Chapter 50: Cracking a Cypher (Part 1)
The group on the boat was silent as they approached the dock that was appearing in the distance, Hibiki steeling herself as she tried to keep herself calm. The dock in question was located just inside of a cave on the side of the mountain that seemed to be the main entrance and exit from the base. "Remember, keep it as cool as you can." Krystal told Hibiki, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"I know, just like a new and nervous recruit." Hibiki responded in a joking tone. Krystal smiled under her helmet as she gave Hibiki's shoulder a pat and the boat entered the cave, slowing down so they could dock. Taking in the surroundings, Hibiki noted that the walls and floor of the cave were mostly natural, save for the dock which had been built out of stainless steel. She also noted several cartes that were stacked and filled with what she assumed were various supplies, several doors that led deeper into the mountain, an elevator on the far wall, and numerous grunts just walking around and doing tasks. As the boat came in, a few grunts came by and anchored the boat to the deck while a captain came by to help.
"Is that you Krystal?" the captain asked.
"That would indeed be me." Krystal answered as she got off of the boat.
"I thought that you would be on land for a while." the captain mentioned.
"I was, but I happened to get called back by the leader. Whether you want to believe it or not is up to you, though I wouldn't exactly want to make our leader unhappy, would you?" Krystal responded, a small hint of smugness in her voice. The captain remained silent before sighing and walking away as the other two disembarked from the boat, Hibiki pretending to look around amazed.
"Woah, you weren't kidding when you said this place was big." Hibiki commented, looking around.
"Yeah, it is a bit overwhelming at times, but everyone always comes here at least to their Shadow Pokemon." Nika explained, crossing her fingers. One of the grunts mooring the boat took a moment to look over at Hibiki and tilted his head for a moment.
"You got a new recruit while you were out? Man you must have made a good sales pitch Nika." the grunt commented, a hint of amazement in their voice.
"What can I say, our friend here was very enthralled by the prospect of Neo Cypher." Nika said.
"Always nice to get new people, what's your name kid?" the grunt questioned. Krystal tensed up for a moment and paused as Hibiki turned and gave a quick bow.
"The name's Reika, it's a pleasure to meet you." Hibiki told the grunt in a faux earnest tone.
"And some good manners to boot. Something tells me that you're going to go far." the grunt said before walking away. Hibiki waved goodbye and rolled her eyes behind the mask as the three walked towards the main entrance to the base.
"Huh, you actually weren't kidding when you said that people here are friendly." Hibiki commented.
"Yeah, I told you that they were really friendly." Krystal told Hibiki, taking a look around to see if anyone was close by.
"How are you feeling now that you're here?" Nika asked, motioning for them to follow her. They both obliged and walked through the doors, entering a hallway that was made of the same metal that the dock was made of. The hallway had very few grunts walking by, which made Hibii breathe a brief sigh of relief as she lowered her voice.
"God this is actually so weird. I do mean what I said earlier, I didn't exactly expect a friendly welcome to this place." Hibiki whispered, barely loud enough for the others to hear.
"Like we said, generally everyone is friendly here. Sure there are a bit of bad eggs every now and then, but honestly it's really chill as we all wait for our missions." Nika told Hibiki, taking a moment to glance at Krystal. Krystal nodded, silently acknowledging the glance, as she looked for a quiet place before finding an unoccupied room and walking into there, Hibiki and Nika following soon after.
"Okay, now that we're actually here, any idea where I should start?" Hibiki questioned.
"Well, if you want a good place to make a distraction, I can think of no better place than the Shadow Conversion Plant." Krystal told Hibiki in a low voice. Hibiki let out a long sigh as Nika kept watch to see if anyone was coming by.
"I was kind of afraid you were going to say that and yet, I do have to agree with you there." Hibiki responded, a hint of fear in her voice.
"The Shadow Conversion Plant… I've never been there myself, but I hear that it's located somewhere in the base. After their last attempt at keeping it off base didn't go so well, I think they decided to keep the plant in house." Nika commented.
"Going there is going to be very dangerous, after all, it's where they make all the Shadow Pokemon. In addition, I don't know where it is because I have never been here before." Krystal mentioned, making sure Hibiki knew what she was suggesting.
