Sapphire entered the office quietly, holding Brook close as she looked around. She took a deep breath and approached the desk, placing a hand on one of the drawers. She didn't have much time, so she'd have to be quick. Archie could come in at any second if she wasn't careful. The gem opened the drawers of the desk, looking through each one carefully. Papers, a few books, a folder containing what looked like letters and many old papers. If she had the time, she could look for the orb, but her best guess was that he had it on him. She picked up the folder carefully, placing it on the desk as she opened it. It was full of documents that dated back at least three hundred years ago.
Brook blinked as she placed a foot on one paper, crying out quietly as she continued to tap it. "What is it, Brook?" Sapphire asked, looking at the paper. It was the drawing of the Sapphire she saw earlier, looking down at Brook. "This Sapphire… She nearly destroyed this place… I'm glad she's no longer a threat."
"Mud..?" Sapphire reached for a stack of papers held together with a paperclip. The first paper was nearly ripped to shreds, only showing a sketch of a man. He wore a large coat and tricorn hat, part of a bandanna sticking out from underneath. He looked familiar to her, but she couldn't remember why.. The paper was attached to a few old documents, some written in hasty handwriting. The documents were addressed to somebody whose name started with an A, but it was blotted out with ink. Most of the documents stated crimes committed against the region and its people, all with the same name blotted out.
Sapphire grumbled, putting the papers aside while Brook nudged the rest in the folder. The Mudkip looked up at Sapphire as two envelopes came into view, one marked with an 'M' and the other closed with a wax seal. The gem blinked as she picked up the envelope with the 'M', turning it as she opened it. She removed the letter from inside, unfolding it carefully.
Archibald,
Ever since the prison escape, I've stayed low here in the Sky Tower. I cannot stress how hard it is to live on so little, but I am glad that I am alive. However, I must ask you for a favor in return of what I did. I have met another one. She means no harm to me and seems to protect a third powerful Legendary that seems to roam the Region. I want to bring her with us when we leave this Region. To teach us what we must know to stop people who made the same mistakes we did. When you are ready to leave, we will be waiting for you here.
The name at the bottom was blotted out, but she could read a distinctive 'M'. Seems like a lot of people like to blot out names on these things. Whoever 'M' was, he might've been the other man she saw on Mt. Pyre. Sapphire stared at the name at the top of the letter, suddenly recognizing the sketch. The man was Captain Archibald Shimizu, one of the first men to travel from Region to Region. He was highly feared by many, often hunted down by admirals. Now she knew why Archie seemed so familiar.
Sapphire sat back on the couch, shutting her eye as a memory came back to her.
Sapphire gasped as Archibald pulled a glowing orb from his coat, looking down at it a if it were a newborn child. "No… Please, no…! Stop it! Captain, you mustn't use its power any further!" The Captain ignored her pleas as he looked up at her, walking past the man beside him. His eyes glowed brighter as he approached the gem, baring his teeth. He looked like an absolute monster. Sapphire backed up into a wall, hands held close to her chest. She couldn't get through… She'd have to fight, but she couldn't bring herself to hit him, especially in this state. The orb glowed to life, markings appearing across his face as he started to speak.
"Sapphire." The gem felt a sudden jolt of fear, eye wide. It was his voice,but she could hear two more voices. A deep monstrous one and one that was similar to her own. It was the other Sapphire's voice, she could tell. She was controlling him somehow. Sapphire watched as Archibald started to look down, grip tightening on the orb. He make eye contact with her, raising his arm up over his shoulder. He was going to try and shatter her! "Wait, no! Stop! Think about what you're doing! The world will only be flooded if you continue down this path! Just ignore her!"
"Sapphire!" A sudden shout caught her attention as she looked up, eye wide. A spear launched across one end of the building to the other, striking the man's coat sleeve. The spear pulled him down and stuck into the ground, pinning him in place as he screeched. It was the most inhuman scream Sapphire had ever heard. She mustered up all her courage and dashed forth, wrapping both hands around the orb as she tried to yank it from Archibald's hands. She could feel the orb pulsing, as if it was alive. She tightened her grip until it was free from the man's grasp, holding the orb high above her head. "I'm doing it to help you!" she shouted, tossing it down at the ground in hope it would shatter.
Sapphire snapped her eye open, staring at the sketch of Archibald. She wasn't sure what happened after that. Everything had gone dark when she tossed the orb. She had woken up a few hours after the incident, only to find Hoenn was safe. Archibald had finally been caught and hauled off to prison, awaiting his sentence. It would've been a death sentence for all the crimes he had done throughout the regions. She hadn't heard anything else about him ever since. Sapphire looked through the rest of the letters, some being from who she believed was a lover. The rest were from other enemies who had caught wind of his capture, most of them filled with death threats.
"There has to be more…"
"Mudkip!" Brook trotted to the room next door, tapping her feet on the floor as she gazed at her Trainer. Sapphire shut the folder and walked over, looking around. The room consisted of a bed, a potted plant and a table, but nothing more. "Brook, search around. There must be something nearby." The Mudkip walked towards the bed, laying on her stomach as she stared. Sapphire hurried over and sat beside her, brushing her hair away to get a better look. She spotted a laptop with the charger sitting on top of it and reached under the bed, pulling the device out.
