《The Cost Of Our Connections: A Pokémon Journey》


 Chapter 01

    DAPHNE


    With practiced ease, Daphne led a group of hikers to an outcrop of solid rock jutting upwards at the edge of a forest. Its body of stone was bare save for a few batches of short grass and shrubs, but from there one could get a view of the whole forest. Green as far as the eye can see, with colossal mountains further beyond just within sight, covered by a layer of mist such that it appeared like a mystical land. A gray tower stood in the far distance and stuck out like a sore thumb surrounded by all the green. Up here, the air was crisp and smooth. It was early dawn and most of the creatures in the forest were still asleep. The rustling of the treetops below hinted at the presence of nocturnal bird Pok¨¦mon, seeking to make the most out of the last few hours of darkness from the previous night before the first rays of sunlight streaked across the sky like a paintbrush renewing its colors.


    They all had smiles on their faces amidst the sweat on their brows and necks, and everyone traversed the craggy trail with ease, including the young boy in the group. The hikers carried full backpacks with tents and sleeping bags in them as well as walking sticks in their hands that they poked the grass and ground with. The young girl who led them, on the other hand, seemed ill-equipped for such an adventure. She wore a cotton shirt with an army camouflage print, and the seal of Argyros Town was sewn on the left chest of her shirt. It depicted that same rocky outcrop they were standing on illustrated inside a circular frame, with silhouettes of trees drawn in black at the base of the natural monument and the sky above it colored in dark orange and purple to represent either dawn or dusk.


    She gestured for the tourists to come closer to the edge. ¡°Behold! The Forest of Arcadia, in all its beauty!¡± she spoke with enthusiasm.


    She then pointed to a section of the forest that had different species of trees compared to the ones directly below them.


    "That area is special, even among the list of ¡®special places'' I already showed you,¡± said the girl. She turned towards her guests and beamed a smile at them that was almost as bright as the coming morning. "Those aren''t ordinary trees. They''re part of a Pok¨¦mon! Slumbering over yonder is a colossal and majestic creature found only here in the Apeiron Region, and that specific specimen is the oldest and strongest of them all. They''re called Arbozil, but the locals call that one ''The Sage''. Nobody here on this earth was alive when that Arbozil was but a wee Grassrewt, and when the Pok¨¦mon League came to Apeiron it was still a sturdy Growmodo. Since then it has grown larger and larger to the point where an entire section of the forest grows on its nutrient-rich back." The girl spoke with an exuberant tone, and there were no pauses in her speech introducing the slumbering creature to the tourists. She had a final addendum to it as she turned towards the Pok¨¦mon again. ¡°We believe The Sage guards this forest," she said.


    "Can I catch it?" asked the little boy, the youngest of the hikers that Daphne was guiding through the preserve.


    The smile on her face faltered a little bit after hearing that, the muscles on the corner of her lips twitching. Nevertheless, she kept up appearances. To her, it sounded more like a comment than a serious question. This child - who by her own estimation was around eight or nine - clearly would not stand down no matter what her answer would be. How would she deal with this situation?


    "Ah, certainly. You may try, is what I''m saying. The rules of the establishment don''t specifically say that The Sage can''t be caught." She forced a giggle through her smile. Then she crouched down slightly, her hands on her knees, trying to look at the boy at eye level. She spoke in a soft tone. ¡°But¡­ that would make the other Pok¨¦mon living in this forest sad, wouldn''t it? Imagine you have a friend, and that friend suddenly goes away and you don''t know why. That''s how the forest would feel if The Sage was captured."


    She looked into the boy''s eyes with her lilac pupils, and he nodded. Daphne turned to the adults in the group and declared that they could rest for a few minutes at the foot of the stone outcrop, if they wished. She stood aside and let them occupy her spot at the top of the rock to take pictures of themselves or at the forest below, always cautioning them to be careful, as beyond that rock was a fall through grass and bushes and trees and rocks and it would be a while before one would hit stable ground. Her quiet was interrupted by the same boy, who cried when his mother held him by the arm and did not allow him to run to the top of the rock. ¡®Noisy little brat,¡¯ she said to herself as she sat near the trunk of a tree. Daphne watched as the boy''s father lifted him up and walked near the top of the rock, but not quite the summit of it.


    Daphne heard the bushes next to her rustle, and she turned towards it. The presence felt familiar, and it made her lean slightly forward. Then out popped a small creature, with a yellow head and a sharp snout with a pair of thin whiskers. Two round-shaped ears could be found above that little head. The small Pok¨¦mon had a tiny dot of a nose and its eyes were a dull red, almost brown. The creature''s torso was shaped like a pear and heavy near the bottom, most of it was the same shade of yellow as its head, but its arms were red and looked like long sleeves concealing its real limbs underneath and it looked loose and lumpy with the elbows bent. The Pok¨¦mon''s hands were yellow also. Its legs were short and sturdy-looking, also red, and it had a tail that split along the middle close to the tip.


    Daphne sighed in relief as she stretched her arm towards the Pok¨¦mon. ¡°Mienfoo, is the road to the tower safe? Any obstacles?¡±


    Mienfoo nodded and nuzzled the young woman''s hand, its cheeks pressing against Daphne''s knuckles.


    ¡°That''s great!¡±


    She reached inside the pockets of her baggy pants for a folded up paper and unfurled it. Daphne examined the itinerary for her trip, tracing a finger along each named place and the time of day written next to it. She bit her bottom lip as her brows furrowed, and she shook her head. ¡®We''re not going to make it to the lakeside before noon. Not at this pace¡¯, she said to herself. They started from their camp at first light, but it was slow. Only the leader of the group was enthusiastic about starting early, and the rest dragged their heels as they gathered their stuff. The boy was not awake at all and had to be carried around when they began. She looked at the hikers she was in charge of and was tempted to cut their fun short and resume the hike. They were taking pictures of themselves and the scenery, performing ridiculous poses near the rock. Twice she had to speak up and warn them about the edge, and she had to keep her eyes on that little brat who was running around.


    Their Pok¨¦mon joined in too. Out came those red and white balls from their pockets and belts. At first they were barely the size of a single grape, but with a push of a button, the ball expanded in size and occupied the entire palm of an adult human, and after pressing that white button at the center of the ball again, a red beam of light was projected towards the ground and from it materialized a Pok¨¦mon - a living, breathing creature as sentient as any other, and likely more intelligent than the boy. Daphne reached towards Mienfoo and held it close to her as the Pok¨¦mon shuddered, nervous and caught off-guard with the appearance of four other Pok¨¦mon seemingly from nowhere.


    Daphne narrowed her eyes at the Pok¨¦mon. A Heracross, an Azumarill, a Magnemite, and a Fletchinder. She looked at them, but avoided their eyes. She did not want to hear their thoughts. Daphne glanced at Mienfoo who also observed the other Pok¨¦mon with a furrowed brow, and put a hand on its head and patted gently. ¡°Don''t worry, buddy. I''m never putting you inside a Pok¨¦ball. You''re gonna be free to wander as much as you want!¡± she said.


