Chapter 18: Developments

Location: Longan Laboratories, 50th Basement Floor, Air Vents

Time: 18:45….

"How much farther do we have to crawl to this place, Christian?" Giovanni moaned, "We've been at this for two hours, and my knees are starting to hurt." "I know what you mean," Christian said, "My knees are starting to hurt too. But we're nearly there." "That's what you said five minutes ago," Giovanni said with a glare. "Don't blame me for going in a circle," Christian said, "We had to get around the maintenance guy that was in here with us."

So far, it took them different turns and climbs down to get to where they were going. There were times they had to be extremely quiet so as to not arouse suspicion of people passing by on the outside of the vents. They even had to alter their voices to make people think they were adults working in the air vents. Amusingly, they mistook Christian for a woman. He didn't find it amusing.

"Alright, we're here," Christian said as he spotted a familiar sight and heard voices. "Finally," Giovanni whispered, "Now we can–" "WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'YOU COULDN'T FIND THEM?'" they heard a distorted voice scream from the Control Room. Christian and Giovanni looked at each other in shock and wondered who was talking before approaching one of the vent grids. "I'm sorry, boss," another voice said, "but we mean we couldn't find all the people's Pokémon. We can only guess that there were some Trainers that were smart enough to keep their Pokémon on them." "Then make another go-round of the facility," the other voice said, "and make sure you leave no stone unturned this time. Break into their belongings if you have to. I don't care what it takes to get them anymore! I want those Pokémon in the Habitation Floor by tomorrow morning!"

As soon as they reached the grid, they looked out of the holes to see guards lined up inside the room. Among them was Xavier Adonijah. "We are aware of when you want them," Xavier said, "Don't worry. You'll have your collection." "I'd better," the distorted voice said, "The future of our company is riding on this transfer, Adonijah. Don't let me down." Then the transmission ended.

"'Transfer?'" Christian whispered, "An illegal Pokémon transfer. It is a crime group." "I think the words you're looking for are 'criminal organization,'" Giovanni whispered, correcting him, "But more to the point, Xavier seems to be part of it. Though, one must wonder why?"

All of a sudden, the temperature dropped in the air before Xavier spoke to the guards. "Your orders are clear, gentlemen. Find the Pokémon you were assigned to find and lock them up in the Habitation Floor." "Sir!" the soldiers said in unison before exiting. After they were gone, Xavier went to the computer with the surveillance monitors. He checked through the cameras and saw that Hiro was headed back to the Longan girl's dorm with her. What bothered him was the smile on his face. He gave him the news, so why was he smiling? It didn't make any sense.

Before he could be bothered by it any further, he yawned and looked at the time on the bottom-right corner of the screen. "Oh, my," he said, "Is that the time? I really should retire for the night…" With that, he wiped the evidence clean of the video call and made his way to the room exit. Once he was gone, Christian and Giovanni backtracked and made their way toward another route in the air vents.

"Okay," Giovanni started, "so where are we headed to now? The group's obviously not there." "We need to get out of here and find the others," Christian told him, "We have to warn everyone about what happened here. Especially with what we just felt." "'Felt?" Giovanni pressed on as he followed him, "What do you mean?" "Did you not feel it get colder all of a sudden?" the five-year-old asked, "It's not felt by the affected person or Pokémon, but others not affected by the ability notice it."

"Notice what?"

"Someone in the room was using Vanta Aura."

"Wait. Isn't that the ability to possess and control others at will?"

"The very same. That's why we need to warn the others about it."

Giovanni nodded at that fact as they made as quiet haste as possible. "So what do we do about the guards?" Giovanni asked, "Are they being manipulated?" "It's a likely possibility," Christian said, "And I think I know who's been using the Vanta Aura on them."

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Location: Longan Laboratories, 52nd Basement Floor, Dormitory Wing

Time: 19:00…

As far as the day went, it was okay. Pros, Hiro got to see Professor Joshua and hear words of encouragement. Cons, he wasn't able to get the surgery. Pros, he was told by his friends that they would be there for him during his time of need. So the pros once again outweighed the cons. Things would hopefully look up for him in the days ahead.

