Pokémon Fool's Gold | Orre & Galar Fanfiction

Chapter 28: Cipher's Return

From the car's violent juddering, Amber guessed they were on a back road somewhere. She heard none of the horn wars common in Orre. Maybe it was a wide road. April howled Leon's name.

'Shut up!' Amber hissed, 'If we scream together–'

'Don't tell me what to do, you little brat!'

'But we might–!'

The car stopped. Amber scowled.

'Now you've fucking done it.'

Though she wasn't sure anyone would have heard them. When the trunk opened, there weren't even distant sounds of wheels or horns. She pretended to be asleep. Hands seized April. Tape ripped. Her shrieks were reduced to mumbles. The hands hovered over Amber before slamming the trunk shut. She breathed out. The bag on her head was hooked onto someone's shoe. She assumed it was Trip, but she hoped it wasn't, because they were unconscious. Ignoring April's feeble kicks, she nudged the bag off. She almost wished she hadn't. Trip wasn't just unconscious. His mangled legs were broken and jeans deep red with blood. Even if she could escape somehow, how would she carry him? If only she could reach to revive her Pokémon...

It was too late. The car stopped. Doors scraped open outside. The trunk opened. Wind howled. Amber tightly shut her eyes. If they thought she was asleep, maybe she could open her eyes and work out where they were. A man, casually discussing his son's high school exams with a colleague, grabbed April. His colleague seized Amber.

'What're we gonna do with him? She was brutal...'

'I heard that.'

A sickening chill shot down Amber's spine. She recognised that voice. Rosen. It was Rosen who maimed her own grandson. How could she? Amber inhaled sharply, forcing herself to stay calm. She couldn't lash out. If she did, they might hurt her or attack Trip again.

'Leave him.'

'But ma'am...'

'I said leave him!'

Amber cautiously opened one eye. She saw silver. Sand. A sliding door opened.

'What about their bags?'

'Pokémon to Znider. Destroy any phones and P★DAs. Make sure any trackers in that car are gone, too.'

Production room? What did that mean? Znider... he was the boss those Pumpkaboo hunters referred to. Were these people Cipher? How? Alfie and Ardos, the ringleaders, were still in jail in Motostoke. So were Venus and Alfie's manager Nolan. The Galarian Champion Randal was released on probation a few months ago, but it was already clear this plot began many years prior. If they were Cipher... would this Znider turn their Pokémon into Shadow Pokémon? Panic sent Amber's thoughts whirling.

Breathe. Breathe! Don't let on that you're awake! You need your eyes!

They carried Amber and April inside. The corridors were sleek silver with shiny black floors. Screens displayed news, the weather and details on whatever was being researched here. A scientist hurried by. Doors opened to luxurious offices. She saw names: Znider and Verzant. Rosen shared an office with three other 'Commanders.' She didn't dare crane her neck to see who the remaining offices, including the biggest of all, belonged to.

The man carrying Amber produced a key card to open an elevator. It whooshed down to floor B6. These corridors were stuffy. The artificial light from fluorescent strips was blinding. Prisoners with desperate eyes peered through the white bars of cells. Amber recognised two missing tourists. Bars rattled. A key turned. The gag was torn from April's mouth. She shrieked as she was tossed into a grubby cell. Amber was thrown in after her. The men hastily shut the door. There was no point in pretending to be asleep now. Amber sat up. The men were already gone. She looked around. There was a pile of dirty blankets. A silver toilet with no seat that reeked of urine... and another prisoner. She was curled up under a blanket, but Amber recognised her golden brown hair.

'Bianka...?'

She didn't reply. Amber stood, examining the lock.

'There has to be a way out.'

'There isn't.'

Bianka's voice had none of its prior confidence. 'I've tried everything. Don't bother trying to attack the guards. They'll just tie you up and leave you to piss yourself.'

'This is insane!' April exclaimed, 'I've never done anything wrong! I'm a respectable lecturer! They can't just lock me up!'

Amber ignored her. 'Trip's injured. They've got our Pokémon. We have to help them somehow!'

Bianka looked up. Her eyes were red and puffy, but held a glint of curiosity.

'Trip is injured?'

'His grandma attacked him. I don't suppose you know what the hell is going on? Rosen brought you here before, didn't she?'

'I thought they were a team. So no. I don't know what the hell is going on. Unless you're asking who runs this place. That would be Cipher. And yes, Rosen brought me here once.'

'Oh, man. I have so many questions.'

'I have very little patience. But I am sorry, Amber. For how I treated you. Make of that what you will.'

'Whatever. Who's running Cipher? Are they making Shadow Pokémon?'

'I don't know who's running Cipher. Or what they're up to. It's not Znider. He's just an Admin. And Rosen is just a glorified Peon. For what it's worth... she genuinely believed Lumir Hornbeam was involved, getting preferential treatment for being the son of Ardos.'

'How did you end up in here?'

She sighed. 'I said I don't have much patience... but if you must know, I tried to storm the lab. I lost to another Admin. Verzant.'

'You know, if you'd waited until we'd got a bit stronger, I think we'd all have helped you. Including Trip.'

'I know. But I thought Trip was in with Rosen. And I thought you were all looking down on me for being the kids of celebrities while my parents are junkies who don't give a fuck. So I acted superior, tried to be a hero to make myself feel less of an automatic failure. Turns out I am a failure. I'll die in here and there isn't a single person who'll miss me.'

She pulled the blanket over her face. April rattled the bars. Snapping at her to shut up, Amber crawled over to her fellow Gym Challenger.

'You know, everyone was asking where you were.'

'Yeah, because I treated them like shit and trampled their sad little Pokémon in unfair battles. They don't actually care where I am.'

'Trip genuinely missed you.'

'Then tell him I'm sorry.'

'I'll never be able to if we don't get out.'

Bianka refused to speak again. Amber tried, asking how many guards there were, but it was no use. The smell of cheap, warm food filled the cell. A guard had pushed three plates of lumpy mashed potato under the cell door. April grimaced in disgust when Amber stuck her finger in it to check the temperature.

'Didn't your mum teach you how to eat properly?'

It was hot enough to hurt a guard if she threw it. Whether she could throw it accurately was another matter. However she took them on, she couldn't do it alone. She needed Bianka's help. She didn't trust April to remain rational... though that meant they'd have to restrain her.

Oh well. She probably deserves it for kidnapping Dad.

If the other prisoners could help, maybe they had a chance. She whispered that in Bianka's ear. There was no response, but she knew Bianka was listening.

***

Somewhere in a brightly lit basement office, a suited woman and her Alakazam examined a report. A map of Orre laid on her desk. She stopped reading. Alakazam abruptly pointed to an unpopulated area near Fool's Gold Regional Park. She picked up her bag and jacket. Releasing her Latios, she took off for Lilycove City International Airport.