Pokémon Radiant Sun
Happy New Year everyone!
Here's to a another year of awesomeness and good vibes. Honestly, I don't have much more to say than that! We're still gong full-steam ahead with the Aether Arc as we get into the meat and potatoes of the main story plot!
Shoutout to those who reviewed since the last update, including SolanaLeonhart, Oragonking and BraviaryScout! Thanks for everything, folks.
Warning: The following chapter does contain some scenes of intense gore.
Enjoy.
Chapter 151: Call the Darkness Down
"Just because something isn't a lie does not mean that it isn't deceptive. A liar knows that he is a liar, but one who speaks mere portions of truth in order to deceive is a craftsman of destruction."- Criss Jami.
Malie City Power Plant
Ollie leapt back to avoid a Flamethrower from a Shadow Emboar, the enormous pig snarling furiously as the Cipher Peon tried to stand his ground against the Captain of the International Police. The Power Plant had been taken hostage by several Cipher members and Ollie had finally slipped through their defenses and began taking them down. But it was certainly not an easy or fun fight.
"King's Shield." Ollie said calmly while loading a round into his rifle. Aegislash sprang out of his shadow and summoned a hexagonal shield that stopped the flames from reaching its Trainer. As soon as the Flamethrower stopped, Ollie stepped out from behind his shield and took aim before firing. The round struck the neck of the Cipher Peon, who cried out in pain…before collapsing onto the ground, fast asleep from the dart that the Captain had fired into his neck.
Ollie swiftly defeated the Shadow Emboar with Aegislash before walking over to the Peon, contacting the police squad he had been working with to tell them that the last of the Cipher Peons had been defeated.
"Thankfully it looks like this guy didn't have a contingency plan set up like the others we tried to capture. Did we catch them off-guard?" Ollie asked himself quietly as the police joined him.
"Seems like that's the case." Responded a deep voice that made Ollie turn around, seeing the form of Jackal dressed in casual tourist clothes with a sunhat and sunglasses on. Essentially the perfect disguise for someone in the Alola region.
"Sweep the building and make sure we didn't miss anyone. Leave someone behind to interview the hostages." Ollie ordered the cops as he walked over to talk to Jackal. "We just secured the building. I've got the one I managed to capture over there."
"And I took care of those cretins back along the road. Let's see what our new prisoner has to say." Jackal said with a mean grin, putting a hand on the concealed sidearm he had on him.
"That may not be necessary."
Ollie and Jack turned around to see Nanu, Anabel and Looker walk out of the shadow of the nearby cop car, with Looker seeming particularly concerned. Nanu looked bored as always, slouching his shoulders.
"We may have a bigger problem than what's happening here in Alola." Anabel said with a tired sigh, rubbing her face.
"Bigger problem?" Ollie asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We may need to brace ourselves for a region-wide disaster within the span of…maybe a few hours?" Looker said with a wince, shaking his head. "Turns out some of the recent troubles we've been dealing with stem from Aether Paradise."
"Aether Paradise!?" Jackal yelled, completely taken aback by this news. "Lusa would never…how do you know!?"
"Jackal, calm down." Ollie said as he set a hand on the older man's shoulder. He then looked to Nanu and said, "Unfortunately, I've heard the same thing. Councilman Palena contacted me via his Talonflame just a few minutes ago and explained to me some things. I was about to interrogate my captive to see if any of what he has to say matches up."
"Smart. As for me, I know exactly where Palena got his info. Demi Palena, HIs daughter. She's been hanging around Gladion Jardin, son and heir to the Aether Paradise and the Jardin Fortune who ran away from home nearly three years ago. Turns out he found out some pretty dark shit. You may want to sit down, Caleb." Nanu said in a tone as serious as any of the men had ever heard him.
Nanu then spent the better part of twenty minutes explaining what he's discovered over the past three years of quiet investigation, now backed by hard evidence thanks to Team Skull's recent moves, testimony from Gladion and what Demi had told her father.
"So now you've got enough to search the premises with a warrant, huh? You think Lusamine will just let that slide? If she's as dangerous as the kids think, she won't take kindly to that." Looker asked Nanu, who scoffed.
"We should go back up Sun and the others right away. We don't know just how deep this rabbit hole goes." Ollie said firmly, only for Nanu and Jackal to look at him.
"We can't risk triggering some of the Paradise's defenses. Especially since they took control of Cipher's assets. For all we know they could be controlling Shadow Legendaries or experimental weapons. Lusamine and Faba probably wouldn't bring all that out for a handful of kids. For a squad of Agents, I can see that happening." Anabel reasoned, causing several of the others to nod. Nanu turned to Jackal and pointed at him.
"Jackal, you're our best infiltrator. Break into that place and find out what the hell is happening. Lusamine might be willing to listen to you, especially since she's one of the few people I trusted enough to let know that you survived the Battle Royal Dome." Nanu then realized how that statement sounded and muttered, "I must've been drunk. In retrospect that sounds really dumb."
"Nope, that's just you sober." Jackal remarked with a shrug, smirking before he called out his Kecleon. "Nagato, Shadow Sneak us back to the safehouse. We've got work to do."
