemon you have a Psychic link is being destroyed, you feel every ounce of their pain.
It had been a cruel battle, one Lance had insisted go ahead despite the death of Kris' mother only a month prior. Now he had fled to Kanto and his original Elite Four, spreading ill-will about Kris across the regions and forcing her to keep battling long after Dragonite had crashed back to earth.
For four years now, Kris had called herself Champion, but she had done little to earn the name. Her biggest achievement had been headlining the rebuild of Champion's Stadium, after Dragonite and Latios destroyed half of it with an Outrage-Mist Ball collision, and renaming the entire area Champion's Park. Since then, Kris had only fought in ten battles as Champion, two of which had been from the bi-annual Johto League tournament. She had seen the horrors of Team Galactic's plans atop Mount Coronet, images that still haunted her nightmares, but most of Kris' life these past years had been regulated within the four walls of her house, alone…
No friends, no family, no point… Kris thought grimly. She had no reason to return to New Bark Town anymore, not when her childhood home was now occupied by other people; nor could she bear seeing her aunts and grandmother in Ecruteak, and suffer their thinly veiled concern that was more uncomfortable than helpful, or watch as death began to catch up to the great Hanoko. And it was rather difficult to see the love of your life when he worked for the family of the man whose legacy you crushed.
You have every right to be worried Karen, in fact, I would be upset if you weren't, Kris thought with a sigh. I sacrificed everything for my journey, a journey that nearly destroyed me, and only to lose everything that I gained. Sometimes, Kris wondered what life would be like had she not become Champion; it wouldn't have saved her mother, but Kris liked to imagine what she might be doing, where she would be living, who she could be living with: these thoughts dogged her more than she would like, as attached to her as her own dark hair. Kris had once spoken of it to Red about it at a function, and he had smiled sadly at her and whispered 'That is the curse of the Champion; you get everything you had ever dreamed for to only wonder how better your life would have been if you hadn't.'
Reassuring words as always, Kris thought. She looked at her empty tumbler and sighed, her head starting to feel heavy and sleepy, the darkness losing its appeal. Karen was right on one thing; if Kris didn't start training again, things were not going to go well for her come the open day. It would be interesting to see how the public treated her, considering people still referred to Lance as 'The People's Champion' – the one the public wanted, the one they had wanted to win.
Kris forced herself out of the chair, wobbling slightly, and stepped back into her house. She enjoyed watching the nothingness of night, letting her imagination float away and the darkness of her thoughts disappear. The recent events across the border in Kanto had not helped her mood; more death and destruction, with a young girl in the very heart of it all. Kris wanted to help and bring an end to it, but the Indigo League had insisted they could handle it; even they didn't want a bar of her.
Suddenly, Kris stumbled, white spots dancing before her eyes; one second she was upright, staying at her pale brown walls, trying not to stay bitter, and the next she was doubled over, and knew it was not the wine. The glass smashed against the wooden floor, the sound barely registering, but Kris felt the pain as her knees fell onto the tiny shards. She winced from this, but she was more distracted by the fact her head seemed to be splitting in two, as if someone had come and taken an axe to it. Memories suddenly rushed through her mind; her father leaving on his Skarmory, receiving Chikorita, battling Gold in the Goldenrod Underground, the explosion outside the theatre in Ecruteak, meeting Leaf on a rainy beach, her and Spike at her Christmas, the day of her mother's funeral…
"What… the… hell…," Kris puffed, clutching a bleeding hand to her head, trying to block out the pain that was consuming her. She blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of the spots, but saw something much stranger instead; blue light illuminated her entire house, filling every square inch in a dazzling glow that Kris would have appreciated were her head not being split in two, a glow that seemed oddly familiar.
Krystal Soul, I have searched for you for many days. A deep, beautiful yet frightening voice whispered inside her head, and Kris screamed in pain. I cause you no harm, I am simply scanning your memories to see if it is truly you. This process would have gone sooner, but I fear that I am in sudden need of your help.
