"Ladies and gentlemen." Faba's voice crackled over the loudspeakers, echoing around the hallways and rooms of Aether Paradise. "This is Aether Branch Chief Faba speaking. I am saddened to report that Aether President Lusamine is currently missing. Hopefully, her return will be swift and without incident. However, in that time before she returns, we must not grow stagnant. There are still many people and Pokemon throughout the UPW who are in need of Aether's aid. And with the invading forces repelled from Aether Paradise, we can now resume our operations - in anticipation of Lusamine returning, of course. So return to your posts, and continue what you were doing before those invaders arrived. Faba out."
The crackling of the loudspeaker faded, and Betrayer-Of-Kin sighed. "We'd best get out of the corridors. If the scientists are going to be returning to the labs, I'd rather not be in their way."
"Agreed," growled Ripper. "Arceus, this place is a maze. How does anyone find their way around?"
"Future Sight." Betrayer-Of-Kin cast out her senses, scanning possible futures. Her head swiveled to the left. "I sense a 100% chance that the air vent over there leads us to where we want to go."
"How in Distortion does that work?" Ripper muttered, moving over to the grate separating them from the air vent.
"Practice," answered Betrayer-Of-Kin. "Allow me to lead the way. I sense that the air vents in this place are quite winding."
Ripper dipped his head and stepped back, allowing Betrayer-Of-Kin to move up to the grate. With a quick slash of her horn she ripped the grate in twain, then stepped through. Ripper followed, casting a glance behind him as he went.
The air vent was small and not at all designed to be walked through, but it was large enough that Ripper and Betrayer-Of-Kin could both move through it, even if it was a bit of a squeeze. Betrayer-Of-Kin didn't mind. She'd squeezed through tighter spaces before. But she could hear Ripper's unsteady footsteps and knew worries of getting stuck were entering the Manectric's mind.
She sighed. That would not do.
"Tell me something, Ripper," said Betrayer-Of-Kin.
"What do you want?" Ripper asked.
"I want to know why it is you care so much about one pathetic Fearow," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "Ever since you met her, it feels like getting your revenge is all you care about. Why is that? Why do you let such a bothersome vendetta consume you?"
"You wouldn't understand," Ripper growled.
"And why is that?" asked Betrayer-Of-Kin.
"I bet you've always been on top," said Ripper. "With your power, I doubt you've ever really lost a fight."
"On the contrary, I've lost several battles," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "Some were intentional: I remember a stint in Unova where I aligned with a group of Trainers known as the Shadow Triad, and was forced to throw a couple fights to the current Unovan Champion, Rosa. It was fairly irritating - at that point, I could have easily defeated her entire team if I were fighting at my full strength - but keeping my cover was more important. However, others, such as both my attempts on Marcus's life, were entirely unplanned losses. The first time, Xerneas popped in before I could finish the job, and I'm not foolish enough to challenge the Lifebringer. I had to retreat and arrange for Team Flare to obtain him."
"So that's how Lysandre managed to find the Lifebringer," Ripper growled.
Betrayer-Of-Kin nodded. "The second time…well, sometimes you lose the battle even if you defeat your opponent. In that case, my power was superior to his, but he managed to buy enough time for Marcus to escape. The point is that I do know what it's like to lose. So try me."
Ripper heaved a sigh. "I was one of six Electrikes born to a pair of wild Manectric," he said. "I was the runt of my litter. My parents encouraged competitiveness. We'd compete in miniature tournaments to see who got the best nest, the best food, the shadiest spot in the summer and the sunniest spot in the winter. I was weaker than the rest of my packmates, and my oldest brother always picked me as his opponent in the tournaments so that he could easily knock me out in the first round, ensuring I'd always get the worst spot or the worst food. It became too much for me. When I was two years old, I ran away. And I found Celosia. This was before Team Flare was founded; she was simply an ex-Galactic member, one of Jupiter's former favorites, who'd escaped Sinnoh while everyone was occupied dealing with Cyrus."
"I did not know Celosia was ex-Galactic," said Betrayer-Of-Kin.
"She had a Toxicroak and a Drapion," said Ripper. "Both holdovers from her time in Galactic. After I joined her, she caught the rest of her team. We trained, we evolved, and eventually, Lysandre contacted us through Aliana and invited us to join Team Flare. Once we began stealing Pokemon, you know what I did? I convinced Celosia to gather some Grunts, located my former family, and had them all caged and shipped off to different parts of Kalos. And when it was just my oldest brother left, and he spat at me and called me a monster, I said to him, "I don't care how much of a monster I've become. All I care about is that I finally won."
