Satori in Kalos
Chapter 17
Psychic 2
"He's going to kill everybody?"
Satori bit her nails. "I, uh...it seems so."
"What should we do?" Both Calem and Satori were visibly nervous, as was everyone else in town. Lysandre had just publicly announced he was going to use some ultimate weapon to destroy the world. It was like something out of a bad RPG.
"Go to the police?" Satori suggested. Calem nodded, but they quickly realized despite personally knowing several officers, they didn't actually have their numbers. Satori decided to just call the emergency hotline.
"What is your emergency?"
Satori cleared her throat. "This is Komeiji Satori, can you put me in contact with someone who—"
Before she could finish the sounds of her being transferred came through the Holo Caster. It didn't even ring once before someone picked up. "Yes?" It was the voice of Shikieiki.
"Hi, uh, this is Komeiji Satori..."
"Oh, good. Listen to me very closely and do exactly as I say. Detective Komachi met you yesterday—return to where you guys spoke. Don't tell anyone where you are going or what you are doing, and as soon as this call ends throw away your Holo Caster. Destroy it if possible."
"Wait, why—"
"Don't speak, just do it. We'll explain once you're safe."
The line cut out after that, and Satori was left wondering what to do. Before she could think it over, Calem shrugged and tossed his Holo Caster into the ocean. Satori followed up and they both ran off to the cafe, their Holo Casters sinking to the bottom of the bay.
Although the two of them were quick to move, chaos hadn't broken out so quickly. It was only a matter of time Satori was sure, but for now people had no idea what was happening. Satori could tell a lot of them wrote it off as a bad joke or prank.
The cafe was the same as ever, although there was a bit of nervousness in the air. It didn't help when Satori, hero of Kalos, walked in and sat down at a booth with the head detective of the KPD Onozuka Komachi.
"So," Satori said. "How serious is this for real, Miss Komachi?"
"Mmmm." Komachi adjusted one of her gloves. "A chopper is on its way, we're going back to Lumiose. The details can wait but," Komachi lowered her voice. "Let's just say we think Lysandre has the means to follow up on his threat."
Although Satori read Komachi's thoughts, she didn't say anything more until it was time to get on the helicopter. It landed in the middle of the plaza, garnering quite a few stares.
Komachi escorted Satori and Calem onto the helicopter and it took off shortly after. Once they were in the air, Komachi started the conversation.
"So basically, we need—"
"You want me to interrogate somebody," Satori said. "To find Lysandre's base."
"Yup." Komachi grabbed a box from between the seats of the helicopter and opened it. She pulled out two earpieces and handed them to Satori and Calem. "Here, use these to communicate. Since Lysandre Industries develops Holo Casters, we're assuming they're compromised."
The ride lasted less than an hour and Komachi described the entire situation, starting with a bit of lore. It was apparently tied to the story of Yveltal. An old king who lived more than three thousand years ago created an "ultimate weapon" in rage over his dead pokemon. It was just a myth, but after Yveltal they were now assuming it was real.
Still, even if Lysandre found the weapon he would need something to power it. Komachi speculated that this is what they wanted Yveltal for. To use Yveltal's power of destruction to channel through the ultimate weapon, destroying all life on the planet. His escape and eventual capture at Satori's hands provided a major setback.
But there was another.
"...Flandre." Satori said. Komachi nodded, not at all surprised by what Satori knew.
"Her full name is Flandre Scarlet, and yes," Komachi added after she saw Satori raise her brow, "she is Remilia Scarlet's little sister. A very well kept secret, but apparently not well enough. Her power of destruction is far greater than Yveltal's. There's no doubt if Lysandre uses her to power the ultimate weapon, we're all royally screwed."
When the helicopter landed, Satori found herself on top of a building in Lumiose. There were a few uniformed officers on top who ushered them inside. They were led to a rather typical hallway and Satori caught the phrase "Interrogation Room" on a few of the doors.
The room they were led to was dark with AV equipment set up next to a large glass window. On the other side of the glass was a bright room with a man in an orange prison jumpsuit. Satori made a mental snicker at how similar it looked to Team Flare's actual uniform.
"Getting anything?" Komachi asked.
Satori shrugged. "He's thinking about his mom. Go get someone to prod him until he actively thinks about the base."
