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Chapter 92

Part 2

Under the cover of night, in the dry and chilly weeks of late winter, Hunter led the expedition to the Black Division. Char, Saura, Ray, Otto, and Zona followed carefully behind.

"We left abruptly at an unexpected time," Hunter had quietly noted as they crossed a concrete lot. "I'm hoping this will throw off anyone trying to follow us, or otherwise pay close attention to our movements. Of course, I know that shining such a spotlight on our location isn't doing us any favors, either."

"Well, I can't keep this up until dawnlight anyway," Zona warned from just beside him. "I'm going to need to drop you guys off somewhere in the next half hour."

"I believe all I will need from you will be ten more minutes," Hunter instructed. "Then, we should be fine on our own."

The Flareon refused to reveal how he intended to efficiently travel half the continent to the south in a reasonable amount of time. Traveling dragonback wasn't an option this time around, apparently. But Hunter seemed like was up to something, so Char was content to follow along. He led them through Iron Town's industrial district, where they could keep a lower profile from prying eyes, even with Zona's beacon of light to shield them from the Watcher swarm.

The first drops of chilly rain fell from the sky as Hunter led them into what appeared to be a refinery plant in the southwest of Iron Town. It had the shape of a steel mill, but something didn't seem right. It smelt of rust and mildew, rather than oil and fire. There were long cracks in the pavement underfoot. As Char could begin to make out the shape of the structure through the cloud of Watchers, it seemed too dark and shadowy, even for this hour of the night, giving it a strange air of abandonment.

"I thank you for your services," Hunter told Zona once they were inside. "You may return to the base, if you so choose."

"Oh, you gonna be okay, little buddy?" Saura asked him. "Got enough light to make it back?"

"I do," Zona replied with a small smile. "And if not, Raon taught me some ways to defend myself against the Watchers. He taught all of us, actually. I'll be fine."

Ray scampered forward and gave the little red fox a hug. "Hey, stay safe out there, okay? Take care of yourself… I'll miss you."

"You stay safe too, please," Zona said quietly. "Everyone's expecting you at the Team Stripes reunion, so I hope you make it."

"Just you wait. I'll have everyone back in one piece, like nothing changed," Ray promised, giving one last big hug to his former Team Stripes teammate. "Thanks for all your help tonight. Have a good rest. And tell Tallie that you're allowed to sleep in tomorrow."

"Oh… Huh? I am?" Zona said with a delighted grin, looking at Char for approval.

Char had to chuckle. "Yeah, just this once," he said, patting Zona on the head. "Now, go. Get out of here and go rest."

Zona went dashing back out into the cold, dark night, leaving Char's tail as the only light source in the strange metal corridor. Char was thankful his tail flame was so much larger than it used to be – it was hard not to be proud of his natural light which followed him everywhere. It was no longer just candle-flame, but a whole torch.

"Welcome to Plant Four, as we call it," said Hunter, trotting down the corridor. "A place known to certain Pokémon like myself. It hasn't been a working mill in over two decades, but you might notice that a measure of maintenance has been sunk into the infrastructure, enough that it hasn't rusted down and collapsed. There's a reason for that. Follow me."

The small team crept down the massive metallic corridor, its width clearly designed for accommodating mighty beasts of burden. The ceiling creaked ominously from what seemed like five stories overhead. Char couldn't shake how uncomfortably hollow the building felt – it was somehow less comforting to know that the dark walls were not haunted by benevolent ghost Pokémon like the Gold Division was, but by the dead and forgotten memories of Pokémon from generations past.

"Feeling alright, there?" Saura asked to Otto. "How's your wings?"

Otto scurried along beside them, stepping carefully with one talon in front of the other, instead of hopping around everywhere like he did as a small bird. "Stable," he reported. "Do not expect masterful maneuvers from me, or particular endurance. But I can fly reliably. I think. I hope. Awk."

"I hope you're sure about your decision," said Hunter nonchalantly. "We're soon to reach the point of no return. In an hour from now, it will not be simple to return on your own."

"I'm… certain of my decision," said Otto, sounding tired already.

Char and Saura shared a glance with one another behind Otto's back, an unspoken promise not to push the poor bird too hard. Char hadn't brought Otto along for his flight or battle skills, but for his eyes and his mind – to be an additional witness to whatever might occur on this trip.

But still, Char could tell how Otto still fought with the remnants of his evolution sickness. His eyes wouldn't always stay focused for as long as they used to, especially when trying to look Char in the eye. He was clearly ashamed of his weakness, and there wasn't much Char could do to help him but to give him all the encouragement in the world as he recovered and regained his confidence. He hoped that his final evolution to Pidgeot, whenever that would occur, would resolve all his problems.

Otto's talons skidded for a moment, losing traction on the glossy cement floor. A moment later, Char's talons wobbled the same way. Char realized that the floor had begun to slope downward.

"Whoa, now," Saura muttered, extending a vine in front of Char like a guardrail. Char leaned on it for a moment to regain his balance.

