It was as Sebastian predicted, barely a week passed after he, Attila and Hun left, the ship carrying the captured Rayquaza was attacked.
Rumors that it was a ranger with several Eevee was heard, whether it was true or not didn't matter. The Pokémon escaped in the end, Dr. Namba humiliated of losing such a powerful and rare beast, for not heeding his warning.
Sebastian was back at his research lab, the two going off to Kalos to keep a low profile and see if Hun could get lucky obtaining a Key Stone.
The blank Mega Stones were kept with him, to study their properties and find out why they appear as such than others such as Hun's Steelixite. The remaining Mega Stones, while a few were kept, the rest taken for appraisal.
Sitting at his desk, Sebastian stretched his sore limbs, deciding he needed to take a breather, ready to head outside.
But before he does, he had to return the stones to their storage unit to avoid damage or worse, getting turned into official Mega Stones.
Passing the freezer, he felt himself pausing, the box in his arms, the two stones safely tucked inside.
Something in the back of his mind was telling him to go in there, the voice becoming too strong, unable to resist.
He quickly put the stones away to where they needed to, returning to the freezer and going inside.
Looking through some frost covered cases; he found what he was looking for, tears beginning to form.
Amber's DNA…
He completely forgot about having this, recalling the promise he made to Fuji.
Should he still uphold that promise even if the man's dead?
It was the least he could do…
Taking the samples, finding much had degraded, having sat so long, he pulled just enough to start cloning.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm fulfilling a promise I made, Davin," Sebastian smiled bitterly.
He made the finishing touches before activating the third unused tube, grateful it was kept in pristine condition.
"Promise?"
"Yes, do you know why Thomas worked here?"
He had no reason to hide how much the late doctor meant to him, the others seemed to have figured out enough. Even if they didn't know he was actually in love with the man, the strong bond was still there.
He even convinced his team that they didn't have to use titles, they became familiar enough, become friends even. The only time they would use their titles, at least for the leading professor would be if they had unannounced guests.
"Not much."
"He lost a daughter a long time ago and wanted her back, to give back the life stolen from her. He asked me to bring her back if he couldn't."
"I see… You really cared about him."
Flinching a little, he gave the glass a nervous smile, "I did… I really did. I just wish I told him just how much he meant to me."
"I'm sure in some ways he knew," Davin reassured, patting him on the shoulder, a comforting smile on his face.
"Umm…is there any way that we could help too?" Cassie spoke up, grabbing the pair's attention, having overheard. "A human is different than a Pokémon."
"That and she had been sick in her time alive…"
"Then that would make it harder to clone her."
"I know…"
"Then let us help."
Others stood with her, the looks on their faces showed they were going to help, put all their knowledge and skills to bringing a human back.
"Thank you, all of you," Sebastian smiled, a rare look he shared with so few.
Like that, they began to work on Amber's DNA, using the old notes Fuji had kept about her, looking at the different methods he used in each attempt.
Finding what may work, they got to work, following the same method they're using for the other two clones.
If all pans out, they would be the first to successfully clone a human, bringing her back to life.
With much discussion, they decided that unless necessary, they planned on taking her out when she was an infant.
As for who would raise her, they discussed it as well, deciding that her main parent would be Sebastian.
While he never got to raise his own daughters, he already knows parenting, the rest having no clue, not even having younger siblings.
But most of all, this was Thomas Fuji's daughter, Sebastian knew him best, would know enough how to raise her properly.
When he was first told about it, he wanted to argue, but seeing their determined faces, he couldn't help but see Fuji in their faces.
If he were here now, he'd agree too, he was sure of it, especially if he had known he was going to die so soon.
Maybe he already knew? It would explain why he gave him those samples when they began on their projects.
As the months crawled by, the team monitoring the older clones, kept their eyes on their newest addition. If they mess this up, there was no second chance; it was all or nothing now.
Looking at the fetus, there really wasn't much, seeing such a tiny thing one would almost mistake as a wad of chewing gum.
It made them think back to when Beta and Omega once looked like this.
However, the joy they shared, the excitement they held was soon cut short.
Giovanni walked in unannounced, several grunts and high ranked officers nearby, one of which was Tyson.
"Hello, Giovanni," Sebastian greeted through clenched teeth.
He was doing everything in his power to keep his disgust with the man hidden, eyes narrowing further when seeing his ex-wife standing with him too.
"What's the progress on Beta and Omega?" he asked, walking over to look at the floating clones.
"They're doing well, it will be another few months before they can be taken out," he answered, keeping his tone even.
