Six years ago:
The young hawk-faced woman knelt in front of Inyssa and smiled warmly, the arm resting on her knee extended forward. There, in her hand, she held a cozy-looking white hat.
"Here, you can have this," the woman said with a smile. "You see the pink Pokeball symbol on it? That's the mark of a trainer, and it now belongs to you." She raised a hand and turned it into a fist. "Think you're up for the task?"
Inyssa stared wordlessly at the hat, hands shaking from excitement. She tried to put it on but realized it was just a tad too big for her, and it covered part of her eyes.
"Yeah, I am!" she yelled, still wearing the oversized hat. "Thank you so much, Miss! I promise I'll become the best trainer ever!"
Another pair of eyes watched the scene from only a few feet away, narrowed ever so slightly.
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The scream reached her before the storm did.
The strange girl disappeared into the sea of people walking through the main streets, and yet at no point did Inyssa stop looking her way. She'd vanished as soon as she had invaded her sight, only leaving in her mind that flash of pink that seemed so familiar to her.
But she wasn't thinking about that, nor about the blood staining the girl's arm or her rugged appearance. Her mind was completely focused on that bright golden hue that for a fraction of a second had flashed behind her eyes. Had she imagined it? It was probably just a trick of the light as she exited the dark hallway, or maybe the oppressive aromas all around her were messing with her head. And yet...
Part of her was debating whether to follow her, when the scream rang out behind her.
She turned around fast, feeling a chill run through her body. Had she imagined that too? All around her, people kept walking as if they had heard nothing.
Inyssa closed her eyes and concentrated; a few seconds passed without any change, and just when she convinced herself it had been her imagination another scream reached her. This time the cry was more faint; she turned around and entered through the same dark space between houses the girl had appeared from, running towards the source of that sound.
She ran through the spiraling alleyways between the tightly-packed stone brick houses until she came out at the foot of one of the smaller side streets, leading north toward the city's exit. She ran in that direction, wind roaring in her ears, until she finally got past the last house at the edge of the town and saw Route 205 unfold before her. An even wider patch of vibrant autumn and wilting spring flowers grew in every direction, with no buildings to block the view. Focusing her sight on the side of the route she spotted the figure of a girl next to one of the many elm trees which gave shade to the road. The scream she heard came from someone hidden above, between the leaves.
She approached swiftly, and it was with a pang of surprise and anger that she recognized the girl standing at the foot of the tree; she was short and lanky, wearing the same body suit as those wackos she'd encountered in Jubilife City.
"Hey, Galactic clown!" She yelled as loud as she could, making the girl stop in her tracks and turn to look at her. "Leave that tree alone!" she said, only after realizing how lame of a one liner that was. "I mean, leave alone whatever is up there. You're not gonna steal another Pokemon on my watch!"
"Fuck me, not this again," she spat out, face red with anger. She took a Pokeball from her pocket and pointed it at her. "I don't have time to deal with you, so run along before I hurt you!"
"Pisces, was it?" Inyssa knit her eyebrows. "You were one of those losers back in Jubilife. Sorry but I'm in a bad mood and I don't feel like running from a weird cosplayer with anger issues." She also grabbed a Pokeball from her belt, a smile pasted on her face. "How about another battle? One on one this time."
"I'm Pyxis!" she yelled. "You... agh, you trainer brats are all the same! No point in talking; I'm gonna have to force you to leave."
She opened the Pokeball, and from it emerged a winged oval figure, purple and with a huge gaping mouth, sharp fangs glistening with poison. The Golbat soared in a circle above them, waiting for his master's orders.
"I'm going to see that in my nightmares," Inyssa whispered, eyes set on the horrible creature. "Kuro, take it down!"
The Shinx appeared from the flash of light, and the moment he came into view a deep -if slightly adorable- roar came from his mouth, shaking the grass around him and unnerving the bat Pokemon.
"Oh right, Intimidate." Pyxis bit her lower lip. "Good move, but I'm prepared for that. Air Cutter!"
"Spark! Right on his dumb mouth!"
Kuro ran at full speed towards his opponent, crackles of electricity arcing off his fur. Only a few feet from reaching his opponent, he jumped with all his strength while Golbat batted his wings at incredible speed toward him. The wind created by them cut Kuro's momentum short, sending him back towards the ground before he had a chance to land a hit. The Golbat suddenly stopped and his wings started vibrating quickly, coating them with a blue-ish glow as he prepared his next attack, the energy emanating from him being much stronger than Inyssa thought possible.
