Chapter 63: Hollowed out core

Unknown time

Sinnoh

Resort Area

"He's...Gone..." a voice echoed hollowly around the dilapidated mansion.

He is gone.

"Gold, let's head back...Hey! What are you doing?! Gold! Come back here this instant!" Green hollered and chased after the ebony haired male, grabbing both his arms, the older man forced him into a choke hold and Gold wriggled furiously.

"Lemme out! I'm going after them!" He hissed and gulped for air.

"Going after them?" Oak questioned disbelievingly, "Are you out of your mind? How can you expect your pokemon to keep up with automobiles and more importantly you are going to get yourself caught!" Green spat and tightened his grip, "be sensible...And let us return to base, the others are waiting for us. You saw the opposition's pokemon, a sword of justice and a manufactured insectoid, I don't know anything about genesect and there are rumours that it is a pseudo legendary developed by the Unova authorities. Even Red didn't stand a chance." The Johto native stopped wriggling but Green did not relax his hold yet, it might be a ruse and he wouldn't put it past the breeder to easily slip out and get himself tangled with the police. "We are going back to our base" he repeated, "and we have to tell the others what happened." A slight tremble wracked his body and he tried to reign in his emotions.

"You are awfully calm about this...and he didn't stand a chance because all his pokemon had been fatigued due to fighting the police situated outside the mansion." Gold thrashed to no avail, "and I'm going to rescue senior Red no matter what you say...SO...LET...ME...GO!" A palm thrust send Oak's chin snapping upwards and a torrent of pain shot up his jaw. The ebony haired male slipped free from his choke hold and tried to run. Instinctively, Green brought two fingers together and jabbed at the fleeing adolescent's pressure points; the Johto native faltered in his careering, Oak grabbed him by the back of his shirt and after spinning the individual around, he rammed a knee up his solar plexus and the amber eyed man moaned and crumbled on the spot. It's a wonder how he didn't faint immediately. "Lack-2...He...He...GAH!" The breeder gritted his teeth, clutched his hair angrily and breathed steam. "Let me go after Lack-2...I was responsible for him, please senior, if...maybe if I had done a better job of looking after him, none of this would've happened...It's my fault. This is all my fault..."

It's all my fault.

Green wasn't surprised to see the younger man start crying. Doubled over the dusty and scorched tiles, he waited for Gold to wail out his sorrows. The empty hallways echoed his wounded cries and he understood why the normally cheerful and upbeat man felt crushed. He cursed his own inability to never see through Lack-2's deception and bile rose in his throat. To distract himself, he scoured the hallway and found the item Red threw prior to his capture by the police. The garnet lined cuff gleamed brilliantly amongst the soiled surroundings and he bent down to pick it up. Turning towards the Johto native, he saw the amber eyed man stir.

"When I see that brat again...When I see Lack-2 again, I'm going to give him a hiding, I'm going to beat that two timing hypocrite to an inch of his life...I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" Gold screeched to no one in particular and pulled a lock of his hair out, "I even gave Pibo to him...how could he? HOW COULD HE DO TH-is too me?" A sharp chop to the back of his head rendered him unconscious and he warbled the last part out. Tears still leaked from his eyes and with a grunt, Green picked him up and carried him over his shoulder. After stepping out of the building, he summoned his charizard and his confidence wavered. His dragon had seen better days. A large hole in the webbed wing made flying hazardous and a great scar ran horizontally over the vermillion wrym's face. The fire burning on its tail seemed small and weak and Green found his eyes wavering to the horizon. He saw the weak light of dawn force the darkness away and as the minutes ticked by, he allowed the sun to burn his retinas as it rose and bathed the world. Sunrises were supposed to signal hope and a new beginning but lately, all they brought with them was despair and pain. Forcing himself out of his morbid ponderings, he reached a hand out and charizard fondly rubbed his head against the proffered hand. A small smile wound its way on Oak's lips; his dragonoid hardly displayed any form of affection unless it suffered from sickness or injury. Murmuring small words of comfort to it, he boarded the dragon and pulled the unconscious form of Gold close to him. The man leant uncomfortably close and proved to be a dead weight. When charizard flapped its wings, the circular wound produced a great whistle; nonetheless, the human and beast trio rose into the rapidly brightening sky and flew off into the west.

