Chapter 69: Craft of betrayal and the simplicity of trust
Early afternoon
Unova
Hotel room
"The heck! We are starting right now? As in this very moment?" Gold exploded and Silver shut his eyes with an irritable sigh. Blue ignored him in favour of styling her brother's hair into something he wouldn't readily appreciate whilst Green, calmly sipping his umpteenth cup of coffee, informed the amber eyed trainer that they needed to move quickly in order to get a lead on Red's whereabouts. "Yeah I get it; I just wanna know why we're leaving so early, the dye on my head has hardly dried properly." Spinning around, he caught his reflection on a framed mirror hanging on the wall and touched the fire red strands with mild delight. "Heh, I look like Silver, but a more handsome version." The red head in question snorted at his antics and inwardly blanched on seeing his sister reach for a scissor. His hair, dyed a neutral black, could be pulled into a classic ponytail or shoved underneath a beanie, no need to cut the ends off. Constellate's leader ignored his pleas and he sadly observed her cutting an inch off his mid-back length hair. "Why should we all look for Red's whereabouts together?" Gold questioned much to everyone's chagrin and Oak sensed another revolt from the breeder. "It'll look suspicious; imagine a whole bunch of shady looking people walking in the direction of the police headquarters. They know we are skilled in disguise and it'll scream a warning to any guards patrolling the area." Silver nodded at his words, the pervert had a point. "I understand Blue and Silver can scale up the building and enter it through the windows...You can't do that in broad daylight!" The disguised Johto native sputtered heatedly when Blue counter argued, "the people will see you, spies or not! And besides, the four of us looking for Red's whereabouts is improbable, we should divide our tasks so we can finish this mission with the minimal amount of time." Golden irises bored into each member of the four man team, daring them to question his motives. The thieving duo tuned him out and refined their disguises with hushed words. Green set his mug down with a soft clunk and spoke up:
"What do you want to do Gold? From what you said, I figured you don't want us to travel together as a group, moreover, you are not interested in looking for Red, as your words imply. So...What do you want to do?" Pressing his hands together, the professor waited for an answer.
Gold blew a strand of hair away from his face and replied, "Cool, I see you're keeping your end of the deal up." He grabbed a sheet of paper and knelt down to the chestnut table. "Blue and Silver can break in the Police Headquarters and do their spying, hacking, whatever and find out where my mentor is kept. You can join them if you want..." the amber eyed trainer waited with bated breath and exhaled when Green stated otherwise. "Fine, be my watchdog. I want to look for Lack-2 so I can give the brat a piece of my mind." The murmurings from Constellate's members quieted down after his bold announcement. Peeking around Silver's head, Blue scrutinized her best friend's seemingly neutral expression. Oak's face tightened in anger before he nodded at Gold's proposition. Irrational he may be, but if Gold became angry and decided to turn on them, it'll spell disaster for the entire Organization. Till date, the whimsical black haired man remained one of the undefeated. A victim of governmental conspiracy, the moment anyone tried to put him down, the Johto native quietly reminded them that he took on Red, and won a fair fight. If push comes to shove, Gold could easily defeat the remaining commanders by himself. "We'll leave once Silver is done looking pretty." The male announced and his face split into a self-satisfied smile.
An hour later, the Dex criminals left the hotel. Green and Gold paired off and disappeared into the busy streets whilst Silver and Blue set their sights on one of the numerous skyscrapers dotting the skyline. The bustling crowds of Unova city moved seamlessly through the wide streets and amber eyes took in business men, balancing their satchels in one hand and a phone in the other, as they rapidly fired instructions to the listener on the other end; teenagers, clothed in pristine uniforms, hurried either to homes or part time jobs and adolescents, their fists clutching a sheaf of correspondences, tried their luck with a new job. The world and its affairs spun around him and he led his senior around in aimless circles. To be honest, the breeder didn't know where to start looking, he wasn't even sure if Lack-2 was currently in Unova or not. However, the stoic individual, silently stalking behind him a few paces, offered a chance and Gold intended to utilize it fully. Ducking into Mode Street, he remembered the last time he came here, about three and a half years ago. They were on a mission to capture Kyurem and the russet eyed boy simply vanished the moment they stepped into Castelia. Lack-2 was eventually found, eating an ice-cream and staring off into the distance. The ice cream vendor still stood proudly, supplying the crowd gathered in front of it with Castelia cones. Ignoring the twang of regret blossoming in his chest, Gold marched right past the vendor and ambled his way down to Narrow Street.
