Magna City Shining Congress – Commission for Directed Evolution

[Jackie Cat]

"Oh yeah?" he asked with a grunt of exertion, not looking at him directly. Radiance, Radiance. "I meant to ask what kind of world you came from, if it's anything like mine. Putting up with shitty family on Sundays sounds familiar."

Parallax grunted. "You're from Earth, right? An Earth – on the mundane side, low 'mon sapience quotient range, if I'm recalling my notes right. Mine's more typical – lining up pretty closely with the Earths of the trainer kids in your hero club. You know – Jade, Silver. Gladion."

Had he noticed Silver and Jade sneaking about...?

"I guess what you're really asking is what it was like for me. Not great, honestly – 'shitty family' just about sums it up. Well, shitty mother and no dad, anyway. Hmph... No point getting into that, though."

He tipped his chin at the Radiance Dave was channelling.

"That's impressive... You guys really are authentic, then. Thank you – this demonstration should help us a great deal. Carry on, Herman."

And just like that, the Umbreon slipped away – to whatever important time-sensitive task he'd been so antsy to return to.

 

[Cresselia92]

Soon enough, Bisharp pushed the tray of food and drink through a hatch in the door, and made his way back up the corridor, metal feet clunking on cold rock.

Silver was free to approach...

…Oh. He’s really gone? Well, huh, that was kinda anticlimactic, but heh! Can’t really complain!

Silver peeked outside the cell, left and right, sniffing the air and paying attention to any sound. Nope, it was only him, the cold walls, and the prisoner.

“Okay, so,” he whispered as he looked toward the occupied cell, “let’s see who’s this not-so-lucky guest!”

Silver rushed in front of the door and studied the small viewport. It was quite high, and of course there weren’t seats or anything around to reach it. So how could he—ah. Yeah. He could do that.

The Sneasel groaned and rubbed his forehead, already dreading the demeaning task. “Let’s just get over this…” he muttered under his breath.

Silver bent down on all fours, lowering his chest to the floor and curving his back. He unconsciously shook his butt (much to his immense embarrassment and inward yelling), aimed at the viewport, and sprang upward. His claws barely dug into the thin line between metal sheets, leaving Silver as a dangling and swinging weasel.

“Gods damn it…” he hissed, failing to get some footing on the smooth door with his short legs. Snorting in annoyance, he dug a pair of claws deeper and awkwardly opened the port with a free claw. Then he pulled himself up with both arms and stared into the cell. “H-hey, um… Howdy! I come in peace and all that stupid crap. Who’s there?”

 

[Jackie Cat]

She clenched her paws, feeling the familiar tingle of Assist as she reached for her teammates, grasping at their energy as if it were her own. Bellatrix, the wispy nothingness of the ghost-type, shadows slipping unseen underfoot...

Jade passed unseen past the increasingly-agitated staffers in the command centre, and made it up close to the glowing box.

From this distance, it was easier to tell that it had been designed to contain something, and that there were wires underneath to connect to the console, and cables behind to connect to a power supply.

Through the frosted window, very faintly, she could see something angular and bright.

Jade? What are you looking at?

What do you see?

 

[Jackie Cat]

“H-hey, um… Howdy! I come in peace and all that stupid crap. Who’s there?”

A crumpled, broken mess of Delphox lay sprawled on a gaol cot at the other end of cell. He wore a leather coat and dress shirt in poor condition, and kept a tattered wide-brimmed hat over his face, maybe to help him sleep.

He nudged the hat off his eyeline and glanced towards the door, ears swivelling and twitching at Silver's voice.

"Aw, fuckin' hell," swore Jesse Stranger. "Th'fuck're you doin' at my door, kid? Ain't you got a curfew? Or, I don't fuckin' know, some goddamn schoolroom t'be in? Can't tell day from night in this fuckin' place."

It did not appear to have occurred to him that Silver might be in a position to rescue him.

 

[Butterfree]

Parallax grunted. "You're from Earth, right? An Earth – on the mundane side, low 'mon sapience quotient range, if I'm recalling my notes right. Mine's more typical – lining up pretty closely with the Earths of the trainer kids in your hero club. You know – Jade, Silver. Gladion."

Had he noticed Silver and Jade sneaking about...?

"I guess what you're really asking is what it was like for me. Not great, honestly – 'shitty family' just about sums it up. Well, shitty mother and no dad, anyway. Hmph... No point getting into that, though."

He tipped his chin at the Radiance Dave was channelling.

"That's impressive... You guys really are authentic, then. Thank you – this demonstration should help us a great deal. Carry on, Herman."

