Chapter 7: Data Retrieval

(Hm... I do wonder how this story is going to turn out. I am thinking of writing two or more chapters for Ex Marks the Spot. As always, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!)

{Rui's Point of View}

"You know we don't feel the pull of Gravity. If you learn how to use your powers, you may never feel it either. If thrown off a roof, this would save you. Imagine it. You could fall from thousands of feet high and land soft as a feather." Margrev said as she demonstrated her immunity to Gravity. She didn't fly around, she merely floated slightly off the ground. It's a skill that softens their weight and mass to slow descent to a near standstill. With this I'd be able to sky dive without a parachute. I asked her, "Do you think I can learn this?" She smiled at me, "I think you can learn anything I throw at you. Not because you are smart, far from it. You have will. Even if you fail here, I know you'll keep trying." I rolled my eyes, "Of course you had to say I'm not smart. You can be so mean for no reason." She shrugged, "That's just how I am. Now, let's begin."

- Nearly Two Weeks Later -

I sat on a cargo plane heading over the destination. As I looked out the window the past two weeks ran on replay in my head. I had tried to learn how to control how gravity affects me but to no avail. It appeared the blessing is stopping me from using Psychic powers. In a way it's like military metal. Military grade metal has traces of metal made by Pokémon bodies that inscribe special qualities to them. Depending on the Pokémon it is made with, this can range to increased durability, immunity and deactivation of psychic powers and abilities or even to cut through other metals like its paper. My knife is made with Bisharp metal. Psychics can't pull it from more nor catch it with psychic. Even Psychic attack can be reflected with it. That's why I got it. I stole it during one of my earlier ventures with Venge. It was one of my first encounters with military Pokémon. Cayden walked over to me and asked, "How are you doing?"

I shrugged, "I've been alright. How about you?" Cayden stared at me for a bit before answering, "Good... but I've been worried about you. Seems you've been spending a lot of time with Gardevian... uh... what's her name...? Oh, Margrev. You've been spending a lot of time with her lately. Anything I should be worried about?" I shook my head, "No, not really." Cayden looked slightly suspicious, "Are you sure? I know you're immune to psychic and fairy, but I still worry. She has Gallades at the ready to beat you down in a surprise attack after all." I chuckled to myself, "Oh yeah... like she needs them..." I got serious, "No, nothing bad. There's been a bit of a problem in regardless to my old family." I knew it was a lie, she was trying to teach me some Gardevian powers. I don't know why I lied to him, but I didn't want him knowing. Maybe I'm worried deep down he'd suspect me of being a traitor. Cayden then said, "You've also been going to the Gardevian cafe a lot. I've even heard humors you helped a Gardevoir human couple." I coughed a bit nervously, "Yeah... that did happen. I don't know man, ever since the incident I've been wanting to create a more positive change. It helps me cope with being a terrorist." Cayden thought to himself for a moment before sighing, "Yeah... sorry I've been relying on you so much. It's just that ability is too necessary for our jobs." I nodded, "I know... at least with you I'm being used to help humans instead of being used to make children." Cayden grimaced, "Yeah..." I decided to ask, "Why do you hate talking about your mom?" Cayden grumbled, "Why wouldn't I? It's kind of obvious what that bitch tried to do." I decided to not press further. Cayden quickly grabbed a parachute and gave it to me, "We're over the zone. Just jump out, chute down and then hide the evidence. The sooner they know someone is infiltrating the worse the entire mission gets." I took the parachute and headed towards the cargo door. Cayden got out of the room as the cargo door alarm lights began to go off. The pressure inside the cargo hold started a vacuum as the door opens. I allowed the vacuum to suck me out of the cargo area and free fall towards a forest beneath us. As I neared the ground, I pulled the cord for the parachute to deploy. Despite the sudden jerk, it was a relaxing cruise down until I hit the ground. I pulled out my map and decided to head north after burying the parachute. Along the way I put on my bandana to hide the bottom half of my face and pulled a hood one. I wore green colors to try and match the forest as best as possible, but it wasn't exactly camouflage either.