They slunk right past some shady thugs who changed their minds on attacking the traversing duo after getting a peek at Green's incensed glare. Shrinking against the dirt encrusted walls, the gangs let them pass. Unhesitatingly, the breeder strode up to Cafe Sonata and pushed the glass door open. A bell twinkled pleasantly and the dilapidated inside mirrored his astonishment. Right...He forgot this cafe had more of a night persona than a day one. Mumbling a sheepish apology to one of the over worked waitresses; he ducked out and began his listless roaming once again. Running a hand through his blonde hair, Strategy's leader wiped his fingers free from blonde coloured hair paint and shattered the uncomfortable silence between him and Gold. "Any idea of where the brat might be?" he asked and got a shrug in return, "take your time..." Oak's voice dropped into a surprisingly soft tone, "we have the entire day to ourselves." Gold ogled him with distrust swirling in his irises and found the man gazing elsewhere. The Kanto native seemed deep in thought and the Johto trainer faced forward. They were all tired, scared and desperate to find Red in order to bring a semblance of order back into their lives. The amber eyed trainer pondered over how Green might've felt on seeing his best friend taken away while being helplessly unable to retaliate. His grief must be unfathomable and all he, Gold, did was act like a spoiled child. He couldn't help it, he thrived on affection and if the care became lacking, he sunk into depression. Sparing the brooding man another glance, the black haired man resolved to find his traitorous lackey and squeeze the life and information out of him.
The sadistic contemplation brought on a sick sense of satisfaction.
Thoughtlessly, the duo ambled all the way to the wharf. Stone piers stretched out and next to them, luxury cruisers, ships and other private yachts bobbed gently in the greyish waters of the sea. A gust of wind blew the flying swanna off course and whipped at Gold's hair. Heaving a petulant sigh, the Johto native cast another scrutinizing look across the streets and shaded coffee shops stared back at him. A crowd rushed past, doors opened and closed, their various bells ringing in a pleasant harmony. Giving up his fruitless quest, Gold dragged himself forward and resolved to spend the rest of the day back at the hotel, in a well-deserved sleep. Just as he walked, the glass door to one of the baroque cafes lining the harbour area opened and a teenager stepped out
A brown haired boy wearing a visor and a dark duffle coat weaved amongst the crowds spilling out of the shop. Amber irises zoomed in on him predatorily and Lack-2 instinctively turned to see his mentor, triumphantly standing a few meters away and smiling murderously.
His blood ran cold.
Gold grinned and clenched his fist on spying the startled form of his former student. The boy stood petrified with wide, unblinking eyes. The breeder's lips curled backwards sardonically.
He found his prey at last.
Early evening
Unova
Castelia City
From afar, Castelia city painted the perfect picture of a metropolis with its towering skyscrapers forming a jagged line across the horizon. The city boasted a harbour, airport and bustling train, bus and shuttle services. Up close, the sheer size of the city unnerved a newcomer, there were always crowds rushing in the streets, spilling from transportation terminals or coming out of department and other specialized markets. The city didn't sleep. At night, neon signs, street lights and numerous apartment lightings bled across sky and kept the night alive. Even at midnight, there seemed to be people milling about on the streets, staggering home from a wild party out. Silver, who kept this all in mind, lowered a pair of high magnification binoculars from his eyes and peeled himself off the concrete roof of the department store he currently lay on. Dusting his jacket, he rotated around to inform his sister of his findings only to see her nowhere near him. Gnashing his teeth in anger, he stomped over to the vending machine and strategically kicked it twice. A can of lemonade rattled from its shelf and fell...Snagging halfway on a packet of snacks. Giving the machine another furious kick, he reached inside the flap and retrieved his prizes, a can of lemonade and a packet of chips. Anger mitigated somewhat, the disguised red head made his way down the stores and found his sister in a clothing shop, seducing the clerk into giving her a deal on an expensive scarf, Blue twirled her platinum silver hair between her fingers and winked whilst the clerk, stiff faced and uniformed, refused to budge. Sneakers squeaking over the pristine tiles, Silver quickly bowed an apology and dragged his sibling away from the relieved man.
"What's the news?" Blue chirped and eyed the fuchsia peacoat on display, "any luck with the entrance?"
