Chapter 4 – Vigilance Network

Torian Kiyalrin sniffed the dry desert air of Pyrite Town as she walked its streets for the first time in three years. "Has it already been that long?" she wondered out loud. She smiled in amusement as she reached the crevasse that she had used to escape to the Under. Two months ago, she had turned sixteen, and she was now legally an adult by Vigilance Network standards.

Two months ago, the day before her birthday, was her graduation test, a "final exam" of sorts. Accompanied by her senior partner from Hoenn, she was to enter a hologram that simulated a CIPHER environment and steal legal documents from Haxer Mercede's files. Little had she known that it was no hologram, and that it was indeed, a real mission.

She had felt honored that they had trusted her enough to send her on real time for her final, but at the same time, she felt a little annoyed and unnerved that they hadn't briefed her on it beforehand. Throughout the whole mission, she had kept the secure thought that it was just a hologram until she had seen Haxer. She had known, then, that it was real, and that Haxer truly would stop at nothing to see her dead. That in itself was a chilling thought.

"So, you entering a Coliseum challenge or are you just going to sit there and stare at it?" asked her Mightyena pointedly.

She looked around frantically to make sure no one had heard her Pokemon speak, and Azer provided simply, "Look, we're in front of the Coliseum the day before a major tournament knockout challenge. No one's gonna be here until about midnight tonight. Relax, Torian; you're too tense."

Torian sighed and dangled her feet over the crevasse. Despite the sweltering heat, she pulled her coat tighter and shivered; wasn't this Haxer's hometown? Wasn't the former commodore out for revenge after she and Steven had gotten him fired? "I'm scared," she admitted. "Just a little, but I'm scared of what Haxer will do to me if he finds me."

"You don't have nothing to worry about," Azer reassured her. You're good enough to take on most people barehanded, and you're over here armed to the teeth!" He pawed at her sash, which jingled slightly. "I mean, come on! You have dagger hairpins in your hair, razor chains in your belt, lipstick knives in your purse, a blowgun in the heel of your left shoe, darts in your right heel, and who knows what else."

"Good grief, you're observant," she said with surprise. "I didn't know that you knew I had half the stuff you named off."

"Hey, I'm a Pokemon. Your first, to be specific. I know these things."

She was in the process of lightly smacking her Mightyena in the head when the comm. unit on her belt beeped. "Torian! Some of our associates picked up CIPHER activity along the waterways," Steven's voice rang out. "We need you along the road leading into the desert as patrol. Caipha and Destron will meet you there. Hurry!"

"Well, I guess there's your answer," Torian said with a grin as she hopped to her feet.

"Wait…what question…" Azer began, but he decided it best to just follow his trainer, or as he preferred it, partner. They ran back through Pyrite's main road and to the gate where Torian had parked her motorbike. She recalled a grumbling Azer back to his Pokeball and left Pyrite in a cloud of dust.

oOo

"Kalas, I'm not sure…" Steven began uncertainly, but his boss cut him off.

"Not sure about what, Steven?" he interrupted. "That Torian is ready for a solo mission? I beg to differ." He turned to the wall map he used to plot everyone's courses and pointed to a green pushpin. "You see, I've been watching her since she came into Vigilance Network, and since even before that." He removed the pushpin and set it next to Pyrite, where the Under was located.

"I found her unconscious right after she had climbed down the crevasse. According to what she told me then, she had climbed down it on a dare, slipped, and hit her head on the last six or seven feet." Kalas moved the pin to the far eastern side of the map. "I believed her."

"Wait, you knew Torian before she came to Vigilance Network?" Steven asked. Kalas smiled grimly.

"You will understand everything if you hear me out." He pointed to the pin. "She stayed with Lia for a while, but she needed freedom. I offered her a ticket on the S.S. Tidal and enough money to carry her over to Rustboro City in Hoenn. See, I didn't think she belonged in Orre, a free spirit like that. I offered her the Hoenn Gym Challenge, and she took it. Little did I know…"

Kalas gave Steven a long stare with his cool, grey eyes. "You see, she isn't who you think she is, my friend. Just as I was not when we first met. I presume you know where this is leading?"

