The New Normal - 16-10 - Interlude - Looker

The New Normal – 16-10 – Interlude – Looker

As expected, the moment he arrived back in Unova, he was immediately summoned for a meeting with the Sages of PLASMA – likely to explain to them just what had happened back in Sinnoh.

Though fortunately, on the ‘perilous’ trip back, he was able to develop a strong sense of rapport with the other PLASMA members that had escaped with him. They were grateful to him for the advanced warning, and they knew they owed it to him that they weren’t currently behind bars alongside Zinzolin and the others who didn’t manage to get away.

During their ship ride back, he did his best to learn more about the thoughts of his colleagues. And he had come to learn that they were all as horrified as he had expected them to be at the accusations laid out against Zinzolin.

They refused to believe that Zinzolin, and by extension PLASMA, would be complicit in this sort of thing. Since it went against everything they believed in.

This was just further proof to Looker that not all PLASMA members were that far gone – that they had yet to completely abandon their sense of morality. That meant they could still be saved from going down this dark path. He just needed to figure out if it was feasible for him to do so.

Alas, that was a thought for later, and he scrubbed his mind from any such distracting thoughts as he stepped into the meeting room where the Sages awaited him. He did a mental check through to make sure that his persona as Hilbert was firmly in place before he walked into the room with his head bowed low.

“Hilbert.” A voice containing a undercurrent of rage called out to him, “We demand an explanation. What happened in Sinnoh?”

The person speaking to him was sat at the very front of the table, and his robes were the most decorated and ceremonial amongst those present. Though he had obviously heard of him before, this was the first time he was meeting him in person. This was Ghetsis – the leader of PLASMA.

The man most likely behind the darkness lurking behind PLASMA.

So as he gave his explanation, making sure to sound as clueless and as helpless as he possibly could, he did his best to subtly study Ghetsis’ facial expressions. What kind of man was the leader of PLASMA? Was he rash and led by his emotions, or was he calculating and methodical?

Judging by Ghetsis response to his explanation, the leader of PLASMA seemed prone to anger. He kept it well-hidden, but he managed to catch the minute twitches in his expression. Unlike Cyrus, this was a man who could be ruled by their own emotions.

That could be exploitable.

Fortunately, and probably because Ghetsis only saw him as a nameless grunt that held no real importance, he didn’t seem to blame Hilbert for what had happened in Sinnoh. In fact, the Sages next to him seemed to look at him with approval when he described how he evacuated from Sinnoh with as many members as he could.

After his explanation was finished, the room was met with silence as Ghetsis seemed to thoughtfully ponder over his words.

“…Despite the disaster that has occurred in Sinnoh, I can see that you’ve done all that you could to salvage the situation.” Ghetsis said slowly, “It is always nice to see such enthusiasm from our newest recruits. It gives me hope that more will be able to see the light of our message.”

“Of course!” He replied with false enthusiasm, “I hated having to run away, but the Sinnoh League were intent on arresting us all on false charges, so I knew we had to get away. I still can’t believe that the Leagues would fall so low as to result to doing something like this.”

“Indeed it was, and one day we shall pay them back for their tyranny.” Ghetsis nodded, “But that will not be today. Unfortunately, now that the Sinnoh League has demonstrated that they are willing to make use of oppression to silence our message, I will not risk more of our members. The safety of PLASMA’s members has always been my number one priority, and so I have decided that it would be best for us to remain in the safety of Unova for the time being.”

He nodded with a thankful expression on his face. Though inwardly, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes; he doubted the man cared at all for their wellbeing.

“However, as for you – your bravery and quick-thinking has not gone unnoticed.” Ghetsis continued, “And after some discussion with the other Sages, Rood especially was very much pleased with your contributions and he has argued heavily for you to be rewarded. I agreed, and as such, you shall be now be one of Rood’s personal assistants.”

‘Perfect.’ He thought to himself. That was exactly what he hoped for. No longer was he at the bottom of the totem pole. Sure, being a ‘personal assistant’ to Rood was really just a fancy title more than anything, but this gave him more opportunities to work closer with the Sages, which meant that he was likely going to be in a better position to listen in on PLASMA’s plans.

Furthermore, he was glad to be working with Rood. Out of all Sages, Rood seemed the most genuine, though it was definitely not a very high bar to clear. But more importantly, besides Ghetsis, Rood was the closest with N. And he knew that this fact would prove extremely valuable.

He made sure to thank the Sages profusely for his promotion. Then after being told to leave the room, he texted N and asked to meet up.

As he waited in the corner of the cafeteria, N practically sprinted over in excitement – almost like a child.

It was strange to think of N that way, as he was almost a young adult, but his wide-eyed innocence and general naivety made him act more like a child than anything else. No wonder he was being so easily  moulded and manipulated by the Sages for their own ends.

…Sadly, he wasn’t any different. He too would be exploiting N’s innocence and their friendship.

“Hilbert! You’re okay!” N looked relieved at his safe return, “Even though I knew you were coming back, I feared the worst. I was scared that the authorities might try to falsely arrest you like they did with poor Zinzolin.”

“I’m fine, N. I even got a promotion out of all this. But thanks for looking out for me.” He replied.

“I heard! Rood was talking about it earlier. I guess they must have just told you.” N revealed with a bright smile, “But I’m happy that you’re working with Rood now. He’s very nice to me. And out of all the Sages, I like him the best.”

“Yeah? Well that’s good news.” He said, “Honestly, I might need that after the fiasco in Sinnoh.”

His words caused N’s smile to quickly disappear as a look of both confusion and hesitation appeared on his face. He looked like he was contemplating whether to say anything or not, but after a moment, N leaned in closer and his voice dropped to a whisper.

