"Prepare us?" asked Hibiki. "Why . . . what's in there?"
"I caught who I said I would," Ein almost whispered, slowly and deliberately as if each word counted. "I caught Ho-oh. Or as she calls herself, Belle." He beckoned them with his hand. "Come and see."
The brothers followed Ein to a contained room, where there were monitors on the wall displaying the hallway they had just traversed. Nobody was currently in the room, although there was a Team Rocket Admin jacket draped over one of the chairs. Hibiki guessed it was Basho's.
Ein placed his Master Ball on the security guard table and looked at them both, though mostly at Kenta. "In a moment you can let her out," he said solemnly. "And she will not attack you, at least, not physically. But she will look straight into your soul, and tell you things you may not want to hear."
Kenta motioned for Hibiki to sit down, as he himself did the same. He looked up at Ein with wonder, and Hibiki could tell that he was impressed. "I don't know what incredible algorithm you must have used to locate Ho-oh, let alone get near enough for a capture," he uttered. "But whatever your past, I will hold you in highest esteem for this feat."
"Don't flatter me," Ein rebuked angrily. "This experience has utterly changed who I am. Even a staunch man of science can be shaken when forced to confront his conscience, and this second time was far greater than the first with Wes. I warn you now, Kenta! Do not take her lightly. She is a goddess of this world, and not meant to be confined in any sort of prison. I regret what I have done, but I cannot undo it now!"
Was he really a scientist? Hibiki wondered, as Ein ranted and raved almost to the point of madness. He sounds more like a monk coming out of a vision.
Ein turned and opened the door. "I'll be waiting outside," he said. "This is between you and Belle now."
The door closed behind him. Hibiki and Kenta looked at each other.
"Zapdos is on standby, right?" Hibiki asked, feeling the hint of a shiver down his spine.
"Always. But I don't think it will be necessary for this," replied Kenta, reaching out his finger toward the Master Ball's release button. Just inches away from it, he wavered, and Hibiki saw that his hand was shaking slightly. Kenta took a deep, shuddering breath, and let it out.
"Whew . . . still not fully prepared mentally. There's no getting used to this." He gave Hibiki a glance over his shoulder. "Mind your distance, bro. If Ein's telling the truth as I suspect, this room's about to be filled by a very large bird."
With that, he touched the button and leaped back. The room was immediately bathed in the white light of pokeball energy being released, but it didn't stop there. A warm, honey-colored light filled Hibiki's senses, and bright as it was, he could still see through it. Lying on the ground before him was a seven-colored phoenix, predominantly gold, but exhibiting a permanent rainbow in its long tail plume. As Kenta had suspected, the creature was enormous, taking up nearly a third of the room all by herself. The countenance of her face was fierce upon first impression, but for those who could endure her gaze for long enough, there was a gentle benevolence behind it. Hibiki felt a sudden urge to kneel before her in reverence. Now he understood why Ein had acted the way he did. You couldn't stand in the presence of this glorious bird, and not feel your own sin and dirtiness.
"Ho-oh . . . Belle." Kenta had removed his cap, and was staring at the phoenix. Wonder was in his voice, and he shrank a little as her gaze fell upon him. "Are you-? . . . that is to say . . . have we met before?"
Hibiki wondered if he was talking to himself, until he heard a flowing, disembodied female voice answer.
"We do not know each other," came her rich voice. "But we know of each other. You are the one the humans call Gold, are you not?"
Kenta nodded, keeping his head low.
"There is Gold here . . . indeed, one with a Heart of Gold. But it is not you." Belle's fierce expression did not change, but the subtle undertone indicated sadness and disappointment. "I know very little of your past, trainer. But I see your heart at present, and I perceive only tarnished bronze. I wonder what must have happened for you to make yourself this way."
Kenta's face went red with shame, and he averted his eyes, no longer able to endure the stare of the phoenix. "I won't make excuses," he said quietly. "It's true that I've gotten my hands dirty for the sake of my goal." Suddenly, he raised his head, again meeting the legendary pokémon eye for eye. "But I won't apologize either. My enemy kidnapped the pokémon I loved most, and I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye. If you really can see into my heart, you already know how far I'll go to get Baku back."
