The sun set in carnelian orange over the rust-striped walls of Pyrite Town. Dirk made the mistake of driving in through the main gate. Cail was too busy as Gym Leader to stand there all day, charging unsuspecting visitors an 'entrance fee,' but his 17 year-old daughter Brass filled his spot without missing a beat since completing the Gym Challenge last year. She sent out a growling Umbreon when Dirk refused to pay. Chalcedony wound her window down.
'Isn't your Impidimp Ready Dinner going cold? Give it a rest.'
Brass couldn't argue with her. She knew Chalcedony was from Pyrite and fully aware there was no 'entrance fee.' She reluctantly let the car through. Dirk parked outside the new Pokémon Center which – despite Cail's determination to look like a 'tough guy' who thought no Pokémon Center was necessary – was funded by Znider's ongoing Imipdimp Ready Dinner subscription.
'Lock it, Dirk,' Chalcedony warned, 'And neither of you leave anything you care about in there.'
Zileh's wide eyes swept from the dusty concrete to the shabby streets of recycled metal homes to the looming colosseum. The ONBS Building and Pyrite Heights apartments were strangely clean strips rising from the sunset-stained crevice.
'Wow. The infamous Pyrite Town!'
A Dragonite and Crobat landed at the entrance. Brass rushed to charge their Trainers, but got talked into joining Team Magma when Crobat's Trainer trounced her. She shrugged and pulled on her free hoodie. It clashed with her green hair. She didn't argue with tough Trainers, or at least not until she forgot how it felt to be flattened by them. Dirk gawked.
'Whoa! Cail's kid is tough, but that girl's super tough! She's cute, too...'
The smoky evening wind blew whiffs of floral essential oils from Fateen's Fortune-Telling Chamber. It was the first thing visitors saw when entering Pyrite Town. Lights were on inside. It was still open. Chalcedony found herself unexpectedly nervous. She knew Fateen wasn't a con artist. Everyone in Pyrite did. If she did know the truth... was Chalcedony really ready for it? The automatic door was already sliding laboriously open for Zileh. She stepped inside.
Floorboards creaked. Dim light danced over satin cloths draped over the starry walls. Behind a crystal ball on a glass table was elderly Fateen, her greying pink hair coiled in pigtails.
'Find what you seek, be it an object, person, or luck. Welcome to Fateen's Fortune-Telling Chamber.'
Chalcedony followed Dirk inside. She didn't lay down her bag or guitar case. Thieves were capable of silently snatching unguarded bags if the door opened.
'Fwofwofwo... I think we should wait just a moment.'
Fateen's customers had no idea what that meant, but she clearly wasn't ready to speak yet. The door opened. Fateen smiled. The Team Magma recruiters walked in.
'Now, we're all here. Yes, indeed, the five of you seek the same thing... you wish to know how Fire Agate Addison's pendant came into Rustie Clark's possession, correct?'
Chalcedony glanced back at the other visitors. Why did two Team Magma Grunts need to know about the pendant? How did they know about the pendant? Maybe Courtney sent them. That made sense. Lyndon was, after all, Fire Agate's half-brother. Yet she felt she recognised the one hiding behind sunglasses from somewhere...
Dirk nodded. 'And we're a li'l worried about Fire Agate... if she's alive...'
'The child is alive.'
'O-oh! But – the dead baby...'
'A victim of Gretchen Manning, also known as Rosen Raco. As you may have guessed, Fire Agate is also now in mortal danger. She is protected by another name... but it is only a matter of time until her enemies dicover her true identity, which I cannot currently share with you. I know your actions, if I were to tell you, would put you in danger. You must grow stronger first.'
Amber nudged Riko. She spoke up.
'Ma'am, can I ask why you gave that pendant to Chastity Clark?'
'I knew that one day, you would stand here asking me that very question. And so my work there is done. The pendant is now in the right hands at the right time.'
'And... can I ask where you found it?'
'Intuition led me to the ONBS Building, where I climbed into a dumpster to retrieve it from the heart of a discarded carton of noodles.'
'Sorry for all the questions, but...'
'You need not apologise. If ever a problem clouds your brow, you shall come to me.'
'Thank you. I wanted to ask... is looking for Fire Agate now putting her in danger? Are we doing the right thing by avoiding alerting... a certain father and son? I think you'll know who we mean.'
Fateen indeed understood that Riko was referring to Alfie and Lyndon.
'Yes. Your enemies will pounce on said son at the smallest sign of an opportunity to do so. As for Fire Agate... I doubt you will find her by simply looking. Aside from myself... only two people in the Orre region know exactly who she is. Five more suspect. One you, young Chalcedony, hold dear senses it, as he shares my psychic power...'
Wyatt? Why would he know anything about Fire Agate? He was perceptive, but Chalcedony was pretty sure that was his bond with his Psychic-type Ralts – now Gallade – as much as it was Wyatt himself.
'However, he knows not what he senses, only that it is there. He is yet to recover from the influence of Shadow Pokémon. And, child, I must warn you... he, too, is in mortal danger.'
'Because he knows about Fire Agate? Even though he doesn't get what it is he knows?'
'No. Your enemies have no reason to suspect he senses such a thing. He is in danger because of what he is able to see. You should reach out to him.'
If Cipher had no reason to suspect Wyatt knew about Fire Agate, why would they suspect he could see auras? Rustie said it wasn't common knowledge. Wouldn't they go for the prominent people, like Amber, Seth or Rui?
'All of you, young challengers, must also know that the shadow of a deceiver follows you.'
Dirk blinked. 'Huh?'
'She is not in this room, but she will be amongst you in time... and I sense the scales tipping in her favour. I urge you to be wary. Trusting her could cost a young man... or multiple young people... their lives.'
'Can't you tell us any more about her? So we can see her coming?'
'I cannot. If she realises you are aware, you too will be in even greater danger, for she is not alone. I can only, once again, urge you to be cautious.'
'Theta?'
'You already know Theta Gallego cannot be trusted. No... this is someone who has left your minds for the time being. You, Team Magma Grunts...'
Fateen knew exactly who they were and why they were there. She also knew not to disclose it in front of the challengers.
'Do not let yourselves and those around you become so occupied with the search for Fire Agate that you forget the threat of the greater schemes to corrupt Orre's future. If our young challengers would kindly leave so I can speak with you in private... please do feel free to return later, however.'
The challengers saw she would tell them no more. They left. Fateen waited for three minutes of silence to pass before she continued.
'We are in danger from something that only your enemies and two others understand; one of whom, a scientist, is behind bars. The other has forgotten.'
Amber could speak now. It wasn't as if Fateen didn't know who hid behind the sunglasses.
'...Coren and Lyndon?'
'Indeed. It is hardly the boy's fault. His medication clouds his mind. I saw none of the dark clouds I see now when he led Cipher; for I knew there was no evil in his heart and that he could, for that reason, be stopped.'
'So... even though Lyndon was Cipher's greatest leader... whatever's on the horizon now is more dangerous?'
'Yes... his fate was locked to a brighter path as soon as his son was born, for he carried his mother's hope that would forever illuminate the darkest nights even after her death. His father, the actor, also tipped his own scales for the better. He retrieved his love for his son from the shadows of his mind. Now, however... the scales are yet to tip. If they tip for the better, the darkness will subside... but if they tip in Cipher's favour... I barely dare look into my crystal ball, for I am getting old. My heart struggles. I fear the sight will end me.'
'How likely is it they'll tip in Cipher's favour...?'
'Very likely... as long as their enemies are occupied with the search for Fire Agate.'