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Chapter 8: Checkmate I

There was long, ominous silence from the other end of the line.

"Steven," the vice president said flatly, in the tone that had always made him cower a little inside, "why are you asking about the Aeon Fund?"

It was obvious she had at least an inkling of the answer. Of course, it wasn't exactly hard to guess. "The first meeting with them, it was just before my father started acting off, right? And he was the one who attended?" Steven repeated, blatantly ignoring her question.

She didn't reply — but that wasn't a no, which was as good as a yes.

"I thought so," Steven muttered. "It's starting to line up..."

Devon had been aiming to gain the support of the Aeon Fund, one of the wealthiest investment groups in Hoenn, for some time. They had finally secured a meeting to present their proposal a few weeks back... just before Mr. Stone had started acting oddly. He had been the one to represent Devon at the meeting, and he must have seen her then — Murasaki, who looked so much like the woman in the old photograph.

A relative, Steven supposed. A daughter? He didn't know what interests Mauville had been pursuing in Sinnoh, but whoever had been sent there must have been a high-level executive, one his father had met before.

Had they said something to each other? Something make Mr. Stone concerned enough to start digging?

And why had she come to Devon again, even knowing that his father wouldn't be there? ...Had she been aiming to meet Steven himself all along? Why? Had she been laughing inside all along while smiling at him and making small talk—?

Steven had met his share of two faced people, whether ambitious trainers or businessmen, who tried to get close to him just to use him, but he had done his best to avoid those sides of both Devon and the Pokemon League. He hadn't expected it, and it was enough to make him see red. His teeth ground painfully as he struggled to get himself under control.

"Where are you? Nevermind, just come back to Rustboro, now," the vice president ordered sharply over the phone. "We need to decide how to proceed—"

"You don't need to do anything. I'll handle it," Steven cut her off. "It would be bad for Devon to make a fuss, right? Especially since it's not like we have any evidence. I'll go to their headquarters myself and... deal with it."

"That's ridiculous," Carat snapped. "Go alone? And do what? What if something happens to you too? I could never face the president if I let you do something so insane."

"I have my Pokemon, so I'll be fine," Steven insisted. He should have stopped there and just hung up again, but, distracted, he kept going. "You don't have to tell my father you knew anything about it. It's not as if it would be a problem for you if something did happen to me."

As soon as the words were out, he knew it had been too bitter. It wasn't even her he was angry at, just at everything about this — the stupid corporate politics, the grudges and obsessions, the fact that his family had been dragged into it and he still didn't even know if his father was alright.

He cringed, anticipating the tonguelashing he was about to rightfully receive... but there was nothing.

Instead, Carat only sighed, sounding exhausted enough to make Steven feel even guiltier. "I suppose I deserve that. I've let my feelings affect the way I behaved toward you," she said. "I'm sorry for that. It wasn't right."

Steven choked and minced words, completely taken off guard. "Th-th-that's... uh, well... thank you? It's not a problem, I mean. I mean... uh..."

On the other end of the line, the vice president chuckled quietly. "So don't do anything crazy. If you're right, you'd be walking into the Pyroar's den. Just sit tight for a while and look after yourself. I'll figure out the best approach."

"...Do you have a plan?" Steven asked quietly.

"Not yet," she admitted. "But I'll think of something."

~.~.~

The Aeon Fund's headquarters were located off Route 112, between Mauville and Lavaridge. They owned a large tract of land there, untouched aside from a long, winding driveway that led up to the gates of a very traditional mansion that served as the fund's main building and a guest house that supposedly used housed the most elderly or terminally ill members who had no family to care for them.

Nothing looked out of place from Skarmory's back, even after circling overhead several times. Banking, Skarmory landed smoothly just in front of the gates and braced itself as Steven dismounted.

He tugged at his ascot and ran a hand through his hair, fixing the small disorder caused by the winds during flight. He'd taken the time to wash up and chance into a new suit while his Pokemon were resting — not so much out of concern for appearances, but mostly out of habit.

When he looked toward the gates again, a servant had appeared in the shadow of the entrance arc. A woman in the kimono and apron of a traditional maid bowed low as he approached.

"Welcome, sir," she said demurely. "The mistress is waiting inside."

Steven didn't bother to respond, striding past. His back itched uneasily as the maid fell in step behind him, but he didn't let his expression or posture change. Up ahead, another maid waited in front of the main entrance, and beckoned him down the side path toward the gardens.

The screen doors on the veranda had been opened, letting light and fresh air into the large tatami room beyond. That was where Murasaki knelt, hands folded in her lap as she waited.

When their eyes met, Steven came to a stop, the two maids behind him following suite.

"That will be all," Murasaki said, without breaking her gaze.