“…What happened back in Sinnoh, Hilbert? What did we do to anger the authorities so much?” N asked, looking like he was going to explode with curiosity if he didn’t answer.

“I don’t know either, N.” He shrugged helplessly, “I guess they just have it out for us.”

“…Do you think the League really came up with this?” N suddenly asked him, “I know this might sound crazy – but I keep feeling that something’s not quite adding up. It’s been nagging me for days now, and I can’t quite seem to shake the thought.”

“What’s bothering you?” He asked.

N looked at him pleadingly, “Do you think that there might be truth to the League’s accusations? You were there, so I trust your judgment. Please, be honest with me.”

His words caused Looker to hesitate. Did he tell N the truth, at risk of exposing himself? Or did he tout the party line and continue with the lies that Ghetsis and the others must have been feeding him?

Normally, he would choose the latter without hesitation, rationalising that it wasn’t worth the risk. However, there was something in N’s earnest and pleading eyes that broke through his cold rationality.

This was a boy heading down a dark path because he didn’t know any better. So should he not try to save him from this darkness, while he still had a chance to do so?

…Fuck it. If it was time to take a risk, it was now. Doing the right thing might not be easy, but you did them anyways.

“Listen, N… I’ve seen Elite John and Elite Drake in action many times before. So when Zinzolin told me the plan was to defeat their Pokémon head on with our own, I secretly doubted just how that could possibly happen.” He explained slowly and quietly, “John and Drake are many things, but no one doubts their strength. And for all of Zinzolin’s many achievements and accomplishments, I didn’t think he could somehow win the battle.”

“So it came as a huge surprise to me when I saw that Zinzolin’s Pokémon were actually able to match the Elite Four’s in terms of strength.” He continued, “But that made me suspicious. Could a Pokémon really get that strong without any training? I started to have my doubts… and I’m ashamed to admit that those doubts may have increased when the Sinnoh League began their accusations, especially with how unnatural Zinzolin’s Pokémon behaved during that battle.”

“…You mean to say that the Sinnoh League might be telling the truth?” N asked, horrified at the implications.

“Maybe.” He nodded carefully, “I don’t want to think anything bad about Zinzolin and PLASMA… but the thought won’t leave my mind either.”

He turned to look at N, “…You must be thinking the same, right?”

This was it. The moment of truth. If N reported him here, then he was doomed. He was going to have to make a break for it before he could be captured by PLASMA. He already had an escape plan laid out in his mind, and he repeatedly went through it as he nervously waited for N’s reply.

However, he trusted in his instincts. He could see the growing doubt in N’s eyes too. He knew that N had been questioning the recent events in Sinnoh, and he knew that his friendship with N would give him some measure of trust.

So while this was a gamble, he felt like the odds were on his side.

In the end, the gamble seemed to have paid off, as N gave off a short nod.

“Yes, that’s what I’ve been suspecting too.” N replied slowly, “When reports of what happened arrived back here, I felt that the Sages’ reaction to hearing the news was strange. My gut was telling me it was because they knew that it was the truth and wanted to just cover it up.”

N’s fists clenched, “But how could we do this? How could we treat Pokémon like that while claiming to be looking out for their well-being? I know that the path to true happiness can’t be easy, but do we really have to engage in these horrendous actions just to make our dream a reality? Ghetsis never tells me anything about all this, even when I’ve asked to be a part of the planning process in the past.”

N looked at him, looking truly desperate, “Tell me, Hilbert. Do you think we’re doing the right thing?”

He was tempted to say no, to push N completely over the edge, but he knew that he had to play this carefully. If he pushed N too far, there was no knowing what N would do as a result. The last thing he wanted was for N to go confronting Ghetsis directly and foolishly try to demand an explanation, which would expose his own actions.

No, that would be going too far. He had to reel it back a bit.

So he replied, “…I’m not sure, but I think it’s best if we find out more before we decide. Maybe Zinzolin’s actions were purely his own – that he strayed away from the righteous path of PLASMA. Maybe it’s just a few bad apples that have been hiding away from the rest of PLASMA. So there’s no need to come to any conclusions yet.”

N let out a relieved sigh, as if these were the words that he was hoping to hear, “…You’re most likely right. I was probably being too paranoid about all this. Sorry, Hilbert. I know you just got back, and here I am burdening you with all this.”

“It’s totally fine, N. I share your concerns too.” He said, “But listen to me. From now on, let’s pretend this conversation never happened. In the meanwhile, I’ll try to help you root out any bad apples within PLASMA. I’ll do my part to make sure that this organisation is as best as it could be. So leave that to me. Despite how I look, I used to be an Ace Trainer too. So I know what I’m doing. You just need to act normal.”

“…Okay, I trust you, Hilbert.” You really shouldn’t, N. And I’m sorry for betraying your trust like this. “And thanks. I wouldn’t know what I’d do without you.”

As N turned away, he missed the pitying look that Looker gave him. Unlike almost everyone else that he had met in PLASMA, he knew that N’s beliefs and ideals were genuine. He just didn’t know how to break it to N that his ideals had long since been tainted.

Was it better to remain an ignorant fool and bask in false ideals? Or was it better to be burdened with the harsh truth? He didn’t know the answer to that one.

A.N. As I write this, I genuinely feel bad for N. All his life he’s been raised by lies, and by an abusive father figure that doesn’t actually care for him. Then he makes a friend, who also turns out to be a spy. So even though Looker has good intentions here, it doesn’t change the fact that his whole friendship with N is built on a lie, and just like Ghetsis, Looker’s manipulating him too. Hope you enjoyed the slightly longer Interlude!