The Johto native took a moment and mapped several key points on a palmtop. "We can't scale the building, it's made from a special coated glass and the ventilation shafts are too tiny to squeeze through." The adopted siblings rode the elevator down and sat on a bench in the lobby of the multi-story store, they exchanged their information in low tones and a marble fountain spewing water in acrobatic swirls, drowned their words from prying ears, "The windows of the building are constructed out of tinted glass and most likely contain anti-sense jammers in case anyone decides to construct a psychic or dark barrier for illusions." Silver kept on scribbling on his minicomputer with a worn stylus pen, "I also noted a flock of vullaby and braviary circling the precinct, they probably have cameras wired to them so thank Arceus we didn't scout the location in person or else they would already have a profile of us. Either than that, the only was it go through the front...we don't have much intel on the inner workings nor do we have a map..." the thief trailed off and glanced at his commander worriedly, "...we don't even have Emerald for backup in case things go wrong. What are we going to do Sis? And how are we going to break in? We are highly unprepared for such a dangerous mission." Silver grabbed hold of his chain and twisted it, showing a rare moment of nervousness.
Blue remained calm. She drank the last of Silver's lemonade (when did she take it from him? he wondered) and crushed the can in her hands. Her immaculately painted nails gleamed brightly underneath the floodlights and expertly, she flicked the flattened can into the waste bin next to her. "Simple, we will complete the mission in the old fashioned way." she stated and her brother heaved a sigh, "You sound like an old man Silver...Shape up. Sure we have absolutely nothing on the building and its schema so in cases like this, you do it the way you rob a bank... you go in thoughtlessly." The man winced, a red flush creeping up his sunken cheeks when he remembered their bank robbing days. Ruby always insisted on using hand sanitizer after counting the money whilst Platina would sniff in her noble like way and march disdainfully out of the room. A few months later, the heiress announced that she will be responsible for funding their assignments and since then, there were no risky trips to the bank any longer. Peeking into Silver's palmtop, Constellate's leader studied the crude map he drew and nodded to herself. "The foyer functions doubly as a police station am I right?" he nodded in affirmative, "the second floor houses office space for administration whilst the third contains an infirmary and an interrogation room," here, the azure eyed woman laughed scornfully, "I suppose the criminals would need medical treatment after being clobbered...Anyways, a few floors after that, we have the information processing departments and on the tenth floor, the police headquarters." Blue inhaled sharply and inwardly commended her brother for his accurate observations. "Then it's the defence, intelligence and military departments which are of no concern to us...Moreover, we won't break in... causing a commotion by tripping the wires and blacking out the building will work more in our favour. Splitting up..." The Kanto native paused and thought for a while, "is probably not the best idea, we are working on tenterhooks, by the time we are finished, they will know it's us...Who else would be so desperate? In any case...Let's divide our tasks and head out shall we?"
Two hours later, Blue, with an ugly bruise marring her otherwise slender neck, stumbled into the foyer of the Unova Police headquarters. On seeing her, several guards, inattentive and engrossed in a television show, snapped awake and immediately reached out to help a damsel in distress. The woman's shapely form had been highlighted by a black velvet bodycon and if it weren't for her smeared makeup and bruised neck, she would've been an ideal date. Behind the counter, the receptionist policewoman quickly picked up the phone and began spitting instructions whilst Constellate's commander began sobbing uncontrollably and drawing all attention to herself. She told a tale of an abusive partner and whilst everyone fussed over her, the doors slid open and let a shadow through. The blur quickly disappeared out of sight, slinking past corners in a blindingly fast manner. Blue sniffed, smiled coyly at the several men and some woman fussing over her and gratefully dabbed at her fake tears. Her story became ridiculous as she went on but it didn't matter since her enthralled audience ate swallowed every lie with relish. Just as she was about to reach her limit, the lights flickered, the attention of the band of police shifted off her and another second later, the entire building plunged into a black out. In the basement, weavile blinked and considered its inky surroundings, the shredded wires in front of it emitted faint orange sparks. Licking its metallic claws and growling at the unpleasant taste of burned metal, it racked its appendages over the circuitry once more and the board exploded in a fabulous display of sparks and flames. Shrieking, it instinctively froze the wires and bolted out of the area.