Komachi waved one of the uniforms in the room with them, and he stepped outside. A moment later the door on the other side of the glass opened, the officer sitting down in a chair across from the Team Flare member. Satori could hear him through the speakers.
"So, how about you just tell us where your boss is hiding?"
"A cafe," Satori said. "Red décor."
Komachi nodded and repeated it into a microphone so the interrogator prisoner stayed silent.
"Come on now, we already know about the cafe. I just want to hear it from you."
Satori felt the fear, an excellent confirmation she was on the right track. "Ah~" Satori said mockingly. "How do they know about that? Damn, one of those idiots must have blabbed, is what he's thinking." Satori scratched her chin. "Oh, now he's recalling memories of some facility. It's under the cafe, there's some massive complex under the cafe. Ah, one of his friends is an alcoholic. And now..." Satori blushed. "Ah, er, he's thinking of something naughty..."
Komachi chuckled. "That's plenty," she said and tapped her earpiece. Satori heard her tell the person on the other line that Lysandre was likely in some facility under his cafe in Lumiose. After her call Komachi turned back towards Satori. "Your ability is crazy useful."
"I have no intention of joining the KPD."
"Ouch. Message received." Komachi smiled and pointed towards her earpiece. "In any case, you can swap the channels on these guys by hitting the button on the side there. Right now Reimu is about to raid the cafe, or at least she will when she gets there."
Satori and Calem fiddled with their headsets until they heard the voice of Hakurei Reimu barking orders.
Komachi led them out of the room and into a break room near what looked like office space. They both sat on a couch, and Komachi told them to "hang out" for a bit. Satori asked if she or Yveltal was needed, but Komachi told her not to worry about it.
It was a bit hard to get a proper grasp of what was happening through just audio, but Satori and Calem were both almost entirely silent while they listened.
"Execute."
"Two hostiles neutralized. Conducting search of premises."
"Jesus, Morty just ripped the entire bookcase off the wall with his bare hands."
"There's a steel door here. Looks like we need a password. Do I have authorization for explosives?"
"Fire in the hole."
The audio then cut out for a few seconds before Reimu's voice came back.
"There's definitely something down here. We're going in."
"Hostile down."
"Hostile down."
Satori took her headset out of her ear and put it down in her lap. She was reminded of the time back at the power plant, an experience she never wanted to have again. Calem didn't say anything, although Satori read his concerned thoughts. It was sweet in a way, but since he still had his earbud in Satori could still get the gist of what was happening.
"They're done," Calem said after a few minutes had passed. Satori nodded in response. "Looks like they captured some scientists along with Malva. Oh, she's—"
"Elite Four," Satori said.
Calem nodded. "Makes sense. She's a fire type specialist and kind of a mean person all around, so I'm not surprised she's in Team Flare." His look soured. "It doesn't look like—"
"They didn't find the weapon or Flandre."
No one came for them for quite a while. In fact, it wasn't another officer at all that finally joined them, but none other than Remilia Scarlet herself. She walked in with grace, the elegant Izayoi Sakuya in tow behind her, and sat down across from Satori and Calem. She was visibly nervous and her thoughts were a mix of anger and fear.
"Hello Remilia," Satori said.
Remilia had a dark look on her face. "It's been awhile."
"Sorry."
There was an awkward silence after that for a minute, until Remilia audibly sighed. "This situation is hell."
"Cuz of your sister?" Calem asked. Satori could tell Calem was afraid of Remilia's presence, but he was doing his best to keep his cool. Satori is a youkai, but isn't dangerous. Aya was a youkai, but isn't dangerous. Rin is a...
Instead of answering, Remilia buried her face in her hands. Satori noticed her trembling until Sakuya wrapped her arms around Remilia and held her. The distress in her mind was clear.
"You think the KPD is going to kill her," Satori said. Sakuya gave her a sharp look, but Remilia nodded.
"She's dangerous," Remilia said. "Everyone knows it, and the police have been looking for an opportunity to end her for a long time. Given the choice, they'll kill her rather than try to save her."
Satori would have argued that the police would never do such a thing, but she had felt the fear. The fear in Komachi and the other officers at the very mention of that name. It was so intense that Satori believed they would do it.
"Can you tell me about her?" Satori asked. "Your sister."
