Pokemon (Detective Pikachu)

A Legendary Search

36. When Your World is Shaken

Once the clapping finally died down, Tyler spoke up again. "Alright, fine, so you did figure the money thing out. But what about the lockers? You said they weren't related. Did you figure that out, too, or are you still stumped on that one?"

Tim looked over at Tyler and smiled. He'd been trying to figure out how to bring that up.

"Actually, I'm glad you asked, thank you. I did find out who's behind the thefts."

Whispers broke out again. "Did you really?" His teacher asked, looking impressed. "As you said, I had nothing to do with that. But if you've indeed gotten two for two, then that's quite an achievement."

"I did. And I'm actually not the only person in this room who knows who's behind it."

Tim got off his desk, slipping his right hand into his pocket now that it seemed like he'd be able to get away with doing so, and strolled over to Jane's desk.

"The only thing that I don't understand… is why you didn't just come clean, Jane."

Jane went white as a sheet before looking like she was about to cry.

"It was her?" someone called out; Tim wasn't sure who.

"No." He raised his voice to make sure it rang through the classroom. "The thefts were not Jane's fault. But she does know who is responsible, and has known the entire time. Jane, your Sneasel broke into the school last Friday and stole something from a boy named Phillip, which you returned. That's not the only time your Sneasel has broken in, has it?"

A couple of tears trickled down the girl's face, and she shook her head, looking down at her desk. Tim felt bad, but needed to see this through to the end.

"Right. All of the lockers that were stolen from either belonged to people in your study group, or were close to your own. Your Sneasel kept breaking in to see you… and when it was nearby, it saw what those people were putting in their lockers. Sneasel is a Pokemon naturally attracted to shiny things, so it came back later and took them, didn't it? One of the people whose locker was broken into found a tuft of black fur in it. That was Sneasel's fur, I'd imagine. Another person I spoke to mentioned they felt a breeze go by at waist height when they were storing their stolen item in their locker; that was likely Sneasel running by. They can go pretty fast. And you returned one of the stolen objects earlier this year, not counting Phillip's medal. You had it all along, and tried to bring it back. I'd imagine you still have everything else, too. The only thing I don't understand is, why haven't you just returned everything and informed everyone what happened? I don't think a single person would be mad at you."

Jane's tears were falling faster. Her voice trembled, but she spoke. "I… I was at my locker when Elaine found out her bracelet was missing. She… she started shrieking… she said she was going to call the police! She said she would sue the school, and was going to lock up whoever took her bracelet… she was completely outraged. And when I met up with Snickers… with my Sneasel at the car and realized that she had it, I was scared. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to be in trouble. And then I saw the other bracelet… and I was trying to figure out how to get them both back to their owners, but Snickers just kept turning up with other stuff she'd taken… I didn't know what to do! I didn't want to get in trouble…" Jane sobbed. "Some lawyer I'm going to make! You're right, I had every chance to make things right and I just hid! I'm not cut out for this at all…"

"Hey, hey, stop." Tim told her sternly. "Stop that." Tim glanced around quickly, then told her more gently, "Why don't you take a look around? No one is mad. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. And you haven't lost all your chances yet. I think you're wrong. I think you're going to make a great lawyer, because I think you're going to take this situation and do what you've done with every situation; you'll learn from it. You can still do the right thing."

Sniffling, Jane looked up, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. As Tim had suggested, she looked around. Her classmates watched with various expressions; a couple surprised, most sympathetic, a few understanding. No one was upset. No one was disgusted.

"So what do you say?" Tim asked her, voice soft.

Jane looked back at him. "I… I…" she looked around again. "I think… I think I have some items in my car that need to be returned to their rightful owners. And I think there are some people that need explanations. Terry, can I please be excused? I need to see the administrator, to start with."

Mr. Rhodes smiled. "Certainly. I'll see you in the next class."

"So how did it go?" Meiko asked. When Tim had gotten to the Hi Hat Café that afternoon, he found his family and friends all there waiting for him. Even Pablo looked up to hear how Tim's confrontations had gone.

Smiling, Tim explained how the conclusions of both cases had gone as Ludicolo brought their orders.

Emilia smiled. "All's well that ends well, then."

Meiko sighed. "Man, I wish I could've brought my camera there to capture it."

"I'm really glad that you couldn't." Tim told her flat out, making Absol snort and Emilia giggle. Tim's mother beamed at him.

"That's so wonderful, Tim. I'm so proud of you."

"That's wild, alright." Jake admitted. "Actually, speaking about giving things to rightful owners. Mom, didn't you have something you were going to give to Tim when we got here?"

"Oh, heaven's sakes! Your right!" Tim's mother's eyes went wide. "I'd forgotten!"

She dug into her purse.

"Tim, I tracked down the same place that made your father's and got one made for you. Harry tells me it was very useful, so I thought you should have one too. It works the same as your father's, of course." She pulled something small out of her purse and held it out. Tim got up to take the couple steps he needed to close the distance, and took it.