Jackal turned to his comrades as he placed a hand on his new Partner's head. "You be safe out there. No unnecessary risks."
And with that Jackal was dragged into his shadow, leaving the three men behind. Ollie, Looker Nanu and Anabel stared at the spot where the older agent had vanished before Looker said, "Well, better get to it. If what you're saying is true, Nanu, then we'll need to be everywhere at once, and we don't need to pour all of our efforts looking into Aether when there's plenty of other spots we can look into."
Meanwhile…
Aether Paradise
Demi, Gladion and Hau watched as Sun stood across from Branch Chief Faba, with the haughty man sneering defiantly at the boy who dared to stand against him. Beside him his trusty Hypno stared the boy and his Decidueye down, prepared to attack whenever the command was given.
Faba thrust out a hand and barked, "Shadow Ball, Hypno!"
"Dodge it and use Spirit Shackle!" Sun retaliated as Oliver flapped his wings hard, soaring high into the air to dodge the orb of darkness fired off by the Hypnosis Pokémon. Oliver reached apex of his flight and took aim, notching a single arrow and filling it with the ethereal energy that came naturally to him since he had evolved.
Oliver fired off his Spirit Shackle, with Hypno dodging the arrow initially until it bounced off of the ground and struck Hypno in the back, exploding violently enough to terrify Faba.
"Aiyee!" Faba screamed in horror as his strongest Pokémon crashed onto the ground unconscious, having been knocked out in a single shot by the super-effective attack. Oliver chuckled deeply, notching another arrow and aiming it at Faba. The Branch Chief of the Aether Foundation was currently sweating bullets, looking absolutely horrified.
"H-h-how could this be?! How could this child…" Faba whispered hoarsely, shaking slightly as Sun grinned at him, stuffing his hands into his pocket.
"Aue, look at you, Sun! And Faba is real strong, too!" Hau laughed, clapping his hands while Demi gave him a look of confusion.
"His Hypno got one-shot…How is he strong?" Demi asked Hau, who blinked at the surprise question and shrugged in response.
Gladion shook his head, though he did take a step towards Faba, who shrank back in terror. "So…As I said, Faba. You of all people know what I'm here for."
"Indeed…" Faba breathed, standing upright again and straightening his coat. "The world truly hasn't been kind to you, has it? Look how hard it has made you."
"I did what I had to do to become strong." Gladion replied quietly, glancing down at his bad arm with an inward wince. Faba frowned for a moment, his feelings somewhat conflicted, but then his frown thinned as he considered his options.
"If you're looking for Cosmog, I suppose it might be downstairs." Faba offered, shrugging after a moment. Sun and Gladion glanced at one another without meaning too, unable to shake the feeling that something was off. Gladion's eyes narrowed slightly, wondering why Faba was telling them that.
"Downstairs?!" Hau yelped, though he did suddenly remember something rather important. Faba simply smiled at the remark, a soft laugh escaping the scientist. "Oh yeah! Ms. Wicke did say there was another level farther down, didn't she…What do you do down there?!"
"Well…if you must know…I've heard experiments are held down there." Faba answered, his tone surprisingly serious as the children stared at him in consternation. "Experiments aiming to tear the very boundaries of the world apart. Experiments pushing to answer questions always wondered, but never answered. It was also the place where I saved your precious Decidueye from the Ultra Beast venom when he was a Dartrix."
Sun's shivered at the description of what the scientist had said. Gladion wasn't dissuaded by the vague remarks of the Aether Foundation's Branch Chief.
"We're in a bit of a hurry, Faba. A lift would be nice." Gladion said to the scientist, who offered them yet another shrug.
"Why not? This is an act of kindness I can do for you thanks to my position as Branch Chief." Faba remarked, his expression becoming more neutral. Sun wondered why this was, feeling suspicious of the man.
"We get it, you're the Branch Chief. There's no need to repeat yourself, dude, I ignored you just fine the first time." Demi chimed in, causing Faba to scowl as he stepped onto the lift, swiping his key card and then inputting a rather long password into the computer. Meanwhile Gladion backed away until he was standing beside Hau and Sun.
"Man, I'm like…stunned by so much of this…" Hau whispered, shivering slightly much to the other's concern. "I thought Aether was an amazing place. I really looked up to Miss Wicke, Mr. Faba and President Lusamine. After my Island Challenge, I was thinking of asking to be an intern here or something so I could help make a difference."
"It's always terrifying to have the truth be thrown in your face like this." Gladion said sympathetically, understanding Hau's unease. The Aether Foundation had a reputation beyond reproach and both the President and Branch Chief Faba were widely respected worldwide.
"There. You should now be able to access the basement levels." Faba said as he stepped off of the lift, smirking at them now. "Wasn't that a wonderful thing for the Branch Chief to do?
"Sun. Hau, Demi. If you're ready, let's head down." Gladion said to them, his tone darkening in tone to a worrying degree. However, Hau still had words for Faba as the man stood there smugly watching them.