    The group and their guide proceeded a while after that, with Daphne repeating a warning that she already told them at the start of the trip. They were to keep their Pok¨¦mon secure inside their Pok¨¦balls as they hiked, the reason being the wildlife in the area being unaccustomed to seeing foreign Pok¨¦mon. It would just be needlessly disruptive. Letting their Pok¨¦mon outside of the balls must serve important reasons, such as emergencies. Mienfoo was already used to the forest, and the creatures in there had no reason to be hostile to it. Mienfoo was just as much a guide as Daphne was. Quietly though, Daphne thought it was well and good that she did not have to witness Pok¨¦mon being released from their ¡°prison¡± all the time. The distinct sound of a Pok¨¦ball beaming out that red light made her nauseous sometimes.


    There was plenty yet to see, and the scenery and the surroundings were enough of a distraction for Daphne too. After the rock, she led them down the same forest trail they came from, but then turned south and then southwest. The area was still mostly flat and grassy, green as far as the eyes can see with grasses and shrubs rolling along with the blowing wind. Wild Tauros and Gogoat ranged freely in the grassy field, coexisting without chaos in an environment largely free of large predators. Daphne and the group were also witness to a local equine Pok¨¦mon called Vinequine running down the field with several juvenile Sprigcolt running after it. The horse Pok¨¦mon''s elegant green mane blew back as it met the wind, as did its leafy tail. Daphne pointed at the sky and brought everyone¡¯s attention to a flock of Battalon flying to the northeast, there was a great number of them and the early morning sun bounced off the steel-like armor around the torso of each and every one. Their gray feathers appeared white for a moment as they flew under the sun, dark eyes fixed to the horizon as their sharp beaks, sturdy as metal, pierced the air the bird Pok¨¦mon flew through. They sailed along the air elegantly.


    ¡°They¡¯re flying to their nest beyond the lakeside. Then they¡¯ll fight a series of ritualistic duels until one remains and evolves into a Knightawk. A worthy king!¡±


    Down the hill, the vast farmlands near Argyros Town were still visible indicating that they were not that far from civilization. Once Daphne turned north to a thinner trail, she led the group into the thick forest that they were merely looking down at from the large rock an hour ago, and slowly the town disappeared from sight. The road they traveled on became a simple dirt path cleared of any huge obstacles, and large trees stood vigil around them. Oaks, beeches, pines, and alders all served as homes for winged beasts and mammals alike, and their sounds gave life to the forest. Daphne hid her dislike at naming the Pok¨¦mon who lived in the area to the tourists she was guiding, because she knew that she would mention a certain species and one of them might stop to capture them. Not only would they be delayed for a few hours again, but her hatred for those tiny red balls had steadily grown in the past year or so, since she started working in the Argyros National Park.


    Among the many familiar forest-dwelling Pok¨¦mon she mentioned, there were also creatures native to Apeiron that the hikers may not have heard of before. She drew their attention to the tiny rodent-like creatures with stout snouts, round bodies, and prominent quills sticking out of their backs called Prickspine, foraging for food in the form of leaves, berries, and roots on the forest floor. On a nearby stream that flowed with crystal-clear water, Daphne showed them a picture-perfect scene of two Happicapys and a single adult Charabara relaxing in the middle of the stream with Spearows nonchalantly sitting on their heads and back; these Pok¨¦mon looked like sturdily-built creatures with shaggy brown fur and two prominent front teeth. The wonder of the treetops and the canopy came next. Not bird Pok¨¦mon, but lithe and agile yellow-furred and long-limbed primates racing each other across the forest by leaping across branches and clinging to tree bark and howling noisily at each other, and even paying attention to the hikers and their guide. They moved too fast, and Daphne was only able to name them once they were gone.


    ¡°Baboolt. Fast as lightning, and with days of energy to spare. We don''t tend to provoke them and we watch them closely, as their monkey business can easily set the forest on fire,¡± she said with a laugh.


    None of them even had to lower their heads to see dozens of the hapless worm Pok¨¦mon known as Caterikon; creatures destined to forever stay in the first stage of their life cycle unless taken outside the forest and into extreme conditions. As they were, they looked like nothing but squiggly brown lines crawling across the branches and munching on leaves. Their thin bodies looked like tree bark, camouflage being their only defense against predators.


    Daphne paused and thought about how similar she was to the Caterikon, trapped in this small world - the only world she knew, here in the Arcadian Forest like the near-motionless worms. She shook her head in defiance of those thoughts. ¡®Not me. Not as long as I have a choice.¡¯


    The forest went on for what seemed like forever. Daphne advised the hikers to stay close to her and keep every member of their group within sight, while she herself slowed down and instructed Mienfoo to venture ahead and warn them of danger. She was free of worry, having taken this trail a thousand times before and often leading a number of people larger than the current group safely through. Aside from the little boy, these hikers actually listened to her cautions and did not carelessly wander off. Daphne chalked this up to them being Apeironese natives, just urbanites with little experience outside the cobbled stone streets and the agora and the thermal bath houses in their cities.


    ¡®Tourists from Hoenn are the worst!¡¯ Daphne once confided to a co-worker. She had no shortage of eye-rolling stories concerning those foreigners, from a pair of tourists getting lost for three hours because they wandered away from her, to a so-called ¡°Pok¨¦maniac¡± almost dying after eating a poisonous mushroom byproduct of a Pok¨¦mon that he claimed to have studied for weeks. Even still, there were precautions that she took for the current trip and even items in her itinerary that she had to cut for time. She and Mienfoo agreed to take this group away from The Sage. If they stopped for a couple more hours, they would not reach Tourmarches Tower while the sun was up and there was no safer place to camp amidst this sea of trees. It saddened Daphne. She wanted to see The Sage today, and pet its mossy snout and even take a nap on top of its broad but rough and stony head.


    Once the sky could be seen again, unobscured by the trees, the sun was no longer above their heads and the heavens had already begun to wear a tinge of orange in the midst of the blue. Soon, the trees around Daphne and the hikers became shorter until they sighted a clearing ahead, a flat grassy plain with no trees similar to the area that they were in before they went through the forest. The source of the orange in the sky could be seen off in the far distance, the sun coming down slowly over the horizon and seemingly hiding underneath a lake of still, shimmering water, with light bouncing against its gentle surface. At the shores of the lake stood the gray tower that stuck out from the surrounding scenery when viewed from here just as much as it did when observed from afar, only this time the dilapidated state of it could not be hidden. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Stones that once helped the tower stand tall and sturdy were scattered all over its base, in such a worn and weathered state that one would assume they were boulders placed upon its feet by nature, were it not for the square-cut corners and the clear imprint of human labor. Holes on the surface of the gray tower could either be windows or products of neglect, but they could also very well be slits for archers to shoot their arrows from back when the area was unpacified and required the constant attention of the eponymous tourmarches, the term for a local ruler appointed by the emperors. The tower was crowned with a ring of parapets that seemed less worn down than the rest of it, and at the center stood a metal flag pole that bent with the wind, carrying aloft the Imperial Standard - the silhouette of a dragon Pok¨¦mon on a purple field prominently breathing red fire that wrapped around itself like a wreath.