A familiar sound echoed above Kris' screams, and she managed to open her eyes for a moment to see a silhouette hover across the room, eyes glowing pink as it moved towards the source of the voice.
Brother!
Hello sister… it… it has been a long time
BROTHER!
Kris was certain her brain was being torn apart. Unable to take it anymore, she turned, trying to find the source so she could possibly stop it. Instead, she saw Latias reaching out, facing a Pokemon that seemed to be her twin. The two reached out, their hands coming together, and Kris screamed as her mind burst, images of an exploding city swelling inside her mental vision, and suddenly everything was white.
"I am here for one reason only boy, and that's because they forgot to take Casimer's good scotch with them when they packed up his crap. I don't give a damn about your problems: they are far too big for anyone to handle, even me, and you should be able to fix them on your own by now."
"As always, it is a pleasure to be in your company Vivian," Red replied with a false smile, bringing the aforementioned alcohol and several glasses over on a tray. His brunette guest laughed, her trademark cackle echoing inside the confined living room.
"I'm always a pleasure darling, you know that!" Vivian purred. She was wearing a tight, lime green dress that looked horribly uncomfortable, and her feet were resting on the table, encased in black leather boots, looking far more dressed up than Red's casual t-shirt and old pants. Red smiled half heartedly, collapsing wearily into the chair opposite. It had not been easy arranging this meeting with the illustrious Vivian Winters, bitchy talk show therapist who could reduce anybody to tears within seconds, and Red had been tempted to not bother, but he was in desperate need of advice, and Vivian could be the only one to give it.
Things were not well in Kanto; the attack on the casino had made it clear that Gideon was not the only one out to cause harm and destruction. Red had nearly lost a gym leader and several supporters in the attack, who barely escaped unharmed; he had flown over as soon as he heard the news, but it had been too late for Red to help and or to catch the criminals. The entire region was getting worried, and the Champion needed help if he was going to stop things, and in this hour of need, he had no choice but to turn to his eldest, cattiest advisor.
"So, tell me boy," Vivian said with her trademark smirk, as she poured herself a glass of the rich, mahogany liquid, "how is your battle against this latest megalomaniac going?"
"Not very well, I am afraid," Red replied with a sigh. Vivian did not respond, simply raising her eyebrows and taking a long draught of her drink, and Red rolled his eyes at her control of the conversation. "As far as we can tell, there are at least two different groups targeting our region at the moment; Gideon is responsible for the attacks in Pewter, Vermilion and Lavender, while we believe a bigger group is behind the casino, but is also planning something far more significant. I have no idea where Gideon is nor do we have confirmation on our other assailants, but if we do not stop them than I am sure they will rival Team Rocket's actions five years ago in levels of violence and destruction. Yet the only person capable of stopping them seems to be is a thirteen year old girl who has no idea just how much of a role she could have in this, and I have no idea what I am supposed to do to save her or save Kanto!" Red barely scratched the surface of the situation, but Vivian was not one for details. The therapist nodded, finishing half of her scotch in one long gulp, and Red waited impatiently for her advice.
"A thirteen year old…," she said at last, "fighting a force much greater than herself – my, my, that sounds so very familiar, doesn't it?" Red tensed up at this, his fingers digging into the arms of his chairs, trying to avoid Vivian's triumphant smirk.
"This isn't about me, this is about Kan –" he began, but Vivian interrupted.
"You want to protect the girl because you know what will happen to her if you don't, as they are grooming her for glory the same way they groomed you," she purred. "The Indigo League is the oldest and proudest league in the world, and the one that is most image obsessed. They are well aware that these people are probably going to target you for what you did to Team Rocket, and Miss Avocado has gotten herself involved, so she is the prime person to take your place and become the first female Champion of Kanto and make up for the disappointment of Krystal Soul."
"How is any of this relevant?" Red asked, beginning to regret inviting her over. "I need advice on how to stop Gideon and save Kanto, not a bloody therapy session!"