Remilia stayed silent for a moment, but some happier memories came to her mind. "She's...playful." Remilia smiled. "Naive, but in a positive way. Few things ever bother her, and she loves playing games and with toys. She's not really aware she has so much power, and I'm glad for it. Oh, and she loves chocolate."
That got everyone to nervously laugh. A little bit, at least, but it lifted the heavy atmosphere.
"Do either of you have siblings?" Remilia asked.
Calem shook his head. "Only child. I've always been kind of envious though. As for you, Satori, I never really understood what the relationship between your household was."
"Okuu and Orin are my pets," Satori said. Calem gave her a strange look, but Satori waved her hand back and fourth. "They're animal youkai, it's not that weird. But I guess our relationship is closer to roommates." Satori frowned. "Speaking of which, I hope they're not too worried."
"Oh, right. We did kind of just leave without Rin, didn't we?"
Remilia leaned against her maid's shoulders. "So I'm the only one with a sibling? For her to be missing, I can't describe how horrible this feeling is."
"Actually..." Satori said softly. "I... I had a sister."
Calem's eyes widened. "I didn't know that."
"Had?" Remilia sat up in her chair, but spoke softly. "W-What happened?"
"She..." Satori took a deep breath. "She risked everything and lost. She's not—I mean, I don't know. She can't think. At all. And no one can really remember her, anyone she meets just... forgets about it when she leaves. Like a ghost. So I do understand your situation, Remilia. I want to help you get your sister back."
Remilia eased back down into her chair. "Thank you," she said.
Before anything else could be said, Calem shot up out of his chair. "Don't worry you guys, everything is going to be great. I'm sure you'll see your sister again, Remilia, if Satori can take on Yveltal she can take on a friggin' old man named Lysandre. What kinda name is that anyways, eh?"
They couldn't help but laugh at Calem's poor attempt at comedy, and from there the conversation really did get a bit more lighthearted. Remilia wasn't emitting any of that intimidation she had back in her mansion, and was actually pleasant to talk to. Satori wondered if it was the stress of the situation that dulled her edge.
"So, just how many people in the world actually are youkai?" Calem asked. "Because, I sure seem to run into a lot of them."
Remilia shrugged. "Non-humans tend to remain solitary or in small groups. We don't exactly have conventions or anything, and I doubt you pass any on the street as you go about your day."
"Well, you say that," Calem started counting off his fingers. "But we got you and your sister, Satori, Rin, Utsuho, that reporter, Cirno... am I forgetting anybody?"
"Cirno's entire gang is, actually." Satori supplied.
Calem coughed. "R-Really...? All of them...?" He went silent for a moment, and looked down at his roster before looking back up at Satori. "Hey, this might not be the best time but I did ask you to battle me."
"Seriously?"
"Not like there's anything better to do," Calem said. "Come on, we can do it on the roof. We'll keep our earpieces in in case something comes up."
Remilia clapped her hands. "That sounds entertaining."
Satori rolled her eyes, but gave in. It would probably be good for Remilia to have a distraction from her sister anyways. The group let one of the officers know what they were going to do and left for the stairwell. Satori had read his thoughts, he protested against it, but wasn't brave enough to defy both Remilia and her at the same time. For all Satori's fame, however, Remilia's presence carried far more weight.
There was a guard stationed next to the roof door as well, but he let them go right on by. Calem was right, there was plenty of free space up on the roof. There was more than one helipad, none of them in current use. They picked one and stood on opposite ends. Remilia stood to the side, her maid behind her.
"I have four," Calem said as he held out his roster.
Satori nodded and held out her own after removing the ultra ball. "I also have four. I'm not going to use Yveltal, although if you want to battle him some other time after this is all over, just ask."
"We'll see about that. But first, give me a moment here."
It took a few seconds for Satori to figure out what Calem was doing. He removed the pokeballs from his roster, holding two in each hand. Then he started to juggle them. Satori tilted her head at the display. This went on for about thirty seconds before Calem caught them and put them back in the roster.
Remilia started laughing from the sidelines, but Satori's expression was far more grim. "You mixed them up."
"Yup." Calem said, very pleased with himself. "I have no idea what order they're going out. And now, neither do you."
"So you found out one of my tricks."