    ¡°Viewing the sunset from the top of the tower is quite the experience. But the top is seven stories up and accessible only by stairs,¡± said Daphne, cautioning the hikers after an entire day of just walking from dawn to dusk.


    The area at the foot of the tower was already lively. Daphne could see other groups of people being led by guides working for the park, but she did not particularly feel inclined to interact with them currently. She stuck with the group she was leading and acted like she was engaged with them also, but in reality she was trying to usher them to the top of the tower where they could take their pictures and tape their videos and then she would show them their designated camping spot near the edge of the lake. Quietly, she was thankful they chose to rest instead of climbing Tourmarches Tower. Before her day could end, she attended a small gathering with a dozen other tour guides that was called by a superior at the base of the tower. The topic was about reassignments, and she was the last to be addressed.


    ¡°You¡¯re taking the next two days off Daphne, I heard?¡± asked the man who presided over this small meeting; a short, middle-aged, balding man built thinly but spry, sturdy, and healthy.


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± replied Daphne.


    The man smiled at her. ¡°Very well. You¡¯ve done great this week, and I think you deserve an earlier time off. Go on now. I¡¯ll take over for you and make sure your guests are settled in for the night, and I¡¯ll assign a new guide for them on the morrow.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± she said with a bright, gleaming smile and then a bow.


    Hypatios had always been good to her, and one of the few employees that still remained working in the park since she started a little over two years ago. The man was in-charge of the training of new recruits, so Daphne was tossed his way when she was hired. A little girl of just fourteen winters back then, but already sure of where she wanted to be. ¡®I want to be where the Pok¨¦mon are!¡¯ she remembered herself saying to Hypatios on the first day of her training. And so she was trained; taught her bearings and how to navigate, how to forage, how to build fire and shelter and sometimes even bivouac in the winter if the weather got too rough, and taught about the Pok¨¦mon that lived in the area. It was fun at first, but reality caught up to her eventually.


    It was a job. She had the winter mostly to herself, but come the summer and the fall, Arcadia was swarmed by tourists from other parts of Apeiron and from other countries as well. Daphne could count with one hand the times she met a group that was not disruptive to the Pok¨¦mon living in the area. In the best cases they were simply noisy and numerous, but at the worst they littered and sowed discord with their Pok¨¦mon ¡°battles¡± at the most inconvenient spots and timing. Even worse than that, Daphne grew to hate those small red-and-white balls that these foreigners carried around and captured Pok¨¦mon with, like they were mere collectibles and trophies. Mienfoo became scared around them.


    Five months before she joined, the previous owner of the preserve died and in his will he left its ownership to his widow. Not soon after, the new matriarch opened the whole expanse of the Arcadian Forest to foreigners and defilers, and every winter that passed since then, as she walked through the snow-covered woods, she inevitably found traces of apathy and disrespect. Trash was only the least offensive defilement Daphne could find, although by far the most numerous. It also strained the meager finances of Argyros Town as it was forced to sponsor ¡°cleaning teams¡± every start of winter to return the place to its pristine state¡­ only to be devastated again when the snows melt. But no, by far the worst of what she saw were dead Pok¨¦mon occasionally strewn about just at the side of the trails, often hidden haphazardly as if covering up a crime. They were left to rot under the shade of the forest to spread miasma, or out to chill in the late autumn wind. These people had no respect for these creatures.


    ¡®These foreigners often weaken wild Pok¨¦mon before they attempt to catch them with their Pok¨¦balls,¡¯ she remembered Hypatios say, once when he and her were left burying as many dead Pok¨¦mon as they could. ¡®They force them into battles, and strike them unprovoked. Sometimes, they kill the poor creatures by accident. We''re here to at least give them a little of the respect they ought to deserve.¡¯


    For the evening, she was free. She did not leave the area right away, and instead went to the back of the tower where nobody was looking. Daphne looked around for Mienfoo, and shortly after saw it jump out of the bushes as if to surprise her.


    ¡°You little rascal!¡± she laughed. Daphne went low and stretched her arm out, and Mienfoo jumped on it and scampered to her back and wrapped its short red arms around her neck. ¡°Ready to go up?¡± Daphne got an enthusiastic squeal from the Pok¨¦mon as she rubbed her hands together and tied her purple hair in a bun.


    With a running start, Daphne elevated herself in five steps on the vertical surface of the tower wall and hooked her fingers on crevices between stones, her grip as strong as the thickest tree root against a terrible hurricane. She pulled herself up stone after stone with Mienfoo cheering her on, her breaths steady and practiced. She seemed to know where all the jutting stones and the holes where, the crevices wide enough to fit four fingers and the round tips of her sneakers, and she also knew when to stop reaching upwards and sidle a few meters to the left or right, whereupon there would be something closer in reach that she could hold and climb again.


    She kept her gaze upwards and ascended steadily, unfazed by the wind that blew stronger the higher she went up. Mienfoo¡¯s grip around her body tightened as the wind came, but she only laughed it off. Soon the round tower became narrower across, but there were plenty of places to grip and hook yet. Centuries this tower stood, it was already dilapidated in many spots, but no matter how much weight Daphne put on the stones, they never moved even an inch. The mortar that held them together was as strong as it was when the masons worked at this height on the backs of their bird Pok¨¦mon.


    Finally Daphne¡¯s fingers hooked on the top surface of the parapet, and it only took one strong upward heave to hoist herself up and over it, and land on solid ground. She expelled a rush of hot breath through her mouth and wiped her sweaty brow with the back of her forearm. Her muscles ached, but she loved the way they hurt. Daphne never shied from work that left her sore and limping, but climbing was a special kind of fun for her. Mienfoo took a while to get comfortable, but after watching Daphne do it so many times, the Pok¨¦mon had taken a liking for it too.


    As she stood wiping her brow, her Pok¨¦mon leapt from her back but then uttered a growl that alerted Daphne. She moved her hand away from her side and saw a young man standing on the opposite side of where she was, leaning on the structure near a door that would have been the way in and out of the top if one used the stairs. Daphne viewed him with wide eyes and lips slightly ajar, examining him with much suspicion. He seemed the same age as herself but taller, though he seemed just as thin. His blond hair blew at the direction of the wind, thin strands flying all over his face and obscured his blue eyes from Daphne¡¯s sight. He showed teeth with his smile, and his eyes were smiling too. He was holding a phone horizontally and aiming the camera at Daphne.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± she said. ¡°Can you get that camera off me?¡±


    He exclaimed, and then he put the phone down, stuffing it inside the outside pocket of his red jacket. ¡°So sorry about that, miss. I saw from up here when you were starting to climb. I had to get it on camera! I¡¯ve never seen anything like that before.¡±


    Daphne narrowed her eyes. ¡°Okay¡­ How come I never saw you?¡± she inquired.