"Oh Red, everything is relevant to you when you're Champion!" Vivian laughed, refilling her drink already. She paused, swigging back the scotch, shuddering slightly as it slid down her throat, and then looked back at Red, her face turning serious. "You want advice on how to handle this, well, here is what I have to say: you watched your best friend die in a hole in the very depths of Kanto, unable to do anything as Team Rocket got one final thing over you long after you though you had defeated them. None of this would have happened had you not been pruned like a show Ponyta into becoming Champion, so now that you see the same happening to Alaska, you want to save her in order to avenge your friend and finally vanquish Giovanni's failed attempt at glory once and for all. If you want to save Kanto, accept that as a fact and stop letting your guilt over Blue's death hold you back; now if I am wrong, I will donate my entire fortune to charity."
Red was taken back by the calmness in her voice despite the power in her words, and for a second he was left dumbstruck. He wanted to argue, Vivian always brought that out in people, but for once he was speechless, collapsing back into his own thoughts; was she right, was that really what he was thinking? Red had wanted to protect Alaska since he had learnt about her, knowing deep down there was no other course of action, but had his concern sprung from four year old guilt?
No, this isn't about him, this is not about Blue! Red told himself determinedly, but another side of his mind, the side he sometimes imagined Lapras had control over, hissed back but of course it is, it has always been about Blue, you have not stopped thinking about him since that bloody cave…
"You really should donate that money anyway," Red muttered finally, lunging towards the scotch, and Vivian laughed, though it was less bitchy this time. She waited until Red had filled a glass, downed it and refilled before talking once more.
"I may have a botox-riddled, thin lipped, unfazed ice queen persona for the cameras, but there are some things that get under my skin, asides from silicon," Vivian said glumly, looking at Red over the top of her famous red glasses. "I have been following this girl's blog, and I must say I am not impressed with how she has been treated, left alone to fight in another bloody war."
"I let things get out of my control," Red sighed. "The League told me they would handle things, and that I was too stay out of it and not risk my own life. I wish I had never listened to them; I sent Zapdos and Suicune to protect her, it was the only thing I could do at the time, but I have to do something else. I don't care about my own life at the moment, not when Alaska and her friend are risking their lives to save our region!"
"And the lives of everyone they meet," Vivian purred icily. "I presume you were spurred into calling me by the casino attack?" Red nodded his head in dismay, remembering the jagged crater in the road, smoke rising from deep below the ground as the magnificent fountain emptied itself into one of his old battlefields.
"Too many people that are close to me were nearly killed that day," he explained. "What happened to Vermilion and Chrono Island was terrible, and we still don't know why Gideon acted the way he did. But… but these other people, we have no chance of stopping them, and they are starting to get personal. What if they go after my mother next, or Professor Oak, or Murdoch or… or… or Leaf…," he finished weakly, well aware of how selfish and pathetic he sounded, but for once Vivian did not comment.
"This is a war, Edward, we are both aware of that – not as bad as five years ago, or what happened in the other regions since then, but it has already claimed too many lives and caused too much destruction. The League may want to protect you, but a general can't win his war miles from the fight, and you can't save us all from the side of a mountain. You are the Champion; it's your job to fight, and its time you did." Red nodded along to her words, a slight smile creeping across his face. The idea had been inside his head for weeks now, but now that Vivian in all her catty wisdom had confirmed it, there was clearly no other choice.
"I'm taking this with me," the therapist said, snatching the bottle of scotch with purple manicured fingers and slipping it into her handbag as she heaved it up from the floor. Red stood up with her, pleased that he had called her now, a hundred ideas quickly coming to mind. However, Vivian was not moving, remaining where she stood; face sinking, eyes suddenly full of pity.
"You know nothing is said in this region that doesn't reach me eventually, I have heard the rumours," she said as sympathetically as she could. "You know who these other people are, and they are coming for you, aren't they?" A lump formed in Red's throat, a chill creeping through his spine. The League refused to accept the truth, were ignoring the grainy security footage, ignoring the whispers and rumours that had dogged the Champion for months. Even Professor Oak was sceptical, assuring him that if the reality show really was an ex-Team Rocket front, he would know. But Red knew the truth, had sent Leaf away for her own safety, waiting for his killers to come to his doorstep.