"Oh... right, Air Cutter is pretty strong." She bit her lip. "Kuro, try to dodg-"
Before she could finish her sentence something flew in between the leaves of the nearby tree and towards the Golbat. A small stone hit him right between the eyes with enough force to break his concentration. The energy from the attack he was readying dissipated into the air. He began to fly in circles, shrieking in pain.
A high pitched voice came from the tree, startling both trainers. "Yeah, take that you dum-dum!"
"Oh hey, it wasn't a Pokemon," Inyssa whispered, curling her lips into a smile. "Kuro, use Spark again!"
The Shinx didn't have to be told twice; before she even gave the command he ran once more towards the Golbat, and this time as he jumped he tackled him with so much force that the electric pulse sent him falling onto the bed of flowers at the side of the route. Pyxis' mouth gaped, her face turning red as realization came to her.
"Aaand the yellow devil Kuro takes his first official win against that flying abomination!" Inyssa yelled with her hands around her mouth, imitating a commentator's voice. "So Pisces, do you have any more Pokemon or was that all you had to offer?"
She looked up at her, waiting for a response. Pyxis simply returned the Golbat to its ball and looked at it... sadly? It didn't last long, that familiar anger soon taking over her expression once more.
"You sure love humiliating people you don't even know. Makes you feel powerful, I assume?" she asked, poison in her tone. "Well, enjoy it while you can, asshole. Agh, Mars is going to be so mad at me! Shit, shit!"
She shot Inyssa a look that was a mix between anger and frustration, and without further ado she turned around, running east towards a side path off Route 205. Inyssa took a deep breath, a satisfied smile on her face, and returned Kuro to his Pokeball for a deserved rest. She walked towards the tree that the noise was coming from and looked up to see two almond eyes set on her.
"You can come down now," she told the kid, trying to imitate Sarah's calming tone. "I scared the bad girl so she won't be bothering you anymore."
She heard a faint whimper coming from up there, and slowly the little girl started making her way down the tree, her limbs trembling. Inyssa put her hands up and helped her down by grabbing her legs as she slid towards her. Part of the girl's hair got on Inyssa's face as she fell on her arms, dark brown covering her vision and making her cough hair. As she placed her feet on the ground Inyssa could finally make out her appearance; the kid must not have been more than eight. She was skinny and was wearing a green sundress with brown boots. Her breathing was heavy and her lips trembled with fear.
"Th...thank you Miss." She spoke almost in whispers, trying to form a smile. "You were really cool!"
"Heh... well, what can I say." Inyssa scratched her cheek, face reddening slightly. "All in a day's work I guess. Anyway, are you okay? Why was that loser chasing you, did she want to steal your Pokemon?"
"I'm Katie." She introduced herself, bowing down slightly. "I don't have Pokemon. She wanted to take me back, you have to help me Miss!"
"Hey, calm down." Inyssa placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You're safe now, okay? And you can call me... Niss." She paused for a second. "Huh, I guess it does sound kind of like Miss..."
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"No, you don't understand, you have to help me!" Katie turned her hands into little fists and pouted. "Those people have my dad! I ran away and then she chased me but dad is still there!"
"Those Galactic guys kidnapped your father?" Katie nodded, her eyes welling up with tears. "Where is he?"
"He was working and I was there, and then those people appeared and they didn't want anyone to leave," Katie explained, talking faster and faster. "They're back there in the... wind thingies." Inyssa could see the kid trying to remember the place's name, but it wasn't necessary; she had studied the region's map very closely.
"You mean the Valley Windworks?" she asked, and Katie nodded. "That's not too far from here."
"Dad is all alone and he needs help!" she cried, her voice breaking. "And the other lady's in there too! She was there and then she wasn't herself and it was scary and I..."
"Katie, listen to me," Inyssa whispered, looking her in the eyes. "It'll be okay, I'll get your dad, but I'm gonna need your help, okay?"
She nodded once more and Inyssa started to form a plan in her mind. If Katie's father was in trouble then the faster she moved the better, but she didn't know how well guarded the place was. Although even with a dozen of those fashion disasters running around she was pretty sure she could handle them as long as she was careful; besides, that would certainly look good on the news when the story spread around. She had to start working on her reputation as a trainer sooner or later. Maybe they'd even give her a title like her sister had, if she did a good enough job! It was decided.
"Do you know where the Pokemon Center is?"
Katie pointed west, towards the main street of Floaroma. "Yeah... it's over there."
"Good, I need you to run there and tell the nurse what happened," Inyssa said, trying to sound more confident than she was. "Make her call the police, and if you spot a blond kid my age, with hair that looks like a banana, tell him too and explain to him where I am."