The base should be up ahead. There's a secret staircase inside a tree from what our intel gave us. I didn't think it'd be unguarded, but I saw a Psi-Sight watching a general area in front of the tree. A Psi-Sight looks like a faint purple hazy orb with a faint glowing black eye. I stayed hidden, looking for any chance of there being a Zoroark Illusion. I looked in my backpack to find some goggles. It appears to be lens infused with the ability Scrappy to see through Zoroark illusions. After observing the area for a couple minutes, it looked clear apart from the Psi-Sight. Feeling more confident, I walked over to the tree and made sure the door isn't in the sight of the Psi-Sight. It seemed to be looking over the area instead of the door itself. I tapped on the tree and found a latch to open the door. Once inside I closed the door and proceeded down the stairs. I silently walked down the stairs with faint light being my only source of vision. Once I reached the bottom, my good luck seemed to end. Through the glass panes of two doors, I can see several Pokémon soldiers standing guard and talking. I had to wait for several minutes, seeing if they would shift or stand guard elsewhere. At some point I had the idea to just go in and start trying to fight. That was a terrible idea. Thankfully they left but I wasn't entirely sure where they would go. Making sure my bandana was covering my lower half of my face still, I silently opened the door and noticed a Psi-Sight watching the hallway from one of the corners above the door I entered from. The Psychics were located in another part of the base entirely, there's no way I can reach them... but maybe I don't need to. Nearby I would an armory with military clothing inside. With how many Pokémon there are here, it'd be impossible to sneak to the room I needed to reach.

I checked the room to see it's clear and changed into the military outfit. This included a backpack, allowing me enough room to place my own inside it. Only my eyes were concealed but found some goggles to wear. I looked at myself from a reflection on some metal to see my face and head is completely hidden. With a deep breath I stepped into the hallway and walked like I belonged there. Several soldiers ignored me, keeping their eyes focused on the hallways they're guarding. As I neared a new room I heard, "Did you hear Aura's newest song?". I couldn't stop myself from stepping back to listen to the conversation, "Newest song?" another soldier replied. The first said, "I think it's called Blue Skies. She apparently wrote it because she finally spent time with the one she loved." The other snorted, "A love song? Really? How corny." I rolled my eyes, trying to keep focused on the task at hand. That and to prevent my blessing from dropping. There is one thing I'm going to do later. I'll listen to that song.

I wandered around almost aimlessly as I searched for the room the data drive is in. From what the map said, it'd be somewhere on this side of the base. With no markers or labels, there seemed to be no way to tell which room has anything to do with their memory banks or data drive. After giving up, I decided to head to a bathroom and look at the map while in a stall. After checking I realized the room I'm looking for is two floors above me. After putting everything away I left the bathroom and looked for some stairs. I found an elevator, but it required a keycard for access. Usually nearby is a staircase in case of emergency but this being a military base that might not be the case. It took a couple minutes, but four soldiers entered a hallway nearby from a staircase. Two of them sounded pissed off, "Fucking General is a piece of shit. Why the fuck do they get to use elevators while we have to walk up and down the stairs?". Hearing that I decided to keep that in the back of my mind in case I need it. I walked by but one of them asked, "Where are you going?" I shook my head, walking towards the bathroom. He yelled, "You could have said the bathroom asshole!" I didn't flip him off, but I walked into the bathroom for a couple minutes. I took a breather, trying to calm my nerves. Aura crossed my mind making me wonder how she's doing. With a groan I focused on the mission again and composed myself before leaving the bathroom.

I walked up two floors before noticing a few hybrids talking to a human... a human dressed as a Scientist. The hybrid grabbed him by his collar, "Listen here human. You are here because the Alakazams saw your potential. You get the project back on track or I will personally throw you into a room of ravenous Mightyena. Do I make myself clear?" He nodded, "Yes, sir." The hybrid threw him back, "Good, get your shitty human ass on it!" The hybrid turned to walk towards me. I hid in the corner by the door as he charged through with two others. They didn't notice me as they walked down the stairs grumbling about how worthless the human scientists are. I peeked into the hallways and noticed it looked clear. Three rooms down are all I needed to travel. Thankfully I bumped into no one. The room needed a keycard unfortunately. I thought about that scientist and headed back towards his last known location. He worked in a lab, keeping his mind on the experiment. I looked at him to see a keycard on the table near me. I glanced at him to see him preoccupied and took the keycard. I went back to the locked door and used it. The door unlocked and inside on one of many desk is an opened suitcase with fifteen data drives. I only needed one and grabbed one in the middle making it a seven, seven even split. That should be good enough to not raise suspicion. With the data drive in my backpack, I slipped out and closed the door. A Psi-Sight watching the area noticed the door unlocking and opening. Knowing I don't have much time I ran down the hallway towards the staircase. At that time the Scientist saw me and gasped in shock. As I ran towards him, I knew I needed to make a decision. I could stab him and kill him... or I could knock him out. Killing him would be far better to reliably give them less information or workers... but I couldn't do it. I tackled him and knocked him out with a swift punch.

