Pokémon Obsidian | An Orre Fanfiction

Chapter 40: Advantage

At the police station where Raidne was held, a weary officer's eyes glazed over as he watched CCTV. He was slapped awake by a flash that disrupted every camera. With it came a dreadful feeling that he had been here before, but as if this time, he couldn't escape the certainty of impending doom. His radio frantically beeped. There was another collision on Highway 1.

Raidne was asleep. A gloved hand seized her wrist. Her surroundings blurred in a rush of starry colour as her eyes abruptly opened. She hit a cold floor as if falling from a height, but she was unharmed. For a moment, she wondered if she dreamed everything from the attempted invasion to her arrest, because she was back in GoD's apartment in Obsidian City... but she was still wearing her jail uniform. The windows weren't boarded up last time she was there. GoD was still injured. He looked exhausted when he tossed aside his helmet.

Without thinking, Raidne used his real name. He didn't scold her.

'Get changed and get back to work.'

'What... happened?'

'XD008 happened. Think yourself lucky. They put you in the cell at the end knowing we might try to blow up the wall. And an explosion would've killed you.'

GoD didn't use XD008's power for any old job. As dismissive as he was, Raidne was certain that was confirmation he still cared about her.

'Have you worked out the déjà vu yet...?'

'No.'

He paused. It was a long time since he shared his progress with anyone.

'But I'm getting there.'

'Is there anything I can do to help?'

'That's why I told you to get back to work. Hurry up. I'll meet you there.'

Raidne padded down the corridor to her own apartment. The door was open. Leucosia had been in, yet again. Every piece of clothing she liked, even the things she bought with her own money at the shops downtown, was gone. At least her pet Yamper and Sandshrew were still there. She hugged them tight, breathing in their familiar scents, before she showered and pulled on her lab coat over a drab skirt and t-shirt.

That was one thing Leucosia couldn't wear. Their mom and grandma were overlooked as scientists because they were such typical girls, but they were talented, even if they only excelled at science that benefited Cipher. Leucosia didn't inherit their talent. It shouldn't have mattered, because her dream was to become a model and influencer, but it enraged her that she couldn't outdo Raidne. Personally, Raidne thought her sister's calling was as a serial killer, like their 'Auntie' Brynlee.

He will come.

Raidne told the International Police that, but she didn't entirely believe it. She was convincing herself as much as them. Yet he did. She was sure he didn't need her, not anymore. He swallowed every bit of knowledge available in the library and lectures at GOSS. He pored over everything he stole from the Pokémon HQ Lab, Team Magma's library and Abbey's dusty bookcases. Ein watched in horror as GoD made a performance of burning his precious Ein Files, because they were worthless in comparison to his arsenal of reports and research. So what use, really, was Ein's less experienced granddaughter?

He does still care about me... he must.

She did believe in his ambitions. He must also have sensed, though, that she had doubts about trampling people and Pokémon to get there. In truth, she had doubts about all of it and she knew he did, too. World domination wouldn't make him happy. It wouldn't even make Ardos happy. There would only be an ever bigger hole to fill. He would never stop feeling. The guilt he fled would only be amplified until it drowned him.

When she left the block, he was dangerously perched on the edge of his balcony. If he tipped a little too far, he would fall. There was no hope of surviving such a drop. He would die as soon as he hit the ground.

Is he trying to emotionally stifle himself by playing with death?

The lab could only be reached by subway. If Cipher were attacked at the lab, or alternatively in their apartments dotted strategically around the city, some had to be safe. Unless, of course, enemies attacked all of them at once, but GoD was certain no-one could ever hack their systems to access their addresses, let alone Obsidian City's warped working hours. Day and night were nonexistent in the cavern. It was in its own time zone.

Scientists saluted Cipher's flag as they arrived and departed. They nodded at Raidne. Some welcomed her back. However insignificant she sometimes felt, she was still Cipher's most senior Admin and lead scientist after GoD. In the lobby were framed photos of the scientists responsible for Cipher's greatest developments: Ein, Lovrina, Coren, Raidne and GoD. It was every Cipher scientist's ambition to join them.

There was an even bigger photo of young Ardos. An obsessed Commander hung them everywhere. Upon closer inspection, someone had drawn a moustache, fangs and 'I ❤︎ Alfie' tattoo on his sour face. Raidne knew that was GoD. Back when he still said more than he had to, they thought it was hilarious to draw different expressions on every photo of Ardos they passed. He was in every subway carriage until GoD whipped Leroy into replacing him with deceptively pleasant pictures of Shadow Pokémon.

The rooms Raidne passed were filled with glass cases and steel tables. Shadow Pokémon were experimented on there. Battles raged in others. An elderly scientist obsessively attempted to clone XD010, Naganadel, after Raidne successfully cloned an Eevee and Zygarde. She was both pleased and unsettled to see her assistant, Piruzi, passionately continuing her man-made Pokémon project.

Raidne knew she could create artificial Pokémon. She didn't know if she would ever sleep again, because they would be born Shadow Pokémon, with no way of ever being purified. They would be eternally miserable. She didn't mind walking straight past her lab to the room where GoD usually worked alone.

She was startled. GoD was already there, out of his uniform and in his lab coat, despite being on the balcony when Raidne boarded the train. Celebi was asleep in a glass cocoon. Carefully separated cables connected it to powerful simulators, built after GoD studied those at the Pokémon HQ Lab and Realgam Tower.

'So... it seems that everyone within a certain radius experiences déjà vu when XD008 moves multiple times, in quick succession, around the present.'

'Oh... so when it brought you into the police station...'

'Yeah. I had some business to take care of at GOSS. But I wanted to rescue you at the same time, so if anyone saw me, my "real" self would be at GOSS at the same time as "GoD" was at the police station. One day it won't matter if people know who I am, but for now it's necessary.'

'What do you think is the reason for the déjà vu?'

'I reckon XD008 is actually damaging time... and "waves" are felt around Orre. It may be my error. But I think I can use it to my advantage.'