[BtTG] Advent of Ruin

[Will this story be canon? Well... I'd certainly like it to be! The first part of this story is mostly just repeating a segment of actual canon events that have occurred within BtTG. I place that in here to give a bit of context for the second half of this story. Also, I really enjoyed this scene.]

“No… no, no, NO!!”

Those words made Decoda’s blood run cold as the call was cut short. The hand he held his Pokegear with was now clammy with sweat as his face grew empty. Terror gripped his thoughts like a Seviper wrapped around its prey as the feeling of helplessness washed over him. He felt like he could do nothing, like he was unable to help anyone right now. His own thoughts paralyzed him as he thought over the words the other caller had given him before she was cut off. Before being cut off, Marley had described that both she and another girl had been kidnapped, and the description Marley gave matched only one person Decoda knew.

“Loka…” He muttered softly, realizing that both Loka and the one who had called him, Marley, were now in danger. There he stood, on the staircase of the Pokemon Tower, where dead Pokemon were put to rest. And yet, he couldn’t feel anymore numb.

A hand on his shoulder tore him from his unmoving state as he whirled around to face one of his traveling companions, Catia. He clasped her hand in his own, holding it tightly out of his own fear. There weren’t many other people Decoda had in his life -- the traveling companions he’d made over the last few weeks were the only people Decoda had left to hold on to, and he had no intention of letting more pain get inflicted on this group any time soon…

“They’ve got Marley and Loka! Catia! They’ve got Marley and Loka! The people with the blue letter on their uniform, they’ve got them! They’re in Fuschia now! Is it any coincidence now?! We were going to Fuschia, we were on that very same path! Marley just said she was there for a music thing, but it didn’t matter because she said they wanted information on the Avatars! Marley’s the one who helped me trap Rotom - she wouldn’t know any more than what she saw that day!” Concern overtook the rage in Decoda’s voice as he spoke.

His panic grew heavy as he grabbed Catia’s arm, breathing heavily. He could feel tears beginning to swell up at the corners of his vision, but he didn’t care. “And Loka’s the descendent of Houndoom! She’s seen the Avatars! She knows all they need! She doesn’t deserve this fate, not after all the trouble it took to giver her a second chance! Not after everything she’s lost!”

Decoda suddenly let go of Catia’s arm, perhaps aware he might have hurt her. His hands covered his face for a moment, an agonized groan escaping his lips. The musician squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as he fought back tears. He couldn’t do this, not now. He couldn’t let this happen, not to Marley or Loka or anyone else. He lowered his hands and shook his head.

“I’m going to Fuschia to save them. I don’t want any of you to come along for the sake of you getting captured. I don’t want to lose -- lose my friends!!”

A frown was Catia’s initial response to Decoda’s declaration. A swift punch to his chest was her second.

“You idiot! Loka’s our friend, not just yours! Besides that, how are you going to get out of a situation like hers without knowing how to do even basic self-defense?! I might not be able to fight but I can at least handle myself with one hand. You wouldn’t be able to get in through the front doors!” Catia scowled, placed a hand on her hip as Decoda recoiled from the punch.

The sounds of footsteps coming down the staircase heralded the arrival of Yuno, Cerise and Wes, Decoda’s other three companions who had taken a bit longer to come down -- the latter two were coming to terms with newly acquired ghostly companions under… strange circumstances. Upon hearing fragments of the shouting from Decoda and Catia, Cerise quickened his pace a bit, trying to defuse the situation.

“Wait a second! I’m not sure what’s going on, but this doesn’t sound like something you should do alone! I know you’re easily one of the more experienced trainers here Decoda, but what’ll we do if YOU get captured?” His eyes darted between the two as he tried to figure out everything that had been said.

Wes, on the other hand… had been able to piece together more of what Decoda had just unveiled. His eyes narrowed as he thought over the information… Loka was missing, a uniform with a blue letter… His Pokemon duo -- an Espeon and a Bansheeon -- looked up at him worriedly.

“E-excuse me…” He muttered as he pushed past Decoda and Catia and quickly made his way out of Pokemon Tower, his Pokemon in tow.

