You can find more of this on by Subscribe/Star (dot adult slash KajaWilder), it's posted past Ch. 110 there. You can find the same on my new (via Discord per their ToS), under /WildErotica. The DISCORD is at h-t_t-p_s-:_/-/_discord-._g-g_/-N9yDASt6Cw (taking out hyphens and underscores, 'cause FFnet). If you prefer direct links, go to my Discord and follow the 'links in general' section to find the ones you want. All of my fics are well ahead of what I post here, often 10-30 chapters ahead.
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Enjoy!
Chap. 82: Breach of (Protocol / Privacy)
"There it is again," Robin hissed as the three of them stepped out of the SUV-style vehicle Reagan Carlisle had arranged for them to use to reach the PMC where they and the Sugimotos had been staying. "That same feeling, only now it's gone instead of just… there."
"What feeling?" Alex asked quietly.
Elle had other concerns, as she petted the green, round body of a small, bird-like Pokémon that looked up at them adoringly. "Aww, he's so sweet. Can we keep him?"
"Sorry," their driver chuckled as he waited for her to exit the vehicle, "He, and the car, belong to the Sea-Scale. Ms. Cooper would have my hide."
Alex wasn't sure if the man was being hyperbolic or serious, but while the man had laughed lightly, he was under the impression that, at least to some degree, there would be punishment if he gave the Pokémon away. But maybe not quite as much as one might expect.
"Damn," Elle sighed, and set the Natu down before slipping out and adjusting her dress, which had ridden up a bit on the ride over, then flashed the man a bit of her underwear as she bent into the car to kiss the Psychic-Flying Type's beak. "Bye, little guy!"
The man nodded at Alex with a grin as she stood back up and latched her arms around his, with Robin on his other side. A minute later, they watched him slip back into the traffic, which was heavy despite being nearly three in the morning, and headed into the Pokémon Center.
Alex and Elle's room was cool and dark, though the lights automatically switched on when they stepped inside. "Megumi's not here," he said quietly, glancing at Robin and Elle.
"I'll check my room," Robin nodded at once, and split off, crossing behind he and Elle to reach her room. "I gave them a key in case they needed to be in a different room."
"Makes sense, smart," Elle nodded, then looked up at Alex, "Should I check theirs? I didn't get a key."
"We can just knock," he told her. "Come on."
A few seconds later, after Robin had signaled the all-clear in her own room and started walking back down the hall toward the one Alex and Elle stood in front of, he knocked. As he did, Elle released Loki with a whispered, "Stay on guard, Loki. We don't know if there's going to be enemies inside."
"Ghahast," the almost-invisible creature chuckled darkly, the first time Alex could recall actually hearing it speak.
"Creepy as fuck," he hissed.
Elle only grinned, "He's adorable, and you know it."
Before he could respond, the door opened a crack. Alex was only a little relieved to see Megumi's large, dark eyes, which were a little red-rimmed. She seemed terrified. "Megumi…?"
Had Rocket done something to them? Infiltrated the rooms while they were out? They would have to do another sweep, he wouldn't put it past them. Were they there now, holding Megumi and Kinta hostage? He pressed the button to release his strongest Pokémon, too. "Get ready for trouble," he hissed the moment the creature appeared in its customary, slightly lighter purple.
The Nidorino hissed as it appeared, rising to stand on its hind legs, and flexing the sharp, poison-tipped claws it now carried.
"We're alright," Megumi whispered, "I just… wasn't sure it was you. They didn't do anything to us." The door opened a moment later, revealing an annoyed-looking Kinta, his Pokémon team spread out on one side of the room. Alex frowned as he realized most of Megumi's were arrayed on the other, the two teams glaring at each other.
"Is everything alright?" he asked as she stepped side, gesturing them into the room.
"It should be," Megumi muttered, "but Kinta seems to think that just because he finally got laid, he's a man now, and can make his own decisions."
"I can," was the immediate response, nearly growled, "And Alex agrees with me! Don't you, Alex?"
