Episode 4: Fighting for a friend
Everyone waited outside the gates of the school grounds, some students quietly muttering amongst themselves They were safe from this distance, but the audible rumble of the ground and the vibration of the building had everyone holding their breaths. This was even after the classes and groups of Pokémon had been sorted and a headcount had been made to ensure everyone had escaped. There were no casualties, and apparently only two Pokémon were missing.
Sophitia knew that one of those Pokémon was Infia, though. The clothed Minun hadn't been seen since that awkward cry for a bathroom break right before their lessons started. Whatever those explosive auras that came from Infia were, she couldn't sense them anymore.
"The tremors have stopped. Go and arrest the culprit, now!" a robotic voice instructed, making Sophitia jump.
At some point the police had arrived, a squad of Magneton commanded by a Magnezone. There was also a Goodra and a male Meowstic with unrealistically smooth fur as well, and those two walked right through the crowd.
"It's a good thing we were around. With an almost clear headcount, the initial investigation should go easy," Meowstic said. His voice was rich and confident.
"Who're they?" Sophitia asked. She had to look for Anbi.
"Just authorities. They happened to be in town, so they came," the Umbreon replied. "Have you been keeping up with the news lately?"
"Mum doesn't let me read it," Lute replied.
"Spirle's activities have begun to get more dangerous as of recently. Sudden riots in cities, powerful attacks going off at large buildings… I fear this may be one of their attacks," Anbi explained. He sighed and grit his fangs. "We'll see what these guys have to say."
"Structure scan complete. Just waiting for the magnet unit's report now," Meowstic muttered, staring at the screen of a handheld device in his paws. "That's all. The culprit's been found."
"Already?" Sophitia gasped. The Meowstic looked up at her.
"Hm? My apologies. I was mumbling a little too loud," he said.
"Well who is it? Don't leave us hanging!" she cried.
"This is kinda out of our jurisdiction," Anbi said.
"We were there. We're directly involved in this!" Sophitia raised her voice and bounced. "Tell us!"
"If there's no need for the public to know, then I'm afraid you can't know," Meowstic stated. The Goodra next to him started rubbing its chin, specifically the slime that normally drooled there. "Hold your curiosity. It'll do you good to not be too nosy in the future."
With that he walked off, meeting the Magneton that emerged from the building. They were circling someone, and after a quick exchange of words, he began to lead them back into town.
"Wait a second, that's- Lute, that's Infia!" Sophitia gasped.
"Sophitia?" Lute replied.
"Lute, they're arresting Infia!" she squeaked.
"They are!" He gasped. "Wait… they are? Did Infia cause the earthquake?"
"Of course not! Use your head," she cried, bouncing again. She pushed her way out of their group, and stretch her feelers wide so that she blocked the police's path. "Stop right there!"
"S-Sophitia, wait! What're you doing?" Lute cried. Raiju and Cinder exchanged speechless glances.
"You get over here too. You're not actually gonna sit there and let them arrest Infia, are you?" she shouted.
"I… I mean, I can't," he muttered.
"Just get over here darn it!" she shouted. The Meowstic stared at her, unbothered, arms at his side like a soldier as she pulled him over to him. "You guys can't be serious. You really think a little Minun like her caused this earthquake?"
"Those are the results of our initial investigation. Also, it has been proven that members of Spirle have no pattern when it comes to species. Even children have turned up as members," Meowstic explained.
"Are Spirle really this bad? That you'd arrest a schoolkid? You can't be that ludicrous." Sophitia argued. Silence fell. "… Well?"
"Uh… erm, Sophitia… Spirle are, um—" Lute stuttered.
"They're what? Don't beat around the bush!"
Lute scrunched up his face. "Spirle are that serious. They're terrorists. Like Anbi said, they do stuff like destroy buildings and hurt Pokémon. No one even knows what they're after, but they're the highest level of criminal there is."
"Well the school isn't destroyed, so," Sophitia pointed out.
"But there was an attempt to. That alone warrants the most careful consideration," Meowstic replied. He folded his arms. "If you continue to obstruct our path, we may have to arrest you as well, you know."