Catia angrily sighed as Wes walked past, returning her gaze to Decoda. “Look, if you really want to save the both of them, then your best option is to let us all recover and take us with you. As for the self-defense part, Yuno and I can teach both you and Cerise how to fight for yourselves while we’re recovering and on the road to Fuschia. After, of course, Yuno and I have a little talk privately. I’m still kind of mad about this whole thing,” She gestures around her, referring to the events that had just occurred around Yuno and a certain sword Pokemon. “I need a change of clothes, a new backpack, and some basic supplies before I’m going anywhere. And I’m sure we could all use a shower and a good night’s rest. Agreed?

She looked around at everyone, annoyed that Decoda had made such a rash decision without considering how the others would feel. This situation wasn’t just his personally to deal with -- it was for everyone.

“A-ah… I don’t think you’re in any shape to fight, Catia,” Yuno piped up. A frown from Catia in response caused Yuno to look down at the ground bashfully. After her own failed stint at training with Lt. Surge’s militia, she wasn’t sure if she’d be a good teacher.

“I can at least show these two how to defend themselves if you help me out. Right now though, let’s take care of the essentials -- a shower, shopping for replacement supplies for what we lost, then you answering some of my questions before we get some much needed rest.” Catia replied as she took Yuno’s hand. Yuno sighed, knowing the previous events that had occurred would need to be explained sooner rather than later. She pouted for a moment.

“O-ok… I’ll help teach them, ONLY if they want to be trained. I-I’d rather not force something onto them…” Being that this was a rescue mission, she would rather teach them the arts of subterfuge, espionage, and cloak and dagger, but there wasn’t nearly enough time for that. However, performing recon for the group seemed viable.

“Let’s head back to the Pokemon Center for now,” Catia continued before looking back at Decoda and Cerise. “I dunno about you two, but I for one am dirty, and I’m tired of not having any supplies for myself. I’m going to go off with Yuno and take care of some things. We’ll meet back up later at the Pokemon Center, alright?”

As Catia and Yuno made their way out, the Pokegear on Decoda’s arm lit up -- this one was an older model, with a cracked screen. A pixelated face appeared on the screen, forming a face similar to a Rotom. A voice rang out from this second Pokegear that Decoda wore, its tone steely and metallic. “Sir Decoda, would you like me to track Miss Marley’s signal? I might be able to pinpoint her location, so that you may execute your rescue mission.”

Unphased by the voice emanating from the Pokegear, Decoda slowly nodded to its suggestion -- he was more focused on taking in what everyone had said. More and more… he was beginning to realize that perhaps he should rely on those who were available to him. He and Cerise stood in silence for a moment before the musician turned to the younger male. “I had no idea a Pokemon journey would be like this…”

“You’re telling me!” Cerise replied with an added sigh. “Traveling trainers always made it seem more cheery when they passed by the Day Care… But they probably didn’t have to deal with Avatars and Legendary Pokemon like we are. In any case, we’re here for you, bud! And with how serious this sounds, we may need every resource we can get if we’re going to get this done. I’ll admit, I was kinda hoping we wouldn’t have to seriously fight someone with our weapons… But it seems like fighting our way through may be inevitable.”

Cerise gave him a tired smile and a pat on the shoulder before he headed after the others to the Center, leaving Decoda to his own thoughts for a moment. Even after all that had happened… Cerise and Catia both brought up valid points. They were all in this together, now. There was no going back to Pewter City to be with his dad and Brock. At this point, he couldn’t possibly drop everything for his music career and let Professor Green down, either. His own Pokemon would be just as upset with him if he did that -- an act that might as well be considered on par with betrayal.

The red-head finally pulled himself together and followed Cerise down. He had a lot of good things and bad things going on right now, but in the back of his mind, he knew things could have been so much worse. They could have lost Yuno only minutes ago, Marley could have been killed and never had the chance to call him, they could have never heard Loka again… but with the new additions to their traveling party, having this chance of hope call in, Catia making it out of the fire with just her hurt arm and a plethora of other positives…

They could make it. They had to.

And yet, as the two young men walked back to the Center, machinations in the far-off Sinnoh region would soon have repercussions that would rock their very world...