Right now, he approached the room with Delia and watched as the door hissed open. "We're back," Delia said as she entered the room. Hiro followed her inside, and there was Pikachu, waiting for him on the bed. "Hiro!" Pikachu exclaimed as he jumped into his arms. Hiro promptly caught him and smiled. "Hey, Pikachu," Hiro greeted his first Pokémon, "I'm sorry I left. I was in a very big funk, and I couldn't handle it." "Don't worry about it, Hiro," Pikachu smiled, "I'm just happy you're alright. Where did you go?" "I went to see Professor Joshua," Hiro told him, "I needed to know a few things."

"I really wish you hadn't left me, regardless, Hiro," Pikachu said, "Guards came in here earlier, looking for me and the others." "Wait, what?!" Hiro exclaimed before looking at Delia, "Pikachu said guards walked in this room and were looking for my Pokémon." "Why would they do that?" Delia asked, appalled. Remembering what Jason had told him, he asked Pikachu, "Were they wanting to take you away?" "Not just me," Pikachu said, "the rest of them as well. Cyndaquil, Gyarados, Grotle. We were all gonna be taken away had I not hid myself and your PokéBalls." "What's he saying?" Delia asked. "Pikachu says he would've been taken away if he hadn't hid himself and the rest of my Pokémon," Hiro translated before asking her, "Why did you leave them alone?" "Pikachu told me Xavier was mean to you," Delia answered, "and I told Jason and Giovanni about it. We split up to look for you. The last we ever saw was you leaving with a sorrowful look on your face. No one knew where you were or where you had gone." 

Hiro nodded and looked at Pikachu. "What else do you know, Pikachu?" he asked. Pikachu thought for a moment, before remembering something. "Oh!" Pikachu said, "One of them told the other to keep their helmet on." "Maybe to keep their identity hidden," Hiro figured before addressing Delia, "Lock the door, Delia. Let's get some sleep, then get up early." "What's going through your head, Hiro?" she asked. "Pokémon are being stolen, right?" Hiro reasoned, "There are only two places where Pokémon are kept. Three, if you count on yourself."

"And those places are?"

"Either the Pokémon Center, or the Habitation Floor. We'll go to those places as soon as they open."

Delia nodded and locked the door. As soon as she did, she went to the bathroom to change and get ready for the night; she'd decided that Hiro would be spending the night with her for this mission. While Hiro waited for his turn, he took charge in setting up the alarm on their clock. Both of them needed to be ready for whatever was ahead. From what everyone could tell, it was not going to be a normal day for anyone.

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Location: Longan Laboratories, 55th Basement Floor, Restoration Chamber

Time: 19:30…

As Professor Joshua finally finished the cell-seaming of his repaired body, he wiped the proverbial sweat from his virtual brow. It took him almost a month to repair his body, and he was mentally exhausted. Cloning and replacing organs, bones, cartilage, tissue and tendons will do that to someone. But, at least it was finally finished. He put his body on life support with the mechanical arms and sealed it off with the hyperbolic shield.

As he rested, he began to review his life. He started to wonder how things got to where they were now. He recalled the time he had worked for several years under Satoshi Bug at the laboratory Mew was created in. After Mew's evolutionary birth, he had told his wife and daughter about the secret project. The project was to remain secret, but the secret was not to last as Mew's germs began to travel and force the ecosystem to evolve. Mass chaos erupted worldwide as zoos, laboratories, animal exhibits, wildlife reserves and the wild ran rampant and destroyed many places and artifacts. Even lives were lost in the chaos, and he had to carry that burden.