"I don't see how this relates to the Fearow," Betrayer-Of-Kin pointed out.
Ripper scowled. "From the day I took my revenge upon my family until the day I met that damn Fearow, I never lost a fight," he said. "But then I lost to her. And then I just kept losing. Every time, I was stronger than she was. And yet she just kept getting bailed out. A Meditite with Bide. A traitorous Team Flare Houndoom. Her Arceus-damned Ability unlocking. And just now, when I had her dead to rights, some random Tyranitar shows up and beats the crap out of me! I know I can beat her. I know I'm better than her! And yet she keeps getting victories just served to her on a damn silver platter! That Fearow represents everything I despise the most. If she's weak, she deserves to lose like I always did!"
"So you hate that Fearow because you think she doesn't deserve to defeat you?" Betrayer-Of-Kin asked.
"Yes!" Ripper snarled. "Not only that, she's defeated me three times! Three completely undeserved wins, because she's getting spoon-fed anything she wants! I bet you she's never had to struggle for a damn thing in her entire life, because everything just conspires to bail her out!"
"Quiet." Betrayer-Of-Kin's hiss was short and sharp. Ripper snapped his jaws shut; both he and Betrayer-Of-Kin stood as still as possible as the voices of two Aether Foundation personnel floated up from below them.
"…you think Lusamine's really gone?"
"I dunno. Only the mansion guards knew anything about what she was doing."
"You think it's connected to that weird Tentacruel-like creature that wrecked Sanctuary 4? Or that teenager invasion just now?"
"I think you watch too many movies. She's probably just fallen ill or something."
"Geez, hope it's not contagious."
The two workers moved out of earshot. Betrayer-Of-Kin and Ripper relaxed. "Let's move on," Betrayer-Of-Kin opined.
"Yeah," said Ripper. "Let's."
The two walked in silence for a couple more minutes, Betrayer-Of-Kin focused on the path ahead. Eventually, they reached a point where the air vent arced upwards, a lengthy vertical shaft separating the duo from the next floor up.
"Now what?" Ripper asked.
"Patience, Ripper," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "This will be the riskiest part of this venture, so stick close and follow my lead."
She began to call out the notes of Perish Song, something Ripper clearly recognized immediately from the way he tensed up. Eighteen seconds later, the song concluded, and the tight surroundings of the air vent was replaced with the open yet encroaching darkness of Oblivion.
Betrayer-Of-Kin used Future Sight once again; with the power granted to her by Oblivion, she formed a set of stairs and began to slowly climb. Ripper followed, clearly unsure but unwilling to disobey her commands.
The two climbed higher and higher, Betrayer-Of-Kin regularly checking her Future Sight to discern when to stop. Eventually she ceased to form the stairs, instead creating a narrow platform jutting out from the topmost stair. "Right behind me," she told Ripper, stepping out onto the narrow platform.
"What's this, some kind of diving board?" Ripper asked.
"A little to the left," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. Ripper shuffled. "Not that far." He shuffled again.
Betrayer-Of-Kin released the Perish Song, and the two of them materialized back in the air vents on the next floor up, the vertical vent lying open behind them.
"And we're up," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "The medical wing shouldn't be too far ahead."
"So how about you?" Ripper asked as they began to walk once more.
"Hmm?"
"I told you my story," growled Ripper. "You tell me yours. How do you kill so many Pokemon and Trainers like it's nothing? What's your big end goal?"
Betrayer-Of-Kin hid a grimace. That was a topic of conversation she didn't entirely want to get into with Ripper. It took her a few moments to come up with a satisfactory answer.
"You remember those Absols that attacked us, of course," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. Ripper answered with an affirmative grunt. "I was once…part of them, so to speak. But I left when they began to use their Future Sight for ill. To manipulate the destinies of Trainers in order to pursue their own ends. So now I kill those they manipulate to ensure their goals do not come to pass."
"And Marcus is one of those Trainers?" Ripper asked. Betrayer-Of-Kin nodded. Ripper grunted again. "You think your Absol friends may be helping that Fearow out?"
"It's possible," said Betrayer-Of-Kin.
"That would explain a lot," Ripper growled. "Of course she's getting bailed out all the time if she's got a bunch of future-scanning Absols handing her victories."
Betrayer-Of-Kin knew that wasn't exactly the case. Even if the Heralds were helping Marcus's Fearow, it was only a side effect of them helping Marcus. But Ripper didn't need to know that.