"I am not getting in the middle of a sibling squabble," the older male growled, "We've got bigger problems. So let me set this straight right now, Kinta: You don't speak for me. I get it, I remember being your age really well. I know what it's like, feeling like you're able to make fully informed, rational decisions. Like you know what's going on, and you can deal with things. Trust me: You can't. I don't know what's going on. I know more than you do. Megumi is older than me, and probably understands better. Did you know our brains don't finish developing and growing until our low to mid twenties? You're a hell of a lot smarter than you were, and there's no denying that. But you're still not ready to be an adult, period."
"But I-"
Alex held up a finger, taking a lesson from just that evening that he was surprised got all four of their attentions, and the attention of every Pokémon present, too, "I wasn't done. I know how you feel. I do. But none of us, your sister included, know everything. And she knows that, even if she doesn't want to admit it. So you have two choices, the way I see it. You can fight and argue with her about whatever pointless thing you're arguing over, or you can shut up and learn something, and help. Because we're in worse trouble than I thought, and we could use you."
Kinta's scowl, the betrayed expression that accompanied it, slowly faded into something more neutral, and he straightened his back. Then he nodded, "Alright, fine. But this isn't over, Megu. I can decide for myself. Trainers are allowed to go off on their own at ten. I'm almost sixteen!"
"Kids born in this world, yes," Robin added softly, "Which I'm sure is why Megumi is saying you shouldn't go off on your own. Not yet. It's not that we don't have faith in your ability to Battle. We know you can handle yourself there. It's… more. There's dangers here that people that were raised her wouldn't even think to mention, but that our world just doesn't think about or know is a threat. That's why you need to be careful."
"Exactly," Megumi declared, "Think about Rocket, Kinta. They're after us, now. No matter how the meeting went, they know our faces, our names. We'll probably never be safe, at least not completely. You don't… imagine going up against one of the Mega-Corps. Do you think you could do that? Alone? That's what'd happen if you left. They're that big, for all we know, and just as dangerous.
The younger man paled. "Th… That bad? But… but the Teams in most Pokémon games are just… like, chumps. Free XP."
"That's just it," Elle whispered, "This isn't a game. Don't you believe Robin? She'd know. And those two Rockets, or at least the more dangerous ones, nearly killed us. As big as Alex is, and he can fight, too, he got his ass handed to him by a woman. She was just stronger, and faster. And the guy I fought was sadistic as hell. They weren't even that highly ranked, from what I can tell. If one of their guys hadn't stabbed them in the back, we'd probably never have left Mount Moon. Definitely not free. And don't get me started on the giant fucking Pokémon. Thing was like fighting a house, and it almost killed us, too."
"What Elle's not telling you is that, right after we fought that giant- a Golurk, the guy called it- we got pulled out of the game. Our real bodies were hurt, because we were hurt in the 'game'. I don't think it is a game. The Sync Rate they talk about all the time? That's something that links our real bodies and these bodies together, and what hurts one affects the other. I don't think it's a game at all."
"Which means we can be hurt, and we can be killed. Like Dad."
Kinta gulped at Megumi's words, but she wasn't done yet, either.
"Besides, Kinta. You know they have boys working at the Brothels? You aren't safe from that. You think you wouldn't remember being raped? I bet you would. You don't know what they can make you do. I know Ariana said they don't use drugs to control people, but… that's just one place. You don't want to end up working some corner, either, do you? Taking hairy dicks all day because you got arrogant? Neither do I. I want you to stick with me to keep you safe, but I need you to watch my back, too. We can't just hang around these three forever."
"I like hanging out with them," Kinta muttered.
"She's right, though," Alex said with a sigh. "Believe me, I like you guys. I like to think we're friends. But you need to experience the world on your own, too. I know that's part of why you want to split off, but now's not the right time. Get a Badge or two more. Maybe five. Maybe ten. I think it takes twelve, now, to get to the League?"
Elle and Robin both nodded.
"Then you aren't ready. And neither is she. At the very least, get further away from Cerulean before you split up, so you don't have to worry as much about being grabbed and dragged off into an alley, where some Psychic will put you to sleep, and you'll be drugged up so much you'll do everything they say."