A largely selected group of scientists and researchers were tasked with researching and recording the behaviors of the yet-to-be-named Pokémon and their habitats. It took years to learn and years more to domesticate them. Some couldn't be domesticated, and they had to respect some of the territory that they lost to the wild. After that was settled, wars and random battles broke out with the Pokémon, and the Pokémon Battling Abolition Act was passed worldwide by the UN. He remembered the Guardian Pokémon emerging to govern the Pokémon, and he was a liaison for the humans. He remembered his wife lying lifeless in their bed years later, with Halzief being the culprit. A year later, Halzief was brought to justice. Years later, Halzief revolted and brought Earth to ruin. Years after that, Joshua raised an army underground and taught people and Pokémon to fight together. Twenty-five years later, the Great Parlonian War began and ended with Joshua and Halzief in freefall. He remembered that the sun shone again when Halzief died.

The first region was established, but others wanted to become indigenous to other lands. Centuries later, Joshua and Arceus had a falling out and fought, with Joshua being the victor. As he traveled, he also became a money hoarder and stored it in Parlona for later use. He'd go on to face other challenging opponents, often against people and nations who threatened his home, even the King of Pokélantis – a cruel, but cunning man bent on world domination. He went on to eventually serve in King Az's army as a general for a time. It wasn't until the king constructed a machine designed to bring his dead Pokémon back to life at the cost of others lives that he defected. Along his other journeys, he had helped out with other aids and reliefs, and led many people in different countries, all while conducting research over Pokémon.

"You've lived quite the life, haven't you?" he heard a voice say in his mind. He looked behind him, but instead of seeing one apparition, he saw four. One of them was in armor and a green cape. He had dark-blue hair with a beard and was wielding dual maces. The second was a woman in armor and a red cape. She had long, blood-red hair going down past her lower back and was wielding a bow. The third was an armored bald man with dark skin, wearing a yellow cape. He was wielding a golden trident. The fourth was an armored man with a blue cape. He had raven-black hair and was wielding a sharp, double-edged sword.

Professor Joshua was surprised as he identified them immediately, "Elias! Gila! Uriah! Aaron!" "Indeed, it's us, Commander," the blue-haired one named Elias said, "It's been a long, long while. Too long, you could say." "Understatement of the millennium," the red-haired one named Gila smirked at her teammate before looking back at Joshua, "We see you're still hard at work." "Are you still fighting the good fight?" the bald man named Uriah asked. "Always," Joshua answered, "The prophecy started not too long ago, and the Chosen Hero was identified. I'm sure it's him, but he briefly lost confidence." "That's mainly why we're here, Commander," the raven-haired one named Aaron said, "We want to talk to you about the boy." 

Joshua sighed and said, "Hiro thinks he can't be the Chosen Hero. I showed him the prophecy, I gave him his first Pokémon, and I even taught him and his friends most of the Type Advantages." "Did you teach him about the Alpha and Omega Powers?" Elias asked. "Of course, I did," Joshua said, "He was the first of his friends to discover it when I was practicing my Alpha Power. I even told him the risks of using Alpha Power's opposite counterpart." "Then he knows that the power can only be obtained in Parlona?" Gila asked. "Yes," Joshua answered, "But only Parlonians can get the procedure done." "You've been telling him the truth thus far, Commander," Uriah reassured him, "Above many things, you've valued the truth." "Who else has he been taught by?" Elias asked. "I have Xavier Adonijah teaching him and his friends," Joshua answered, "He's one of my foremost overseers in the Freshstart Town facility."

Joshua saw frowns form on their faces after hearing that. "What?" he asked. "Commander," Aaron spoke up, "I beg your pardon, but we don't feel fond energy from that man." "What do you mean?" Joshua asked, "He works hard, he always shows up in a timely manner, and he's a gifted researcher." "Those things he is, Commander," Gila told him, "But his motives are selfish and have become twisted. Even now, he's being inwardly manipulated by his own selfish ambitions." "Have you ever wondered what his Aura-Type is, Commander?" Uriah asked him. Joshua thought back, but could think of no other time when he showed his Alpha or Omega Power. "He never said what it was," Joshua said, "he never once displayed it. He always kept it to himself and insisted on working." "Commander," Elias spoke up, "I don't mean to jab an old wound and bring back mistakes or bad memories. I forgive you for falsely executing me. But that's not what I want to bring up. Do you remember Lucius Alucard?" "That's the one person I wish I could wipe from my memory," Joshua said, "Lucius Alucard was my Major in Dark-Type Pokémon. Sadly, he was also the one who started the Cult of Halzief and turned most of the Vanta Aura users away from the resistance." "Whenever we look into his eyes," Aaron told him, "it's like Lucius is staring back."

