Hey guys, what's up? I'm glad people liked the last chapter. It really is a pain in the ass to write battle scenes, but if they come out entertaining, I've done my job. I'm still thinking over Eevee nicknames, but feel free to suggest more. Now this chapter... oh boy, this chapter.
Thanks to Magikarp Master for the editing.
Cody: Bastion (Wartortle), Colossal (Pupitar), Antonia (Skarmory), Elesa (Zebstrika), Cortez (Litwick), Eevee
Heather: Somnos (Poliwhirl), Feathers (Pidgeotto), Nadine (Nidorina), Bella (Gloom), Smaug (Trapinch), Sasha (Eevee)
Jared: Charmeleon, Servine, Croconaw, Jolteon, Mightyena, Onix
Chapter 35: Behind the Masquerade
Lockton City was one of the biggest cities in Skitrex, and from a distance, one of the most beautiful to look at. The Ideal Imports (I.I.) tower stood several blocks off the center, its onyx colored structure reflecting the white sunlight, and nearby stood other large skyscrapers that represented various other businesses. But when walking the streets of one of Skitrex's wealthiest cities, it was apparent that the other side of the spectrum was readily available. Looking at the city from the streets, there were more than enough people in the working class and below who struggled to make ends meet, whether they be the general low income earners, dead end trainers who came to compete in Lockton's underground circuit, or just jobless individuals. Thankfully for some of them, there were several shelters, including Haven House, which provided bed space and food, though these were quite limited.
When Cody, Jared, and Heather passed through the city in the afternoon, they passed the biggest Haven House they had seen erected, spanning five stories. Though they were invited in for a meal, they just kept walking, mostly on Cody's suspicion that the organization that had stalked him was connected to Haven somehow. Because Lockton was where the biggest Haven House was located, as well as the I.I. building itself, Cody remained on guard during his walk through the streets of Lockton, fearing that Casper or another threat could be lurking around any corner.
A city of this size needed several pokémon centers, so the group chose one that was near the outskirts, complete with a small, enclosed field for their teams to relax after receiving their routine checkups. Unsurprisingly in such a big city, the pokémon center itself had every bed space filled, so the group decided to set up in a nearby motel. Before letting their pokémon loose to the relaxation of the center's recreation field, Cody and Heather had a practice battle in the old, drained pool of the motel. The cement pit was big enough for medium sized pokémon, and since the pool hadn't been filled in years, the manager allowed trainers to battle there for a small fee of a few dollars. Given how little space there was to practice that was considered safe, Cody and Heather didn't mind the fee at all.
"Somnos, Scald!" Heather called out to her Poliwhirl. The frog pokémon was probably her strongest, and it showed with his maneuverability and physical prowess. Flipping over the Zebstrika's Hidden Power attack, he sprayed a mass of boiling water at his opponent, which only caught her back leg. The burn was there, but Elesa was no quitter. She had faced worse.
"Elesa, jump the next one and Spark him between moves!" Cody ordered, though really, this match up was boring him. There was no doubt that Heather was good, but there was a reason why she had only won three of the twenty or so battles that the two of them had: she was predictable. Even though each of her pokémon had a different game plan, those game plans never changed. The most obvious flaw in her strategy (from Cody's perspective at least) was that she always had her pokémon use their strongest moves constantly, which made them easy to counter or avoid, and without a mix up of techniques, it was always easy to see what would happen next. That's why as much as he hated to admit it, he preferred battling Jared, who was much less predictable and had much stronger pokémon. If only he could win that match up…
"Punch him out!" Heather added frantically, but she should have seen the attack coming sooner. After carefully dodging the Scalds and Bubblebeams, Elesa crashed her electrified body into the poor Poliwhirl's body, and the attack was enough to end.
"Damn it…" Heather muttered. "Good job, Somnos." She returned her first pokémon and her posture slumped. "How'd I do?"
Cody, who had hopped down into the pool to congratulate his Zebstrika personally with a pat on the neck and a juicy apple, replied, "you did alright. Still, you're getting very predictable. You always send Somnos in last and you keep going for power moves."
"I don't get what the problem is," Heather retorted crossing her arms. "Power moves end battles and Somnos is my strongest. Why should I not use him la-"
"Because I knew you were going to use him then, and I prepped my team accordingly," Cody answered. "And yes, power moves will win a fight, but only when they hit. Remember when we prepped Somnos to take down Hornsby's Donphan? He had to get in the Hypnosis before he could even land anything significant. My point is, if you keep going for the same big moves, people will wise up. You have to have a mix." He returned Elesa to her pokeball before going to the pool's edge and climbing out.
"I guess you're right, but still…" Heather sighed. "I just-" She stopped midsentence as she got caught a glance at Cody's face. Her frown deepened with concern and annoyance. "You didn't sleep last night, did you?" she interrogated.
"Of course I did," Cody lied, though he knew he wouldn't be able to get away with it, especially with the tone of voice he used doing so. If his lying skills weren't bad enough to begin with, they definitely were not going to fool his friend.