The gem sat on the bed, pulling Brook up with her as she opened the laptop and started it up. A lock screen popped up, earning a sigh from her. If Pearl was here, she'd get in with no problem. Brook looked at the keyboard and raised a tiny foot, gently placing it on different keys and hitting the 'Enter' key. The lock screen disappeared and showed a neatly organized desktop. "Amazing! Brook, how did you know?"
"Mudkip!" Sapphire smiled, pecking Mudkip on the head. She was a smart Mudkip. Sapphire turned to the laptop screen and scanned the different folders. Each one had a name, very few under the name 'New Folder'. Sapphire clicked open one marked 'Schedule' and looked at the contents. It was filled with nearly thousands of files each with a name, a number before each one. It was a list of Grunts by rank, Shelly and Matt at the very top. Sapphire hovered the mouse over the search bar and entered her name until only one file popped up. She clicked it open and studied it.
The file was a monthly schedule, each day marked with a task for her to complete. Most were marked with 'Patrol' or 'Scavenge'. Sapphire closed the file and the folder, opening a new folder marked 'History'. Thousands of folders marked with names and numbers popped up again, Shelly and Matt still at the top. Sapphire searched her name again, clicked the file, and studied again. It was small notes of her time there. The time she arrived, the grunt and Admin who brought her in, the time she joined, all that stuff. She closed the file again, looking at each folder for clues.
"Mudkip! Mudkip!" Brook cried out, pointing a foot up at a folder on the screen. Sapphire turned her gaze to it, seeing the folder marked 'Archie'. A bit odd to have a folder under your own name. Sapphire opened the folder, finding more folders inside. Each one was filled with several files. Sapphire opened one marked 'History' and scanned through it. It was filled with news articles and résumés, some catching her eye. She opened up one résumé that was for a team she hadn't heard the name of in a long time. A team stationed out in Kanto and sometimes Johto. Archie looked awfully young in the photo, so it had to be an old résumé. One news article talked about incidents in cities like Saffron City and Fuschia City, the photo in the articles showing a blurred outline of a man with a Sharpedo like grin leaving the scenes, a red 'R' on his shirt.
Sapphire sighed in frustration, clicking out of the folder. "We could be here all night looking for answers and we don't have that kind of time." Brook blinked as she stared at the screen, lifting a foot to point again. Her gaze fell on the new folder, reading the name. 'Sapphire'. Aside from the name, something about it was strange to see and it stood out from the rest of the files. Sapphire opened the folder, finding only one other folder inside. She clicked on it and gasped in surprise. It was full of news articles, but they looked centuries old. Why weren't these in the folders on his desk? They talked about Archibald again, judging from some of the titles. Maybe it would give her a little more insight on what happened.
The articles ranged from raids he had conducted to sightings in other Regions. Some spoke of an Admiral who seemed to be his greatest enemy, sort of like Team Magma was Team Aqua's enemy. Sapphire clicked on a news article titled 'Failure', already getting a bad feeling from opening it.
'HOENN IN RUINS: INFAMOUS PIRATE FINALLY CAUGHT
"We knew he could destroy homes and Regions, but not like this." These are the words reporters heard from Professor Alexander Birch, Hoenn's Pokémon researcher, after asked what Captain Sebastian Stone had to say on the matter of Hoenn's most feared enemy. Five days ago, a sudden drought and storm took over Hoenn, where folks are still recovering from the destruction. Admiral Maxime Rituko was arrested on the site where the catastrophe started, stripped of his rank and held in prison. He was released last night.
In the midst of releasing the former Admiral, Captain Stone returned to shore from one of his archaeological digs. The captain was followed by Captain Archibald Shimizu, locked in chains. "He saw our ship and tried to escape, but fate favored us that day. We have made a terrible discovery on the way back." stated Captain Stone.
Captain Shimizu was involved with former Admiral Rituko's actions in destroying the Region. "The lady in blue and red were responsible, not us. We had no clue," Shimizu told Captain Stone while returning to Hoenn. "Had we known they had such power, we would've stopped them."
Currently, nobody is certain what the motive for the destruction of Hoenn was. Shimizu's sentence is yet to be decided, though Hoenn has raised their voices to give him a public execution.
Sapphire closed her eye, feeling a tear form as she rubbed it away. "We should've come here sooner.. Maybe… Just maybe…. We could've stopped them. Saved those men… I..." Brook frowned, nudging Sapphire's arm and crawling into her lap, nuzzling her Trainer's face. Sapphire sniffled and hugged Brook with one arm, shaking her head. "What's been done has been done…" Brook nodded, watching Sapphire close out of everything and shut down the laptop. The gem hopped off the bed and placed the laptop back, stepping of the room. Her eye fell on the folder she had left out as she walked over and picked it up. "We're going to need this. He won't miss it."
Brook wiggled out of her grasp and grabbed a folder that looked similar to the one in Sapphire's hand, placing it in the drawer they retrieved it from and closed it with her tail. "Mudkip!" Sapphire smiled, pecking her on the head as she picked her up and headed for the exit. "Let's get going, then. I have to find Ruby."