It was a locket, exactly like the camera locket that had belonged to Tim's father. The appearance was identical except that the button that triggered the camera was red on this one rather than blue.

"Perfect!" Tim's father nodded, looking pleased. "I was going to try to track down the maker myself at some point, though I probably would have made it either a solstice gift or a New Years one, or for the Day of Gratitude*. A discreet camera is an indispensable tool for a detective."

"Wow… thank you!"

Life returned to a quiet, peaceful normal. Tim kept his new locket camera with him at all times just like he kept his notebook with him, though he had yet to put a picture inside the locket part. He wasn't sure yet what he wanted in there… he couldn't decide. But he would eventually.

His mother and Jake left Rhyme city at the end of the week, and then another week passed. Tyler didn't bother Tim a single time, though the boy clearly still didn't like him; his Sandshrew, on the other hand, still joined Tim and Absol at lunchtimes and happily chattered away.

It was Tuesday on the second week after Tim's mother and Jake had left that Absol became restless, shifting every few minutes and glancing around frequently.

"What's up?" Tim asked him at lunch. "You're never like this. Is something wrong?"

He was worried; Absol was generally a solid presence, stoic and unmoving. Steadfast and unshakable. Seeing his friend display what could only be anxiety was causing the same emotion in Tim.

Absol sighed. "When a disaster happens, I know what and where, and what causes it. But sometimes I feel a looming disaster that I cannot feel what or when. It is generally an indication of someone in a position to cause a disaster, but have not decided if they are going to do it or not yet. It's a very uncomfortable feeling. I am sensing a disaster, and I believe it will be very nearby. I think it will be soon, as well; within the next few days, if not today. But I cannot see what. The disasters I sense include almost everything, thanks to Mewtwo, so it could be anything… a drunk driver causing a multiple car pile-up, for example. But the possibility is not likely, given that I have been feeling this way since this morning. A drunk person would have decided whether or not they were going to drive by now. But it could be anything, and that makes me uneasy. The not knowing. As long as I don't know what's going to happen, I can't stop it."

"I see. Well, we can't do anything yet. Try not to worry about it too much right now. As soon as you do know what's going to happen- if it is going to happen- then let me know, okay? Get the Starly around the school to fly at the window of my class if you need to. We'll get out and stop it."

"Yes…" Absol agreed, but he remained uneasy for the rest of the day.

He was uneasy, still, when they were at Pablo's Café, barely touching his caramel hot chocolate, and even Emilia asked if he was okay.

"He's seemed really anxious today." Tim admitted- there wasn't really anything he could think of to cover his partner's behavior. "Hopefully soon we'll either… figure out why or it will stop."

"Hmm. It's too bad he can't just tell you." Meiko lamented.

"Heh… yeah, right."

The three of them left the building and went their separate at about twenty after six, needing to get home and start dinner. When Tim got home, his father greeted him from his desk, bent over his own notes.

"Hey, Tim. Welcome home… you got mail."

"Mail?"

"Yeah… a letter came for you. It's on the kitchen table."

"Oh, okay… thanks." Picking up the letter, Tim frowned. As far as he knew, there wasn't anyone that would have been writing to him. Opening the letter and reading it, Tim felt his heart sink.

"You alright?" His father called. Tim looked up to see his father watching him, expression concerned.

Tim forced a smile on his face. "Yeah. What were you thinking for dinner? I've got something to do at eight, so it will need to be kinda fast."

Tim's father looked at him for a long moment, still looking concerned, before putting his pen down. "Well, if that's the case, we could order something in. Pizza, or maybe fish and chips?"

"Oh… either of those would be fine."

His father smirked. "Flip a coin, then?"

"That works."

Emilia sat in her apartment, on the couch that had been taken up by Meiko until just a few weeks ago, waiting for the microwave to announce it was finished heating the milk for her hot chocolate. Once it went off, she collected it, added the chocolate powder, and sat back on the couch, her mind on the topic of what they were to be filming the next day. To her knowledge, no big events were being planned anywhere, so it would just be regular shows at GNN's slowly-being-rebuilt building. A couple of floors were finished and some rooms approved for use, but many upper floors were still under construction, and everyone allowed to go in had to be very careful. The building was maze-like normally; the added obstacles from reconstruction made it even more so.

Emilia sighed.

Suddenly, the peace in her small apartment was broken by a roar; the place shook, hard enough to feel it and for all of Emilia's dishes to rattle in the cupboard. Crying out with surprise, she carefully handled the cup of hot chocolate. A tiny amount splashed out and hit her hand, not quite hot enough to burn, but the rest stayed safe. One glass from earlier that day, however, that had rested by the sink waiting to be washed was no so lucky; it was rattled hard enough to fall off the counter, and broke on the floor.

Emilia ignored the cup in favour of heading to the window as the rumbling died down. What she saw outside made her gasp.