Betrayer-Of-Kin scanned her surroundings with Future Sight once more. "We're getting close," she whispered. "Quiet down."
Ripper obeyed; now that they were quiet, Betrayer-Of-Kin could hear a slow beeping noise coming from up ahead. The two crept around the next corner to see light shining from a grate in the floor of the air vent. Slowly, Betrayer-Of-Kin inched up to it, looking down.
She spotted Wicke immediately, lying comatose in a bed a little to the left of the grate. She was hooked up to a heart monitor; it was that which was making the beeping noise. "Ripper," Betrayer-Of-Kin whispered, shifting to allow the Manectric access to the grate.
Ripper looked down. "There she is."
"Indeed," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "Ready?"
Ripper swallowed. "Yeah."
"Right, stay quiet," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "No attack calling. Just a little jolt."
Ripper concentrated; a tiny spark of Electric energy formed in his jaws. He sent it flying through the grate with a puff of breath; much to Betrayer-Of-Kin's relief, it was perfectly on target. Wicke's body shuddered slightly as the energy struck it, but her eyes remained closed.
"You know what to do," Betrayer-Of-Kin urged.
Ripper hesitated. Betrayer-Of-Kin watched him closely. All this planning could be invalidated if he got cold feet.
But eventually, though slowly, he nodded. "Static," he murmured. "Diaphragm."
There seemed to be no effect at first. Wicke shuddered slightly as, still comatose, her body struggled to breathe without her diaphragm working. It took a couple minutes of waiting before the slow, steady beeps of the heart monitor were replaced with one long, piercing noise.
Two Aether personnel rushed into Wicke's room, panic in their eyes; Betrayer-Of-Kin nudged Ripper. "It's done. We should go. Keep the Static on, just in case."
With a nod, Ripper backed away; Betrayer-Of-Kin teleported past him and signaled for him to follow her back the way they'd come. Ripper did so, casting his gaze back once again. Shouts arose from the medical wing as the personnel tried in vain to revive Wicke. Betrayer-Of-Kin ignored them, though it was clear that Ripper wasn't.
"So," said Betrayer-Of-Kin as they rounded the corner, "now what?"
"Excuse me?" Ripper asked.
"Wicke is dead," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "Our mission for Nidoking is finished. What do you plan to do now?"
Ripper scowled. "Do you really have to ask? I'm going to get my Mega Stone. And then I'm going to track down Kriesh and I'm gonna make sure she gets what she deserves."
Betrayer-Of-Kin sighed. "That is truly a shame."
In the next second, her horn was buried in Ripper's throat.
"I thought so much of you, Ripper," Betrayer-Of-Kin whispered. "But your reckless campaign of vengeance will only place my mission in more jeopardy. You have become a liability to me. And as much as I like you…I can't afford liabilities. Good-bye, Ripper."
Betrayer-Of-Kin flicked her horn to the left, ripping Ripper's throat open and allowing the Manectric to collapse to the floor of the air vent. Blood was streaming from his throat; he tried to snarl after her, but only a horrific choking gasp came out.
Betrayer-Of-Kin turned and walked away, leaving Ripper's bleeding body in the air vent. Ripper glared after her; he could feel his body already going into shock, blood streaming from his torn-open throat and pooling on the metallic floor of the air vent.
No. This can't be…this can't be happening. Not now. Not when my vengeance is still incomplete.
Ripper lay still, unable to move, his body not responding to his commands.
You…you monster…you were planning this all along, weren't you? Just waiting for my part to be over so you could finally be rid of me.
He felt his consciousness begin to fade. But in his last moments as the world went black, one more thought ran through Ripper's head.
If you think this is the end, you're wrong. I don't care what it takes. I'm going to find a way back. And after I'm finished with that Fearow, I'm going to kill you as well, Betrayer-Of-Kin.
I swear it.
Betrayer-Of-Kin materialized back in the laboratory. Without Ripper, there was no need to go through all the trouble of navigating the maze of air vents. She'd just been able to phase into Oblivion, walk to the point that corresponded to the laboratory, and phase back out.
Nidoking saw her arrive; he frowned as he realized she was alone. "Where's Ripper?" he asked.
"His role in the mission is concluded," said Betrayer-Of-Kin.
Nidoking nodded slowly. "Where'd you leave him?"
"Somewhere where they'll find him after a couple days, likely by smell alone," she said. "They'll analyze his body, of course. Conclude his Static killed Wicke. Suspect located, case closed."
"You think they'll wonder who killed him?" Nidoking asked.