Early morning

Sinnoh

Underneath Mount Coronet

Silver's irises swung back and forth as he observed Crystal pace the rusty floor. She took her Poke-gear out, checked it for the umpteenth time and after sighing, stowed it away in the pocket of her shorts. The red head leaned lethargically against one of the metal struts holding the cavern up. They haven't used this place in years and it fell into disarray. In fact, when the Organization was founded, Green introduced this place as a base and Blue snorted that it lacked the sophistication of one. The hollowed out cave sat underneath the base of Mount coronet and could only be reached if anyone was willing to brave an avalanche. Either than that, only helicopters and flying types could safely land in this place. Last year, Cyrus and his Team Galactic had the unfortunate luck of tracing Platina, Dia and Pearl into this cavern and they ended up being caught and busted. A smaller room lied further from the main chamber and was separated by a narrow tunnel, Blue ventured deeper into the compound in order to investigate it and the rest of the juniors tidied and dusted the place up. Accessing the second floor proved to be treacherous due to a rusting staircase and the first order of things would be to fix that.

They heard a loud clanging on the door and Crys took off, a delicate frown etched on her face. No one changed out of their dirty clothes and in one corner of the enormous room, cordoned off by a large sheet of cloth, Yellow made a makeshift infirmary and cared for Ruby, Sapphire and White. Pearl never let Diamond out of his line of vision and the two boys could be seen sleeping on the floor with Diamond's jacket draped over their heavily breathing bodies. Pushing himself off the metal pole, Silver followed Crystal and thrust the door open with her. A wind howled right then, buffeting them and sending in a cloud of fine snow. Green stepped inside and deposited a comatose Gold on the floor. The indigo haired woman gasped and crouched down at once; and Silver saw the beginnings of a bruise forming around Gold's neck. Strategy's leader brushed snow off his locks and gravitated towards the open fire burning in the middle of the room. He didn't say a word. After dragging Gold over to the temporary hospital, Diamond stirred and shot up. Azure eyes locked on to Green's ponderous form and he worded out the question on everyone's mind.

"Where is senior Red?" The chubby boy, now fully awake, queried. Pearl mumbled something incomprehensible and turned to the other side, he dragged Dia's jacket with him. "Where is Red?" Diamond insisted again and got up.

"He's been captured by Lack-2..." All the heads snapped to the corner where Gold, supported by Silver, sat and answered. "That brat wasn't part of our Organization at all...He was a spy...A two timer and an Arceus forsaken Superintendent of the INTERNATIONAL POLICE!" he shouted and hawked hoarsely." Yellow soothed him and tried to force some bitter herbs and he brushed her aside and wobbled on trying to get up. "I'm going after them. I'll find Red on my own and bring him back...And if I see Lack-2...Heh...If I see him, that hypocrite better start praying to Giratina or whoever the hell he prays too...he'll regret ever being born and pulling that stunt!"

"Calm down Gold...You are making yourself sick."

"YOU ARE TOO CALM!" Instead of calming down like Green suggested, he shot up and screamed, "How can you be so impassive after seeing what happened? HUH? Red was taken away right in front of us and we couldn't do anything! Nothing! And it's my fault! That brat always sneaked around, he liked listening to private conversations and pestered me to tell him everything and I did...Because...Because I liked his over eagerness. Why in Lugia's name didn't I have my suspicions about him?" Gold sunk down heavily and leaned on Crystal who rubbed his back in comforting circles, "and now look what he did! Lack-2 ruined everything! He took my mentor away from ME!"

