TPPC: The Admiral's Secret Mission (A One-Shot[?] Fanfic)

[Kingdom Xathers]

(Just a brief short story that I wrote on the Twitch Plays Pokemon subreddit.  Will I ever do more?  Who knows, but for now, hope you enjoy...)

 

 

 

Late one night, Professor Elm heard a knocking at his Lab door.  A slow yet urgent knock.  Of course, being the workaholic that he is, Professor Elm couldn't be bothered to pull himself away from the computer.

"Cyd!" the professor called out to the remaining Starter Pokemon, who was now currently a Quilava.  "Cyd, could you see who's at the door, please?"

"Fine, fine," Cyd grumbled as he got up from the couch, closing his Nintendo DS and approached the front door, continuing to mumble under his breath along the way.  "Friggin' Professor... always too busy... needs to get some... ... ... ...!!!!  PROFESSOR!!"

In the now opened doorway, bracing himself against the frame, was a Sentret wearing a white naval cap, one of his highly toned and muscular arms clutching at a hastily patched-up wound on his chest.  Blood seeped from the gauze, staining his fur and uniform. "H... help...," the Sentret croaked faintly.

Cyd stood by in shock, horror having gripped him in paralysis until he realized that the Professor had still yet to respond to his cry.  "PROFESSOR, GET OVER HERE, NOW!!" he shrieked once more.

Professor Elm groaned as, for the first time in days, he pulled himself away from his research.  "Alright, Cyd, this had better be g... Admiral?!"

"Pro... fessor...," said Admiral VV weakly, "... I'm... sorry, I... ... ...."  The Admiral's voice trailed off as he began to slip into unconsciousness.  Slipping off of the door frame, the Admiral fell forward, landing with a thud onto the laboratory floor, not knowing if this would be where death would take him....

...

...

...

... the Admiral awoke with a start from a sharp pain in his chest.  Once the pain had subsided, VV lethargically took a moment to survey his surroundings; he was still in the Professor's Lab, lying on an open futon.  The light of the morning sun flooded through the open window... how long had he been asleep? One day? Five?  He couldn't tell.  Reaching a hand up to his chest, he found that his wound had been properly dressed, and no longer bleeding.  He was alive.

"Ah, good, you're awake," chimed the Quilava.  "For a while, I'd thought you'd slipped into a coma."

VV blinked a bit, still adjusting his blurry vision.  "Wait, you... did you...?"

""Tend to your wound"?  Yep, that was me," replied Cyd, a bit of humble pride in his voice.  "Nothing special, but it got the job done, at least, right?"

The Admiral breathed out a grateful sigh.  "Thank you."

"Thank the Professor, too," Cyd added.  "I mean, he actually managed to do something that wasn't related to his damned research for once!"

"I heard that!" Professor Elm shouted from the other room.

The Admiral couldn't help but to chuckle a bit, even though a sharp pain once again struck his chest as he did.

... ... ...

About a half-hour later, Cyd had prepared breakfast for the Admiral, placing the tray of food by the futon along with a newspaper so that the Admiral could be caught up on current events.  "Just holler if you need anything," Cyd said as he left to help Professor Elm in the other room.

"So, he's doing well, then?" Elm asked Cyd without looking away from the computer screen.

"Why don't you see for yourself instead of asking me?" Cyd retorted.

"I would, but--"

"--don't make me slam your face into the screen."

"That's a bit much, don't you think?"

"Well, that's nothing compared to what I really wanna--"

Cyd and Elm's argument was cut off by a loud, horrified howl coming from the other room, followed by the sound of dishes falling onto the floor.  Despite the chill that ran through his body, Cyd wasted no time; grabbing Elm by his coat, the Quilava ran for the other room, dragging the Professor behind him.  There, they were met with the sight of the Admiral doubled over on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably in between gasps of pain.  The nearby table had been tipped over in his presumably brief fit of anguish, scattering food and dinnerware across the floor.

"Admiral, what happened?!" Cyd questioned urgently, rushing over to the Sentret.

"I... we...," stammered the Admiral between sobs and gasps, "we... we've failed him...!!"

"What?  Failed who?" asked a confused Professor Elm.  He then took notice of the newspaper sprawled at his feet, the Johto Times.  On the front page in huge bold letters read the headline:

GOOD NIGHT, SWEET PRINCE

Underneath was a picture of the Togepi Prince himself.  Elm picked up the newspaper and briefly glanced through the article.  "... oh dear, this isn't...."

"We failed him...," Admiral VV sobbed out, his body wracked by pain both physical and emotional.  "He was... not supposed to die...."

"... ... you hadn't told him yet, did you, Cyd?" Elm calmly spoke.

The Admiral's ears twitched upon hearing this, his grieving slowed to a halt.  "Told... ... told me what...?" VV asked, slowly craning his head upward to look at the Professor and his assistant.  His heart nearly stopped as he saw a third individual walk up to the doorway.

"Professor, what's going on here?" inquired this individual, his young voice ringing with the undertones of innocence and nobility.

Upon seeing the young Prince standing before him, alive and well, the Admiral's eyes welled up once more, his aching heart now filled with relief, confusion, and joy.  A few seconds later, his body shut down, falling flat on the floor as his consciousness once against left him....

... ... ... ... ... ...

"... I'm sorry that we had to deceive you all," Professor Elm explained to the Admiral hours later, "but we knew that, with AJ in his current state, and with enemies all over, Prince Omelette would not be truly safe, so--"

"--so, you had us look over a body-double," the Admiral finished with a calm tone, the gaze he directed toward the Professor filled with slight, stern betrayal.

"Yes," Elm replied, holding his ground in the face of the Admiral's glare.  "While the double was traveling with AJ and the others, the real Prince was being looked after by myself--zip it, Cyd," he blurted, shooting a glance at the Quilava who looked about ready to contradict the Professor's statement.  "Indeed, our assignment was to care for the young Prince's growth, but with enemies all over who would attack the party at a moment's notice, we just couldn't risk sending him with you.  He is needed alive for the Toge Kingdom to have any sort of bright future, after all."

"... but still, you had to lie to all of us to do so."

"I know, and I truly do hate myself for it," Elm replied.  "It was, however, a necessary evil."

"... and the Totodile?"

"Feraligatr, actually.  He's grown a lot since you last saw him," said Elm.  "From what little time I've had to speak with AJ and his mother, I've been able to track their progress.  Lazr, he... he was quite fond of the Prince...."

"... even though he was a fake...?"

"I do still appreciate his kindness, however," spoke up Prince Omelette.  "The double had a video camera on his person, with which he would send me video updates.  I... was actually jealous, to be honest.  Seeing everyone's kindness, even with the Voices arguing inside AJ's head... it... made me want to be with them."

Admiral closed his eyes with a sigh, nodding.  "... yeah, they're good kids."

"And yet they're not kids anymore, are they?" Elm asked.  "The brief time you've spent with them, Admiral, had a profound impact on their lives.  You're partly the reason they've become the Pokemon they are today."

A single tear fell from VV's eye, reminded of what he had left behind.  "... and now...?"

Elm sighed.  "Lazr wishes to avenge you and the Prince.  He's making his way through Johto, and eventually Kanto, so that he may take on the fabled God residing at the top of Mt. Silver.  Now... as much as I know you wish to return to them, I'm afraid I must ask for your help with another pressing matter...," he added with a brief glance toward Prince Omelette.  "... when you've completely recovered, I must ask you to guide Prince Omelette to his kingdom...."

...
...
...

"... understood."