The government ship Demetrius was last heard from en route to Noe Town harbor while travelling across the Coast of Grass. Transmission contact with the ship has since been lost, and has not yet been recovered. HAPPI officials declined to comment on the matter.
This is a developing story. Please check in with the Cloud Nine News Network for updates as they come.
~\({O})/~
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE CALM AND THE STORM
~\({O})/~
A Month Ago
Open Waters ~ Nighttime
There was a storm building out on the churning seas that evening. It had been building for a few weeks now, and it would continue to build tonight. There was nothing to keep it in check now. Nothing to stop it from growing out of control. Nothing to stop it from being controlled. From being shaped into something more malleable. An unnatural disaster. A weapon.
A cocoon.
Something writhed in the Storm. Something that was blacker than the night and the clouds around It. It controlled the wind and the sea now. The very storms acted at Its whim. And act they would.
Grow.
The rumbling of thunder boomed through the night sky, and purple lightning lit up the center of the storm like a brilliant display of silent fireworks. The clouds of the storm began to swirl down, down, towards the earth, towards the ocean…
And when the clouds and sea met, the storm wasn’t just a storm anymore.
~\({O})/~
Pokemon Plaza ~ Air Continent
Last Day of Spring
Pokemon Plaza ~ Air Continent
Last Day of Spring
"Picture this."
Several wagons encrusted with the multi-ringed sigil of HAPPI were parked right outside the courtyard of Pokemon Plaza. Many pokemon were working in and out of the wagons, taking diagnostics of the environment and performing various other tasks. An elgyem was intently scanning the ground with the lights on its arms and muttering, while an impidimp hastily scribbled down everything they said. A togademaru had a camera with a connection orb slotted through the lense, taking generous pictures of everything around her as other ‘mon gave orders in the distance. Each pokemon wore a bright purple scarf, with a picture of HAPPI’s badge sewn onto the front.
Simisage walked through the unkempt ruins of the town, stepping around debris and sharp shards of stone. Directly behind him, Vaporeon followed. The square was littered not with statues but with small shards of stone that covered almost every surface in the town. Both Simisage and Vaporeon had to be careful to step around the sharp pieces so they didn't cut their paws on them as they walked.
"Pokemon Plaza goes dark," Simisage began, stepping over some rubble. "HAPPI teams can't leave Mist 'cause of the blizzard that formed over the continent, so the Expedition Society is drafted in their place. They arrive. They claim to have done their job. The mayor of Baram Town vouches for them. And yet, that very day, stone lapras statue; missing lapras. Cloud Nine receives no photos nor word from the Expedition Society concerning the mission for two. Whole. Weeks. And then, after the fact, stone pelipper washes ashore up on Mist. Am I the only one seeing something funny going on here?"
"I see something funny going on," Vaporeon said, looking put-out. She wore a purple scarf of her own. "You aren't wearing your scarf."
Simisage shrugged. "I forgot," he said. "Everyone does it. Now, where was I…"
Vaporeon took a deep breath, but when Simisage started rambling, it was usually easier to let him ramble than to get him to stop.
"It's simple," Simisage drawled sagely. "This was all a plot from the very beginning. Think about it. The Expedition Society has been scoffed at and put down by the other guilds for too long. They want fame and glory, and they want revenge. And so–if I may be allowed to insinuate further–a plot begins to form in their tiny little reviser-seed-sized brains. They shoot down the pelipper post employees coming in and out of the plaza, and get their little electric pet to jam the transmissions. Pokemon Plaza goes dark; blizzard happens over Mist just. As. Planned. Boom shapow bang—" Simisage clapped his hands for effect "—Expedition Society is now drafted for convenience. Now two of them have a mission. They sail into Baram Town and travel up into Pokemon Plaza. And once they get there, they turn the whole square to stone.
"But see, now they're at risk," Simipour continued. "They have photos of the carnage, but they were the last ones to go into that square, and there. Are. Witnesses. They need to be seen doing something that will clear them of all charges; dismiss them as suspects entirely! Now cue the lapras. The lapras isn't important to them, so they kill the lapras too. They write the note; they stick it on the raft, and they let it float into the harbor, conveniently being in just the right spot to get there in time and look innocent. Now the blame is off them but they can't rest yet. They gotta lie low for a couple of weeks, let the heat die down before they submit their findings. They gotta plot their next move first, 'cause if they don't than this was all for naught. They gotta be ready. And once they are… I assure you, something's gonna happen. Something we've gotta prevent."
Simisage stopped once they reached the other end of the plaza, where one of the white, metal-encrusted wagons sat. Out of his exploration bag he pulled a leather envelope of documents, showing it to Vaporeon. "Luckily, I have taken the necessary precautions to make this line of intervention possible."
Vaporeon puffed out her cheeks in frustration.
"That sounds great!" she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "There's just one problem: How are you going to prove they turned all these pokemon to stone? That doesn’t just happen. There’s no power that does that."
Simisage waved a hand around the square.
“Clearly some power did this.”
“But we don’t know it’s connected to them,” said Vaporeon. “Just because they were in the same place doesn’t mean they’re culprits. There’s no solid connection here.”
“These papers say otherwise,” Simisage grinned, waving the folder. “Now how they did it… is TBD. But the point is, they’re guilty. And we’re gonna prove it.”
~\({O})/~
One Week Later
Expedition Society Headquarters ~ Lively Town
~Mawile~
One Week Later
Expedition Society Headquarters ~ Lively Town
~Mawile~
It was nighttime, and for once the halls of the Expedition Society were quiet. Mawile quietly slunk down the hallway, making sure not to cause any noise and wake the others up. She stopped outside the large open archway that led to the kitchen, looking down the hall both ways before entering.
Any other member would have been harshly disciplined by Swirlix for this. The chef kept an iron grip on the Society's food supplies, tight enough that there were separate stocks for travelling supplies and normal food. The last time somemon had tried to sneak something from the kitchen had been when Bunnelby had nicked a head of lettuce for a midnight snack, and while Mawile did not know exactly what Swirlix had done when she had found out, the entire Expedition Society had seen the effects—Bunnelby never ate lettuce again.
Swirlix currently lay sprawled out on one of the counters, conveniently stationed near the food cupboards. Fast asleep. She began to sniff the air once Mawile entered—even asleep, she was still on guard. Mawile reached into her bag and pulled out a pawful of grimy food she had dug out of the dumpster. She set it on the floor in front of the entrance. That would overpower her own scent.
Slowly, Mawile crept across the kitchen, opening the cupboards one by one as she searched for the medicinal berry stock. Swirlix suddenly stirred in her sleep, reaching out for something that existed only in her dreams.
"Nnghh… Apple…" Swirlix muttered, nearly rolling off the counter as she grasped for thin air. Mawile acted fast—she handed what little remnants of the grimy food that she had in her bag to Swirlix. Swirlix took it without question, grimaced at the smell, and then sleep-consumed it in a single bite. Mawile tried–and barely managed–to stomach the sight. Swirlix snored loudly, and Mawile grit her teeth and continued.
She found the medicinal berries in the cupboard to Swirlix's left. Mawile quickly rooted through it until she found the chesto berries, all picked and sitting in a small wooden crate. Mawile took three or four and stuffed them into her bag. She quietly shook up the berries in the crate so that Swirlix wouldn't notice they were gone, and slipped away from where Swirlix was sleeping. She picked up the grimy food and deposited it in one of the wastebins in the hall on her way out.
The glow of a miniature luminous moss orb lit Mawile's office an ethereal blue. A torch would have been more convenient light-wise, but Mawile refused to pose a risk to all her books that way, and the room had never been built with electrical lighting in mind. She sat down in one of the stools in the office, taking a bite of a chesto berry and opening a history tome of the Sand Continent. There were almost five times as many books on the Sand Continent as there were books on the other four, and Mawile had yet to pour through it all. Nights were the most convenient time to do this, and Mawile spent hours looking through every possible path that might lead her towards answers.