"Yes, yes they are," he replied, trying to sound confident but his voice cracked slightly, the fear and intensity suddenly getting to him. Vivian sighed and lunged into her bag, pulling out a ruby cigarette holder and lighting its cigarette. Tense silence filled the air as she took a long puff, blowing the smoke out like a steam engine, letting it float up to the roof before talking again.
"Six years ago, in this very room, I warned Casimer – back when this all began, when Giovanni changed our world forever, I warned him to be careful, that Kanto would need her Champion. He smiled at me, but he was too confident for his own good. Will you make up for his mistakes Red; you Champions are all douches anyway, but will you try and not get yourself killed?" Red laughed, a chuckle bursting from his lips before he could stop it, and he let it carry on, the sound swelling inside the room. Vivian raised an eyebrow, her lips sucking on the holder, but Red simply kept on laughing, trying to find the situation funny, but it was ultimately fear fuelling this joy.
"Of course I will be careful, but what's the point?" He said finally, breathless with his own insane laughter. "You said it before; I've already been replaced, haven't I?"
Sleep refused to come to Leaf Oak.
The eighteen year old turned to her alarm, aggressively slamming a button so she could see the time. Luminous red numbers suddenly appeared, the flash blinding in the dark, but Leaf was able to keep her eyes open long enough to see the figures: 2:37 AM
"Shit," she hissed to herself, and angrily shoved the clock backwards, the numbers fading and the room retreating back to darkness. Four hours I've been awake! FOUR! Leaf reminded herself. She was tempted to scream in frustration, to throw her sheets around and vent all this rage, but all she could do was sigh.
It had been this way ever since she had arrived in Fuchsia City. While Leaf spent her days in bliss, exploring the city with Janine and training with her fellow gym leader, her nights were an absolute terror. She had not had a proper night's sleep since leaving Champion's House, and there had been some nights where she had not slept at all, simply laying on the mattress and waiting for morning to come and the nightmare to end. Leaf had reached the point where it was making her unwell, and she knew she needed to get help, but the Viridian native knew she had plenty of reasons for being restless.
The last few months, after three years of calm, of rebuilding their world, of finally finding a sense of normality in life, Gideon had turned everything upside down. Leaf had been horrified by the scientist's action, and she had wanted to find a way to help, but Red had refused. He had insisted she quietly close the gym, disappear away from the cameras and become obscure. Leaf knew it was his way of protecting her, but Red had no idea what his decision was putting his girlfriend through.
I have heard the rumours, everyone bloody well has! Leaf thought bitterly. She remembered when she had arrived in Fuchsia, and Janine had thrown her arms around her in greeting; the embrace had been uncomfortable, as if she had just hugged a widow, and the look in Janine's eyes had been pitiful. Leaf was not going to let Red Lowe die, not after all they had been through together, but she could do nothing from the other side of Kanto, rarely speaking to him, forced to get updates from her cousin, the news or, worst of all, Alaska's blog.
Poor girl…, Leaf thought wearily. She could remember what it was like, forced into battle against a powerful enemy with only few allies; watching as towns and cities were destroyed, struggling to protect yourself let alone anyone else, winning at the last moment long enough to get away, but only for the battle to catch up eventually. But at least when Leaf had fought for her life every day for several months, there had been Red and Blue, she had had her Pokemon, and Janine, and Daisy, and Mark and Murdoch and Madame… but Alaska had no one, only Sandy and less than ten Pokemon between them. Leaf had seen a new blog post before going to bed, and she had been concerned by the talks of tension between them. There had been times when her little trio had fallen out, and it was at those times that they had been weakest. Leaf hoped Alaska would be strong again soon, and hoped someone would go in and help her out of this mess before something worse happened…
A white flash illuminated the room. Leaf leapt up in her bed, trying to shield her eyes from the sudden blinding flash. For a second, she thought she was hallucinating, that her mass tiredness had finally gotten to her, but than a voice sounded from within the glow.