"Bullshit, those dark bags under your eyes tell otherwise," Heather scolded. "What were you even doing last night that was so important that you had to be awake the whole time?"
"Mapping, Diglett tracking, catching up on my reading…" he trailed off, thinking about what else he was doing before remembering his tasks for the current day. "Speaking of which, I need to-"
"Take a break," Heather cut in forcefully. "Now."
"Heather, I don't have time to-"
"Yes you do," she reinforced while clutching his wrist tighter than an Ekans's wrap. "You haven't had a good night's sleep in days. I know you're worried about the Darkrai thing, but this is unhealthy. It's going to start having an effect on your training and our traveling. So please, go back to the room and do something non-training related for once. Take a shower, get some sleep, watch TV, and eat crappy food. Hell, order a porno off one of the PPV channels, I don't care. Just please, for you, your pokémon, and myself, do something relaxing!"
Cody's eyes widened for a few seconds before he smiled deviously. "You just told me to watch porn. Do you realize how weird that is?"
Heather couldn't help but burst into giggles at the notion. "Only because I care," she snickered while pulling her friend in for a hug. When letting go of him, she got serious again. "Just take a day off for everybody's sake. Even Jared is getting worried. Personally, I think it's because he needs somebody to fight with and-"
"And that's me, right?" Cody chuckled, rubbing his tired eyes. "Okay, I'll take a personal day. Just let me drop some of my pokémon off at the center. It's a beautiful day, and I'd hate to have them cooped up in their pokeballs. The two began the quick walk to the pokémon center when Cody decided to pry. "Is that why Jared has been so… icy lately? Dude's been quiet. It's kind of strange."
"I don't think that's it." It was obvious to Cody that Heather seemed concerned, and if the tone of her voice didn't give it away, the worried expression on her face did. "I don't know what that's all about. He says everything is fine, but… he's hiding something."
"No secrets, huh?" Cody asked, referring to Heather's unwritten rule for the group on their travels. "Seems like nobody follows that rule."
"No… we don't," Heather agreed.
We? Cody stared over at Heather as the two of them walked, trying to figure out what secret she apparently had. But when she looked back at him once noticing that she was being stared at, he looked away, embarrassed. That was just another subject on his list of things he was unable to understand.
Relax… how do I do this again? It felt as though it had been months since Cody had last kicked his feet up and chilled. So strange, given that he used to be a constant slacker back in school, but now, he was way too uptight with all of his projects and various stresses. He had already taken a shower and now he was sprawled out on one of the motel room's beds, wearing a fresh set of clothes. The Eevee pup curled up on his lap and Cortez was trying (unsuccessfully) to phase the wall of the room. He couldn't, given that many walls in modern buildings were given a chemical spray to keep ghosts from phasing through and psychic types from teleporting in and out. While the rest of his pokémon were out, Cody did need to keep these ones though: the Eevee for her therapy and Cortez for his general protection.
He reached for the remote and flipped on the television, gazing into the bright, flashing colors while he flipped through the channels. At this hour, mostly talk shows and cartoons for the younger crowd were on, so he kept flipping aimlessly. Eventually, he went to the PPV channels and looked at the options. He almost took Heather's advice and rented a porno, but decided that he'd be better off not, just in case Heather and Jared returned early. Instead, he looked at the pokémon battle PPV's. Because most battles were isolated (save tournaments), buying an individual live battle on PPV only cost a few dollars, so the young trainer entered his debit number and waited for show time.
The battle was an Elite Four battle, set between the young challenger Sonya Hackett and Elite Four member Matthias Franklin, a renowned trainer who specialized in fire, ice, and water types. He was one of the few trainers who would switch between hailstorms, bright sun, and rain within battles on a frequent basis, being able to fluster his opponents while benefitting himself. However, Sonya had already defeated him in the first round of the best out of three. If she could win again, she'd get a bit closer to fighting Champion Kaiser.
I've never seen this woman before… I don't remember her being a Diamond Beach winner either. I wonder how she got recommended for an Elite Four challenge… must be the sponsors. Money talks. As he watched Franklin's Mamoswine do battle with Hackett's Victreebel, he figured that Heather would admonish him again for doing something that was pokémon related, but he managed to switch his battle senses off and just watch as the two pokémon duked it out while he stroked the Eevee's soft fur. When his Litwick joined his trainer's side, Cody's eyes began to close as he began to fall into a long, overdue sleep. Or he would have if he wasn't awakened by the rapping at the door.
Knock Knock Knock!
"Who is it?" Cody questioned in almost a whine. He was actually falling asleep, but of course, somebody had to go and ruin that.
"Room service," the man (judging by his voice) answered.
"What? No, I didn't order anything," Cody groaned, pushing the ends of his pillow up against his ears in an attempt to drown out the noise. It didn't work. I didn't think a crappy motel like this would even have room service.
"I have a turkey breast sandwich and a carton of milk to be delivered to a Mr. Cody Storm sent by Miss Heather Landon," the voice continued.