It had been nearly two weeks since they had returned from the Air Continent, and Mawile was still at a loss as to whatever had attacked them in Pokemon Plaza. The photo of the anomaly was pinned at the top of the wall, separate from the rest of the intertwined strings on the board. A couple others, various shots of the stone lapras they had encountered a few days after, were pinned near the original photo, but Mawile had not found a way to connect them yet. She relished the day that she would be able to pin them all together. Maybe tonight… Mawile turned the page in the book, reading up on an entire new section of Sand Continent lore. Maybe tonight.
~\({O})/~
~Ampharos~
~Ampharos~
Early mornings were always a pleasure for Ampharos. He awoke every day at the crack of dawn before anymon else in the Expedition Society rose, then ate a quick breakfast outside while he could still feel the morning breeze flowing through his fur. Lively Town never really went to sleep, but dawn was one of the few times of day the town was truly quiet. Most days, Ampharos would go for a stroll through the market and observe the morning going-ons around town, until eight-o-clock came and Dedenne rose to sort the morning paperwork. The Expedition Society briefing was at nine, because nine-o-clock was the earliest Ampharos could convince the Society to collectively rise and shine.
He grabbed an apple from the larder in the kitchen, making sure not to disturb Swirlix on his way out. Special privileges of being Chief. As he walked into the lobby, he caught sight of Mawile loitering around aimlessly near a window. Ampharos walked up to join her.
"Morning," she said without even looking back at him. She didn't have to glance back at him to know that he was there.
"Likewise." Ampharos took a bite of his apple, chewing noisily.
"Did you find anything?" he asked a moment later. Mawile knew what he was talking about. They went through this exchange every morning, to the point where it may as well have been scripted.
"Nothing," Mawile replied. "If Sand Continent history doesn't pan out I'll comb pokemon moves and energy next. Perhaps there's something we've missed."
Ampharos nodded silently, taking another bite of his apple. They stood there in silence for a few minutes, watching the sun rise from the east.
Around eight-o-clock, the large double doors clacked open and Dedenne walked through to begin her shift. At eight-thirty the process of waking everymon up began. Some were already awake, like Nickit, who liked to sneak off to the vault in the mornings and Buizel, who hated wasting time. Others, like Jirachi and Bunnelby, were asleep as usual. But through the combined efforts of Buizel, Dedenne, and Bunnelby once he was awake, all fourteen members of the Expedition Society stood in front of Ampharos, ready for the morning briefing.
Ampharos cleared his throat, preparing to read the first line of the paper Dedenne had given him aloud, but suddenly he was interrupted by a loud bang from outside. Everymon turned their heads towards the large double doors at once. Sure enough, it came again, a loud knocking that sent echoes all through the hall. The Expedition Society exchanged looks.
"Somemon couldn't wait five minutes for us to open?" Bunnelby asked, half-annoyed. He was met with silence.
When the knocking loudly came again, Ampharos put down the paper and stepped forward. Dedenne grabbed it in his wake. He walked through the row of Expedition Society members that parted for him, letting one of the large doors creak inwards and peeking out.
A simisage and a vaporeon stood outside, the latter of which wore a purple scarf with a badge on it. A very familiar badge. Ampharos took one look back at the rest of the members and signaled for silence, and then slipped out the door completely. Seeing that he now had Ampharos' attention, Simisage stuck out his paw for Ampharos to shake.
"Morning," he said. "I understand you're the chief of the Expedition Society?"
Ampharos noticed the glint in his eyes, a glint of distrust, hidden beneath a gleam of sharpness. Behind Simisage stood Vaporeon, the same suspicious look flickering through her eyes for a second. Along with the scarf… something was up. Ampharos decided to put on a cheerful face anyway.
"Correct you are!" he said, shaking Simisage's paw. "We aren't open for another five minutes, I'm afraid. Can I ask you to come back later or set up an appointment?"
Simisage cleared his throat. "I'm afraid you don't understand," he said. His voice had a grating drawl, like he was the smartest person in the room and very keen on broadcasting it. "I'm Simisage, leader of Team Cobalt, and this is my partner, Vaporeon." He gestured to Vaporeon, who nodded quietly in Ampharos' direction. Vaporeon frowned. Ampharos caught it but didn’t know why.
"Myself and Vaporeon work in a very specific line of profession," Simisage continued. "In other words, it's our job to find things. Or find out who might be responsible for things. And this—" Simisage dug in his bag, producing a leather folder and handing it Ampharos "—Is a warrant issued by Cloud Nine on behalf of HAPPI."
Ampharos would be lying if he claimed he wasn't shocked. But he kept his cheerful face up anyway.
"May I ask what this is for?" he asked politely, keeping the act up. He was pretty sure he knew what it was for.
"All will be explained in due time," Simisage drawled. "Now gather your flunkies for me. We need to have a talk."
"They're… already gathered," Ampharos said, for once at a loss for words. "Just in there."
He could have sworn Simisage's grin had teeth sharper than they should have been for a second.
"Splendid."
~\({O})/~
"Alright, here's the deal." Simisage stood at the front of the lobby’s grand stairs, where Ampharos usually stood for the daily morning briefing. Now, he was lined up with all the other Society members. Near the back, Vaporeon stood right before the front doors as if guarding them.
Simisage pulled out the leather folder, showing it to everymon in the room.
"This warrant here authorizes a twenty-four-hour lockdown of the property, effective immediately," he said. "No-one is allowed to leave the premises until this time tomorrow."
Much of the Expedition Society suddenly looked quite disturbed.
"On what charges?" Bunnelby asked.
"Yeah. Where's this coming from?" Buizel added.
"The Expedition Society is suspected of 'monslaughter on a mass scale, fraud, and breach of contract," Simisage said. "Team Cobalt has been granted the authority to determine if there is any evidence of your guilt, which will be done through a series of investigations performed by myself, my partner–" Simisage gestured to Vaporeon "–and other, optional personnel, should it prove necessary."
The lobby was suddenly filled with several loud, angry pokemon all shouting over each other.
"'Monslaughter?" Bunnelby cried out. "That's crazy!"
"But what if we need to go shopping for food!?" Swirlix cried out. "I'll go mad from hunger, I will!"
"Somemon was murdered!?" Archen shouted in terror.
"You can't confine us here all day!" said Buizel. “We just got over one of those!”
"Actually," said Simisage, "I think y'all will find I can." He shook the contents of the folder.
Then the lobby exploded into racket again.
"What's the matter?' Nickit loudly asked over the noise. "It's a leisure day. Are you really complaining about a leisure day?"
"It's not a leisure day if we’re being accused of… whatever green monkey guy said, Nickit!" Holly chided.
Jirachi just yawned.
"But no-mon here is guilty of that," Nickit said offhandedly. “This is a wash-up.”
"I'll be the judge of that," Simipour replied. And then he clapped his hands together.
~\({O})/~
~Ampharos~
~Ampharos~
It was 10:00, and Simisage had derailed the entire day. He and Vaporeon had contained the Expedition Society to a single bedroom in the left wing, while the lobby had become a 'sacred place of investigation'—as Simisage put it. In reality, he had set up a few chairs and a couple of connection orbs that belonged to Vaporeon. Ampharos distinctly remembered Vaporeon asking him why he hadn't brought his own.
"Is the connection orb recording?" Simisage asked, leaning to the side in the chair with a back support. He had a clipboard in his paw, also Vaporeon's.
Vaporeon double-checked, then clumsily tapped the orb with her nose. It began to glow.
"Now recording," she said, sitting down behind it.
"Alright." Simipour leaned back in the chair, clasping his hands. "Interview the first: Expedition Society, Chief Ampharos. Tell us about yourself."
"What do you want to know?" asked Ampharos, who cheerfully sat opposite of Simisage and Vaporeon.