"Sorry babe, did I disturb your beauty sleep?" It cackled. Leaf stopped shielding her eyes, her arm flopping to her side, and she irritably turned towards the light.
"What the hell do you want Charlotte?" She moaned. The glow disappeared, and the ghost appeared clearly before her, a wicked smile stretching across her transparent face. It had been over a year now, possibly even two, since Leaf had last lain eyes on her, and her life had been all the more pleasant for it.
"Don't worry your pretty little head, I am only here for a moment," Charlotte replied, her grin only getting wider. "I am still a bit sore after I ran into Gideon the other week, so I can't stay long even though we haven't caught up in foreveeeeeer!" The ghost giggled to herself, but Leaf remained stony faced, refusing to let Charlotte get under her skin. Silence fell as she stared defiantly at the ghost, who was waiting for some kind of response, but it quickly faltered and she tutted.
"Fine then, be a stubborn cow!" Charlotte huffed. "You need to call Sabrina and warn her to be on her guard tomorrow."
"Sabrina?" Leaf repeated in shock; the Psychic trainer was rarely seen outside of her gym, and Leaf had not spoken to her properly for at least a year. "Why do I need to warn her? And hang on, why can't you just teleport over there and tell her yourself!"
"I just told you that I'm still weak, rude little non-listener!" Charlotte huffed. "Her gym has too many protective forces around it for my liking, and I really can't be bothered with them right now. So, can you just call her as soon as you wake up tomorrow?" Leaf was tempted to think of some witty response and get one over the frustrating ghost, but she was taken aback by the tired look in those long dead eyes, and her own weariness left her in no mood to fight.
"Yes, fine, whatever!" The brunette groaned. "As long as you bloody well piss off, I need to get some sleep!" Charlotte clapped her hands in delight, somehow managing to make noise despite the fact they weren't solid. Leaf rolled her eyes and fell back onto her pillow, hoping it was over now, but there was no flash signalling Charlotte's departure, and she turned back to face her.
"Thank you Leaf, I do appreciate this," the ghost said once her audience had returned to her. "In return of your generous gratitude, I shall give you a warning; the thing you have longed hoped to occur will happen soon, as will the long you have dreaded for longer. And you are going to meet the lovely Alaska soon enough, so I would suggest you start thinking up some advice to pass on."
"What are you talking about?" Leaf snapped her mind suddenly awake once more. "What have I been dreading? Is this to do with Red?"
"You'll never get to sleep with your head so full of questions," Charlotte replied with a smirk, and she floated forwards, her right hand outstretched.
"No Charlotte, answer me, what are you on about?" Leaf shouted. "Answer me, for fucks sake! ANSWER ME!" But Charlotte's hand brushed against her forehead, and suddenly Leaf was falling backwards, asleep before her head had even hit the pillow, her fears evaporating for tonight at least.
Here we go again…
In the shadow of the Magnet Train Terminus, hidden away from the other passengers that had disembarked the Late Night Express with him five minutes prior, a man watched Saffron City sleep. He watched the train travellers leaving in twos and threes, talking in hushed tones so as not to wake the massive city before them, but their voices were filled with excitement about the journey and what lay ahead for them.
I wonder how many of them will be alive next week, the man thought grimly. He instantly was annoyed at himself for the macabre thought, but he really couldn't help himself; three years of peace and civility, three years of small jobs busting low scale crime rings and Pokemon poaching, three years of built up calmness about to be shattered, and all because of one girl.