"Lack-2...Is a spy?" Whi-2 quizzed and emerged from within the base with an astonished Blue at her heels. The girl wore an apron over her unclean t-shirt and skirt, she clutched a broom tightly and her knuckles were white. Her face had been smudged with dirt and soot, yet, one could see that all the colour drain from her face. "That is...Impossible, we enrolled in Aspertia together, I've known him for five years since then...I mean...Lack-2 is only a child." Her lips wavered and she pressed them down in a firm line. Blinking furiously, she forcibly swallowed her tears and stared straight ahead. Everything fell apart, first Hugh and now the only remaining friend her age, Lack-2, turns out to be a spy for the police. What if they suspect her as well? She could see them staring back at her, some of them inquisitive, others apathetic and then there was Gold...Burning up with so much rage she wouldn't be surprised if he broke out in a fever. Amber irises bored into her and she saw them glazing over with hatred and all the negative emotions in the world. "I-I'm not part of this!" She hastily added, "I swear, I didn't join this organization with any ulterior motives...I'm only here because you...Because senior Blue kidnapped me." This time she couldn't stop her crying, her vision blurred and the tears fell one by one till they traced thick wet lines on her cheeks. "Please trust me...I never knew he-"

Blue squeezed Whi-2's shoulders and the latter buried her face in her commander's chest and wept. "It's all right Whi-2, no one is accusing you of anything..." she murmured, "I understand, Lack-2 was secretive in his own way and no one is blaming you for this. Get some rest now." The girl mutely nodded, extracted herself from the warm embrace and located Silver who sat on the ground near the infirmary. Gold lapsed into a brooding quietude and after sending the Execution member a worried glance; she wiped her tears and mechanically marched to the red head. He gave her a fleeting smile, patted the metal eroded ground next to him and she plopped down gratefully. The warmth of the fire spread evenly over her form but for some reason she shivered. She wondered what made her shiver, the sight of a fatigued Yellow tending to the injured members? Or the three comatose bodies lying side by side and in obvious need of better medical attention? Or maybe it was the presence of Gold, normally the man smiled and showed a mouthful of teeth, his expression always had a mischievous undertone, now, the frown on his face bore the weight of an unspeakable wrath. She trembled and curled up, Silver pulled off his jacket and draped it over her form and she pulled the thick material over her and mumbled a thanks.

"If you need anything, just ask." The Johto native droned and tucked his head in his arms.

"What happened?" Blue quizzed and stood next to Green, the male stared into the fire like a zombie. "Is Red really captured by the police?"

"No, not really...You can see him standing behind me." Oak snarked, "of course he's been captured why do you think Gold is in such a huff? That simpleton wanted to go after him."

"Do you know where...They might've taken him?"

"Blue...Sometimes you ask the dumbest of questions and it gives me a royal headache..." Green hissed and simmered down, "if I knew where they took Red do you think I'm just going to sit here and warm up my hands? Do you? I had to knock Gold out. Lack-2 had a backup officer waiting for him and he had a legendary creature, Keldeo and a pseudo mythical pokemon by the name of genesect in his possession. Not to mention that the child also wielded a crossbow..." The professor trailed off and thought, Constellate's leader saw the lines on his forehead deepen as he contemplated, "I've been thinking...When the police tried to bust us previously, it might've also been thanks to Lack-2. He waits in his room... as bait...For someone to come get him when things go tough. Normally, since we allow the juniors to evacuate first, one of the commanders would be most likely to come rescue him..." Green gazed into the fire some more and Blue watched the miniature orange flames flicker and dance in the jade irises. For a moment, she felt hypnotized and then his words pulled her out of her reverie, "the first time, Gold tumbled in his room. I suppose even if he is part of the International police, he didn't have the heart to sell his mentor off. Possibly, if Gold barged into his room again, then Red would still be with us." He pressed his eyes shut and stepped away from the fire. "I'm exhausted, is there a place I can sleep?" He queried, "And where are Cyrus and Charon?"