Simisage leaned forward. "Everything."
"Well," said Ampharos. "Everything might take quite a while! And I understand you only have twenty-four hours. I suggest you lower your scope."
Simisage frowned flatly. "Start at the beginning, then."
Ampharos shrugged. "If you insist…" he leaned back against thin air, acting as if there were back support behind him.
"It was dark inside the egg."
Vaporeon barely held in a groan of frustration.
~\({O})/~
~Mawile~
~Mawile~
"Interview the second: Expedition Society, Vice Chief Mawile." Simipour leaned forward in his seat. "I trust you'll be more co-operative than our last subject."
"To be fair," Vaporeon grumbled, "You didn't have to let him go on for four hours either."
"Ah-ah-ah! Quiet! Quiet! You're messing up the tapes!" Simisage snapped. He readjusted the way he was sitting in his seat. "Now. Mawile. I understand you migrated over from the Grass Continent before you joined the Expedition Society?"
"Yes. Yes, I did."
"And how do you feel about that?”
"I'm not sure I understand this line of questioning."
"Answer it anyway."
Mawile took an annoyed breath through gritted teeth before answering.
“No particular feelings.”
"Hmm." Simipour marked something down. "And do these feelin's that don't exist sometimes influence the way you do your job?"
Mawile rose from her seat.
"This interview is over," she said firmly, beginning to walk off.
"It isn't over 'till I say it's over–" Simisage began.
"It's over," her back maw snarled at them.
Simisage sat back in his seat after she had left, an oddly satisfied look coming over his face. "Yeah. It's over," he said. "Roll next!"
~\({O})/~
~Jirachi~
~Jirachi~
"Interview the third: Expedition Society, Engineer Jirachi. Are we rolling?"
"We're rolling," said Vaporeon.
"Jirachi," Simisage clapped his paws together. He licked his lips. Delicious. "Complimentary question: How does it feel to be the only Legend currently working for a HAPPI-endorsed guild?"
"Why," Jirachi yawned. "It feels great.
"Sorry," he said, a minute later after he had finished yawning. "I'm not really awake until I have my remedy."
"Stay awake enough to answer these questions and you can be asleep for all I care," said Simisage.
Jirachi took him up on the second part.
~\({O})/~
~Archen~
~Archen~
"Interview the fourth: Expedition Society, Off-Continent Explorer Archen." Simisage set down the clipboard he had been writing on, and then he leaned forwards. "Now I'm gonna ask you as a confidant," he said. "I understand you were one of two 'mon to lead the expedition to the Air Continent a week ago?"
"Unfortunately," Archen said, ruffling his feathers stiffly at the memory. "Who's asking?"
"I want the rundown of how that mission went. Leave no details out."
Archen rubbed his wings together nervously. "Well," he said. "It all began when we had to take a lapras all the way to Baram Town without sleeping for the night…"
~\({O})/~
~Jirachi~
~Jirachi~
"Interview the fifth: Expedition Society, Engineer Jirachi, continued. I assume you won't fall asleep on us this time?" Simisage asked.
"Nah," said Jirachi, doing a lazy cartwheel where he floated. "I've had my remedy now. That'll keep me going through the night."
"Amazing," said Simisage. "Now tell me. What's the Expedition Society's process for makin' copies of photos?"
~\({O})/~
Residential Wing
Residential Wing
A single scarf sat on the windowsill, all on its lonesome.
"That is what it took. To get rid of the stench." Holly enunciated slowly, her voice dangerously calm. "A scarf infused with Sweet Scent. You would not believe. The things we had to sniff to get this. So kindly do not touch or smell it, please."
"Wasn't dreaming of it," said Nickit. The rest of the Expedition Society lounged about in the room, where Simisage had told them to wait while they weren't being interviewed.
"My belly hurts…" Swirlix groaned. Everymon collectively ignored her.
"I wonder why we haven't gotten interviewed yet," Bunnelby pondered to himself.
~\({O})/~
Lobby
Lobby
"And that's break time!" Simisage clapped his paws twice, hopping down from the chair and collecting the connection orb. He gestured for Vaporeon to follow him out the doors as he went. The large doors closed behind them, leaving them in the Society's empty outdoor square.
"Alright, so what do we know?" Simisage asked in a hushed voice. "We know that their chief likes to dodge things. We know that the vice-chief is hiding something. We know their mission to the Air Continent gets fantastical once they reach Pokemon Plaza, and we know that it should only take half a week to print those photos. Somethin' we aren't getting' here."
"And we also know that they checked in with Mayor Honchkrow of Baram Town, and were picked up by the Water Continent's Ambassador on the way back," Vaporeon added. "Isn't a more prudent question what the Ambassador was doing here? Or perhaps a more prudent action to interview the mayor? I'm surprised you didn't try to follow up on either of those."
"But see, that's where you're behind," said Simisage. "I already know what the Ambassador was doing here."
"And what's that?" Vaporeon asked skeptically.
"He's in on it. A better guild gets better votes; the continent gets in better standing with HAPPI. He remains in power. It's all one big conspiracy."
"It's all one big conspiracy in your head!" Vaporeon barked. "All of this—this entire investigation—it's all been based on guesswork you came up with! You wouldn't have done this a week ago! How did we even get this warrant? And–" her eyes veered to his chest "–And you're not wearing your scarf again!"
Simipour glossed over the last part of the accusation. "Regardless," he said. "We're here. Let's find out what we can while we still can. I believe the Vice Chief has a personal office? We might find something there she’s not telling us."
Vaporeon wasn't sure how he knew that.
~\({O})/~
Dining Hall
Dining Hall
"I'd like to request on behalf of our members that Chef Swirlix be allowed to use the kitchen," Mawile stated calmly to Simisage.
"Denied," said Simisage. "We haven't interviewed her yet."
"Approved," said Vaporeon. "She isn't relevant to our investigation right now." She turned to Mawile. "We don't want to inconvenience you beyond what’s necessary. My partner has just forgotten that for a little while." She sent Simisage a quick glare to get her point across.
"I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to interview her anyway in her current state anyway," said Mawile.
"And what state is that?" Simisage asked, raising an eyebrow.
"FOOOOD!"
Mawile quickly stepped back seconds after the loud voice blasted down the hallway stronger than an Uproar, and Simisage and Vaporeon backed off just in time to not get crushed by the white puffball that charged down the hallway with the ferocity of a dragon.
"FoodfoodfoodfoodfoodGimmegimmenow—" Swirlix snarled as she ran. Her tongue hanging out, she uttered a few unintelligible syllables out at Mawile, Simisage, and Vaporeon, then dashed through the kitchen doors. She left a trail of slobber on the floor in her wake.
Both Simisage and Vaporeon looked rather shocked.
"I could fine your guild for that on three fronts alone," said Vaporeon.
"You won't after you taste her cooking," Mawile replied.
~\({O})/~
Mawile's Office
~Vaporeon~
Mawile's Office
~Vaporeon~
The door to Mawile's office opened, but Mawile was not the pokemon who stepped in. Vaporeon sneezed at all the dust circulating in the air from her entry, making sure to close the door behind her with the fin of her tail. Vaporeon’s short coat of fur didn’t shed easy like the other evolutions of her species did, which made it perfect for sneaking about without leaving evidence behind. Which was what she was planning on doing. If there was one thing Simisage was right about, it was that Mawile was the true head of intelligence in this guild–if there was anything here substantial to know, Mawile would know it. And she'd probably keep that information in her office. Vaporeon looked around for a light switch, but it seemed like this room didn't have an emera light in the first place—even though the rest of the building was lit that way. Curious.
Once Vaporeon’s eyes adjusted to the dark, she caught sight of something faintly glowing under a tarp. Vaporeon pulled the cover off with her mouth, flooding the room with a blue glow. She smirked in triumph: light!
