Chapter 4: Derailed
Classified location, Kanto, 10 am…
"We found the targets," the assistant said, quickly entering the division leader's office. "Our surveillance of the magnet train stations in Johto came up with these shots, taken just half an hour ago."
The division leader quickly took the photos and examined them. He soon spotted two of the three primary targets close to each other, clearly friendly and talking to each other.
"So they know each other and are friendly," he noted, formulating a plan. "Hmm… then taking one might lead us to the other…" He crossed his arms and thought for a while before facing his assistant again. "Do we know where they're going, and where they are currently?"
"Yes. The train they boarded is for a leisurely tour of Johto. It departed Goldenrod City about 20 minutes ago, heading towards Azalea Town. It will then go to Violet City, and then Ecruteak, before finishing its run in Goldenrod."
"We'll have to intercept them then. Send the word to the team in Johto. Snatch them. Take both if possible, but don't risk it. This has to be inconspicuous to avoid suspicion. But we need to snatch one of them today, preferably our financial target. While we don't know where the target will disembark, since she's from Sinnoh and this is a tour of Johto, it's safe to assume that she will not be getting off at Azalea or Violet City. So we have to intercept her before she reaches Ecruteak City. So let's get to it."
"Yes sir."
…
Route 36, Johto, 2 pm…
…
The scout watched the train leisurely approaching the intersection between Goldenrod, Ecruteak, and Violet City. He zoomed in with the binoculars and looked through the windows, scanning all the passengers for the targets. Before long, he was able to spot the target girl sitting on the window seat, next to a blonde girl.
"Target spotted," he reported through the communication device. "The target is in the window seat in the 6th car of the train. She is sitting next to a blonde girl."
"Affirmative," came a response. "Our agent is on the move."
The scout scanned the windows around the target and was soon able to spot the agent approaching the target girl while carrying a cup of iced coffee. The agent reached the target and pretended to trip, accidentally spilling the iced coffee on the target girl and the blonde girl sitting next to her.
The scout focused on the expressions of the two girls. They were annoyed, but did not appear suspicious. The blonde girl seemed quite angry, and was saying something but the target girl was able to calm her down. The agent apologized to them over and over before resuming his course to the restroom, and occupying it. The two girls climbed out of their seats, with the intent of going to the restrooms to clean themselves up, but since the restroom on their train car was occupied, they would have no choice but to go to another train car to reach its restroom.
"Target is on the move," the scout reported.
"The target will reach the zone in 23.58 seconds and will exit the zone in 27.32 seconds," came an automated voice from the communication device.
"We have a complication," the scout reported. "There is another girl accompanying the target. They're going to be in the target zone together. What do we do?"
"That's rather annoying," the team leader said through the device. "Now there is a risk that the other girl will collide into our target and kill her. … But we don't have the time. We'll have to take the chances."
"The target is approaching the threshold," the scout reported. "She is in the lead and the other girl is right behind her."
"What are the odds of success, K2?" the team leader asked.
"The target has an 83.7% probability of survival," replied the automated voice.
"… Go for it. Commence sabotage."
…
"Ah, this sucks," Y grumbled as she followed Platinum down the hall of the train car. "Stupid coffee…"
Platinum let out a sigh. "Yes, this is rather annoying. We will have to change our clothes once we disembark the train and get to the Pokémon Center of Ecruteak. … We will also have to wash our clothes as well." She took a sniff of her forearm. "… We will also need to take a bath. The smell of coffee is lingering. … I wonder if Ecruteak City has a famous bathhouse…"
The two soon reached the end of the train car and Platinum pressed the button to open the door. Platinum stepped into the threshold between the two train cars and Y followed. The door slid shut behind them and Platinum was about to reach the other door when the whole train shook violently and suddenly accelerated dramatically, sending the two girls tumbling backwards into the door. But with a loud thud coming from ahead, the train came to a sudden halt, sending them flying into the closed door in front of them.
Platinum braced herself just before she collided into the steel door, but the impact was still enough to knock her unconscious.
Y also braced herself for impact, but quickly relaxed as her instinct and experience took over. Thanks to the years of experience as a Sky Trainer, she was quite used to sudden changes in momentum and even high speed crashes. If she tensed up, the impact would do a lot more damage. So she loosened up and effectively rolled as she hit the steel wall, greatly lessening the impact.
As she shook off the effects of the collision, she could feel the train car crunching as it rolled, as if the whole train was derailed from its tracks and was now tumbling uncontrollably thanks to its leftover momentum.
Y managed a glance over at Platinum, and noticed that she was completely limp, as if unconscious. Y pushed off of the wall when the time was right and quickly wrapped her arms around her senior, so that the heiress would not repeatedly collide into the walls of the threshold between the rolling train cars.
The rubbery material that surrounded the threshold began to rip, as it was never intended to stretch as much as it did when the two connected train cars were parallel to one another, along with receiving severe external force from rolling around.