---

“I surely hope your little… experiment can finally work today, Mercury.” The one who spoke -- a tall woman with short, crimson hair -- spoke as she strode down a hallway with quick steps. Her red eyes were focused on the door at the end of the hallway, a gateway to the hopes where her expectations had been placed. Her heels clicked loudly against the marble floor as she quickened her pace.

“You needn’t worry, Commander Mars. Today will be a success. I can feel it.” Was the response. Mars looked back to the other speaker, a dark-skinned man with reddish-brown hair. Mars glanced down at Mercury’s necklace -- a miniaturized Pokeball -- before looking Mercury in the eyes once more.

“I hope so. For both of our sakes.” Upon reaching the end of the hallway, Mercury pushed open the door for Mars, which led to a perfectly circular room. As they both stepped inside, Mercury made his way to a nearby research assistant who nodded to a small group of other scientists to mobilize. Mercury turned on the microphone he wore on his labcoat as he spoke.

“My name is Professor Mercury of the Sinnoh region’s Team Galactic, and this is attempt number 133 of Project Red Braid.”

Mercury took a moment to take a sip of a cup of coffee that had been set out on a table for him, then turned to face towards the glass cylinder in the middle of the pearly-white room he now stood in. Amidst the wires and tubes and computers that lined the walls, the small number of other scientists also stood at watch, expectantly waiting for the experiment to begin.

“For future posterity of this project, I will once again briefly summarize this project’s purpose: to allow for Team Galactic to combine the best traits of differing Pokemon into one form, which we will domesticate into a beast capable of remaking the universe. Knowing certain Pokemon exhibit malleable genetic structures, such as the Pokemon Eevee or Ditto, we have targeted these specific Pokemon to begin our tests with. With the Red Braid we have synthesized from the DNA splicer blueprints that Team Galactic has… “borrowed” from Team Plasma, we are another step closer to achieving our goal. Now, we begin!” Mercury made his way over to the main control panel, his hand firmly grasping the main switch.

He pushed the switch, watching the experiment unfold with undivided attention. The cylinder ahead of him held a young Eevee, which looked up in panic as multicolored gases began to fill the cylinder it was trapped in. It let out a small cry as strange and foreign substances began to seep into its body, and surges of electricity ruptured its small frame. The gases began to obscure Mercury’s view of the Eevee as they became more dense, with only the flashes of the Eevee’s silhouette being seen when electricity ripped through the cylinder.

“Almost… almost…!” Mercury murmured under his breath as the electricity surges became more and more frequent. The cries of the Eevee were not… pleasant to hear, but this Eevee’s pain was a necessary side effect of achieving Team Galactic’s goals. Even now, he could see the Pokemon’s silhouette begin to shift and change. His hands were tense as he tried to time the transformation. Too short, and the Eevee would revert to its normal form. Too long, and it would kill the Eevee.

Energy levels finally began to reach their maximum limit before Mercury finally pulled the switch back. He waited with bated breath as the gases were filtered out of the cylinder, revealing…!

Just a normal Eevee.

Mercury looked down with annoyance as Mars walked up to him. He could feel the Commander’s silent glee at Mercury’s failure even now. The scientist refused to make eye contact with Mars, instead clenching his fists.

“Well, well, well! Eustace Aerie, you fail once again!” Mars smirked as she placed a hand on Mercury’s shoulder.

“Don’t call me that. It’s Mercury now. You know that.” Mercury muttered as he brushed off Mars’ hand. He motioned for an assistant to remove the failed Eevee -- It was no longer needed.

“Can’t reach the future if you forget the past. You know that.” Mars quipped, looking over at the Eevee with disinterest before her own eyes widened. “Although… the future may be here sooner than expected…”

“What is that supposed to mea-?” Mercury followed Mars’ gaze, focusing on the Flareon that was now in the hands of his assistant. His heart now pounding with excitement, he rushed over to the Pokemon, cradling it in his hands. It looked up at him with large, innocent eyes. In one moment, it was a mass of red fur. And before his very eyes, its red fur began to shimmer and shine as it took on a diamond-like coat and within an instant, its form had changed once more. The Flareon he had held mere seconds ago had now become a Glaceon. And as easily as it had become a Glaceon, the creature’s fur began to change color again and in split seconds, it had taken on the form of a Sylveon. It then rotated between several other Eeveelution forms… almost as though it were testing its new capabilities.