Now for the investigation. It seemed Mawile had a fixation on history, particularly Sand Continent history. Several books on the subject lay around on the desk, open to various places. There were footnotes written in bluk berry ink onto a piece of paper, all leading to obscure legends that didn't seem to be linked in any way, shape, or form.
Vaporeon lowered her head under the desk, trying not to bump her tail into the bookshelves behind her or the cot that lay between them. This was the last place somemon would bother to search. Perhaps something was hidden here.
Vaporeon didn’t find a big secret under the desk, but there was certainly a lot of dust under there–She had a brief sneezing fit after inhaling a bunch of it. Once she was able to stop coughing, Vaporeon stuck her head back underneath, holding her breath this time. Something caught her eye near the corner of the room, where it could be easily missed. Something that glinted.
Vaporeon took a closer look, as soon as she could adjust herself so that she didn't topple a stack of books by accident—Seriously, this place was too small, how did Mawile live like this? On closer inspection, the glimmering looked to be the shattered remains of a connection orb.
"We were all given a presentation by Mawile," Archen explained, sitting in his interrogation seat. "I remember specifically that all the photos were saved to a connection orb, but it disappeared the day after Primarina left. If you want my opinion, I think somemon stole it. Or wanted it hidden. Somemon didn't want pokemon to see those photos."
One couldn't jump to conclusions. There was no proof that it was the same connection orb. Perhaps Mawile had dropped it at an earlier time and simply neglected to clean it up.
Or perhaps she had broken it and hidden it here so that it wouldn't be found in the waste.
Vaporeon raised her head, preparing to leave, but then she saw the photos on the wall. There were three, pinned next to one another. One of a house in Pokemon Plaza, two of what looked like a stone lapras floating in on a raft, and another of a note stuck to the lapras’ chest. It was written in thick loopy handwriting that seemed very familiar to her… she just couldn’t remember where she’d seen it.
Vaporeon sat, looking at the photos. There was no proof that the connection orb was the same one she was thinking of, but that along with the photos were grounds for suspicion at least. It proved one thing: Whatever the Expedition Society was up to, they knew more than they were letting on. They were keeping these photos locked up, photos they weren’t authorized to have. What else were they hiding?
Maybe Simisage was right. Maybe he really was onto something. Putting everything back just right so that it looked undisturbed, Vaporeon made her way out of the office. She couldn’t remove the photos, but she could report what she found.
~\({O})/~
"Feels weird to be eating without doing anything all day," Holly said, lying on her bed of straw. They could smell the aroma of whatever Swirlix was cooking in the kitchen from half the building away, but none of them could leave the room without Simisage's say-so.
As if on cue, Simisage stepped into the room, reading off a list.
"Ampharos," he said.
"Right here!" Ampharos raised his paw, even though he was the tallest pokemon in the room and could clearly be seen by anymon present.
"Great," Simisage drawled. "Follow me."
~\({O})/~
“Are we rolling?” Simisage asked, leaning back in his seat. There was no answer. Simisage frowned.
“Are we rolling?” Simisage asked. There was no answer. Simisage frowned.
“Are we rolling?” Simisage asked. There was no answer. Simisage frowned.
“Are we rolling?” Simisage asked. There was no answer. Simisage frowned.
“Are we rolling?” Simisage asked. There was no answer. Simisage frowned.
“Are we rolling?” Simisage asked. There was no answer. Simisage frowned.
“Are we rolling?” Simisage asked. There was no answer. Simisage frowned.
Simisage’s frown faltered. For a second he was still, as if his entire being had just frozen. Then he looked at the pair of connection orbs that sat next to him, noticing Vaporeon’s absence.
“That no-good partner…” he muttered. “Always disappearin’ off to who-knows-where…”
Simisage returned his attention to Ampharos, pressing the record button on the connection orb.
“Interview the Sixth: Expedition Society, Chief Ampharos, continued. Hopin’ you’ll be a bit more co-operative than last time,” Simisage said. He prepped the clipboard Vaporeon had given him.
“And I sure hope you’ll be a bit more specific this time,” Ampharos said. “Why, it’s hard to answer questions when you barely give me anything to go off of!”
“Oh, I certainly will,” said Simisage with a level of relish that Ampharos considered quite inappropriate for the matter at hand. Regardless, Ampharos reclined into thin air, appearing relaxed.
“Fire away.”
“Tell me why the ambassador of the Water Continent spent three days at your establishment before leaving,” Simisage began.
Ampharos considered his next answer carefully. Now that he thought about it, he realized he still didn’t have a good idea as to why the Ambassador had shown up for the photos in the first place. But another question presented itself in its wake…
“What makes you think the Ambassador was here?” Ampharos asked.
“Others’ testimony stands against you,” Simisage snapped. “Don’t be coy.”
“As I understand it,” Ampharos said, “the Ambassador arrived claiming authority to collect the photos on Cloud Nine’s behalf. He stayed three days while they were prepared, then collected them and left that same night. I think you’ll find the others’ testimony will line up with mine.”
Ampharos purposefully left out the part about Zoroark and the photos being destroyed. Things no-mon had witnessed but him.
“And yet you attempted to keep this secret,” Simisage said.
“I didn’t feel the need to complicate things further,” Ampharos said. “Your investigation was directed towards accusations of monslaughter, as I recall.”
Simisage cleared his throat.
“Next question,” he continued, switching fronts, “Your Vice-Chief was the ‘mon who handled the making and distribution of the photos?”
“Yes, along with Engineer Jirachi, that’s correct,” said Ampharos.
“And you made no backup copies?” Simisage questioned.
“We put our trust in our superiors,” Ampharos said. “As long as the photos were safe in Primarina’s flippers we didn’t feel the need to make backup copies.”
Not a single word in that statement was true. But Ampharos trusted that no-mon had said otherwise to Simisage. Perhaps it was just the way the light shone on him, but Ampharos was almost certain there was a satisfied look on Simisage’s face, a sinister glint to his normal smugness.
“One last thing,” he said, chewing the words. “Tell me your opinion of your vice-chief. Specifically the fact that she came from the Grass Continent.”
Ampharos tilted his head, immediately suspicious. He sat forward. “bit of a weird question to ask, don’t you think?”
“Without the proper context, sure,” said Simisage. “It would be very weird. Answer it anyway.”
“I would ask in return why such a thing would be important to your investigation.”
Simisage muttered something. He sat forward, switching the connection orb off.
“It would be relevant to my investigation because I think that your vice chief is a saboteur,” he said. “Working for the Grass Continent in order to destabilize HAPPI from the inside. And what would benefit Grass more than the fall of the most powerful guild under their control?”
“Allow me to settle your concerns,” said Ampharos icily. “I can assure you nothing like that has ever happened under my or her supervision.”
“Is that so,” Simisage muttered back. He sat forward, switching the connection orb off. “What if I told you that just this morning, she proved the opposite to me?”
It was a moment before Ampharos had the clarity to answer. “I’m sure she wouldn’t do that,” he said.
Simisage played something on the connection orb.
“This interview is over,” Mawile’s voice blared through the orb.
“It’s not over until I say it is—“
“It’s over.” A snarl from her back maw, and Simisage shut off the recording. He sat back in his seat.
“What do you say to that?” he said.
“I would say that doesn’t prove anything,” Ampharos said.
“I would say it proves everything,” Simisage said. “Or it will when I bring it before the Quorum of Cloud Nine.” Ampharos looked at the orb, noticing it was turned off.
“Your Vice Chief was found to be housing copies of the photos you took at Pokemon Plaza in her office,” Simisage continued. “I trust this was not known to you at the time? If so, that would be… disappointing.”
Ampharos remained silent. If Simisage knew about the photos all along… That meant he had been waiting for Ampharos to slip up. And combined with the way Simisage was now acting, that could only mean one thing…
“Keeping copies of sensitive information would be a breach of confidentiality between you and HAPPI. If you are found guilty, then it could result in a criminal trial on Cloud Nine, and the dissolving of this organization.”