Unfortunately, the floor did not level out again anytime soon. The grade only steepened as they followed Hunter further into the darkness. Char was at first thankful that the polish on the floor seemed to wear away, growing bumpy with more traction, but it made the pads of his feet strangely sore after only a few minutes of walking.

The walls never closed in, but the ceiling lowered until it was only two stories high. Char thought he could hear the echoes of someone else's footsteps from far down the hall, but realized it might have been the weather outside pounding down on the roof of the abandoned mill. Either the raindrops had grown to the size of Voltorb, or it had started to hail.

A distant snap of thunder rattled the building. The end of Ray's tail buzzed with static, as though calling for it from afar.

"Ah, good," said Hunter. "At least we'll have enough power to make this trip, now."

After what must have been at least half an hour, and a strangely deep and dark descent into the bowels of the abandoned mill, the floor finally leveled out again, and Char noticed a soft red glow emanating from the distance. As the glow grew brighter, Char stepped into a room resembling a dark, creepy subway platform. Dozens of magenta-red crystals shone softly from the ceiling and the far walls of the tunnels, eerily comforting somehow in their silent stillness.

"Here we are," announced Hunter. "The Red Rail. A transportation system used by Pokémon who prefer to move about Ambera in more of a… covert manner than what's typical. It's next to impossible to track a Pokémon using the rail. Adiel has used this rail system at least three times while I've worked with him. I guarantee you that this is exactly what Adiel used to disappear, and possibly what Adron used as well. Unfortunately, that doesn't give us much information about where their destinations were. But such is the nature of the rail."

"Whoa! Does the resistance know about this?" Ray asked, blinking at the silhouettes of the pillars against the soft red light. "Or is it, you know, a secret secret thing?"

"Doesn't seem very popular tonight," noted Saura. "How far do these tunnels go, exactly?"

"Very far," said Hunter, sniffing around at the edge of the platform. "From end-to-end, at least two thirds of the continent. But the stations are very sparse, and it forms a very… nonstandard branching network, rather than a straight loop. I only know of eight stations across Ambera. Luckily, one of them is close enough to get us near the Black Division in a reasonable time."

"Oooh, so it must be super-super-secret," Saura concluded, his eyes lighting up. "If Pokémon knew about a way to travel such long distances at night while the Watchers are out, they'd swarm to places like this! But since this one is buried like half a league under the abandoned factory, I bet whoever runs this system didn't want just anyone to know about it." Saura blinked again and added, "So… who runs the rail, exactly? Are there conductors?"

"Nobody," Hunter said proudly. "Anonymity is the whole point of the Red Rail. Nobody there to keep tabs on where you're headed. I do believe the Master has a skeleton crew responsible for basic maintenance, but Pokémon are expected to use it at their own risk. Speaking of which, let me see what's available to us today…"

Hunter crept close to the platform edge and peered down below. He crept around behind the pillars and began sniffing at a set of mechanical levers and controls. Char noticed that there were two platforms, just like he would expect from train stations and subways. He assumed they went two ways – one for departures and one for arrivals. Though he couldn't see or hear any evidence of a running train – just the faraway echoes of the rain against the building upstairs.

If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought this is all just an abandoned mining tunnel or something, Char thought to himself. The stillness, it's so creepy. There's just nobody here. If Enigma has Pokémon maintaining this system, I wonder if she purposefully keeps the Red Rail out of the public's perception, to make sure it stays secret like this.

Char was already beginning to miss Eva's voice in his head, helping him silently bounce around his ideas. Surely she'd have some insightful things to say about Enigma. Without her there, he figured he'd have to just imagine the kind of complaints she'd make against Ambera's stand-in False Master.

Or… maybe she's too busy trying to capture dragon gods, and the bureaucracy takes care of public utilities for her, he considered. That's a funny feeling I get about Enigma. From the way Eva described her, it sounds like she's just messing around on the throne, and thanks to her brainwashing power, nobody's powerful enough to stop her. She has her generals to help assert her power, but… we're really on our own, aren't we?

Enigma keeps everyone too scared to do anything drastic, but meanwhile she does nothing. The cities govern themselves, families govern themselves, guilds govern themselves, and organizations like the Gold Division occasionally step in to lend a hand.

I guess it's like what I learned about leading Team Ember – it's not about doing everyone's job for them, or making sure everything happens exactly according to plan. It's about hiring good Pokémon so the team can run itself. I'm only there to keep that system running.

But still… imagine being Enigma, being in charge of a whole continent like Ambera, and not having the slightest idea how huge and intricate and complex it actually is. Imagine being immortal, bored out of your mind from centuries of abandonment and mundanity, so much that you don't give a care in the world anymore.

Anyone with power can destroy things. But to build things, you need to actually understand them. Unless you're Arceus, I guess. Unless you have the power of mutation.

Imagine having as much power as Enigma, and being unable to build anything with it. Imagine only being able to destroy.

A squealing creak shook Char out of his train of thought. A rumble of steel came roaring from nearby, and a large, awkward, rickety vehicle came rolling along, stopping at the platform.

