Story Notes:
The 'dock' scene is only basic at the start. It builds itself up as Tom reminds himself more about it, and he discovers more facts behind that fateful day, all leading up to the truth.Tom also reminds himself of the events that happened in a summary. This recaps what he needs to find out, and allows you to have a guess yourselves.THE FAIRVIEW CHRONICLES IS LINKED TO THIS STORY, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE READ IT FIRST, OR YOU WILL NOT UNDERSTAND ALL OF THIS:http://agn.ph/fics/viewseries.php?seriesid=219Now with a prologue, explaining how Tom found Stacey!http://agn.ph/fics/viewstory.php?sid=3504
Chapter 7: Captive
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Tom lay on the floor, still unconscious from the attack. His mind was a mixture of images and thoughts, seeming delusional to him. He was standing in front of a lush forest, the wildlife and pokémon inhabiting it acting their usual, carefree manner. Walking through the imaginary land, Tom saw many types of pokémon he wouldn't expect to see in the forests. He sat down, pondering what this meant to him. Suddenly, a large booming sound came from across the forest. Everything halted, slowly turning towards the source of the sound. A shining beam of light ripped through the woodland, destroying anything in it's path. As Tom jumped up, slowly walking backwards, panic spread through the creatures like a wildfire. Something shot through the forest, leaving a trail of fire behind it, attacking many of the pokémon as they tried to fled. Tom gritted his teeth at the sight, trying to figure exactly how he was coming up with these thoughts.
A shining white light ended the scene in his mind, placing him into a dark corridor. It looked like the old, rotted remains of an abandoned house, the floorboards creaking heavily as he walked through them. Making his way through this nightmarish environment, he saw a figure flash quickly in front of him, before disappearing again. Jumping backwards, Tom's mind was becoming a blur. He was extremely frightened at what was happening, but he couldn't stop himself moving on. Was his mind trying to communicate something to him? He couldn't tell. He turned around a corner to see a familiar girl at the end of the passage way. Tom tried to call out to Evona, but she didn't respond. She simply stared at him, her face drained of any expression. Tom began to jog towards her, hoping that he may get some kind of answer. Instead, a cloud of smoke swirled around her, and once it had dispersed, only a Gardevoir remained in her place. Before Tom could say anything, the room began to slowly rotate, his subconscious dreams throwing him into another location.
Tom was now in the middle of Fairview Plains, in the middle of the day. The sun was at it's highest point, and the desert-like area was quiet as usual. Tom could faintly see in the distance a peculiar sight. It was his car, travelling across the roads in the blaring sunlight. He saw himself sat inside it, with Stacey and an Arcanine in the back. It was driving along normally, and Tom questioned why he was being shown this. The car zoomed past Tom, and the sky turned a dark red colour. Gazing up into the sky, Tom saw the unbelievable: A meteor shower was passing into the Earth's atmosphere. One slowly fell down onto the plains, a huge ring of dust flying straight from it, throwing Tom's car out of the way. There was a large explosion, before Tom's mind threw him from his thoughts again...
Tom's eyes slowly pushed open. The room was pitch-black, but at least he was back into reality now. He felt a warm, comfortable feeling on his chest, as he smiled slightly.
"Ugh... Stacey, is that you?" Tom asked, rubbing his hand against her fur.
"Tom! You're awake!" She said happily, jumping off of Tom and standing beside him. Tom tried to make out any kind of shapes in the darkness, but was unable to. Stacey noticed how he struggled to find his way up, and began to look around slightly. Her vision wasn't great either, so she blew a bit of fire at the floor to lighten the room for a second. It was brief, but she managed to spot a torch-like structure by the wall. Walking in it's direction, she picked up the handle with her teeth, and walked back to where Tom was. Lighting the end of it with her fire, she managed to create a beacon of light for them. Tom picked it up, holding it up into the room. The room was actually relatively small, with a door, and a note attached to the door. As the two walked to the door, Tom picked up the note.
Hey Tom. I guess you can count this as payback for what you did at the harbour. This door's locked. You find the key, or you starve to death in here.
-Chris
Tom was surprised by a note like this. He certainly wouldn't expect Chris to do something like this, especially to a friend.
"Just what the hell is wrong with Chris?" Tom said, ripping the note off of the wall. He turned to Stacey, explaining the situation. "We've gotta find some key, the door's locked." Tom looked around for some hint. There was an air-duct, so at least he wouldn't suffocate. But it was too high up for anybody to reach, let alone Chris. Stacey walked towards one of the walls and started inspecting it.
"Tom, maybe there's something in the walls." She suggested.
