Seth and his Snag Machine were on the news. People glanced at him and his friends as they watched in the café. They protectively pulled their Pokémon close. A reporter caught Wes leaving Nascott Colosseum.
'Good for him.'
'Mr. Vincent, as a member of Orre's Elite Four, don't you think some advice is–'
'My advice? Cipher tried to make me look bad, back in my day. Don't fall for the same thing twice.'
He was gone. The reporter turned back to the camera.
'It remains to be seen whether Wes, or Willie who allowed Seth to challenge him, actually understand that Cipher were protecting Brynlee's fans from him.'
'That whole thing was planned!' Zane snapped, 'Don't you think? The fake cop and the "attacker" and everything. Trying to make the police look bad and Cipher look like heroes.'
Parvor nodded. 'I was gonna help, but they just kicked me out of the way! Seth showing up worked out for them, 'cause they got to make him look bad, but... they said something about needing to report it.'
His new Road Badge was proudly pinned to his beanie hat. Seth stared down at the tablecloth decorated with road signs.
'I guess they meant the Snag Machine... but they probably suspect I can see auras by now.'
'I don't really get it. Shadow people? What even are they?'
'My parents were researching it,' Zane said, 'But they could only simulate it, obviously. They're basically like Shadow Pokémon. Heartless fighting machines.'
He glared back at the diners eyeing Seth. 'Let's get out of here.'
A moped covered in sand was parked outside the Pokémon Center. Jaxon sat cross-legged on a wooden bench inside. He was reading the biography Amber swapped for The Deoxys Files. His Umbreon snoozed beside him. The ONBS broadcast on the battered TV there was more positive. Bianka won her Pickaxe Badge. She texted Amber to say she was with two others, Reed and Kody, on the Boltund to Pyrite Town. Cail was waiting at the bus stop.
'...Interrupt our Gym Challenge coverage with breaking news...'
The cleaner groaned along with the challengers. 'Every five minutes it's breaking news! Cipher this, Cipher that! Now what?'
'In the last hour, Gateon Jail staff confirmed rumours that arrested Cipher Commander Rosen Raco has escaped.'
Jaxon glanced sharply up. He was pale. Umbreon awoke at the sound of her name.
'Raco was arrested on multiple counts of assault, kidnapping and suspected murder. There is now a heavy police presence in Gateon Port as officers search, though they warn the prisoner may have already left the city. Citizens are urged, as always, to be vigilant and call 8-100-CIPHER for non-urgent concerns, or 911 in emergencies.'
A reporter in the city centre spoke with Emili. She and her Gym Trainers were around the city to keep an eye on people. They didn't say it was because no-one trusted the police, or that people were beginning to doubt that Cipher were the bad guys, but it was obvious.
***
Trip watched the same broadcast at the Pokémon Center in Phenac. Wyatt wasn't paying attention. Since Justy walked in to heal his Pokémon and greeted Wyatt with a sad smile, he'd been frozen in place. What would Leon tell him? Trip's mind was so clogged with Cipher and guilt, he could barely remember what he or Amber looked like.
'...Why not just try again? You believe I'll play football again. You should believe you can try the Gym Challenge again.'
'I can't now, can I? He saw straight through me.'
'Yeah, but this is Orre. Three of our Gym Leaders are ex-criminals. Plus the two Cipher Admins in the Elite Four. Even Wes was a criminal once.'
Wyatt finally shifted to rub his eyes. 'You heard Kamron. "No-one leaves alive."'
His P★DA jingled. There was usually some warning before announcements. This one began immediately. Wyatt passed one of his headphones to Trip and propped the P★DA up between them. A wooden desk was unoccupied before a tall window, overlooking The Under's lower level. The walls were deep red. A Houndoom curled up in a basket. Amidst scattered Pokémon and football memorabilia were photo frames. Before Wyatt could argue, before he even knew what he was doing, Trip took the P★DA and zoomed in. His heart skipped a beat, or several. There wasn't one photo of him. There were eight, some of which were recent. One appeared to be from his last game. Another was of him and Laila... and one with a man he didn't recognise, who promptly plopped down at his desk to address his audience. Trip couldn't breathe. He was shaking. Wyatt gently squeezed his shoulder.
'I'm really sorry... I should've told you...'
It was hard to take it in. Trip wanted to pause the whole world while he tried. Lyndon's straight, strawberry blond hair was unlike Trip's, but looking into his blue eyes was like looking into a mirror. His round face, crumpled by apparent distress, was innocent. He was pale as if he rarely saw daylight.
'I don't care.'
He didn't. Trip couldn't believe his dad was evil. In those eyes they shared, he saw a lost boy who clung to memories of the first love he couldn't save and a son he couldn't be with, for whatever reason. That reason had to be why he was trapped down there in The Under, working for Cipher. Maybe it was Rosen...
'Trip, this is gonna be a shock.'
'It won't be. So what if he's a Cipher Admin? Maybe he doesn't even want to be.'
Wyatt turned the volume up. Lyndon spoke quietly, with an unmistakable Pyrite accent.
'...Orders are absolute from your Grand Master, Lyndon.'
The tears springing to Trip's eyes abruptly halted. A ball of anxious threads and plummeting hopes explosively unravelled in his sinking stomach.
'Grand... Master?'
'I'm sorry, Trip. I'm so sorry. I should have told you, but it's such a big deal, I was worried...'
Trip barely heard him. He covered his free ear. He already felt like a frail baby bird Pokémon knocked from the air by Rock Blast. How much worse could it get? Though it did get worse with every second his eyes hovered on those photos of himself in the office of Cipher's Grand Master. He still couldn't look away. It wasn't like being glued to a car crash. It was more like his soul was frozen above a trainwreck where his motionless body burned. He wondered if Lyndon felt it somehow, because his voice was trembling.
'Rosen Raco is no longer a member of Cipher, active immediately. Anyone aiding or communicating with her will be punished, including Admins. This shouldn't be difficult when not a fucking one of you actually likes that Zubatshit sociopath.'
Trip blinked. He removed the hand from his ear. Wyatt was speaking.
'She's your grandma, right? Who killed your mom?'
'Yeah.'
'I repeat – I am your Grand Master and these orders are absolute. I don't give a shit what she threatens you with or what Znider or Verzant or whoever the fuck else tells you. And I don't know, or care to know his name but whoever got arrested with her can get fucked too. Goodnight.'
The video ended. Wyatt clicked to play it again. That wasn't how he expected to be introduced to Lyndon, either. People were right that he wasn't as 'creepy looking' as Znider, but he was as quietly frightening as he looked innocent.
'I guess that's him saying he cares about you and your mom...?'
'Yeah, but Grand Master? I'm guessing he wasn't when she died. Or was he?'
'I don't know if he's, like, really the Grand Master. Maybe until Alfie and Ardos get out of jail. Surely they're the Grand Masters?'
'Didn't Alfie hide behind his manager last time? He was Cipher Head on paper but Alfie was pulling the strings. But...'
The thought waiting to be voiced lurked in the depths of Trip's mind for days. He tried to ignore it, but now it screamed from his subconscious to his conscious, he couldn't.
'I've been thinking ever since we saw...'
Wyatt's sympathetic eyes said he already knew what Trip was going to say.