The chocolate haired woman exhaled softly and pulled her hair into a bun before replying, "Cyrus and Charon are deeper in the base, they are busy cleaning and Platina is keeping an eye on them. I'm sorry, but there isn't a proper place to sleep in, the ground is the only thing we can rest on for the moment." Her best friend shrugged and said that it couldn't be helped and her irises widened a fraction as he turned to leave. "Another thing Green..." he paused and rotated backwards, "the red chain is finished. I meant to tell you this before but it slipped my mind," he nodded in understanding. "After we have the base fixed, I'll sneak in with my team and retrieve the things we need from the previous one...then...What do we do?" His answer didn't satisfy her, "What?!" she exclaimed shrilly and people looked up, "what do you mean we are going ahead with our plan without Red? He is part of this, we can't...Just do these things without him!" she fiercely whispered and he shook his head.

"He'd want us to go ahead..." he tiredly intoned and thrust his hands into his jacket pockets, "the next time we see him...we can tell him everything about it."

Several weeks later

Sinnoh

Underneath Mount Coronet

The formerly dysfunctional cave appeared much better looking. All the rusting plates hammered to the ground were ripped up and the organization went through the trouble of pouring concrete over the raw earth. This time, they refused the Berlitz family's help when one morning they arrived in a sleek, black helicopter and offered their services. Platinum Berlitz had been whisked away and her parents vehemently argued with her when she wanted to stay at the crude base. Eventually she left, stiff faced and promising to be back the moment their headquarters became optimally functional. Pearl and Diamond stood outside in the snow and waved as the chopper, carrying their precious friend, rose in the frigid air and took off. The blades sliced the crisp atmosphere and disappeared into a cloudless sky. They trudged back inside the cavern and plopped next to the roaring fire burning in the middle. The untamed inferno couldn't be dancing in the middle of the room for eternity, therefore Sapphire, who marginally recovered from her injuries, took it upon herself to build a fireplace. She could be seen, even now, hefting an axe and toiling away in a corner of the base. Yellow often admonished her furiously but the girl refused to listen. Over the bare cement flooring, Constellate's commander had the grace of purchasing a carpet and as soon as the fire place was complete, they would roll it out on the floor.

Minute changes occurred and they did not go unnoticed. Gold, who recently shattered his arm after trying to fix the broken down staircase by himself, could rarely be seen in the company of anyone. He preferred to stay on the freezing first floor curled in a shadowy crevice with only his pokemon for company. Instead of sleeping in a proper bed, he snoozed on the belly of his typholsion instead. White found herself in the presence of the Hoenn natives and more often than not, her chocolate brown irises would trace over the burns and unsightly scars on Sapphire's skin. For some reason, the wild trainer and Ruby hardly talked and when they did, they communicated in short, terse sentences. The Unova native suspected that their animosity lied in the fact that Ruby blamed himself for not being able to protect her. This caused some friction between them which only worsened as time passed and whilst Emerald did his best to help, they only ignored the diminutive blonde. The headquarters, although a hive of activity, felt splintered and broken apart. The two remaining commanders rarely talked with their juniors and preferred to busy themselves with building up their home. Crystal and Silver kept a hawk eyed watch over their best friend and Whi-2 could almost always be seen either with Blue or the red head.

A gaping hole.

It felt like they missed something, even though they toiled and the shabby interior shaped up wonderfully. A soft grey carpet lined the interior and stretched all the way to the back. The fireplace burned brightly and bathed the room with a warm orange glow. The stairs were fixed, and it turned out to be an unpleasant sculpture of metal and wood but at least it bore their weight and did not crumble apart. The main room became a work station and doubly functioned as a common room. Unfortunately, it lacked the comfort and superfluity of their previous bases and Platinum, who returned the moment the base was completely restored, brought with her a few pieces of furniture. A scattering of mismatched chairs and couches sat around a low wooden table and despite everyone's protests, Gold used one of the settees as a bed. To the astonishment of no one, Yellow and Green could be seen spending much time in each other's company. The duo liked to keep to themselves and the latter fashioned a little infirmary in one of the unused compounds on the second floor. There were many empty rooms, dilapidated and reeking with the stench of wild pokemon and fresh earth, these were either boarded up or left alone as the members opted for sleeping in groups rather than individually. Frankly, they didn't have the luxury of having individual accommodations any longer and what would they keep in their rooms?