Belle closed her eyes. "The strivings of those with corrupted hearts concern me little. It is said that anyone who sees me will have eternal happiness, but that is only because I am drawn to people who already have indwelling joy." She renewed her stare upon Kenta, and Hibiki could practically sense the weight of the judgment. "You perverted the natural order when you sent out people to catch me in your prison ball. Oh yes- I sense your guilt for that, and other things. I would forgive you, yea, pity you, if you were sorry, truly sorry. But even now, your heart hardens."
Hibiki could see Kenta's face darken with anger, much like Basho's had just minutes ago. He could tell that the phoenix was not mocking his brother, nor trying to incite his fury, despite how it might have sounded in any other context. But she was confronting him with the bare, naked truth, and Kenta's long-subdued agony of doubt was finally rising to the surface. Indeed, he had done things that, while terrible, were justifiable. Hibiki had been there to comfort him every time afterward. But for as long as he was in the presence of the phoenix, Kenta would not be able to block out the hounding of his own black deeds: the people he had lied to, the pokémon he had stricken down, the innocents he had sometimes insulted, sometimes terrorized, the felons he had aided, the one man he had recently mutilated- all of it surged to the forefront. Kenta's current anger was not directed at Ho-oh. It was against himself, and what he had become.
"Belle . . ."
Hibiki croaked the name out hoarsely. The phoenix's gaze turned to him, and it was gentle and benevolent again.
"Please stop," he begged, looking over at Kenta as he pulled at his hair in torment. "Why are you doing this?"
"It is not my intention to cause suffering, Heart of Gold," she answered sadly. "But like you, I am a created being. And I am fire, sacred fire. I exist to serve as a litmus for purity, for it is not relative, as people think. Those with impure hearts cannot abide me, nor I, them. And so I have kept my distance . . . until that choice was denied me."
"Pure heart . . .?" Hibiki stopped as a realization struck him. "You called me Heart of Gold. But how am I different than Kenta? I've done bad things too!"
"Nevertheless, there is a Heart of Gold within you," replied Belle solemnly. "And not just you alone, but a small collection of similar people, all with that same heart."
Kenta was breathing hard, and he passed a hand over his face. "I have to go," he murmured suddenly, and turned and jerked the door open. Alarmed, Hibiki twisted around in his chair and held out a hand to stop him.
"Wait!"
But Kenta turned away. "I'm sorry." And he shut the door firmly behind him.
There Hibiki found himself, alone for the first time in a long time, sitting in a small room with one of the greatest pokémon in the world directly across from him. His mind refused to work, and he could only whisper urgently to himself as he forced thoughts to come through.
"Aghhh . . . how did it get to this? Come on, Hibiki, think! . . . Okay, we came to check down here for a reason. Kenta was looking for a way to get the Master Balls into the Pokémon League un-detected, and then he wanted to know if any of the organizations had succeeded in getting a legendary pokémon . . ."
"Pokémon League? . . . Master Balls?" Belle's voice sounded again, and there was a note of surprise in it. "You have more?"
Hibiki looked at her curiously. "Yes . . . wow. Even legendary pokémon are amazed when we speak of them." With a sudden unpleasant twinge in his stomach, Hibiki remembered how Mewtwo had reacted upon hearing Kenta's plan to spread Master Balls through the trainer population. "But we won't use them to capture any more legendary pokémon, I swear!" he cried. "Kenta only wanted to get back pokémon that had already been taken from their trainers by our government. If we don't, they'll end up becoming machines of war!"
Now it was Belle's turn to give Hibiki the curious look. "Oh? So you need a creature like me to play a part in this . . ."
Hibiki shied from her. "You don't have to," he mumbled. "You shouldn't have to. Now that I've seen how this has gone, I'll . . . I'll see if I can somehow convince Ein to let you go. This was a bad idea."
Through Belle's ever-present glare came a sudden beaming smile. "No bargaining for my freedom?" she asked, though it was more a statement than a question. "Just like that, you would remove my shackles?"
Hibiki shrugged. "Yeah. Someone like you doesn't belong in a Master Ball. It's the right thing to do."
The phoenix beamed, and the light around her seemed to grow warmer and friendlier. "Then I shall do the right thing to you as well."
