Chapter Two
With the four of them packed in there, the helicopter was cramped and slightly uncomfortable. Diantha had somehow ended up sat next to Martin, who's grey hair was plastered to his head from the heat. At least, she thought, he seemed to have showered recently. She didn't think she could have handled the smell of sweat on top of the already poor conditions. Conversely, Cynthia, who sat opposite her, seemed unfazed and in fact seemed to be rather enjoying staring out the window at the ocean.
They must have been nearing their destination because Diantha could feel the gentle drop in altitude as the faint smell of engine oil grew stronger.
"So you're an actress?" Martin shouted over the whir of the chopper. Diantha turned her head to meet his watery blue eyes.
"Sometimes," she said. He gave her an oily smile.
"I can't help but wonder why Richard brought you along to see his little science project," he said, shooting Dr. Stone a significant look.
Stone waved him off. "All in good time, my friends. All in good time."
It was a question she'd been asking herself since last week if she were being honest. A strong Pokemon trainer though she might be, with a substantial amount of money backing her, she wasn't sure what Dr. Stone was expecting her to bring to the table here. The whole thing was so hush hush. So secretive. She could admit that she was mildly intrigued, but she had responsibilities back home and she resented being parted from them on what felt like a whim. It certainly didn't help that she already felt like she'd wasted a large portion of her morning waiting for their wayward companion to arrive either.
"There it is!" said Dr. Stone. He leaned against the window and pointed.
Diantha turned her head, breath catching in her throat. Choppy blue water sparkled below them, sunlight reflecting brilliantly off the small waves. Her eyes trailed upwards then, landing on the approaching island that Stone was staring at with such wonder in his eyes. It was a crescent shape with a small mountain range somewhere towards the middle surrounded by lush greenery. A dull ring of clouds circled it, obscuring some of the features. It was beautiful, no doubt, but nothing struck her as being remarkable. Still, something hung in the air. Excitement maybe. An inexplicable tension coiled in the base of her skull.
"It's stunning," said Cynthia.
"Wait until you see it up close," said Stone. The helicopter juddered. "Bad wind shears," he said. "You might want to hang onto something. It can be a little…thrilling."
Thrilling was right. The helicopter swooped through the sky, parting the clouds as it moved. They reached the island and circled for a moment, cliff face beside them coming into sharp view. Used to helicopter travel though she was, Diantha's heart thudded loudly in her chest and her hand drifted down to her lap to make sure her seatbelt was securely fastened. Opposite her, she spotted Cynthia tying her own seatbelt in a knot with a look of alarm on her face.
Wind whipped past them and the helicopter dropped like a stone. Her stomach jumped, ending up somewhere in her throat it felt, and through the noise she heard Martin yelping out curse words. The cliff face rushed past them, much closer than was comfortable.
"We're thinking of building an airstrip out into the ocean," Dr. Stone yelled. Electing to ignore him completely, Diantha gripped the sides of her seat as the helicopter jerked upwards and then plummeted downward.
The mild sense of relief when she spotted the landing pad was overwhelmed by fear. They dropped towards it at a breakneck pace, stopping only when an updraft caused them to bounce in the air. Then, finally, the helicopter hit the ground with a hard thud. Diantha's spine jolted and her breath came out in a sharp gasp. Before Diantha had even gathered her wits, Dr. Stone had already thrown open the door to the helicopter and had stepped outside into the glorious sunshine. He was spry for an old man.
The other three left the helicopter with heaving sighs of relief.
"I think I'll make my own way home," said Cynthia, mostly to herself it seemed. Diantha wished that was an option for her.
"Uncle!"
Diantha looked up, having not even realised she was staring at the ground. Sand brushed against her shoes, blown astray by the slowing propellers, and a wet sort of heat beat down on her bare arms. She was glad she'd left her trademark jacket back in the hotel.
"Steven, my boy," said Stone. The man crossed the short distance between them and pulled his nephew into a brief hug. "I'm so glad you could make it."