"Ugh, I know this is garbage! She's a little girl in cheerleader clothes. How can she make a freaking earthquake? And Lute, why the heck are you letting this happen? Isn't she your friend?" she shouted, glancing between them.
"I-I can't stand in the way of the police! They're like… the police! You know," Lute staggered as he edged away. "Why're you so worked up about this anyway, Sophitia?"
There was finally some hesitation. Yeah… why AM I so worked up about this? It's like I can tell she has feelings for him that he wants to ignore for some reason… but also that this whole thing just reeks of framing!
"You know what, if you won't do it, then I'll do it. I'll fight the police," Sophitia announced, curling her feelers to appear threatening.
"Sophitia?" Infia gasped. Meowstic's eyes widened.
"I'm not gonna let you big guys arrest a clearly innocent little girl. Like, I dunno what's wrong with everyone around here, but everything is wrong with that. Plus," she threatened. She locked eyes with Infia. "I didn't even get a chance to talk to you properly. It's just intuition at this point, but I really need to talk to you. I know I do."
"But fighting the police? Sophitia you can't!" Lute cried.
"Your name is Sophitia?" Goodra finally spoke up, raising a slimy arm. She had a surprisingly calm, steady, adult voice, the kind one would imagine a veteran teacher to have. Sophitia nodded to her anyway. Goodra nodded in confirmation, and turned to Meowstic. "Fight her. I want to see how this plays out."
A wave of gasps and chatter took over the scene from all observing, and Lute's eyes popped out. Goodra giggled as she waved to the crowd. "I don't mean literally, of course. If you think you can beat our technology and logic, then give it a go."
"You just have to use your common sense. A Minun can't start an earthquake," Sophitia said.
"… Are you sure about this?" Meowstic asked. Goodra nodded again and folded her arms. The Magneton began to make space around the scene. In a moment, a makeshift courthouse had been made. "We do things the logical way over here. When we make our arrests, we do them based on the conclusions of our investigations."
"Well duh. That's how investigations work?" Sophitia raised an eyebrow. She suddenly flinched. "Wait, you mean we're not actually gonna fight fight, but just like, talk it out?"
"That is how I do things, yes. I am a prosecutor, not a fighter," Meowstic informed. He revealed the mobile device from before. "This device is a scanner and a communicator. I used it to scan the school when we arrived while the earthquake was still going on. Only one Pokémon was still in the building at the time."
He tapped a few buttons below the screen and an image of the scan came up. It looked like the skeleton of the school building, revealing floors and silhouettes of everything important inside. Only one thing resembling a Pokémon was in there, and it was the exact shape of a Minun. "As you can see, Infia was the only Pokémon inside the building at the time. The Magneton sent me a report after they rushed in as well. They found her alongside this bomb."
"… Wa-wait a second, bomb? There was a bomb involved?" Sophitia screeched.
"That's the nature that Spirle work on. To make things even clearer, a scan of the bomb reveals Infia's pawprints were all over it," he continued, tapping a few more buttons. This time, the diagram of a large, drill-shaped device came up. There was a propeller on the end of the drill, alongside what looked like feathers scattered around it.
"Pawprints is like… that means… Infia actually touched… a bomb…" Lute shuddered. Sophitia shivered too, and slowly shook her head in disbelief.
Are you freaking kidding me? A bomb? A terrorist attack at a school in a small town like this? And she actually touched it? What the hell have I put myself into? Sophitia screamed as she scrunched up her face. And I'm supposed to prove that she's innocent…
"It looks like you already understand the situation. Unreputable evidence, proof enough to warrant Infia's arrest," Meowstic shrugged. Just the cocky smirk on his face kicked Sophitia back into focus. She wanted to slap him right now, even if she was wrong about all this.
"I didn't say I give up. I just gotta think," she replied, faking confidence. But where the heck do I even start? Is there supposed to be some kinda flaw in the logic that I can point out?
She took in a deep breath, shut her eyes, and then slowly scanned the scene. Many eyes were on her, Meowstic and Infia's included. Lute was shivering beside her, and his clueless expression didn't help. She slowly turned her gaze to the school, then the scanner, and then her mind finally had a light bulb.