The sound of shattering glass doors threw the crowd standing in the foyer further into a flurry of panic. Shouts were heard, pokemon tumbled out of their capsules in bright, momentary flashes of light and firearms were drawn. Blue neatly sidestepped when an officer tried to reach her and after releasing ditto, ordered the pokemon to duplicate her. Dipping past the confusion, she met up with Silver near the foot of the stairs and together, they bolted at top speed. A race against time. Shoving away hysterical officials, the duo fought their way to the top floors, their sable environs appearing as ghostly green apparitions in the night vision goggles they wore. Despite being early evening, the interior of the police quarters were dismally dark. Hissing a few obscenities under his breath, the phantom thief reached for a pokeball and let kingdra loose. The water dragon executed yawns and hydro pumps. People stampeding downwards either keeled over where they stood, their bodies sliding down the stairs or suffered jets of pressurized water to the chest which flung them brutally against the walls. In no time at all, the emergency lights flickered back on and for a brief spell, time stood still.
Armed men gaped at a platinum silver haired woman and a black haired man wearing night vision goggles. A kingdra sailed pompously next to the duo and executed a surf. In the narrow confines of the stairwells, the swell of tumultuous water swept the unsuspecting personnel off their feet and gurgled downwards. Ripping off their goggles, the thieving pair gave the impassive dragon a curt nod and continued their relentless journey up the stairs.
"Fourth floor..." Blue gasped, "Let's start there, we don't know where the information is kept. Since...It's in the evening and a blackout, all of the workers are being escorted to safety. The generators are up, therefore they will be using the elevators." She irritably tore a slit in her movement restricting dress and continued careering after her brother. He reached the archive entrance and in one smooth movement, drew a lock pick from the folds of his clothes and set to work, jiggling the slim piece of metal against a keyhole. Standing almost proudly on his shoulders, weavile inserted its claw in another lock and in tandem, the master and monster turned and pushed. A series of smooth clicks gave way to an open door and the beast and human trio rushed in and shut the door with a bang.
Rows of dull, metallic grey file cabinets stretched out endlessly before them. Tables held screens and computers all holding a wealth of information. Blue and Silver gulped, trawling through just one floor of data could take weeks. Constellate's leader strode to the middle of the room, below; she could hear shouts and screams erupting from the lobby as the people tried to make sense of what happened. She wondered how her ditto fared in the commotion, it probably escaped after being found out.
"Let's get started..." The blue eyed woman glowered at the steel cabinets. "Silver, you take the computers and I'll go through the files. Time's ticking, only search for what's relevant." Without sparing a glance at her co-worker, she got to work and located the file cabinet marked R, opening the drawer with more force than necessary, the woman furiously pushed her dyed shock of hair backwards and searched under the dim lights. "We'll find you Red..." she whispered to herself and blinked back raw emotions. "I promise...we will find you and bring you home."
Afternoon
Johto
Violet City
The night spent in Ilex forest proved to be a rewarding experience. In the morning, an energetic Sapphire shook her senior awake and began the day with boundless energy. Packing up their crude camp, they retreated their steps through the thick trail the Hoenn native carved out the night before and arrived in Azalea Town shortly after the sun rose. Locating an old fashioned eatery, the duo made their way inside the wooden hut and gratefully wolfed down a traditional breakfast of steamed rice, soup and grilled fish. Thanking the elderly couple who manned the shop, they made their way outside. Sapphire, her attention ensnared by a colourful poster pinned up on the board in the village centre, ran off to inspect it whilst Yellow ambled off to the nearest tram station and checked the times. From the information, a tram was due in the next fifteen minutes and it will make scheduled stops at the Union cave, looming on the outskirts of Azalea town; the ruins of Alph, a historical and ancient ruin which has been declared a heritage site; beyond the ruins lay Violet City which was surrounded by a forest of trees. The tram will continue after its stop to Violet City all the way to New Bark Town where it will resume its return journey. Just as the blonde finished reading, her junior came puffing all the way to the station.
"You won't believe it!" Sapphire exclaimed and bounced on her heels, this Falkner dude is hosting a gym battle today and his challenge is open for the entire day; senior, I should participate!" the brown haired girl's eyes shone with excitement and Yellow did not have the heart to tell her otherwise, besides, it might be a good way to gather information on their opposition. Nodding her consent, the strategy member suffered an adorably bone crushing hug from her over eager companion and settled on the benches to wait for the next tram. Sapphire, her energy overflowing, did warm up stretches. A semi-filled cart eventually rattled to a halt in front of them and after giving the occupants a smile, Yellow and Saph climbed in and seated themselves on the rickety wooden benches. With rumble, the cart set off, slightly wobbling on the frayed tracks. A mild breeze rustled through the trees and the vehicle made its way to the mouth of Union cave. Here, several miners disembarked with their spades and digging tools slung over their backs, the little crowd in the tram cheered and waved them off. The tram entered the cave and the dank smell and cries of zubats immediately assaulted the senses. Half an hour, they were in the sunlight again. More travellers, scientists and aides, from the looks of their garb, stepped down at the Ruins of Alph and Sapphire itched to get up and stretch her legs in the cramped space. Finally, the tram rolled to a stop in Violet City and the two members cheerfully waved their good byes as the cart resumed its noisy journey to Cherrygrove city.