    The boy shrugged. ¡°I shot your climb from different, weird angles. Or maybe Tourmarches Tower is just that tall! I know I certainly was floored when I arrived here and witnessed its true size. ¡®Seven stories tall¡¯ hits different when reading it versus actually being here. The name¡¯s Julian, by the way! And yours?¡±


    She did not respond. Daphne stared at him with piercing lilac eyes in silence and with a slight pout. ¡°Why do you need to know?¡± she asked back. ¡°And my name¡¯s right there. On my shirt.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡±


    Daphne watched his eyebrows arch upwards as his eyes went towards her chest. True enough, her very name was embroidered on her shirt at her upper right chest.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Daphne. So you¡¯re a guide. You must have been all over Arcadia, huh? Seen all that needs to be seen here?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°The forest, maybe. There¡¯s more to Arcadia than the forest.¡±


    Julian nodded, and his eyes went downwards seemingly along Daphne¡¯s legs. She followed the motion subtly with her own gaze, and both of theirs met on Mienfoo. Julian crouched.


    ¡°Hello there! Nice to meet you as well. You like climbing too?¡± Daphne was also watching Mienfoo when it nodded its head. ¡°Yeah! You looked like you were having fun.¡±


    Mienfoo posed for a photo, and Daphne was about to curb that behavior with a stern call. But before she could, Julian¡¯s phone was already pointed at the Pok¨¦mon. She quietly walked off to the side so she would not get in the way. She was still not comfortable with having a camera pointed at her by a stranger. In direct contrast to her Pok¨¦mon, who enjoyed posing for whoever had a camera. Daphne let it be, and stood leaning against the tower, where the stone was still warm from the sun that had by now hid behind a cloak of darkness. She had scarcely noticed that. There was still light when her gaze was fixed upwards when she climbed, but now the sky was dark and purple near the horizon, and tiny dots of white twinkling lights replaced the mighty sun. Daphne found herself looking upwards again, with a heavy sigh of relief escaping her lips.


    She heard Julian thanking Mienfoo, and from the corner of her eye she could even see the boy showing her Pok¨¦mon the pictures he took in his phone. Daphne paid them no mind. She did not even notice him facing her and walking towards her. She turned cautiously towards him, her arms crossing over her chest. Julian waved, but stopped after she turned and stood on the spot where the wind continued to blow against his face and ruffle his hair. He looked uncomfortable, but that smile did not seem forced.


    ¡°Will you still be here on the morrow, Miss Daphne?¡± he asked.


    She raised a brow. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I need a guide,¡± Julian replied, laughing. ¡°I need to go north, to a village somewhere in the Karvounas Mountains. My map says I can get there through the forest, but the locals I¡¯ve asked advised me against going alone. So I uh, I think I need a guide.¡±


    Daphne¡¯s lips straightened into a tight line. She was going north tomorrow, but preferred to have no company other than Mienfoo and not desiring to be held back by some urbanite who was probably ill-equipped for a journey through rough forest terrain. And did he say he was going to the mountains? She looked him up and down again, before she answered.


    ¡°No,¡± said Daphne. ¡°I¡¯m not working tomorrow.¡±


    She watched Julian¡¯s shoulders drop and his eyebrows slant. ¡°Oh, okay.¡±


    She continued to watch him. He pulled out his phone and walked away, sullen and quiet. But Daphne couldn¡¯t help but feel bad, she also felt the need to explain her attitude all of a sudden. ¡°Look, Mister Julian,¡± she said with a sigh, turning fully to face him where she was met by a hopeful gaze. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t particularly feel safe traveling with a stranger, when I¡¯m out of uniform and possibly outside the bounds of park service. I hope you understand.¡±


    Julian nodded. ¡°Of course. Trust is earned, so is respect,¡± he said. ¡°I just hoped you¡¯d be more accommodating to my plight. Considering how close you are to your Pok¨¦mon, I thought you¡¯d feel safer traveling with a stranger together with your hetairos.¡±


    Daphne perked up when she heard the word, and she repeated it under her breath. ¡°You¡­ are you Apeironese? I thought you were a foreigner¡­¡± The last were spoken as a hushed whisper.


    The boy nodded, ¡°I sure am! I¡¯m from the north though, and I only recently learned your dialect so¡­ forgive the accent!¡±


    There was no accent. Julian spoke like he was born in the same town as she, although in retrospect she should have found it strange that she was able to converse with him without difficulty. This young man made her drop her guard at odd moments.


    Daphne looked around the top of the tower. ¡°Where¡¯s your hetairos?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Oh no, I don¡¯t have any!¡± said Julian. ¡°I¡¯ve never been able to form a connection with Pok¨¦mon as deep as that. But I get along with Pok¨¦mon in general.¡±


    That was perhaps the most suspicious string of words she had heard thus far. Daphne eyed him closely, like she did not want him to leave her gaze for even a moment. She was so unabashed about looking him right in the eye that Julian seemed to feel a fluster creeping up from inside him, and he appended his earlier statement with an awkward-sounding laugh as he looked away. She hummed in thought, audibly.


    Perhaps that was common in the big cities, but it was profoundly unheard of for Daphne. To go on an adventure without a partner Pok¨¦mon - one you would trust with your life and one who would entrust theirs to your hands - was courting peril. For as beautiful a land Apeiron was, the danger of nature was still abound and humanity¡¯s only protection from it came in their connection to the Pok¨¦mon around them.


    ¡°What am I supposed to make of that? Someone traveling to somewhere as perilous as the Karvounas Mountains without a single Pok¨¦mon.¡± Daphne shook her head after saying that. ¡°Look, I¨C¡±


    She caught herself before she spoke what was on her mind. If all he said was true, then this Julian person had no business even anywhere in the wilderness. It was unfathomable to Daphne how he even managed to get here. But no matter how she looked at him, she could find no lie in those eyes or in that smile. The thoughts that she stopped herself from saying out loud pertained to Julian not making his destination at all, on account of the dangers he would face if he was telling the truth of his destination and that he actually had no partner Pok¨¦mon. ¡®I don¡¯t want to be the one to find your mangled body four days after you¡¯re declared missing,¡¯ she thought. Disappearances in Arcadia Forest have become more common as of late, and authorities relied on rangers and guides such as herself for the search operation. Daphne had been involved in three such searches in her time as a guide, but she was never the one who found the remains. She shuddered at the thought.


    ¡°Okay, you clearly don¡¯t know what you¡¯re getting into,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s gonna weigh heavy on my conscience if I refuse you now, and then something bad happens to you. I¡­ I can¡¯t bear it. So I will accompany you, and act as your guide. But I have a stop to make first.¡±


    As she spoke, the smile on Julian¡¯s face grew. When she finished, he was nodding eagerly. ¡°Yes! Thank you very much! I don¡¯t mind if we take a dozen stops!¡±


    Daphne cleared her throat. ¡°I¡¯m not done,¡± she said. ¡°I have to be back here in two days, so I can¡¯t accompany you all the way. But I know a hunter and his family who lives at the foothills, and if you have money with you, he won¡¯t refuse you. He¡¯ll be the one to guide you the rest of the way.¡±


    ¡°Of course, that¡¯s not a problem at all.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of, this isn¡¯t gonna be free,¡± said Daphne, leaning on one leg with her knuckle pressed on her hip. ¡°This is an unannounced trip, you¡¯re booking my services during my time off, and¡­ other factors, so that¡¯ll be¡­ nine hundred drachma.¡±


    She watched his eyes widen and his jaws drop. ¡°Nine hundred?!¡±

 Chapter 02

    ANABEL


    ¡®The worm has found a new home, here in this beautiful new land untainted by its corruption.¡¯


    Anabel pressed the flat tip of her pink highlighter on the page of the novel she was reading, and colored those words with a single firm stroke. She lifted the tip from the page just as the vehicle she was in slowed down to a stop. She put her book and highlighter away as she looked up through the windshield in front of her, and then to her left where her companion pushed a button to lower his window. An unarmed police officer approached them with his hand raised, and his eyes looking down towards their plate.