The red chain was finished before the raid on their previous headquarters and Team Constellate went through the trouble of sneaking back to their old mansion to recollect the legendary pokemon, their precious artefacts and to destroy anything left behind. To Blue's surprise, there were no police nor any form of security guarding their mansion and the realization hit her hard. Why should the police chase after ghosts when they had a live human being to torture and interrogate? Deep in the night, when the glacial winds of Mount Coronet howled particularly loudly, she'd wake up and stare outside the small porthole window set into her room. And at the same time, her consciousness pulled to the other end to see Green buried underneath the covers on the opposite side. Sharing a room with Green felt too awkward and so she forced Yellow to stay with her as well. The petite blonde lay curled up on the bed, her corn silk hair weaving a tangled web on the sheets. Imparting a mellow sigh, the azure eyed woman piloted her attention back to the window and thought about Red. They were careful not to mention his name around the base, it had two drastic effects. Every time Execution's remaining members heard their leader's name, Dia burst into tears and complained of a headache. Sapphire and Gold reacted differently; on good days they fell into an apathetic slump whilst on their bad days...Sapphire ended up kicking a piece of antique furniture against the earthen wall. Gold once slipped out in the middle of the night when a blizzard raged and a timely call from Crystal sent a fuming Green stomping after him. Whatever Green did to the Johto native went unsaid as the rest of the organization mutely observed the commander dragging a thoroughly wounded Gold back to base. Since then, the spiky haired male threatened to leash Gold to the stairs and their conversations often erupted into violent arguments.

Silver and Crystal watched their friend spiral uncontrollably into a well of despair. He wouldn't listen to anyone and spent his time slinking from one area of the headquarters to another. They wanted to help him; however the amber eyed individual didn't help himself. All missions ground to a halt as they focused their attention on making the base functional. A few days after moving in, all the generators sputtered and died. They had to go for some days without electricity and some of the juniors found it amusing. Several days later, a backup generator was bought and installed, they used their pokemon to tap into the mineral springs and fashioned a bath system. All in all, their efforts were greatly rewarded. Unfortunately, the only problem turned out to be the legendary creation cell. They didn't have one any longer and the criminals lived in the constant fear that the incensed deity monsters will one day rupture from their capsules and undo all their handiwork. Green kept a regular watch on them and every morning, he pulled out the master-balls from a knapsack and checked their condition. The minute beasts leered at him and at one time, Yellow found him in a dazed state and clutching a pokeball, black smoke seeped out from the cracks of the master capsule and she beheld him muttering nonsense. He fell underneath Darkrai's spell of nightmares. For a moment, the female watched him as he apologized profusely to his grandfather and deceased parents and she couldn't bear it any longer. Shaking him thoroughly, he instinctively threw the ball to the opposite wall and gasped. His aide gingerly picked up the ball and stuffed it back into the bag.

"The red chain is quite beautiful..." White inhaled sharply when one fine day Blue retrieved the crystal chain from her bag and laid it on the table. The team mates gathered around to silently revere it.

"No...It's ugly" Ruby interjected and Emerald sighed, "it's ugly because it we fashioned in an ugly manner. Blood of legendary pokemon...Disgusting..." he hissed and slunk off, Gold followed him and after shrugging his shoulders, Rald tailed after the duo. The Sinnoh natives bent over the glistening crystals, their minds mesmerized by the radiance. Cautiously, Pearl reached out a hand and brushed his fingers against the lasso and to the awe of everyone present, the scarlet restraint lit up with an ethereal glow. Following his best friend, Dia stroked a chain as well and was rewarded with the same result. Alarmed, Platina pulled her hand back.

"You too..." Blue nodded and said at her, "try touching it."

The Berlitz heiress politely inclined her head and brushed her fringe away from her inky eyes. Her slim fingers ghosted over the crystalline structure and like her friends, the chain came to life. All three pieces hovered up in the air and then fell back on the table with a clang. Dia noticed Regigigas kick up a fuss, the tiny titan waved its arms about and the lights decorating its body flashed with seizure inducing rapidity. It warned him of danger; however, danger was a requirement in their line of work.