Normally a quiet village, the city bustled with people coming in from far and wide to due Falkner's gym challenge. Not sparing her senior a word, Sapphire tore off in the vague direction of the gym and ignored Yellow's pleadings as the older member uncharacteristically shrieked at her to be sensible. All the Hoenn native did was run faster and leave a trail of dust and confused people in her wake. Shrugging helplessly and apologizing to the other patrons, she sheepishly shouldered her way through the throngs and appreciated the sights. Built during ancient times as a sheltered hamlet for those unfortunate victims of Kanto's civil war, Violet City remained largely unchanged and only boasted minimal modern buildings. Most houses were styled in traditional Johto architecture, the domiciles were elevated from the ground and sported wooden verandas along with a garden which added to the serene atmosphere. In the northern part of the city, the Sprout Tower stood proudly, swaying gently in tandem with a breeze, a stone bridge and a large pond separated the sacred tower from the rest of the town and today, tourists found themselves taking pictures whilst posing with the picturesque scenery as a back drop. Situated in the very heart of the City, the gym materialized, a domed brown roof curving over three storeys of metal, brick and glass. From here, a line of trainers snaked out from the foyer, brimmed into the streets and clogged all the routes. The nearby mart and Pokemon centre became flooded with requests and injured Pokemon as the Gym neatly spat one defeated trainer out after the other.
On the third floor of the gym, Falkner subtly adjusted his wrist guards and looked down to see his cyan tinted hakama pants stained with faint traces of blood. A crew of cleaners rushed in after the last challenger and methodically scrubbed the remains of the last battle off the arena. The international police officer rubbed his temples in an effort to dissipate a growing headache. He had a packed schedule, his gym will be open for two days maximum, then he had to fly over to Kanto and coax Misty into going with him to Ransei. After escorting her to the Imperial region, he will have to run back to Unova to pick up confidential documents, drop those off to Kalos because ex-champion Red's affairs are to be handled in an off record and a delicate manner, then hop on to a plane and run back to Johto in order to open up his gym and continue accepting challenges. The Johto Champion's league was due to open after two more weeks and the Pokemon Association did not look too happy, apparently his gym functioned at random times and complaints from visiting trainers were quite frequent. Falkner had been warned severely, when the league opened, the Violet City gym must be open for the duration of the entire league; this included at least six months. In these six months, should the association receive a single complaint that the gym had been 'temporarily closed for urgent business' then Falkner will be fired from the roster. No questions asked. The flying type expert shut his eyes as the warnings flashed in his mind, he will have to beg Anabel for a leave or else his family gym will be claimed by some outsider.
In the foyer, Sapphire wrinkled her nose in mild disgust; the area stank of sweat and the sharp chemical stench of potions. Trainers crammed themselves into the lobby, sitting on top of each other on the couches or standing with their backs pressed against the walls. The marble tiles disappeared under a thousand grubby footprints whilst the potted plants, more a hindrance than a decoration, were irritably pushed aside as more teenagers and adolescents shoved their way in. The guards manning the entrance gave up trying to inject sense in this chaos and besides, the trainers had every right to secure the Zephyr Badge as soon as possible. Due to the Gym's disorganized schedule, many trainers forfeited their quest for a shot at being a champion five years ago. Burning with passion, these adolescents impolitely shouldered their way to the reception desks and demanded a pass. Waiting patiently for a turn, the brown haired girl got a lucky break when a scuffle broke out behind her, two teens invariably pushed her aside and with luck, she landed herself a sweet spot in front of a receptionist's mildly amused visage. Grinning and peeling of a wad of bills for her participation fee, she gathered her receipt, dipped her head in a gesture of thanks and sprang gleefully to the elevator waiting to take trainers to the second floor where they shall begin their trials. An official standing guard at the elevator offered her a few wise words, a bottle of water and a potion. She rode up the lift with his well wishes ringing quietly in her ears.