Unlike Cynthia, Steven Stone seemed to have forgone his usual attire and instead wore a loose white shirt rolled up at the sleeves and some dark purple Bermuda shorts. "How could I not?" he said. "It's about time you and Dad gave me the details of this mysterious project of yours."
Stone Senior sighed, though it was tinged with fondness. "You've always been impatient."
"You and I both know that isn't true. I just don't like surprises."
Stone waved him off airily. "You'll like this one." Steven made a dubious humming sound. "Of course you know Martin-" The two men exchanged short nods of acknowledgement. "-but have you met our other guests?"
"We met at a conference once," said Diantha. She smiled at Steven, and it felt much less strained than any of her other false cheeriness so far that day. They hadn't had much of a chance to talk at the time, but she'd appreciated his politeness and quiet intelligence.
"It's nice to see you again, Diantha," he said, with a respectful bow of his head. Then he turned his head. "Cynthia."
"Steven," she replied, a slight smirk on her face.
Dr. Stone looked between them, intrigued. "Am I sensing a little tension here?"
Cynthia's grey eyes seemed to glimmer in the sunlight. "Steven's still upset my Garchomp beat his Metagross last time we battled."
"You had a type advantage!"
"Did I, Steven? What a convenient excuse."
Steven laughed. "All right, all right. You won. Fair and square. I'll get you next time though."
"We'll see." The two grinned at each other and Diantha realised then that this probably wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation. She had a strange sensation of being a little on the back foot.
The jeep hurtled through the trees and Diantha breathed in the vegetation and faint smell of decay. It had been a long time since she'd been offered the chance to explore somewhere like this. There wasn't much call for trekking through the jungle these days. She didn't miss it as such, but it did fill her with a dull sense of nostalgia.
At the very front of the car Dr. Stone and Martin argued about investors and risk assessment, but Diantha paid them no mind. She got enough of that from her parents. No. For now she was happy to sit back and relax. Or at the very least try to relax.
The jeep broke through the tree line and continued it's journey onwards across an open field leading to a large hill. Somewhere in the distance Diantha could hear the shrill cries of flying Pokemon, though it wasn't a cry she recognised so probably not a Pokemon native to the Kalos region.
From the row of seats in front of her, Cynthia twisted her body around to face the back of the vehicle.
"How's Wallace doing?" she asked, looking at Steven.
"He's well," said Steven. "I've taken a year off from the League to spend some time with my Pokemon, so he's taken up the mantle of Hoenn Champion while I'm gone."
"I'm surprised he isn't travelling with you?"
"He's going to join me when he can," said Steven. He smiled faintly. "He said I can make it up to him by buying him a present in every new place I visit."
Cynthia laughed and Diantha found herself smiling too, though she wasn't sure who Wallace even was. "That sounds about right," she said. "Do you think your uncle has a gift shop on this island though?"
"I hope so," said Steven. He lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun. "I could do with a pair of sunglasses. Diantha had the right idea."
"I always come prepared for any weather," said Diantha, pushing up her glasses with her index finger.
"More than we can say for someone else in this car," said Steven. He cast a sly glance at Cynthia and she straightened up to look down her nose at him.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Aren't you hot?" said Diantha. She'd been wanting to ask that question since she'd watched Cynthia unfurl herself from her car earlier.
"No."
"She's lying," said Steven, thoroughly amused. Cynthia's lip curled downwards into a frown. "Sinnoh's cold. All the time. I saw you sleep outside once without a blanket when the temperature was only a few degrees above freezing. There's no way you're comfortable underneath all the faux fur."
The scenery changed again, but Diantha was too distracted by the conversation in front of her to really notice.
It took Cynthia a moment to respond. "I have an aesthetic," she said. Unconsciously, it seemed, she reached up and tucked some blonde hair behind her ear.
"Sophisticated goth?"
"Maybe."
"Most people grow out of their goth phase in their teen years, you know?"
"This is my business attire."
"It's not."
"I didn't know where your uncle was bringing us. It might have been somewhere cold."
"In the Alola region?" asked Diantha.
Cynthia sighed, though her voice remained calm. "Fine. I overslept and just threw on the first outfit my hand landed on."