"Y-yes Niss." The kid smiled nervously. "Are you gonna go there alone?"
Inyssa twitched one corner of her mouth into a smile, and took a hand to her hair, attempting to look cool.
"I can handle it, don't worry about it," she assured her. "Now hurry before more of them show up."
Katie did as she was told and started running as fast as she could towards the city, her long brown hair waving behind her. Inyssa stood still on one knee, thinking. She felt a strange, cold shiver in her stomach but she did her best to ignore it. As she stood up her gaze turned toward the east, where Pyxis had run to. Without thinking twice about it she started walking in that direction, towards the Valley Windworks.
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"I am... so terribly sorry, Commander Mars! I swear I won't fail again!"
Within the dark, industrial looking bowels of the Valley Windworks, Pyxis knelt at the end of the railing which led to the deepest room of the building, head bowed, hands resting atop her thighs. Beside her was her partner, Orion, who kept nervously glancing between her and the other woman, his hand playing with a lighter he kept in his pocket, opening and closing it.
Commander Mars' face was hemmed in shadows, the light from the machines in the room behind her bathing only the back of her head. She leaned casually against the sill of the door, arms folded, her blood-red eyes half lidded with boredom. Her uniform and stature didn't appear different to that of a normal grunt at a simple glance, but the tension in the air born of her presence alone was enough to differentiate her from those around her.
A deeply bored sigh left her lips. When she spoke, her voice chilled the two grunts like a cube of ice being run down their backs.
"If anything, Orion's nervous fiddling is annoying me more than your groveling. Cut that out, will you?"
Orion did as he was told, pulling his hand out of his pocket alarmingly fast, as though it'd been hit with an electric current.
"I-I'm sorry, Commander!"
Mars didn't grace him with more than a glance, looking back at Pyxis. "After all the fuss you made about your assigned Pokemon being too weak, I would've expected a better performance now that you have a Golbat. But hey, I'm not a trainer, what do I know." She shrugged. "This is a problem, though, but thankfully, you'll be able to make it up to me by fixing it. Get up."
"Yes... Thank you, Commander. I'll do anything-"
"And Orion?" Mars cut her off, looking away disinterestedly. "Charon's men are too busy, go and fetch the girl's father, will you?"
"Y-yeah. Of course."
Orion slipped fearfully past Mars into the room behind her, and a few seconds later returned with the man in question, one hand grabbing onto the back of his suit's collar and the other pushing him to walk forward. The man was taller and clearly a couple decades older than his captors, wearing a dusty brown suit and similarly drab shirt and tie. His mouth was taped shut, and his eyes burned with anger. Anger he could do nothing with, as both his legs and his arms were shackled. Orion carefully placed him next to Mars, forcing him to kneel, and then hurried to Pyxis' side, standing protectively beside her. Both of them looked nervous, expectant.
"Good," said Mars, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "Come, Pyxis. Take this, and kneel next to him, will you?"
As she stepped forward, she could finally stare at Mars' face in full. The sickly paleness of her skin, the avian sharpness of her features, the blood-red color of her hair and eyes. And that knife-sharp smile, so small it was almost invisible. Yet that wasn't nearly as unnerving as the object she handed Pyxis, like one would a simple hairbrush. It was a knife, small but very sharp.
Pyxis stared at it, feeling her stomach drop. "Commander? What should I do with this?"
Ignoring her, Mars knelt down on one leg before the shackled man, shoving her hand inside his coat and looking around for something. Though he tried mightily to struggle away from her grasp, there was little he could do. Eventually, Mars clicked her tongue with a smile and pulled out a small device from within one of his pockets, a Poketch.
"You did well to hide this," she said, spinning the middle of the bracelet around one of her fingers. "But your daughter wasn't as fast. I saw the one on her wrist, and I assume you have her number here. Am I wrong?"
The man's eyes widened with horror. He grunted, struggling against his binds, but was completely ignored by the red-haired woman as she stood back up and started fiddling with the device. Pyxis understood now, and a smile formed on her lips. Mars must've had a hell of an eyesight to notice such a small detail on the girl amidst this darkness, especially while she was running away. But then... what was the knife for?
Amidst the silence occasionally broken by the man's desperate grunts, Mars scrolled down the list of contacts in the Poketch, until she found what she was looking for. She pressed the button to start the call, and the ringing sound lasted for only a few seconds before the girl on the other side picked up, her voice loud and excited.
"D-dad!? Dad, it's me, I'm-!"
"Hello, Katie."