The audience was massive and Yellow apologized sweetly as she stepped on shoes and bare toes. Wriggling, she found a seat at the front and plopped herself down, smoothing her sundress over her knees. Below her, on an ornately decorated arena, Falkner stretched out his arm and a pidgeot gracefully curled its talons and perched. Another match finished with a defeated trainer. As the man dragged himself out, Yellow watched several people emerge from the shadows and clean up the stage. The fighting area was beautiful, situated atop glass tiles and one could view the happenings of the second floor by simply looking downwards. It also served as a distraction measure as unprepared trainers glimpsed down and found themselves queasy. The walls of the third floor vibrated with wild cheers and jeers when each new trainer tired their luck against Falkner. Yellow perked up when Sapphire appeared, to her alarm, the girl had a stripe of something smeared diagonally across her face. Sneakers squeaking loudly against the stained glass tiles, the Hoenn native confidently sashayed towards the elevated arena and took her post opposite Falkner. The gym leader acknowledged her presence with a slight nod of his head.
Ready...And START!
The trainer profiles and other information were displayed on a giant screen hanging to the side of the arena. The battle had been styled as a knockout round for two of Falkner's chosen pokemon, a low-levelled hoothoot and his prized pidgeot which generally ended the matches the moment it swooped into the battle field. The umpire drew away and Yellow focused on Falkner, his trainer details displayed on the huge monitor did not offer her the information she needed. Sapphire released her tropius and a barrage of green energy projectiles tailed the rapidly flapping hoothoot around the stage. The gym leader's composure was remarkable, even when the Hoenn trainer climbed on her pokemon's back and directed it with a finger, Falkner did not flinch. Understandably, hoothoot crashed a few minutes later, but it managed to put the tropius to sleep. The dinosaur-esque pokemon swayed on all fours and with a crash, its long neck flopped on the glass tiles and it lay still. The cyan haired man did not smile, not even a fleeting grin. Putting his hand in the pocket of his pants, he took out a bird shaped flute and whistled in it. A large bird dove down from the rafters and perched elegantly on his arm.
Sapphire peered at her opponent with calculative eyes; the pidgeot posed a huge problem. Its levels, stats and battling experience were in a league of its own. Neophyte trainers were probably lulled into a false sense of security after their easy defeat of the first pokemon...their hopes were thereafter brutally crushed along with their pokemon under the powerful talons of the avian. Pidgeot, its majestic head plumage gleaming like fire in the arc lights, shifted on its master's arm, its polished talons curved with just enough force not to injure the human. The Hoenn native weighed her options, Falkner served as a vice chief of the International Police, he worked at the headquarters in Goldenrod and commanded an entire faction. To find information on Red's whereabouts, they most likely had to raid his office for the official and top secret documents. Her eyes veered to the man's pockets...People with strict routines liked to keep their important possessions to themselves. Maybe...She hoped and tossed the next capsule up and down in a gloved palm...he might have his security passes in his wallet, perhaps a key or two for unlocking the doors to the headquarters. The girl licked her lips in anticipation, trying to pickpocket him in broad daylight was a feat few sane people would pull off on a well-respected officer, but Sapphire determined to try. Azure irises shifted to the audience and picked out a blonde, her delicate face screwed in concentration. The brown haired teen smirked; hopefully, her brazen actions won't give Yellow a fit.
"Go. Toro!"
Her chosen monster raised a few eyebrows, a fire and fight going against a flying type? Weird, the girl must be intimidated and forced into the wrong decision. Yellow frowned; surely her junior could do better than that? Blaziken exploded out of his capsule and twirled in the air, wreaths of orange flames dissipating off its form. Pidgeot stopped its arrogant preening of brown feathers and with a screech, launched off its perch and delivered a whirlwind with a flap of its muscular wings. Two cyclones of air smacked into the fire type and sent him soaring and smacking into a concrete pillar. Sapphire's eyes dulled with anger and resolve, she barked a few short commands and her monster pushed itself up and resumed its stance beside her. The girl bounced tautly on her heels and scanned the roof for the predatory bird. In a blink of an eye, the pidgeot descended and raked its claws over Toro's face, barely missing its eyes as the fire pokemon ducked and swiped at the beast. Drops of orange-red blood splashed on the stage and the audience cried out wildly, imploring Falkner to end the match.