She sent me lunch? That's really nice of her. "Coming," the young trainer answered as he hopped off the bed and opened the door, only to discover that the sandwich was a ruse. Standing before him was a man in a black jumpsuit with a helmet of the same color that shaded his eyes. On his shoulder sat a tranquil looking Roselia. Cody's eye widened in unexpected terror.
"You-"
"Gas him," Casper snapped, and the Roselia leapt from the man's shoulders and punched Cody in the face with one of her flowery hands. Though the punch itself didn't hurt, just as she made contact, a purple powder clouded into Cody's nostrils. He fell to his knees, coughing and growing woozy.
"Don't worry. Just a Poison Powder," Casper said in his real voice. "You'll live, but it'll knock you out in a min- OOF!" Casper had not seen Cortez, who for once, was not laughing, as seeing his trainer attacked actually triggered his angry, protective side. But even after taking a light Shadow Ball to the chest, the fallen masked man had enough focus to release his Luxio into the bedroom. The lion pokémon leapt into the air and smacked Cortez with a Spark before sinking his teeth into the ghost's waxy body. The dark type attack was strong enough to douse him for now.
"Hmm… a guard pokémon. Smart." By now, Casper had found his feet again and was kneeling over his fallen prey, tying up his hands. "Too bad you weren't smart enough to check the peephole on the door before you opened it. Stupid, especially since you've been so careful lately. Oh well."
"You… I…" Cody reached over towards the Eevee, who seemed to be having an anxiety attack in the corner of the room. The poor thing must have been petrified from the sudden attack as she shivered violently as if it were the dead of winter.
"Don't worry, everything will be alright. If they don't struggle, we won't hurt your pokémon. Same goes for you too." With that, the man in black put a burlap sack over Cody's head. It didn't matter that it made his vision go black because he passed out seconds later.
Cody had been poisoned before by pokémon, all three times occurring within the past year. However, those incidents were never that destructive. Usually, his tongue would start swelling, his vision would blur, and his movement would become hampered, but it was nothing an antidote wouldn't fix, especially since all of his poison incidents were mild at best. However, inhaling the Roselia's Poison Powder put him out quickly and efficiently. When he finally began to come to, he could tell that the poisoning was gone, even though he still felt the residual effects of dizziness and fogginess in the head. All he knew was that he was sitting in a chair and that there was a strong, blinding light shining down on him. Even before his eyes could get used to the light, he could tell that his vision was still too blurry to make out any details.
"Good, you're awake. You were out for quite a while, you know. Kids these days ought to sleep more, but now that you're up… tell me when you shake off the after effects of the poison. It's a nasty experience."
That voice… it was an unfamiliar voice of a man, but it was hardly threatening. Hell, it seemed to have a genuine kindness about it. But Cody knew that something was wrong, not only because he had been poisoned, kidnapped, and tied to a chair, but he had also been attacked by that stalker of his that somehow had a connection to the organization that Frank was in. And that was most likely the Haven Houses, though he still wasn't completely sure on that part. Was this man his employer? Still dazed, the young trainer noticed that his hands were free but his lower torso was strapped to a chair to keep him from moving. Why would they untie my hands? This doesn't make any… is that cheese I smell? He squinted to see that there was a finely polished wooden table in front of him with a plate of assorted cheeses, accompanied by a glass of red wine. Focusing his eyes even more, he looked beyond the table to look upon the man who was talking to him. What he saw did not meet his expectations. Though the man's voice was calm and relaxed, he believed that his captor would look dangerous and dastardly. But this man seemed incredibly normal. He looked as if he was in fifties and he had short cut gray hair and a trimmed goatee, both of which were incredibly thick, given his age. He wore a black button down shirt and an incredibly neutral expression. He was neither smiling nor frowning, but just staring. What was he waiting for? Cody then noticed that there were other men in the room, all wearing black jumpsuits and helmets like Casper wore. They just stood there, almost motionless, watching. He also saw a Houndoom sitting by the man's side, and he shivered. He did not like Houndoom, ever since he had been attacked by that crazed one in the woods on two occasions. But this one looked to be well groomed, well fed, and incredibly strong, yet still very stoic. Still foggy, Cody finally spoke on the first thing that came to mind.
"So… what's with the wine and cheese?" Really? That's your first question?
The gray haired man raised his eyebrow, but he answered the question anyway. "You are my guest and I am always very hospitable to guests. The cheese is a mixed platter from some of the finest ranches in Skitrex and the wine is a 1985 Californian merlot. I've learned through experience that providing wine and cheese during negotiations always seems to-"
"Negotiations?" Cody asked loudly, finally snapping back into his senses at the sound of that word. "That's what you call this? You kidnapped me and tied me to a chair for negotiations?" Even as the anger rose in his voice, the man's expression did not change. "I don't even… who the hell are you? Where am I? What did you do to Cortez and my Eevee? Why am I even-"
"Your pokémon are fine," the calm man interrupted, his voice still eerily easygoing. He motioned for one of the guards to step forward and Cody noticed that the man had a steel case designed for pokeball transport. "That Litwick though, he gave Casper a rough time. Kept escaping from his pokeball and attacking him. But after we encased him, everything became that much easier." With another motion, he sent the man back into the shadows. "As for where we are and who I am…" he smiled a wry little grin. "You're a smart kid. You tell me where we are."