“...It worked!!” Mercury laughed. “Experiment 133 is a success! Ahem! We seem to have successfully created an Eevee that can shift between its different evolutionary forms. Further tests will be required, but we can say that Project Red Braid is capable of living up to its potential! You there, take this… Eeveeon to its holding pen so it can rest.”

As Mercury handed off the newly christened Eeveeon to an assistant, Mars slowly clapped from where she stood.

“Well, let’s hope it doesn’t degrade into a pile of Muk. In any case, your concept of “braiding” Pokemon with their evolutions may just be viable for our cause. Let us hope we do not have another containment breach though, hm?” Mars said with a smirk as Mercury approached her.

“Yes, this is only Phase 1, however… Commander, walk with me for a moment.” Mercury replied as he began to make his way out of the room.

“Tell me… does the term “Avatar” mean anything to you?” Mercury asked as he and Mars made their way back down the hallway from whence they entered.

“Not particularly… Should it?”

“It’s part of Project Red Braid, so yes. The Avatars are… special Pokemon of particular note that are capable of shifting between their own Pokemon forms and a more… human form. Other abilities exist for them, but they vary too greatly to be of note.” Mercury glanced over at Mars, making sure the Commander was following what was being told.

“So… you’re telling me these… Avatars can look like normal people?” Mars spoke slowly, taking in what Mercury had told him.

“Correct. And these Avatars are fully capable of having human… offspring, if you were curious. My… father was the one who told me about the Avatars and their kin. He called them the blessed and the damned, beings who could bestow extraordinary gifts upon humans they felt were worthy of their powers. These Ascended people were meant to lead humanity out of darkness and corruption, or at least, that was the plan. This world has grown too corrupt, too dark. No current Ascended person can bring the world out of this pit of despair that it’s fallen into, what with poverty, world hunger, and constant war. It’s much better to simply start over with a fresh slate, which is what Cyrus always intended for Team Galactic to do.”

“Shame he’s not here now… “ Mars sighed, recalling how the former Team Galactic leader had chosen to resign himself in places unknown.

“True. And I personally don’t think his leaving Commander Charon in charge was the wisest move for Team Galactic. Commander Mars, you need to be the one to lead us to the new world -- not Charon. For that to happen, I need to know that the trust between us will be reciprocated.” Mercury replied, firm in response.

“...Of course. But why are the Avatars relevant? Why bring them up?”

“For our plans to come to fruition, we’ll need to capture one and see how they work. Ultimately… Project Red Braid is aiming to create a synthetic Avatar that is capable of overcoming any foe and is completely loyal to us. Team Rocket came close with Mewtwo, but they had neither the knowledge nor the resources to attempt what we do now.”

“I see… So which Avatar are you aiming to capture?”

“Any that we can get our hands on. Although… I would prefer an Avatar that is already capable of shifting between various combat forms, such as Deoxys or Rotom -- something along those lines. I’ve had some assistants working on the technology necessary to actually locate and track the unique energy signatures of Avatars. With time, we should be able to begin locating them.”

At this point, the two had come to a fork in the hallway, with Mars needing to head one way, while Mercury would make his way down the other. Mars nodded in response to Mercury’s statement.

“Understood. Keep me in the loop. I find that I’ve become quite... interested in your research, Mercury.”

“I would find it hard not to.” With that, Mercury parted ways with Mars, his hand now grasping the Pokeball necklace he wore. His thoughts began to wander, and he could only hope that the decision he made all those years ago to join Team Galactic had been the right one. The thought of finally being able to see his family again was the only reason for why he’d stayed. Blackmail and death threats were the only reason why Mercury… or more specifically, why Eustace Aerie hadn’t gone back to his family. He let out a sigh as he cradled his Pokeball necklace in one hand.

He would make it. He’d have to.