Execution's member waited. She bid her time, gritting her teeth as an air slash flayed open Toro's skin and muscles. Like its master, the fire bird merely crouched down, shielding his eyes from any impromptu stabs and following Pidgeot's trajectory. Master and beast's eyes travelled across the domed roof, a scrutinizing gaze fixed on the terrible avian currently ruling the skies. The moment the flying type flew past Falkner's head, it dipped downwards and Sapphire shouted an order. Tendons and muscles coiling, Toro torpedoed forward, straight at Falkner and the man's eyes widened a fraction. It brushed past the human, bounced in the air and executed a brutal drop kick on Pidgeot. Snap. The crunch of splintering bones reverberated clearly amongst the shouts and like a cannon, the predatory bird plummeted towards the ground, landing on the glass stage with a sickening splat of blood and matted feathers. It articulated a horrible screech and then became still.
The crowds erupted with a cacophonous cheer and Yellow blinked...What happened?
Indeed...What happened?
Falkner, face twitching imperceptibly, used his forefinger and wiped his face clear of a stain of blood. His heart thumped rapidly, beating a rhythm in the confines of his ribcage. The events occurred a bit too fast for him to process what happened. He saw the fire and fight type career towards him, instead of veering away or vaulting over the gym leader, the monster brushed right against him. The cyan haired deputy could feel the unpleasant mixture of fur; coarse feathers, a searing heat and whiff of blood as blaziken moved too close for comfort. The fight type then ended the match in a spectacular display of strength. Nodding and offering a wry smile, he presented the Zephyr badge to the brown haired challenger and waved her off. Shouting exuberantly, she waved her badge at the camera, grinned toothily at the crowds and photographers and left with a whirlwind of journalists following her zealously out of the gym. The first winner of the day, Falkner mused...She will create quite the sensation.
Night
Johto
Goldenrod City
After Sapphire managed to lose the trail of journalists, the criminal duo used their pokemon and flew all the way to Goldenrod City. Under the glare of a million lights, they alighted in a park and watched the dazzling colours set the horizon ablaze. The most beautiful fixture happened to the Goldenrod radio tower, a gentle melody diffused through the air as the tower glimmered with a multitude of glows. In the park, a few people milled about and slowly made their way home. Sitting at a wooden table and bench, underneath an old fashioned light post, Yellow and her junior pored over the things currently scattered on the desk. Toro used thief when brushing past Falkner and in a split second, managed to steal everything in the man's wide pockets. A few feet away from them, the fire bird perched, fiery talons stretching out to cuff the stray beautifly as the bugs searched for flowers blooming in the night. It managed to hook one of the bugs and when the creature gave it a sharp sting, the fire type breathed a flame and reduced the insect into charred dust.
Hazel eyes watched disapprovingly when Sapphire flipped open Falkner's wallet, the girl gleefully showed the security pass and stowed the card away in her bag. Next, she pulled out a hefty sum of money from the worn leather purse, eyed a few of his cards and expertly threw it into the nearest waste bin. Pocketing the money much to the older female's dismay, the youngster ignored her pleas and picked another object off the table. "What do you think this is?" she queried and held it up to the light.
"Looks like a pokeball embedded in a wing." Yellow replied and ran her fingers over the transparent, yet stiff as metal feather. "It's a good way to catch flying pokemon; the wing comes from skarmory I think. Few bird pokemon has feathers as tough and light as skarmory." Sapphire nodded and kept the pokeballs apart, the duo also had the luck of finding keys, a poke-gear and a palm top amongst Falkner's possessions. "We have to get going Saph..." The Kanto native quelled her apprehension and glanced at her wrist watch. "Let's move, it's almost midnight...we have to finish before dawn."
Execution's members would be the death of her.
Did covert not exist in Sapphire's dictionary? Yellow wondered as the girl screamed a war cry and kicked yet another door open.
Her bellows echoed through the dimly lit corridors as the wild trainer screeched unnecessarily, kicked and punched her way across the thirteenth floor of the police headquarters. Camera's swivelled to record their actions and underneath their indicting gazes, the blonde tried to make herself small and invisible. Moments later, Chuchu, noticing its owner's discomfort, broke free of her pokeball and destroyed the cameras. Yellow breathed a bit easier afterwards, her peace of mind promptly shattered when she saw Sapphire slam her leg right through a triple glass door.
The girl's leg sported a few cuts when the sheet of reinforced glass failed to break properly.