"Stacey, this isn't one of those cartoons I used to watch as a kid. There's probably no-"
"Tom! Check this out." Stacey said, almost instantaneously. Tom rolled his eyes and crouched down where Stacey was. "These bricks look... newer then the others. They haven't even been cemented in."
Tom began pulling the stacks of bricks out of the wall, a large, metal structure slowly appearing behind it.
"Well, what do I know? A door!" Tom said, expecting more of a challenge. "You know, if Chris was going to try and kill me, you'd have thought he put in a bit more..." Tom said, opening the door. A crevasse greeted him on the other side of the door, Stretching down several tens of metres. Falling down would be instant death. Tom's arrogance quickly faded."...Challenging..."
Stacey walked around the platform to see if there was any other way. The gap was about 3 metres wide, and there was no other way past it. They were going to have to jump straight over it. She turned to Tom. "Got any better ideas other then making a jump for it?"
"Nope." Tom said, opening the door, so they could get a run-up. He nodded at Stacey, who walked back to the other wall in the previous room. Sprinting as fast as she could towards the pit, she leaped off of her back legs, landing safely on the other side with about 30 centimetres to spare. Stacey walked away from the edge and into another room, while Tom backed up. Running as fast as his body could allow him, he leaped across the gap. It had almost been too easy. That is, until the platform he was standing on began to collapse. It was obvious Chris was watching their progress, because it wouldn't have just normally worn away.
Tom lunged forwards as a metre of the platform plunged into the darkness. His arms just caught onto the edge, but the rest of him was dangling above certain doom. He desperately tried to haul himself up, but there was no way he could do it himself. His arms began to slip, only his hands remaining on the curb. Just as he thought he was about to die, he felt a pair of arms grab onto his, hoisting him back onto the platform. A certain french writer faced him when he stood back up.
"Jean? What are you doing down here?" Tom asked, relieved and surprised at the same time.
"I've been stuck down here for a while now. Actually, I'm kind of glad you ended up down here, because I need someone else up ahead." Jean was about to walk off, before Tom put his hand on Jean's shoulder.
"Not so fast. He wouldn't have just thrown you down here for a reason. It's time you told me the truth." Tom said. Jean gritted his teeth slightly, even if it was the inevitable.
"All right, all right. I'm an undercover agent from DID."
"Danacia Investigations Department? But you guys are only for homeland security issues! Just what the hell's going on here?"
"I was sent here under strict orders to remain obscure. Not to give anything anyway. Chris isn't the reason I'm here. Edwin is. We suspect he is hiding information on Nile from us. But I got carried away, started looking into Chris... lo and behold, I think that's why I'm stuck down here. The night you shot Chris, someone else was shot. His father, to be precise."
"...Wait, what? But Chris' father is supposed to be dead!"
"Exactly. That's the strange thing. Did Chris know all along? Was his father's death the reason he shot someone? It's impossible to tell..."
"Hey, what time is it?" Tom asked. Jean checked his watch.
"Uh, 23:45. Why?"
23:45
"Apart from that necessary piece of humour, we need to get moving. You see, Chris is meeting someone tonight on the rooftops. And I have all intent of getting answers. Let's go." Tom said, as the two ran into the next room. There was a large set of pads facing the door, and a monitor at the side, down another hallway. Stacey was sitting by the monitor. Jean stepped forwards to explain.
"Each of these 9 pads has a number. I have to press them in the right order to get out. However, the monitor is seperate from the pad, and each time I press the button, it generates a new sequence of numbers, and then I only have 30 seconds to step on the pads in the right order. It's physically and mentally impossible for me to do it by myself. I'll need you to call out the number sequence for me. Got that?"
"Think so." Tom said, walking over towards the monitor. There was a large red button next to the screen.
"Ok, go!" Jean yelled out. Tom wasted no time in pushing the button. The screen flashed up with the number 918427365.
"Nine one eight four two seven three six five!" Tom yelled out, hearing Jean work furiously to press down all the pads in time. The screen flashed green, as Tom jogged back to where the others were. "That did the trick. Let's get out of here."
Tom opened the door, showing a large staircase. Stacey began padding up the steps along with them, some of her tails brushing against Tom's leg. Pushing their way through the door, a dark midnight sky met them on the surface. They were behind the hotel, the door tucked underneath an overhanging block. It wasn't the best of hiding places, and it begged the question of how it got there In the first place. But for now, they were just happy to be in the fresh air. Jean checked his watch. 23:50.