And just like that, the Umbreon slipped away – to whatever important time-sensitive task he'd been so antsy to return to.

Dave's hackles went up again at the mention of notes, of Jade and Silver's names. But Parallax was leaving before he had the chance to do anything more to stall him. Jade? Silver? Heads up, the project head for Sage, Parallax the Umbreon, is heading out and he probably knows you're here.

He should be more worried than he was, with all this Radiance pumping through him; as it was, the spike of adrenaline complemented the buzz, sharpened his focus, gave an abstract urgency to it all without the panic. They were Wayfarers. He'd warned them. They'd be fine.

He stared at the conduit, paw flexing, and turned up the power more. He was approaching the edge of where he couldn't keep it in check anymore, but practice through battle had made it a lot easier to stay aware of that edge, soothe the wave to keep it hovering at a just manageable level.

"How long should I keep this up?" he asked, glancing at Herman.

 

[canisaries]

"I would just love to slice just a little bit off you while you channel that Radiance to see if it lingers. Oh, the thought of that just tingles me to the core."

Andre's eyes widened, and his nose scrunched up. Well, Duval, at least you're not as screwed up as that medicham.

Parallax grunted. "You're from Earth, right? An Earth – on the mundane side, low 'mon sapience quotient range, if I'm recalling my notes right. Mine's more typical – lining up pretty closely with the Earths of the trainer kids in your hero club. You know – Jade, Silver. Gladion."

Had he noticed Silver and Jade sneaking about...?

"I guess what you're really asking is what it was like for me. Not great, honestly – 'shitty family' just about sums it up. Well, shitty mother and no dad, anyway. Hmph... No point getting into that, though."

He tipped his chin at the Radiance Dave was channelling.

"That's impressive... You guys really are authentic, then. Thank you – this demonstration should help us a great deal. Carry on, Herman."

And just like that, the Umbreon slipped away – to whatever important time-sensitive task he'd been so antsy to return to.

As Parallax left, Andre held a stare after him. It seemed like he had quite extensive notes on the Wayfarers. Eerily extensive... but such could be expected from the organization that revered offworlders so. And Parallax had shown interest in other worlds during their first meeting...

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade? What are you looking at?

What do you see?

'It's a...'

Jade squinted at the shining light, struggling to identify details. She rubbed her paw on the glass in an effort to clean it, but the frost was part of its texture. She could just make out a hard-edged, angular shape, almost like origami, vaguely in the shape of a... bird. Yeah, the triangular shape was sort of like a beak, silver-colored at the tip and gold-colored on the rest. That silhouette... it vaguely brought to mind something she'd seen in an old TV special for Silph Co.

'...It's a Porygon.'

Jade? Silver? Heads up, the project head for Sage, Parallax the Umbreon, is heading out and he probably knows you're here.

Jade's fur bristled. Through the commotion going on with the radio operators, she just barely caught the sound of the door opening before she threw herself under the desk, pulling the chair close to conceal herself. Hopefully he won't need to come over here...

 

[Chibi Pika]

"How long should I keep this up?" he asked, glancing at Herman.

Herman was carefully observing the Wonder Orb as it shifted to gold, brighter and brighter each second. He peered at the dials in the side of the machine, copying down some figures, and then finally held up his palm to signify that Dave could stop.

"Forty-six seconds to full charge, impressive," Herman remarked, consulting his pocketwatch. He glanced back at Dave, as if taking note of his physical condition. "Any lingering side-effects? Dizziness? Nausea? Stars in your vision?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

'...It's a Porygon.'

Jade... what is a Porygon?

she just barely caught the sound of the door opening before she threw herself under the desk

The oddly uneven sound of mammalian claws and paravian talons clacking against the floor made for a confusing sort of anticipation. That sure didn't sound like an Umbreon. Being quadrupedal, the 'mon approaching didn't bother seating themself. Wait, was that—

But no. Gladion, Nova and Sage were all elsewhere. This chimera was—

"Control to Mesa, this is ARK Neo, please report. Mesa, have you established the relays yet? Neo to Mesa, I say again: have you established the relays? Mesa, please report!"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade... what is a Porygon?

'I... well, it's a Pokémon,' Jade began lamely. 'An, an artificial Pokémon. Silph Co. made it back in my world, something about taking computer code and making it able to run on Infinity Energy? I don't really know the details, but...' Her words trailed off, something nagging at her. An... artificial Pokémon. Just like...

She was dragged from her thoughts by the sound of Parallax walking across—no wait, that was... She blinked at it, taking a moment to reboot her brain. Gladion and Nova were at the mesa. But that was...an Ark Unit? Another one? How?