"I know and we can't exactly mess around just looking for it, some grunts might start to get suspicious." Hibiki commented. Krystal was about to say something when she saw Nika give a signal that they needed to move, Krystal nodded as she gave Nika a tap on the shoulder. As they all moved out, Hibiki felt her blood freeze as she saw Strong walking down the hallway to the docks.
"All right, keep moving and doing your tasks. The boss wants things in place just in case the worst case scenario happens." Strong barked out. Hibiki noted that Strong seemed like he was very tense as he screamed the orders out, the various grunts around him hurrying out of the way to go do what they needed to do.
"Ok, all we need to do is just pray th-" Krystal began to say.
"Hey, you three!" Strong yelled over to them. Krystal winced as Hibiki and Nika both just turned to glare at her, Strong walking up the group. "I don't recognize any of you, did you all just come in from off base?" Strong asked.
"Yes we did Strong." Krystal responded. Strong let out a large sigh of relief as he seemed to calm down after hearing Krystal's voice.
"Oh it's just you Krystal. Sorry about the outburst, it's been a bit hectic around here over the past few hours and I barely got any sleep last night." Strong apologized.
"It's fine, I just came back with a new recruit and a friend of mine that I made recently." Krystal explained.
"Ah, well a pleasure to meet the two of you. I must say, I didn't expect to be getting a new recruit today, you got a name kid?" Strong asked.
"R-Reika." Hibiki answered, silently praying that the voice changer did enough to hide her voice. Strong paused for a moment and squinted at Hibiki, the girl shaking as she was worried things would go south, before shaking his head.
"Apologies for the stare, just a bit on edge that someone might be trying to infiltrate our base." Strong told Hibiki nonchalantly. While Hibiki was supposed to feel safe with that statement, something about the way he said that was nagging at her.
"Come on Reika, it's not fair for you to hog all the attention." Nika complained, trying to stay in character.
"It's fine Nika, Strong was just doing his job." Reika responded.
"You must be Krystal's friend, a pleasure to meet you." Strong said. Nika gave Strong a brief wave as Krystal looked at her wrist, pretending like she was waiting for something to happen or to be asked.
"Well if you don't need me, I have to go give my report to the boss." Krystal said, wanting to detach from the conversation.
"Right, you were on a mission for S. Don't let me keep you in that case, though a word of warning, they are very on edge." Strong told Krystal.
"Warning received, I'll be careful with what I say." Krystal responded. Strong nodded and waved Krystal goodbye, the girl heading deeper into the base as she took a quick glance back at Hibiki before walking down a hallway.
"She was nice." Hibiki said.
"Yeah, she might be a bit of a troublesome member, but she means well. Now, apologies if I'm going a bit fast here, but I think we should get you a Shadow Pokemon." Strong told Hibiki, checking a watch he had.
"Oh really? I thought I would have to work for that." Hibiki commented, rolling her eyes on the inside of her helmet.
"Normally that would be the case, but truth be told, we do need all hands on deck." Strong admitted, letting out a heavy sigh.
"Did something come up?" Nika questioned.
"The boss seems to think so at least. They're a bit paranoid that someone they thought was out of the picture is alive and coming to attack the base." Strong explained.
"Huh… man my bad luck seems to always follow me." Hibiki commented.
"Sorry for the sudden announcement. If you would like, you could just find a place to hunker down and see about waiting out the storm." Strong told HIbiki in a sympathetic voice. Hibiki stayed quiet as she pretended to think about the proposition before nodding no and looking straight at Strong.
"I want to help in any way I can. Even if I do just get tossed to the side, it'll be of some help right?" Hibiki answered confidently. Strong looked at Hibiki dead in the eyes, or at least as best as he could through the helmet, before giving a hearty laugh.
"That is the kind of confidence that I like in a grunt. All right, the two of you follow me and I'll get you both sorted with some Shadow Pokemon." Strong said as he turned around.
"Wait, me too?" Nika questioned.
"Sure, you're a friend of Krystal's and you helped bring in a spunky rookie. That seems like more than enough for a small gift. Now then, follow me, you two." Strong told Nika as he began to walk down the hallway. The two looked at each other for a moment before nodding, deciding to make full use of this opportunity, followed after Strong and prayed that he was telling the truth.