After what seemed like an hour despite being mere seconds, the train car came to a halt. Y remained on alert for a bit before starting to relax. She let out a groan and looked at Platinum in her arms. The heiress was still unconscious, lying on top of her. Y carefully set her down on the ground and after finding her glasses that had fallen off during the chaos, dragged her towards the opening in the surrounding material.
The rubbery material had ripped open much wider, allowing Y to drag Platinum through it to the outside without incident. Y dragged Platinum until they were far enough away from the train to be safe from unexpected accidents.
"Miss Platinum! Can you hear me?" she yelled as she began shaking her senior. "Please wake up!"
Platinum soon stirred and slowly opened her eyes. She put a hand on her head and groaned a little as she sat up. "… Y? … What happened?"
Y handed her the glasses and looked over at the train wreck. "… I don't know. Maybe the train hit something?"
Platinum recalled the last moments before she had lost consciousness. "… The train accelerated drastically before suddenly coming to a halt. Perhaps the magnet train rails were damaged and malfunctioned." She snapped out of her thoughts as she remembered something else. "The others! We must find them!" She hastily put her glasses back on and struggled to stand.
Y quickly helped Platinum up to her feet and the two ran towards the train wreck. Y spotted where she had exited the wreck, and using that as reference, backtracked her steps to reach the train car where she had been sitting.
The train car was upside down, with the top half crunched up. The window frames were flattened to the point where it was impossible to crawl through, or even peer through.
"Senior Red? Senior Blue?" Platinum called out as she struck the steel wall. "Black? White?"
Y tried to see if she could force the crushed window frame open a bit. "Ugh. It's no use…" She glanced around to see if there were any possible other entry points, but soon paused as she saw a small group of people running over. "Hey! Please help us!" she shouted, jumping up and down while waving her arms.
The group ran towards the two Dex Holders even faster now. Y focused back on the train to see if she could find another entry point, while Platinum constantly tried to reach out to the others still stuck inside.
Y suddenly yelped as she felt something strike her back hard, with enough force to slam her into the train. She groggily turned around to see what just happened, and was surprised to see that the group that had run over was looking hostile for some reason.
The leading man in the group stomped her on the chest, slamming her hard into the steel train again, this time with more than enough force to knock her unconscious. Platinum gasped in shock as Y passed out and slid down the wall to the ground.
"Y!" she exclaimed as she tried to crouch next to her junior.
But two members of the hostile group had grabbed her arms to pull her away while the third one clamped a hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming. And even as Platinum desperately struggled, the last member of the group wrapped an arm around her throat and choked her out until she stopped struggling and passed out.
"Messy," one of the members muttered. "Should've gone with sedatives."
"No. Remember, we can't risk the chemicals in the sedatives interfering with what we're going to do to her," the team leader said.
"What should we do with this one?" another member asked, looking down at Y. "She saw us. We can't leave her here. Nor can we kill her here without arousing suspicion."
"Take her too," the leader replied. "This one clearly means a lot to the target. We can use that. Now let's get going before anyone sees us."
"No one else is outside the train," the scout reported. "But people will be coming to investigate. So you have to get out of there fast."
"Will do. Let's move, people."
…
Classified location, Johto, 3 pm…
…
"As expected, this one's not within an acceptable range. But this one is at 95% compatibility. We could use her for the project instead of the other target."
"While that's true, this one seems lacking in certain criteria while excelling in others. While we can certainly use some of the data we gain from this one, we can't base our entire project on her."
"Oh? Looks like she's coming around. Let's see if we can get some more data."
…
Platinum steadily woke up and slowly opened her eyes. She tried to move her arms and realized that her arms were tied behind her. She quickly blinked repeatedly to clear her vision and looked down. She was sitting on a large chair of sorts, and her legs were tied up as well. She glanced around and saw that she was in a large, empty room. And in the corner of the room, Y was lying face down on the floor. She too, had her arms tied behind her and her legs tied together as well.
"Y! Can you hear me?" Platinum called out. "Are you okay?"
Y didn't budge, and remained motionless. … Was she dead? Platinum quickly shook away the thought. She focused on the rope binding her wrists together behind her and tried to move her arms a bit. As she tried to reposition her arms, she noticed that there were wires touching her arms, and then noticed that the object on her head was not her hat, but rather, some sort of device. The wires were coming from that device to an unknown direction, as she couldn't look behind her from her current predicament.
"Good to see you're awake," came an unfamiliar voice from behind.
Platinum tried to look, but only caught a glimpse of a white lab coat. The kidnapper soon came around so that she could look at his face. The kidnapper was wearing what appeared to be a surgical mask and hat, which made his unique features unknown. Platinum narrowed her eyes, trying to memorize as much of his visible facial features as possible, so that she would be able to identify him once… if she escaped.
