The rumors from before, the ones about people and Pokémon disappearing?
They've become much worse now, now including rumors of possible experimentation being done, led by Dr. Zager and several other scientists.
Sebastian feared that if it were indeed true, he would be swept away, made to participate in some manner, yet it never happened.
He later rationalized it with the possibility that due to the clones; they really can't take off with him as freely as before.
If they did, he may snap as would they because of their bond.
And now that he's forming a relationship with Joel, he doesn't want to think about being separated from him.
He doesn't want to be sent to Arceus knows where on some secret lab, away from him, away from the clones, away from his family.
But it still didn't stop his paranoia growing, one day hearing about Attila and Hun going missing. Nothing left to trace them, almost as if they didn't exist if it wasn't for the fact people knew them, at least in name to know their status.
Then there's the fact that he knew them far too well, Hun especially. They wouldn't simply leave Team Rocket just like that, not with their positions. Not with the few friends they've made and promise to help out with the clones if needed.
In the back of his mind, Sebastian knew they likely were taken, either tricked or had been ordered to work in whatever project Zager and the others are doing.
Whether they were ordered to kidnap people and steal Pokémon or are part of the experimentation themselves, he dared not dwell on it.
The scientist shuddered, arms wrapping around himself, thinking about all those missing people, most of them as young as ten.
The latest kidnappee was a young boy, seeing his photo on the news, parents desperate to find him and his Pokémon.
He felt horrible for the families, knowing these missing people and Pokémon are likely here or some other secret base. He figured the latter or there would've been more activity and gossip going around.
The closest thing next to Joel and the clones to keep him somewhat sane was his research on Panthera.
If he didn't figure out how to find her, who knows what Giovanni may do to them if he deems his research to slow or lacking.
He knew in the back of his mind, he should be cursing himself for getting so close, not so much with Joel, but the clones. They're Pokémon, yet they're so much more than that. He was feeling more and more like a father as the days go on, always teaching them something new.
It didn't help that they view him as their father, or mother as Beta sometimes puts it, calling Joel the father.
Yes, the two somehow figured out they had gotten together, though it may not have been all that secretive to begin with.
When he's around the clones, Joel even, he simply felt little need to hide secrets less it was meant to keep them safe. Such as not telling the girls the complete truth of Team Rocket, knowing someday he may have to before it's too late.
He doesn't want to hurt them, not while they're still young, having yet to truly see how cruel life can be at times.
Both of them try so hard to do good in their training sessions so they can rejoin him and Joel as soon as possible.
They've gotten better using telepathy, the things they say sharper and clearer than distorted. It's almost like they're really talking.
If it wasn't for the fact their mouths don't move when they do speak and no one else hears them, he would have thought they somehow learned like that Meowth.
Of course, they choose who to speak with, those they trust such as the two of them, even choosing to trust Tyson.
Both bonded with the man, Beta mostly by how she'd momentarily forget her strength and tackle him down, greeting him.
Sebastian can still remember the look on the man's face; it was rather priceless the first time he heard them speak.
Whether it was that, Beta knocking the wind out of him, or the fact they both started calling him their uncle, he wasn't sure. Tyson was rather embarrassed, yet happy at the same time, as if he found a reason to be happy.
Lost in his thoughts, the scientist nearly walked past Giovanni's office, snapping his mind back into focus as he lightly knocked on the door.
Given confirmation to enter, he did so, handing in his latest report, standing there, eagerly waiting for dismissal as the man thumbed through his work.
"Very good, Professor, you're doing a very good job. Now all we need to do is figure out if any of her kittens are here in our world."
"I still don't understand why we should murder children. With the right tools and training, we could easily turn them to our side…"
"In case you've forgotten, they aren't ordinary children, and not all are children. Do not let her appearance fool you, Panthera is far older. She has offspring who range between child and adult."
"And if those adult children of hers, what if they have families? Including their reincarnated ones?"
"If her adult children have had children of their own, then we shall treat them as if they're Panthera's own."