The middle aged man reached into a pocket of his tatty old trench coat, retrieving the lone cigarette he kept for times like this. It would not look terribly suspicious, an old man smoking in the shadows, and he was doubtful anyone was watching him just yet. The crowds had dispersed now, heading for cheap motels or homes of friends, and the man was left alone, turning his attention towards the heart of the city several blocks down. There lay the cities famous skyscrapers, some of the tallest buildings in Kanto, steely symbols of big business that dwarfed the rest of the city, which was a hard feat considering nothing here was smaller than three storeys.
However, the tallest of them was the Silph Company Building, a god amongst giants; one hundred plus storeys, appearing to be made entirely out of purple glass, it was so tall that lights on the roof turned on at night to warn airplanes and night Pokemon of the beast before them. Silph Co. was the biggest company in all of Kanto and Johto, and that building housed everything from the science and development team from which the company had born to the new initiatives like book publishing and television production.
The man smirked at the red lights so far above, twinkling like a beacon that was drawing everything towards it. Well, you've brought me here, now what do you want to do with me? He had no idea what would happen tomorrow when he stepped into that building, but all he knew was that this had turned into something that Trevor, his protégée, had been unable to handle alone. Tomorrow, the day would either end with the growing resurgence of a criminal organisation brought down, or with him lying dead on some executive's office, wiped off the face of the earth.
Here goes nothing, Looker thought bitterly. He took one long, last puff of the cigarette, letting the smoke swirl inside his throat one final time, before throwing the disintegrating stick aside. Looker snuffed it out with a single crunch of his heel, and then the spy walked away into the night, ready to see what tomorrow had in store for him.
The burnt black floors beneath the Celadon Casino creaked under Gideon's feet.
It had been years since the scientist had last been here, in the final days of Giovanni's war against the world, and Gideon was dismayed to see how it fallen into disrepair; he could still remember the day when this glorious building had been destroyed, and since being acquisitioned by the Athlew family, it had remained a broken shell of what had once been the greatest facility in Kanto.
When he had seen the news, the scientist had not wanted to return to his old base, unsure of what security there would be and the deciphering of Charlotte's book taking up most of his time. Eventually, nostalgia and curiosity had overpowered him, and Gideon knew he had to see what it had become.
As he walked, his feet stirred up ash and dust, rising up to greet him like an old friend. Gideon was frowned at the layer of filth, a grim reminder of what the base had been reduced to. They would have repaired it, had they won the war, but after the final battle, Gideon had only had time to save his own skin rather than rescue a dilapidated building.
He paused and looked around, trying to remember what had been where, searching through his memory for the colour scheme and layout, but he could only see was what it had become; burnt, broken, the blackened façade dented by bullet casings and rubble from the road above, scattered with the burnt out remains of several limousines.
"What happened to you?" Gideon sighed, staring into the darkness that surrounded him. He could remember it had once been bustling, the hub of everything he and Giovanni had tried to achieve five years ago, the place where the plans had been made, their army had been trained, and their experiments had been concocted. It had been massive, it had been glorious… and now it had become this, the skeleton in the Athlew's closet on their path to unnecessary riches.
Gideon tensed up as he remembered all the things he had achieved here, and everything he would have – if it hadn't been for them. His nostalgic feelings evaporated at once, anger quickly taking over; those miserable little children had brought this place down in one night, all those years of effort going up in a literal cloud of smoke, ruining years of planning and research. Gideon had thought it would be over, that the two survivors would be tied down with their responsibilities, yet here it was happening again; Alaska Acevedo bringing her hero act right through his old workplace.
"YOU BITCH, YOU WILL NOT REPEAT WHAT THEY DID, YOU WILL NOT BRING ME DOWN!" Gideon screamed, and he bent down and grabbed a piece of rubble and threw it at the nearest limo, forcing the scorched door off its hinges. "If only you would break so easily!" He hissed, and he fidgeted furiously with his watch. Gideon stared around at his broken paradise one final time, imagining what it would have become of this place had they won, if his own marble monument would be towering above him right now instead of a filthy casino, before the power of the teleportation field took over.
He had failed five years ago, he had let himself get defeated by children, but Gideon was not going to let that happen again; Alaska would die before he was ruined again.