"I'm allowed to ask questions, aren't I? What's up with the bomb? It doesn't look like an Egg Bomb or anything," she asked, pointing to the scanner with a feeler.
"Oh, this," Meowstic tapped a few. He held the device flat, and then a hologram of the bomb showed up. "It has been nicknamed a 'Drilbur-runner' since it resembles a Drilbur using the move Drill Run. They're rather powerful devices for a one-time-use bomb. When activated, they're programmed to drill at least twenty metres deep, and then explode with a V-Wave blast that targets earth."
"A blast that targets earth?" Sophitia tilted her head. "The heck does that mean?"
"Rather than being explosive in nature, the bomb releases V-Waves that mess with the stability of the ground. When twenty metres underground, this can cause colossal earthquakes that can destroy the ground above, and any building on top of that," Meowstic explained. "We've only ever encountered this bomb once before. This is our first time getting one in this undamaged state. We can look into its functions properly."
"Wait… that's the actual bomb? That means it didn't go off properly, even though it made an earthquake," Sophitia rubbed her chin.
"It did go off properly. According to the Magneton, it went off from the second floor of the school, which is about eighteen metres high. As you can guess, it didn't burrow very far before it burst, and as a result, the earthquake wasn't strong enough to damage the structure," Meowstic explained, running a simulation on his device. "The drill activated from the second-floor disabled restroom. It burrowed through the floor, then fell through the hollow space until it reached the ground floor, where it went about two more metres before bursting. Because the resulting earthquake was so weak, nothing was damaged, and in turn, the bomb itself remained mostly intact."
"The second floor disabled… gods, I have so many questions," she groaned, beginning to pace. If they find out I'm a new student, I'm done for. I've got to use this information to say something smart.
"What was Infia doing in a disabled restroom? Also, we have disabled restrooms at school?" Lute asked.
"Apparently, you do. It looks to me like Infia had no reason to be in there other than to handle that weapon, either. It's just more evidence, in the end," Meowstic replied, smiling cockily. She was getting very tired of that smirk already.
Sophitia frowned. Okay, let me put this into perspective properly. We had that conversation which ended with Infia saying she needed the bathroom, but she went to a disabled restroom instead. There was a bomb in there which she touched, but the bomb didn't go off properly. This light earthquake started.
Sophitia shut her eyes and downed her ears to focus. Everything I've been told so far is clean fact. That means that rather than trying to prove that Infia didn't handle the bomb or go into the bathroom, I need to try and come up with a reason WHY she went into that bathroom and touched the bomb. By that process, that means Infia must actually be disabled in some form.
The look of the scene was playing out in her mind as well as her memories. The aura that came from Infia stuck out to her the most, and before she knew it, it hit her again. That powerful aura that felt like sad feelings pulsing from a heartbeat.
There it is again. It's like some fear or sadness… embarrassment, many negative emotions taking form. Is this what that aura is? My feelers are picking up on everything, Sophitia thought to herself. She slowly opened her eyes as her face was straining, surprised to find that time had slowed for her. Nothing looked the same as it once was, their colours and movements distorted like they were trying to keep her attention. Every brush of fur in the wind, the way the Pokémon were breathing, their lightest twitches, everything was visible.
That's what it is. I can sense emotions. And right now, Infia's fear and sadness are in overdrive. Not because she's about to get arrested. If that were the case, I'd have sensed the emotions ages ago. It must be what we're talking about right now. That disabled bathroom.
With her eyesight enhanced and everything moving in slow motion, Sophitia scanned the scene intently. Infia's legs were knocking together and her paws were twitching, holding between her legs to keep her skirt down. To anyone looking from a distance, perhaps it looked like she needed the restroom right now. However, Sophitia could see differently.
Those paws weren't holding her crotch. They were pulling her skirt ever so slightly, as if trying to hide everything below.
That's it. Bingo.
Just like that, Sophitia snapped back to reality, her moment of hyper focus ending. Barely any time had elapsed and it had looked as though she were simply thinking deeply for a moment.
"Or what if Infia was actually disabled? I think she is. She went to that bathroom because she had to," Sophitia began.
"H-huh?" Infia gasped. A bigger pulse of fear erupted from her, making Sophitia nod. She was on the right track.