"Fine, whatever," Kinta grumbled, "But I'm not gonna just- not do that again. Megumi needs to stop getting in the way of me having fun! We're here to have fun!"
"Some, yes," Robin agreed, "And that's probably a good idea, Megumi. I know he's your kid brother, but the cat's out of the bag, there. After your first time- or your first good time, anyway- did you decide you didn't ever want to have sex again? Or did you want to do it again? It'd just be cruel to keep cunt-blocking him, just like you wouldn't want him cock-blocking you."
"I get it," Megumi frowned, "And… you're right. But it has to be within reason, Kinta. I can't just let you go run off with anyone you want. I've got to look out for you, you know? I'm not saying I have to have authority to choose who you fuck. Just… if I say it's not a good idea, it's not a good idea, okay? You don't want to… to catch someone. Or get someone knocked up. Or get in trouble."
"I get that, I'm not dumb," Kinta rolled his eyes, "but fine- for now. For now. While we're in Cerulean. But I'm not some kid."
"You aren't an adult, either," Alex reminded him. "Anyway, seriously, we're in big trouble. We need to focus."
"Yes, we probably should," Megumi said, recalling all of her Pokémon except Shelldon, her Wartortle starter, and sitting on her bed, looking up at them expectantly. "What's going on? That man, Carlisle, arranged a security team, three men and a woman driver who looked pretty dangerous, too. I was pretty worried, but they didn't do anything except make sure we got into the building. Offered to take us to our rooms, but I said no."
"Probably smart," Elle nodded. "Anyway, Alex and Robin already know some of this, but- actually, before I say anything, we should probably sweep the rooms, all three of them. Look for listening devices, or hidden Pokémon."
"Fuck," Alex growled, "I forgot about that. Yeah…"
Elle, being most familiar with the idea in general, released Morpheus, and the two of them began searching all three rooms together using their Psychic and Ghost senses for hidden Pokémon or other concealed items, objects, or creatures. She, meanwhile, gave the others an idea of where to look, and for what: generally, anything suspicious, but especially something electronic and small, or particularly hard to see. Behind mirrors, inside lights or electronics, and so on.
Then she went to go search her and Alex's shared room, while Robin and Kinta covered hers, and Alex and Megumi searched the Sugimoto's room.
By the time the three reconvened, each of them were furious.
Robin was the first to drop three objects, small, black, and identical aside from some scratches on the plastic that looked like they'd come from her fingernails, onto the desk in the Sugimoto's room. "Listening devices?"
"They have lenses," Elle shook her head, "so not just that. Look, that little indentation there? It's tiny, but it's shiny, too. Not quite up to our top tech from even a couple centuries ago, but it's probably widely available and cheap, and does the job just fine. If it was modern tech for us it'd be nearly impossible to see. Maybe they wanted us to find these, if we looked. We should be careful what we say and do here, too. I've got two of those, not three, but I found something else."
What she placed on the table next to the now five small, pinky-nail-sized devices, a larger one with a vary obvious antenna that rose from the side. The bigger device was still only about the size of her palm, about as thick as a datapad. "Local transmitter and carrier, if I had to guess. The smaller ones probably network with this one, which has the power to reach somewhere else in the building, maybe the block, or across the street. But if it networks, connecting to the local network, it could theoretically have unlimited range. Good bet they hear everything, including this conversation."
"How long ago were they placed?" Robin asked, picking up the larger object, and turning it in her hands, examining it closely.
"Today, that I'm sure of," Elle replied, "See, the adhesive is tacky? Just pressed. Wouldn't be that sticky if it'd have set up- and they'd have been harder to get off. I didn't find anything in the electronics itself in our room, these were kind of… well, not obvious, but I'd say they were placed by relative amateurs. They were pretty well hidden for that, but places you'd expect to find them."
"Like under the beds?" Alex asked, "Because that's where we found one each in these two. One inside the shower rod, and one under the sink in the bathroom. Don't know why they had four and we only had two."