"And finally the truth comes out," said Steven, with a grin. "Your nose is already starting to burn by the way."
Diantha forced herself to push down another swell of annoyance. Good to know they'd all been left waiting at the airfield because Cynthia didn't know how to set an alarm clock properly. The other two fell into an easy conversation after that about a cave they'd once explored together. Diantha tried to join in a couple of times, but she just didn't have the easy familiarity they seemed to have with each other. It left her feeling irritable and a little isolated.
They were so engrossed in their conversation that Cynthia and Steven didn't notice when the jeep slowed to a stop. Diantha noticed though and within seconds she was leaning out over the door of the car.
A glistening lake sprawled before them with something that looked like a beach shore on one side and tropical plants she didn't recognise hanging over the other. It wasn't the inherent beauty that really caught her attention though, so much as the life that teemed around it. It was nothing short of a tropical paradise.
"Guys," said Diantha. She didn't look to see if they were listening to her. "Look."
A few feet away from the jeep stood a collection of bright purple Lileep bobbing backwards and forwards in the sun, chattering just loudly enough for Diantha to hear. She smiled then, and allowed her eyes to sweep further up the lake to where a group of Omanyte shuffled slowly across the ground and up a small rock foundation, clinging to the stone beneath them. She'd never seen an Omanyte in person, and her heart juddered at the sight of it. She took a moment to mentally catalogue the feeling; it wasn't often she felt such a childlike thrill of excitement anymore.
"Rampardos!"
Steven had at some point shuffled over from his side of the jeep and was leaning just behind Diantha. He pointed to the other side of the lake with a wide grin on his face. "More than one Rampardos too."
Then Cynthia was up and out of the jeep without even opening the door, coat sweeping behind her in a most dramatic fashion. Diantha paused just long enough to see Dr. Stone give Martin a smug look before moving to follow the other woman.
Cynthia was crouched on the floor at the edge of the lake with her hand out when Diantha and Steven reached her. Her long hair brushed the ground, but she didn't seem to much care at that moment.
A small Tirtouga popped it's head out of the clear blue water, looking at Cynthia's outstretched palm with interest. Cynthia smiled at it and it inched forward. Diantha released a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding.
"This isn't normal?" she asked, already knowing the answer, but needing confirmation.
"There has been some success resurrecting fossil Pokemon over the last few years, but it's...incredibly rare to see more than one of them in the same place," said Steven. His eyes were wide and he twisted one of his rings around his finger. "There's been no effort to create a...conservation area like this before."
"Assuming that's what it is," said Cynthia. Her voice was quiet and serious, but the smile remained on her face and she gently stroked the backs of her fingers along the Tirtouga's head. It looked up at her with a dopey smile on it's face.
"Fossils are rare," said Steven. "I don't know where they found…" He trailed off and looked around. "Everything here feels strange." He wasn't wrong, she thought. Even the grass smelled…off, somehow. Almost musty in a way.
Her mind drifted to two of the Pokeballs hanging from her belt. Was that why she'd been summoned here? Because of her experiences in raising fossil Pokemon? If she remembered correctly, Steven had his own set of fossil Pokemon. Was his opinion not enough? "My understanding was that they tend to exist in laboratories or are given to trainers," said Diantha.
"It's too dangerous to just introduce them back into the ecosystem," said Cynthia, presumably in agreement.
"And so we've created our own ecosystem." Diantha turned around; she hadn't noticed Dr. Stone come up behind them.
"How did you do this, Uncle?"
Dr. Stone's eyes twinkled. "I'll show you."
They were led rather reluctantly back to the jeep, Stone chattering all the way about their challenges with local plant-life. Nobody noticed the three pairs of eyes watching them analytically from atop the mountain.
AN: Just fyi, as I'm sure many people do, I'm going to be taking a few creative liberties with Steven, Diantha and Cynthia's backstories here, 'cause to be honest I feel like we just don't know very much about them. After this point the plot will be diverging a little further from the original Jurassic Park movie, but I hope to keep as close to the spirit of it as I can. Anyway, thanks for reading this far.