Chapter 10 Champion On A Mission

A/N: This time there's a new character—why would I tell you? Read on to find out. I thank May and Dawn are the best, and Mel72000 for their reviews. Thanks!

Disclaimer: All characters, plots, etc belong to their respective owners.

Somewhere in the Arctic Circle…

A lone figure wearing a huge traveler bag in extremely thick clothing walked slowly across the Arctic plain of ice. Strong winds howled around her. Her hands were holding two one-meter long metal bars that were used to provide support while walking. She wore a ski mask to cover her head while her eyes were covered by a pair of orange spectacles.

Cynthia, the Sinnoh champion, was questioning herself on the purpose of braving icy winds and freezing temperature just to complete a mission.

"Why am I doing this again?" she thought.

"Because I'm a very curious person and I like adventures?" said her brain.

"Hmmm..."

"And because if you don't do this, the whole universe will crumble away and become corrupted, eveyone would die and you won't be able to eat more of that delicious double chocolate peppermint ice-cream."

"That's a good enough reason for me." Cynthia smiled.

Just then, the screen on her ViewCam flashed a warning sign and three lines of text appeared on the screen:

Warning! Incoming Blizzard.

Wind speed: 80 km/h

ETA: 20 minutes and 23 seconds

The ETA second indicator was still blinking. 23...22...21...20…

Cynthia sighed and looked around to search for shelter. The wide plain of ice had not even a single ice ridge in sight. The winds around her were starting to pick up speed. She would have to act fast. If she died here, she might only be found by someone after this polar cap melted away completely. Besides that, this was an ultra secret mission that only a handful of people know about.

She put down her huge bag and dipped a gloved hand into it. She pulled out a Ezytent. It was made of five aluminum bars that could be extended to form a simple yet sturdy tent frame. She opened the closed bars. It looked like two 'Y's joined at the end. She placed it on the thick ice and pressed a button. There was a slight 'pop' at four shaped charges drove the thin mallets into the ice. The whole thing extended and it turned into a small-sized tent for one-person. Cynthia fixed a piece of rough canvas over it carefully. She made sure that there were no problems with it before going into the tent.

Cynthia sat down cross-legged in the tent. Her stomach growled loudly. She dove her hand into the bag to find something to eat. However, her fingers brushed something hard. Frowning slightly, she prized it out. It was a small silver-coloured locket that her ex-boyfriend gave to her during her 18th birthday. Different emotions welled up in her heart. Tears began to fall. Her goggles began to mist up. She opened the cover.

The locket was actually a holographic device which could be used to play 30-second 3D videos. The one she was holding was playing an old video which showed Cynthia sitting on a bench with another spiky-blue-haired teenage boy. They looked at each other for a while before kissing each other passionately. It was too much for her. She quickly closed the lid. Seeing this 3D video of her ex-boyfriend was too much to bear. She took out her goggles briefly to wipe her tears away. The wind outside was howling loudly, mocking her.

She tried to banish all thoughts about him from her mind while she searched for something to eat. That night, after eating two pieces of biscuits, she slept with one person in mind—Cyrus.

XxXxXxX

Ash's eyes opened wide. He looked around and below him. He was in a dark room. Someone was struggling and squirming under him.

"ASH KETCHUM, GET YOUR BIG BUTT OUT OF MY BODY NOW!" Dawn's voice rang through his ears. He quickly rolled over to his right side before being pushed violently by a very angry Dawn. She stood up. Even in the darkness, he could see her blood-red face. Pulses of anger emanated from her. Ash backed away before she attacked him.

"Ow! Watch your step, whoever that is!" said someone. It sounded like Brock.

"Brock, it's me, Ash," said Ash.

"Oh. Anyone seen Jarlo?" asked Brock.

Dawn was just about to answer "no" when the lights went on. Everyone staggered. Ash quickly shut his eyes and fell down in a sitting position.

"Close your eyes for a while for it to recover even more quickly," said Jarlo.

Everyone closed their eyes for a few seconds. It worked. Ash found himself staring at a small room with a metal door at his right side. Jarlo pulled him up. They all walked to the metal door.

"Sorry for the shock, but it's important that we get here immediately," said Jarlo.

"What is this place?" asked Dawn.

"A secure safehouse, where an expert might be able to explain most of the strange things you have encountered on journey here."

"Okay," said Dawn. Jarlo put his hands on the metal door and heaved. Ash and Brock quickly went forward to help.

They opened the door into another room. It was a blend of ancient and futuristic architecture. The walls and ceiling were made out shining crystals, while in the center of the room was a huge, old, stone table filled with laptop computers and delicate electronic equipments. Ash saw a flash of red hair from the other side of the table. Just as he started to move to see who or what is it, Jarlo called out, "Carla! Are you there?"

Carla stood up frowning for a while before smiling when she saw Ash and his friends. They smiled back.

"I see you have already met each other. Strange that you didn't tell me about it, Carla."

"Yi saw yusub!" exclaimed Carla. Neither Ash nor Dawn nor Brock knew what it meant.

"English, Carla, we have guests."

"Onre, yi tondo erack." Carla put her hands on her hips. Jarlo sighed.

"Just like your mother, stubborn. Where's Bryan?" asked Jarlo.

"Ni eht suksid moor." Having said that, she went back to her work. She completely ignored them after this.

"Come on, to the discussion room, said Jarlo, sounding defeated. Ash, Dawn, and Brock followed, thousands of questions forming in their brains.

XxXxXxX

Cyrus walked happily back to his suite. So far so good, the mind-control necklace, one of Galaxian's inventions, worked extremely well and he got all the information he wanted from Galaxian. He sat in front of the computer on the wooden table and took out a mini recorder from his trouser pocket. He played the recording while typing everything into the computer. He organized every bit of data and saved it into a thumb drive. He also printed everything out. He read his notes.

"Hmm, Galaxian as an Aura channeller. Who would have thought of that?" thought Jarlo.

"Yes, so don't dispose of him yet. He might prove useful to us," said another voice in his mind.

"Yes, indeed. Now all we need is to get rid of Commander Ellen Salium,"

"This could be either extremely easy or extremely hard,"

"Yeah," thought Cyrus as he fingered the locket on his neck.

"Cynthia… Why did you leave me?" thought Cyrus sadly before standing up to go to the commander's booth.

A/N: Yes, it is Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion!

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