"Sapphire!" Yellow scolded, "It's a covert mission, we are not here to make a mess of things. We have Falkner's pass so let's make our way to his room and get the information." The Hoenn native half listened to her whilst she cleaned herself up. "We are not supposed to touch anything else..." her voice faltered as the air split apart with the distant ringing of what sounded unmistakeably like a police siren. In response to the peals, the brown haired girl grinned akin to a Cheshire cat.
"It's the police...we have to do our job quickly!" The azure eyed female declared and swiftly used her aggron to demolish a wall.
"You are not supposed to do that!" her blonde senior moaned and shook in anger. Whipping out Falkner's stolen computer, she consulted it and fiercely jabbed at the screen. "His room is around the corner, come on we have to...DUCK!" The healer threw herself over Sapphire as a powerful searchlight cut a swath from the windows outside and swept a blinding white light across their heads. Hissing in displeasure Yellow crawled over the tiles with Sapphire in a tow, she was careful not to scrape her hands against broken glass or fragments of plaster. Breath hitching, the pair shimmied across the floor and ended up in front of the designated room. Footsteps thundered in the floors beneath her and Yellow tried to calculate how much time they had before the police would find and bust them. Snatching the keycard from her junior's fingers; she sent the younger girl a heated glare and stood up. Her knees wobbled with fright when a bang resounded downstairs. Hands trembling, she swiped the electronic card and the door slid aside with a whine. Sapphire vaulted in and fancily kicked the door shut.
Yellow jumped at the sound.
Her heart almost leapt out of her chest.
The frail healer sat down on a stool and kept a sharp eye on the brown haired teen. For once, the girl stopped monkeying around and did her job seriously. Switching on the powerful lights...Another mistake when doing a stealth mission, the wild girl methodically combed Falkner's stained oak desk and carelessly threw the unimportant documents in the air.
"I found it!" Sapphire heroically declared and waved a sheaf of papers in the air. Relieved, the blonde woman stood up from her chair and made her way towards her partner.
A loud thud came from outside and Yellow let loose an involuntary scream.
This is the last time I'm doing this! Her mind offered vehemently. I'm not used to field work and I'm not letting anyone talk me into this ever again!
Outside the door, Falkner observed wordlessly as a team of armed forces pressed their shoulders against his office door and attempted to break it down. The camera records showed two masked personnel infiltrating the headquarters and making for his room. Thus, the gym leader had to close up his gym as another emergency popped up.
Maybe he should honourably resign...It might score him a handsome pension. If the Pokemon's association fired him, there will be nothing but disgrace for his family.
The door finally gave way and the soldiers tumbled in the room, their pokemon and weaponry primed and ready to attack. However...the room was empty. There were signs of a raid, his desk lay on its side, papers carpeted the floor...the lights were on? How bold, he drily chuckled. And on the far end, near the floor to ceiling windows, the heavy silk curtains swayed in a strong breeze, billowing out through a broken window. Striding briskly to the gaping hole, he peered through the cut glass and a stiff white card whipped him in the face. A few of them rushed downwards, carried by a violent wind and flew strategically through the shattered pane. The vice chief stared at the card and inhaled sharply.
Two maroon crossed swords, a mug shot of blaziken, aggron and a pikachu mocked him with vindictive grins and he thought about the young teenager smiling joyously for the cameras.
"Ring up the Police headquarters in Sinnoh." He spun around and ordered, "Tell them...the Dex Criminals are back."
And they want revenge. He silently added to himself on seeing the dilapidated condition of his chamber.
A/N: Sapphire is giving poor Yellow a stroke and Gold found Lack-2. Much thanks to chi4ngo and ncread for alerting/favoriting this story, hopefully it continues to entertain you. Virtual chocolate cake to all those to reviewed!
At Magic111: Did Lack-2 divulge inside information? Heh, and rich people sometimes abuse their power for…special privileges. At Silver: Flooded with homework? Aren't we all? Kotaru and Mukuro? Why not? They are both creepy and highly skilled in what they do. To be honest, I found the Pokemon Conquest game and its mechanics very intriguing. At Jack54311: I hate anything that is too sweet, hence my preference for dark chocolate since they aren't as sweet as milk chocolate. But yeah, my sister doesn't drink anything I make because they aren't at her level of sweetness. I like honey, especially raw, unprocessed ones. Now I miss my beehive. At Guest: When I was young, I wanted to be a philosopher, I still do. I mean, people is going to thank you for your ideas one day, isn't that great?