What is this, 20 questions? Cody did not know why this man was toying with him, but he knew he wanted out now. He looked at the glass of wine in front of him and options raced through his head. If he wanted to, he could have thrown it at the man, but in all likelihood, it wouldn't shatter on impact and the man would be fine. Either way, Cody was strapped to a chair and surrounded by guards, so attacking was not an option. Maybe for the time being, playing along would be the best choice. Cautiously, he reached forward, picked a cube of provolone of the platter, and ate it with slow chews. Seconds later, he realized that it may have been poisoned, but he dismissed the idea. If they wanted him dead, they would have done it by now or they would have poisoned him earlier with a higher concentration upon capturing him.
"Where am I…" Cody pondered out loud. "Your HQ or something?"
"Be more specific. Use the pieces of the puzzle that we have provided," the man encouraged him. He actually seemed interested in Cody's response.
"Where am I," Cody repeated softly. Okay… Frank, Casper, and this guy are all connected somehow. Frank told me about how he was working in an organization that was aiding poor trainers via training and soup kitchens and what not. Casper works with Haven, a non-profit organization which has very similar in its goals. If that adds up... I could be in the Haven House in Lockton, but the building looks too nice on the inside. Most of the Haven Houses look pretty basic. This though… Nice flooring, nice oak crafted table… I'm going to go out on a limb here. "Are we in the Ideal Imports building?" Cody asked, crossing his fingers.
The man's bellowing laughter filled the large room. "Excellent!" he exclaimed. "That was very good of you. You have been paying attention! Now tell me, who am I?"
"I… I don't know. Are you Casper's handler? His boss? I don't know."
"The second one," the man answered, not nearly as impressed at the two guesses. "That was pretty obvious though. Finally, why are you here today, Mr. Storm?"
"I… I do not know, really. All I know is that you sent that Casper guy after me. I know it all started when I found out that Frank had a Cipher helmet and when I saw him again, he asked me to meet you. Said that you were impressed with my battling or something like that. When I refused, you sent some guy to capture me and really… that's not hospitable at all. You're not earning points with me through all of this."
"Perhaps not, but we all must take a risk," the man replied coolly. "You seem to understand why you are here, but answer me this: what do you think I am trying to accomplish?"
"Frank said world peace or world unity. Something along those lines," Cody answered, his eyes narrowing. "Still, I don't buy it. I remember what happened in Orre when the whole shadow pokémon thing went down, so if you think that I'd trust a splinter of the Cipher to-"
"We are not the Cipher," the man interrupted, his voice loud and firm, yet still very relaxed. "The Cipher aimed for domination of Orre, and later, the world, but through violent means. We on the other hand-"
"You aren't violent?" Cody challenged, his temper peaking. "I have a knife scar from that maniac you sent after us. You think-"
"Casper deviates from our code a little bit at times," the man sighed, "but truly, we work to avoid violence when possible…" The man let out a small groan, looking down at the table. He took two pieces of cheese from his plate, one for himself and one for the Houndoom that sat by his side. "There was a time when I worked with the Cipher. In exchange for funding my research, I would help them find legendary pokémon for them to use. At that point, they were hardly a major threat and they told me that what they did was for the unification of Orre, and that was enough to convince me to aid them. I assume you've never been to Orre, but that land is still a lawless cesspool of evil, even now, though they've tried to improve the conditions. But when they started to create shadows… that's when I left them. I happen to love pokémon, Mr. Storm. And when I left, I managed to bring many suits with me as long as the blueprint for their design. It's a great field uniform that disguises who we are when we have to do things that are considered-"
"Illegal?" Cody finished. For the first time, the man seemed to be annoyed, but he kept talking.
"As I said before," he continued, looking somewhat irked, "I do not enjoy violence. But there are other things I do not care for: greed, corruption, hatred, ignorance. You leave this building and you'll see it on the very streets. You look at the world leaders and you'll see that they care not for the interests of others. The world is plagued with these sins and it is my plan to eradicate them from the world in one way or another. Then, there will be no more suffering, no more war, no more greed or corruption. Only peace and unity. By setting an example, others will join our organization as we declare war on the sins of humanity. Humanity is flawed and full of hatred, and this will never change. However, should we aim this hatred at the sins that deserve it, only then can we prevail. Eventually, our numbers will be strong enough to carry this crusade and when the time is right, this world will be reborn, like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Do you understand?"
Cody blinked. "Vaguely," he answered. "There is so much unanswered that I can't-"
"I will not tell you everything today," the man said, smiling again. "Secrets give people power, and divulging mine will only bring weakness. However, you are one of the few people on the outside who know that we exist, so I will give you some answers if it convinces you how I hope it shall. Is there anything in particular that you would like to know?"