"I mean, to answer your question, you're being kind of an douche?" Hau remarked, causing all three of his fellow teens to stare at the boy in shock. "What? I might be dumb sometimes, but even I realize Branch Chief Faba is being a big jerkwad."
"I stand corrected. Hau, you're a valued member of the team and I'm happy you're here." Gladion said with a smirk, fighting back laughter as Faba stomped his foot on the ground furiously. Gladion then glanced at Demi and Sun, asking, "Are you ready?"
All three of the teens nodded, and so Gladion sighed and reached forward to tap the terminal. "...All right. Let's go."
The railings smoothly rose up around them and soon, the young Trainers were descending further into the Aether Paradise, unable to shake the feeling of dread that had now settled over them all.
Nor did they see Faba smirking as he called his Hypno back out and used a Revive on it before swiftly teleporting away.
Aether Paradise Basement
"...Everything looks the same. I guess it's only been two years, though." Gladion muttered as he glanced around the chamber, his gaze calculating. Hau bounded off of the elevator, grinning at the strange place they now found themselves in. It was a gray and white chamber with three separate doorways that were sealed off.
"Wow! It's like a secret hideout!" Hau exclaimed, turning around to face his companions.
"Don't get too excited, Hau." Gladion remarked, though he did smirk to himself. "Though I guess it's better than freezing from fear or nerves."
"That's Hau for you." Sun chuckled softly while Demi rolled her eyes, stepping off of the lift to join Hau. Gladion walked to one of the doorways and input a code on the keypad beside it, causing the light above the door to flicker green.
"So where do we go now?" Hau asked Gladion, who pointed to the nearest doorway.
"There are two labs up ahead. I'll check the first lab, Secret Lab A, with Demi. You two check out Secret Lab B. It's the second lab, further down the hall." Gladion instructed Hau and Sun as Demi walked over to Gladion.
"Why do you get the first one? And why do you know all of this?" Hau asked suspiciously, which Gladion considered for a moment before shaking his head. They didn't have time for questions.
"...Just focus, Hau. Think you can do that?" Gladion said to the boy, who looked at him with confusion. "We can't trust Faba. I'm sure he's already told half the Foundation all about us."
"You didn't even answer my question…" Hau mumbled, trying not to let his annoyance show. "I know what it's gotta be. Nerves, eh?"
Gladion didn't respond to that, though he was somewhat impressed that Hau could sense that he was actually nervous about being down here. It had been two full years, almost three now, since he had last descended into the bowels of the Aether Paradise and the teen knew that the Foundation hadn't been idle in that time. He shuddered to think what sort of horrible experiments were being performed down here.
"I reckon that you're more afraid to be here than either one of us, huh, Gladion?" Hau said as he stepped forward, digging into his pocket. "Here, Sun. You take this."
Sun blinked in surprise as Hau handed him a Max Revive. Hau grinned as his friend pocketed the valuable medicine and said, "Lillie must be scared right now…Let's buckle down and do this!"
"You two be careful." Demi urged her friends, quickly pulling them both into a hug before hurrying after Gladion, who was letting Type: Null lead the way into the next area.
"They went and named their labs azzzz…Secret Lab A and Secret Lab B? Thizzz place is bad newzzzz…" Rotom Dex whispered, sounding just as unsettled as Sun felt inside.
"No kidding. As cool as it looks, this gives me some seriously nasty vibes." Hau remarked, crossing his arms and following Sun through the door.
"What if we run into more bad guyzzz?" Rotom Dex asked Sun, who considered that question. He wasn't even sure if the Aether Foundation were technically the bad guys, or what was even going on here. But he trusted that Gladion and Demi wouldn't mislead them, and there were some threads the boy could spot dangling in front of him. He just needed to keep pressing on and hopefully answers would manifest and that they could save Lillie and Cosmog from Team Skull. Which begged the question…where was Team Skull anyway?
"I'll take point. Hau, I'm counting on you to watch our backs and make sure we're not caught by whatever security teams Aether Paradise has." Sun said to his best friend, who grinned and gave him a thumbs up.
The two boys entered an enormous chamber that caused them both to stop in their tracks. They stood upon a catwalk, which led to two large white buildings. All around them was inky black darkness, ominously stretching out into nothingness. Below them was a bottomless pit that completed the eerie sight. Sun called out Brago and instructed Oliver to stay by him, just in case. Hau did the same with Duke and called out Kaha, his Flareon illuminating the darkness somewhat with its fiery body.
"Yep, just more bad vibes." Hau muttered under his breath before looking forward and spotting three Aether Employees striding towards them. However they were wearing sleek reflective helmets that shielded their faces, much to the boys confusion. As they approached, the trio stopped in place on the large open section of the catwalk Sun and Hau stood on and just…waited.
Sun stepped forward and the lead employee started, putting their hands on their hips. "Intruder spotted! We'll protect our secret labs!"
"Looks like we've got a fight!" Sun called to Hau as the Aether Foundation Employee called out an Alolan Muk.
"Kick their butts! I've got your back!" Hau called to Sun as the boy pointed towards the Muk as it prepared to attack.
"Brago, use Extreme Speed!" Sun called as the Arcanine lunged forward, speeding toward the rainbow-colored goop monster and colliding into it at mach speed.
