Hey everyone! I'm Haruka of Hoenn, I just made a new account for personal reasons. I'll be continuing my fanfiction on this account. So don't think I'm plagiarizing...
Well, here it is! Chapter 16!
CHAPTER 16
“So we'll explain the plan to you one more time,” said Lucian, folding his arms over the wooden conference table. It was Dr. Berry's first scheduled meeting for the day, which would be followed with a conference with his military staff. The sun shone brightly through the blinds, and he could hear birdsong from a tree nearby. The first twenty minutes of the meeting had seemed a blur to him, and he could almost feel a migraine coming on. It was filled with the same old stuff – military protection, taxes, and pokemon migration patterns. Dr. Berry usually remained aloof in these parts of the meetings. Not only were they tedious and boring, but they were also irrelevant to the current, most important government problem – Darkrai. As he listened to Lucian talk, Dr. Berry felt a strange sense of fatigue. Lucian's voice left a strange echo in his head, almost as if he was hearing the muffled voices of a TV show from another room.
What I wouldn't give to be out in the sun... Dr. Berry thought to himself, rubbing his eyes. He took a sip of coffee to wake himself up. Dr. Berry tuned back into the conversation just in time to catch Lucian's last few words.
“... Then, you must lure Darkrai away from its current hiding spot, which will be indicated on the tracker.” He inclined his head towards a man beside Dr. Berry who was struggling with a small box-like object. Its antennae was bent and disfigured, and its small screen remained blank no matter what the man did.
”Get that thing working already!” Dr. Berry said through gritted teeth.
“Sorry,” he grunted. “I was having a little trouble turning it on...”
Dr. Berry sighed. “Please continue, Lucian. I'm sure Mr. Arnold will figure it out... eventually.”
Almost instantly after Dr. Berry finished speaking, the object Mr. Arnold was holding gave a loud beep. The screen suddenly flickered to life, displaying a bright dot in the center.
“Got it!” he stated proudly. “Eh... according to the tracker, Darkrai is currently a few miles north of Pastoria.”
“Good,” said Lucian, turning back to Dr. Berry. “You must lure Darkrai from Pastoria to Snowpoint using a series of distractions.”
“And what are these 'distractions' you are talking about? Forgive me, but you make luring that monster sound as easy as amusing a four-year-old with a piece of cake.”
“Well, first you must find out what is it that Darkrai wants.”
The question startled Dr. Berry, and nearly made him choke on his coffee. “I'm not sure what you mean, Lucian.”
Lucian sighed and rubbed his temples with bony fingers. “Let me rephrase that. Why do you think Darkrai is attacking people?”
“Because it's a monster! Isn't that obvious?” Dr. Berry stated, gulping down more coffee.
“Darkrai did not lay a finger on a human before Route 203. Now, all of a sudden, it's going on a rampage. Why do you think that is?”
“I don't know.” It seemed like such a silly thing for a president to say, and Dr. Berry immediately regretted it, wishing that he had gone for something more intelligent. He once again brought his mug to his mouth.
“Darkrai wants something from us, and it won't stop attacking people until it gets it.”
“So what does it want?” Dr. Golgorov pounded his fist on the table. “Stop this small talk! We need to get down to business!” A few people nodded in approval.
“The Lunar Wing of course!” Lucian replied, looking around the room in amazement.
“Is that a guess or do you have facts to prove that statement?” Dr. Berry cocked an eyebrow.
“Darkrai is a villain. Villains want total power. They don't want anything to extinguish them, or else they are hopeless. And the only thing in existence that can extinguish Darkrai is the Lunar Wing, which summons the pokemon Cresselia.”
Dr. Berry's smile faltered as he remembered his phone conversation with the mysterious Bret.
“If Cresselia is summoned, very bad things will happen...” Would it be wise for him to trust this man?
“And,” Lucian continued, “When Cresselia is summoned, she will combat Darkrai and put it in its place. But, before we can do that, we must find the Lunar Wing. Now, I know that this may seem like a ridiculous question, but do any of you happen to know who might have it?”
Dr. Berry spoke up. “I had an anonymous phone call from someone claiming to be one of the survivors of Route 203. They told me some very interesting things...” From the briefcase lying at his feet, Dr. Berry withdrew several stapled sheets of paper. He handed it to Lucian, who adjusted his glasses. “The entire conversation printed.”
“Very interesting... This man, Bret you say, is a very valuable source. He might have just told us all that we need at the moment...” he murmured as his eyes scanned the document. “Hang on, did he say that he was
one of the survivors of Route 203?”
“Yes.”
“Meaning, that there might be more? Him and another mystery man who is in possession of the Lunar Wing... he says that he knows who it is.”