"Ah," shouted Hunter from the platform edge. "An older one, but it'll do."

Char gazed up at the strange vehicle. It was very bumpy and black, almost resembling a giant cast-iron kettle. The wheels were huge, almost half the height of the entire car. Char was once again mesmerized at how Pokémon mechanics and architecture kept proving itself to be so… non-human.

"Whoa… this runs on lightning, you said?" Ray asked.

"Lightning, solar, coal… really, whatever is necessary to keep the batteries charged," he said, pawing at the door and trying to yank it open. "I believe Plant Four even has a transmutation core they cobbled together from all the old steel mill machinery. But I'm not a mechanical engineer, so don't ask me how it works. Never took a hunting job that required me to learn engineering. So I'm afraid all I know is how to push the buttons and pull the levers needed to make it run."

A voice shouted from the corridor behind them.

"WAIT!"

Char knew this voice very well. His initial reaction to hearing the voice was a strange mixture of relief and anxiety. It really was one of the last things he expected to hear. He turned to see an Espeon bounding out of the darkness, her forehead gem aglow to light her way.

"Wait, Char!" cried the Espeon, nearly out of breath, as she scrambled to the platform edge and nearly fell off. "I… Ah! Y-you're hard to track down, you know that? Thank the gods I managed to spot the building Zona came from. You really would have gotten away from me."

Char stepped towards her carefully. "Eva…? Why are you here?" he said with surprise. "What's going on?"

"Oh? I'm coming with you," she breathed. "I'm coming too."

"But… what about…" Ray started.

"You said you didn't want to come," Char said blankly, looking concerned.

"Well! I changed my mind!" Eva proclaimed, standing up bright and strangely excited. "Look, I… I don't know what came over me back there. Forget what I said. When I stopped and thought about it, I realized… I was wrong. You're the one who trusted me as one of your closest teammates, and I… I was about to let you down."

Char bit his tongue for a moment. Eva looked uncharacteristically passionate about this. Whatever had gotten into her, it was a massive change of heart. He wondered if it would be appropriate to question her about this the moment they got the cart running. He immediately imagined having a long telepathic conversation with her on the cart ride, momentarily forgetting about his plan to try catching up with Saura.

"Y-you sure?" Char said, still gazing at her skeptically. "Even with… well… Saura here?"

Eva replied by bouncing up to Char and burying her face into his shoulder. "I don't care," she said in a quiet voice, embracing him softly. "I don't care who else is here. You're here, and that's all that matters. I'm your Pokémon. You're my master. I really don't know why I keep forgetting this. I really don't. So let's go, and accomplish your mission together. There's nowhere else in the world I'd rather be."

Char reflexively gave her a stroke on the back like he always did, but then quickly parted with her. He turned to his other present teammates. "Um… Anyone object to her coming along? Saura? Hunter?"

"As long as she's capable of following instructions," Hunter said, a hint of a challenge in his voice.

"Fine by me," Saura said, as carefree as he ever was. "Already told you, Char, I literally don't care. This is your mission. We're all here to follow you."

Char gave a tiny smile. "Well, I suppose, since you took the effort to run through the Watchers to come this far…" he told her. "Wait, what's the weather like out there? Rain? Hail?"

Eva's fur raised on her back. "Ehh. It's hailing out there. I hope Iron Town doesn't get a tornado," she said with a shudder.

Hunter gave an evil chuckle as he stepped into the strange, almost alien chamber of the rail cart. "Whether it does or it doesn't, that won't be our problem to worry about," he laughed. "We'll be spending the night blasting at breakneck speed through the inner arteries of Ambera. And please make sure you hold on tight – There's no slowing, no stopping, no emergency exit. You're in for the full ride whether you want it or not. Ready for this?"

Team Ember gathered themselves onto the cart, latched the door shut, and Hunter entered some kind of code into the mechanical center console, flipping a series of switches in a certain order. Then he pulled a giant red lever… and they went blasting away – far, far away from Iron Town, from the Gold Division, from all of Midwest Ambera, and into the dark, red unknown.

"Hey!" shouted a very angry red bird, rapping on the closed door of a bedroom. "Hey! I said you could sleep in, and I think this has been quite long enough! C'mon, very important team meeting this morning!"

"Yes, okay," said the voice of Zona from inside the door. "I'm sorry. I'll be right out."

"Hmph," said Tallie to herself impatiently. She peered over into the planning room. The rest of the team was already in there. She'd cancelled all missions for the day. Something else took precedent. Something about Xatu being locked in the Division's own prison cells, something about an infiltrator… she was already feeling the anxiety burning at her.

She peered over at the only other door that hadn't yet opened for the day. She wondered if she should even bother. Against her better judgement, Tallie approached the master bedroom and knocked authoritatively on the door.

"Hey, are you part of this team, or what?" she called inside, ruffling her feathers indignantly. "Gonna show yourself? Or should I just let you camp out in there all winter?"

The door slid open, and a very groggy, very grumpy Espeon blinked back at her. "Fine, I'm here," she growled at the Talonflame. "What's the big matter?"