FicWad

"The whisper of the wind softly kisses my cheek, brushing my hair with its gentle touch."

The words drifted from his lips only to be snagged by the chill wind rushing by his open window. From his perch on the fabric couch next to a wide, open window, the man gazed out. The sight of massive brilliant purple spires jutting out against the cold grey mountains filled his vision, and he could not help but grin softly. "It's a geode..." he muttered softly, glancing about the city. This was his home, and he took a certain amount of pride from the fact that he was born here.

His long, silver hair floated with the wind as he shifted into a slightly more comfortable position. Memories, typically fond, found their way into the front of his thoughts where they were welcome. He could remember, in ages long past, the indescribable need to escape the crystal prison he now adored. He could remember the first time he trekked through the mountains. He could remember his first-

Frantic pounding interrupted his thoughts, and for a moment, the man seemed to deflate. His calm, cool ice blue eyes flickered as if the turbulent fractures of irritation threatened to set him off. But he stood regardless, standing a full meter and nine-tenths in height. His dress was unusual: a silver jacket, only a few shades lighter than his hair, covered in the most fanciful of lavender-colored designs with pants to match. He strolled over to the door, and opened it, a nonchalant expression on his face. "Brand," he stated plainly and bluntly.

Bowing before him was a brown-haired man of a slightly shorter, slightly buffer physique, dressed in an expensive, if plain in comparison to the man's own, suit. "Forgive me for my intrusion on your quiet time, sir," the man said humbly.

"You can call me Gidan, you know that, Brand," Gidan said softly, but his eyes had already narrowed. The only time Brand ever called him sir was when he was the messenger of ill-news. He ushered the man inside, and shut the door. "So tell me how Murphy has struck again," he offered, his eyes glinted dangerously.

"Well, sir... I mean, Gidan...." Brand trailed off, wincing like a struck animal. "It... is about that Weatherite crystal. It seems..."

"It was captured successfully, but no one knows where it is?" Gidan said, his tone mimicking something of a bored child. "It's an unfortunate set-back, but I'm sure it will find eventually find its way back into my hand. The stakes are simply too high, and I cannot afford to wait for the development of another crystal." A gleam flitted through his cold eyes, as the moon reflects of an ice-crusted pond.

Brand seemed to fidget a bit. "Well, sir... about that. The operative group we selected decided to give the mission to a child with a... less than stellar record of success. He does his job, and he is faithful; he just seems to crack under pressure."

"You've met this boy?" Gidan asked nonchalantly. "It's not like you to show so much concern for any sort of operative, no matter how high the rank-or low-the rank."

A twitch of the eye signaled a struck nerve, and Brand struggled to keep himself under control. "Erm, no sir," he said, bitterly, as if to say no hurt him deeply. "I, erm, simply don't wish for events to escalate any further than they already have. I don't believe the drama would be necessary." He averted his eyes.

"Well, then, I'm sure this child, this Batoy-" Brand's eyes lit up, and Gidan gave a smirk of contempt. "-Will have no trouble relinquishing what belongs to me. After all, he was raised so well, wasn't he?"

Had Brand been sitting and he had been in the presence of a lesser man, he would have risen from his chair in fury, but the circumstances did not make such an action wise. He simply stood there, fuming with a forced nonchalant look about his face. "And sir," he offered, "how would you know so much about his growth? He is not a remarkable specimen; clearly not worthy of your inspection, is he, sir?" He spoke through gritted teeth, as if each word was a painful blow to the face.