"Relay's got a camera and mic, too," Elle informed him, "there and there. It's possible I just missed one, or more, but we were pretty thorough. Loki tells me he can hear small buzzing sounds from electronics like that, so I think we got them all, but we can't ever be a hundred percent sure. Best guess, they weren't sure whose room was whose. Maybe someone saw you fucking Megu the other day, and figured you're closer than we are. I don't know, it could be a number of reasons."
"Doesn't really matter why, the way I see it," Alex growled, "They're still trying to spy on us."
"If it's Rocket," Robin pointed out. "We don't know if it is. Hey, don't look at me like that, I think it is, too, we just don't have any real proof. Not unless we can somehow trace the signal."
"Which is absolutely something we can do," Elle told them, "Gimme a minute, I need to get my bag."
The others continued muttering darkly about what they would, or should, do with the Rocket taps for just over that one-minute mark before Elle entered the room once more through the door she'd left open. This time, though, she was carrying a thick, black laptop. "It's giant," Megumi giggled.
Elle shrugged, "They don't make them small like our world. Never saw the need, I guess. But then, our world can't teleport objects and living creatures, or objects containing living creatures, either, so… trade-offs. It's moderately powerful from what I know, nearly wiped out my savings."
"When did you get that?" Alex asked.
"When we went shopping the other day," Elle shrugged, "We didn't spend the whole day together. Had it delivered to the room. Anyway, I've already used it some, their setup is functionally a lot like we'd use, but in some ways easier to navigate. Doesn't have the 'internet', though, it's more like the ancient, pre-'net Bullet Service Boards, or whatever they were called. However… Their security is kind of a joke. I'd be able to hack this stuff if I was a kid, still."
"You are."
Elle glared at Megumi's teasing, then spun the computer around to show everyone but Megumi what it displayed. "See? Local networks there, connected to the PMC. This one is some weird code, but it's another network on a weak signal, my guess is that's this device right here. Easy enough to connect, just have to tap that one, and… boom, done. Now maybe I'll be able to trace it, but it depends on how it's routing. I don't exactly have a lot of my own rig's software over here, and it probably wouldn't work anyway. These computers still use binary, but it's some weird base-ten code system after that. Doesn't make any sense to me, but it still works. Password, though… that's easy. People are really predictable sometimes."
Alex watched in amazement alongside the others as Elle typed rapidly on a Dvorac-style keyboard, so quickly that he could barely even see her fingers moving, but which had lines of symbols following across and then down a small window faster than he could make sense of them. He could barely even read them, much less gain a true understanding of it. And he was not considered a mental slouch.
Lines of code, some of which was readable words, and the others symbols that mostly made sense individually, but in the context, might as well have been written in ancient Sumerian, or even older pictograms. Some were actual phrases, like Traceback Call 03566662462185:351376Router:116aatPMC(K/CC1). That mostly made sense, and he assumed it was a command to follow the signal that the black device was putting out, along some sort of router. The best guess he had there was that it might have been the Kanto, Cerulean City primary Pokémon Center. But that was more based on the initials fitting that, and not much else he could think of in the time he had.
It took about three minutes before Elle grinned, "See? Signal says it originated at… but that doesn't make any sense. Viridian City? That can't be right."
"That's definitely Viridian, though," Alex frowned over her shoulder as she pulled up the coordinates on a map. "That's about where we met Kinta and Megumi. The Underground's… right about there. And the little cave we weathered that storm in would be in those hills further south a bit, from the sulfur springs."
"But why's the signal coming from there, then?" Robin asked, "There's nothing really special about the place, aside from it being the nearest town to Mount Silver, where both the Indigo and Johto League headquarters are."
"And Nadine Minier being a total nutcase," Elle muttered, reflexively reaching up to rub her shoulder, though he knew it had long since healed.
He couldn't blame her, he still had phantom pains from that fight, too, and he hadn't even gone toe to toe with her!
"I'm gonna see if the people at GF can look into it when we get logged out next, but I really don't have any idea myself," Robin shrugged with a soft frown that, almost despite himself, drew Alex's attention to her soft lips as they were almost pouting. "See what they can dig up. Can you narrow down the location any further?"