"Screech!" the AF Employee shouted, only for Brago to dodge the move at a command from Sun and retaliate with a Flame Burst. As fire exploded around the catwalk and the Muk groaned in pain, the AF Employee called out for his Pokémon to use Crunch. The sludge monster sped forward, opening its mouth and biting Brago hard enough for the hound to howl in pain.
"Bite it back with Fire Fang!"
Brago opened his mouth as it exploded with fire before he bit the Muk right back, causing the rainbow-colored Pokémon to snarl and let go of Brago, allowing the canine to get away.
"Knock off!"
"Dodge with Flame Charge!"
Brago leapt back just out of range of the Alolan Muk as it swiped at him with a glowing goopy hand, his body exploding with flames before the Arcanine charged forward, ramming hard into the Muk and causing it to faint.
"Hmm…It seems as though I may have lost." The Aether Foundation Employee mused, taking a step back. After returning his Pokémon, the man put a hand to his chin. "There are only researchers like us here in the secret labs!"
"Now talk! Where are Lillie and Nebby!?" Hau demanded, only for the three men to chuckle at the boy in response.
"Looks like I'm next!" The Aether Foundation Employee standing to the left of the one Sun had just battled spoke up. "I'll show you the power of Aether Paradise!"
To Sun's relief, the Aether Employee sent out a Magneton, which he promptly had Brago blast with Flame Burst. However, to Sun's surprise the Magnet Pokémon didn't faint from the super-effective attack. Instead it tanked the hit thanks to its Ability, Sturdy, and attacked with Mirror Shot.
"Brago, finish it with Aerial Ace!" Sun called as the Arcanine shook his head a few times to clear it before lunging forward, slamming hard into his opponent and knocking it out.
"I haven't done enough development work on Pokémon battles!" the Aether Employee growled under their breath, taking a step back.
"So what kind of things do you even do down here?" Hau asked curiously,
"We're currently working on the development of a new Poké Ball. It is apparently to be used to catch Pokémon not found in Alola!" The scientist responded before his collogue slapped him upside the head to silence him. The third and final Aether Employee strode forward, chuckling as they looked at Sun and Hau. "How about I guess what you're looking for? Cosmog, right?"
"You already know that! Where is it? What did you do with Lillie and Nebby!?" Sun practically snarled as his eyes darkened.
"If you want to know what kinds of experiments we did with it, then you'll have to beat me!" the scientist laughed, causing Sun to step forward. Sun was surprised when his Arcanine nudged him with his head, causing the boy to look at his Pokémon in confusion.
"Alpha, calm down. He's trying to taunt you into making a mistake." Brago gently warned his Trainer as the Aether Foundation Employee called out a strange-looking Pokémon that Sun only recognized from a cartoon he watched once. It resembled a Porygon, except that its rough edges were smoothed out and it somewhat resembled a duck. The Pokémon's eyes glowed and Brago winced, growling softly at the glare the Pokémon was giving him while Rotom Dex popped up the appropriate entry.
"Porygon 2. The Virtual Pokemon and the evolved form of Porygon. Porygon was updated with the most cutting-edge technology available to a new version in readiness for planetary development. But that dream remains unrealized as yet." Rotom Dex explained to a furious Sun, who began to strike a series of poses as his Z-Ring shined brightly. Energy flowed from the boy into his Arcanine, whose body exploded outwards with Z-Power.
"Brago, channel Flame Burst…and use Inferno Overdrive!" Sun shouted furiously as he thrust his hand forward, with Brago charging up a sphere of raw flames within his maw that was quickly building up temperature. The two other scientists had the wits to throw themselves to the ground before Brago fired the attack, blasting Porygon 2 through the air and filling the catwalk with righteous fire.
To Sun's surprise, however, the Virtual Pokémon somehow tanked the attack and used Magnet Rise. Sun ordered Brago to rush forward with Extreme Speed, only for the Porygon 2 to blast him with Signal Beam.
"Foolish children. You have no idea what sort of secrets you're trying to uncover." The Aether Employee drawled as he held out a hand. "Signal Beam again!"
"Extreme Speed!" Sun barked as Brago flickered and vanished, moving quicker than the eye could see and slamming into Porygon 2 hard enough to finally knock it out.
"You really do just win, don't you?" The Aether Employee groused, staggering back a step as he returned his Pokémon. "Honesty seems like the way to go."
"Talk! What did you do to Cosmog!?" Sun bellowed at the three men, who exchanged glances. Hau stepped up and placed a hand on Sun's shoulder, though he did regard the trio with a worried frown on his face.
"All I can tell you is that Cosmog is the key. It's the tool needed to open the Ultra Wormhole." The scientist responded, crossing his arms. "Now that we have it within our possession, our dreams are within reach."
"But I'm no good at battling. So I'm out of here!" The other Employee said with a sigh, sprinting out of the area alongside his comrade on the left, leaving the middle Employee behind. The man glanced to his left and right, sighed deeply, and then walked past Sun and Hau, muttering, "Please excuse me."