"I caught who I said I would," Ein almost whispered, slowly and deliberately as if each word counted. "I caught Ho-oh. Or as she calls herself, Belle." He beckoned them with his hand. "Come and see."
The brothers followed Ein to a contained room, where there were monitors on the wall displaying the hallway they had just traversed. Nobody was currently in the room, although there was a Team Rocket Admin jacket draped over one of the chairs. Hibiki guessed it was Basho's.
Ein placed his Master Ball on the security guard table and looked at them both, though mostly at Kenta. "In a moment you can let her out," he said solemnly. "And she will not attack you, at least, not physically. But she will look straight into your soul, and tell you things you may not want to hear."
Kenta motioned for Hibiki to sit down, as he himself did the same. He looked up at Ein with wonder, and Hibiki could tell that he was impressed. "I don't know what incredible algorithm you must have used to locate Ho-oh, let alone get near enough for a capture," he uttered. "But whatever your past, I will hold you in highest esteem for this feat."
"Don't flatter me," Ein rebuked angrily. "This experience has utterly changed who I am. Even a staunch man of science can be shaken when forced to confront his conscience, and this second time was far greater than the first with Wes. I warn you now, Kenta! Do not take her lightly. She is a goddess of this world, and not meant to be confined in any sort of prison. I regret what I have done, but I cannot undo it now!"
Was he really a scientist? Hibiki wondered, as Ein ranted and raved almost to the point of madness. He sounds more like a monk coming out of a vision.
Ein turned and opened the door. "I'll be waiting outside," he said. "This is between you and Belle now."
The door closed behind him. Hibiki and Kenta looked at each other.
"Zapdos is on standby, right?" Hibiki asked, feeling the hint of a shiver down his spine.
"Always. But I don't think it will be necessary for this," replied Kenta, reaching out his finger toward the Master Ball's release button. Just inches away from it, he wavered, and Hibiki saw that his hand was shaking slightly. Kenta took a deep, shuddering breath, and let it out.
"Whew . . . still not fully prepared mentally. There's no getting used to this." He gave Hibiki a glance over his shoulder. "Mind your distance, bro. If Ein's telling the truth as I suspect, this room's about to be filled by a very large bird."
With that, he touched the button and leaped back. The room was immediately bathed in the white light of pokeball energy being released, but it didn't stop there. A warm, honey-colored light filled Hibiki's senses, and bright as it was, he could still see through it. Lying on the ground before him was a seven-colored phoenix, predominantly gold, but exhibiting a permanent rainbow in its long tail plume. As Kenta had suspected, the creature was enormous, taking up nearly a third of the room all by herself. The countenance of her face was fierce upon first impression, but for those who could endure her gaze for long enough, there was a gentle benevolence behind it. Hibiki felt a sudden urge to kneel before her in reverence. Now he understood why Ein had acted the way he did. You couldn't stand in the presence of this glorious bird, and not feel your own sin and dirtiness.
"Ho-oh . . . Belle." Kenta had removed his cap, and was staring at the phoenix. Wonder was in his voice, and he shrank a little as her gaze fell upon him. "Are you-? . . . that is to say . . . have we met before?"
Hibiki wondered if he was talking to himself, until he heard a flowing, disembodied female voice answer.
"We do not know each other," came her rich voice. "But we know of each other. You are the one the humans call Gold, are you not?"
Kenta nodded, keeping his head low.
"There is Gold here . . . indeed, one with a Heart of Gold. But it is not you." Belle's fierce expression did not change, but the subtle undertone indicated sadness and disappointment. "I know very little of your past, trainer. But I see your heart at present, and I perceive only tarnished bronze. I wonder what must have happened for you to make yourself this way."
Kenta's face went red with shame, and he averted his eyes, no longer able to endure the stare of the phoenix. "I won't make excuses," he said quietly. "It's true that I've gotten my hands dirty for the sake of my goal." Suddenly, he raised his head, again meeting the legendary pokémon eye for eye. "But I won't apologize either. My enemy kidnapped the pokémon I loved most, and I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye. If you really can see into my heart, you already know how far I'll go to get Baku back."