Getting up from his seat, Simisage began to pace around the lobby, slowly orbiting Ampharos.
“Of course, I don’t believe the Society at large is guilty of this. You put your trust in your superiors, correct? Well. Put your trust in me when I say your second in command is a spy.”
Abandoning all tact completely, he stopped in front of Ampharos and folded his arms behind his back. “So here’s how this is gonna go. You testify against your vice-chief, allow us to perform the arrest, and I let the rest of y’all off with a slap on the wrist. You don’t, and I end your Expedition Society. Crystal?”
“This is unbecoming conduct from a bastion of the law, wouldn’t you say?” Ampharos said. His tone had lost all its airiness for iciness—truly, this was the hardest it had ever been for him to maintain a poker face in years.
Simisage just shrugged. “Who will tell them? I have the arrest warrant ready in my folder, if you’ll just testify.”
Ampharos sat up, eyeing Simisage levelly.
“Do you consider me the type of pokemon who bends to such evil demands?” he asked gravely, dropping all pretenses.
“I consider you the type of pokemon to make the right decision,” Simisage said.
The sound of somemon padding down the hallway cut the tension in the air cleanly. Ampharos and Simisage looked over in the same direction to see Vaporeon padding in from the right-hand wing.
“I thought I would tell the both of you that the chef called dinner,” she said.
Ampharos had always been shrewd and eagle-eyed; even through her professional demeanor, he could tell she looked shaken—the look of fear in her eyes, the position of her tail between her legs, the formal tone her words took. Though she didn’t speak much, she seemed much more reasonable than Simisage. Had she overheard and… ?
“We’ll settle this later,” said Simisage, jarring Ampharos out of his thoughts and muses. “Go enjoy your meal.”
“Indeed,” Ampharos responded calmly, his best attempt to remain calm. He was anything but calm.
~\({O})/~
Dining Hall
Dining Hall
Swirlix's dinner that night was nothing fancy—Swirlix had only had half the time to cook today that she usually had, something she made very clear with much annoyance when dinner had bee served. But to the starving Expedition Society, who had been through the most stressful day they’d had in a while, it was better than nothing. Mawile walked into the dining room after everymon else, where Swirlix had just set the table full of food and rang the dinner bell. As she entered, Vaporeon fell into stride alongside her.
"I'd like to conduct an interview of my own with you after dinner," said Vaporeon to Mawile.
Mawile took a deep breath in and out before she answered. "That's fine," she breathed.
"I'll be as tactful as I can," Vaporeon assured. "I only need to confirm a few things Simisage left out."
"Agreeable."
And with that, Mawile curtly took a seat. Simisage sat near them, wedging himself between Archen and Nickit and keeping a suspiciously close eye on Ampharos.
As Ampharos bit into a piece of bread, his mind wandered. He was presented with a rather gruesome ultimatum, a choice between bad or worse. Both were out of the question, and so the question became different: was there a way out?
Ampharos began to organize his thoughts. This ‘detective’ wasn’t on the level; that much he could tell. And even worse, his mission wasn’t to find a true crime. It was to make one. To betray facts for fraud so callously… Ampharos was disgusted at the very notion. But the end result was the same: Simisage claimed he had the power to tear the Expedition Society apart, and Ampharos wasn’t willing to call a bluff.
The only thing Ampharos knew for sure was that Simisage was powerless without evidence. If he could somehow get the photos, get the interviews; delete them or otherwise do away with them… then Simisage would have no proof against them. Nothing to show for all his investigating. It was a low tactic, but Simisage had set the board at this level, and Ampharos had no choice but to play. And so, he made it a plan.
~\({O})/~
~Vaporeon~
~Vaporeon~
Night had fallen, but the doors of the Expedition Society remained the same way they had been all day: closed. And Vaporeon didn’t know what to think.
She didn’t mention to Simisage that she had heard their entire talk from the hall. She wasn’t sure what had changed, but after this… she knew something had. She couldn’t trust him anymore. She didn’t mention anything to Ampharos either. He wasn’t a part of the investigation team, and despite whatever was going on with Simisage, she knew that the Expedition Society wasn’t being completely candid. They were tiptoeing around something, covering something up with omissions and half-truths. And whatever it was, Vaporeon intended to find out.
So she approached the one member of the Expedition Society who was sure to know everything: Mawile.
The interview didn’t happen in the lobby. Vaporeon wanted somewhere more secluded, somewhere off the record. The bottom floor of the Society Building had an old bedroom near the end that Mawile said was hers. She clearly hadn’t used it in a while; it had become a makeshift storage room from the looks of all the crates neatly stacked up against the far side of the wall. Mawile sat down on the dusty cot near the window, and Vaporeon took a seat on the floor. That left them eye level with each other.
“Interview the seventh,” said Vaporeon, reciting for a recording connection orb. “Vice Chief Mawile, continued. Previous testimony from Off-continent Explorer Archen indicates that at one point, you had the photos taken at Pokemon Plaza saved onto a singular connection orb. Additionally, testimony from Chief Ampharos claims that the only physical copies of the photos remain with the Water Continent Ambassador. In your office, photos from Pokemon Plaza are pinned to your wall, and the remains of a connection orb lie on the floor. Can you explain to me why these testimonies were inconsistent?”
Mawile looked annoyed at the notion of her office having been disturbed. It took a moment before she responded. Just enough of a pause to pass it off as somemon gathering their thoughts, but Vaporeon was sharper than that. She could see the cogs turning in Mawile’s head.
“The Expedition Society suspected foul play on the part of the Water Continent Ambassador, who arrived claiming authority to pick up the photos,” Mawile answered. “We deduced that the Ambassador was not in contact with Cloud Nine for this mission, and therefore must have had other motives. To avoid entering conflict with our superiors, we sent Ambassador Primarina off with copies of the photos and waited to see what happened.”
Vaporeon listened, making
“As for the connection orb,” Mawile continued, “it was the orb that the files were originally saved on, but the files were not saved properly onto the orb itself. It was useless, so I left it on my desk. At some point it must have fallen off and broken."
"I assume you are also aware that the Ambassador has not been seen for almost a week since leaving port in Lively Town?"
"I have recently been made aware of that fact," Mawile answered.
"Very well." Vaporeon took a deep breath. The story held together, but… something was still fishy. She needed to pry deeper. Discreetly pressing a paw to the connection orb, she switched the recording off.
“One last thing,” she said. “You gave some smart answers for the recording. Now tell me the truth. All of it.”
“Are you implying I was being dishonest during the interview?” Mawile asked coolly. There was a calmness to it that managed to unnerve Vaporeon somehow.
“Yes, actually,” she pulled herself together to say. “Yes I am.”
“Explain yourself.”
The answer was curt, to the point, and said with enough authority that it held a power over Vaporeon that it shouldn’t have. But she saw through it, saw what Mawile was doing. She was trying to flip the dynamic of the interview, put Vaporeon in the interrogation seat. And Vaporeon wasn’t going to let that happen.
“I am the one asking the questions,” Vaporeon said loudly. “There is nothing I have to explain to you.”
“Then ask your questions and be done with it.”
“Not before I am finished.”
Mawile was silent, staring at her levelly. Vaporeon cleared her throat and continued. “I’ve stopped the recording, because everything after this is off the record. In twelve hours’ time, my partner will have created enough evidence to have your organization be held guilty in front of Cloud Nine for espionage and by extension, mass murder of everymon in the Rescuer’s Guild. Do I believe that’s true? No, there’s no evidence in support of that. But you and the Expedition Society are tiptoeing around something, and I need you to tell me what, so I can help you. So I will ask again: What’s the truth?”
“So you mean to solicit my help in stopping foul play, even if it breaks the rules of your investigation?” Mawile asked.