 

[Cresselia92]

A crumpled, broken mess of Delphox lay sprawled on a gaol cot at the other end of cell. He wore a leather coat and dress shirt in poor condition, and kept a tattered wide-brimmed hat over his face, maybe to help him sleep.

He nudged the hat off his eyeline and glanced towards the door, ears swivelling and twitching at Silver's voice.

"Aw, fuckin' hell," swore Jesse Stranger. "Th'fuck're you doin' at my door, kid? Ain't you got a curfew? Or, I don't fuckin' know, some goddamn schoolroom t'be in? Can't tell day from night in this fuckin' place."

Silver regarded the Delphox with an unamused expression, both eyes and mouth shifting into straight lines. Just his luck — he had probably found one of the people on their rescue list and he was a total jackass.

“Hmph! How old d’you think I am, man? Eight?” he grumbled the retort to himself, but he still couldn’t stop his eyes from rolling. The Sneasel slid one arm through the viewport for extra balance, mindful to not make his claws screech even if that sounded like an amusing idea, and focused his gaze again on the Delphox. Despite being annoyed, he deemed it best to not aggravate someone who had clearly gone through hell. Like he had.

“…You’re Jesse Stranger, right?” he asked, his tone blunt and on point. “I’m with the Wayfarers. Not sure if those Covenant punks have ever told you ‘bout us, but we’ve got quite the reputation out there as offworlders who kick lowlifes’ butts, save the day, and all those neat heroic gestures and whatnot! It’s kinda a long story—”

Jade? Silver? Heads up, the project head for Sage, Parallax the Umbreon, is heading out and he probably knows you're here.

Silver winced and took fleeting glances around. Darn it, matters risked to get really ugly really fast.

“—whiiich I must cut short because those guards might come back anytime soon!” He slid his arm out of the viewport and held onto it with both pairs of claws. “Okay, let’s postpone the chitchat and potential reunions for later. I’m gonna bust you outta this stinky hellhole! Just need a moment to figure this thing out…”

Still holding the viewport tightly with one hand, Silver lowered himself to study the door and look for some way to open it. What kind of lock did it use? Maybe sheer brute force could be an option, if push came to shove, albeit that might have attracted too much attention…

 

[Jackie Cat]

“Hmph! How old d’you think I am, man? Eight?”

"No older'n sixteen," muttered the Delphox (correctly).

“…You’re Jesse Stranger, right?”

"I'm him," came the gruff reply. He sat up, peering at Silver through the bars as his miserable brain put itself back to work.

“I’m with the Wayfarers. Not sure if those Covenant punks have ever told you ‘bout us, but we’ve got quite the reputation out there as offworlders who kick lowlifes’ butts, save the day, and all those neat heroic gestures and whatnot! It’s kinda a long story—

"Fucking Saints," swore Jesse, beneath his breath, as Silver rattled on.

The contrast in tone and dialect between the two humans-turned-'mon could hardly be more pronounced.

"—whiiich I must cut short because those guards might come back anytime soon! Okay, let’s postpone the chitchat and potential reunions for later. I’m gonna bust you outta this stinky hellhole! Just need a moment to figure this thing out…”

Jesse Stranger got to his feet, rubbing his temple like he was buffing out a dent in metal. "Hold up, son. What's the occasion? You wouldn't be flappin' gums at my doorstep if everythin' were tickin' smooth up top..." His eyes narrowed. "The frog ain't around, is he? Fine, let's ditch this hole."

The Delphox stepped up to the cell door, gritting his teeth.

"Ain't you got the code fer the cell? No, 'course not."

He reached a paw through the viewing hatch and snapped his digits. A bright flame sputtered to life at the tips.

"Oughta be a numberpad," he instructed. "Four digits, could tell from the sound. See if y'can tell which ones from the surface bein' worn away – Greninja've got pretty acidic skin oils. Won't be more'n twenty-four possible combinations if so."

 

[Jackie Cat]

'I... well, it's a Pokémon,' Jade began lamely. 'An, an artificial Pokémon. Silph Co. made it back in my world, something about taking computer code and making it able to run on Infinity Energy? I don't really know the details, but...' Her words trailed off, something nagging at her. An... artificial Pokémon. Just like...

I understand.

I believe I can intuit the rest.

Well, at least we finally know where in realspace I am.

She was dragged from her thoughts by the sound of Parallax walking across—no wait, that was... She blinked at it, taking a moment to reboot her brain. Gladion and Nova were at the mesa. But that was...an Ark Unit? Another one? How?

How indeed?

