The next morning, the sun cast a harsh, unflattering light on the Vermilion docks. The city was already awake, a symphony of clanging metal, shouted orders, and the deep groan of ships' horns. Eliana, dressed in asimple grey skirt and a black tank top, looked like any other teenager exploring the port. Ralts was a comfortable weight on her shoulder, hidden from view by a subtle psionic distortion.
She bypassed the main, public-facing docks and followed the mental map she'd constructed the night before. Her target was a smaller, more restricted area on the south side of the port, where supply ships from other regions were unloaded. A tall, chain-link fence topped with barbed wire surrounded the perimeter. A sign read: "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY."
There were two guards at the gate, not the burly thugs from the Golden Magikarp, but men in the crisp, navy-blue uniforms of the port authority. They stood with a military rigidity, their eyes scanning their surroundings with practiced efficiency.
Eliana noted with a hint of approval.
She began exploring their minds with a flick of her hand. Eliana blinked in surprise when her snooping led her to find out that these weren't even the real officers. The reals one had been killed and replaced with members of the gang that was now inhabiting the loading zone.
Eliana smirked already planning on controlling them when a little intrusive thought peeked through. While, yes, she could do what she did everytime she invaded the base of a gang. Maybe this time she could let herself get captured, just to see how it'd go. New information was always useful, besides if she didn't, she'd have a plausible exist to the real officers on why she was in a restricted area. Her smile widened. It was a risk, but a calculated one. A direct assault was predictable. This... this was research.
( ._. )"", Ralts turned to look at Eliana with an expression of pure disbelief. Had his trainer lost what little sanity she had??
She slipped through a gap in the fence a few yards away from the main gate, a tear in the wire that looked suspiciously recent. Inside, the organized chaos of the docks intensified.
Cranes swung massive containers overheard, and forklifts zipped between towering stacks of cargo. She walked with purpose, her eyes scanning for the specific loading bay from the dockworker's memory.
She found it easily: Bay 7. A large, unmarked truck was backed up to the bay, its rear doors open. The two men in posing as security guards were supervising the loading of the very same crates from the memory.
Taking a deep breath, Eliana strolled directly towards them.
"Hey!" she called out, her voice infused with just the right amount of youthful indignation. "Is this where the passenger ferry for the S.S. Anne boards? I'm totally lost."
The men turned, their expressions immediately darkening. One of them, a wiry man with a greasy ponytail, sneered, "This is a restricted area, kid. Beat it."
The other, a mountain of muscle with a scar cutting through one eyebrow, took a step forward, cracking his knuckles. "Didn't you hear him? Get lost before we get lost in you."
"I just need directions," Eliana insisted, feigning a pout. "My parents are going to be so mad if I miss the ship."
"Parents?" the big one laughed, a cruel, ugly sound. "The only parents you'll be seeing are the ones we pick out for you at the orphanage. Now scram!"
Eliana let her lower lip tremble, a perfect picture of a scared little girl on the verge of tears. "Please..."
"Oh we'll help you all right," Ponytail grumbled, pulling a Poké Ball from his belt. "Go, Zubat!"
A small, purple bat Pokémon materialized, letting out a series of high-pitched squeaks.
The big guard followed suit. "Go, Koffing!"
A noxious, floating orb of gas appeared beside the Zubat, its vacant eyes staring at her.
Ralts hopped off her shoulder, landing gracefully on the concrete, still masking his presence.
The scrawny guy came up beside her, roughly grabbing her arm, "Come quietly and we won't have to use these Pokémon against you kid."
Eliana flinched away from his touch, her eyes wide with manufactured terror. "Okay, okay! I'll come!"
The big one grunted, a sound of contemptuous satisfaction. He grabbed her other arm, his grip like a iron shackle. They dragged her towards a small, unmarked door at the side of the loading bay, away from the prying eyes of the main docks. The Zubat and Koffing fluttered after them, its squeaks echoing in the narrow alley. Ralts remained unseen as he followed behind them.
The door opened into a dimly lit corridor, smelling of rust and damp concrete. They shoved her inside, and the heavy metal door slammed shut behind her, the sound echoing with finality.
The corridor led to a small, windowless room. A single, bare bulb hung from the ceiling, casting long, distorted shadows. A bunch of cages containing young women and Pokémon filled the room.
The women looked up, their faces a mixture of fear and a dull, hopeless resignation. In one corner, a growlithe whimpered, while a pidgey huddled in its cage, its feathers ruffled with stress. Other Pokémon kept quiet, having learned that got them the least amount of attention.
The two guards threw Eliana into an empty cage, the metal bars clanging shut behind her. They locked it with a heavy padlock.
"So," Ponytail said, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed. "What's a little girl like you doing snooping around where you don't belong?"
"I told you," Eliana said, her voice trembling. "I was lost."
"Don't lie to us," the big one growled, slamming his fist on the top of the cage.
"Since you don't want to talk," Ponytail sneered. "The boss'll be with you shortly, he'll get some answers out of you."
They left, their footsteps receding down the corridor.
(≧∇≦)ﾉ Ralts sent back, a wave of gleeful, predatory excitement.
Eliana scanned the room, her mind already working. She wasn't looking for an escape route; she was looking for information. She focused on the other prisoners, her consciousness gently brushing against their minds. She didn't need to dig deep. Their surface thoughts were a chorus of despair. They had been snatched from the streets, from bus stops, from their homes.
Some of the Pokémon had been wild. But most of the captured creatures used to belong to someone, they had been snatched from various cruise ships visiting the ports. One in particular reacted quite violently to her mental probing. Eliana winced slightly in pain, abandoning the search and looked around with her eyes for the source. She find it to be a beat up looking Raichu, only it didn't look like the Raichu she normally saw. It was much rounder and softer, its blue eyes glaring at her with hatred. Eliana thought hard before remembering what it was, an Alolan Raichu! Her nose scrunched up, it was quite a vicious little thing but the psychic typing made her pause in her assessment. Eliana was about to reach out to it again when the door slammed open, causing everyone else inside the room the flinch.