"The disabled restrooms were locked via card key. Magneton had to hack into it to get into the room," Meowstic stated. "A student as normal as her shouldn't have access."
"That's because she isn't… 'normal', if that's what you want to call it. She has the card key to get in," Sophitia smirked, now.
"We did find one on the bathroom floor, again with her pawprints on it. But the cards don't contain I.D or anything. It could very well be a card she stole," Meowstic folded his arms. "Unless you have some proof that Infia actually has the right to use this room?"
Well, here goes, Sophitia gulped. "Infia may look normal, but that's only because of the way she dresses. Underneath that shirt and skirt, you need help using the restroom."
"Wha-what? No Sophitia!" Infia squealed, going red.
Sophitia shook her head slowly. "Infia, you have trouble going to the restroom when you mean to, don't you? So you need what's in that special room. You disguise your needs as clothing!"
"N-no I'm not! I'm not doing anything that embarrassing," Infia cried at the top of her voice, covering her face.
She looked as though she were on the verge of breaking down, and those emotional pulses became more erratic. Sophitia kept a stern face though, and tried to fight off her own reactions to the emotional storm. Amongst Infia's spiking anger, shock, and even slight relief, her sadness and fear were the only parts that weren't fluctuating.
"Um… Sophitia, isn't that pretty weird? What even made you say something like that?" Lute asked.
"It's true, isn't it? There's no other reason she'd use that room. And to be honest, I can't think why she wears underwear to begin with," the Sylveon replied. "Embarrassed about her need to wear something designed for difficult infants or Pokémon deemed disabled, she wears a full set of clothing to hide her appearance. To be someone completely different, something that isn't as embarrassing as she feels the real her is."
"That's an incredibly bold claim that's very off-topic for what we're talking about," Meowstic stated. He shrugged, and that cocky smirk came right back. "So, what're you going to do? Remove her underwear? Because that's not very ideal right now."
"Please don't!" Infia shrieked at the top of her voice, hugging herself. Sophitia flinched.
Wait, maybe I am pushing a little too hard or something… she looks like she's about to tear herself to shreds, she realised, leaned back awkwardly. "We need the truth, though. Please Infia, just tell us. Is that why you went to that bathroom? Because you actually needed it, not because there was a bomb in there?"
"If the accused won't answer, then it is only testament to their guilt. Pretending to wear nappies won't save you from a crime," Meowstic shrugged. Infia didn't respond, and slowly shrunk herself into a little ball. All that could be heard from her were panicked whimpers and weak tears.
For Sophitia, her erratic emotions were sinking back into the sadness and fear from before, only they were many times worse. So much worse that she herself couldn't resist them. She stared at Infia with a clouded guilt. "Wa-wait, we can't end there. F-forget the stuff I said. Just tell them that's why you went there!"
"I-I-I didn't… I… couldn't," was all the Minun could utter, and it was so quiet that Sophitia could barely hear it. She let silence fall, so Meowstic cleared his throat.
"If there really isn't anything else to say, then I believe our little 'battle' is over. Unless you have another point that can prove our evidence is wrong?" he challenged, getting that cocky smile yet again. Sophitia growled, baring her fangs.
"Hold it!" Anbi shouted, getting everyone's attention. He was in a dramatic pose at the front of his class, eyes shut and a proud smile on his face. "… Wow, it really does feel cool to say that. Am I the hero arriving just in time?"
"Wha… this isn't a good time to be weird, Anbi," Sophitia cocked her head.
"Oh, but I do have something cool to say," the Umbreon smirked.
"Cool and useful are two very different things right now," Meowstic replied. "If what you say right now is neither, I'll see to it that you're the one wearing nappies for the remainder of the week."
What the heck is going on all of a sudden? Sophitia groaned in her mind.
"First of all, allow me to address my student. Infia. I know you're very embarrassed about this, but do you remember what I said to you a few years ago?" the Umbreon began walking towards her. She looked up at him, still whimpering and blinking away tears. "You can't keep a secret forever. But with the friends you've made, your secrets in particular will last a lifetime. And they won't hurt anyone."