That got Joshua's eyes to widen. It's true that he's had his fair share of troublemakers working for him for centuries, but never before had anyone been compared to a manipulative man before. "Are you implying what I think you're implying?" Joshua asked. "The Adonijah family married into descendants of the Alucard family," Uriah told him, "Most of them were killed off in the war, but one of his sons lived and had descendants of their own. One of those descendants came into contact with the Adonijah family." "I should've gone after that person," Joshua said, "I should've hunted him down to the ends of the Earth before the war was officially over!" "You can't turn back the clock, Commander," Gila said to him, "You can only focus on the completion of the prophecy, as you have always done." "That being said," Aaron told him, "the boy will regain his confidence, but you have to protect him, as well as the people. One of Halzief's minions is on their way towards you." "Reil-Roh?!" Joshua exclaimed. "Indeed," Gila said, "You need to prepare, and we can safely say that Xavier has no intention of staying to fight." "He's even planning on taking away peoples' chances to get out alive as we speak," Elias told Joshua. "How?" Joshua asked. "The Pokémon, Commander," Aaron said, "He's taking away peoples' Pokémon." "You mean stealing?" Joshua asked, only to see them all nod.

Joshua scowled, as there was only one major group affiliated with stealing Pokémon. Two, if he counted the Cult of Halzief. "This isn't just theft," Joshua said, "It's sabotage. He's sabotaging peoples' chances of getting out of this alive." He looked to his students and sported a determined glare. However, they knew the glare was not directed at any of them out of anger. "If I didn't allow anyone to sabotage our chances at survival then, I certainly won't allow it now!" Joshua proclaimed. "First thing's first: I need to get my two other associates to come here immediately." "What will you do after that?" Uriah asked. "Statistically, it's too early for me to return to my body," Joshua said, "However, I still could return if I wanted to. There would just be complications if I decide to go back too early." "What kind of complications?" Gila asked. "Organic shutdown," Joshua answered, "and possible cellular degeneration. My body would slowly break down, only faster than normal." He turned to the cyberspace monitors and looked at Reil-Roh's speed. "Judging from these readings," he said, "he and a bunch of others will be breaching our shields at one o'clock." "How long do you normally need before you can get back to your body?" Elias asked. "At this rate," Joshua said, "I need a week. But it appears that I'm not going to be given that much time." "Then you need to make a choice," Aaron said, "You can either stay cooped up in your chambers, or you can take the initiative, and make a sacrifice." "We know you'll make the right decision," Uriah said, "You always have up till now, and you always will." Joshua furrowed his brow and placed his right fist over his heart. Elias, Gila, Uriah and Aaron did the same with smiles on their faces.

"Si vis pacem…"

"Para bellum!"

With smiles on their faces, the apparitions vanished. Joshua wiped the virtual tears from his eyes and got to work immediately. There was a time and place for everything, even missing long lost friends. But not now. Now was the time to act. Joshua sent a message marked as Top Priority to three particular scientists. After that, he punched in the code to retransfer his consciousness to his body. If he was going to go down by cellular degeneration, he would break down seeing the prophecy unfold. He could find no better way to die. Finally, after he punched in the correct codes, the screen read "TRANSFERRING CONSCIOUSNESS… 0.01%."

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Location: Longan Laboratories, 52nd Basement Floor, Dormitory Wing

Time: Saturday, May 22nd at 04:00…

After the alarm went off, Hiro woke up Delia and both of them got ready for the day. Both of them woke up their Pokémon, got dressed and brushed their teeth. After they were ready, they headed out, with Eevee on Delia's left shoulder, and Pikachu on Hiro's right. Before they could move on, they made a trip to Jason's dorm and woke him up. Of course, he begrudgingly agreed to tag along due to lack of sleep. He told them he better get something out of this.