But all that composure left when Meiya discovered the third active test tube, seeing the barely developed fetus.
"What on earth is that?" she asked, obviously disgusted.
"Care to explain what you're doing here?" Giovanni growled dangerously, making the other start shaking.
"I found extra samples of Mew that weren't used. Rather than risk them being ruined by age, I figured it would be beneficial to clone a third one," he lied, praying the man would buy it.
He could always lie about it dying, and when it came to Amber's rebirth, just claim he or one of the others had a fling with Cassie. If that didn't work, they could always say they found her, having taken a walk for fresh air and heard crying.
He knew all the spots in the area, knowing some were common for hikers, but rough enough to deter them from going further.
But much to his horror, he had forgotten that the powerful man before him isn't some moron to be toyed with.
"Don't lie to me; I know exactly what a human fetus looks like. Tell me, Professor, what exactly are you planning on doing with it?"
Lowering his head, unable to meet the man's gaze, "I made a promise."
"A promise? To whom?"
"An old friend. I promised I'd bring his daughter back."
"So you're wasting my money on a silly promise?"
"It isn't silly; there are other benefits to cloning her!" Sebastian argued, recalling Fuji's words, the hopes he bore. "She died from an illness. Her father found the cause and made a cure, but it was too late. He wanted to bring her back and asked me to help him accomplish it! She'll be the first ever human cloned, one who had been sick before, but now completely cured!"
"Enough of this nonsense, I want it destroyed. You've wasted enough of my money on this useless experiment."
"No… I won't let you kill her," Sebastian growled, stepping in front of Amber's tank, determination in his eyes. "Do what you want with me I don't care. But I won't let you hurt her!"
"How courageous of you, Professor Sebastian, but you forget one thing," Giovanni laughed, obviously amused.
With a snap of his fingers, Meiya and other Rockets came in, restraining the scientists that tried to resist.
"No! Don't do this! I'll destroy Beta and Omega if you do this! I swear it!" he screamed, pinned down, watching with desperate eyes.
"Giovanni, sir, isn't this a bit much?" Tyson tried to argue, the other shooting him a dangerous look that froze him in place.
"Not at all," he answered, hitting a switch, watching as the machine keeping the fetus alive shut down.
"You bastard!" Sebastian screamed, tears coursing down his face.
He struggled to break free, knocked out by a sharp kick from the woman he hates with a burning passion.
When he finally woke up, he found his team lying on the ground, slowly coming to as was he.
Tyson had stayed by his side, a sad look on his face, not knowing just how much pain he was in.
Whether he stayed on his own free will or stayed due to orders, the man wasn't sure nor really cared that much.
He looked at the tank Amber was in, realizing it was too late to resuscitate her, a new wave of tears coursing down his face.
"Professor, I'm sorry, I tried to convince him to start it back up," Tyson spoke softly, seeing how broken the man looked.
For some reason it was oddly familiar, even seeing the fetus, it was as if he knew about this, but couldn't place it.
"I failed him, I failed him," Sebastian sobbed, a near animalistic scream tearing out of his throat.
Worried about the other two clones, one of the others grabbed the brunette, asking him to take the professor to his room. Until he calmed down, his emotions could prove hazardous to the clones' emotional and mental development.
Understanding, he easily scooped the smaller man up, carrying him to the room, told where it was.
He ignored the other's thrashing and kicking, the fists pounding into his chest and back when having to adjust carrying him.
Reaching there and as gently as he could, putting him in the bed, Tyson stayed with the scientist.
He took a seat, staring at the other, unsure if what he was seeing was real, the man so broken, crying loudly into the pillows.
He continued screaming about his failure, about his promise broken.
Hearing him like this, seeing him so hysterical, the Rocket felt a pain in his chest, as if he knew exactly why.
But why?
Why would he feel so horrible about this?
Why did this feel so familiar?
The pain? The sorrow? Feeling helpless…
At some point, the distraught man had cried himself to sleep, the brunette plucking the glasses off his face and setting them on the nightstand.
"What happened to you?" he asked, unable to resist brushing the tears off the other's face.
Not easy to write, and I'm happy/not happy with how it turned out, mostly with how short it is compared to some of the other chapters.
But yeah, more emotional/psychological stuff, and most of all, Giovanni being a total dick. Not sure if the money excuse could work, may switch it from money to time, or use a combination of both.
Either way, a new low for Giovanni and another reason for Professor Sebastian to hate him.
Advice to lengthen it, or take pieces out to put into the previous chapter, the rest into the next would be great.
Please read and review