"Wa-wait… please don't… please don't say anything. L-Lute is watching!" she said, going back to hiding herself. He stared at her until she turned away, where he shut his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Sophitia. I don't know how you figured it out, but you are absolutely correct. Infia does need help with the restroom," Anbi explained.
"What? Seriously?" Lute gasped. Sophitia was speechless.
"Are you covering for her?" Meowstic asked.
"Everend School has one room dedicated to disabled facilities. It's a bathroom, tool cupboard, and even a lift, an elevator. Only three Pokémon have access to that room as well," he explained, revealing a card key. "As the headteacher, I have one card. Our cleaner has a card as well, to maintain the room. And then of course, only disabled students have cards. At present, Infia is the only other one. She uses the room to change clothing in privacy."
"Which means she potentially left to do just that," Sophitia said, gawking. She shook her head to focus. "I was right. Infia had a natural need to use that room and went there!"
"All you've created is a possibility. It's still also possible that she used the privacy of this room to set up this whole incident," Meowstic reasoned. Sophitia blinked once, and then began to pace.
"So here's what I think happened. Infia left to use the restroom since lessons were soon to start. Obviously, she needed time to change and 'keep her secret', so she gave herself plenty of time. But then she found the bomb in that room. Having taken so long to do her business, the real perpetrator eventually came in to activate said bomb, not expecting to find Infia in there. The two fought, and then the bomb went off, starting the earthquake."
"Let's see how far you've thought this through," Meowstic replied, folding his arms. "Coming up with a story like that – I don't believe a Pokémon your age could do that. So first of all: the pawprints on the bomb."
"It's a bomb that I, and I'm pretty certain everyone else here, wouldn't call a bomb until they were told it was one. I mean, look at it. It's a Drilbur toy with a propeller on the end. She probably played with it, wondering if it was some new tool for that disabled toolroom or something," Sophitia replied. The surrounding Pokémon began to mutter amongst themselves, their agreements obvious.
"Your 'perpetrator'. I assume you're going to claim that it's the third Pokémon who has access to the room."
"Yep. Anbi was teaching so it couldn't have been him, while this cleaner is the only one we haven't seen yet. Add in that the bomb is surrounded by feathers, which no one seems to have spoken about yet," she continued, rubbing her chin. "If the cleaner has feathers, you can't deny that makes them a suspect."
"Whoa, go Sophitia! You really thought this through, huh?" Raiju cheered, Cinder pressed his head down.
"And I know what your last question is. The bomb went off from an elevator rather than the ground floor. If there really was a conflict, then that gives away that the perpetrator failed in their attempt to set it off properly. They had to deal with Infia. They probably planned to launch it from the ground floor, but couldn't use the lift while Infia was there."
Even more mutterings took over the scene, and Meowstic slowly unfurled his arms. Sophitia stared at him, hoping for some embarrassed reaction. But there was none. If anything, he looked more aggressive.
"Magnezone brigade. Find that cleaner, now!" Goodra shouted. "Headteacher Umbreon. What species is it?"
"I… had a fear when I saw those feathers, to be honest. Our cleaner is a Spritzee called Victoria. She is… also Infia's surrogate mother."
"Her mother?" Sophitia said. Her face sunk after a moment. Oh. Wait a minute. This couldn't be a WORSER situation.
"And I'm right here. Calm your Mudsdale, there's no reason for this to get dirty," a woman's voice interrupted, though it was unclear where it came from. Sophitia and Lute stretched their feet out and looked around, the echo and lack of clarity of the voice springing those instincts to mind.
"Up there!" Lute cried, raising his head.
"Where?" Sophitia muttered, still having to look for them.
They weren't in the crowd, on top of the gates, or even just floating around the air, until a few moments later. The silhouette of a Spritzee soared over the sun's glare, and then descended next to Infia with a graceful gait.
Well, it was scary to Sophitia. The idea that this new face was potentially a real terrorist that could have killed her and all these Pokémon, made it so that anything they did was scary. The Spritzee was clearly an adult as well, being bigger than imagined. Her voice and face drooled overconfidence in their appearance. When Victoria landed, she covered her front with one wing as if guarding herself.