"Not likely," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "They've had to deal with so much already recently. Likely they'll chalk it up to a murder-suicide, and that's if they even bother chalking it up to anything. And even if they do try and investigate, where are they going to look? By the time they even find the body, I'll be long gone."
"Indeed," said Nidoking. "So. What's your plan?"
Betrayer-Of-Kin shrugged. "Currently, to wait and allow my adversaries to tire themselves out searching for me. Before yesterday, I hadn't been forced into a full engagement with the other Absols for more than two years. They will be on guard, even more so than usual. And since Marcus has essentially become their main pet project, it will take a while before I have an opportunity to strike at him once more."
"So you've got some free time?" Nidoking asked.
"Yes," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "Why?"
"Because this mission was only one of the reasons I sought you out," said Nidoking. "Giovanni wants to meet with you. In person."
Betrayer-Of-Kin raised an eyebrow. "I presume he knows my capabilities."
"Yes," said Nidoking. "Believe me, he has been notified of the many risks involved in bringing an assassin - one who cares a lot about their anonymity - right in front of him. And personally, I am strongly against this idea. But he is rather insistent."
"Don't worry, I don't plan on killing Giovanni," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "And besides, I have a feeling he has plenty of countermeasures ready in case I do come at him with killing intent. He will have his meeting. When do you wish to take me to him?"
"Now," said Nidoking. "Faba's takeover is complete. My task is done and it is time for me to return to Giovanni. You will come with me."
Betrayer-Of-Kin dipped her head. "Of course."
Nidoking stepped over to the communicator that he'd given Faba, the one that was now lying open on the table, and pressed a button on it. A second later, a Porygon teleported into the room. It whirred invitingly.
"After you," said Nidoking. Betrayer-Of-Kin stepped next to the Porygon. Nidoking moved to the other side, and a second later all three disappeared from the room.
"What do ya mean, she's gone?" Drapion's voice was low and furious.
Kriesh swallowed. She had not been looking forward to this at all. It was bad enough having to had lived through Medicham's disappearance the first time. It made it hurt all over again to have to let Drapion, Houndoom, and Liepard, who had been unconscious at the time and had just been healed back to consciousness by the ferryboat's assortment of medicines, know that Medicham was gone.
But she knew it was her duty. That was why Marcus had released all of them into this room; so that the ones who knew could alert the ones who didn't. And so Kriesh opened her beak again. "Disappeared. Stuck in some alternate dimension. I…we…don't know how to get her out. Or if…if we can get her out."
Silence filled the room. Houndoom was trembling in place, jaws shivering as he fought back his emotions. Liepard stood with her head bowed, though Kriesh noticed that she seemed far less broken up than Houndoom. And Drapion…just stood. Eyes locked on Kriesh, completely unmoving.
And then, all at once: "Damn it!"
Drapion's arm slammed into the nearby metal wall with a loud crunch. The large Dark/Poison-type sagged, breathing heavily.
Marcus raised his voice from the corner. "Should I-"
Kriesh rounded on him, shaking her head. "No."
"Okay," said Marcus.
Kriesh turned back to the rest of the team. "We are going to do everything we can to get Medicham back," she said. "I'm not going to stop trying until either she's back…or if someone confirms she isn't coming back."
"Please don't say that," said Cloyster. "Just…please don't say that." The Water/Ice-type sounded absolutely drained.
"So what are we supposed to do now?" Trevenant asked. "Wait and see what happens?"
"I think that's all we can do," said Liepard, finally raising her head. "You said it yourself, Kriesh…we have no idea what to do."
Houndoom furiously lashed his tail. "This is stupid! We can't-"
"Yes, we can." Pangoro's voice boomed across the room. "In fact, we have to. Grief, sadness, that's all well and good, but we've got lives. Lives beyond mourning. So maybe it's a good idea to just live those lives."
"And hope someone finds a way to get Medicham back," Liepard added.
"Yeah, and that," said Pangoro.
The general feeling in the room seemed to be one of reluctant acceptance; some glares were directed at Pangoro, especially from Houndoom and Cloyster, but they slowly eased. Despite that, Kriesh still felt her heart aching. Hasn't Medicham suffered enough without this?
Drapion stepped over to Kriesh. "Can we…talk?"
Kriesh nodded; without a word she and Drapion moved into a corner of the room. The rest of the team moved to other places, giving them a little privacy.
"Drapion," Kriesh whispered, "just because you got knocked out before she disappeared doesn't mean it's your fault she's gone."