After a few minutes of walking through several corridors that seemed to meld with each other, the three eventually arrived at a large set of double doors that seemed to be very well protected with several mechanisms keeping it shut and a scanner on the wall next to it. "Now, just to warn you two right now, this place is not for the faint of heart. This is the place where all our Shadow Pokemon are made, so if you want to not be scared for life, let me know." Strong told the two.
"I… think I'm tough enough to handle this." Hibiki responded in an unsure tone of voice. Mentally, Hibiki was preparing herself mentally as she felt a faint hand grip her ankle, Darkrai a tad nervous himself.
"Same with me." Nika said.
"Ok, just don't blame me if you have nightmares about this." Strong commented with a sigh. He proceeded to walk up to the door and scanned his keycard on the scanner, a confirmation ping being heard as the door whirred to life. After a few moments of whiring, the doors slowly slid open and the group all headed inside. As they entered the room, Hibiki felt a sense of dread wash over her as she heard the various cries of pain and agony of several Pokemon.
"Stay strong Hibiki, this hurts me to hear as much as it hurts you." Darkrai told Hibiki mentally. Hibiki nodded as she looked around and saw several rooms with Pokemon in them, the Pokemon being subjected to electric shocks, forceful battles, and abuse by some of Neo Cypher's grunts.
"This is going to haunt me for a good bit." Hibiki thought to herself, trying to keep a calm demeanor as best as she could.
"Yeah, it's never a pretty sight when I have to come in here." Strong told the two.
"I can imagine, this sounds like it's not pleasant to always walk in on all the time." Nika commented, shuddering a bit.
"It never does get easier for me, but I have to put up with it. I've been in the business so long that I feel it would be a bit of a disservice to not be a part of this." Strong responded, a hint of guilt in his voice. Before Hibiki could say something that would give her away, a grunt walked up to Strong and saluted, Strong stopping along with Hibiki and Nika.
"Commander Strong, what do we owe the pleasure?" the grunt questioned.
"Just checking in and getting some recent arrivals some Shadow Pokemon." Strong replied, his tone turning into an annoyed and frustrated one. The grunt paused as they thought about saying something, but simply nodded as they realized that they probably shouldn't upset the obviously stressed commander.
"Ok, the transfer room is free at the moment. Just don't take too long, I think something is going to happen soon." the grunt told Strong before walking off. Strong sighed as he pinched his nose before continuing forward, Hibiki and Nika both wordlessly following him. Eventually, the three arrived in a room with a large computer connected to a room with seemingly hundreds of Pokeballs, with more periodically arriving.
"My god…" Hibiki said aloud, not being able to hide her shock.
"That fruit of our labor as our leader calls them. Bah, what a load of bullshit." Strong commented, venom in his voice.
"Commander?" Nika called out. Strong immediately shot to attention and shook his head for a moment before pausing and letting out a long sigh, his body visibly slumping forward out of exhaustion.
"Sorry, a lot of stuff has been going on recently and looks like I forgot to turn on my filter." Strong said.
"I take it you have opinions about Neo Cypher?" Hibiki asked, wanting to hear what Strong had to say.
"I guess you could say that. I'd be willing to tell you more, but I don't exactly want this to be known publicly." Strong commented. Hibiki looked at Nika and gave a quick nod to her, which she barely caught and nodded back in response.
"I mean, we can keep a secret. We won't tell a fly and even if we do, you're our commanding officer." Nika told Strong. Strong was silent for a moment, looking at Hibiki for a moment before nodding and walking over to the door to the room, using his card to lock the door.
"You're right on that and I am going to choose to trust you two with what I am about to say. If I hear so much rumor that you spoke about this, I will find you two and deal with you personally, do I make myself clear?" Strong told the two, a hint of aggression in his voice at the end.
"Crystal." Nika and HIbiki responded simultaneously.
"Ok then, I suppose I should start with a simple question. Be honest with me, how old do you two think I look?" Strong asked.
"...I would honestly say you're in your late 40s to early 50s." Nika responded.
"For me, you look about 62." Hibiki answered honestly. After Hibiki said his answer, Strong blinked before letting out a hearty laugh and giving Hibiki a firm pat on the shoulder.
"My my, looks like someone is good with guessing ages." Strong commented in a Jovial tone.
"Oh it's nothing much, just kind of something that I've been able to do." Hibiki lied, rubbing the back of her helmet to feign embarrassment.
