Pokémon Obsidian | An Orre Fanfiction

Chapter 80: Overworld

Laila, Ilirian and Raine stood outside the shop in their pyjamas, watching the same broadcast on the nearest screen. A door quietly slid. Yamper slippers padded onto the balcony. Raidne stayed there. Police were yet to take her Pokémon. They feared a revenge attack on Raidne for betraying Cipher, let alone on the others living there and figured they were safest together. Laila didn't mind. She sensed that Raidne felt safe with her because, as she told her, Jamie spoke so highly of her.

When Laila left her alone at the cash register, she seemed genuinely moved. It was impossible for her to actually steal anything. Her mostly Ground-type Pokémon would be easily doused by Raine's Water-types, but that never occurred to her, because she didn't consider stealing.

One day, Laila returned from the supermarket to find her nervously showing a dress design to Raine. Laila took her into the back room to try making it.

'We had a knock-off Underworld in Obsidian City. Overworld. That's where I got my clothes.'

'I can tell. What a twat that brother of mine is.'

'I think... it was a weird way of having you close to him.'

She showed Laila her photo album. That was a side, or rather an entire alternate persona, of Jamie his family never knew. It began with blurry selfies in the desert. Raidne proudly posed in strikingly dull clothes that Jamie brought, because she hated the 'goddess' outfits her parents dressed her in. She told Laila she left them with the wild Pokémon. They protected all the souvenirs of the outside world she collected.

'But eventually Leucosia set it all on fire. And she caught most of my friends and had them turned into Shadow Pokémon.'

Laila shook her head. 'I don't get it. If she thought she was so much better than you, why was she so obsessed?'

'So I never surpassed her in anything, I guess. Including happiness.'

'She'll never be happy if she sells her soul to Cipher.'

There were no photos from the resort. The next ones were amongst construction work in Obsidian City, then an apartment that Raidne said belonged to Jamie. He was already wearing the GoD suit. Laila admittedly imagined that their 'relationship' was mostly physical, even if that was only out of curiosity, but it seemed they were genuinely friends. She was even more surprised to see Lavender with them. Jamie was clearly besotted with her by then. What was so surprising was that Raidne clearly didn't mind.

'It was all the women I knew he didn't really want that I had a problem with. Primula, Brynlee, Leucosia. I know why he did it. He wanted to reverse the power balance. But I couldn't help feeling like they were winning every time he fucked them, no matter how nasty he said he was. And yeah, I was jealous, of them and Lavender... but it was honestly because I cared about him that it bothered me so much. I was happy that he found Lavender. He really did love her.'

It wasn't a huge photo album. There were more photos of Pokémon than Jamie. Raidne knew he hated having his photo taken.

'I... don't like to think anything bad about Lavender, because she's dead, but...'

Laila sighed. 'I can't help... wondering... and being totally fucking confused about what the fuck was going on there. I mean, she was always lovely to me, but she was in Cipher and she was constantly taking photos of him...'

'I don't like to share anything about her, either, because I know Jamie wouldn't want me to. I know he's going to blame himself for everything she did. But, I mean... she was my friend, too. I guess I can tell you what I know from my own experience.'

'Can I tell the police? I really, really don't want Jamie to be charged with things she did. He might not forgive me right now, but he will in 10 years.'

'I've already told them everything I know. I don't want that, either. I know he'll never love me again and I don't expect him to. But one day I'll get over him as a lover and I'll always care about him as a friend.'

'Good. Ga'an, then. Tell me.'

'She was already in Cipher when he joined. My grandma – Lovrina – recruited her. She told her she could become a Gym Leader and influencer. And Lav knew her grandpa – Purpsix – was in Cipher and he was totally harmless, but she never really lived through Cipher, herself.'

'I get that. You can hear story after story from your parents – and the movies are so bloody good – but you can't imagine it, really, until you experience it.'

'Yeah. She had no idea that this isn't even Greevil's Cipher, stupidly going after world domination, anymore. I can tell you without a fucking doubt that The System nailed it with that "Rose Moore's Pool Party" song. Long before they got Jamie, they – and by "they," I mean Rose, Primula and my dad – were doing it to me and Leucosia, then our little brother.'

'You have a brother?'

'Orpheus. He ran away when he was nine.'

'Bloody hell...'

'Anyway, that's beside the point. The point is that Lavender was prepared to trample people to get what she wanted, but she wouldn't have overlooked that. My mom and grandma are scum who were prepared to overlook it, but they weren't pedos themselves. They were just trying to groom Jamie to become a mindless Cipher robot. But instead, he killed Rose–'

'He killed Rose?!'

'Well, not directly, but he "encouraged" me and Ryland to "help" a very drunk Rose fall off that balcony. Which wasn't hard because Brynlee basically handed Ryland over to Rose when he was, like, 14. It's no wonder all these people are fucked up, really...'

'I'm not going to say a word. They can keep thinking he fell off that balcony.'

'But everyone who ever touched Jamie was scared of him after that. They were even a little scared of me. The idea was that Jamie would become Grand Master, but not that he'd actually have control. He was supposed to be their puppet. Anyway, every Commander and Admin was kissing his ass at this point because...'

Raidne couldn't help a smile. 'He was cool. No-one could beat him in a battle or a fist fight. He had total control over the Shadow Pokémon my parents wished they never gave him. But he hated that. He does not like people obsessing over him. But there was one Commander who thought he was cool, but wasn't obsessed. Lavender.'