"...The chains respond to the ones born in Sinnoh..." Green muttered and sank down heavily in a couch, he balanced a steaming mug of coffee in his hands and peered at the Sinnoh Trio who stood before him nervously, as an experiment, he reached out and held the chain, alas, nothing happened. "Red...will not like the idea of this but we have to use the three of you to snare the legendary creatures once they come out of their dimension."

Pearl did not compute.

What?

Them? As in the youngest juniors in the organization apart from Whi-2?

Distraught gave way to a spine tingling amalgamation of fear and excitement and all his hairs stood on end.

"We will do it!" Pearl screeched and his superior shut his eyes against the unneeded outburst.

"I'm not doing it..." Diamond quietly asserted and before anyone could demand why he outright refused a commander's orders without reason, the chubby boy turned around and marched further into the compound, presumably to join Gold. Platinum watched her friend leave sadly and assured her seniors that she and Pearl will have a talk with Diamond and explain to him the importance of proceeding with their goals. Strategy's leader shook his head and drunk the scalding liquid in one gulp. Setting the ceramic mug on the table, he got up and motioned for Sapphire to follow. The girl bounded up and bounced after him as the man made his way deeper into the base. In the second room, he beheld the listless forms of Gold, Ruby, Emerald and Diamond poring over a board game. They stopped playing on seeing him, the amber eyed trainer snorted audibly and flung his dice to the floor.

"Ruby...Rald" Green intoned, "vacate the room. I want to have a word with Execution's members. They nodded solemnly, got up and disappeared. Gold shifted up and pulled Diamond closer to him and the duo made a space on the floor for Sapphire. The girl sat squashed next to her members and the trio looked up at Green who pulled a chair and settled down in front of them. "First of all...You have to accept the fact that Red is gone...And the tiny hope of knowing that he is alive somewhere and can be rescued is the reason why the we feel so helpless and anguished. We will rescue him..." jade irises locked on to the golden eyed trainer who exhaled in a defeated manner, Gold clenched and unclenched his fists and his mien morphed into an expression of grief. "For now, I want to make a proposition to you...There are only three of you left and without a leader, a department can't function. So I've been thinking, if you want, the three of you can melt into whatever faction you desire...Of course there is the problem of adapting to the specific department's target operations however, we won't be doing regular activities for a while." Oak eased up from the simple wooden chair and fumbled with the pendant around his neck, normally, his grandfather's memento remained concealed underneath his shirt, but these days, the oval tag often rested on top of his shirt and the man constantly wound his fingers nervously around the fine chain. "Think about it and discuss it amongst yourselves...I'd like an answer by tomorrow morning."

The three of them whispered furiously amongst themselves and in the midst of their heated discussion Diamond suddenly kept very quiet, just as Green left the room, he spoke up. "We don't need a discu-ssion senior Green, Execution is staying as it is..."

"Be sensible Dia..." Gold interjected, "Green is right, we can't function without our leader, it's only a temporary setting alright? Hey, you can join Strategy and be with Pearl, it's not a bad proposition."

Cyan eyes gazed intently at the floor and the Sinnoh native traced a chubby finger on the spongy carpet. Gold gently ran his fingers through Dia's close cropped hair and prayed that the boy would listen. "...So, Execution can't function without a leader right?" The posse around him nodded, "then...I'll lead. I will become Execution's leader."

Three pairs of eyes blinked in disbelief and his words echoed around in their heads.

I will lead. I will become Execution's leader.

"You...Dia-" Saph tried speaking but the words died in her throat.

Strategy's leader noted the desperation and conviction whirling in the young's boy's dark blue irises. He beheld stars and emotions so deep, Green found himself drowning with no means of escape. In a flash, he witnessed Red as well, a younger, more serious and ponderous Red. Finally he tore his gaze away from Dia's hypnotic one and nodded. "Fine...Do as you wish, although I should warn you...It's tough being a leader of the organization."