Drapion let out an explosive breath. "Maybe," he growled, "but it still feels like if ah'd just been there-"
"That's how we all feel," Kriesh pointed out. "I keep thinking back on it. Playing it over and over again in my head, wondering what I could have done differently. It hurts, but in the end, I know that Medicham made her choices, and I made mine. If I could do it over again, I'd make every effort to save her, but I can't. None of us can. As much as I hate to admit it, Pangoro's right. We've…we've got lives. And we have to live them." Kriesh almost choked on the next sentence. "With or without Medicham."
Drapion stiffened, then heaved a lengthy sigh. "Ah feel so weak," he snarled. "It feels like every fight ah get in nowadays is a struggle. Ah struggled against Liepard. Against those Panchams. Against that Weavile an' that Crawdaunt. Grimsley's Liepard. Pangoro. Distortion, ah had ta be bailed outta a fight with that Kecleon in Aether by Liepard. Ah mean, sometimes, it makes sense. Ah wasn't gonna win against Grimsley's Liepard. But others…ah used to feel strong. Now every time ah get into a battle, it just feels useless. Like even if ah win, it's always gonna be down ta the wire. Ah just…nowadays ah just feel useless."
"Drapion," said Kriesh, "you're not useless. And I know you probably think I'm saying that because that's what you want to hear, but it's true. If you were useless, Marcus wouldn't be using you as his Ace for his Gym Leader team, would he?"
"Ah guess not," Drapion admitted.
"So maybe focus on the fact that you won most of those fights," said Kriesh. "Yes, Grimsley's Liepard was Elite Four-level. And that Kecleon…everyone on that team was really strong. It took me and Serena's Altaria to deal with that Crobat, and…" She decided Ripper wasn't too important to the conversation. "Look, with Aether Paradise we bit off a little more than we could chew. That doesn't make you useless just because you couldn't deal with that Kecleon on your own. We all struggled."
Drapion sighed again; the two of them stood where they were for a few moments. Kriesh scanned the room; the rest of the team were talking in twos or threes, with only Pangoro standing alone.
"So we're just…movin' on now?" Drapion asked.
"Of course not," said Kriesh. "But…Medicham would want us to keep working towards our other goals. She wouldn't want Marcus to give up on becoming a Gym Leader, and she wouldn't want us to give up on supporting him."
Drapion nodded. "Yer right…but if there's any opportunity-"
"Then we'll take it," said Kriesh. "Like I said, I'm not gonna stop trying to get her back until there's absolutely no chance she'll come back."
"An' ah'm with ya on that one," said Drapion.
Kriesh half-smiled. "Let's get back into our balls," she said, raising her voice. "We'll probably be arriving soon."
The instant she felt her paws land on solid ground, Betrayer-Of-Kin cast out both her Future Sight and her normal senses. Instantly she could tell this place was under an extremely powerful Psychic block, scrambling her Sight of this area. Irritating, but understandable, considering this was the hideout of Giovanni.
Her normal senses beheld a small, clean room that was fairly large. A few chairs and a rather plush couch stood along the walls, some small tables dotted the space as well, and a large area was cleared in the center of the room, likely for teleportations such as this. The room was at present occupied by three other Pokemon; a Nidoqueen of similar size to Nidoking, and a Kangaskhan and Rhyperior who both towered over Nidoking and Nidoqueen.
"Nidoking," said Kangaskhan. "Glad to see you're back. Mission go well?"
"As well as it could've," Nidoking answered.
"Nidoqueen was quite jealous," rumbled Rhyperior.
"I still am." Nidoqueen smirked. "C'mon, get over here."
Nidoking moved over to Nidoqueen, and the two slammed into one another in a crushing hug. Kangaskhan stepped over and wrapped her arms around both of them, and then Rhyperior did the same to all three, much to Nidoqueen's amusement.
"So how was Alola?" Kangaskhan asked as she and Rhyperior finally released Nidoking and Nidoqueen. "Did you get into any fights?"
"Nothing that I couldn't handle." Nidoking shot a glance at Betrayer-Of-Kin.
It was a glance that Nidoqueen seemed to misunderstand. "Oh, did the assassin give you a challenge, at least?"
"I would prefer to be called Betrayer-Of-Kin, if you please," said Betrayer-Of-Kin, seeing fit to interject. "Not that I don't enjoy…reunions…but I am here for a meeting."
Kangaskhan nodded. "It's interesting to finally meet you in the flesh," she said warily. "Giovanni's been anticipating your arrival for quite some time."
Betrayer-Of-Kin frowned. "Where is he?"