"Best hurry up if you're gonna catch your little interrogation." He commented, as Tom walked around the structure. He passed through the building again, which, unsurprisingly, was rather empty. Walking up the stairs to the second floor, and turning for the door leading up to the rooftops, he was certain of one thing. If he didn't find the truth tonight, then nobody will.Chapter End Notes:We are reaching the end of our story! (Nearly) Everything will be revealed in the conclusive chapter: Sad but true
Tom lay on the floor, still unconscious from the attack. His mind was a mixture of images and thoughts, seeming delusional to him. He was standing in front of a lush forest, the wildlife and pokémon inhabiting it acting their usual, carefree manner. Walking through the imaginary land, Tom saw many types of pokémon he wouldn't expect to see in the forests. He sat down, pondering what this meant to him. Suddenly, a large booming sound came from across the forest. Everything halted, slowly turning towards the source of the sound. A shining beam of light ripped through the woodland, destroying anything in it's path. As Tom jumped up, slowly walking backwards, panic spread through the creatures like a wildfire. Something shot through the forest, leaving a trail of fire behind it, attacking many of the pokémon as they tried to fled. Tom gritted his teeth at the sight, trying to figure exactly how he was coming up with these thoughts.
A shining white light ended the scene in his mind, placing him into a dark corridor. It looked like the old, rotted remains of an abandoned house, the floorboards creaking heavily as he walked through them. Making his way through this nightmarish environment, he saw a figure flash quickly in front of him, before disappearing again. Jumping backwards, Tom's mind was becoming a blur. He was extremely frightened at what was happening, but he couldn't stop himself moving on. Was his mind trying to communicate something to him? He couldn't tell. He turned around a corner to see a familiar girl at the end of the passage way. Tom tried to call out to Evona, but she didn't respond. She simply stared at him, her face drained of any expression. Tom began to jog towards her, hoping that he may get some kind of answer. Instead, a cloud of smoke swirled around her, and once it had dispersed, only a Gardevoir remained in her place. Before Tom could say anything, the room began to slowly rotate, his subconscious dreams throwing him into another location.
Tom was now in the middle of Fairview Plains, in the middle of the day. The sun was at it's highest point, and the desert-like area was quiet as usual. Tom could faintly see in the distance a peculiar sight. It was his car, travelling across the roads in the blaring sunlight. He saw himself sat inside it, with Stacey and an Arcanine in the back. It was driving along normally, and Tom questioned why he was being shown this. The car zoomed past Tom, and the sky turned a dark red colour. Gazing up into the sky, Tom saw the unbelievable: A meteor shower was passing into the Earth's atmosphere. One slowly fell down onto the plains, a huge ring of dust flying straight from it, throwing Tom's car out of the way. There was a large explosion, before Tom's mind threw him from his thoughts again...
Tom's eyes slowly pushed open. The room was pitch-black, but at least he was back into reality now. He felt a warm, comfortable feeling on his chest, as he smiled slightly.
"Ugh... Stacey, is that you?" Tom asked, rubbing his hand against her fur.
"Tom! You're awake!" She said happily, jumping off of Tom and standing beside him. Tom tried to make out any kind of shapes in the darkness, but was unable to. Stacey noticed how he struggled to find his way up, and began to look around slightly. Her vision wasn't great either, so she blew a bit of fire at the floor to lighten the room for a second. It was brief, but she managed to spot a torch-like structure by the wall. Walking in it's direction, she picked up the handle with her teeth, and walked back to where Tom was. Lighting the end of it with her fire, she managed to create a beacon of light for them. Tom picked it up, holding it up into the room. The room was actually relatively small, with a door, and a note attached to the door. As the two walked to the door, Tom picked up the note.
Hey Tom. I guess you can count this as payback for what you did at the harbour. This door's locked. You find the key, or you starve to death in here.
-Chris
Tom was surprised by a note like this. He certainly wouldn't expect Chris to do something like this, especially to a friend.
"Just what the hell is wrong with Chris?" Tom said, ripping the note off of the wall. He turned to Stacey, explaining the situation. "We've gotta find some key, the door's locked." Tom looked around for some hint. There was an air-duct, so at least he wouldn't suffocate. But it was too high up for anybody to reach, let alone Chris. Stacey walked towards one of the walls and started inspecting it.
"Tom, maybe there's something in the walls." She suggested.
"Stacey, this isn't one of those cartoons I used to watch as a kid. There's probably no-"
"Tom! Check this out." Stacey said, almost instantaneously. Tom rolled his eyes and crouched down where Stacey was. "These bricks look... newer then the others. They haven't even been cemented in."
Tom began pulling the stacks of bricks out of the wall, a large, metal structure slowly appearing behind it.