"Interesting to know, anyway back to what I was saying. Yes, I am 62 and the point I'm trying to make is that I'm getting old, having spent a good 15 years in this place." Strong explained.
"God, that is a long time." Nika said, a bit blown away by that answer.
"Indeed it is, gives a lot of time for a person to just… think about their life choices." Strong commented walking over to the window to the storage area.
"Judging by your earlier snap, I take it you've come around to despising Neo Cypher?" Hibiki questioned.
"Yeah, I thought we would be doing something to better the world, not enslaving Pokemon for some arbitrary goal." Strong sighed.
"Do we even need to take a guess at the goal or is it as obvious as we think it is?" Nika asked.
"It's about as generic and obvious as you think it is, world domination by using Shadow Pokemon." Strong responded, letting out a small chuckle.
"Sounds about right, even if it is cliche and samey. That being said, why even capture these pokemon if people could find ways to purify them?" Hibiki questioned. Strong paused for a moment, Hibiki mentally swearing at herself for that last question, before Strong nodded and turned to them.
"You don't think the boss realized that? Of course people are going to be able to try to come up with ways to purify Shadow Pokemon. We can't exactly stop that, but we can attempt to delay it." Strong responded.
"That makes sense, if you can delay the enemy enough then you can take them out." Nika commented.
"Yeah, that was the plan here, but that apparently backfired now that someone is potentially holding the key to this region's purification method in their hands… at least we're pretty sure they are. Truth is that we did just destroy the mural and legend before we read it, so we don't even know if the item we had stolen was even a method." Strong explained. Hibiki raised an eyebrow for a moment as she thought back to when she first met Strong, putting some pieces together in her mind.
"Well, it's been very obvious that the harp I had picked up back then is what he was referring to. Given that the analysis they did on it at HQ said there was nothing special about it, what is it used for?" Hibiki pondered. Strong took a moment to grab a piece of paper and started to write something on it as he continued to talk.
"Anyway, the long and short of it is that I do not like this place. I have to deal with it because I've been here so long, but that doesn't mean that I have to like it." Strong finish. Hibiki was going to ask if he could elaborate, but quickly stopped as she heard someone outside, Hibiki and Nika stood at attention as Sly walked in.
"Of course it would be her." Hibiki thought as she felt Darkrai begin to move.
"There you are Strong, I've been looking for you everywhere." Sly said as she walked in, Hibiki and Nika saluting to keep up appearances.
"What do you want, Sly?" Strong asked in a bored voice, continuing to write on the paper.
"The leader wants to meet, come on you… I'm sorry, I didn't notice you two, may I ask your names?" Sly questioned, finally noticing the two "grunts" in the room.
"I'm Nika, I was transferred here last minute." Nika responded.
"Makes sense, we are in need of bodies, but you I have more questions for. I recognize that armor from our boats and I know that we haven't had any sea expeditions lately. If you don't mind me asking, may you please take off your helmet so I can confirm that you're one of us?" Sly said, crossing her arms as she looked towards Hibiki.
"Shit." Hibiki thought, not exactly seeing another option as she moved to take off her helmet. Luckily, she was stopped by Strong putting a hand on her shoulder, which made her stop as she had her hands on the side of the helmet.
"Calm your nerves Sly, you're scaring the newbie." Strong told Sly in a carefree tone.
"A new Recruit? Right now? … Strong, and apologies if this is going too far, but are you that dumb?" Sly questioned Hibiki, feeling Sly's patience draining away.
"She came back with Krystal and yes, I did initially get as suspicious as you are, but something she said made me give her a pass." Strong responded confidently.
"Oh? Well if it's something that made you reconsider, then I would be happy to hear it." Sly said, a smug smile crossing her face. Hibiki paused, both pretending to be and actually feeling very nervous, before taking a moment and thinking for a moment, smiling as she decided to tell them exactly what they wanted to hear.
"It, um… wasn't anything important, at least to me, but I remember Krystal saying something along the lines 'we won't be receiving Intel any more'." Hibiki said quietly. Sly paused for a moment as smile slowly disappeared from her face.
"Ahhhhh, shit." Sly muttered out softly.
"There's a bit more that I overheard, that she saw someone she couldn't believe was alive or something like that." Hibiki continued, praying that she wasn't going too far.
"Oh god." Sly said, pinching the bridge of her nose out of annoyance.