"Tough? Pfft," Gold rolled his eyes and patted Diamond on his back, "he's got some awesome underlings, we won't make his job difficult. Right Saph?" The girl blinked and thereafter nodded with forced vigour, "We'll look after him...Oh hey!" The black haired man exclaimed as Dia hugged him and started bawling. "Oi Oi...Leaders can't cry alright? You gotta be strong for the rest of us. Come on Commander Diamond...Heh, that sounds kinda nice, I'm hungry, make me a sandwich will you?"

Some weeks earlier

Mainland Sinnoh

Veilstone City

The plan to expatriate Red to Ransei directly did not go as planned. When the motor cavalcade arrived in Veilstone just before dawn, Lack-2 came under fire immediately. Chief Anabel, who had been on standby, ordered him to put Red in a holding cell and immediately gave the order for the extraction of her injured officers and superintendents. For several days, Lack-2 didn't dare go anywhere close to his former commander's cell and when he absolutely needed to pass the dreaded chamber, he did it briskly and did not glance at the battered figure crouching in the umbra. At one time, their eyes met and the Unovian had the unpleasant fortune of seeing the ex-champion grin devilishly. Red had to be detained in the basic cell for a few weeks whilst the rest of the supervisors rested and recuperated. Anabel argued that the decision to send the criminal leader into Ransei should be discussed by everyone. Two weeks later, an urgent meeting convened in the Veilstone conference centre and Lack-2 ran a bit late.

Pichu stopped hissing and spitting and this particular occasion, clung to Lack-2 as he hurried through the double doors of the skyscraper, ignored the pretty receptionist who battered her eyelids at him and passed to the elevator. The pneumatic doors hissed open and he stepped out, briskly made his way down the short, tiled corridor and entered the room. At once, Surge jibed at him and Pibo, cheeks sparking with electricity, squeaked furiously and went after the electric type gym leader. With practiced ease, the Unovian teenager withdrew a slim lightning rod from a pocket strapped to his thigh and threw it with such force that the sharpened edge drilled through the tiles. In the next split second, Pibo let a thunder rip and the blinding flashes were absorbed by the rod. He waited for the sparks to dissipate before pulling out the baton and opening his palm for the rodent. Pichu uttered a noncommittal squeak and jumped up; he slid the rod back to its strap and took his place at the table. The other superintendents converged around and the meeting began in full sway.

"Heh, you were undercover so long I almost started to believe that you became part of them." Lt. Surge drawled and put his feet up on the desk, "when was the last time all four of us gathered like this?" Cynthia answered and he shook his head, "almost five years ago huh...Heck of a long time." The man shifted comfortably in his arm chair, "so brat, how did you spend your time in the organization? Did you make any memorable friends?"

"Do I need to remind you that I just saved you from being electrocuted by a thunder?" Lack-2 spat and his russet irises boiled with controlled fury, "this Pichu has the genes of Red's electric rat so don't test my patience...As for what I did whilst undercover, it's of no concern to you and put your stinking boots down on the floor, it's dirtying the table top and a breach of manners." A thin distorted smile found its way on the teen's face, "didn't anyone discipline you whilst I was away Surge?" he questioned and revelled at the sight of the man's thunderous expression. "I find this meeting to be tedious, I don't see a reason not to deploy that convict to Ransei" Lack-2 leaned forward and pushed his papers away, "he is dangerous, his pokemon his dangerous and the people who work under him are the most dangerous of all...They operate with flexibility and viciousness and his underlings worship him. I won't be surprised if they are trying to track him down and secure him this very moment. I put a request through and the nobles accepted it; I don't understand why I'm wasting my time and breath trying to convince the rest of you. I like working alone and even if you tried to catch them for a hundred years...Assuming you old timers live that long...You won't be able to snag a single one of them. Getting up close and personal is the only way for them to drop their guard..."

"And then you betray them..." Cynthia finished his sentence, "frankly, I admire your composure, I don't have the stomach to do such deeds." The Sinnoh champion irritably rubbed her legs, she wore a short skirt with leggings and the synthetic material scratched at her healing skin. "Who gave you that pichu Lack-2?" she quizzed, "I'm surprised you keep it, you usually don't like to associate with pokemon who don't have destructive properties...The pichu is really cute."