Belle closed her eyes. "The strivings of those with corrupted hearts concern me little. It is said that anyone who sees me will have eternal happiness, but that is only because I am drawn to people who already have indwelling joy." She renewed her stare upon Kenta, and Hibiki could practically sense the weight of the judgment. "You perverted the natural order when you sent out people to catch me in your prison ball. Oh yes- I sense your guilt for that, and other things. I would forgive you, yea, pity you, if you were sorry, truly sorry. But even now, your heart hardens."
Hibiki could see Kenta's face darken with anger, much like Basho's had just minutes ago. He could tell that the phoenix was not mocking his brother, nor trying to incite his fury, despite how it might have sounded in any other context. But she was confronting him with the bare, naked truth, and Kenta's long-subdued agony of doubt was finally rising to the surface. Indeed, he had done things that, while terrible, were justifiable. Hibiki had been there to comfort him every time afterward. But for as long as he was in the presence of the phoenix, Kenta would not be able to block out the hounding of his own black deeds: the people he had lied to, the pokémon he had stricken down, the innocents he had sometimes insulted, sometimes terrorized, the felons he had aided, the one man he had recently mutilated- all of it surged to the forefront. Kenta's current anger was not directed at Ho-oh. It was against himself, and what he had become.
"Belle . . ."
Hibiki croaked the name out hoarsely. The phoenix's gaze turned to him, and it was gentle and benevolent again.
"Please stop," he begged, looking over at Kenta as he pulled at his hair in torment. "Why are you doing this?"
"It is not my intention to cause suffering, Heart of Gold," she answered sadly. "But like you, I am a created being. And I am fire, sacred fire. I exist to serve as a litmus for purity, for it is not relative, as people think. Those with impure hearts cannot abide me, nor I, them. And so I have kept my distance . . . until that choice was denied me."
"Pure heart . . .?" Hibiki stopped as a realization struck him. "You called me Heart of Gold. But how am I different than Kenta? I've done bad things too!"
"Nevertheless, there is a Heart of Gold within you," replied Belle solemnly. "And not just you alone, but a small collection of similar people, all with that same heart."
Kenta was breathing hard, and he passed a hand over his face. "I have to go," he murmured suddenly, and turned and jerked the door open. Alarmed, Hibiki twisted around in his chair and held out a hand to stop him.
"Wait!"
But Kenta turned away. "I'm sorry." And he shut the door firmly behind him.
There Hibiki found himself, alone for the first time in a long time, sitting in a small room with one of the greatest pokémon in the world directly across from him. His mind refused to work, and he could only whisper urgently to himself as he forced thoughts to come through.
"Aghhh . . . how did it get to this? Come on, Hibiki, think! . . . Okay, we came to check down here for a reason. Kenta was looking for a way to get the Master Balls into the Pokémon League un-detected, and then he wanted to know if any of the organizations had succeeded in getting a legendary pokémon . . ."
"Pokémon League? . . . Master Balls?" Belle's voice sounded again, and there was a note of surprise in it. "You have more?"
Hibiki looked at her curiously. "Yes . . . wow. Even legendary pokémon are amazed when we speak of them." With a sudden unpleasant twinge in his stomach, Hibiki remembered how Mewtwo had reacted upon hearing Kenta's plan to spread Master Balls through the trainer population. "But we won't use them to capture any more legendary pokémon, I swear!" he cried. "Kenta only wanted to get back pokémon that had already been taken from their trainers by our government. If we don't, they'll end up becoming machines of war!"
Now it was Belle's turn to give Hibiki the curious look. "Oh? So you need a creature like me to play a part in this . . ."
Hibiki shied from her. "You don't have to," he mumbled. "You shouldn't have to. Now that I've seen how this has gone, I'll . . . I'll see if I can somehow convince Ein to let you go. This was a bad idea."
Through Belle's ever-present glare came a sudden beaming smile. "No bargaining for my freedom?" she asked, though it was more a statement than a question. "Just like that, you would remove my shackles?"
Hibiki shrugged. "Yeah. Someone like you doesn't belong in a Master Ball. It's the right thing to do."
The phoenix beamed, and the light around her seemed to grow warmer and friendlier. "Then I shall do the right thing to you as well."