Without giving Steven a chance to answer, he continued, "She is the only daughter of Haxer Mercede, former member of CIPHER, and was already a formidable enemy at thirteen. Adopted daughter, of course, but she only found that out recently."

He smiled thoughtfully. "Funny, isn't it? How her life and mine twist so closely, how similar they both are?"

Steven held his hands up. "Wait, I thought you…well…actually I never really thought about your past…" he admitted slowly.

"I figured as much," Kalas said softly. "No, you are at no fault. Most people tend to look at my deeds against CIPHER…but only few know of the atrocities I committed for them."

"What?" Steven laughed. "You? CIPHER? You're joking, right?"

"Would I joke about such a thing?"

Kalas shook his head bitterly. "I always knew I was adopted. See, that was something that Gonzap of Team Snagem never let me forget. He always said that, even though Ein, who was one of the admins at the time, gave me a house, it would never truly be home.

"I remember a bit, but it's all so much like a dream…I was two years old. I remember hearing my mother crying. They told me she was in pain, that she would die soon. I know I had an older brother, but they told me he had fallen in the river. They told me my father was blind, and that he would go soon as well. They told me they had to take me because my family wouldn't live much longer. They wouldn't even let me keep my given name.

"I was trained for five years before I became a full member. Oh, I had training before I turned ten, sure enough, but after that day, I was conditioned like I never believed was possible." He smiled grimly in remembrance. "At first, it took all of the willpower I had to make my aching body get out of bed each day. It got easier after a while, but one day, about two or three years after my training was over, I got sick of watching people get hurt because of me. I wanted freedom. I planned it for weeks until I was absolutely certain nothing would fail, then one morning, I dropped a bomb in the security room and escaped with a stolen motor scooter. Gonzap's guest vehicle, in fact, now that I recall." His smile lightened at the memory. "Of course, you and the rest of the world know the rest of that story."

"Wait, how old are you, anyway?" Steven asked. "According to what you said, that would make you about…"

"I'm only twenty-two, Steven," Kalas said gently. "But working for someone like Evice tends to age you…I feel twice as old as I really am."

"Mind blowing…" Steven muttered. "And all this time I thought I knew who I was working with."

"I'm sorry, Steven," Kalas said apologetically. "But you're not the only one left in the dark. Now, you and I…that makes two people in Vigilance Network that know my secret. I figured…you being one of my closest friends and all…I figured you would forgive me. Others will not likely be as generous. I could not, and I still cannot risk the disbandment of Vigilance Network at such a crucial moment. You…do understand, do you not?"

The silver-haired trainer nodded. "Of course I do. I will not speak of this to anyone else…if it is your wish that I not do so."

Kalas nodded. "Now, back to business, and the reason I wanted you in here and vice-versa. You thought Torian was not ready for a solo mission?"

When Steven didn't answer, Kalas gave him her file. "Look, Steven, I know she was your junior partner, and I know you worry about her, but she knows how to handle herself."

"She's facing dangers no ordinary trainer should have to face!" Steven exclaimed.

"So are you," Kalas pointed out. "We all are. But that doesn't change the fact…"

"She's way too young for this! I can't believe you hired her when you did!"

Kalas crossed his arms. "Steven, might I remind you that, in Vigilance Network, sixteen is the legal age?" Steven Stone had no answer for this.

"You have to let her go, my friend. She is more than capable of handling herself, especially for her age. She'll be fine; don't worry! If I worried this much about you, I would not be in a good position to lead right now."

Steven sighed. "I suppose you're right…I just can't help but worry each time she leaves headquarters to go somewhere…and just wonder if she's okay…"

"That sounds like a different sort of problem to me." Kalas grinned as he spoke.

"A different sort of…if you mean what I think you do…"

Kalas clapped his friend on the back. "I think you should sleep on it; it's getting late."

Steven nodded slowly. "I suppose…" He turned and left. Kalas was right; maybe it was something else…but he couldn't possibly…