Neither of them moved as the maids departed silently. The only sound was the sharp click of a bamboo fountain somewhere among the artfully arrayed stones and plants.

She smiled suddenly, as mild as during their meeting — but the secretive undertone was all too obvious now. "It's a pleasure to have you here," she gave a pointless platitude. "What brings you here, Steven? Is there something we can do for you?"

The false politeness was grating, and Steven glared, gritting his teeth. "Tell me where my father is," he ordered without preamble.

He had expected her to at least dance around the issue and pretend to know nothing for a while longer, but Murasaki's smile widened, even as she half covered it with one hand. "Well," she said, chuckling. "You certainly don't waste time, do you? But I can appreciate that."

She rose to her feet gracefully, making Steven take a step back. But there was nothing in her hands, and she made no move toward him, only continuing to smile to herself.

So... a trap. "Tell me where my father is, right now," Steven repeated, holding up a Poke Ball threateningly. He drew back his arm to throw—

Something held him back. An iron grip had closed around his wrist, as someone appeared behind him completely unnoticed. Craning his neck to look back over his shoulder, Steven caught a glimpse of a dark face mask — one of the ninja, then. They trained not only their Pokemon, but themselves as well, so hiding themselves and lying in wait must have been trivial for them.

The ninja twisted Steven's arm roughly behind his back and deftly caught the Poke Ball as it dropped from his hand. Steven winced, the pain shooting up his arm and through his shoulder almost enough to send him to his knees.

"At least you saved me the trouble of having to hunt you down," Murasaki said, her voice and smile amused as she stepped out onto the veranda and looked down on him. "So you want to know where your father is? Why don't I take you to him?"

She jerked her chin — an order to the ninja behind him.

There was a sharp pain across the back of his neck. Then, darkness.

~.~.~

Everything felt stuffed and slow. His head was pounding, making him shy away from returning to consciousness, even as light insistently filtered in through his closed eyelids.

The steady click of heels against metal approached, stopping just beside him. It was enough to pull Steven back to consciousness, however grudgingly. He blinked muzzily, grimacing as pain spiked through his skull. He was sore too, the half of his body that had been pressed against the floor tingling unhappily as he tried to sit up.

His arms wouldn't move — tied behind his back. That explained why his shoulders felt so terrible, at least.

"Good, you're up," a woman's voice commented, from next to him. It took Steven a long moment to realize who she was. With that, the memories of how he'd ended up in this situation came tumbling back, along with the realization of what had happened.

Rising to his knees, Steven glared up at Murasaki.

The harsh yellow lights stripped away any remaining hints of her mild-mannered facade. Her expression was cold and sharp as she looked down on him. Even her entire bearing had changed, the prideful line of her shoulders emphasized by the Poke Ball holster she'd used to tie back her long sleeves, and the boots she had changed into were planted in a proud, wide stance.

It all made her look even more like the woman in the old photograph.

"Steven..."

The sound of his name made him jump. He hadn't even realized that another person was in there with them. And it was—

"Dad!"

Mr. Stone caught Steven as he stumbled from trying to rush to his feet. Murasaki hadn't bothered tying him up, and he looked exhausted and worried but most importantly... alive. As his father steadied him, Steven slumped in a sudden wash of relief.

It was foolish. The situation was hardly anything to be relieved about — Murasaki was standing nearby, watching patiently, and now that he was paying more attention, he noticed that not only was her Mawile at her feet, but several Pawniard stood guard around them and Magnemite hovered menacingly overhead.

But at least he finally knew that his father was still alive. "Dad..." he sighed, his voice shaking. Wryly, he thought, 'At this rate, I might as well start crying too...'

Mr. Stone's hands tightened around his shoulders as he bowed his head. His voice was shaking too. "Steven, I'm so sorry," he muttered. "This is all my fault. I never wanted you to become involved in this or in Devon's secrets..."

"Then you should have told me what I want to know from the start," Murasaki cut in, reminding them both of her presence. "You're the one who dragged it and made me go this far. And now, this poor boy is going to pay the price."

"What are you planning? And what are you after?" Steven demanded.

His legs were still a bit unsteady from whatever the ninja had done to knock him out, but he straightened, letting his father take a step back and turn to face Murasaki as well.

"Do you truly intend to go this far for something as petty as revenge for your family?" he went on.

"My family?" Murasaki repeated, raising her eyebrows slightly in puzzled amusement. "And revenge? Oh, I see. So that's what must have happened... But you've misunderstood something. It wasn't a relative of mine that was the founder of the old company and Greater Mauville Holdings. It was me."

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Notes: This chapter was originally supposed to include the entirety of this scene, but Murasaki just kept talking... for an entire chapter worth of content... so I decided to cut it here. I hope you're ready for that. Next time! On! Zeta Episode!

As always, please review!

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