Lack-2 started involuntarily and adjusted the leather jacket around his body, "it's none of your business where I got pichu from...When it finally evolves into a raichu, it'll give Surge's monster a difficult time." He sniffed and forcefully turned their attention back to the matter at hand. Discussions were exchanged and each member put forward their opinion on deploying Red to Ransei. The considerations varied, himself and Cynthia wanted to send the ex-champion off as soon as possible whilst Falkner and Lt. Surge wanted to interrogate him first. The copper eyed male violently rejected their ideas and insisted on locking up Red in the most secure place on the Poke-verse, finally he added: "Don't tempt me...I spent the last three years of my life lying, stealing and backstabbing so I could get my hands on him...Don't you dare question my authority or I'll haul Red to Ransei myself." He did not shout, his voice assumed an unnaturally low tone he liked to use when getting his way. The older superintendents gave him a fleeting glance and inwardly decided to agree to his proposition. Lack-2 maybe a child, however, they all knew no one did a better and a more ruthless job than him. The boy buried his humanity and feelings along with his long dead parents and now functioned with a mechanical accuracy.

And everyone was the tiniest bit afraid of him whether they admitted it or not.

A/N: Both the Dex-Criminals and the base are falling apart and Dia assumed the position of Execution's current commander. As for Gold and Lack-2 heh. Much thanks to BlackCat0310 for following the story, I hope it continues to be a pleasant read. At sakurafox1218: Hello :D …What? Lack-2 gets kicked out of the IP? Tsk, I didn't know that. (PS: I have no idea what's going on in the Black/White chapters as well, so don't worry bout spoiling things for me. I'm impartial to spoilers. Unless of course, they are game spoilers, then, I might kill someone.) Hopefully this chapter answers some of your questions, the fallout of Red's capture will still be present in other chapters, albeit to minor degrees. As for Red, you can look forward to how they take him and detain him in Ransei. At Guest: Gold passes out again in this chapter, thanks to Green. I never actually noticed that I make them pass out so often, thanks for pointing it out, I will be more careful from now on. Yep, there is one more chapter to this arc and then it's arc 4, the final. Blue is terrified of birds and although she mastered her fear, she prefers floating around with a jigglypuff. Yellow is a severely underrated character, she is a Viridian child and possess the same techniques that made Lance famous. (Understanding and Healing pokemon). Lack-2, I don't know anything about him but in the later arc, I include how staying with the Dex Criminals might've affected him, look forward to that :) At Eevee: Mindy says she likes hugs :) So hugs all the way. Of course I don't mind. I'm doing fine, hopefully you are doing great. Lol, L-2 is not a clone. Apart from being calories and sugar, dark chocolate is known to be an antioxidant (cancer fighting) and it eases depression. So the next time you are feeling down, grab a slab of chocolate and wolf it down, trust me, you'll be feeling a bit better after eating it.

At AceTrainerLeaf: Heh, I hope school isn't giving you a hard time, that being said…Exams…ugh. Thanks for the compliment. Red getting out will take some time and yes, the police are upping their game. At Jack54311: I have no idea how he became a superintendent at that age either. Regigigas rolled itself back into a pokeball and tagged with its pseudo owner. As for ancient manuscripts and knowledge, information is the single most coveted thing in the world, read up on the Vatican archives and see how they keep their secret documents under lock and key, you'll think they are protecting some sort of weapon of mass destruction. At Guest 2: Your reviews made me REALLY REALLY HAPPY as well :) thank you. Heartbroken is an understatement. Green will obviously supress his depression and look for a solution to this mess. Yellow was just curious about Crystal but yeah, she should not phone. Heh, Green does have oodles of patience with her, just check the manga. Yellow cried when her rattata evolved and Green was the one training her. Pika and Green are quite similar (I think so as well, as they are both tactical and very loyal to their friends). Crys does drop hints, they soar over Yellow's head, or, she outright refuses to believe it.

Thanks for all those who reviewed. Virtual dark chocolate for all. Don't forget to review and tell me what you think of this chapter.