"Even if they're newborns?" Sebastian asked, horrified by what he was hearing, what the other was implying.
"It just makes the job easier."
"You…you sick bastard! I didn't sign up for this! Murdering someone like Panthera, high classed trainers, League trainers even are one thing, they are a threat to you. But murdering defenseless children? Have you gone completely insane?" he screamed, unable to keep his composure, slamming his hands down hard on the desk.
"Don't act so innocent my dear professor. If you recall, you've participated in some rather gruesome experiments that are on par to what I'm willing to do. Remember all those Eevee I provided?"
"I remember, including every other sick experiment you gave me. I'm not innocent, I admit that much…"
"Then what's the problem now?"
"As if you'd understand," Sebastian spat, storming out of the office.
He knew it was a risk doing that, for blowing up like that and leaving without permission. But if he stayed a second longer, he knew he'd end up doing something he would really regret.
Storming into his room, he inadvertently startled Joel whom was at his desk, toying with the remains of the meteonite.
Ignoring everything but his own angry thoughts, he threw himself onto their bed, a muffled scream thrown into a pillow. The action was childish, but what other option did he really have?
"Shit!" the younger scientist cursed, dropping the rock, but chose to ignore it to see to his lover. "Hey, what happened?"
Calming down, he lifted his face from the pillow when feeling the bed dip slightly, a hand landing on his back, going in gentle circles.
"The usual," he answered with a soft growl.
"Tell me anyway. Might help."
"You really don't want to know."
"Maybe, but I'm asking anyway."
"G-Giovanni is willing to kill not just Panthera, but her children, even their children if they have any. He's even willing to kill any of their families they were reincarnated in if it makes things easier for him."
"What?"
"I tried to reason with him, to at least spare the really young kids…"
"But he wouldn't listen?"
"What do you think?" he spat, hating how he sounded, seeing how upset the other looked. "I know he hates her and this shouldn't be a surprise, but the extreme he's going, it's too much. It doesn't matter if he's under orders or his own; he's making us do his dirty work in the end."
"There has to be a way to get out of here."
"I can get two spots open in the morgue."
"This isn't a joke, I'm serious!"
"So am I! This Darkness, she…she has influence all over the world, possibly beyond our world, our dimension. I've walked in on meetings between her and Giovanni, with other people from our world and the next. You wouldn't believe how insane they looked, not just their eyes, but physically insane."
A shudder ran through him, the other gingerly petting him, trying to settle him down, seeing how scared he was.
"There has to be a way though…"
"I wish there was, but with what we have here now, wandering our base, I don't know how we could even think to escape."
"Shi…" Joel sighed, unsure how to bring him out of this.
"I'm scared; I never felt this scared since I was raped, since Giovanni threatened my daughters. I don't want to die here; I don't want you or any of the girls to die here either. But I don't have a single clue."
Tears began to fall from his eyes, cursing his weakness, wishing he could be stronger, that the mask he used to wear was real.
If it was…
No, if it was, he would never have met Fuji, joined the project let alone come to love his creations as if they were his own. Most of all, he wouldn't have ended up truly falling in love for the third time in his pathetic life.
"Shi, sit up, please," Joel's voice begged, the other doing so, unable to refuse, not wanting to refuse.
Just as he did, facing the other, glasses slightly askew from throwing himself into the bed, he let out a gasp when pulled into his arms.
"We'll figure out a way, we'll figure out how to get out of here, get the girls, your daughters out too."
"Joel…"
Pulling apart, he was surprised when the other reached behind his neck, tugging a silver chain to unclasp it, pulling it free.
He remembered seeing it before; it was a pendant his lover wore, a symbol representing the time lord, Dialga.
While he wasn't a huge fan of jewelry, he couldn't help but admire the pendent, finding the craftsmanship beautiful.
The main portion had been designed to look exactly like the legend's infamous breastplate. However, instead of the familiar diamond on the front, there was a transparent one.