"Wartortle, use Water Gun!"
"Confusion Kadabra – no, to your right!"
"Hurry up Vulpix, Energy Ball, knock them out!"
Amanda watched the challenge unfold with dismay. This doesn't make any bloody sense, she thought irritably, but it had been the best they could come up with in a short space of time. The producer watched as her three stars, standing in a triangle around a wide area, commanded their blind-folded Pokemon to try and defeat the others, all the while navigating ramps and obstacles that had been left behind from previous challenges. It was a silly game, and Amanda could tell the crew were all as bored as she was, one of the boom operators even appearing asleep.
We have to keep going though, just a few more minutes, it should be done by then, Amanda thought. She was feeling uneasy, her eyes continuing to flicker in the direction of the tent she knew was just further down the grassy road. The team would be there any minute now, and as long as Amanda kept everyone distracted, things would finally go to plan.
Silly little bitches, they didn't expect a thing, Amanda thought, her lips curling into a smile. It had been a shock when she had seen Alaska and Sandy back in her domain once more, acting so rude and defiant towards her as if she was just some lowly peasant they could simply walk all over. It had been infuriating, being treated that way again after so long, by someone as wretched as Alaska Acevedo…
Amanda was stressed to her limits these days, struggling to keep this front of a show going as well as keeping up with Buzz and his ever changing plans. The attack on the casino had been a catastrophe, and Amanda had been angry when she learnt how Buzz had stupidly risked his life for something as pointless and ostentatious as that. It was damaging their cause rather than helping, and it had done nothing to make Amanda calmer about the weeks to come.
However, after Alaska and Sandy had finished tearing her down before her own crew, a crew that barely looked up to her as it was, Amanda had had an idea; there was no way the two little whores would be able to get very far away from their site that day. Amanda had never been able to act on them before, not when there had been witnesses, not when her stars had been about (though it was not as if the boys liked her anyway). But now, the darkness provided the perfect opportunity to act, and Amanda had been almost gleeful when she had realized Alaska had walked right into a trap. Buzz had been on a phone within minutes, and a team had been organized a quarter of an hour later. Buzz's words had been kind and gentle for once instead of loud and hurtful. Amanda had almost cried, both in joy and relief, as she drank from the secret bottle of vodka she carried around in her suitcase, there for times like these.
She could feel the effects now, her vision slightly blurry, her stance not as steady as it should be. Amanda hoped no one noticed, but she also knew it could allow for a fine distraction should one be needed. She got bored of watching Wartortle spraying water several metres off target and glanced back in at tent; sea breeze struck her face, cool and tender, and Amanda greedily watched the night, hoping for some sign that her job had been done, but beyond their portable lights it was simply darkness.
As if the universe had heard her, her phone buzzed loudly, shrill enough to catch everyone's attention. Amanda smiled awkwardly and turned away, slipping the device out and quickly searching for the message. She eagerly hoped it would be news that they were moving in now, asking that no one's attention turned away from the game. She came across the text, from a blocked number, and opened:
We have caught a Pidgey and a Caterpie – B
They did it… they've finally done it… Amanda thought, eyes bulging, a strange rush of emotions coursing through her body; surprise, excitement, horror, happy, sad, it was almost orgasmic. She put her phone away and turned back around, barely noticing as Kadabra hit Vulpix, sending her flying up a ramp. Her attention was solely on the distant darkness, where some team had already swooped in, grabbed the girls and left without a single soul noticing… without even her knowing…
"YES!" Damian yelled exuberantly, the sound cutting through the night, and Amanda turned to see Wartortle and Vulpix flopped on top of each other, the competition finally finished. The crew muttered sounds of relief, and the production assistant dished out the next orders. Amanda forced a smile, pretending that the game had gone well as her mind drifting back to her vodka and how thirsty she suddenly was for it. She knew she should be happy, she knew she should be pleased, but Amanda could not ignore the strange, empty pit swelling inside her chest.
They did it, they caught them… without me…