Anything… while, this guy is about as vague as Darkrai. Except while Darkrai didn't bother to hide his monstrosities, this man seemed like a decent sort (for a man who ordered Cody's kidnapping at least). "Who are you exactly? What is all this?" At first, he regretted asking this, as his questions seemed as vague as the man's answers, but it paid off.
"My name…" the man began, before pausing. But then he looked back at Cody, pride flashing in his eyes. "My birth name is of no importance anymore. I have shed it like how the Kingler sheds his skin before he grows bigger and more powerful. My new name… I am Father Ezekiel, the prophet of destruction and rebirth and I am the leader of the Brotherhood of Life."
Father Ezekiel? It sounded like an incredibly hammy name, but the man seemed to wear it with such conviction. "The Brotherhood of Life?"
"We took the name recently, though we have not used it publicly yet," Ezekiel stated solemnly. "We were originally going to call ourselves the Brotherhood of the Phoenix, but one of my advisors pointed out to me that name carried a striking resemblance to that one children's book, so we dropped it."
"And your goal is to unify the world by eliminating the sins you mentioned earlier?" Cody questioned, now becoming slightly more comfortable, though he was still alert. If what this man said was true, at least he seemed to have good, albeit extreme intentions.
"More or less," the older man answered, smiling wider.
"Then why hide it? Why not go public outside of just erecting soup kitchens?"
"You know about the whole controversy with Team Plasma that happened recently?" Ezekiel asked, not waiting for an answer. "Originally, they were externally portrayed as a group of pokémon rights activists. However, their intentions were domination via the 'liberation' of pokémon from their trainers. When word got out that that was their true goal, people were terrified and untrusting. Likewise, they would never trust me and my followers right away. While unification and peace are our goals, we must be careful what we expose, lest people believe that we have a darker motive. Understand?"
"Sort of… but Ideal Imports, what about them? Why do they work with you?"
"A mutual agreement in philosophies," Ezekiel answered. "I.I. has always been a charitable organization and after I invested in the company while it was small, I've become good friends with the executives. They support my efforts and have donated so much to the creation of the Haven Houses. The project has come a long way, helping trainers as well as earning us recruits, many of whom will become better trainers from their efforts."
"Creating better trainers… That does sound good and all." Cody said, though a new concept rose in his mind, leading him to make his next accusation. "You're just raising an army."
"Violence is against our code, but precautions must be taken," Ezekiel said mournfully. "Surely, you understand that."
"Okay then… but what does this have to do with me?" Cody asked, cocking his head some. "Why kidnap me? Why are you telling me all of these secrets? Am I really that important?"
"Yes and no," the man replied, stirring confusion in Cody once more. "You see, you uncovering Frank's apparel; that was a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things. It made you a small threat, but nothing too substantial compared to those who post conspiracy theories on the internet about us, and even those threats are minor at best. Either way, even the smallest of threats must be contained, and originally, we planned on doing that in a no hassle way. But then, Frank showed me your battle blog that he came across, and I must admit… I was impressed. For somebody so young, you have so much potential, especially since you managed to evade Casper not once, but twice. Your style reminds me of my style of battle when I was your age. It reminds me of my eldest daughter's battle style too, God rest her soul." His eyes grew sad momentarily as they fell before looking back up again with a passion. "Frank begged that I not hurt you. He may be low in our hierarchy, but I've always liked him. He's a gifted recruiter and has so much faith in humanity where I have lost it. Perhaps it is just his naivety, but whatever the case, I appreciate his work. I was never going to hurt you, Cody Storm, but because you knew our secret, or bits of it, I wanted to speak with you like how we are today. I know that I have scared you with our methods, but I decided to tell you secrets that the rest of the world is ignorant to in hopes that you will understand and then join our side for the betterment of our world. A risk on my part, yes, but perhaps it will pay off. So today, I ask you this: do you believe what we are doing is a good thing?"
"I don't know… it's hard to say," Cody replied, taking another cube of cheese. "The kidnapping, the illegal actions that you and Frank have referred to… those aren't good, and you won't be able to convince me otherwise. However, the charity work you've done with the Haven Houses and helping trainers… that's good. Great even. Your goals of unifying the world… extreme. But not necessarily bad… I mean, I guess you have good intentions, but does that make you any different from groups like Team Magma and Team Aqua?"
Ezekiel seemed annoyed again and he leaned forward, now looking as intimidating as the fire pokémon that sat by his side. "We are not eco-terrorists. We are the movers of the world to a greater society, and not for reasons of our own personal gain. Yes, laws will be broken, but many of man's laws are arbitrary. Greed, hatred, abuse; those are wrong, and we intend to abolish them completely. As an organization, we have helped so many in poverty who could have died without our intervention. So far of the people who have gotten in are way, the number of casualties has been five. That is not something that I am proud of, but compare us to Team Rocket, who killed fifty people in their takeover of Silph Co. alone. So tell me Cody Storm, when all of our cards are on the table, are we good or are we evil?"