    ¡°A checkpoint? In Kallinikos Square?¡± muttered Anabel, as she took out her ID and badge. ¡°Did something happen, Patrick?¡±


    The driver shook his head and also pulled out his identification and badge, showing it to the police officer whose eyes alternated between the card and the person. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, captain. Just a precaution. There''s a big election coming up. Tomorrow, people running for office will start arriving in Chrysopolis to file their candidacies. Security in the city becomes tighter in the weeks leading up to it. If you ask me, it becomes suffocating.¡±


    Anabel looked forward and tried to see past the gate. ¡°Is the park open to the public?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s just that they have checkpoints at every entrance. Oh, look to your right, captain.¡±


    Anabel followed her companion''s finger and his words towards the right side of the vehicle, and saw a Psychic-type Pok¨¦mon levitating just outside her door. Anabel lowered her window as well, and gave a small smile. ¡°Hello,¡± was all she said, as she showed the Pok¨¦mon her identification.


    Anabel had had her fair share encounters with odd Pok¨¦mon, but the one checking her identification and badge was top of the list. Inspectrochos looked like a levitating steering wheel; Anabel did not know how else to put it. A lone eye occupied the center part of the Pok¨¦mon, a red orb staring unblinkingly at her with irides that expanded and contracted in a pattern she did not recognize. No spokes connected this eye to three rings that surrounded it, which were the color of polished bronze, and itself had four smaller eyes roughly corresponding to the cardinal directions. At least, that was how it looked to Anabel. Inspectrochos seemed capable of rotating its three outer wheels - each one bigger than the wheel closer to its center - independently. Anabel was still unsure of what the gesture meant, when the outermost circle rotated slower than the other two, and the ring closest to the eye rotated the fastest. They stopped with a clicking sound all of a sudden, and the Pok¨¦mon stared not at her badge but right into her eyes. Anabel had to think about not shuddering when she felt a chill run down her spine.


    Inspectrochos made a noise that sounded like distorted buzzing and floated away. The security officer that stopped them gave them the clearance they needed, and the gate lifted to give their vehicle passage. Anabel released a slow breath as they drove past the checkpoint.


    Past the gate that made them pause, the two entered Kallinikos Square. Anabel looked around as the car drove along the wide paved roads of the city park, recalling the last time she was here. The park side of the square was full of people and Pok¨¦mon, sitting idly by on stone benches facing the grand fountain and the garden surrounding it, or otherwise walking along the cobbled stone paths meant for foot traffic. She could see joggers along the edge of the square, sweat glistening under the light of the setting sun. Pok¨¦mon were as welcome in the park as the people were. There were Grass and Bug-type Pok¨¦mon being left to their own devices to play with each other on the grasses and the bushes, and the tall hedges that caused the southwest side of Kallinikos Square to resemble a green labyrinth. A low-stakes Pok¨¦mon battle between two children were commencing, with a Torchic spitting fire and a Froakie hitting them mid-air with its soap bubbles. But all the same, it was difficult to ignore seeing the navy blue uniform of the Apeironese police force. The Pok¨¦mon that Anabel saw accompanying the police were of a certain kind and type; usually canid such as Growlithe and Stoutland, but also bipeds like Machamp and the short-statured, Steel-type, soldier Pok¨¦mon called Spathritai, who followed the patrolling army soldiers with their small round shields and short blades for arms. They all seemed capable of combat. She noticed it relatively late, but these Pok¨¦mon were also wearing gear and equipment personalized for them, which to some Pok¨¦mon - like the Growlithe - looked cute.


    The fountain and the garden was surrounded by sixteen metal poles that rose tens of meters high, and each of them hoisted a flag of a nation that was partnered with the Pok¨¦mon League Association. She did not need to trace the metal poles upward to know that the Apeironese flag was hoisted higher than the rest. The symmetry made her uncomfortable the first time she saw it, but she thought looking at them again after knowing all she knew now would give her a different feeling of dread.


    ¡°Is it your first time here, captain?¡± asked Patrick, a voice that cut through Anabel¡¯s reminiscing.


    She shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve been to the square and in the IIA building before. But unlike last time, I''ll be staring down a pack of wild wolves alone,¡± Anabel sighed.


    ¡°When was that? If you don¡¯t mind me asking.¡±


    ¡°Several years ago. I was a rookie back then,¡± she shrugged. ¡°Uncle Nanu brought me with him. He said he was more comfortable seeing a familiar face before going to war.¡± Anabel found herself chuckling at the memory.


    Patrick took his eyes off the road for a second to look at Anabel with a furrowed brow. ¡°Going to war? What?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly what they talked about there, Pat. Uncle Nanu¡¯s colleague made me wait downstairs at the cafeteria. Best bagels I¡¯ve ever had, though. And good coffee too.¡±


    ¡°You''re just here to turn over some information to the Imps though, right?¡±


    Anabel snickered at the word, one commonly used to refer to government agents in Apeiron. Short for Imperials, it was. ¡°Yeah, just in and out. A day in the life of a bureaucrat,¡± she replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. I heard two agents were given the task of organizing your lodgings. I¡¯ll get you to your hotel after this meeting, captain.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Pat.¡±


    Anabel went quiet and her expression darkened as she looked ahead listlessly. No doubt the topic of this evening¡¯s meeting was the recent busting of an infamous crime boss in Johto. Their investigations about him led them back to Apeiron, where they discovered a worrying history of allegiances in a life that was lived before crime became a feasible choice. His words seemed consistent with the attitude of some people in the region, per the reports she received from Interpol agents stationed in Apeiron and what limited observations she had made. The foreigners and the Pok¨¦mon League Association were unwanted at worst, and tolerated at best. Chrysopolis was already the most cosmopolitan city in the country, but Anabel still felt that the air was unwelcoming to her after she took in the sights of the ¡°Golden City¡±. She wondered how Patrick handled his first few months in Apeiron, no doubt it was stressful. The last time she saw the young man, he styled his brown hair long and tied it with a low ponytail. When they met again for the first time in a while when he picked her up in the airport, she was shocked to see it trimmed short. He joked about it being burned by a Fire-type Pok¨¦mon, now Anabel wondered if he was actually attacked by a zealous nationalist somehow.