"Is it really not so clear, Brand?" Gidan asked, and Brand paled slightly. "Good afternoon, and make sure he arrives in one piece." The man bowed silently and exited the room with bitter haste, leaving the cold man alone. A smirk passed over his face, and as the door slammed closed, he gave a hearty laugh. "Whether or not he is worthy of my inspection remains to be seen. If not, I will simply find another."

~~~~**~~~~

"Insufferable, undeniably arrogant sonova..." Slurs rolled from the tip of his tongue, his face red with rage. Brand rushed through the corridor, his heels clicking against the crystal floors as he moved at a pace just below that of a jog. His fury drove his speed, and he realized that his fists were clenched tightly. He flexed his fingers, and as he reached an elevator at the end of the hall, he took a breath.

"How did such a man manage to steal control so quickly?" he muttered to himself, pressing the button. "Everything went according to plan. Yet, after everything that's happened, he manages to appear out of nowhere, claiming to bear his will. Just who does that...." He paused to think of suitable term, but could find none. "That... man... think he is?"

With a soft ding, the elevator doors parted, and Brand made his way inside. His finger hovered over the panel as he debated which floor to return to. Lower and lower, his finger traced a trail until it finally reached one of the lowest buttons, and the elevator began its decent from high in the air. "I only wanted to get out of those barbaric caves, not suspend myself in the domain of the birds," he muttered, rubbing his temples together.

The elevator came to a halt, and the doors slid open to darkness. While the upper levels of the city were lavishly designed with amethyst, the lower levels of the geode were no more decorated than a common basement. Functionality reigned as computers and monitors lined the walls with a particularly large screen on the far side. It was to there than Brand walked, still huffing with displeasure. The people seated at the smaller computers did not look up at him. To do so would be to risk getting berated by a very irate man. Brand stood upon an elevated platform next to the largest screen.

"Listen up!" he called, and several operatives ceased their tasks and aligned themselves in front of him with such speed that it seemed rehearsed. "Not too far away in the forest to the southwest, there's a boy who possesses something of great importance. Bring him here, safe and unharmed. I repeat, safe and unharmed! You are dismissed!"

"Yes sir!" the chorus chimed, and they scampered to their respective posts while other operatives dashed out of the underground chambers. "If they manage to get that Weatherite Crystal, then what?" he wondered aloud. A chair skittered against the bare floor, yet Brand didn't flinch. Instead, a smile spread across his face. "What're you doing here, Durr..."

A woman slinked out of the shadows. Her curly crimson hair stood in stark contrast to her blue uniform. Sleek and wiry, she padded out and laid a hand on Brand's shoulder. "Now, now, is that any way to treat me, love?" She lightly pecked him on the cheek.

Brand turned and shook his head. "You really shouldn't be here. You'll jeopardize everything. I do not want to bring more attention to myself. Gidan already knows far more than I ever thought possible, my love...."

"But yet you let me, an Aqua Admin, into your presence and don't have me arrested?" she laughed. "I'm flattered. Anyways, I'm sure you realize I've already contacted Aqua members to hunt down this boy?" Her face fell slowly.

"Yes, and you realize that I'll have to alert my operatives of Aqua's presence, yes?" Brand grimaced and looked away. His hands clenched around the rim of a nearby chair. "Anyways, you should go. Let the earth be firm under your steps, Shelly..."

The woman laughed again. "Shelly, now? Since when did you call me by my first name? Don't go soft, love. May the waters be calm and gentle, Tabitha. And don't worry. I'm sure he'll be alright. And Tabitha?" She looked at him, her eyes shimmering in the dark. "I'm sorry...."

She disappeared, and Brand grimaced again. "So we're on a first name basis again... Such difficulty... Hopefully everything will work out in the end..." A sudden bitter smile passed through his face. "Heh, but since when did such happy endings exist? Back when children won the Pokemon League's Tournaments, I suppose. How I miss those days... it's a shame they don't exist any more. I would have liked to see it..."

~~~~**~~~~

Meetings were so boring. Several times, Gidan had nodded off while the Amethyst Chamber of Commerce rattled off ridiculous ideas at increasing the City's already impressive amount of wealth. Long had he mastered the art of looking interested when he was bored to wit's end. He'd been invited as a guest, something he'd grown used to over the years. But listening to the ancient men argue about the most trivial of situations was tiring at best, and testing at worse. This was one of those testing moments.

"...Stuffed toys?" he muttered in disbelief. This recent suggestion had been the most well received of the suggestions. He glanced around the room, looking at each of the thirteen members of the Chamber. Each had lavish long silver hair like himself, a tradition for those of the Sukai lineage. Out of them all, only he did not share the same blood. Every one of them, other than himself, were nodding.

"Yes," one of the members said. "I believe that Amethyst City currently plays to the older demographic, and is currently more or less targeted to males over females. If certain shops are reformatted to appeal to the younger, female age group, we could increase our revenue by at least 30%."