Cody leaned back to move away from the imposing figure before him, wishing that he did not have to pick between two words, but he finally spoke. "I… I can't believe I'm saying this, but if I had to choose, I'd say that you guys are good… even if your methods are questionable."
Father Ezekiel smiled again and sat back in his chair. "Excellent. You have passed your entrance exam."
"Say what?" Cody blurted out, not understanding what had just happened.
"I am going to make you a personal offer to join the Brotherhood of Life," the older man clarified, stroking his short beard. "Not many have received an offer like this, but today, I will give you the opportunity to enroll in our advanced training program. With the experts that we have on staff, your skills will be embraced and enhanced, and you will be receiving the best trainer education that I can offer, and that is all for free. You wouldn't have to pay the fortune required for classical training schooling. With us, you would never need to worry about your next meal or where you will sleep, as everything will be provided for you. Alongside training, we will grant you access to catching the best pokémon available to supplement your team and we will allow you to continue to compete for badges. Having a representative at Diamond Beach will only enhance our reputation, should we need such representation at that point. All we ask for in return is that you offer your services for us. And who knows? You could very well become one of my elite disciples one day. Maybe even my apprentice. It's not impossible."
"That's… That's a lot to swallow," Cody replied, feeling on edge at the sudden pressure. "I… what… what about my friends? I can't just leave them."
"They could join our organization too," Ezekiel offered, "though there is not much room in our advanced program, as we have plenty of members already. Still, I could find a place for them if they would like."
They wouldn't like, Cody thought to himself. Especially Jared. He would rip Cody's spine out if he knew that he had joined a shady organization. "And these services you mentioned?"
"That could be anything, but I promise that I would never tell you to kill somebody or greatly hurt them either," Ezekiel swore, placing his hand on his heart. "Regardless, think about what you are being offered today: a chance to change the world. To make it a better place to live for people and pokémon alike. Would you not want to be a part of the piece of the driving force for peace and prosperity?"
Stay focused. He's trying to make the organization sound like Jesus, Buddha and Gandhi all rolled into one. Instead of answering the question, Cody posed one of his own. "And if I refuse?"
Ezekiel frowned, but instead of looking angry or intense, the older man looked disappointed. "Then it would be a great loss of such potential. However, you have my word that you will not be harmed. Should you refuse, we will let you go on your way."
He's lying, he has to be. There is no way he'd tell me all of this and then just let me go… unless that is a part of his gambit. Cody took a moment to look into that man's eyes. He himself was a terrible liar, but from this man, he had received an aura of sincerity. Perhaps what he was saying was true. Perhaps he was excellently deceptive. Still, he could not imagine that either joining this group or declining their offer would not come without its problems. He looked down at the cheese plate, noticing that he had eaten all of the cubes during the discussion. There was no more time to stall. Time to take a chance.
"No," he answered flatly.
Ezekiel's eyes grew gloomy again. "Are you quite sure? Opportunities like this don't come around often."
"I know, but…" Cody struggled, picking his words carefully as not to offend his "host." "If what you say is true, your work has benefitted so many. However, I can't be a part of this because… I just don't trust it. I can't sign my name over to you for something this vague. I mean, maybe if I had a detailed list of everything you plan to do to unite the world, sure, I'd sign on, but I know you won't give me that. Secrets are powerful and you wouldn't squander all of them on a random trainer, right?"
"Correct," Ezekiel sighed, looking like a deflated Drifloon in his disappointment. "But so be it. I will have you returned to your motel."
"Wait, that's it?" Cody asked, a bit shocked at how easy his refusal was being taken.
"That's it," Ezekiel repeated. "If you are so worried that you will become a slave to the Brotherhood, then I will not force you to-"
"Wait, hold on," Cody interrupted, disbelief rising in his voice again. "You're just going to let me go? After everything you've told me, you're just going to let me go back on my merry way?"
"What else can I do?" Ezekiel asked, shrugging his broad shoulders. "I can't force you to join us. If your heart isn't aligned with us, you would never rise to your true potential. I could keep you as a prisoner, but you don' belong there. Not with those who have greatly wronged us in some way. We could have a psychic pokémon wipe your mind, but a psychic lobotomy could destroy your mental state, and that's just cruel. I could kill you…" The pause that followed was nerve-wracking before Ezekiel spoke again. "I could kill you, but that sends a negative message to my people to say that I will kill somebody over a matter of mistrust. So, you shall be set free, but you will be monitored from afar."
"Monitored…" That made the young trainer uncomfortable. "But you'll just let me go? Aren't you afraid-"
"Of you? No." The man stood up and walked over to Cody's side, his Houndoom following him. "You could try to press charges against us for kidnapping, but we have gotten those charges before. I.I. has access to the greatest lawyers in Skitrex, and the evidence of your capture has been erased. It would just look like another case of an attempted extortion for profit, and you would be unsuccessful, given that we have all the right factors on our side while you would not. You could try and tell others of what you have learned, blogging like a conspiracy theorist on the internet, but who would believe you? And if you ever became a major threat…" He lowered his head to look Cody directly in the eyes. Through his stiff lips, he murmured, "742 Oakland Way, Stone Rise City."