As the trio departed, Sun looked down at the catwalk that led to the two buildings and shivered. "They experimented on Cosmog here. And Lillie was very protective of Nebby, terrified about people using it and hurting it. Did she find out what was happening down here?"
"Does that mean Lillie stole Cosmog from these creeps?" Hau asked Sun, who considered the question.
"We'll find out answers by investigating some more. We shouldn't linger." Oliver remarked, sweeping a wing forward as he gazed around the area. Sun nodded and took a moment to heal Brago before they made their way further down the catwalk. Gladion and Demi were standing outside one of the Secret Lab buildings, with Gladion looking particularly troubled. Demi waved to the two boys as they approached.
"It's not here…" Gladion muttered, running a hand through his hair and shaking his head. He looked at Sun and said, "Don't even think about getting in there."
"Why?" Sun asked.
Gladion hesitated for a moment before answering. "Me and Null…We're more alike than we might look. We're both what we were made to be…"
"How so?" Sun asked as Hau walked off towards the other Aether Lab.
Gladion bowed his head, trying to force back the torrent of memories. "I was like an ornament to my mother. Wearing whatever she told me to wear, acting however she wanted me to act…"
"Gladion…" Demi murmured, putting a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. The boy didn't shrug it off, but sighed deeply in response.
"Null was crafted just as carefully. It was made just to battle the beasts." Gladion whispered, turning towards the lab he had just walked out of. "In this room…right here…"
"We'll investigate the other lab. Take a moment for yourself, alright?" Sun said quietly, smiling at the other teen before following Hau down the path and entering the lab down the catwalk. Gladion grit his teeth and exhaled harshly, rubbing his eyes and trying to regain his focus.
"Hey." Gladion opened his eyes and saw Demi smiling at him, placing her hands on either side of his head. "Breathe. You're okay. We're going to save Lillie and end the President's schemes. We've got backup, we've got a plan and we've still got time. Everything's going to be okay. Okay?"
"How do you know?" Gladion whispered, shutting his eyes. "These people never stopped experimenting on Cosmog when I left. Lillie was the one who had to be brave and steal it away from Mother. How could I have left her on her own like that? I left an innocent Pokémon behind to be tortured by that monster."
"Maybe because we're kids who shouldn't be dealing with this crap in the first place? Don't blame yourself for making hard decisions when it's the President's fault you had to make them in the first place." Demi said quietly, stepping closer to Gladion and wrapping her arms around his neck with a soft smile. "We'll beat these jerks, rescue our Princess and save the day. That's what heroes do, right?"
Gladion barked out a laugh, unable to help himself. Demi laughed as well, and Gladion gratefully returned her hug, much to the girl's surprise.
"Sorry. I shouldn't be brooding, especially down here in the heart of the Paradise." Gladion apologized to Demi, looking bashful.
"Nah! You're cute when you're brooding." Demi laughed, causing Gladion to scrunch up his face in distaste. But he looked down at Demi, and for a moment truly considered things and forgot about the horrors of Aether and the tragic plight of his family.
Instead he focused on the girl who had been a pillar of support for him over the past few months and who, despite his best efforts, Gladion had come to care about dearly…and leaned forward to kiss Demi on the mouth.
The girl let out a soft gasp in surprise at the sudden move, completely caught off-guard. However after a moment of realizing what was happening she wrapped her arms around Gladion's chest and leaned up into him, deepening the kiss and holding him close.
And for just a short time, the two teens forgot about the darkness surrounding them and focused solely on the embrace they found themselves in, and the light that they had become in one another's lives.
Meanwhile…
Sun entered the room in time to see Hau sprint across it, terrifying the two Aether Employees inside. Sun was surprised that the room resembled one of the Aether Labs he had been inside of during his time trekking across Alola, though it resembled an office more than anything else.
"Wh-what are you kids doing in here?! Don't touch anything with your grimy hands!" the male AF Employee shouted furiously at the two boys.
The female AF Employee put her hands on her hips, scowling at them. "This research is our life! I don't care if you're a kid or what. I'll send you flying if you threaten it!"
"Sounds like we'll settle this in the only way that we know how." Sun remarked as Brago stepped in front of him, growling softly.
"Sun, I've got you! Duke, let's go!" Hau shouted as he stepped beside Sun, punching forward as Duke sped forth to join Brago. Sun grinned as he and his best friend stood against the two Aether Employees as they sent out a Vanillish and a Machoke.
"Duke, use Psychic on Machoke!" Hau shouted as his Raichu's eyes glowed a harsh blue color.
"Brago, Flame Burst on Vanillish!" Sun commanded his Arcanine, who breathed out a tongue of flames that rushed towards the Ice-type Pokemon. To the dismay of the two Aether Employees, the two super-effective attacks were more than enough to knock out their Pokemon.
"It's not a particularly original line, but wherever there is light, there is also shadow." The man remarked, returning his Pokémon with an annoyed sigh.
The female Employee nodded as she called back her Vanillish. "There is another world that cannot be brought about through idle talk…Got it?"
"I may be an expert at studying Pokémon, but I'm not expert when it comes to battling them." The man added, smirking ruefully at Sun and Hau.