Gidan stood up. "Well, I'm sure that will have the most desirable consequences on this city. Now, I'm sorry, but I do have an appointment that I need to keep." He swiftly exited, and the murmurings continued. "I do hate such things..." he muttered to himself as he quickly exited the building into the street. The sun was low in the horizon, just about to dip behind the purple clouds. The sky was a fiery orange.

Two boys, around sixteen years old each, raced around, marveling at the sights. One had fiery orange hair, dyed most likely, while the other's was a soft brown. Both had backpacks slung over their shoulders, bulging with different items, both collectables and essentials. Gidan watched them for a little while, smirking to himself. Both were Pokemon trainers; he could see Pokeballs hanging from their belts. "Ho, there!" he called, raising his hand, and both teenagers to look at him. He beckoned them to come closer. "You aren't from around here. Where are you two from?"

The boy with the fiery hair grinned. "We're both from Orre in the Continental. We've traveled all over this country so that we could represent our region."

The other boy smiled sheepishly. "Yeah... we're here to challenge this City's Gym Leader. We heard he was unbeatable, so we wanted to see for ourselves."

Gidan grinned. "So that's why you're on this side of the globe. Well, unfortunately, the Gym isn't open today, but it will be in a few days. My name is Gidan. Who might you two be?"

"I'm Tim." The flame-headed boy said proudly before motioning to the boy beside him. "This is my twin brother, Toby. You're Gidan, huh? Do you know what the Gym Leader is like?"

Toby nudged his brother. "Hey, Tim, that's rude, don'tcha think? We just met this guy."

Tim nudged him back. "Hey, I'm just trying to find out what kind of Pokemon this Gym Leader uses. What harm could it do?"

"It's alright. I happen to know the Gym Leader's exact Pokemon, but unfortunately, I can't tell you. League rules and all. Anyways, I can tell you that you'll be in for quite the battle. This Gym Leader has never been defeated as you well know." Gidan grinned again. "Amethyst is quite the special gym, as it doesn't specialize in one specific `type' of Pokemon. However, I know that the Gym Leader has a special affinity for armored Pokemon." He gave a wink and a nod.

Tim nodded. "Uh-huh... so Pokemon like Rhyhorn and Rhydon, huh?"

Toby grinned slightly. "Rock, maybe steel types... that's pretty easy. Just use a Water or a Fighting-type Pokemon, and it's a sure win."

Gidan couldn't help from smirking. "You're quite perceptive. However, don't forget that it is merely his affinity. He may hold secrets that you couldn't possibly fathom. Be aware, be careful, be aggressive, and you may just find the power to finally defeat him. But don't be too disappointed if you fall short."

Tim shrugged. "Hey, we're both Tournament winners from the Orre's Realgam Tower! We can handle it, don't you worry. We'll just stock up on some of the right types of Pokemon."

Toby nodded. "Yeah, our Pokemon haven't ever failed us!"

Gidan nodded. "So you have a lot of faith in your Pokemon? That's always good to here. Not all trainers have such a close attachment to their partners. I'll be looking forward to seeing your results. Also, will you be participating in the Amethyst Festival Tournament? It begins tomorrow."

Toby looked at Tim with confusion. "Amethyst Festival Tournament? You hear anything about it, Timmy?"

The other boy shook his head. "Nah. But I guess we could spare a few more days. Is the tournament worth it?"

Gidan nodded. "I'd like to think it is. The winner gets 20,304 in international currency. We have a few slots left, actually. Three or four, I believe. Why don't you go to the Pokemon Center to register? In a while, it'll begin to rain here. You should stay there."

The two boys nodded and Tim scampered off, but Toby watched his brother leave hearing distance. "Hey, promise you won't tell Tim this, but there's another reason I... we want to fight this Gym Leader. Our region is suffering, and we wanted to see if we could get him to go to Orre. We... well, you probably don't care. Anyways, I'll see ya later!" Toby said before rushing off as well.

Gidan watched, a bemused smirk on his face. "Kids, these days. Those fools in the Chamber simply don't realize what's ahead. They ramble on, oblivious to the changing tide. They haven't seen the things I've seen. Oh well, it's of little consequence. Let them believe they have meaning."

He paused as he watched the two departing figures. "Hmm... I believe I can make things a little more interesting. Heh, I believe I have some place to be. Meetings are SO exasperating!" Giving a rather peculiar laugh, Gidan turned and made his way into the tallest of the central buildings.