“I wouldn’t say I’m the first one to break rules here,” Vaporeon said. “But only if you can give me reason enough to trust you first.”
“I was not being dishonest in the interview,” Mawile said after a pause. Vaporeon’s heart skipped. Had she gotten through? “I did, however, omit some crucial details. The Expedition Society believes a fourth great calamity may be upon us. The fate of Pokemon Plaza and the Rescuer’s Guild would only be the beginning of what is coming, at the claws of an anomaly I have yet to find a reference of in any source or textbook. And we have reason to believe that our superiors may be against this information becoming public. The same superiors that issued a warrant not for failure to deliver confidential information on time, but for monslaughter and espionage. Somemon wants the Expedition Society out of the way, and it seems your partner is one of them. Is this summary to your satisfaction?”
As loony as it sounded… it fit. Mawile’s words made an uncanny sort of sense, one that made the gears in Vaporeon’s head turn even though she didn’t want them to. There were points—why was that warrant issued? And how, when there wasn’t even a case to preclude it? When Simisage was…
“Let’s say I believe you,” Vaporeon said, swallowing down her fears of confronting her partner, of learning if he really had been involved in this from the beginning. “What then?”
“Then…” Mawile said. “We would begin planning.”
~\({O})/~
Expedition Society Hallway
~Mawile~
Expedition Society Hallway
~Mawile~
It was late, and everymon was already in bed.
Mawile rarely ever used her allotted bedroom. It had become something of a storage room in the recent years, where she would lop things that had no use or place in her study so it didn't clutter up space elsewhere. They all lay in wooden crates, stacked neatly on top of each other with a piece of paper attached to each one, informing pokemon on where everything went. As it all should be. Mawile headed to her bed, reluctantly tucking herself into the pile of straw. Team Cobalt had fenced off the upper floor for the night, and that meant all the Expedition Society 'mon were sleeping on the lower floor. Mawile laid to her side, and attempted to drift off…
But she couldn't. She wasn't used to sleeping at this hour. Even when she didn't take her chesto berry, she always slept during the day and worked at night, when there was no-mon else to bug her. Sleeping at this hour felt wrong. So wrong, that Mawile couldn't even stay in bed any longe.r She sat up, pulling the covers off herself. She might be able to lobby permission to use her study with Vaporeon. Assuming Vaporeon was still awake.
And if she was asleep, then Mawile saw no conflict of interest.
She walked out of her room, slinking down the hallway until she reached the lobby. Crime scene tape had been slung over the entrance to the second floor, but it was nothing somemon couldn't easily pass if they wanted to.
She entered the second floor, approaching the large room where the Pokemon Nexus was hidden. Her study was just a room away…
Mawile suddenly hid as a door opened. Peeking out, she saw that it was the door to Ampharos' Office. The lights clicked off, and Simsiage stepped out, empty handed. He looked annoyed. Mawile stayed hidden, watching him as he went. He was up to something. Mawile watched him slip through the room, and disappear into her study.
That was the last line crossed. Mawile was not endorsing that a second time. She slowly crept forward, catching the door before it could close and peeking in.
Inside, Simisage rifled through the study, searching for something. Mawile kept herself hidden, watching him silently. He pulled a camera out of the sack he was holding, a small, rectangular device with a connection orb slotted through the center. Flash. Snapshots were taken of the office.
Soon Simisage found what he was looking for: the broken connection orb under the desk. He picked the shards up, stuffing them into his bag. Then he looked up. He saw the photos. Mawile just stopped herself from yelling out for him to stop.
Simisage reached up, and pressed a button. Flash. A photos was taken. He plucked the photos one-by-one off the wall. He began to stuff them in his bag as well, but then stopped at the last second. Instead, he brought the photos up to his face. Mawile had to adjust her position to see around the back of his head.
Then Simisage tore. He tore the photos in half. And then into fourths. And then eights. And then into several pieces so small Mawile couldn't even count them anymore.
Mawile was horrified. She had an inclination to yell out to him right now, but that would just get her caught. And then Simisage turned back towards the door. He didn't see anything, because Mawile had disappeared.
Mawile hid behind the second-floor trash can as Simisage exited the office. He looked around just to make sure he hadn't been seen, then continued on his way. Mawile wasn't noticed as he walked downstairs, leaving his bag in an obvious spot at the front of the stairwell. Mawile silently followed.
Simisage dropped the photos in the wastebin outside the kitchen, then left in the opposite direction. Mawile quickly hid so that she wouldn't be found. As soon as he was gone, she slunk over to the bin and pulled out what remained of the photos: they were in so many pieces that she couldn't even hope to glue them back together.
She heard the sound of somemon creeping back up the stairs. Mawile decided to cut her losses and leave. As saddening as that loss of information would be… it wasn't worth getting caught by Simisage over. It wasn’t worth ruining the contingency she and Vaporeon had so carefully constructed.
Soon after Mawile had crept back to her bedroom, Ampharos snuck into the hallway. He took a look all over the room, just to make sure he wasn't being watched. There were no pokemon that he could see.
Good.
Silently, Ampharos crept through the hall, doing the best to keep the glow of his tail dim. It glowed brightly anyway, as he couldn't stay calm long enough to dim it. Ampharos just decided to move along and pretend like the orb glowing at the end of his tail wasn't a large giveaway.
Simisage's bag was sitting at the edge of the staircase. Ampharos considered for a minute that its placement was just a little too convenient, but he didn't have much choice in the matter. If it was a trap, he'd just have to spring it. And so he reached the bag, opened, it, and began to rifle through its contents.
Up at the top of the stairwell where a pokemon on the first floor wouldn't be able to see, a connection orb started recording.
There were only a few things inside the bag, and Ampharos had no trouble finding the connection orb he was looking for amongst the ledgers of documents. He pulled it out, and then activated it with his Expedition Gadget. Ampharos went into the menu. He pulled up the list of recordings, and went all the way down until he found the one detailing his second interview with Simisage. He opened it, then swiped right.
Large red words appeared upon the connection orb's projection: "Would you like to delete this file? [Yes/No]"
Ampharos thought for a minute. If he did this and was caught… all the better to do it quickly, then. He pressed 'yes'. The file disappeared from the menu, and then Ampharos deleted all of Mawile's interviews as well. He removed the connection orb from his expedition gadget, putting the connection orb back in the bag and then zipping it back up. The mechanical camera of the connection orb caught him slinking back into the Society's residential wing.
~\({O})/~
Baram Town ~ Spinda's Café
~Vaporeon~
Baram Town ~ Spinda's Café
~Vaporeon~
It was nighttime. Vaporeon was dizzy, and she was only 25% sure the food served in Spinda's made you that dizzy. Although she couldn't be sure, because she was dizzy and she thought a few other patrons looked slightly dizzy too.
"Hope that hit to the head didn' do ya any harm," Simisage said, sipping from his drink neatly. He wore his scarf, an ornament he took pride in and made sure to carry around with him everywhere.
"It was only an emboar," Vaporeon said. "I had the type advantage; I'll be fine. Thanks for asking, though."
"Alice." Simisage said sternly. "A physical hit to the head ain't a type advantage; that's just a physical hit to the head. If it gets worse I want you to get it checked out. Deal?"
"Fine." Vaporeon wouldn't lie – she was feeling a bit out of it ever since that hit. Maybe so medical care would be a good thing.
They sat in silence, eating their food for a few minute. Then Simisage got up and stretched.
"I'll be back," he said. "I'll only be a minute. Hold my seat for me, will ya?"
Vaporeon silently curled her tail fin onto his seat in response. Simisage smiled in gratitude, then ran off.
It was quite a few minutes before Simisage came back, and in that time Vaporeon had been cussed out by more than one pokemon who had their eyes set on Simisage's seat (Spinda's was a popular place). He looked a bit more distant than he normally did, looking at Vaporeon dully. "What happened ta you?"