The female Employee smirked as well, shrugging her shoulders. "But the guys in Secret Lab A next door…They're pretty experienced with battles. After all, they spent so long researching that uncontrollable Pokémon…"
"Hey. Focus, people." Hau said firmly, drawing everyone's attention. "Where're Lillie and Cosmog?"
The man scoffed in response. "We may have lost, but that doesn't mean we're going to help you. I'm not telling you anything."
"She's not here, is she? Even you can see that." The female Employee remarked before the two Aether Foundation members walked out of the room, leaving the two frustrated boys behind.
"Come on, Sun! Let's split up and look around. Maybe we'll find some clue!" Hau said as he ran over a nearby door and tried to open it, with little success. Sun walked over to the bookshelf and began glancing at the various titles of the folders, books and memoirs that were stored there. One that seemed to have been put away haphazardly stuck out, and so Sun pulled it free from the shelf and saw that it was labeled Aether Report: Ultra Wormholes.
Sun hesitated for a moment before flipping it open and reading aloud. "Beyond the Ultra Wormholes that Professor Mohn discovered lies a different dimension. By investigating the changes in mass there, we can predict the existence of Pokémon-like life. We have dubbed them Ultra Beasts for now." Sun read aloud, his eyes widening as he considered the implications of what this meant.
"Sun, you okay?" Hau asked worriedly, seeing how pale the boy's face had gotten.
"This report is several years old, Hau. Way before our visit to Aether and that attack from the Ultra Beast." Sun explained to his friend, who looked surprised. "The Aether Foundation has known about the Ultra Wormholes for a while. They worked with Professor Burnet as far as understanding them, but…I guess they were hiding just how much they knew."
"Wow. Wonder why they did that?" Hau questioned, looking thoughtful.
"And this name…Professor Mohn. I know someone named Mohn, Hau. He's a friend of mine who has total amnesia and doesn't remember how he came to Alola. This means something. It has to. Now that I'm thinking about it, I think Professor Kukui and Burnet knew this Mohn guy too. They may be linked…they may be the same person!" Sun said to his friend, turning around and putting back the report before stepping over to the computer. To his relief, the computer hadn't gone into sleep mode and had been left on by the Aether Employees that had just left.
"Better read all the documents you can find…who knowzzzz if we'll ever be down here again?" Rotom Dex suggested as Sun sat down at the computer, nodding in agreement. Unfortunately, Sun wasn't exactly an expert with computers like his father was, so he wasn't able to figure out how to access the hundreds of files that were available on the computer. However, one of the few he was able to open was one called Aether Report: Cosmog.
Sun saw a picture of Nebby appear on the screen, secured in a strange harness as what looked like wisps of energy flowing outward from it. The boy then read aloud from the file, his voice shaking slightly. "Cosmog is hypothesized to be a type of Ultra Beast that hails from another dimension. A dimension we have named the Ultra Space. When placed under sufficient stress, it reveals the power to create and open Ultra Wormholes in order to escape from its suffering. We are now working on a device that will allow us to manipulate the Ultra Wormholes created when Cosmog is subjected to extreme stress…"
"Extreme strezzz? That sounds…ominous." Rotom Dex noted, beeping from atop Sun's shoulder. "Did they experiment on Nebby here? I wonder how Lillie got her handzzz on it?"
"Wait, so Cosmog might be an Ultra Beast?" Hau asked Sun as the boy continued to skim through the report, which went on about the various findings of the scientists. Branch Chief Faba was referenced several times in the report, and despite the scientific jargon, Sun was able to make sense of what the words were telling him.
"Yeah. They subjected Cosmog to hundreds of different stress tests. On ten separate occasions they…they nearly killed him." Sun's eyes gleamed crimson as he grit his teeth, opening a video file that was attached to the report.
Sun and Hau winced at the sound of Nebby screaming in agony from the video as it was repeatedly zapped by a laser, with large amounts of strange wisps escaping the Cosmog and flowing into a large glass-like container that was attached to the laser zapping the poor creature. Sun and Hau gasped when Branch Chief Faba stepped in frame of the video, grinning maliciously as the experiment went on. At the far end of the room, Aether President Lusamine sat in a chair emotionlessly observing the proceedings, no ounce of compassion or sympathy on the face of the woman as she watched Cosmog be tortured by Faba. Sun shut off the video, struggling not to hyperventilate.
"I'm going to kill that man." Oliver hooted softly, his calm tone not betraying the bloodthirsty rage that the owl held within him.
"We should tell Gladion about this!" Hau said as he bolted out of the exited the lab as well and saw that Gladion and Demi were walking over to join them anyway. Sun raised an eyebrow when he noticed that their faces looked flushed, but decided not to comment on it.
"Did you find anything?" Gladion asked the two boys.
"We learned a bit about Cosmog!" Hau responded, drawing Gladion's attention. "Like, it might be an Ultra Beast or whatever…and if you stress it a lot, it can create Ultra Wormholes! Maybe to run away or something?"
"If you stress it…" Gladion muttered, thinking fast as he considered the possibilities. None of them were good. "If you hurt it - is that what you mean?"