"Wasn't hard." Calem took out the first Pokeball. "Now, let's go."
Satori drew Delphox, there being little point in planning, and threw her out at the same time Calem threw his. It was Greninja.
"Oh joy," Satori deadpanned. Calem smiled at his bout of good luck.
Still, neither of them were pushovers. They both had the same number of badges—well, almost. Calem hadn't gotten around to challenging Olympia yet, although that was hardly more than a technicality. Greninja sprinted across the battlefield, Delphox just narrowly dodging a few water shurikens. They were both at the level where it would only take one, maybe two hits to knock Delphox out.
Delphox, Satori said through their psychic link. Whenever you're ready.
Delphox nodded, and used what was her planned trump move. She pulled her stick out of her bushy tail and stabbed it into the ground. A tangle of grass erupted from the concrete and caught Greninja's feet, tripping him to the ground.
"You taught your Delphox grass knot?" Calem exclaimed.
The victory was short-lived. The second time Delphox tried it, Greninja was ready and launched water shurikens and took her down. But Greninja had been pretty severely damaged, which was what Satori was going for. He wasn't heavy enough for grass knot to be really effective, but he was fast, and Satori had type advantage on it.
Next up was Pikachu from Satori's end. Their speed was on the same level, but things had changed since the early days. Pikachu simply tossed powerful electric attacks all over the battlefield in a wide area, knocking Greninja down.
They were tied, both down one Pokemon. Calem shrugged, and pulled another pokeball out at random. It turned out to be Meowstic. Pikachu performed admirably, but Meowstic's physic attacks weren't the sort that could be dodged. Despite Pikachu's speed, he lost. Satori recalled him.
Satori smiled. "Time for my favorite," she said and tossed out Wobbuffet.
"Wobba wobba!" The Wobbuffet saluted.
Calem kept smiling, though. "I know your ability now, Satori. Meowstic, your choice!"
The Meowstic used the psychic move against Wobbuffet of its own accord. It was a clever ploy by Calem, taking advantage of randomness when his own moves could be read. But he made an error in judgement: Satori easily read Meowstic's attack.
Satori commanded Wobbuffet to use mirror coat, and the psychic attack was reflected back at Meowstic. It knocked it out cold.
"Damn." Calem said. Satori caught him do a quick back and fourth between his remaining two. He was hoping for Absol. He eventually chose one and tossed it out.
Lady luck was in his favor, Absol emerged. Before Satori could plan her next move though, Calem tapped something on his wrist. There was a bright shine of light, and the form of Calem's Absol started glowing. Its fur grew out and two brilliant white wings sprung from its back.
"Ah," Satori said. "I forgot you could do that."
Calem nodded. They both admired the Mega-Absol's form for a moment, and it seemed to like the attention. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yes, but what about the danger? Wasn't your hesitation based on how it could be harmful, in the long run?"
"Maybe," Calem said and stepped up to pet Absol's head. "But he wanted to do it. Wanted to take the risk, and I wasn't going to say no to him."
Satori smiled. "I know. He was always willing."
It took a moment for Calem's mind to register the meaning of Satori's words. "Wait, you can read pokemon's thoughts?"
Satori's smile widened to the point of it being frightening. "Why of course. So as impressive as his Mega Form is, he still must play Wobbuffet's little game. But the choice doesn't matter, I'll always know what he decides. No matter what you command."
Calem's mouth dropped. Faced with that, there was only one choice he could really make. One Satori saw coming, naturally. Mega-Absol was easily strong enough to one-shot Wobbuffet, but Satori countered with destiny bond.
Wobbuffet fainted, and soon after Mega-Absol collapsed. They were both down to their last.
Calem pulled a Flareon out, something Satori hadn't seen before. But her Absol was tougher, and she prevailed in the end. Calem was a bit out of it after his loss, but Remilia and Sakuya's applause snapped him to his senses.
"I can't believe I didn't make that connection," Calem said. "No wonder you're so good at training your Pokemon. You can literally talk to them."
Satori nodded. "The tricks and traps don't work on me. It's one of the reasons I found Olympia's gym so simple. Everyone in there is a total phony except for Olympia herself." Satori scratched the back of her neck. "Well, overwhelming power still works though. Greninja against Delphox can only go one way, non-stab moves be damned."
