Linkage

1

The Sinnoh underground was easy to get lost in. Many were under the opinion that to buy a full exploration kit was not needed. The tunnels had been lit in a bettering project of the mining systems. It was nice. However, for many but a select few it was a maze and ultimately something one got lost in. For him, not so much. He knew his way around well. The high walls of mining reminded him of his home which he had left for many years. The minerals, ores, and coveted whispers. All that was lacking was the sky with horrible, blistering heat. Perhaps the stuffy atmosphere made up for it.

Following the whispers from beyond the turn of the corridor, his black boots clicked. The leather buckles on their sides tensed with every step. His hands ran across the walls as if they were a guide. Breaths as shallow as a pond cascaded in and out of his mouth. Claustrophobic, he did not like to be in such a small pathway, but he had to be quiet. It would all be over in due time anyways.

To the left and right he knew his Umbreon and Espeon were approaching from the flanks. He listened and waited for the signal. The whispering had stopped. He pulled out the pack of high grade zip ties he had. Shouting and running sounded down the corridor as he crept forward, like a Scorpio in the desert heat. He had specifically destroyed the lights in the corridor so that the shadows were his ally, and most certainly their betrayer.  The running stopped. This was as it should have been. He knew as a matter of fact they had seen the dark red glow on his arm before the swish of his coat. On the other end the Sun and Moon Pokémon most certainly held up the rear.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" The whisper grew into a fearful vocation.

He chuckled, crouching down one knee. His targets tried to whisper amongst themselves but he heard it. Murmurs of unsureness seeped from their lips.  He did not wish to indulge them this pleasure. Despite the fact the rough rock was homely, the space of the corridor was not.

"You are under arrest," he said.

Another voice from the culmination asked, "Are you from Interpol?"

There was no response. He set the heel of his foot down slowly as he used a standard military stealth to his targets. There was an art to the way he scratched his nails against the bare stone, screeching like a Dremel weathering a metal edge. Several footsteps later he stood right in front of the victims to be. Lifting the single pair of eye shades he wore, he gazed at those in front of him.

The glacier blue-haired woman in front of him murmured as if she were speaking a curse, "Why are your eyes gold?"

He said nothing.

"What are you going to do?" said the man behind her.

"Team Galactic," he stated, voice calm and without worry, "you are under arrest for crimes against humanity. Your resistance will be futile."

The last thing either grunt saw was a white band of war paint before they were both out cold.

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Veilstone PD Receives Fourth delivery from the unnamed vigilante

Ex-Champion Cynthia stared at the headline in frustration. Was Dawn being selectively stupid about the matter? Vigilantes meant trouble. Such lawlessness would not have been permitted under her reign. She would have all the issues solved, especially considering the fact that they were publicized. The amount of missing person cases since the bluenette took office had skyrocketed, donning as much as a 20 percent raise in the crime rate. Such a thing would not have gone unsolved long under her. She had been an excellent commander in chief, save for the mishaps with Team Galactic.

Cynthia was still bitter about it. The loss of her championship, although expected, was a blow to her heart. She had been good at leading. Sinnoh had been competitive. Other regions looked at them as a powerhouse, yet now they weren't taken seriously. Team Galactic had been part of that, but ever since the improvements to Roark's mining business had stopped, there had been trouble. The region was on the verge of an economic spiral. She knew the signs and had studied them. Political pleasing had not been part of her career. She knew to do what was best for the region in the long run so long as it didn't cause anarchy. And that was her policy. Economics reigned supreme over all, closely followed by law and order. To some, the lack of certain rights was offending, but she didn't care. Order was what governed, not chaos. She meant well to keep that balance.

Sighing from the anger, she straightened out the page in front of her. This was the time to be making executive orders. Decisions would take care of problems, not idle bystanding. She almost disrupted the glass of orange juice to her left as she tugged at her hair. The blonde locks fell on the page, reminding her to get to it.