Gladion looked away, considering this new information. "Was that why she ran away with it?"
"But we didn't find any sign of it down here." Hau responded, causing Gladion to put a hand to his chin and think hard about that.
"Yeah…Faba probably knew this would be a dead end." Gladion muttered, opening his eyes again. "Darn…Did he outsmart us?"
Gladion turned and walked down the catwalk, presumably heading back towards the elevator. Hau rolled his eyes while Demi smirked, laughing softly to herself.
"Gladion never really explains anything, eh? Probably thinks it makes him look cool…" Hau remarked, grumbling under his breath.
"Demi seems to like it." Sun said with a grin, causing Hau to roll his eyes. Demi stood there blushing furiously and had no rebuttal for that remark.
"Should we go after him? We all got into this together. Might as well see it to the end together!" Hau said as he began to jog after Gladion.
"So…you went from a cinnamon roll like Hau to an emo dude like Gladion, huh?" Sun asked when the two other boys were out of earshot.
"I didn't come on this adventure to be judged. I'm just…surprised he likes me back." Demi responded quietly, grinning sheepishly at Sun before turning down the catwalk. "We should get back on track though. We still have a friend to rescue."
Demi hurried off after Hau and Gladion, leaving Sun alone on the catwalk. He shook his head in bemusement, wondering how Hau felt about this development considering his previous crush on Demi. And Lillie. And possibly Lana.
"Wow, Hau really does get by, huh?" Sun thought to himself with some concern. "Who would've thought he was such a ladies man?"
"We've got to hurry back to the elevator! And quick! We're clozzzze to something big!" Rotom Dex said to Sun, who nodded and began to follow the trio back to the elevator. However, Sun stopped outside of the lab that Gladion had warned him about and looked at the door for several moments before smirking to himself and walking into Secret Lab A.
Meanwhile…
"I'm a moron!" Gladion growled to himself as he reached the elevator, his mind racing now. The teen couldn't believe that he had allowed Branch Chief Faba to trick him, even when he had considered that the scientist was being a lying bastard.
"Hang in there Lillie. I will save you." Gladion murmured before he heard the door open behind him and Hau walked into the room with his hands behind his head.
"So…you finally made your move on Demi, huh?" Hau asked, smirking at Gladion's blush at the question and how the blond-haired teen looked away in embarrassment. "Hey, no need for that, man. Good for you."
"I…kissed her. It was a mistake." Gladion grumbled, crossing his arms as Hau frowned in confusion. "I got too close to her and I shouldn't have."
"Dude, come on-" Hau began to say, only to stop at the harsh look Gladion gave him that made him stop mid-sentence.
"People in my life have a habit of getting hurt, becoming evil or vanishing altogether and I don't want that to happen to her. Besides, even if I do…like her." Gladion faltered then, blushing even more because it was the first time that he had admitted that fact out loud. "She's already been through enough because of her crappy family. She doesn't need to get attached to me and deal with even more baggage from my family."
"That's the emo-teen thing talking, dude. Everyone needs some kind of support. Hell, Sun's one of the strongest people I know and he's always going on about how his friends are why he's so tough as a Trainer and a person. Friends make life more fun and make everything easier to handle!" Hau said brightly, ignoring the scowl that Gladion was sending his way.
"I don't need friends, Hau. Not when the fate of the world hangs in the balance and I need to get as strong as possible." Gladion growled at the other boy, who seemed unimpressed.
"Yeah, and where did that get you? Sun's kicked your butt on a regular basis and you still needed our help to deal with whatever is happening here." Hau pointed out, causing Gladion to stiffen and look at him in surprise. "Seriously, dude, if you just lightened up for ten minutes I would've been happy to battle you whenever, same with Sun. Maybe help you become an even better Trainer and help you get stronger so you don't have to roll with Team Skull."
"I…I don't…" Gladion tried to say, but Hau wasn't done.
"Speaking of which, if you and Demi just were honest with stuff from the get-go we might not even be in this mess. Why you guys had to wait until region-wide communications were down to tell us sketchy stuff was going down at Aether Paradise is beyond me." Hau continued, causing Gladion to clench his fists in frustration.
"I was worried that involving anyone else would hurt them. Would drag them into something truly dangerous. I imagine that's why Lillie never told you guys the truth either…We're both products of our upbringing. We didn't want anyone else to get hurt. Or risk that Mother would lash out at our allies to punish us…" Gladion whispered the last part to himself too quietly for Hau to hear. He raised his voice however to say, "I admit that I could've handled this better. It's why I'm frustrated that I let my composure slip back there and kissed Demi. She deserves better than me."
"At least you admit it. But can you also admit that you have feelings for Demi, since she obviously likes you a whole bunch and you somehow think that's a bad thing?!" Hau said to the other teen, who seemed to become even more flustered.
"I've only known the chick for a few months!" Gladion tried to protest, but Hau gave him a look of such disappointment that Gladion actually stopped speaking.