I ran to the stairs and got to the bottom. An alarm started to go off and I knew that meant soldiers were going to be running around now. I hid in the nearby bathroom and waited until I heard a barrage of footsteps run into the stairway. I tried to stay calm but with all the commotion I knew I'd bump into soldiers eventually. Psi-Sights patrolled the hallways eagerly looking for me despite their inability to. The soldiers on the bottom floor must have headed to the floor where I got the data drive. I almost alerted one but managed to dodge him by hiding around a corner. He walked past, keep focus on the view ahead. I walked down the hallway and finally reached the staircase to the secret entrance. I ran up the stairs, tripping a few times until I got to the top and heard yelling from below. I opened the door and ran into the forest after shutting the hidden door. I ran for thirty minutes, eventually finding a secluded spot and collapsed exhausted. I took the military gear off and burned it. I dug another hole to dump the smothering uniform and buried it to cover my tracks however slight that might be. I picked up my backpack and ran again. Once I reached the extraction area, I found myself greeted with a boat. It wasn't seaworthy but in it was a transponder. I activated it and within twenty minutes the cargo plane I jumped out of landed in the ocean. Groaning, I swam out towards it and made it back on.

Once Inside, Cayden looked ecstatic, "Dude! You fucking did it!" I shrugged, "It wasn't easy. I almost lost my patience far too many times to count. How long did it take me?" Cayden replied, "Seven hours." I sighed, "Definitely felt like it, man my legs hurt!" Cayden pat my back, "Then rest man! You earned it!" I sat on the ground, panting, "Man... I can't believe it went that well." The plane ride took two more hours to reach near our city. By then, the sun had already set, and it's pitch black. I fell asleep for most of the ride as I was quite exhausted. When I got home, I found something interesting. One of my cups was used while I was out. Nothing in my apartment was taken but the cup being used is a huge concern. I decided it'd be best to look around my apartment. Nothing was taken nor was anything moved. Just this cup was used. Who even came in while I was out? The door wasn't broken, and I have dark type talismans on the interior knob and lock to prevent psychics from opening the door from the inside. That'd leave teleporting but that's some most people can't do very easily in tight spaces... Most... Maybe Margrev did or Silvia? If Silvia could do it, wouldn't she have done that more often? Aura 100% wouldn't do this. She'd have texted me too, plus she's busy with her concerts. None of my chairs are moved either. So, what did the intruder want? They wouldn't need to be in here to set up a Psi-Sight. Where's nothing out of the ordinary in my house, so what am I missing?

I went into my bedroom and noticed a tiny piece of paper. On it was only one symbol. It's a Gardevian symbol translated says 'Angel'. I looked at the paper and glanced at the cup and chuckled sarcastically to myself, "Oh, an angel came by and had some coffee. Fucking wonderful." I put the paper in my drawer and wondered what that even meant. Was it saying who came in my home was an angel? Was that what they want to be nicknamed? I mean... I can't judge. Venge is a pretty shit name for a group. Still, who and how did this come to be? Also, would it have killed them to wash the cup? Fucking bastard. After washing the cup, I decided to text Cayden tomorrow about this. Maybe he'll have an idea.

- The Next Day -

After texting Cayden, he asked me to meet him to meet him at a nearby bar. I decided to indulge him on this request. It was a hybrid bar primarily. In a strange way, this is the closest thing to an all-human bar. Makes me wonder what life would be like if there are no Pokémon. I grabbed a wine cooler, something sweet to calm my nerves as I waited for him. To my surprise Crimson came into the bar and pat my back, "Hey dude!" I greeted him with a smile, "Sup man. How was that Salazzle?" Crimson laughed, "She is still good. I see her every week or so." I rolled my eyes, "Jeez, with how you reacted weeks ago, I thought you'd have ghosted her." Crimson scratched the back of his head nervously, "Yeah... waking up hungover with a fire type literally breath on your-" I cut him off, "Sorry man, but I'm actually waiting for a work friend to show up. It's kind of serious." Crimson grinned, "A chick?" I shook my head, "Nah, he's a guy. It's something really important." Crimson nodded, "Alright."