"That was fun," Remilia said. "You two should join my Battle Chateau."
"Your Battle Chateau?" Calem asked.
Remilia nodded. "I own it. I don't compete though, I'm not a trainer. Most of the people there are pompous aristocrats, but the gym leaders and even Elite Four are members too."
Calem bowed. "I'll take you up on that."
"I guess me too," Satori added.
"Well, if Lysandre doesn't succeed in killing all of us I'll push the paperwork through."
Almost as if on cue, the three of them got a message through the communicators in their ears. "What the hell are you idiots doing?" It was Reimu. "The prisoners are about to arrive, get your ass down here and 'interrogate' them, Satori."
Satori tapped a button on her earpiece. "Ah, sorry. I'll come down."
"The guard will escort you."
The guard standing next to the door saluted the group and waited for them to gather their things. Satori and Calem made sure they had all their stuff. Satori decided to apply a few revives to her Pokemon to be safe.
The guard led them down the stairwell and through a corridor. About halfway through he stopped and put his hand on his own earpiece. After a few seconds, he turned around with a ticked off expression.
"Ah, sorry you guys, looks like we're going directly to the motor pool. It's in the opposite direction. Miss Scarlet, Shikieiki has requested your presence in her office."
Remilia rolled her eyes. "Naturally. I'll see you later, Satori. Calem."
Satori was surprised Remilia knew her way around the police station so well. The guard seemed relieved that she and Sakuya left, though. Remilia certainly struck a good amount of fear into every officer here.
The guard led them to a large industrial elevator. It was way bigger than they needed, Satori guessed an entire vehicle could fit into it. On second thought, that was likely exactly the purpose. The guard hit the button labeled "motorpool," and the sound of machinery and hydraulics echoed through the elevator.
It was kind of surprising how old-fashioned and mechanical it was. Things in the Kalos region tended to be pretty high tech. This elevator though was incredibly slow, so Satori amused herself with the guard's thoughts.
Seriously more end of the world bullshit, fucking Team Flare. How come every few years some idiot team tries to end the world? I remember the good old days when Team Rocket just ran around stealing pokemon. Now everyone and their mother forms a conspiracy to end the damn—
The elevator ground to a halt and the large doors started to open, cutting off the guard's thoughts. Satori tried not to audibly laugh at them.
Just as the doors opened halfway, a figure in ski mask stepped out of hiding. They held a strange-looking pistol, and in a swift motion aimed and fired at Satori.
Click click click click click click click—
Satori's entire body tightened, her muscles all locking at once. She fell to the ground, unable to move. The guard fell down next to her in a similar state as the masked figure rushed past her and sucker punched Calem in the gut. He fell to the ground writhing in pain.
Although sensation came back to Satori's limbs fairly quickly, the masked figure grabbed and hoisted her over his shoulder before she could recover.
WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP
They retreated to one of the police jeepsjust as a loud siren erupted throughout the entire police station. Satori tried to fight back but before she could do anything they handcuffed her wrists and ankles to one of the back seats.
Before the jeep started up, the massive blast doors that led outside started to close. Satori thought that the attacker would get trapped, but just as the doors began to shut a massive earthquake struck. The earth beneath the doors crumbled and the large metal doors bent in awkward angles.
The masked figure gunned the jeep through the open doors and out onto the streets of Lumiose. Standing on the other end of the street was Tenshi, her long blue hair billowing in the wind. She had a massive grin on her face as her flaming sword stuck in the ground.
Of course. Team Flare. The figure reached back and threw a sack over Satori's head before she could see anything else.
Although Satori had been surprised, it wasn't entirely unexpected that Team Flare would try to kidnap her. Whether it was for Yveltal or just revenge, they were enemies and that came with certain risks. Satori had accepted those risks when she decided to go public about her involvement.
What bothered her wasn't that she was kidnapped. It was that she didn't see it coming. She was surprised.
She's a mind reader. A satori. She doesn't get surprised. Her ability works in a large radius around her, always on, through walls or stone or concrete. But she couldn't read her attackers' thoughts, she couldn't even tell they were there. And Tenshi had been across the street, far away from the initial assault. Outside of her radius.
Satori could only come to one terrifying conclusion:
They know.