"Through that door and a couple hallways," said Rhyperior; Betrayer-Of-Kin could see wariness in his expression as well. "You can go if you'd like. Porygon, show her in; we've got some catching up to do with Nidoking."
Porygon whirred again. "With me, if you please," it requested robotically. Betrayer-Of-Kin followed it through the door Rhyperior had indicated, a sturdy steel one that Porygon moved up to and turned to show its eye to a scanner. The door hissed open, revealing a fairly lengthy, well-lit corridor that Porygon began moving down. Betrayer-Of-Kin followed; Rhyperior closed the door behind her as she slipped her tail through.
As Porygon led Betrayer-Of-Kin down the hallway, Betrayer-Of-Kin kept looking from side to side. The hallway had quite a few doors on each side, most of which were closed. Betrayer-Of-Kin saw glimpses of rooms both darkened and lit through the open doors, but couldn't really make out what was going on through them; she could also hear noises behind some of the closed ones, whirring technology and clanking metal, but her Sight was still blocked and she could not make out what they were.
Porygon turned a corner and led Betrayer-Of-Kin down another hallway. At the end of this hallway was another scanner-equipped door that Porygon opened. Through this door was another room, this one even nicer than the teleportation reception room; this one held two large plush couches and several chairs with tables, as well as a fine wooden desk behind which sat a light-skinned, dark-haired woman dressed in a white suit with golden and purple highlights around her neck and arms. A species of Pokemon Betrayer-Of-Kin had plenty of experience with recently, a Houndoom, stood by her side, eyeing Betrayer-Of-Kin warily as she stepped into the room behind Porygon. The desk was situated next to yet another heavy-looking scanner-equipped door.
The woman looked back. "Your Porygon's back, Giovanni. Along with…an Absol?"
"Ah, yes." A voice came from behind the door. "Send them in, Sierra. I'm expecting them."
Sierra nodded. "Houndoom, sit," she said. Houndoom did so, still watching Betrayer-Of-Kin warily as Porygon led her across the room and through the last door.
Sierra shut the door behind her, and Betrayer-Of-Kin was shrouded in complete darkness.
Porygon whizzed off into the gloom and was lost from sight. Betrayer-Of-Kin sighed. She had no patience for the dramatics she knew were about to ensue. Sure enough, a single light flickered on, illuminating the center of the room.
Giovanni was recognizable immediately, light-skinned and black-haired just like Sierra, dressed in a heavy black coat and long black pants; a wide-brimmed black hat was on the fairly large table in front of him. He was sitting on yet another couch; on one side was Porygon, on the other a massive, curled-up Persian that Betrayer-Of-Kin instantly recognized was staring right at her, ready to pounce to its Trainer's defense in an instant despite its sleepy-looking demeanor. In the corner of the room, Betrayer-Of-Kin could see the faint outline of yet another Pokemon. A Honchkrow, likely the one behind the Psychic block.
Betrayer-Of-Kin had no doubt that Persian or Honchkrow on their own would be a highly difficult fight. Both of them together were beyond even her capabilities. Like I expected anything less. Betrayer-Of-Kin stepped up to the other side of the table, looking up at Giovanni.
Giovanni smiled. "There is no sense in leaving any cards off the table," he said. "So let me start with what I know about you." He leaned closer. "I know that you have killed quite a few Trainers and quite a few Pokemon. I know your main method - kill the Trainer, kill a couple of the Pokemon, leave the rest alive, and make it look like a wild Pokemon stampede. And I know that you are capable of human speech. So would you care to give me your name? If it's just Absol, it's fine, but if you tell me it's Absol, and it's not, I will know."
Betrayer-Of-Kin cocked her head, eyeing Giovanni warily. He didn't seem to be lying. But how could he know her speech capabilities?
That was a question for later.
"You first," said Betrayer-Of-Kin.
Giovanni chuckled. "Very well. I am Giovanni. And you are?"
"Betrayer-Of-Kin," Betrayer-Of-Kin answered. "I heard you have been anticipating this meeting. I must say, so have I."
"Good." Giovanni placed both his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers. "I suppose you're probably wondering how I know all of this about you."
"Indeed," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "Seeing as I do try to remain anonymous."
"Oh, I can certainly tell," said Giovanni. "To be honest, it's a bit of a tale."
"I'm ready to hear it," said Betrayer-Of-Kin.