Even through her dizziness, Vaporeon noticed a change like that.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine. I'm askin' about you. Just answer the question"
Maybe he'd slipped in a puddle or something and had a mood. It was a terrible excuse in hindsight, but Vaporeon just wanted to rationalize any problems away and make her evening go right. She'd deal with the consequences tomorrow—
But she hadn't dealt with them tomorrow. Not even when he'd paid the check in that weirdly loopy handwriting he never used before. She hadn't dealt with the consequences in over a week, and Simisage had never been the same. He never wore his police badge around, never talked to her the same way he did before, and his handwriting…
…His handwriting. His handwriting.
Vaporeon awoke, sitting up in the straw bed in shock and breathing intensely. She knew. She knew. She knew she knew she knew she knew she knew.
But that couldn't be right. Because if it was that meant
That meant
That
It
No
She couldn't
She can't
He
He
But
But
It was.
Vaporeon retched in horror. And then she puked. And then she cried.
~\({O})/~
“Then let me change the question,” Vaporeon said. “What’s going on? What are you hiding that you won’t tell me?”
“You aren’t recording this,” Mawile said coolly,
“You’re right,” Vaporeon said. “I’m not. Anything you say in this room, I can’t prove it. I hoped respecting your privacy would open you up more.”
“This investigation has been a fundamental breach of privacy,” said Mawile.
“Let me make this easy for you,” said Vaporeon. “Come tomorrow morning, Simisage will have created all the evidence he needs to incriminate the entire Expedition Society. I don’t know why. Maybe you do. But what I do know is that I can’t help you unless you help me understand why you have these photos.”
“You believe your own partner is conspiring to falsify evidence?” Mawile asked.
“Yes,” Vaporeon said. “More than believe. I heard him threaten it.
~\({O})/~
Lobby
Lobby
It was eight-forty-five. The lobby was once again filled with all the pokemon in the Expedition Society, who all stood lined up in a neat row like they usually did for morning briefings. Vaporeon and Simisage stood at the front of the stairs. Simisage held a connection orb discreetly in his paw.
"I'm sure you're wondering why I've called you all here, with only fifteen minutes until the lockdown lifts, Vaporeon said, discreetly wiping away a tear on her cheek with her tail. "It isn't in vain: I've solved the case. And rest assured…" her eyes flicked over the room. "One of you in here is guilty."
"There really is a guilty party?" Bunnelby asked, eyeing everymon else in the room nervously.
"They know who they are," Vaporeon said. "Now allow me to explain to the rest of you. The guilty party, the one pokemon in this room who has unquestionably committed a crime, is my own partner."
At her side, Simisage looked at her in shock.
"You…" he stammered in disbelief. "You're accusing me? Wha? Explain. Now."
"Gladly," said Vaporeon, her tone hardening. She looked back towards the rest of the Expedition Society. "I first noticed something was off about Simisage when he began to routinely not wear his scarf. True to my deductions, he has not worn one for the last week and a half, and he isn't wearing one now."
Simisage looked down at his scarfless chest.
"That's no pretense to accuse someone of crimes over," he said angrily. "I just forgot it!"
"You didn't bring it," said Vaporeon. She turned to Mawile. "Mawile, if you please, Simisage's luggage?"
"Over here." Mawile strode over and grabbed Simisage's bag out from the storage room outside the hallway. She opened it, revealing its completely empty insides – save for a thick leather envelope.
"Open the envelope, please."
Mawile opened the envelope and pulled out the papers contained within. They were blank. Vaporeon turned back towards Simisage.
"You faked a warrant. This case never had any pretense or authorization from HAPPI. You broke the law in order to incriminate the Expedition Society. The only question left to answer is why."
"I- I…" Simisage stammered.
“Luckily,” Vaporeon said, addressing the entire room. “I have that answer. I held a seventh interview before nightfall, between myself and Vice Chief Mawile. There, I found the last pieces of the puzzle.
"Picture this," she continued, addressing the entire room. "There are monsters in this world. Monsters that stay hidden until they see fit to strike from the shadows. And on the Air Continent, that is exactly what happens. Two monsters are responsible for the destruction of Pokemon Plaza. Two monsters with two missions. One heads to Pokemon Plaza to kill everymon there. The other—" she took a moment for a deep breath "—the other kills and replaces my partner, Simisage, in Baram Town."
~\({O})/~
Baram Town ~ Outside Spinda's
Baram Town ~ Outside Spinda's
Simisage walked around the back of the restaurant, looking for a restroom that wasn't bird-suited. Damn birds, only thinking of themselves and no-mon else…
The creature slunk into the alleyway behind him. Simisage spun around at the sound, looking at the creature. It stood out against the alleyway's darkness; so dark that he wouldn't be able to see any of it if not for the fact that it was darker than everything else.
"Who's that'?" he asked. The creature didn't answer. Simisage took a step forward.
"You ain't scarin' me," he said. "I just dealt with an emboar today and won; wanna bet on if I can take you—"
The creature lunged. Simisage never even got the chance to scream.
~\({O})/~
Lobby
Lobby
"You can't prove that!" Simisage cried out angrily. "You're crazy, that's what you are!"
"Maybe I am, Vaporeon said. "But, to quote something you once told me: if I may be allowed to insinuate further, I think I'll begin to sound a lot more sane.
"See, the monsters are crafty," Vaporeon continued. "If they reveal their presence to the world, they know that they will be wiped out. They need to disappear. They need somemon else to be seen doing something that will remove suspicion off them entirely; dismiss the barest notion that they even exist! And so a plan begins to form in their heads. When the Expedition Society is drafted to investigate Pokemon Plaza, they make their move. One monster sneaks back to Pokemon Plaza the night after you arrive, murdering and posing as Simisage. It then attacks their lapras escort, pins a note to it, and sends it floating into the harbor on a raft—pretenses for a future plot. Now cue the Ambassador. The Ambassador's role is simple—he needs to stop all of you from delivering the photos to HAPPI, because if HAPPI catches wind of what has happened in Pokemon Plaza that soon, the monster's plan is down the drain. I can only assume the Ambassador has been replaced or otherwise manipulated as well, explaining his disappearance. The Ambassador sabotages your mission efforts. His plan initially fails, but there is a failsafe, and that’s where Simisage comes in. With all evidence of Pokemon Plaza's massacre erased forever and the Expedition Society behind bars, the monsters are free to plot their next move.”
Vaporeon turned to Simisage. "And that's why you came here, isn't it?" she accused. “With a fake warrant and a pocket of lies. The Expedition Society is your scapegoat, a debacle to keep the authorities in the dark while you go about your plans, isn't it?"
"Perhaps you're forgettin' somethin'," Simisage said. "I'm not a monster! I'm not! I'm not I'm not i'M nOt!"
"Prove it to me," said Vaporeon. "What were we doing in Baram Town?"
There was a delayed pause before Simisage answered. "Vacationin'," he finally said.
"Wrong." Vaporeon said. "We were solving a theft, and celebrating the successful completion of that mission. Try again. What's my name?"
"…Vaporeon?" Simisage guessed.
"Wrong. It's Elizabeth. Try again."
"…Elizabeth?" Simisage guessed one last time.
"Wrong again," Vaporeon said sternly. "My name is Alice, and you are not my partner."
Simisage was silent for a minute. Ampharos tensed up in case a fight was about to break out, and the rest of the Expedition Society quickly followed his example.
Simisage breathed hard. Then he suddenly bolted for the door. He threw it open with a thrust, running for the outdoors as fast as he could.