“We have to find this 'man' then,” Dr. Berry concluded. “Now, we've managed to detect radiation coming off of a landmass near Darkrai's island... Bret says that this radiation is coming from Cresselia. If the Lunar Wing gave off the same kind of radiation, and if we could somehow track that type as well...”
“... Then we have a big advantage,” Lucian finished. “We can find the Lunar Wing, summon Cresselia, and from there we can lure Darkrai to Snowpoint where Cresselia, the other Elite Four, and I will be stationed, and the final showdown begins.”
Excitement flooded Dr. Berry at these last words. “But is it possible to reprogram the tracker to focus on only the Lunar Wing?”
“Of course it is. It will be a bit tricky, though. It will take me at least two days to get it working again. Mr. Arnold, if you would.” Lucian held out a hand, in which Arnold placed the tracker. As Lucian examined it, Dr. Berry heard the clink of a cup against the table.
“But what exactly are we supposed to do to lure Darkrai then?” asked someone a few seats away from Dr. Berry.
“That will be up to you,” Lucian answered, not taking his eyes off of the tracker. “What do you think would be big enough to get that monster's attention?” The table sat in silence for a few moments before Dr. Berry spoke.
“I'm sure most of you are aware of our mountain range, Coronet. It divides Sinnoh into two distinct halves.”
“Yeah,” someone shouted from the far end of the table. “Did you hear what that guy on the Bill Ray show said this morning? They think Mount Coronet is a chain of volcanoes!”
“Actually, they're right. A chain of volcanoes that have been dormant for a few hundred years now.”
“Where are you getting at?” Lucian asked, his eyes glinting behind his spectacles. The others seemed equally curious of his idea. People were leaning forward in their chairs, eager to listen.
“A wall... of fire.” Dr. Berry said. “Don't you see? If we could somehow induce an eruption, the volcanoes would eject magma thousands of feet into the air. With the help of all the pokemon inside of it, we will create an impenetrable wall. No man or pokemon would ever dare to cross that. If we are fortunate, Darkrai will be forced into staying in once specific location in Sinnoh. Then, Cresselia will force Darkrai into Snowpoint, where the Elite Four will be stationed to obliterate it.”
“You can't possibly be serious... Do you know what we would have to do? Brainwash all the innocent creatures living in Mt. Coronet into doing our bidding... And do you have any idea what effect this would have on the People of Sinnoh? Celestic Town will be destroyed!”
“A necessary sacrifice.” Dr. Berry said simply. Lucian rose from his seat. He had gone completely pale, and his gaze was fixed directly on Dr. Berry.
“You cannot do this. It's madness! The Elite Four will certainly not be a part of this torture.” Just as he turned for the door, Dr. Berry spoke.
“Lucian, you and your Elite Four are obliged to carry out my orders. I was the one who originally appointed you for the job, and you must do my bidding now. As president of Sinnoh, I order you to go to Mt. Coronet, awaken all the fire type pokemon hiding there, and make the mountains erupt. If you do not, then you lose your position in the Elite Four.”
“No government position is worth that,” Lucian said. His voice was filled with a contempt that Dr. Berry had never seen from him before. With that, Lucian slammed the door, leaving behind an awful silence that hung in the air as the occupants of the room waited for Dr. Berry's next move. But he, on the inside of course, was just as shocked as they were. It was always the calm, wise Lucian. He had seemed above getting angry, in a way. It was Mr. Arnold who spoke first.
“What now, President?”
Dr. Berry looked around the room. The eyes of his colleagues stared back at him with fear and uneasiness.
He took a sip of his coffee before answering, “We go to war.”
...
About one thousand miles south, in the Green Train Station, stood Sadie, Lisa and Dalton. They waited for their train outside, deciding that they would rather face the oncoming afternoon heat rather than handle the pushing and shoving of the building. “At least it's quiet out here,” Dalton had said. So it was there they waited, with a shabby, tilted roof over their heads and only a pole to lean on. Sadie stared ahead at the empty tracks, wondering where in the world their train was. She could tell that the heat was getting to her companions as well, from the way Lisa picked at the frilly edges of her dress and from the way Dalton heaved a sigh every minute or so.
My legs aren't too good in these pantyhose either... Sadie thought to herself, feeling a drop of sweat trickle down her back.
I have to hand it to Lisa... she makes it look easy...
“Hey guys, would you like to donate to help out our army?” said a small boy in blue overalls. He sprinted over to where Sadie, Dalton, and Lisa were standing and held up a dusty jar.
“What army are you talking about, exactly?” asked Lisa before anyone else could respond.
“My friends and I are starting an army to help conquer the evil mastermind! We need money to buy guns and cannons.”
Lisa cocked an eyebrow. “Sorry, I don't give money.”
“What about you?” He turned to Sadie and Dalton, and held up the jar. It contained a few dollar bills, but was mostly empty. From the corner of her eye, Sadie saw Lisa shake her head in the slightest way. Sadie's mind suddenly flickered back to a few nights ago when their hotel cable went out. Lisa had spent the night telling them about scammers, and was most likely hoping that they would apply the lesson.