"Of course," said Giovanni. "It all started when…well, I assume you know about the Goldenrod Radio Tower takeover." He waited for Betrayer-Of-Kin to nod before continuing. "When I received the message, I knew at once that I had to answer. But I also knew that I couldn't just reform Team Rocket. Red was still out there, and furthermore Gold was also ascending to power. So I moved surreptitiously. Contacted the Rocket remnants and told them that I had heard their message, but that we would need to bide their time. And so I stayed in contact with the various Team Rocket cells. A few Grunts came to me to help construct this hideout; three of them, Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra, were especially helpful, and I rewarded them with promotions to Executives. As for the rest of the Rocket cells, they fell over time; Red was still marauding, and over time he managed to track down and scatter every single one. But that is not the point of this story. Do you, perchance, remember a young boy, around fifteen years old, by the name of Andrew Bates?"
Betrayer-Of-Kin did remember that name. Her seventeenth kill, around a year and a half ago. Kantonian. She'd cornered him on a nature hike in the woods far away from civilization, killing him before any of the three Heralds in the area could come to his aid. "Yes."
"His Tauros survived your assault," said Giovanni. "I assume that was by choice."
"Indeed," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "Normally I only kill one or two of the Pokemon, as it makes it look-"
"-more like a Wild Pokemon attack," Giovanni finished. "Anyway. That Tauros was quite a hardy one. He managed to drag his dead Trainer all the way to Tohjo Falls. Apparently it was an old watering hole for the Tauros - in his grief he ran for a familiar place."
"So?" Betrayer-Of-Kin asked.
Giovanni's smile grew wider. "You probably don't know this, but the hideout we are standing in right now is directly under Tohjo Falls. Arlo found the Tauros and informed me of a possible security risk. I, not wanting to be discovered by any search parties possibly looking for the boy, had Porygon here, who at the time was a recent acquisition, use his Trace Ability to scan the body in order to help me identify him. And when Porygon did so, he discovered that although Andrew was covered in wounds, none of them were fatal - except for one clean slash across the throat, neatly severing both the common carotid artery and the trachea. It was quite cleverly disguised, too. Very well done on that front."
"Thank you," Betrayer-Of-Kin said emotionlessly.
"I was understandably intrigued, but decided it wasn't my problem," said Giovanni. "So I had Porygon drop the boy and the Tauros back in the crime scene. Both dead, of course - the Tauros knew too much. But scarcely two weeks later, I was reading a UPW newspaper - I had taken to reading quite a few of them in order to catch myself up on the outside world - when I saw a headline of a young girl named Georgiana Nelson, a Paldean, dead from a wild Pokemon stampede. Your next kill after Andrew, I presume."
"Yes," Betrayer-Of-Kin answered, a grim smile coming to her at the memory. That had been a productive month. The Heralds had been unprepared to shift gears from Andrew so soon, and Betrayer-Of-Kin had gotten to Georgiana before they could send more than a single guardian. It had been one of her easiest kills.
"Call it a hunch," said Giovanni, "but I simply had to investigate. Under the radar, I had Porygon teleport me and itself to Paldea to analyze the body. Sure enough, another clean throat slash hidden under all the random scratch and bite marks."
Betrayer-Of-Kin nodded slowly.
"At that point, my curiosity was piqued," said Giovanni. "So I took another step. I had Porygon use Trace to analyze Georgiana's memories. In doing so, I was able to get a good look at your handiwork, and discovered in the process that you could speak to humans. Once that was done, I returned to Kanto. I was fairly certain those were not your first kills. You seemed far too practiced for that to be the case. So I began looking back at old newspapers, searching for people killed in seemingly random Wild Pokemon attacks, especially ones with only one or two Pokemon slain along with their Trainers. Benny Taylor, from Unova. Nova Richardson, from Sinnoh. Alain Alan, from Kalos. From there, I began establishing patterns. I realized very quickly that you had some form of teleportation - there was no other way you could have gotten to some of the places you got to at the speed you got to them. Over time, I ascertained that you often utilized specific spots in various regions as miniature bases - good places to lie low, in order to take the heat off you. But I was never able to pinpoint your exact location until it was too late. Until, about a month ago, I received a newspaper from Kalos, telling all about a Trainer named Marcus Grayson who'd been hospitalized by a wild Pokemon attack, the rest of his team injured. Quite a sensationalist story, and one that, I'll admit, was not entirely certain to be you. But, again on a hunch, I sent Nidoking to a spot in Kalos I'd ascertained to be your main hideaway there. And apparently he finally managed to locate you."
Betrayer-Of-Kin was reluctantly impressed. No wonder Giovanni and his allies knew so much about her, if they'd expended so much effort learning about her and searching for her. And all because of blind luck and incredible coincidence. She was at least satisfied that it hadn't been a single random, stupid mistake that had allowed Giovanni to locate her.