"What do you want?" she demanded, trying to remain as calm as possible.
"Straight to the point, I see? Well then, to put it simply, we need a lot of money. And you are going to help us with that. Surely one of your bank accounts would have more than enough to help us without ruining you. After all, you are Platinum Berlitz, the heiress of a famously wealthy family."
"I will never assist you," Platinum said with a huff, rather surprised that the kidnapper knew her.
"Of course you won't," the kidnapper said. "Not this easily, anyways. So now you're going to help me with a bit of research. It won't be pleasant for you, in the slightest. But we'll see how it goes."
Platinum clenched her teeth and held her breath a bit to prepare herself. "… I am not afraid of you, or whatever you intend to do."
"Everyone is afraid of something," the kidnapper said as he glanced into a handheld device of some sort. "It's just a matter of finding what you are afraid of in particular."
Platinum kept a firm cold expression. The kidnapper smirked and put the device away and took out something from his coat pocket. The heiress could see that it was a knife, and took a moment to brace herself.
The kidnapper walked towards her and put the tip of the blade on the exposed part of her left leg between her stocking and her shorts. Platinum winced a bit at the sudden stinging pain from her thigh, but remained firm. She wasn't going to give in.
The kidnapper simply gauged her reaction and moved the knife so the tip now rested on her neck. Platinum didn't even flinch. It seemed that a simple death threat wasn't going to work. She definitely already knew that she was required for whatever he desired, so he was not going to kill her or hurt her too much. So these kinds of bluffs were not working. Perhaps extreme physical pain would work, but that was a last resort.
Platinum ignored the empty threat and chose to focus on her current situation. … Things didn't add up. She was in an accident on a train that caused the whole train to derail and flip over. And she was kidnapped very quickly after that accident. While it was possible that random people nearby with evil intentions could've witnessed the accident and chose to kidnap her, this didn't make sense. What was this device on her head? And what research? This whole situation indicated that this kidnapping wasn't a random or compulsive one, but was orchestrated for some greater purpose. And based on how quickly she was snatched at the train wreck, Platinum knew that the train wreck itself was also orchestrated. … Was the man with the coffee also a part of this? Or was that an unrelated incident?
… But if she was going to be kidnapped at the train wreck, it would've been much, much harder to do so if she was stuck inside the train car when it flipped over. … Like her seniors and Black and White, who she could only hope were safe and unharmed during the train wreck. So if she was still inside, the kidnappers would not have taken her. So were they aiming to get her out of the train during the crash, so they could snatch her before anyone noticed? … But how could they have predicted her movements and timed their acts so accordingly?
And the kidnapper knew about her wealth. He knew who she was. … This was definitely not a random kidnapping. This was planned. Which meant whatever they were planning that needed money must be stopped. … More reasons why Platinum must not give in to her kidnapper's demands.
The kidnapper dragged Y into her vision. Platinum snapped out of her thoughts and her eyes opened wide for a brief moment. She didn't know how long she had been unconscious, but it seemed that the kidnappers had interrogated her junior, and violently too. Y was looking pretty bruised up, and was still clearly unconscious.
"So, what would happen if I were to make your junior here suffer?" the kidnapper asked, holding up the unconscious girl by her throat.
Platinum's eyes shook a little, and appeared slightly troubled. She quickly regained composure, and her expression turned rigid once more. But in the inside, she was starting to lose control. '… How does he know that Y is my junior? Who are these people, and how do they know so much? … And what should I do? Do I save Y and give in to evil? Or do I resist and cause her more harm?'
The kidnapper tossed Y aside and took out his handheld device again. He glanced at its screen and smirked. "Oh, that seems to have gotten a response," he said, much to Platinum's great surprise.
Y began to cough as she was rudely brought back to consciousness from crashing into the floor. The kidnapper grabbed her by her feet and dragged her towards the wall and attached the rope binding her ankles to a hook, and raised the hook, effectively hanging Y upside down. He raised her until her head was at least a meter off of the floor and after casting a glance at Platinum, punched her in the stomach, slamming her into the wall at the same time.
Y gasped and began to cough violently as she writhed in agony. Platinum winced as well, and struggled a lot more against the ropes binding her limbs.
"What do you think?" the kidnapper asked Y. "Your senior over there would rather watch you suffer than to give up some of her money. And you know how rich she is. Now that seems very harsh."
"Screw… you…" Y gasped out in between coughs. "Miss Platinum! … Please don't give in…"
"Y… I am so sorry…" Platinum said, her voice shaking. "Please do not hate me… I… will not give in!"
The kidnapper shrugged and looked at Y again. "That's too bad for you. Looks like we'll have to kill you in a bit. But for now, you can just watch, and reconsider your options. Maybe you can convince your senior."