As soon as they got to the forty-second floor, they started looking through the windows, making sure to crouch so as not to be easily seen. "Do you see anything yet?" Delia asked. "Not yet," Hiro said as he tried to retain his cover. "You know," Jason whispered, "I could just use my Omega Power to phase through the walls and find better vantage points." "Not through the walls at ground level, Jason," Hiro whispered back, "You'd get yourself in a heap of trouble and blow our cover. Besides, you may be intangible, but you're not see-through." "Good point," Jason said.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Pikachu saw a few guards inside the wildlife chambers of the floor. "Hiro, look!" Pikachu whispered, getting his attention. Hiro saw them too. From what they could tell, they were dragging a Drampa to a cage while it was muzzled and unconscious. Five minutes go by, and they place it into a large cage.before locking the door. "They just caged that poor Pokémon," Delia whispered with sadness. Jason looked around until he spotted the top of the ceiling dome as a vantage point. "What if I stayed in one perimeter?" Jason asked. "What do you mean?" Hiro urged him to explain. "The top of the ceiling," Jason pointed, "I'll be able to listen in from there." Hiro thought about it for a moment. They needed answers as to why the Pokémon were being caged up, and so long as Jason stayed in one area, perhaps he could get better answers than they could. "Okay, Jason," Hiro said, "Go." 

Jason allowed the purple ghost-like marks to snake along his body, then waited till the coast was clear before floating through the glass and up to the top of the ceiling. He hung upside down so his ears would be closer to the voices. From the ceiling, he saw many of the Pokémon in cages, some of them sad, some of them furious, and most of them trying to break out. One of the soldiers banged on the cage bars with a baton. "CAN IT!!" he shouted. "Dude!" one of the guards whispered, "Keep your voice down! We can't risk anyone hearing us." "Who's going to find out?" the one that was chastised shrugged, "No one's here except us, and some of the other guards are taking a little snooze. One of the scientists saw to it that we wouldn't be disturbed." " One of the scientists? " Jason thought, "Why would one of the scientists here help them do something like this?" 

"How much do you think these are going to be worth?" another one of the guards said. "Oh, there are plenty of rare ones here," another answered, "Some of them are gonna be around at least fifty thousand a piece." "I heard Mew and Jirachi were here," another said, "It's a shame that we can't get them. Where are they, anyway?" "No one knows," the other answered, "Some say that Professor Oak guy is taking care of them."

"That pansy? He won't stand a chance against my Magmortar."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that. He's got a Dragonair on him. Dragon-Types are hard to beat. Even if you somehow do, what would you be able to do? Mew and Jirachi are both powerful Psychic-Types. They'd wipe the floor with you, Pokémon or no."

"So, what? We just let them be?"

"Hey, we have a large haul already. They're not worth losing our heads."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. So the boss wants these later this morning, right?"

"Yep. We need to get these to the Western Portal Wing for our base to pick up before people start waking up. We'll all get a pretty penny for all of these Pokémon."

"Dang straight."

Jason had heard enough. He floated back to the hallway where Hiro, Delia, Eevee and Pikachu were. Immediately after letting up on his Omega Power, he felt weak and fell to his knees, panting for breath. "Are you alright, Jason?" Hiro whispered. "I'm fine," Jason panted, "Just give me a minute…" Delia looked around before spotting a guard coming for the door. "Guys, we don't have a minute!" Delia whispered, "A guard's coming this way!" Hiro and Delia picked up Jason and made their way to the elevator, pressing the button on the wall. Just as the door to the elevator opened, they were spotted.

"Hey! What are you doing here?!"

"Thunder Wave, Pikachu!"

Pikachu unleashed a wave of electricity that hit the guard dead on and paralyzed him. Before any more showed up, the doors closed on the kids after they entered the elevator. "That was way too close," Hiro said as the elevator started moving downward. "What did you find out, Jason?" Delia asked him. "The guards are going to transport those Pokémon to the Portal Wing," Jason told them, "They're going to sell them off for one big payday. They're being assisted by one of the scientists." Hiro, Delia, Eevee and Pikachu widened their eyes at the information given to them. This went against everything that they were taught about Pokémon. To them, stealing Pokémon was like taking a friend away. Caging them when they did nothing wrong was nothing short of Pokémon abuse. Even Jason knew and believed that this was wrong. 

