Pokémon Obsidian | An Orre Fanfiction

Chapter 20: Betrayed

Aiko and Yan returned from Quartz Town with hundreds of photos of snow and a bag of stones and metal samples from the mining shops. They took a detour to Agate Village along the way. Aiko's friends found him surprisingly easy to talk to. He was polite and if he thought himself superior in any way, he didn't show it like Maxie once did. He seemed genuinely excited when they showed interest in his photos.

At first, he admittedly felt self-conscious amidst strangers speaking a language he wasn't used to, but now he appreciated the opportunity to practice. He was actually passionate about the six different languages he spoke and considered becoming a translator when he found himself at odds after Maxie's death. It was the first time in years that he and Laila got the chance to seriously practice the language of her ancestors.

No-one was suspicious of Yan anymore. He and his Grunts were included in all of their conversations. They didn't, however, include Zileh. It wasn't that they didn't trust her or thought her incapable. They just didn't want Cipher to somehow know they were coming. A group of random Trainers backed up by Team Magma seemed far less predictable than the International Police. Aiko told Kazuki to take charge of the lab while she and Yan attended a convention on November 16th. He didn't question it.

Before then, Team Magma had to locate Cipher's various underground facilities. There was a chance Reira was in cells attached to the Carkol Mine, but for all they knew, she was in the city or somewhere else. As Aiko conducted a geophysical survey to locate potential underground settlements, Wisteria stepped out of the lab to text her.

He fancies you!!!! Yan actually fancies you!!!!!!! And I thought he didn't even know you existed!

With the results of the survey, Aiko printed a map of Orre. They annotated it with the planned positions of three teams. Six Grunts would cause a diversion at the resort.

Scandal were scheduled to play at the Bountiful Bar in Phenac City only hours before they planned to attack Cipher. They chose to play the show regardless. Cipher could assume they were busy. Aiko was pleased to see Lyndon and Courtney in the crowd, along with Alfie and Abbey and Chalcedony and Wyatt. Kazuki and Clover joined them. Maybe Lyndon was feeling better. Seth, who photographed their gigs, squeezed to the front with his camera.

Yan was there, too, talking to Courtney. Aiko thought it was part of their diversion, because Yan rarely listened to music, but her friends were convinced he wanted to attend.

Aiko wasn't so pleased to see Lyndon when he dragged Yan into the mosh pit. Poor Yan looked terrified. Aiko didn't know what to do. If she checked on him, she risked him feeling exposed and humiliated. If she didn't... Lyndon and Chalcedony stopped him falling over or being crushed, but he pushed past them. In a flash of red, his coat was gone. He charged back into the pit. Alfie glanced at Abbey in disbelief. He was the only person to ever pick up a Team Magma Leader's discarded coat. He hung it up behind the bar.

Seth turned to see what Aiko was gawking at. He thought it was just the crowd, because it was rarely that lively. He climbed onto someone's shoulders to snap photos. Holly knew exactly what the attraction was. Even Chess did. They watched with incredulous smiles.

The entire crowd exploded when Alfie joined the band for the last song. Kazuki ended up inadvertently crowdsurfing backwards, but Yan never tried to escape the frenzied pit.

Ilirian manned the merch stand after the show. He almost wanted to secretly film Yan buying a shirt and CD. There was no need. Aiko was watching. She thought she couldn't believe her eyes then, but when he lit a cigarette outside, everyone wondered if they missed him being subjected to a lobotomy.

'Who smokes?' Ilirian hissed, 'Someone go drop some hints to him! Get him to admit he likes Aiko!'

Alfie asked a stranger for a cigarette. He only needed a vaguely valid excuse to restart the habit he picked up when he found out he was Jude Mesquite's son.