"The fourth set of Team Galactic grunts were found zip tied together at the base of the Veilstone Police Department at 8:00 p.m. Officials report that the grunts noted the presence of an Espeon and Umbreon and a man with golden eyes, defining features of the "vigilante". This vigilante, who has been known to..."

Cynthia rolled her eyes. There was nothing new in the paper. Otherwise it would have been at the top. She knew well how journalism worked. Not all newspapers had liked her when she was in office. Many did, which made sense as many had called her the most beloved champion of Sinnoh. However, there were others who did not agree. Sunnyshore City in its unruly atmosphere did not, nor did Eterna City which was too laid back and on narcotics to care. Solely Cynthia's good will had prevented a multitude of arrests to be made in both cities. She didn't care about the political scandal that would be caused by shutting down the Eterna Gym for possession and production of illegal narcotics such as cannabis. Last time she had visited the gym, she knew where to find it. Not that this was in her power anymore though.

She flipped through, looking at the various stories on the way to the commitments column. Perhaps this column was the only happy one in the news, due to the sheer nature of weddings. She skimmed in general nowadays because the stories never changed. There had been another missing persons case, some incidents at Turnback Spring, and preparation for the shrine festival in Celestic Town had begun. The editorial and op-ed section offered some political cartoons and a few with the opinion that Cynthia should be back in office. All in all though, as usual, there was nothing truly noteworthy. Everything was the same. The only thing she could look forward to about life was the commitments section.

Almost as if hungrily, Cynthia began to read with an almost rabid addiction about the weddings. Considering the negativity from her secret service detail over the last week, it was not unlikely for her to be feeling frustrated. Veilstone PD had been a mess after the unexpected arrival of several criminals, regrettably, which had required hours of interrogation and paperwork. She, herself had to go to attend several interrogations since the chief of her service detail was required to participate by the chief of police. For the most part, it was small fish that were present, but it had generated a lot of revenue for the police force which was always nice. Cynthia was always for having a grand force.

Focusing on the column, she began to read. Of course, there had been one or two in Floaroma Town and Heathome City. Both had some of the most beautiful points in Sinnoh. To her surprise, there hadn't been one in front of the Pokémon league, which was always a popular destination in the fall. However, she was really interested to read about one that had taken place in the Canalave Library. According to the column, the two had met there while looking for the same book and love took its course. Cynthia actively growled, extremely cynical. As much as she liked the column, such a story was not plausible in her situation. Not that it mattered in the slightest. She had more pressing matters at hand, namely dealing with Dawn. This vigilante mentioned above the fold had to be dealt with sooner rather than later.

Cynthia took her house phone from its cradle in the kitchen. She had no authority to conduct this investigation without the permission of the faux champion. As she dialed Dawn's number she took a bite of the croissant she'd laid out but forgotten to eat. The phone rang, annoying dial tone after annoying dial tone. Cynthia waited until she heard what she knew undoubtedly as the voicemail system of Dawn's phone. Voicemail again. Absolutely perfect.

"Hey, this is Dawn! How may I be of service to you? Please your message after the beep," spoke Dawn's voice, seemingly mocking Cynthia.

Cynthia waited for her phone to beep until she said, trying to not let her annoyance sound, "Hey Dawn. This is Cynthia. Call me back as soon as possible. It's important."

As she clicked off the phone, Cynthia sighed in disappointment. So much for getting permission to track down the vigilante. She would just have to look into Turnback Spring as that was something that could be in her jurisdiction. Certainly it wouldn't hurt to be prepared in case Dawn asked. Cynthia was just dying for an excuse to look some into Sinnoh politics, after all. Her exclusive knowledge on Sinnoh lore could help give her an in, which made her happy. She was one of the few specialists on legendary Pokémon and was quite proud of it. Plus she loved looking into myths. However, it was the frustration that got the best of her. She would conduct the investigation safely and lawfully. She was no vigilante, rather a person of authority and power that would maintain the respect she deserved. She stood up. There was an investigation to complete.