"Why, though?" Betrayer-Of-Kin asked. "Why spend all that effort looking for me?"
Giovanni's smile, if possible, grew even wider. "Because I am in need of your particular skillset. Not the assassinations, I mean. At least right now, I am not currently in need of assassinating anyone, though the skill might come in handy down the line. No, I'm talking about your stealth prowess. Your teleportation. And especially your impressive information gathering skills. Now, I'm not going to pry on why you see fit to murder a whole bunch of seemingly random teenagers. But I am going to pry on how you manage to ascertain their locations every time."
"Future Sight," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "And when that fails, I use more mundane things. Marcus, for example, I located due to a combination of a news headline proclaiming the heroics of a 'one-badge Trainer' in Lumiose, letting me know the basic route he was going, and an overheard conversation that told me a more specific location."
"See, things like that are exactly what I need," said Giovanni.
"How does this work?" Betrayer-Of-Kin asked. "Because I am in no mood to permanently-"
"Oh, there will be nothing permanent about this," said Giovanni. "If we do end up working together, I will expect a somewhat regular check-in here at Tohjo Falls, and I will be monitoring your location. Otherwise, you can go about your life as normal. I won't interfere with your work, and if your work gets in the way of your regular check-in, I will understand. In addition, you will be welcome to use Tohjo Falls as a hideaway if needed. How does that sound?"
"I should warn you," said Betrayer-Of-Kin, "I am a bit of a package deal." She didn't really like telling him about the Heralds, but Nidoking knew, and as such Giovanni would know soon enough whether she told him or not.
"Oh?" Giovanni frowned.
"Others of my kind have not taken kindly to my actions," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "There is a group of them who are in pursuit of me. And thanks to an...unfortunate turn of events…they were able to locate Nidoking and I in Alola. We dealt with them, but just know that if you want me, you're going to have to deal with them. And their own information gathering is fairly decent."
"I have no problem with that," said Giovanni. "My team can handle a gang of wild Absols. And Honchkrow here had to hide me from Sabrina for years, and has only grown stronger since then. His Psychic blocking skills are, not to brag, nearly unparalleled. No amount of Future Sight is getting past him, and there is precious little other information about me that anyone could use."
"Well, if that's the case, then I suppose you have a deal," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "Also, I do believe I will be taking you up on your offer of a hideaway."
"Very good." Giovanni reached out a hand. Betrayer-Of-Kin met it with a paw and shook it. "Porygon, escort Betrayer-Of-Kin to a free room, and set her up with any amenity she asks for."
As Porygon led Betrayer-Of-Kin out of the room, Betrayer-Of-Kin detected Persian and Honchkrow untensing. She smirked. Honchkrow was an immensely powerful Psychic blocker. She'd only seen stronger Psychic blocking done by a single Pokemon from Yveltal. But far too little of his focus had been in the room. The focus had increased once she'd told Giovanni about her Future Sight, but by then it had been far too late; she'd already garnered all the information she needed about Giovanni's future.
And Giovanni had a much larger part to play in the upcoming apocalypse than even the knowledge she'd gained about his future back in Aether Paradise had led Betrayer-Of-Kin to believe. Countless new timelines were now available for Betrayer-Of-Kin to see, timelines that had been enshrouded by Honchkrow's Psychic blocking, timelines that the Heralds had no idea even existed.
Yes, this alliance would certainly be beneficial. Betrayer-Of-Kin's smirk grew wider as she exited the waiting room, ignoring Sierra's eyes on her back.
One step closer to Armageddon.
This chapter really showed me how disorganized the whole Alola sequence has become. I planned on putting Betrayer-Of-Kin and Giovanni's meeting into the final chapter of this arc, but then the whole Ripper + Betrayer-Of-Kin sequence turned out way shorter than I thought it would be, so I dropped the meeting into this chapter; turns out it kinda fits better, since now Ripper and Betrayer-Of-Kin are out of the arc and the rest of the arc can fully focus on the Ultra Space stuff.
I swear I have this fic planned out, and am not just writing by the seat of my pants. I swear.
Also, I realized as I was writing that apparently I really hate Electric-types, because both of the main Electric-types in the story (Heliolisk and Ripper) have wound up as villains that have as of now gotten killed off. Plus Marcus doesn't have any Electric-types. So, sorry to all the Electric-type fans in my audience!
Having said all that, of course, this might not actually be the last we see of Ripper...