He looked at his device again and walked up towards Platinum. The heiress gave him a deadly glare. … Regardless of what this greater purpose was, she was sure that her resistance would delay it. If she resisted long enough, then surely the other Dex Holders in the train wreck would be able to escape and notice that she and Y were missing. And they would undoubtedly search for them, along with Diamond and Pearl. Given enough time, they would certainly find them and save them.
A thought suddenly occurred and she felt herself panicking a little. '… I do not have my bag. I left it in my seat in the train. So my Pokégear, Pokédex, and everything else are all in there. … How will my seniors find me without those? Y does not have her belongings with her either. She left them in her seat as well. … Without our devices, senior Blue cannot trace our location… … Are we trapped here forever with no possibility of being saved? … Is my resistance meaningless?'
The kidnapper watched her reactions carefully and glanced at the device again. "… You've been doing a lot of thinking. And it seems like you realized just how serious your situation is. You are trapped here with no hopes of escape or rescue. Which means, I can do whatever I want to you for as long as I want. Your resistance only brings suffering for you and your precious junior."
Platinum gasped as she sensed a slight surge of fear inside her. The kidnapper took his knife out once again and this time, placed the tip on her chin. He slowly moved the tip down, not actually scratching at her skin, tracing a path down her neck, between the collarbones, until the blade rested on the edge of her shirt.
Platinum's eyes widened a lot more as she realized where this was headed. The kidnapper gauged her reaction and glanced at his device. The heiress began to lightly tremble as her fear started to overwhelm her. She could feel the knife slowly cutting into her shirt. She clenched her eyes shut as she felt tears threatening to form. She didn't want to give in to her kidnapper's demands. But… this was too much.
Despite her best efforts, she couldn't help but to imagine her fate. She imagined being violated by the kidnapper and felt a severe pang of panic. Her breaths accelerated and her heart began to race. 'No… no… no! I – I can't…'
"No! No! You bastard!" Y screamed out from the side. "Leave her alone!"
Platinum's eyes opened at the sound of her voice and glanced over. Her vision started to blur as she realized that Y was next. Once the kidnapper was finished with her, he would undoubtedly do the same to her junior. … She felt sick. She had to stop this… but…
The kidnapper moved the knife further down again, cutting about a centimeter of her shirt. Platinum audibly gasped and clenched her eyes shut again.
'Ah… Diamond! Please… help me…' she desperately pleaded inside. 'Please… save me!'
"… Ah, that's what it takes," the kidnapper said, looking at his handheld device again. He smirked and put the knife away. "A loved one, I see?"
Platinum's eyes snapped open. 'What… what? How? Does he know Diamond as well?'
The kidnapper glanced at his device. "What's his name… Diamond, is it?" He smirked as he looked at her expression. "… Diamond from Twinleaf Town in Sinnoh…"
Platinum started to visibly panic. 'How? How?! Is he… is he reading my mind? Is the device on my head allowing him to see my thoughts? But… how is…' A new thought struck her and she began to hyperventilate. 'Did I… did I endanger Diamond? … By selfishly resisting, did I… bring harm to him?'
"I'd imagine that someone like you, who's been lonely for most of her life, would be attached to what little friends she managed to make," the kidnapper said. "Which means, your attachments to your two precious friends, Diamond and Pearl of Twinleaf Town, would be much stronger than most. Especially if you love one of them. And what do you know? Both of them were spotted here in Johto, which makes it so much easier for us to find them, and hurt them," he said, slowly and deliberately. "A piece of cake, since they will not be expecting trouble. And if they manage to escape… we already know where they live. They won't be able to hide from us."
Platinum couldn't help but imagine her two beloved friends, ambushed in their own homes in Twinleaf Town, lying on the ground badly hurt. … And she couldn't handle it.
"N – No… please…" she sobbed out, shaking her head. "I… I don't…"
"And what about those still on that train?" the kidnapper asked. "They're still on that upside-down train car, dazed and confused. Easy targets. Are you willing to let them die, just so you can resist for no reason?"
Platinum began to scream. Her screams quickly turned into uncontrollable wails as her mental defenses shattered and her mind broke down. The kidnapper glanced at his device again and nodded with a smile.
"Miss… Platinum…" Y muttered, her eyes open wide in shock. She had never seen her senior like this before…
"So, will you cooperate?" the kidnapper asked.
Platinum frantically nodded. "Y – Yes… yes… Please…"
"Good."
…
"Looks like we were able to get a lot of data off of her brain waves. She has provided us a lot of valuable data as well. Now we know what type of pulse will break down someone like her. Though it took some trial and error to reach the frequency we needed. Extrapolating on that data is required for other people with different brain waves, but we are incapable of doing that right now. There are far too many variables and conditions."
"Until we get K3 up and running, it would be impossible. Now then, get that girl to give us her bank information. And once we confirm the funds are in, terminate both of them."
"Yes sir."