It wasn't in her area of the city, but it was big enough that Emilia could see the building burning in the distance, plumes of smoke rising into the air and quickly disappearing from sight into the night sky.

Her phone began to ring.

Even without looking at it, Emilia knew who was calling. Leaving her mug on the low table in front of the TV, Emilia scrambled around her apartment, grabbing her wallet and keys and yanking a sweater over her head before answering her phone, giving the screen a quick glance just to double check that yes, it was who she believed it was.

"Meiko, are you okay? It wasn't near you, was it?"

"I'm fine. Come get me, will you? Gotta get on scene fast for the best footage!"

"Yes, I'm on my way right now!"

Emilia shoved open her door and locked it behind her, grateful that it was only eight pm and she hadn't yet changed into her sleeping attire. Inside her apartment, it was calm again, the only signs of anything even having happened being the broken glass in the kitchen and the abandoned cup of slowly cooling hot chocolate on the table in front of the TV.

The scene was horrific. It seemed that an office building on the edge of the city had suffered an explosion in the parking garage right underneath it, and had come crashing down. Other buildings nearby took damage, though they thankfully stayed standing. Emilia and Meiko contacted their superiors as soon as they got there, and began recording live footage. Plusle and Minun were both ordered to stay in the car, and the two Cheering Pokemon thankfully acquiesced, seeing how many people were rushing around. They weren't the only ones; reporters from every station around converged, trying to stay out of the way of emergency workers while also trying to get interviews.

It was 11 at night when they first learned that overnight security and late-night staffers were still inside; it was three in the morning when the first body was pulled from the disaster, and Emilia and Meiko both started to feel the effects of staying up. Adrenaline, however, kept them moving, even helping where they could, filming the search and rescue efforts and the investigators at the scene. Once Meiko and Emilia were able to get a brief interview with the chief officer investigating the scene, he told them that the explosion was suspicious but they had no indication yet what had caused it. That was at 5:30am. Three hours later, they announced that they had found evidence of an incendiary device; someone had set the explosion deliberately.

About an hour and a half after that, around 10 in the morning, Emilia was exhausted and Meiko, she was sure, was not much better off, but both were still filming. Still helping wherever an opportunity came up. It was then, however, that they got the call from Mr. Graham to return.

"We've got other reporters there now, so don't worry about the scene. I need you to come here, right now. There are people who need to speak with you, and it can't wait."

"But..." Meiko tried to protest, and Graham cut her off.

"No buts. You have to get here as soon as possible. They won't tell me anything until you get here, either." With that, he hung up, and the two packed carefully into the car with Meiko's camera and drove for GNN, wondering who in the world would be wanting to speak with them and why it was so important.

When Emilia and Meiko got to GNN, Ethan Graham was waiting for them in the reception, expression serious. When Meiko asked what was going on, he replied with,

"I don't know. They wouldn't tell me anything until you were here. They just said it was important and they needed our help."

"Who?" Emilia asked. Mr. Graham simply gestured to the side.

When the two turned, it was to see a small crowd of faces they recognized, though some were more familiar than others; Tim's father, Inspector Holiday, and the two people who ran the detective agency that both Tim and his father worked at, Mr. Baker and Miss Amanda.

Emilia swallowed. If they were all here... there was only one person they could be meeting about.

She suddenly realized that both Meiko and Mr. Graham had started moving forward and she took a couple quick steps to catch up. As they got there, Meiko spoke up first.

"What's going on? What's the deal?"

Inspector Holiday was the one who answered. "We need to discuss something of a very... sensitive nature with the three of you. Is there somewhere private we can talk? Somewhere we won't be overheard?"

"Yes, we can-" Mr. Graham started to say, but he was cut off by a sudden crash at the door. Startled, one of the receptionists screamed, and both Harry Goodman and Inspector Holiday reacted by sending their Pokemon forward, battle-ready. Emilia's exhaustion evaporated in a fresh surge of panic.

A huge white shape dropped from two feet down onto four; it seemed to have reared up and smacked the glass. As it stood quadrupedally, Emilia recognized it, and so did Meiko.

"Absol!"

Both raced for the door to allow the Disaster Pokemon entry; Meiko was faster, and got there first. As Emilia reached the door, the partner-less Pokemon limped inside, and Emilia gasped.

"He's hurt!"

A/N: The Day of Gratitude is a holiday I have made up. It is celebrated globally but originated in Sinnoh. Will there be more information about it? In this fic, no. But, it might come up someday in other works of mine…

For any of you who want a reference, the Day of Gratitude is celebrated in mid to late winter; I have ideas behind all of it, but I haven't pinned down exactly when it occurs as of yet.

And as for the chapter... starts off on a good note. Jane has learned from what happened and grown as a person. :)

The end of the chapter... disaster strikes, with the Disaster Pokemon possibly in the middle of it. But... where's Tim?