    Patrick made a right turn towards the center of the park, towards the wide river that split the park and the city of Chrysopolis itself in two. A sturdy bridge connected both sides of Kallinikos Square, short but wide, with four towers standing on both sides of each end that reminded Anabel of the shorter, stouter versions of the towers of Skyarrow Bridge in Unova. Near the bridge to the right side was an artificial island in the middle of the river where a life-size copper statue of Emperor Constantine IV stood, raised above the ground by a stone pedestal. The emperor faced towards the fountain and the flags, his sword arm was raised and his weapon high above his head. Behind him, a replica of his hetairos stood: a black Charizard with its wings spread open and its partner¡¯s saddle secure around its body, ready to soar to the sky at a moment¡¯s notice. When Anabel saw the statue for the first time, she thought that the Charizard standing almost more than twice the height of the emperor was an artistic expression meant to make the monarch''s partner Pok¨¦mon larger than the wild ones. But when she saw an actual untamed Charizard in the wilderness of Apeiron, the statue seemed smaller in comparison.


    Even as they were still driving towards the bridge, Anabel could already see one possibly the most elegant building she had ever seen in her entire life. The biggest building in the city park was the Parliament Building, and it was the one that drew her gaze upwards now as it did before, along the soaring spires that also reminded Anabel of some of the oldest buildings in Unova. It was a stunning architectural masterpiece that embodied the grandeur of Apeiron¡¯s national identity. The building¡¯s fa?ade was adorned with countless statues, ornate carvings, and expansive windows, while its central dome rose majestically and dominated the skyline. The Parliament''s exterior was a harmonious mixture of pale sandstone and vibrant white, creating a striking contrast against the river¡¯s deep blue waters, and made the building shine like gold at night when all the lights were turned on. Parliament loomed over Anabel and cast its shadow on their vehicle as it approached. It was a building built in the style of a storied past for the rest of the world, but to this country it merely heralded the beginning of the new.


    But they were unfortunately not headed for Parliament. Anabel would have loved to walk along its splendid halls and enter the chambers that were open to the public, to stop by and examine the art pieces on display along the walls. ¡°I¡¯d have to come here another time and do a tour inside. Will you be my guide, Pat?¡±


    The answer came quickly. ¡°Of course, captain!¡± But it was followed by hesitation. ¡°Depends on the schedule, I guess. But I¡¯ll do my best for you.¡±


    Patrick drove along the road in front of the building due west, and then turned right at the end of its long right wing. The road they were on continued to the back of Parliament and towards the northern end of Kallinikos Square, and Anabel was more familiar with this place than she was with Parliament. Here there were other government buildings, and each of them looked just as majestic as Parliament and built in the same style. They almost seemed like smaller auxiliary structures, merely part of the whole instead of separate buildings. They passed through the Apeiron National Museum, and then the buildings that housed several government departments - arrayed next to each other in similar-looking structures that almost seemed like duplicates. In here, there were no tourists - at least not at this time, and the Imperial Guards stationed here looked more ceremonial compared to their counterparts elsewhere. Their red dress uniforms seemed based on the attire of a similar type of palace guard in Galar, although their headwear differed and the soldiers Anabel was looking at wore white and gold capes that covered their left arm, with embroidery that mimicked dragon scales.


    They arrived at the IIA building at the corner of the smaller square, the last in an array of similar-looking buildings that were only differentiated by the emblems they showed at the front. The entrance to the building was guarded by two sentries, unmoving like statues, and there was a small parking area in front of it. Patrick took the one spot that was not yet occupied. It was an unassuming building, now that Anabel had a good look at it. Nothing about how it appeared on the surface indicated that it was an efficient gatherer and processor of information from all over the country, and staffed by some of the toughest people Anabel had met in the field.


    ¡°The Apeironese are a proud people, are they not, Patrick?¡± she said. Her prior thoughts filtered through to her words, and Patrick was pulling up the parking brakes of his vehicle when the question was asked.


    He nodded. ¡°Certainly. They don''t let you know, but you can see it with the way they look at you.¡±


    Anabel smiled. ¡°Must be hard, stationed here in the golden city. It seems the League''s reputation is being dragged through the mud right now. And with it, the way the people view us.¡±


    Patrick sighed and shook his head. ¡°You just get used to it, I guess. It¡¯s unfortunate, though. Apeiron is a beautiful country, and its people and Pok¨¦mon are just as amazing. We could¡¯ve all gotten along better if the League just didn¡¯t¡­ shoulder it¡¯s way through.¡±


    Anabel stayed silent, but nodded along and listened to what he was saying. She knew it was a bad and dangerous idea to let her subordinate know about the thoughts that swirled inside her head, and the judgments that she made when she lay on her bed to rest after work. Being in a car in front of the IIA building was hardly the right setting to go about criticizing the League for actions that it took and those it continued to take. Even though she agreed with what Patrick said, he would not know that now. Anabel moved to open her door and leave the vehicle, when she was stopped by Patrick.


    ¡°I don''t want to sound rude, but¡­ will you let me handle all the talking until you get to the meeting room, captain?¡±


    Anabel shot an incredulous look towards him, with a furrowed brow as she tried to figure out what he meant. Without letting him continue, she would never figure that out but she did notice that he was worried, and he was tapping his fingers at the steering wheel impatiently. She closed her door again.


    ¡°What is it? Is everything alright?¡±


    Patrick shrugged. ¡°It''s¡­ just the way they do things here. You''re someone of rank, and certain things are expected of you. You''d need a chaperone, and you''re not supposed to interact with people of lesser rank.¡±


    Anabel blinked. ¡°Not even the¨C¡±


    ¡°Not even the receptionist,¡± Patrick said, interrupting her with his words and his shaking head. ¡°If someone like you goes inside there and your chaperone starts asking directions, that''s already a bad look. Your subordinates should have already planned your route ahead of time. Less interruptions. So I go in there, notify the front desk that you''re here, and then we go straight to the meeting room. I''ll be waiting outside.¡±


    Anabel felt a laugh creeping through her throat, and it came out as a giggle. She had to cover her mouth. ¡°Okay that''s¡­ a little bit extra. Bordering on absurdity. I''m not a princess, Pat!¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°I mean,¡± Patrick looked away. ¡°Some people would think you''re a princess.¡± The young man shook his head and clapped his palms once, making a loud sound. ¡°Anyway, we''re in a land of empresses, dukes, counts, and knights. So we gotta play the part. Today you''re a princess and I''m a knight. You don''t need to do anything, captain. Just follow me.¡±


    Anabel still had laughter in her as she nodded and conceded. She tried to regain her composure before she exited the vehicle, holding a brown envelope in her hands. Even those were taken from her by her subordinate who seemed a little too eager to be playing his role, and it almost made her laugh again. By the time the doors to the IIA building were opened to them, the pair looked like they were already practiced in the common customs and courtesies as Patrick described. True enough, everything was fast and they did not run into problems. He went to the front desk speaking fluent Apeironese and ostensibly alerted relevant parties to her arrival, and all Anabel had to do was smile at the ladies minding the front desk and other people they ran into in the hallways as she followed just a few steps behind her fellow officer.


    It was perhaps a good idea to have Patrick lead her around the building. She would have been lost trying to find where she was meant to be. It was a maze of corridors and office doors, with little to no distinction between them. There were signs that were written in both Apeironese and Common, but if Anabel relied solely on those then she would be staring upwards after every turn and likely wake up the next day with a stiff neck. But she was right about an earlier assumption. This sprawling office space looked as contemporary as any other, and might even be equipped with more modern electronics and infrastructure compared to even similar buildings in Kanto. The air felt cool and comfortable too, and there was a sweet smell in the air. People milling about made the place feel alive, but it was not boisterous and chaotic in the wide hallways.


