Noise (Pokémon Fanfiction)

Chapter Ten

      It was a boring night. The floor dusty and left unclean for months since janitors quit, the metal walls greasy and rusty from time and the room, older than the remaining worker inside, gives off an eerie atmosphere. The exhausted sounds of metal gears turning inside a machine attached near the wall fill the empty room, steel clanking and turning at a slow speed. There's almost nothing in the room except the machine, a broken reclining chair and a dusty oak desk.

     Tapping a thin, plastic pen on the surface of the desk to create a slow rhythm, the man rubs his forehead and sighs heavily as his patience runs thin. "This better be worth it.." He murmurs under his breath and bites his bottom lip to think.  His fingers feel the deep wrinkles on his skin, shaped by age and from frowning too much. White hairs sprout among his chestnut brown hair and a large mole is adorned on the corner of his right jaw.

      Papers stack to his right, each document containing information of their first research in two decades. Years after Plasma Organization banned Pokémon, hundreds of companies were forced to shut down, including their own. Thousands, possibly millions, lost their jobs. But now, a certain issue rose up that prompted the former owner of the company he works for to reopen temporarily. However, few former employees managed to respond and are directed to keep their return a secret due to the new laws Plasma decreed.

     The door swung open that caused dust particles to fly, revealing a woman in her late 60s. He gives her a stoic gaze, yet his heart probably sprung back upon seeing his old friend after all these years. The man in the room turns his head to her direction, nodding in acknowledgement. "Miss Eva."

     She smiles, her crooked mouth and narrow lips spreading across her aging face. "It's been years, Lawrence." Walking to him, her high heels clicking against the floor that echoes across the room, she presents a suitcase and places it on the dirty desk in front of Lawrence.

     "These are the documents?" He questions, patting the thick leather surface of the case. She nods her head in response and leans down to pop it open. A silence fills the room, tension spreading in the thin air as Lawrence observes with keen eyes. "All of these.. are Project: Latios?"

     "Some are.." Her voice cracks and she coughs for a short while, pressing her finger on the paper at the top. "The remaining are news articles of Plasma Organization."

     He perks up, raising a thick eyebrow. "I thought we're here to discuss Latios. What does Plasma Org. have anything to do with Project: Latios?"

     She smiles fondly, rolling her darkened eyes at him. "It's too obvious. Everything about Project: Latios is Plasma Org.'s doing." His graying, clouded eyes widen in response at her words, cutting into his brain as he attempts to figure out everything.

     "Plasma Org. was behind it all..?" He fumbles in his brain for ideas as he starts guessing. "They need a weapon, is that it-- No, maybe they were experimenting --"

    "They banned experiments, remember?" She cuts him off and smirks at him in a condescending manner. "My dear Lawrence, you never changed I see.. Remember the fateful day we lost this place?" She turns her back on him, spinning slowly and gestures at the scene as flashbacks fill her head. "The groundbreaking discoveries we make, the research we dedicate ourselves to," Pointing at the machine beside her, a wry smile forms on her lips. "How we dream of improving the lives of Pokémon and humans alike with technology."

    "How can I forget?" He scoffs. "And one accident happened, beyond the Pokémon or humanity's control."

    "It was a massacre." She argues. "Children died, Lawrence. And we all know it's no one's fault. Yet it cost us our partners..." She stops for a moment, swallowing a lump forming on her throat and biting unconsciously on her inner cheek. "It was stupid to take them away, but at the same time N knows what needed to be done. Humans are frail, easily broken and killed. Our skin is thinner than leaves and our forms rot quickly." Pacing back the the suitcase, Eva grabs hold onto the stack of papers at the top. "We don't know what Project: Latios is for. But I do know, their creation is a being of both Pokémon and human. Stronger, faster and more intelligent than any of us can reach."

     "To fight against mortality?" He guesses again, rubbing his chin while listening to her.

      "No, Lawrence," she sneers. "To fight against Plasma Org."

       Lawrence gives her a puzzled look, much to Eva's dismay as he tries to piece it all together. He may have grown slower and rusty over the years. It has been decades, in their younger years they started as interns together. He is still the same clueless and confused man she knew when they worked together, sharing the dreams of changing the times and bringing back their lost partners. Together, they rose ranks in the company and were confident to achieve their goals. Yet the downfall of their workplace brought down their ambitions.

    Right now, she is here again with Lawrence. To bring him news that is sure to ignite the spark in him from decades ago. She shakes her head fondly, her eyes half closed. "I do love beating around the bush, however there is no time. Recently, they discovered a lab." Lawrence pushes back on his reclining chair as she makes her way to the wooden desk, sitting on the dusty surface. "Where Project: Latios was created. The creators, former scientists who committed mutiny against N, were killed, documents stolen yet I managed to snag some from a dear friend working in Plasma." She grins proudly, mentally patting herself on the back that frustrates Lawrence as he listens impatiently. "Latios escaped and they're on the hunt. The reason? He is to end Plasma's reign of terror."

     "This is too much to take in!" He barks, causing her eyes to roll upward as she already predicted those very words to slip from his mouth. "This last job of ours is too complicated."

     "You never change." She snickers, which results in his ears turning red from her commentary. "Let's just get this started." 

      "Already?" 

      "Yes. After all, won't be long until Plasma finds us too." Eva places a finger to her lips to gesture a hush. "We already broke laws coming here anyway." Lawrence grins, a mischievous glint twinkling in his dark eyes.

     "Of course. Glad to be working alongside you one last time." Laughing together into the night, the duo begin working their research. For they know they now attach targets onto their backs the moment they step inside, they have no time to waste. After all, they lived their lives already and are both ready to go down fighting.

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Author's note:

Sorry if it's too short.. I've been having trouble handling school stuff. But I'll do my best to catch up.