Pokémon Obsidian | An Orre Fanfiction

Chapter 38: Old Friends

A sleek silver car stopped outside Phenac City International Airport. Whitby stepped out. His Wild Area keyring clinked against a grimy piece of obsidian. He hesitated before returning them to his pocket. He was so used to seeing that piece of volcanic glass that it might as well have been invisible, but on his way to meet people he actually cared about, he noticed.

It was from his dad, Jet, a renowned geology professor. Whitby only tolerated him for his grandparents' sake, because it upset them to think Jet didn't care. At least he wasn't hard to avoid. He never made any effort. That was reserved for the three legitimate kids he had with his wife, Natalya.

The flight Whitby awaited had just touched down. He ordered a regular coffee with no sugar. The man at the table beside him asked if he was a Pokémon Contest star.

'Oh, no. Not me.'

'A famous singer, maybe?'

Whitby didn't like telling people he was a model. They thought he was bragging.

'I did do the Gym Challenge, like, years ago.'

'I know your face from somewhere... a-ha! You're a porn star! I've seen you in those men's style magazines!'

'Yeah, style magazines! Not porn. I'm a catwalk model.'

That wasn't his fault. The guy asked for it.

'Oh. Sorry. I thought you had to be a porn star to do that stuff.'

It was annoying, but he wasn't the first. He wouldn't be the last. Suitcase wheels rumbled as a flight from Sunset City emptied into the arrivals hall. Pulling a Litwick suitcase was an imposing woman with a pile of black hair, decorated with shiny crescent moon clips. Whitby stood to hug his mom, Ruby Jane, with a smile. He breathed in the comforting smell of her jasmine perfume.

'Hey, Mom.'

'Missed you.'

'You haven't missed much other than me... it's all Cipher, Cipher, Cipher.'

'I'm really sorry about Dixie, Whitby. And your teeth.'

'The worst part is that people think I'm GoD. As if I'd wear that thing...'

'Well, this'll cheer you up.'

Ruby Jane stood aside. Heads were already turning. Galar's Professor Sonia Magnolia never married, but people speculated that she and Randal, Ruby Jane's dad, remained more than friends.

Even at 78, Sonia was still stylish. She smelled of candy when she hugged Whitby. Randal trailed after her with their luggage. At least they cared about their grandson, Whitby thought, more than Jet could care for all his kids combined. He drove them to Ruby Jane's house in The Under, where Chalcedony and Abbey waited for their old friends, Ruby Jane and Sonia.

'Bloody hate this place,' Randal grumbled as he pulled Sonia's overweight, sticker-covered suitcase from the trunk, 'What've you got in here, Sonia?! A Mudsdale?'

'Oh, stop whinging.'

Both Whitby and Randal released their Rillaboom to carry the bags inside. Under bags of squashed clothes and make-up from sales in Sunset City, where Sonia met up with Ruby Jane, her suitcase was full of Galarian food.

'What? Orrean sausages are disgusting!'

There was a moment of silence. 'I didn't mean – that!'

Everyone burst out laughing regardless. As Abbey and Sonia chatted over the cooking pot, it was almost impossible to believe Cipher could strike at any moment.

'I invited your dad,' Abbey called back to Whitby, 'But he wasn't having any of it. I thought he was still scared of me, but apparently not.'

'No-one wants him here, Abbey. But thanks. I appreciate it.'

'I also invited Leon and Alfie, but Leon had a headache and Alfie was like, "I'm a pensioner. Go away."'

'Charming.'

Sonia smirked. 'A headache, eh? Gone off fisting in his old age?'

'He actually lost to a Drifloon in a Battle SIM and now he's not talking to anyone in fear of being reminded.'

'That's so Leon I can't even call it an excuse.'

'Out of curiosity,' Whitby said, 'What was Dad's excuse this time?'

'Something about Natalya being ill, which was awkward when I bumped into her in the library. She's so nice, though.'

'She genuinely loves your books, Abbey.'

'Then again, so does Jet. And he's always nice to my face. You'd never know his wife's probably faking illness to avoid her Golbat-sized sex robot.'

Sonia shook her head. 'I feel for her. She'll get it in the neck if it turns out Jet knew the Moores were Cipher.'

Both Jet and his wife taught Natural Sciences at GOSS, the Grand Orrean School of Science, but he also owned and operated several of Orre's mines. Back when Ruby Jane knew him, he was in a years-long rebellious phase, with hair dyed as black as the mineral he was named after to avoid being associated with Justy, who he thought was a pretentious phony he would never come to respect. Now he didn't mind naming his mining company Prestige after Justy's school for Trainers, the Prestige Precept Center. Prestige openly revealed years of collaboration with Moore Industries, only weeks before Leroy appeared in the news as a Cipher Admin. Whitby stared past his grandma at the steam rising from the pot.

'There's no way he didn't know. He just thought it didn't matter because they weren't called Cipher. Like always. As long as he's successful, he doesn't care how he gets there. But yeah. I feel sorry for Natalya. Even if she knows, there's nothing she can do about it. He's too powerful. She has to do what he says. I mean, I hope it's not that dark, but...'