For those next few seconds, Cody felt as though Dialga had warped time, because those next seconds seemed to stretch on for an eternity, all of which, his heart stopped beating.
"That's… that's my home address," he breathed, trying not to panic. "How did you-"
"People are so easy to track when you have the correct resources," Ezekiel interrupted, an evil smile on his face. "Cody Storm, 15, son of Randal Storm, 43, and Tiffany Storm, maiden name Patrick, 42, brother of Derrick Storm, 20, nephew of-"
"Are you threatening them?" Cody asked darkly, his eyes growing intense with rage.
"No. Just stating the facts," the Father replied smoothly. "We are non-violent, but we will always look out for the greater good, even if that means getting our hands dirty. Of course, I like you, so I won't kill you, because I know you'll be smart enough to listen to what I have to say. I just want to warn you that I know you're family and your friends alike. Laurence Young, 16. Angela Baker, 15. Paul Carter, 16. Jared Rossinger, 16. Heather Lan-"
"Okay, okay, stop!" Cody shouted, his vice echoing several times throughout the room, "I won't bother you! Just leave us alone, all of us!" His eyes were growing moist with tears of desperation and fear. Ezekiel seemed to enjoy the fact that he had one, a victorious smile crossing his face.
"Excellent. I am very glad you see it my way. Nobody wants the blood of the innocent on their hands." He slowly returned to his chair and sat down again, now with sadness returning to his expression. "I am sorry that I had to do that, but now you know who you are dealing with. We will be watching, Cody Storm, but so long as you stay out of our way, you and your loved ones will remain unharmed. You have my word." He reached for his untouched glass of wine. "I say we drink to this agreement. A toast to the future."
Reluctantly, Cody raised his glass as well. Anything to keep this man on his good side since he had entwined himself so deeply within Cody's life. The revelation was terrifying, but he held the glass regardless before taking a sip of the merlot. Having little experience with alcohol, he cringed at the taste, though it wasn't bad. Just unfamiliar. When he lowered his glass, he looked back at the powerful leader of the Brotherhood of Life. If he ever saw this manipulative bastard again, it would be too soon.
"Farewell and good luck to you on your journey, Cody Michael Storm," he announced in an encouraging voice that sounded as honest as it was before. "And remember, from the ashes, we shall rise," he added, raising his cup again. Suddenly, a hand with a damp cloth shot in front of his face before pressing the cloth onto his mouth and nose. The chloroform worked its magic immediately.
Something was licking his face. His eyes were heavy, but the trainer opened them to look into the worried gaze of the Eevee pup. On his chest sat Cortez, who seemed to have recovered from his injuries. He also looked worried and for good reason. Cody looked around to see that he was back in the motel room as if nothing had changed.
"They kept their word," he muttered to himself. "What now?" He couldn't even grasp the situation at hand and before he could think of anything more, the door to the motel room opened.
"Good. You're still here. I was afraid you would have broken the rules to go out and battle or something," Heather laughed as she and Jared entered the room.
"I figured it would have been a guarantee that-" Jared stopped talking as he smelled something. Sniffing, he followed the scent over to Cody and scowled. "Cody, have you been drinking? I smell alcohol coming from your breath."
Cody just stared back at the teen accusing him, not knowing where to begin.
"You actually think we can figure out who he is?" Cody questioned as he and Heather leaned over Jared while he clicked away at the PC in the pokémon center.
"Easily," Jared answered. "You told us that he made no effort to hide his face, so you'll recognize his picture. All we need to do is do a cross-search of both Ideal Imports and the Cipher and something will pop up."
Cody had told his friends what had happened that afternoon, giving them every detail available. Though at first, they were absolutely shocked at the news, they calmed down as they received the details, learning that Cody was unhurt and that everything would be okay, so long as they didn't go on a witch hunt for the kidnappers. All in all, they took it much better than Cody had expected them to.
"Here we go, I got a link," Jared smiled, pulling up a page. The article at hand talked about the controversial decision of Ideal Imports taking on an investor as one of their administrators, despite his past affiliation with the Cipher. The man's name: Professor Wendell Douglas. And judging by the picture in the article, it was definitely the man that had "negotiated" with Cody.
"Huh, he didn't look like a Wendell or a Douglas," Cody mused, trying to make a joke, but falling flat on his face. "Quick, put his name into Wikipedia. I want to see what comes up." Jared was way ahead of him, already opening another tab. Within seconds, his page came up.
Professor Wendell Timothy Douglas (1957) is a pokémon trainer and professor native to Skitrex. He is well known for multiple endeavors including his victory at Skitrex's 1978 Diamond Beach tournament, his political activism, his studies involving "legendary" pokémon, his administrative position within the Skitrexian branch of Ideal Imports, and his former affiliation with the Cipher, a criminal organization in Orre.
"I'm beginning to remember now," Jared said to himself as he read the passage. "I think he had something to do with Moltres. It was before our time though."
"Yeah, I've heard of him too. He just never stuck out in my mind," Heather agreed.