"Yeah you can see why I was a bit lenient now." Strong commented, a hint of smugness in his voice.
"All right, you win in that department. So, I take it you were getting these two Shadow Pokemon?" Sly questioned.
"That I was, just telling them about the process and how to work the machine. I was just writing the instructions down as you came in." Strong lied.
"Good cause we should get to our posts." Sly told Strong.
"All right, let me just finish with these two and I'll be right there." Strong responded casually. Sly sighed and simply nodded as she hurried out of the room to go get ready for what she assumed would be a big battle. There was a brief silence in the room before Strong gave a hearty laugh and slapped Hibiki on the back.
"Thanks for playing along with that Reika, I love messing with her. Though, how exactly did you know what would get her off our backs?" Strong questioned, a tad curious himself.
"Because I told the truth." Hibiki responded, a smile appearing on her face. Strong was quiet for a moment as Hibiki could swear that she saw him turn a bit paler.
"Is that so?" Strong asked a tad nervously. Hibiki simply nodded in response, which caused Strong to slowly start backing up towards the door. "In that case, I should be going too. I'm really sorry about this." Strong said in an embarrassed tone.
"It's fine commander, thought you did actually leave us instructions right?" Nika said.
"That I did actually do, they're right on the table. Now then, goodbye you two." Strong told the two before bolting out of the room. Nika and Hibiki both looked at each other for a moment as Nika gave a thumbs up at Hibiki, who breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Oh thank god that worked, I thought that we were caught for sure." Nika commented.
"Agreed, I am just thankful that I was able to think about something believable on the fly. That being said, it probably would be a good idea to block the door." Hibiki told Nika. Nika nodded and the two proceeded to block the door with what they could from the inside some spare tables, an armor locker, and a bar across the handles for good measure. At the end of the blockading, Nika and Hibiki were panting as Darkrai decided to emerge from Hibiki's shadow. "You know, you could have helped." Hibiki told Darkrai, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"I figured you two would be fine on your own." Darkrai responded casually. Hibiki rolled her eyes at that response as she proceeded to take off her armor, sweating buckets as she took it off.
"Nika, I will give you and the other Neo Cypher grunts this, you all must have fortitude of steel to not just want to rip the armor off when it's too hot." HIbiki commented.
"Yeah, that is something you just get used to overtime. Honestly, it's a nice workout tool because it's not that intrusive." Nika responded, walking over to the computer.
"I would beg to differ, but you also have had more experience than me, so I'll believe that." Hibiki said. Nika nodded as she grabbed the piece of paper to read the instructions, stopping midway as she tilted her head in confusion. "Something wrong?" Hibiki asked, moving her body to make sure she was fine to keep going.
"These instructions tell us how to release the Shadow Pokemon stored in the bay." Nika told Hibiki, a hint of confusion in her voice.
"Really?" Hibiki said as she walked over. Nika simply held the paper out for Hibiki, who grabbed it and started reading it herself as NIka started to bring up the appropriate commands. Sure enough, the note detailed exactly how to access the appropriate system to fully release all the continued Shadow Pokemon. "Huh, well I'll be." Hibiki said, turning the note around. WHen she did, she saw that there was a message on the back of it.
"Hey Hibiki or Nika, I know that it's probably one of you two that's reading this. Yeah I knew that it was you Hibiki, no offense to your acting skills, but I was more just listening to my gut. Anyway, if you're reading this, then you're probably already accessing the full release measure. It was implemented just in case the base was ever raided by the IPP or some other organization as a way to cause a distraction and destroy the base. Normally, it's a last resort as you need a commander to issue the order, but it should be fine as long as you use the provided credentials.
Now, for some personal talk from me. I mean all of what I told you two, I honestly hate this place as much as you all. That being said, I don't want you to feel pity or remorse for me, I've been active In Neo Cypher for as long as it's been around and even I once believed in the stuff they've been spewing. I am more than happy to take my punishment, whatever it may be. Still, any way that I can help is more than enough for me. Take care of yourself and show Shika what it means to be a trainer. - Strong
P.S. If you two need a quick escape, there's a secret passage to your right."
Hibiki smiled as she finished reading the letter, Darkrai noticing a tear falling from Hibiki's eye as Nika finished getting to the program in question. "Ok, I'm ready to let the Pokemon on when you make the call." Nika told Hibiki.