ARK Unit 'Neo' continued to command the room, while carrying on his communication with the increasingly-frazzled 'mon on the other end of the radio.

He did not appear to have noticed Jade...

 

[Jackie Cat]

Laura gripped her pencil tighter in her paw; the details she was jotting down had begun to form a kind of hazy picture. One that unsettled her.

"This is Laura," she sent over the telepathic network. "Some of us in the CDE's understructure are demonstrating Radiance as part of our cover. Silver's gone off on his own somewhere, probably to look for captives. Jade's gone to a central structure we think might be the control room of this whole place..."

It had sounded like Parallax had been headed there, actually. Had he?

"Several of those 'mon who've been setting off Andre's aura sense are down here, too. I guess they're all involved in the CDE. Betel, you said you'd identified one of their auras down here – that was Parallax – can you tell where he went off to?"

That is correct, Laura. I tracked that aura a short distance. If that was Parallax, then he entered the Command Centre just a moment ago. The aura in question is in Jade's immediate vicinity, in fact.

 

[Chibi Pika]

'I'm in the command center right now,' Jade answered. 'I think I might've just found Betel. There's a console here with what looks like a Porygon inside, but... that doesn't make sense, right?' How on earth had the Covenant managed to create a Porygon?

But then she paused, taking a few seconds to process Laura's exchange with Betel. Jade slowly peeked out from under the desk, just to confirm who was stationed at the radio comms.

'Parallax is here? Parallax the... Umbreon? He didn't... the guy who just came in was an ARK Unit. He's going by Neo over the radio.'

 

[Jackie Cat]

Thoughts dropped heavily into place in Laura's brain.

"Betel, what about the other auras that matched his?"

I am not sure, Laura. I am sorry, but I can only detect the one aura of that kind in the substructure right now.

Right. That's what they'd said before. Just one aura.

...I can now discern the aura in question, Andre. Your intuition does not deceive you—there is indeed a soul matching your description in the substructure of the Congress. How peculiar.

It is quite a distinctive aura. Dark-type, with traces of Shadow-approximate energy. Would you like me to try looking further afield for similar souls?

Laura shook her head imperceptibly, just a tiny repeated movement of a few millimetres at a time, as the conclusion pressed itself against the contours of her brain. Dark-type. It was Dark-type right now – and had been every time.

"Today of all days, Dhillon... Can't it fucking wait?"

The Lucario knight who'd met them at the security room. He'd stormed back into the basement, then he was nowhere to be seen inside...

"Don't go wondering off, will you? This place isn't a damn playground."

Then the Weavile had been waiting for them just inside, and he'd escorted them somewhere where they'd be out of the way...

"Actually, I've been waiting for you. Let's see your power over Radiance. I won't take no for an answer."

Then the Umbreon had come to check on them...

"You know – Jade, Silver. Gladion."

...and noticed that two of them were missing. Practically goaded them about it.

"It's the same fucking guy," she swore in her head. "All those 'mon checking on us – it was the same FUCKING GUY every time!"

Her pencil snapped in her paw. Howls, how had she missed it? Their voices, his voice, it had sounded basically the same every time, just shaken up a little to pass himself off as a different 'mon... Which meant, underneath...

"He's a Zoroark. 'ARK Unit' Neo is a fucking Zoroark."

 

[Inkedust]

"Do you wish for me to handle it?" came Bellatrix's voice over the communications. She was still fully invested in her role as Cherry, but aside from waving off her 'co-workers' and giving some salivating looks to Dave, she wasn't doing all that much. If anything, it was making her just a little bit antsy. However, something else struck her as interesting. She glanced at Herman for a moment.

"Did none of the psychic or aura readers notice this?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Maybe the Commission are in on it? Even if they aren't, he's got traces of Shadow. He must be using that to, I don't know, conceal himself, somehow. There's gotta be more to this."

 

[canisaries]

"It's the same fucking guy," she swore in her head. "All those 'mon checking on us – it was the same FUCKING GUY every time!"

Her pencil snapped in her paw. Howls, how had she missed it? Their voices, his voice, it had sounded basically the same every time, just shaken up a little to pass himself off as a different 'mon... Which meant, underneath...

"He's a Zoroark. 'ARK Unit' Neo is a fucking Zoroark."

Same guy...? Same guy. And Andre'd had no idea. Thoroughly fooled, just like he'd been fooled by that Gerome impostor. What an idiot he was.

 

[Inkedust]

"Regardless, him being in several places at once may be a threat to our operation. I have a means of excusing myself from my position, say the word and I will deal with him directly. I doubt he is expecting the presence of and ambush from a second zoroark at the moment."