"His name is vaguely memorable," Cody added. Now that he was thinking about it, he remembered the name 'Wendell Douglas' pop up during reports of the Cipher back in their hay day. "We have a starting point here. Let's look at the bullet points."
They started with Father Ezekiel's abilities as a trainer. He was considered to be very good, listed as one of the best in his prime. After winning at Diamond Beach, he challenged the league the next year, only to lose to the final member of the Elite Four. He was offered several positions throughout his time as a gym leader or an Elite Four member, but declined all of these positions, save for a few times when he filled in positions at gyms when said gyms were between leaders. The article stated that the man preferred research, focusing on his studies to become a professor before going into the study of legendary pokémon in particular.
Douglas is one of the few professors who specialized in legendary pokémon in particular, assessing why their biology allowed them to live for centuries and beyond without seeming to age. He is responsible for the cell regeneration theory, a principle of biology that allowed for certain pokémon to temporarily reverse the aging process of their cells, allowing them to remain young in form and potentially live forever or at least a very long time with certain species. However, this theory has yet to be fully proven and because of this, Douglas lost much of his funding. He has still been a leading expert on legendary pokémon, being able to predict their patterns and locations with accuracy, given the right resources. One of his biggest successes was being the first person to breed two Moltres in captivity, an event that the International Pokémon League recognized by gifting a Master Ball to him. Legendary pokémon that he has studied on the field include Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza, Lugia…
"Huh, he was at Sootopolis during the Groudon/Kyogre incident," Jared said, intrigued. "This guy has been everywhere." There were numerous reports on the Father's legendary studies, but they seemed unimportant in comparison with other details. For example, it listed that he was very active in the political scene, donating great sums of his income to candidates that favored socialist values. As for his work at I.I., it seemed unimportant as well, being that most of the controversy lied with the fact that he was briefly affiliated with the Cipher.
In 2003, Douglas turned himself in to Interpol officers before the first wave of the Cipher incident began in the region of Orre. In return for clemency, Douglas reported key information and provided Interpol with crucial files regarding the organization, including his aid in helping the Cipher collect legendary pokémon including Suicune, Raikou, Entei, Arcticuno, Zapdos, Moltres, and the DNA of Lugia which the organization used to make a clone for the shadow pokémon project. In his public apology, Douglas stated:
"As a lifelong trainer, researcher, and friend of pokémon, I am sincerely sorry for my association with the Cipher. I worked with them out of vanity to continue my own research as well as to help them bring unity to Orre. When I learned about their real plans and the shadow pokémon project, I knew that I had gone too far. I can only hope that I may be forgiven for my crimes."
"I almost feel bad for him… you know, if he didn't have you kidnapped or anything," Heather murmured. Cody knew that she was right in her way of thinking. Judging by what he had heard from the man, he sounded like he did not intend for things to happen as they did in Orre. They continued to read, skipping to the section on his personal life.
Prof. Wendell Douglas married Susan Scott in the year 1975 when the two were only eighteen years old and divorced ten years later. They had three children together (Julia, Hannah, and Kyle Douglas.) Julia Douglas was murdered in 2007 and the killer is still at large, though the case is cold for the time being. Hannah Douglas is regarded as a skilled trainer, currently working as a gym leader in Canada's pokémon league. Kyle Douglas entered politics, working as an ambassador in Saudi Arabia.
"I think we've read enough for now," Cody interrupted, impatiently. "Now, what do we do?"
"We should tell somebody," Heather suggested seriously. "I know he threatened your family and friends and us, but couldn't we file an anonymous report with the police or something?"
"That won't work," Cody replied, shaking his head. "If that guy hears anything about this, he could do something to anybody he listed, even if the charge goes nowhere."
"Cody's right," Jared agreed, saying those two words that he rarely combined in such a way. "As much as I hate to admit it, we probably can't do anything. The negatives greatly outweigh the positives on this one."
"So what, we just walk away?" Heather argued, infuriated. "There has to be something we can do! He doesn't deserve to get away with this!"
"You're right, Heather, he doesn't," Cody agreed, putting his hand on her shoulder. He noticed Jared's scowl deepen slightly at this gesture, but he thought little of it. "But you guys, my family, my other friends… they don't deserve to be hurt by the Brotherhood. Father Ezekiel said that if we mind our own business, his people won't harm us or those we love, so we should cut our losses."
"And you believe that?" Heather questioned, doubting the offer given to them.
"I don't know, but it's our best option," Cody agreed solemnly.
"Okay… I trust you," Heather said, relinquishing her anger. The three trainers just stood there for another minute, not sure of how to handle the fact that they were to be watched by the shady organization. Each of them felt uneasiness about the prospect of being under a continuous watch, for now, it was as if there would always be a fourth person in the room with them at all times, ready to report any threatening move that they made. No secrets were truly safe, and for Cody especially, that made him feel powerless.
Author's Note: For those of you who caught the word "Socialism" floating around in this fic, I want you all to know that this story is not, and never has been, about political sway or anything like that. Just so we're all clear.