"If there's one thing I've learned, it's that friendship isn't about who you've known the longest. It's all about who walked into your life and said 'I'm here for you' and then proved it. She's a real friend, dude. Stop trying to act like she isn't. And stop pretending that you don't feel the same way she feels about you." Hau said to Gladion, who seemed surprised that the other boy cared so much. Gladion then shut his eyes, considering the facts. It was then that Demi arrived at the elevator, and seeing the two boys standing there had her somewhat worried.
"Everything okay?" Demi asked. Gladion remained silent, thinking about what Hau had told him. Truthfully, he had just gained a considerable amount of respect for the boy and was currently trying to figure out what he was currently feeling. Self-reflection wasn't one of Gladion's strong suits.
"Oh yeah, totally. Everything's perfectly healthy and normal down here in Denial Land." Hau remarked with a grin, causing Gladion to snort with amusement despite himself.
"Yeah. We're good, Demi." Gladion remarked, opening his eyes and smiling at Demi, who smiled back with a blush. Hau rolled his eyes, though he also smiled at the sight. It was clear that Gladion cared for Demi and she felt the same way, so who was he to get in between the two of them? It was just like how, despite his own feelings for Lillie, he didn't feel any desire to get in between her and Sun. Besides…
He really needed to sort out how he felt with Lana before making any kind of moves on anything!
Suddenly a blood-curdling scream caught their attention and caused them to whirl around in surprise, snapping them out of their happy thoughts and making them realize that their fourth party member was not currently with them.
"That was Sun!" Hau said as he hurried off in the direction that they had just came from. Gladion and Demi exchanged a brief glance before running after Hau. As they returned to the labs, they were aware that the screaming was coming from Secret Lab A.
"There's a reason I didn't want you guys going in that Lab." Gladion growled as Hau flung open the door and saw Sun standing there beside Brago and Oliver, his face pale as a sheet as trembling in horror. Even the two Pokémon seemed absolutely stunned, with Oliver holding a protective wing over Sun as tears ran down the boy's face.
Hau saw that the trio were currently staring into a pitch black room side room, but even before he noticed that the boy nearly retched at the overwhelming smell of blood that was permeating from within the dark room. Demi and Gladion covered their faces and moved over to see what Sun was looking at, and when they did so Gladion swore violently while Demi screamed in horror, staggering away from the room and throwing up on the floor. Hau slowly walked over to Sun, peering into the room…and feeling his heart stop.
The grisly sight of the room hidden away within Secret Lab A was almost too horrible to describe. Blood soaked the floors and the overpowering smell lay thick in the air. The unconscious form of Colress was bound and gagged in a chair in the corner of the room, a dark bruise on his forehead from where something had struck him hard. And worse still was what lay on the table…or rather, who lay on the table.
"Dad!" Sun hissed through his tears, staring at the mangled body of Ashton Aupuni that was bound to the operating table. Various blades and tools coated in crimson lay nearby, obviously recently used on the man who was currently missing several limbs…and currently had his chest ripped open for study, his still-beating heart visible for all to see.
NEXT TIME: Payback
The light and shadow motif here is pretty interesting. Like I said, I had some fun plans for the Aether Arc.
Q & A
From: SolanaLeonhart
Why didn't Gladion or Demi just tell the truth though? I would've thought it'd help to have the situation clear or is it that they think the truth would be believed?
Honestly, that's me working around why Lillie and Gladion didn't tell everyone what Aether Paradise was up to. It's a combination of what you said, though. Part of it was knowing that the information would be hard to believe and the rest of it was fear of retaliation.
Lillie and Gladion absolutely believed Lusamine and Faba would be vindictive enough to target their allies or arrange for bad things to happen to them if they caught wind that their plans were in danger of being discovered. Also, the Aether Foundation and Lusamine have sterling reputations and no one would believe anything bad is happening at Aether. Even Faba is a well-respected scientist worldwide.
The rest of it comes down to the mental abuse the two of them suffered. Lillie didn't want to hurt her friends by involving them in something like this, much like Gladion didn't want Lillie to get hurt in his fight to save Lusamine from her own madness and why he struggles with his growing affection for Demi.
Speaking of, Demi agreed to keep quiet about things out of respect for Gladion, though at this point in the story Gladion allowed Demi to tell her father and the International Police all of the details to hopefully get some help in dealing with Aether (considering that they were literally heading there to confront Lusamine, Gladon had nothing to lose at that point.)
Hope that makes sense. It's my thought process as to why they didn't just tell the adults/police in the game and I'm trying to roll with that while keeping things somewhat logical. Even in this story, Lillie only told the people she knew she could trust to keep things on a low-profile but also help her out. Note how Colress went to Aether Paradise to look into things under the guise of helping with the Shadow Pokémon Purification stuff and Nanu was looking into things for a while.
From: Oragonking
By the way, did Deoxys killed people as well as Borlath's Greninja?
Oh, it absolutely did.
That's all for now, folks. I'm powering on through the next batch of chapters and should have one to you relatively soon. Please Review, Favorite and/or Follow the story to show your support and stay updated with the story in the meantime. I also have a Discord server and I answer questions in the review section below.
Take care and stay awesome!
Until next time, FlygonNick out!