"...Is this a smart idea?" Hibiki questioned, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.
"What do you mean by that?" NIka responded.
"It's just that I know if we set these Pokemon free, they are going to cause a lot of trouble for us and whoever they find out in the wild. I'm not sure how I feel about having death be on my conscience." Hibiki explained. Nika nodded as she listened to what Hibiki said before sighing and walking up to Hibiki, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Look, it's not like I don't get where you're coming from, it is a very terrifying prospect to know that these poor Pokemon are going to be out in the wild. Who knows what they are going to do after all. However, that's why I'm putting my faith in you." Nika said, a confident tone in her voice.
"In me or the IPP?" Hibiki asked.
"A bit of both, but mostly you. I know you're doing this to save your friend and stop Neo Cypher, but I also trust you do the right thing." Nika commented. Hibiki nodded, a small smile crossing, as she was about to say something before there was a knock at the door to the room.
"Hey, are you two almost done in there?" a grunt called out from the other side.
"We also don't have a lot of time. Now, your decision." Nika said, not bothering to be quiet at all. Hibiki gave a silent thumbs up as she moved to the wall on the right of the computer and opened the secret door, the grunt from outside trying to open the door.
"Hey, what are you doing in there?!" the grunt yelled, slamming against the door.
"Something you all are scared to do, apologies about that. Also, I would recommend running." Nika responded as she typed in the command. As soon as Nika saw the confirmation, Nika, Darkrai, and Hibiki stayed for a moment as they saw all the Pokeballs in storage start to shake, an alarm starting to blare in response to the activation, before they dashed out of the room through the secret door. A few seconds later, all the Pokeballs in storage burst open as a cavalcade of Shadow Pokemon erupted from the storage room.
As the two dashed through the secret corridors, they heard the chaos around them as the Shadow Pokemon started to rampage throughout the base. "God, they are mad." NIka commented.
"Exactly why I wanted to wait on just setting them free. Thankfully it was just the ones in storage, otherwise I think it would be so much worse." Hibiki commented on getting out her phone to send a message to Echo. After a good minute of running, the three all stopped to take a breather as Hibiki sent out the message. "Message is sent, now we can just wait if you want." Hibiki told Nika.
"Hey, I thought you were in a rush to rescue your friend." Nika pointed out.
"Yes, but it would absolutely tear me apart if you got hurt." Hibiki said. Nika paused for a moment as she was going to say something when they heard noises down the hall, Hibiki turning her head to see a few grunts running after them. "Of course, they would follow us." Hibiki said as she got ready to run off. Nika took a moment to consider her options before mentally nodding to herself as she
"Your concern is appreciated, but I'm helping because I want to. I'm staying here to give you some distance." Nika called out as she grabbed two Pokeballs from her belt. Hibiki immediately stopped in her tracks, hopping on one leg to stop from falling, as Nika called out a Primarina and a Baxcalibur. "Primarina use Surf to create a wall of water. Baxcalibur, follow it up with Sheer Cold." Nika ordered. Primarina nodded as she let out a torrent of water that flooded the passageway behind them, Baxcalibur following up with a gust of wind cold enough to instantly free the water.
"Nika, are you crazy?!" Hibiki yelled.
"I learn from the best, now get going. I can hold my own well enough and I don't want you to worry about protecting me." Nika responded, her voice dripping with confidence. Hibiki was going to say something back, but stopped when she felt Darkrai's claw on her shoulder, making her sigh. Hibiki stood still for a moment, considering a few options when she heard Pokemon on the other side get released.
"Get to my friends and stay safe! I better see you again after this is all done!" Hibiki told Nika as she turned and ran, Darkrai following soon after. Nika looked back for a moment, giving a small smile as she took off her helmet, letting her bright red hair.
"Stay safe Hibiki." NIka thought as she took a deep breath and turned back to the ice wall. Nika paused as she looked at her two Pokemon, who both nodded at her as she dropped her helmet and they all started to go down another passage.
"I don't like doing this, but we also have to get a move on. If Melody is already converted to a Shadow Pokemon, I don't want her fighting the others." Hibiki told Darkrai as they kept running down the hallway.
"Agreed. From what you said on the trip over, it sounds like she means a lot to you." Darkrai responded.