The little girl let out a choked gasp of terror, and all sound from the other side of the line went dead silent. Even the girl's steps, which they could faintly hear before, ceased completely. Only a barely perceptible whimper made it through. At that moment, the smile that had formed on Mars' face was sharp enough to cut air.
"Why did you have to run away? You've made trouble for everyone, your dad included," she said softly, not an ounce of anger in her voice. "If you'd stayed put, we would've let you both go as soon as we were done here."
"I-I... D-dad..."
Katie sounded on the verge of tears. It was hard to listen to; Orion couldn't help but look away, shadows of guilt falling over his face, but Pyxis tried her best to remain steadfast. This was all for the good of Team Galactic, for the good of the world. If she hesitated...
"There's still some work for us to do here," Mars continued, ignoring the little girl's palpable fear. "It'd be a problem if you brought the authorities down on us. But I think I know how to get you to come back, poffin."
"S-stop it... D-don't-"
"You see, a friend of mine here is holding a knife to your father," Mars said gleefully, talking over both Pyxis and Katie's gasps as realization started to dawn on them. "I'll be generous and give you the chance to return. But if you're not here in five minutes, my friend will slice one of your dad's fingers. And she'll keep doing it once for every five minutes you're absent after that. Understood?"
The sheer horror and pain that came through Katie's voice then was enough to paralyze Orion and Pyxis. "N-NO! PLEASE-DAD-!"
Mars hung up, leaving the girl's scream dead in the air, and plunging the room into a silence as tight as a noose. After a moment to breathe, she looked down at her two grunts and Katie's father, all of whom had the same look of disbelief pasted on their faces. Pyxis' hand, the one holding the knife, was shaking.
"...Commander?" Her voice was a whisper, her lips curving into a disbelieving smile.
Suddenly Orion stepped in between them, his voice tinted with anger. "Y-you can't expect her to actually do that, Commander! You scared the girl already, she's gonna come back, right? So Pyxis doesn't have to-"
"Orion, the next time you butt in, it'll be your finger that knife will be pointed at."
Those words alone were enough to freeze him in place, the weight of Mars' gaze heavier than even his loyalty to his friend. He felt his throat go dry.
"Pyxis," said Mars. "I said you'd get the chance to make up for your failures, didn't I? I suggest you listen; I don't know when I'll be this merciful again. There are three minutes left. Considering how far the girl must've been, I doubt she'll make it in time, so get ready."
"..."
A storm of nerves and anxiety held Pyxis in place, her knees shaking on whether she should remain standing or kneel beside the man, her hands facing the same deliberation, her eyes moving from Mars' to Orion, as though looking for salvation in him. The tension was heavy on her shoulders. Mars' eyes didn't move from her for a moment, not even to blink, giving off the feeling of being stared at by an Arbok waiting to pounce.
In the end, her fear, her need for survival won out over her common sense. Lower lip shaking, she knelt and readied the knife, a bead of sweat falling down her forehead. Mars smiled, pleased.
"There we go," she said. "We are all slaves to our own survival. Now-"
Like a ray of sunlight filtering through the clouds on a stormy day, a loud, metallic whirring sound reached their ears from somewhere upstairs. All four of them stared up at the ceiling, waiting, and soon heard footsteps resounding on the floor above, anxious and frenetic. Pyxis let go of the breath she'd been holding, that oppressive tension vanishing off her shoulders.
"...You said you lost against a promising young trainer, yes?" Mars whispered, and it took Pyxis a second to realize she was talking to her. "Was she the stupidly heroic type, by any chance? Enough to come looking for us on her own?"
"T-the brat!" Pyxis gasped, standing up suddenly. "I-I can go deal with her if you'd like, Commander! I'll-"
Mars raised a hand, instantly silencing her. For a few long seconds as the person above walked around looking for them, she narrowed her eyes as though considering something. Finally, she closed her eyes and let out a sigh that almost sounded like a laugh.
"It seems that today is your lucky day," she cheerfully told the man shackled at her feet. "Someone came to re-roll your snake eyes into boxcars, yet giving up her own roll in return."
Orion grabbed onto his friend's arm, pulling her back, gulping. "Commander? Should we...?"
"No, I'll take care of this."
As she said that, Mars raised her right hand, which strangely enough looked even paler than her left, if that was even possible. And as she narrowed her eyes and concentrated, something odd happened to the skin of her palm. It started to bubble as though boiling, slowly changing color from white to pink.
"It's not often I get to have fun during these boring missions," she said, eagerly licking her lips. "It's been a while since I put on a show for someone. You two will be my backup actors, alright?"