Crimson got up and left to mingle with the other Hybrids. I sat alone waiting for Cayden when I heard singing and noticed its Aura's voice. I gripped my drink tightly wondering how long until she finds out? I kind of want to tell her but that'll destroy her, I think. The person she loved being a terrorist? The person she loved wanting to kill Pokémon? How could she not feel something about that? I don't want her to find out. If she did, she'd probably try to attack me. I don't... want to hurt her... The thought of killing her with my own hands flashed in my mind and I cried slightly. Just then Cayden tapped my shoulder. I wiped my eyes and turned to look at him, "Hey dude." Cayden looked awkward, "Are you crying?" I shook my head, "No, just... bad thoughts." Cayden asked, "Suicidal in nature?" I answered honestly, "Some but not exactly." Cayden sat next to me, "How so?" I shook my head, "I don't want to talk about it. It's as personal as your mom and I don't mean that as a fucked-up attempt at a joke." He nodded, "Ah... I can respect that..." We sat in silence for a moment before he whispered, "I asked Zraak about Angel. Apparently, that is the nickname of the Gardevoir that came from the forest." I raised a brow, "Really? Why would that be in my apartment?" Cayden shook his head, "No way to know but this is very strange. Do you have any idea who this 'Angel' is?" I shrugged, "I don't even know much about the forest Gardevians to begin with. You think I should ask Margrev?" Cayden looked confused, "Margrev?" I sighed, "She's the Gardevian Matriarch. Remember?" He realized that and said, "Oh, her. Right. Well, if you think it'd help then yes. Of course, she might not even try to help you to begin with." I agreed, "Yeah... but still doesn't hurt to cover all my bases. I'll call her tomorrow. Thanks for meeting me about this. Was the data useful?" Cayden shrugged, "No idea, it's only been a day. I don't even know what was on it."

We talked for a bit before leaving. Crimson asked if I wanted to hang with him, but I declined this time. I wanted to go back home and text Aura. When I got home, I did just that.

Hey Aura. How's your day?

She didn't answer. I felt a bit sad but after thirty minutes I decided to use the time to call Margrev. she answered after a few rings, "Yes?" I greeted her, "Hello Margrev, how is your day?" She replied, "My day went well. Need something?" I asked, "There are Gardevians outside the standard right?" Margrev replied but sounded suspicious, "Yes... why are you asking?" I said, "There was a mention in passing during one of my talks with a sister. She mentioned being uncomfortable with knowing they exist." Margrev stayed silent for a few moments before saying, "Yes. There are some that live in a forest and primarily attune themselves with nature for better fairy and grass powers. They reside there." I asked, "Did anyone from that forest ever leave?" Margrev sounded very suspicious, "Tell me why you're asking. You don't need to lie to me." I sighed, "I... got home today and noticed a paper with the Gardevian symbol that translates to Angel... I've never heard anyone called Angel but with how my door wasn't broken and my own paranoia I-" Margrev cut me off, "There was one, but she never called herself Angel. In fact, I'm not sure anyone in our kind ever called themselves that and there's no real meaning behind that symbol apart from it translating to Angel. Angels are primarily a human thing." I sighed, "Alright, thank you for this Margrev." She hung up and I laid in bed wondering what I should do now. Then I received a text from Aura.

Sorry love, I was busy. My day has been great! Are you okay?

Yes. Just missed you a little bit

You did?

Aw~

Always knew you were a sweetheart *heart emoji*

Shut up...

Love you too. I miss you. You uh... mind if I come over tomorrow? I have a few days before my next concert.

Sure.

Great! I'll be there tomorrow morning. Make sure you are up to let me in~

You can't just teleport in?

?

Well, that'd be an invasion of your privacy.

That's something Silvia would do too.

I will never do that to you. I love you...

I know. Thanks. I'll go to bed now. Sooner I see you the better

Great! Good night. Love you.

I smiled at my phone, feeling a tingle in my heart before putting my phone on the nightstand and trying to relax. Once I calmed down, I stared at the ceiling wondering why this happened. Who is this 'Angel' and why my home? Either way, I'm excited to see Aura tomorrow.

(With that, the chapter ends! I hope you all are enjoying it as always! Please, favorite follow and review to support the story!)