Elle shook her head, "Nope. It's a wide-network ping, coming out of what seems to be a local broadband-style tower, like the old cellular networks used to use, only on a much larger scale, like… well, like our world's radio signal transmitters. It's hard to tell the exact area, since I'm not used to looking at cities as small as Viridian on a map, but I'd guess that tower has like a five-mile radius range, give or take, so there's probably a good thirty towers in the city itself, and more in the suburbs, but… I really couldn't say."
Robin snorted, "It's weird… I grew up in our world, of course, but I spent my whole life either in training, or in a simulation of something like this world. Hearing a city of two and a half million people called 'a small city' is just… it's hard to wrap my brain around."
Elle giggled, "Pull up census data on your Pokédex, it's got some interesting info there. If it's accurate, since I can't tell if they're made by GF or in this world, it could be lying or just wrong. Kanto, all of Kanto, has like one thousandth of the population of Pacific. Except it's probably even smaller. Viridian is the third largest city in Kanto, though. Saffron, Vermillion, Viridian, Lavender, Cerulean, uh… what's that other one… Wait, no, Pewter's larger, then the other. The one down in the wetlands, where there's that Pokémon preserve."
"The purple-y color…? Starts with an F?" Megumi asked, frowning, "I heard a weird rumor about that place. They say it's full of ninja or something."
"Fury?" Kinta asked, "That starts with an F. Not sure what that has to do with ninjas though. Is it a Fighting Gym?"
"That's in Saffron," Alex replied, shaking his head, "I did some checking on that one since I'll likely Challenge for that Badge. It's… Fuska?"
"Fuschia," Robin giggled, "You guys are such noobs, sometimes, hah. All the big cities in Kanto are named after colors, except for Pallet, which still sort of follows the theme except it's more a large town. Then there's Leaf, Gringy, and a bunch of other towns and smaller hamlets and villages, but more than half of the population around here lives in the cities, since Pokémon do a lot of the more rural work like farming."
"Either way, no, I can't get a more exact bead. Somewhere in the south-central part of the city. There's… a lot there, it's right in the heart of the business district, it looks like. That's all high-rises. The Underground is further north, the shopping district to the northeast."
"Okay," Kinta grumbled loudly, "that's great and all, but what are we gonna do about it? These creeps were gonna listen to us sleep, hear everything we said, and whatever else!"
"First, we already know they know that we know," Alex replied thoughtfully, "so we don't need to do everything. Now that they know that we know, they have to assume that we're being very careful what we say, and that even a 'slip up' could be staged. That's if they're smart, of course."
"So basically, we do nothing," Elle said with a grin, "I mean, obviously, we destroy these, if only to let them know that we know for sure. Hand me that big one. Alex, can you go down to the desk and ask if they have a hex micro-driver in the maintenance closet? Say your friends' glasses need one 'cause a screw came loose or something."
"Sure."
Aside from a brief wait while the very familiar, pink-haired Nurse Joy helped another Trainer, it took him only about ten minutes to get back with a whole set of small screwdrivers, "These ones?"
Elle glanced through the lot, then grinned. "Yep, perfect. Now…"
Again, the group watched while she performed the complicated task of unscrewing a small panel and revealing a small, cylindrical battery about as large as her pinky's last knuckle. Then the blonde pulled up the list of networks… and Alex watched intently along with the others as she removed the battery.
Three seconds or so later, the long, complicated network left the list.
Elle exhaled. "Well, it's not definitive proof, but if that happens a second time, I'd say it couldn't possibly be a coincidence. Let's test it before we leave Cerulean, in another location, but it's probably safe to say that they aren't broadcasting anything much right now. Locally within a couple rooms, maybe. We should be relatively safe, at least. Shit."
"They were watching us in the shower," Megumi whispered quietly, shuddering.
Alex pulled her into his arms, "And we're going to make them pay for it, somehow. But that's-"
"Wrong," Robin shrugged.
"What do you mean?" Alex grunted, "We can't let them get away with this."