"Well, what do I know? A door!" Tom said, expecting more of a challenge. "You know, if Chris was going to try and kill me, you'd have thought he put in a bit more..." Tom said, opening the door. A crevasse greeted him on the other side of the door, Stretching down several tens of metres. Falling down would be instant death. Tom's arrogance quickly faded."...Challenging..."
Stacey walked around the platform to see if there was any other way. The gap was about 3 metres wide, and there was no other way past it. They were going to have to jump straight over it. She turned to Tom. "Got any better ideas other then making a jump for it?"
"Nope." Tom said, opening the door, so they could get a run-up. He nodded at Stacey, who walked back to the other wall in the previous room. Sprinting as fast as she could towards the pit, she leaped off of her back legs, landing safely on the other side with about 30 centimetres to spare. Stacey walked away from the edge and into another room, while Tom backed up. Running as fast as his body could allow him, he leaped across the gap. It had almost been too easy. That is, until the platform he was standing on began to collapse. It was obvious Chris was watching their progress, because it wouldn't have just normally worn away.
Tom lunged forwards as a metre of the platform plunged into the darkness. His arms just caught onto the edge, but the rest of him was dangling above certain doom. He desperately tried to haul himself up, but there was no way he could do it himself. His arms began to slip, only his hands remaining on the curb. Just as he thought he was about to die, he felt a pair of arms grab onto his, hoisting him back onto the platform. A certain french writer faced him when he stood back up.
"Jean? What are you doing down here?" Tom asked, relieved and surprised at the same time.
"I've been stuck down here for a while now. Actually, I'm kind of glad you ended up down here, because I need someone else up ahead." Jean was about to walk off, before Tom put his hand on Jean's shoulder.
"Not so fast. He wouldn't have just thrown you down here for a reason. It's time you told me the truth." Tom said. Jean gritted his teeth slightly, even if it was the inevitable.
"All right, all right. I'm an undercover agent from DID."
"Danacia Investigations Department? But you guys are only for homeland security issues! Just what the hell's going on here?"
"I was sent here under strict orders to remain obscure. Not to give anything anyway. Chris isn't the reason I'm here. Edwin is. We suspect he is hiding information on Nile from us. But I got carried away, started looking into Chris... lo and behold, I think that's why I'm stuck down here. The night you shot Chris, someone else was shot. His father, to be precise."
"...Wait, what? But Chris' father is supposed to be dead!"
"Exactly. That's the strange thing. Did Chris know all along? Was his father's death the reason he shot someone? It's impossible to tell..."
"Hey, what time is it?" Tom asked. Jean checked his watch.
"Uh, 23:45. Why?"
23:45
"Apart from that necessary piece of humour, we need to get moving. You see, Chris is meeting someone tonight on the rooftops. And I have all intent of getting answers. Let's go." Tom said, as the two ran into the next room. There was a large set of pads facing the door, and a monitor at the side, down another hallway. Stacey was sitting by the monitor. Jean stepped forwards to explain.
"Each of these 9 pads has a number. I have to press them in the right order to get out. However, the monitor is seperate from the pad, and each time I press the button, it generates a new sequence of numbers, and then I only have 30 seconds to step on the pads in the right order. It's physically and mentally impossible for me to do it by myself. I'll need you to call out the number sequence for me. Got that?"
"Think so." Tom said, walking over towards the monitor. There was a large red button next to the screen.
"Ok, go!" Jean yelled out. Tom wasted no time in pushing the button. The screen flashed up with the number 918427365.
"Nine one eight four two seven three six five!" Tom yelled out, hearing Jean work furiously to press down all the pads in time. The screen flashed green, as Tom jogged back to where the others were. "That did the trick. Let's get out of here."
Tom opened the door, showing a large staircase. Stacey began padding up the steps along with them, some of her tails brushing against Tom's leg. Pushing their way through the door, a dark midnight sky met them on the surface. They were behind the hotel, the door tucked underneath an overhanging block. It wasn't the best of hiding places, and it begged the question of how it got there In the first place. But for now, they were just happy to be in the fresh air. Jean checked his watch. 23:50.
"Best hurry up if you're gonna catch your little interrogation." He commented, as Tom walked around the structure. He passed through the building again, which, unsurprisingly, was rather empty. Walking up the stairs to the second floor, and turning for the door leading up to the rooftops, he was certain of one thing. If he didn't find the truth tonight, then nobody will.Chapter End Notes:We are reaching the end of our story! (Nearly) Everything will be revealed in the conclusive chapter: Sad but true