Pokémon Mars

Chapter 53: Undercover

'It wasn't just you,' Callerya said, 'I thought Rudolph was way too stupid to be part of anything like Cipher...'

'Well...'

Mercury finally let go of his camera to let it hang from his neck.

'We better tell the cops... the good cops, I mean...'

Jin flew to the office. Firmino switched on his flashlight to search the streets. They only found local officers. In the chaos, someone seized the unconscious Interplanetary Police officers and dragged them away. Nessie and Megara were no longer in the shelter. The Hexagon Coffee barista said she left with 'two of the Town Hall Bodybuilders.' Jin snatched as many Poké Balls as he could from the unconscious security forces. They all contained Shadow Pokémon, but what would he do with them? There was no Purify Chamber on Mars. If he kept them, they would chip away at his will to live until he became like them.

'What do we do?' Callerya shakily asked, 'Won't they just kill us when they wake up?'

Nyx urged Mercury to back up his photos. No-one wanted to let him return to his studio alone. They all went together. As they approached the door, they heard hurried footsteps. They turned to see Koji. Zeph trailed after him. They all froze, wondering if Damson's bandmates set him up and they were in on it all, but Koji held up a shiny badge.

'I'm an undercover Interplanetary Police officer. I've seen more than enough to know who the bad guys are up here. I don't think you're in danger–'

'What?' Callerya interrupted, 'How are we not in danger...?'

'Because you're friends with Team Aqua and Magma. No Team Aqua, no water. Team Magma will be needed to deal with any natural disasters caused by whatever they did to the core of Mars. So I don't think you're in danger, but you must tell me everything you know.'

'I think your colleagues were dragged off...'

'I know. I don't have Hope's approval to reveal my identity, but I'm the only one left in Ironville. We've got one in New Mauville, but she's in hiding for now.'

Koji followed them to Mercury's studio. After calling Eden there, Jin talked while Mercury sent the photos to Earth. Callerya told her parents what happened. She knew the truth would be out within minutes of Wisteria hearing it. Nyx's grip on her knife never relaxed. She didn't trust anyone anymore. Alec fell asleep in Zoroark's arms. Koji looked worriedly at him, wondering where Megara was.

'Thanks for your time. I'm a bit fucked, to be honest, since there's one of me and thousands of them... so... I'm going to have to ask every competent Trainer if they're willing to help...'

'I mean, we'll help,' Jin replied, 'Obviously. But even if you round up every decent person in Ironville, what are we gonna do? There are still thousands of them and what, 50, max, of us?'

'There are thousands of Team Magma,' Firmino said, 'And enough of Team Aqua to at least inconvenience them.'

'And then we've got Team Genesis to worry about. You said Sonnet helped, but where is he now? Where's Praise?'

Callerya shook her head. 'I've no idea where Praise is... I ran off to help Nyx and haven't seen him since...'

'We did hear someone shouting,' Nyx said, 'Like, over a radio. Come to think of it, it was around then that I forgot Sonnet existed, because he wasn't there anymore.'

'OK...'

Koji sighed. 'I'm guessing it was Wish shouting over the radio. He probably rallied his people in Ironville to invade the Town Hall while everyone was compromised. Us and Cipher. But surely Sonnet and Praise will reply to you guys? I spoke to Sonnet after a gig. He was weird, but I didn't get the impression that he was a nasty man.'

'Can I ask you something?' Jin asked, continuing before he got a response, 'How long have you known Damson's off his rocker?'

'Since Seiza disappeared. But I'm not in charge. I had my orders to stay quiet until we knew more. And in Hope's defence, I've learned a lot by pretending to be a regular guy. Mostly from how Damson's been treated...'

'But that's using him like a lab Rattata...'

'I know, but even if we sent him back under IPP protection, Damson and the officers protecting him could've been killed on the ship. It's a long way and the only way to prevent corrupt Ares people boarding the ship would be to arrest everyone involved, but I'm literally just figuring out who they all are now. Even if we figured it out sooner, there was the same problem... thousands of them and only a few of us. We usually have at least one more undercover officer who's super-good with flights, but he's stuck on Venus right now.'

Thalassa blinked. 'Abram Oak?'

'...I can't confirm or deny his identity.'

Thalassa knew it was Abram. So he did have another reason to endure those arduous flights. He was a true Interplanetary Police officer, flying to and fro to keep the peace amongst the stars.

'But I'm gonna request an emergency Robo Rayquaza flight so I'm not totally alone out here...'

Callerya grimaced. 'But what's happened to your colleagues?! Won't they have been "20-11ed" already?'

'Obviously, I'm worried, but I doubt they've been killed now the immediate threat is gone. When we played a gig at Delta Lab 7, Damson actually trekked out to the hills where Seiza disappeared. He photographed some garbage her people dropped, but he didn't find any blood, let alone bodies. I doubt she's dead. She's being used to keep Dosei Cozmo quiet. I'm 99% sure my colleagues will be used in the same way before they're killed.'

'I sure hope you're right... 'cause if they do plan to kill them, every second we waste could be another death...'