"Yeah, she's my partner and I want the best for her." Hibiki said.
"Then I suppose the next question to ask is this: how are you planning to purify her if she is a Shadow Pokemon already?" Darkrai questioned. Hibiki stayed silent as they reached a flight of stairs, taking a moment to catch her breath as she thought about the question.
"I think I might have an idea, but it would be really risky because you need to be around." Hibiki began to explain.
"I don't really follow." Darkrai said, confused by the answer.
"Trust me, it's not hard to figure out. You'll be mad at me when you do, but I'm prepared for that." Hibiki told Darkrai, beginning to climb the stairs. Darkrai pondered as they ascended the stairs, thinking about what Hibiki could be referring to before looking at his hands as he realized what she was referring to.
"Hibiki…" Darkrai began to say.
"Yes, I know that this idea is going to be very risky. Yes, I might just die from this. I'm willing to do it to save my friend." Hibiki responded, her voice taking on a serious tone. Darkrai was silent for a moment before letting out a chuckle as he floated in front of Hibiki, giving her a side glance.
"I have to say, you're exactly like she described you would be." Darkrai told Hibiki. As she heard that phrase, Hibiki stopped as she realized something.
"Darkrai, did you know my grandmother?" Hibiki questioned.
"Of course I did, she often visited the island to check up on me. She always was considerate of the two of us." Darkrai explained.
"Sounds like her, but how did she know how I would act? Is it her Esper abilities?" Hibiki asked.
"A bit of that, but honestly, she was just confident that you would turn out this way. I'll give her this, she has a good sixth sense." Darkrai commented.
"Speaking of, any idea where we might start looking? Kind of nervous to open the link I have with Melody." Hibiki said as they started to ascend again. Darkrai pondered that for a moment as they arrived on the fourth floor before catching a glimpse of a shiny Meloetta standing at the end of the hallway.
"Maybe they just have her standing there as bait." Darkrai said, pointing at the Meloetta in question. Hibiki also noticed the Meloetta in question, her eyes widening a bit as she saw Melody again, who looked at Hibiki before turning the corner.
"I agree, this does seem like bait and given what they know, it more than likely is a trap. However, you think we can take advantage of this?" Hibiki asked in a low voice.
"Probably, just be careful. They more than likely will use your bond with Melody against you to try and capture your team." Darkrai warned before slinking back into the shadows.
"Yeah…" Hibiki said as she began to walk forward. As she moved forward, she got out her phone and started to text a message to Echo. "Apologies Echo, this is what I need to do right now." Hibiki thought to herself as she sent the message. Putting her phone away, she took a deep breath before proceeding to spring after Melody. She followed Melody for about a minute before she was led to a large, open room with observation windows on top with Melody waiting in the center. As soon as she entered, the door slammed shut behind her and the sound of mechanical whirring could be heard in the walls.
"Welcome my dear Hibiki, I suppose your arrival was inevitable all things considered." A familiar voice called out over speakers.
"Solion, a displeasure to speak with you again." Hibiki responded, a smile on her face.
"Ah good to see that a small drop from the roof of a tall as hell building did nothing to your confidence. That's perfect." Solion answered.
"Oh? And what exactly makes you think it's perfect?" Hibiki questioned. In response, Melody stepped forward as several Pokeballs were launched from the walls and released, letting out several Shadow Pokemon.
"Nothing much, just using your friend and several Shadow Pokemon to break you." Solion responded in a cold voice. Hibiki sighed as she saw the large amount of shadowy aura coming from the Pokemon, Melody specifically having a large amount of aura coming off of her.
"Well sorry to disappoint, but I am here to stay." Hibiki said, getting out her Pokeballs.
"Good, good. It would be a shame if you just rolled over and gave up. I'm going to keep you here til I see the light leave your eyes." Solion told Hibiki. Hibiki said nothing as she tossed them all in the air and called out her team, who were immediately ready for a fight.
"The objective is to survive and get Melody back. I'm going to be dividing my attention between you all as best I can. Understand?" Hibiki told her team. Everyone nodded as they gauged who they were going after, Hibiki pausing as she made sure Darkrai was still hidden. "I don't know if we can hold out as long as we need to, but I'm positive we can withstand this. Just wait Melody, I'm almost there." Hibiki thought as all the Pokemon charged towards each other