    Down a hall, she saw a large space furnished with couches, a coffee table, a television, some vending machines and coffee machines, and even a stacked bookshelf that made Anabel slow down. The lounge was fully occupied but the people in there were either minding their own business with newspapers or phones or speaking with others in a casual, conversational tone. She felt at home in this environment, and recalled a time when she was still a fresh face in the force, working in Alola under Nanu. Was this place really all that different?


    ¡°Right here, captain.¡±


    Patrick''s voice cut through her reminiscing. The man was standing on the other side of the hallway, having just pushed a button that called the elevator to their floor. Anabel brisked her way towards him, careful not to bump into other people. She reached the elevator just in time as the metal doors opened, and the two stepped inside. Patrick took them to the seventh floor, which was already near the top. The elevator took a while, leaving time for her and Patrick to talk while they were alone.


    ¡°Where''s Looker?¡± asked Patrick.


    ¡°He has bigger fish to fry,¡± Anabel replied.


    She chuckled at her own remark. In truth, Looker was not informed that she was here and about to meet with some of the highest-ranking officials of the IIA. It would be chaos if he knew. He would have insisted on accompanying her, taking the role Patrick was currently doing right now. It became clearer to her now why he was sidelined for such a delicate mission that required a particular brand of subtlety that he lacked. Patrick seemed to have complete control over the situation, and was the right man for the job.


    ¡°Ghetsis is a pretty big fish too though. Right?¡±


    Anabel turned towards Patrick and sighed. ¡°It was supposed to be our biggest catch yet. But fate had other plans for us,¡± she said thoughtfully.


    ¡°I hope the meeting goes well. I have every bit of confidence in you, captain, but¡­¡± he stopped speaking, seemingly to reconsider his words. Anabel watched his eyebrows furrow and a pout form on his lips. ¡°I''m more concerned about the people you''ll be talking to. The IIA bosses. They have a reputation for a certain kind of stubbornness.¡± Patrick then looked into her eyes with a hopeful gaze, like he was hoping she''d know what he was talking about without him needing to say it. The camera in the elevator was probably recording, sound and video both.


    But Anabel knew what he meant. It was heavy in the air of this country and she felt it the moment she stepped foot in it, and she imagined it was true for many foreigners like herself. Before she took up this new posting, Anabel studied the history of the place she would have to call home for the foreseeable future. Suffice it to say, everything she learned only served to make her understand why the League was so hated. During subsequent studies and inquiries towards experts, Anabel also learned that dissent of the League had largely moved away from public discourse and hid underground where it was only spoken about in secret societies and seditious brotherhoods that still wanted the foreigners kicked from their sacred shores, or in the countryside where the Pok¨¦mon League was never popular even to this day. Anabel took Patrick''s words to mean that the people she was scheduled to meet with had certain sympathies. But how people reached so high up in the ladder of bureaucracy despite having such dangerous ideas, she did not know.


    The meeting room was at the other end of the seventh floor from where the elevator was. Anabel and Patrick had to walk the entire length of the floor, and she observed that the other rooms were also used as conference rooms by the agency. Anywhere she looked, she saw holograph-capable monitors projecting visual aid into the very air where they were able to be interacted with through certain hand gestures that made it look like the projections and holograms were physical entities themselves. Anabel also did not hear a single sound coming from these rooms, and she had no reason to believe that the sound of her shoes hitting the polished marble floor made its way through the sturdy and clean glass windows to disrupt the meetings inside.


    Patrick stopped at a room that did not look like the others. This one had a large double-door made with shiny dark wood that featured an unpainted carving of the imperial insignia right at its center. Anabel could see no window from which she could see through the other side, but Patrick nodded assuredly as if to confirm to her that this was the right place. He did not utter a word, but as the brown envelope passed from his hand to hers, Anabel began to more clearly hear several voices speaking behind the huge door. After a series of loud knocks done at a certain rhythm, Patrick turned to look at Anabel one last time before he pushed one door open for her to pass through. Patrick stood aside to let pass, and once she was through, he quietly closed the door behind her.


    The smell of cigar smoke was thick in the air. It took all of Anabel''s restraint to not cough and clear her throat, and she only barely managed to hide the discomfort she felt over her stinging eyes by closing them and then taking a bow. She kept a smile on her face.


    ¡°Greetings, gentlemen. I''m so thankful you can all spare some of your time for me today. I know how busy you are,¡± she said. ¡°My name is Anabel, and I represent the International Police.¡±


    She felt the stares all around her like needles pricking her skin. Anabel was in the room with three men: two older gentlemen and one that looked the same age as her. It was that last man that she did not account for, as she came into this meeting thinking that she would be conversing with just the chairman and inspector general of the police force. After a nod, Anabel seated herself along the elegant table made superbly with dark oak, and scanned the men in front of her quietly.


    The chairman of the IIA was a balding old man with a heavy-set square face and a prominent nose. He was clean-shaven and wore round-shaped eyeglasses, and he smoked a thick cigar that was thicker than his fingers as naturally as he breathed. To his right was the inspector general, another older man who had heavy brows and piercing red eyes that made for a stark contrast with his dark complexion. He stared at her intently since she entered, and Anabel tried her best to ignore the discomfort. Whatever the case may be, the two did a good job at making her feel unwelcome. The third man was considerably younger, and Anabel had no idea who he was. He sat lazily on his chair, leaning back against it with one leg resting above the knee of the other, and his hands clasped together above his stomach. Unlike the other two and herself, he was not wearing his suit jacket and aviator sunglasses hung from the breast pocket of his white shirt. He had blond hair and blue eyes, and a full golden beard coveted his square jaw. In front of him on the table was a glass of ice and whiskey as well as an ashtray with a burning cigarette on it.


    Anabel placed the brown envelope she was holding on top of the table, and slowly pushed it towards the middle.


    The chairman looked at it as he puffed smoke through his lips. ¡°This is all the information we asked for?¡±


    Anabel did not respond right away. ¡°All that we could gather from these past months since the raid. Personal records, background checks, former affiliations with as many records as we could trace. For some persons of interest, we also recorded their past residences and a majority are still being actively tracked.¡±


    ¡°We only want one name, Miss Anabel. And your records of him,¡± said the inspector general, who did not break eye contact with her even as he took a sip of his own glass of spirit.


    ¡°Kaisarios Onychas, of course,¡± Anabel sighed, as she reached for the envelope again and opened it. She began pulling out sheets of paper one by one, but many were still inside when she closed it again. ¡°We have records of him extending all the way back to eight years ago, when he first appeared in our radar. We suspected that he was involved in the smuggling of contraband and dangerous substances. He had his underlings set up a fake furniture business in Unova, serving as a front for his operations as he pushed drugs to Kalos and Hoenn, and also locally. He has since expanded his operations to all countries, except here.¡±


    ¡°This is well-known,¡± said the chairman, looking at her with one eyebrow raised and pouty lips. The expression made him look grotesque.