"That can't be!" Hiro said, "One of Professor Joshua's people is helping steal and sell Pokémon? For money?!" "I can't believe they would do such a thing!" Delia said as she held Eevee. "It's true, though," Jason said, "Every single bit of it. Those guards are planning to send them through the portal later this morning!" "What do we do?" Delia asked Hiro, "We can't just leave those Pokémon to be sold off." "Absolutely not," Jason agreed, "I wouldn't want anyone selling away my Gengar or any of my other Pokémon. I'd be just as devastated as anybody else. Mad, even."

Hiro thought about it for a moment before coming up with a decision. "Jason," he addressed him, "Can you run this by your dad?" "Yeah, I think so," Jason said. "Okay," Hiro said, "Take Delia and find your dad. Tell him what we just found out." "What about you, Hiro?" Delia asked, "I'm going to go to Professor Joshua and warn him what's happening," he told them before stopping the elevator and opening the doors. "Go on." Delia and Jason walked out of the elevator and ran towards the dorm that Jason's dad was sleeping in. After that, Hiro pressed the button to the fifty-fifth floor.

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Location: Longan Laboratories, 52nd Basement Floor, Professor Oak's Dorm

Time: 4:15…

Samuel was sound asleep in his dorm when knocking was heard on his door. Still groggy from sleep, he slowly got up and looked at the clock. It read four fifteen. "Four fifteen in the morning?!" Samuel said to himself, "This had better be an emergency…" He got up and opened the door. There, he saw Delia and his son, Jason. "Jason?" Samuel said as he tried rubbing the sleep from his eyes, "It's four fifteen in the morning. What could you possibly need?" "Dad," Jason said, "Some of the guards are caging up other peoples' Pokémon in the Habitation Floor! They're gonna sneak them out of the lab through the Portal Wing!" "What?!" Samuel exclaimed and waved for the kids to come into the room.

When they got inside, Samuel looked at his computer and pulled up a surveillance program. He looked through the cameras and saw the Pokémon indeed caged up and some of the guards were running in the halls on other floors. Before he could react, he also got a message on his computer that came from the Restoration Chamber. "What's this?" Samuel asked himself before opening the message. "What is it, Dad?" Jason asked. "It seems like a message from Professor Joshua," Samuel said before opening it. Out of the envelope came Professor Joshua's Porygon who promptly showed up on screen. "Samuel," Porygon messaged him, "Professor Joshua wanted me to let you know that Reil-Roh is on his way to this facility. He is putting you in charge of defense. His instructions are plain: Increase the power output of the facility's shields. Take Mew and Jirachi with you and defend the facility." "I understand, Porygon," Samuel said after recording the message. He then turned to Jason and Delia. "Let me get dressed," he said, "Then we'll get to the Control Room." "What are we going to be doing at the Control Room?" Delia asked. "Reil-Roh is coming," he answered, "You'll need to pick up your actual weapons from your instructors, and I'll be calling them soon."

After giving his instructions, Professor Oak grabbed a change of clothes and walked into the bathroom. The news turned the two kids blue in the face. The same monster that destroyed Knuckdown Town's facility was coming to theirs. To Freshstart Town. If there were any time for them to be afraid for a while before braving up, this was it.

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Location: Longan Laboratories, 55th Basement Floor, Hallway

Time: 04:20…

Hiro and Pikachu walked out of the elevator as fast as they could to get to the Restoration Chamber. However, security guards were patrolling the catwalks of the floor, as well as the courtyard. Thankfully, the hallway they were looking for wasn't far off. It was just three entrances away. Hiro hid behind the large, hovering pots of decorative plants to hide from the guards' searchlights and waited for them to pass by. As soon as the coast was clear, they tiptoed their way to the hall. Once they were in the clear, Hiro made a run for it down the hall.