"And we aren't going to," the Combinant replied quietly, holding up her hands, "That's not what's wrong. What's wrong is Megumi saying they watched her in the shower. They didn't. Alex, Elle, and I swept our rooms the day we arrived, before we even ran into you guys, and we haven't moved. Not sure it's worth moving now, but it might be. But they didn't watch you in the shower, and probably not for lack of trying. But you heard Elle. The glue was too new, they were placed today, so they couldn't have. It had to've been done while we were at the Club."
"That makes sense," Alex agreed, "They wouldn't have any way to know where we're going or how long we'd be gone if we were going shopping, or training. But at the Club, they could have eyes on us all the time, know exactly where we were at all times. Even on the ride back… so the drivers, or Carlisle, could've signaled them to clear out 'cause we were on the way. Maybe they just did our room last, that could be why we had less cameras, too."
"Might be that simple," Robin shrugged as she patted the dark-haired woman's shoulder awkwardly. "And we might not have any real way to know, but I'm pretty sure they didn't see anything they shouldn't have. I wouldn't personally care if they had, if it was me, but I don't want them to get an eyeful of you just 'cause you don't want them to."
Alex even believed that, both parts, if only because he doubted even Robin was so good an actress that she could fake the awkward, strained gesture of support as it had occurred.
"Anyway," he said, shaking his head, "Aside from shattering these things into a million pieces, we should-"
"Oh, hell no," Elle almost shouted, gathering up the small devices in her hand and glaring at him, "I'm not giving these up! I can probably change the frequency, then we can use them, Alex."
"To do what," he asked, confused.
"Spy on them, of course," Elle grinned, "Who would even suspect it? Innocent little us, planting a tap in some Rocket Executive's room?"
"Please, no one's that dumb," Kinta snorted.
"Certainly I'm not," Elle's grin widened, "I'd never. Stupid big-titted bitch-woman."
Alex gasped, "You didn't."
"Of course not," Elle laughed, "I'm not an idiot… I planted it in the reception room, before that Ampharos scanned us. Who knows what that kind of electrical field would do to a small piece of electronics like that?"
"Holy shit," he exhaled, "Where'd you even get…? No. No, it was Greengrass, wasn't it?"
Megumi looked between them, confused, "Greengrass? Wasn't that lady who keeps talking to us at the meetings named that? Nadine or something?"
"Maline," Alex frowned, "And yeah. She's the one who's trying to manipulate us. At least one of the people."
"And she asked us to spy on Rocket for them. And the League, but that's later," Elle said with a shrug, "This was just part one. Plant a few bugs here and there… quietly. Find out where they're moving, how they're organized, things like that. Things Ms. Cooper was very forthcoming about."
"Damned right," Robin giggled, "I wasn't thinking about it at the time, but you're very right, Elle. She was probably doing a bit of bragging, too, but it sounded to me almost like a recruitment pitch. 'Here's our strength and organization, think what you could do as part of it. What you could do with us backing you up.' But in reality, we'd just be lapdogs."
"Still, if even part of it's true, that could be really useful to Game Freak," Alex agreed. Then he cracked his shoulders and neck, before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "Okay, here's the plan, then. We do exactly what we said we would. Don't give Rocket any reason to think we're deviating. We do our Gym Challenges. Once we're done with that, we move on… for now. On our side, we pass on the info we have. I don't see any reason not to give it to Greengrass, really. It's not like they couldn't wring it from us one way or another. But for now, we just continue as we were. Once we're outside of Cerulean, we can make other plans if we need to. But nothing's really changed, except now we have a better idea of what we're up against."
"Which means it's time to start training for the Gyms," Robin said with a grin. "My first one, this'll be great!"
"Exactly. Keep that spirit up, because you all saw the same fight I did against Snøgrav. He's not a fucking pushover, and I doubt either the older Misty woman or her trio of porn-star daughters are weaklings, either. We're gonna need all the positivity and strength we can manage."
With that sobering thought, Megumi and Kinta were left to finally get to sleep. And this time, when Alex slipped into the bed he and Elle shared more often than not, he didn't object when Robin climbed under the covers opposite her and pulled her body against his. Frankly, it had been a long, long day, and he didn't care any more. He just wanted to sleep, and forget their worries. At least for a few hours.