Dalton stifled a laugh. “The evil mastermind, eh? Well, I would love to donate, but I don't have any money right now,” he said, casually turning to the side so the boy wouldn't see his rifle.
“I heard that bullets don't have any affect on Darkrai,” Sadie said politely. The boy just stared at her, momentarily puzzled.
“What's a Darkrai?”
“Isn't that the evil mastermind you're trying to find?” Sadie asked.
“No, I was talking about President Berry. Well, thanks anyway!” And the boy ran off, leaving the three of them gaping.
“He wants to conquer... the President?!” Sadie wondered if she had heard the boy correctly. He was running to another man now – closer to the train station's entrance. She watched in shock as he dropped a twenty into the jar.
“He must be one bad dude!” Lisa exclaimed. “I have never seen citizens of any region show this much hate for their leader!”
“Well... I really have nothing to say at this point,” Dalton sighed. “When did you say the train was coming?”
“Right now!” Sadie said, pointing to a silver, bullet-shaped train emerging from a tunnel below the ground. It came to a smooth stop right in front of the station, opening its doors.
“All aboard! Train 306 to Eterna City!”
“Well it's about time!” Lisa said, relieved. She grabbed her bags and hobbled over to the train. Sadie and Dalton followed. She felt the rush of air on her sweaty skin, and instantly felt better. They chose the seats nearest to the exit, since time was of the essence.
“Okay, let's start setting the course,” Lisa said, pulling out a map of Eterna City, which they had obtained it at Floaroma's PokeMart. “If Rena is in Eterna City, she would probably be staying at the Eterna Hotel. So we'll have to go to the management to see if there's anyone named Rena Bedford staying at the hotel.”
“Rena didn't take her bike with her...” Sadie recalled. “So we have to check at Rad Rickshaw's to see if there's anyone with puffy red hair who recently rented a bike.”
“But what if she's not in Eterna anymore? I don't think she would stay in one spot for too long... would she?” Dalton asked. “She could be anywhere in the city. We'll have to go down Cycling Road and that would land us, me mostly, right back in Oreburgh!”
“But the south entrance is closed. No one is allowed to enter Oreburgh City. So our friend Rena is stuck in Eterna! But wait... she could have gone through the Eterna Forest...”
At this, Dalton lifted his head and stared at Lisa in amazement. “
The Eterna Forest? No way.”
Lisa's eyes narrowed. “Why not? It's not that big. Barely two miles long.”
“There is no way we are looking for her in the Eterna Forest.”
“I'm asking you why!”
“There are ghosts in there!” The statement seemed so silly for an experienced soldier like Dalton that Sadie almost let out a laugh. But what stopped her cold was the truth of his words.
“He's not lying, Lisa! I've heard many stories about it. My neighbor's wife knew someone who went in there. Never came out.” Sadie hummed a spooky tune to heighten the moment. Lisa didn't seem convinced.
“Aw, come on Sadie. You can't be
that much of a hypochondriac!” Lisa teased.
“Did you ever hear about Operation 46?” Dalton countered. “Everyone in the S.A.F. knows about that. A few years ago, a group of soldiers and their squad commander went into the Eterna Forest in the middle of the night to look for a criminal refugee escaping arrest. They went into the Old Chateau because they were hearing strange noises coming from it, and they assumed that it was the criminal. They kicked down the door and split up into separate rooms. None of them were heard from ever again. The criminal mysteriously vanished as well. Maybe they caught him, maybe they didn't. But the morning after their mission, the door was back on its hinges and without a scratch. The military base lost all contact with that team and its leader. Explain
that!”
Lisa sat in silence for a moment, then groaned. “Look, you'll never get me to believe in your little ghost stories. It defies logic! They can't exist!”
“Okay... but you've been warned!” Sadie said, then hummed the same spooky tune.
“It's the non-believers that go first...” Dalton said menacingly.
Lisa giggled. “Very funny, guys. But if you really want to find Rena, I'm afraid that we'll have to look everywhere. And you know me, Sadie. If I'm willing to search for hours outside in a dark forest, that's saying something!”
Sadie sighed, and considered her statement. “Well... aw, what the heck. But we'll go there last, okay? I don't want this to be Operation 47 or anything...”
“It's the people who are afraid that go first,” Lisa said. “Because they create traps for themselves and then fall into them. I'm sure that whatever happened in Operation 46 has a reasonable, scientific explanation.”
“Well, science can't always explain everything...” Dalton said. His eyes flickered over to one of the windows, even though there was nothing really to see.
...
The speeding train advanced towards Eterna. A few miles west of the city, deep inside the Eterna Forest, the door to the Old Chateau gave the slightest jerk...