"Don't let him get away!" Alice yelled, and everymon began to run after it. Simisage ran out the front door with the connection orb in his hand, then ran through the square. It stopped at the sewer monhole. As Alice and Expedition Society dashed out the front door after it, Simisage turned around to look back at them. It grinned, and then slowly began to dissolve and sink in…
A sudden water gun from Buizel jolted the monster away from the monhole, and then Bunnelby charged forward while Simisage was still recovering. On the other side, Jirachi flew around and cut the Simisage off. It looked both ways at all the pokemon surrounding it, then lunged past Jirachi for the entrance to Lively Town. Jirachi was sent flying to the side, but Ampharos quickly let off a dragon rage that hit the creature directly. Simisage hit the ground hard. The connection orb hit the ground and rolled to a stop near the sidewalk. It was cracked but still intact.
Now crippled, Simisage began to crawl for the connection orb. Racing forward, Bunnelby saw that his legs were regenerating.
"Everymon get over here!" he yelled. "It's growing back!"
Simisage hissed at Bunnelby – unnaturally, gutturally – and then fired a large shadowy ball at Bunnelby. Bunnelby ducked and barely leaped out of the way. He saw it catch the end of a chimney, leaving it stone grey.
The rest of the Expedition Society ran up, joining Bunnelby as they watched whatever had pretended to be Simisage crawl over to the orb. Its legs had nearly grown back, but instead of Simisage’s legs they were jet black, twisted in unnatural ways and with the consistency of goo. Everymon watched as he suddenly spasmed, his form exploding and then reforming for split seconds into other pokemon: An elgyem, an impidimp, a togedemaru, all wearing purple HAPPI scarves.
Ampharos didn’t waste time. He quickly charged another dragon rage up, but ‘Simisage’ clutched its hand around the orb first. It looked back at him, grinning evilly with a mouth full of more jet-black teeth than any simisage should have.
"Just… have… to send… this… video…" it hissed, performing the motions as it spoke. Ampharos blasted Simisage with the dragon rage, and then the rest of the Expedition Society followed suit with their own attacks.
It was too much for the monster to bear: it began to disintegrate, evaporating up into the air and convulsing like it was in agony as it did. And then slowly, it was gone.
~\({O})/~
Lively Town Docks
Lively Town Docks
"So what are you going to tell HAPPI?"
The ferry Vaporeon and 'Simisage' had used to travel to Lively Town floated in the docks. The ferrymon would be waiting for them, but not for much longer. Dedenne had followed to see Vaporeon off, even helping carry Vaporeon's bag for her (which was no easy feat when the bag was bigger than you were).
"I don't know," Vaporeon said, lowering her head. "I guess I'll tell them nothing of consequence was discovered. And…" she went silent for a minute. "I'll have to find a new partner. I'll be keeping an eye out. If I find something, I'll go to you first."
She took her bag off of Dedenne and tossed it over her shoulder. Dedenne waved at her as she climbed onto the ferry. Vaporeon waved back the best she could.
Slowly, the ferry sailed away towards the setting sun. And soon, it was gone.
~\({O})/~
Baram Town
~Zoroark~
Baram Town
~Zoroark~
Zoroark-as-Braixen sat in the seat closest to the door of the mayor’s office. The large vane of the windmill slowly descended over the windows, casting the entire room briefly into darkness for the umpteenth time. He had been waiting out there for hours, thinking about what Honchkrow and Primarina were talking about. In fact, if he leaned close enough to the door…
Zoroark-as-Braixen leaned over in his seat, trying to get a good idea of what was being said.
“Do I have your word that no-mon hears anything about these photos?” Primarina asked.
“Your secret is safe with me.”
“Good. And remember, there’s a good mention for you for the Rescue Guildmaster position if you keep that secret. If not…” Primarina lowered his voice, and Zoroark-as-Braixen had to strain his ears to hear the last part: “I know yours.”
There was something that sounded like Honchkrow reluctantly trilling in confirmation, and then the door opened and Primarina slithered out.
“Come on,” he said to Zoroark. "Let’s go."
The walk through Baram Town was quiet and somber. The sun had nearly set over the horizon, and the sky was a quickly darkening blue. It set over trash-ridden streets, buildings covered in paintings that stretched all the way up to the second floor, houses with their windows smashed in, and pokemon hanging in quiet, huddled gangs on the streets. Some of them wore the customary scarves of the Rescuer’s Guild, others didn’t. They all regarded Primarina and Braixen quietly as the two of them walked towards the harbor, their faces painting shades of orange from the small fires they were huddling around.
Zoroark-as-Braixen just turned his head away, kept it down, kept walking. The harbor wasn’t too far from here.
~\({O})/~
The Exeggutor ~ Nighttime
The Exeggutor ~ Nighttime
Primarina did not seem in the best of straights. He hadn’t been for almost a week. He was slouched over, tired, and responded to few of Zoroark’s prompts. Once or twice, Zoroark throught he had seen what looked like a black spark or two zipping out of the corner of his eye. He was beginning to get worried. And now Primarina had been piloting the Exeggutor to an unknown location out at sea after leaving Baram Town. There was a storm brewing in the distance, and that only amplified Zoroark’s worry.
Soon, the boat stopped all together. Zoroark had been playing a game of checkers lazily with himself on the front deck when the boat bumped to a stop and knocked over his board all together. He looked around, his eyes settling on the ship’s cabin. He cast another look towards the storm in the distance, which was only growing closer. The rumble of thunder a few seconds later punctuated its near arrival. What was Primarina doing?
And with that thought motivating him, Zoroark got up and headed over to the captain’s cabin.
Zoroark burst into, looking around. The steering wheel was near the front, and Primarina was slouched over it, asleep. He must have collapsed! Zoroark quickly attempted to wake him.
“Hey,” he hissed. “Primarina. You awake?” Primarina didn’t stir. “Are you okay??” Zoroark shook him. Primarina was completely unresponsive. Slowly, he slid off and onto the floor, spinning the wheel as he fell. The ship suddenly made a violent bank to the right, and Zoroark was barely able to grab onto something as the cabin tilted. He grabbed onto the steering wheel, stopping it from spinning uncontrolled. Slowly, the ship began to stabilize itself.
Zoroark took a second to catch his breath, then paced around the cabin for a few seconds. What had happened? Was Primarina dead? This was bad. And trapped out here all alone too?
Okay. He had to calm down. He could get out of this. He just had to figure out the first step – getting to land. He just had to steer the ship back there! That could work.
…If only he knew how to work a ship as big as this.
And he didn’t.
Zoroark tried pulling on the steering wheel, but either because the ship’s violent bank had broken something or other powers were stopping the boat, it wouldn’t budge. Eventually, Zoroark gave up. What was another good way to reach land?
The transmission machine. That was a good fallback. But there would be a six-hour delay between transmissions, and Zoroark wasn’t sure they would make it. He looked at the storm outside through the window. It was getting uncomfortably close.
And then he noticed from outside the window that the water was glowing.
Zoroark exited the captain’s cabin and marched up to the starboard railing, looking over the side at the glowing water. There was something under there. Something large.
Something moving…
And then it attacked.
The captain’s cabin – easily half the ship – was suddenly gone. The large crimson head of a massive gyarados crashed back into the ocean. The ship splintered. Zoroark fell. The game of checkers fell off the deck and was lost to sea forever.
Zoroark acted quickly. He looked at all the debris floating away – there was a good large plank, easily a makeshift raft. Large enough to hold him. Zoroark didn’t see his fake wand anywhere – it must have been caught up in the wreckage. Oh well. He didn’t need it anyway. He jumped onto the plank, and none too soon: the water began to glow again, and just a second later the other half of the ship was snatched up in the gyarados’ mouth.
Zoroark watched as the gyarados’ massive head slowly retreated back into the ocean. Then there was nothing but the wrecked remains of the Exeggutor in a state, which he stared at in a state of distant shock. Shivering, Zoroark crawled onto the plank completely. The water had lost its glow; it seemed like the red gyarados wasn’t concerned with small prey like him.
And then all was silent, and Zoroark only had the storm he was floating away from for company.
~\({O})/~
Music of the week!
Blanc's Tale, Part II - Nathan Johnson
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