It didn't take long for the two of them to reach the door of the Restoration Chamber. As soon as they did, Hiro tried knocking on it like last time. However, instead of the door opening, they heard Professor Joshua's voice from the speaker. "Hiro," Joshua said, "You need to leave and regroup with the others. I am aware of what is happening in the Habitation Floor, but that's inconsequential to the crisis we're about to face. Reil-Roh is coming for this facility, and we have to prepare. Meet up with your mentor and your friends, and ready your Pokémon. Don't worry about the others in the Habitation Floor. I'll be coming for them soon. As we speak, my consciousness is being transferred. I'm at fifty-four percent now. Now, go."

Hiro looked at Pikachu, and they both nodded to each other. As they turned around, however, a guard was blocking their way, with their gun pointed directly at them. Hiro was frightened and wondered how anyone would've known that he was here. That's when it hit him: He wasn't careful enough. One of the guards must've caught him just as he was going down the hall. "Bravo One to Papa Dragonite," the guard said in his walkie talkie, "Come in, Papa Dragonite." "This is Papa Dragonite," a voice answered.

Before he could relay what was going on, however, something dropped on top of the guard's head. A PokéBall fell from the vent above them. Out of the PokéBall was a Piloswine, who immediately froze the guard in the face with a well-shot Ice Beam. The guard tried breaking himself out of his predicament by banging his head on the wall. "Who's Piloswine is that?" Pikachu asked. Before the guard could attempt to apprehend Hiro through his frozen helmet, something else landed on the guard, knocking him out. No. Someone. In an expensive red suit.

"Giovanni??" Hiro and Pikachu said in unison. "Were you expecting someone else?" Giovanni smirked, "Good to see you, by the way." "Likewise," Hiro said. Before they could converse, they heard someone say "A little help?" They looked up, and saw Christian dangling from the vent. Giovanni caught him and set him down. "How did you find me?" Hiro asked. "Just lucky, I guess," Giovanni said before turning to look at Christian, "Though, someone did get us lost for hours." "Hey!" Christian siad, "I had to keep us away from the guards that were chasing us in the vents, didn't I?"

"You guys can argue about it later," Hiro told them, "Right now, we've gotta get going." "Bravo One?" they heard from the downed guard's walkie talkie, "Bravo One, are you there? Come on, Bravo One." They all looked at each other before Giovanni picked up the walkie talkie "This is Bravo One," Giovanni said, altering his voice again and matching the guard's voice as best as he could, "False alarm." "Copy that," the voice said. As Giovanni put the walkie talkie down, he called his Piloswine back. "Listen, guys," Hiro told them, "Professor Joshua said that Reil-Roh was on the way here. We need to get to the others. I think they're with Professor Oak right now, and he should be headed to the Control Room." "Reil-Roh?" Giovanni asked, "As in that giant centipede-looking thing the Professor told us about that killed all those people?" "Yeah," Hiro said, "the very same. We need to make sure the shields are amplified so he doesn't get in here!"

Giovanni nodded and all of them ran for the exit of the hallway. Hiro followed Giovanni, and Christian followed Hiro, until something fell out of his poncho. It was a sheet of paper that was printed out from his mother's office, and that reminded him of why he was looking for Hiro in the first place. "Hey, wait!" Christian said as he picked it up and kept running, "Hiro, I've got something to tell you!" "Can it wait, Christian?" Hiro asked as they kept running, "We've got bigger problems!" "No, it can't!" Christian said, "It's about you, Hiro!" "What about me?" Hiro asked as they kept running. "Don't you wanna know where you come from?" Christian pressed on. "I don't want to talk about that, Christian. I'm not Parlonian, and I can't get the surgery. Xavier laid out the news already. Now, drop it!"

This really hacked Christian off, because he tried getting the attention of his family when he eavesdropped on Xavier's conversation with Hiro yesterday. No one listened. And now that he had his answer, and Hiro was there, he didn't want to listen. Having enough of this treatment, he came to a stop. Then Hiro heard him shout a single name – one that made him stop in his own tracks.