    The inspector general spoke again. ¡°Tell us something we don¡¯t know. He left Apeiron alone, and returned after all these years with a companion he seemingly values highly. Is this the person he¡¯s running his cult with?¡±


    Anabel turned to look at him. ¡°Cult?¡± she echoed. That was the first time she heard of that, and she quickly sifted through her memories for information tangential to it. She did not need to reach so far down before one other name came to mind. Anabel swallowed a dry throat before she reached for the envelope again and took out another file.


    ¡°There he is. Your big fish.¡±


    The blond young man finally spoke up. The grin he wore showed Anabel that his teeth were golden, or at least covered in gold. He pulled his chair closer towards the table and leaned forward, looking at the file in the center. His words caused the two other men to look his way, as if expecting him to continue. As for Anabel, it made her shudder when she recalled the conversation she had with Patrick in the elevator, and she pretended not to notice.


    ¡°This is him? Kaisarios is learning how to run his little cult with the help of this¡­ Ghetsis?¡± asked the chairman.


    Anabel caught the young man¡¯s eyes, looking at her. He nodded at her as if to say that she needed to answer the question. She cleared her throat. ¡°Until now, we did not know about this cult. We do not have visibility of his operations in Apeiron. But we have long suspected them both working together, and it was proven after the raid that blew all of this open. Ghetsis was on the site, but¨C¡±


    ¡°He slipped through your fingers, like the slimy snake that he is,¡± said the blond man, shaking his head. ¡°How did that happen?¡±


    ¡°They were more numerous than we were led to believe, and enough of us had been misdirected,¡± Anabel replied.


    She looked away, anywhere else but those boastful blue eyes. She could focus on nowhere else but the rich brown color of the dark oak used to make the elegant table. She lost many good men and women and their Pok¨¦mon in that raid that was one wrong move away from being a massacre, and they neither got the man they came for nor appreciation for their efforts. That raid was one of the events that Anabel played in her mind constantly, thinking of different moves and different outcomes, and quietly grieving for those who were lost.


    ¡°Pretty convenient, don¡¯t you think, sir?¡±


    ¡°What are you suggesting, Constantine?¡± asked the inspector general, who now turned towards the blond male with the same intense gaze that he subjected Anabel to since she walked inside the room. ¡°This all sounds circumstantial to me.¡±


    ¡°Kaisarios watched his back for eight full years, jumping from one country to another and avoiding us and Interpol like he was playing a game. He could have kept playing longer, were it not for the extradition treaty.¡±


    Anabel perked up. That was the kind of news that people would read about once and then forget as they carried on with the rest of their lives. She counted herself one of those people. Now she was eagerly listening to the man named Constantine, while looking at his prideful eyes and his annoying smirk.


    ¡°He¡¯s not in this for the money or the notoriety. More than anything, he wants to come home,¡± Constantine said with a shrug. ¡°And he was right, was he not? He was caught by Interpol, and then he was extradited back here. He found his way around his exile,¡± he added with a laugh.


    ¡°He covered for Ghetsis?¡± asked Anabel, gathering the attention of the other men towards her. She hastily recalled events of that day, and where people were and what they were doing when Interpol sprung the trap. It all lined up. She remembered the look on both men¡¯s faces, how calm they seemed to be in the midst of their capture.


    ¡°Possible,¡± replied Constantine. ¡°I don¡¯t know this Ghetsis person like you, Miss Anabel. I don¡¯t know what he provides to the table, but Kaisarios clearly values him.¡±


    The chairman spoke next. ¡°Well, whatever his worth is, he is clearly part of our problem now. It sounds to me that Kaisarios has finished funneling money to his little clubhouse, and is getting boots on the ground.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a problem, but it¡¯s an internal one,¡± said the inspector general. He continued staring into Anabel''s eyes. ¡°Surely, by making us aware of this unknown factor named Ghetsis, you¡¯d like something in return, Miss Anabel? What¡¯s your price?¡±


    The three men turned to look at her slowly, and bore into her with their eyes. Anabel did not appreciate the tone of the inspector general, and the assumptions that he seemed to have about her and the organization she worked for. She frowned and looked each man in the eye one after another.


    ¡°Not money, but opportunity. We¡¯d like to be involved in your investigations of Kaisarios Onychas and Ghetsis. This entails information sharing between us, and joint operations if need be,¡± she said. She looked at them again before she continued, like she was giving her words time to simmer. ¡°I do need to ask that Interpol be given police power while operating in Apeiron, specific details to be discussed at a later time and formalized through a written agreement. Ghetsis is a person most wanted by Interpol, and I feel there¡¯s no better time to corner him than now, here in Apeiron where he is a stranger on a strange land.¡±


    The three men almost immediately broke into speech in their native tongue, a language that Anabel had only just begun studying. She only recognized a few words, not enough for her to remotely know what they were conversing about. Whatever it was, the inspector general¡¯s stoic facade faded in the face of Constantine¡¯s calm but cocky tone, and the chairman just looked annoyed as he sat in the middle of their bickering. Anabel sat back, but she had thoughts of her own. The display in front of her proved to Anabel that the Apeironese cared little for foreigners, if they were not ashamed to break into an argument in front of her while leaving her in the dark about it by speaking their language. None of them even considered the possibility that the person in the room could understand the words they were saying. Unfortunately for her, they were right. It only spurred on Anabel¡¯s desire to learn the Apeironese tongue.


    She cleared her throat to center attention around herself again. ¡°Gentlemen, I need an answer,¡± she said. ¡°Kaisarios and Ghetsis are moving in our blind spots as we speak. I hope you can see the merit and the advantage in working with the International Police, for a common goal.¡±


    The inspector general was still grumbling, but he was waived off by the chairman. ¡°Your logic is sound, Miss Anabel. Kaisarios was unleashed to the world after he was exiled from our land. But he is a problem for Apeiron, and it shall remain that way.¡±


    The answer made her gasp, and it caused her fingertips to tingle before she felt her arms go cold. ¡°And Ghetsis?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Ghetsis will be evaluated based on how much help he offers our adversary, and what kind of help that is. Nothing is clear yet,¡± said Constantine. ¡°Suffice it to say, he is not a priority. Kaisarios Onychas represents a destabilizing force in this country, as someone who fought to overthrow this government before. He will be eliminated. If Ghetsis stands with him, he will be eliminated as well. Otherwise, Kaisarios would have already eliminated him himself and he would cease to be our problem entirely.¡±


    ¡°How¡­ How could you possibly know that?¡± Anabel raised her voice higher than she intended. The cold she felt in her arms was replaced with heat, as her hands curled into fists on the tabletop and her arms shook. She looked at each man again, and made no attempt to recover her composure. ¡°You trust one enemy to get rid of the other?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re mistaken, Miss Anabel,¡± Constantine replied. ¡°We don¡¯t trust Kaisarios to do anything. But we can expect him to do certain things, because we know who he is. Though he is an enemy, the same blood flows in his veins and the soul that resides in his body is well-known to us all. He is Apeironese.¡±