Inside was a working hourglass fitted inside the transparent gem, matching another that surrounded the entire piece, acting as a protective shell.
He knew it worked as he's seen it occasionally rotate, though had to be pretty close to see it do so.
At one point he asked about how it was possible, having a couple of ideas, but wanted to be sure.
Joel explained that the sand inside the hourglass was a mix of magnetic properties, the same kind also used for parts of the plate.
Using a mix of weight and what's in the sand and plate, it would rotate whenever the sand fills one side.
To ensure it would, magnets were put into the framework of the hourglass to keep it still and be attracted to the upper half. If one side is in a sense, to heavy, it would be impossible until all the sand empties, thus causing it to rotate appropriately.
"What are you doing?" Sebastian asked, eyes widening when the other reached around him. "But this is…"
"I know, but I think you need it more," Joel joked softly as he reattached the chain, this time around his lover. "It always gave me some strength, practically acted as a good luck charm. Hopefully, it'll act the same way for you too."
"Joel, thank you," he smiled, kissing him as the other held him close. "This is a really corny gift, but I love it."
"Corny or not, I'm glad you love it."
Laughing, the older man began to feel better as they talked some more before he noticed something glinting out of the meteonite.
"Joel? What were you doing to it?"
"Oh, that, that happened when you came barging in," the other laughed nervously, the other blushing.
"Sorry."
"No problem," he laughed as he got up, going over to it before stopping, eyes growing wide. "This might explain the unstable energy."
"What is it?" Sebastian asked, walking up behind the other, glancing around him to see the unusual space rock.
Dark eyes widened as well, seeing a pair of glittering stones, a familiar design residing deep inside.
"Are…are those…"
"Key Stones, I don't believe it, they were embedded in this thing. I knew there was something in it; I was slowly chipping it away, but to think…"
"But how?"
"I did studies; it came from a much larger one, so it must've released some energy that altered some stones nearby. As you know, there's hardly any information about where they come from or how they're created."
"That's true, but strange that there were two in there."
"You don't think it's a coincidence, do you?"
"I want to, but I get this feeling it isn't, that something is guiding us, like a puppet on strings."
"We'll hide them for now."
"Are you insane?"
"Maybe, but if Giovanni finds out about these, who knows what he could do with just one, let alone two of them? If there's a chance someone here has a strong bond with a Pokémon that can Mega Evolve, and Dialga-forbid, possess the correct Mega Stone… I don't want to think how much stronger they'll be, what damage they could cause."
"You have a point. But where could we hide them?"
"I noticed some loose tiles under the bookshelf. If it isn't some bottomless pit and no signs of a Rattata running about, we could hide them there."
"Are you sure? We could hide them with the blank stones instead. No one would think to look there than a tile. Plus I'm sure someone would notice if we kept shifting the shelf, either scuffs or having OCD about such things."
"That's true, you have a point," Joel sighed as he scratched his head. "But first things first, I have to get them out of this thing. Wherever we hide them, it can't come."
"Maybe so, but how is it going to be explained?"
"Once I get them out, I'll chip around where they were to hide the fact they was something inside."
"It's risky, but could work."
"That's what I'm hoping too…"
At that, they worked together, freeing the stones from the remains of the meteonite, carefully storing them in with the blank stones.
Until they can come up with a plan or know what could be done with them, they have to stay hidden.
This chapter was a bit stressful, not so much the plot, but how to make it flow. I'm still not entirely happy with it, but I can't seem to find any way to really fix it.
Any ideas on what could be done to improve it, either changing it up entirely, or what, I'm open to suggestions.
As for the Key Stones, well since they cut out the whole meteonite from the canon similarly to the GS Ball, figured it could have a different purpose. I mean, far as I know, there's no known information how Key Stones appear. There are some about Mega Stones coming from mutated evolution stones due to meteors or Xerneas/Yveltal having something to do with it.
If I missed something, mostly since I haven't been able to watch the series since losing cable, so I'm going by ear/eye regarding the series. That and playing the games.
Please read and review