Necessary Investigations (for fiveofnone)

[youmeandpokemon]

It's been about a week since Professor Madrone spoke with one Caspar Millen about his current predicament: a serial killer who just happened to be involved in the killing of two persistant Pokemon poachers in the Nexus. Normal murder mysteries would be left to the police, but since Pokemon have been dragged into the ordeal, Professor Madrone feels his involvement is somewhat needed. He's become the local person to come to for all things Pokemon related in the Nexus, after all.



He's been unable to sleep well the past few days, no matter how much Chamomile tea he drinks or how early he goes to bed. The thought of death weighs on his mind, and Madrone finds himself plunging headfirst into new research to distract himself from the case. New samples of grass type Pokemon spores need to be collected. Rock pokemon formations need to be examined. He's thankful that the life of a Professor can be filled with many things to do.

The text comes out of nowhere Saturday morning, not from Marie, who he's been trying to call, but her assistant Samantha. It is not the news he wants to hear:

Marie is dead. Review the information I'm about to send you while I take care of funeral arrangements. We will meet later to discuss things.

What. Madrone is forced to take a seat at his kitchen table, one hand over his cup of tea, staring down at his cell phone / PINpoint. Within a few minutes, a USB flash drive and a folder full of documents are PINpointed to him, contaning evidence he's none to excited to see. He won't call Caspar just yet, wanting to look over the data first, in case he should warn the Cylon of something gruesome beforehand.

By mid-afternoon, he's already numb to the pain and has had time to compose a message to Caspar:

Caspar. I have new information that I wish to review with you. Please meet me at the labratory, as soon as possible.

If Adia asks to come, please allow her to do so. I will give her a few scientific tasks to work on for the day while we discuss Josh. Perhaps the wilds will do well for her spirit.

With best regards,

Professor William Madrone.

Comments

[youmeandpokemon]

"What kind of outlandish thing do you think he'd do?" This topic is not Madrone's strong suit, as he turns to face Caspar, the only person in the room who's had more than a fleeting moment with Josh. He rests one hand near the computer, leaving it on the two photos.

"Indeed. He must have slipped the poison into her system during the night. Records indicate that the two of them took a taxi out to dinner; I would assume he poisoned her there." He pulls the folder into his lap, looking over the police records. "If Marie had a PINpoint, it was stolen along with her luggage, laptop and other personal belongings. Josh wanted everything for some reason." Madrone stops when he comes upon a new photo from the crime screen. He returns his focus to the computer screen, bringing up two new pictures.

The computer screen has a touch feature and Madrone takes a nearby stylus, circling two particular spots: some red stains on the carpet and a few footprints in the bathroom. They look smaller than the average person, especially in comparison to Josh's foot size.

"Perhaps we can do our own detective work, given our knowledge of the Nexus..." Because he most certainly doesn't expect the German police force to identify unusual things easily.

[fiveofnone]

Caspar frowns to himself, trying to get in the mindset of a killer. He wishes it was harder to think like Josh, but the Fives have an unfortunate history with torture and cruelty. Not as vengeful as the Ones, or as obsessive as the Threes, but it's there. Dormant. Waiting for an acceptable target.

"I'd build a cage," he says finally. "A big, beautiful cage, and I'd put her right in the middle of it. And then I'd make her learn to love me... or kill her trying."

He shuts his eyes, trying to push out the idea. When he opens them again, there's a new photograph to look at. He stares at it, his frown growing. "Are... are those a kid's footprints?" They do look quite small in comparison. "Someone a hell of a lot smaller than Josh, anyway..."

Madrone's suggestion gets a raised eyebrow. "You don't need to ask, of course we should look into this further." Which reminds him of another fact that hasn't yet come up in their discussion. "You should know that he's trying to learn magic. Voodoo. Do you have that on your world? A witch opened a portal for him, that's how he was able to get to the Nexus in the first place."

[youmeandpokemon]

Professor Madrone raises an eyebrow to Caspar’s ideal about what Josh would do with Adia. Wow. He doesn’t say it out loud, but that’s a dark thing to say. “Let’s hope it doesn’t get to that point.” His attention is already back on the television screen, looking at the shoe prints. “A child? It’s possible, but that would seem unlikely. What kind of child would willingly participate in murder?”

The topic of Voodoo is a new one, but it sounds like something that shares traits with rituals of certain Pokémon. “Not really, but some people believe in spirits and the powers they possess. Personally, I’ve seen and heard about portals being opened, but through scientific means. Do you think this witch wants access to the Nexus? Or something greater?”

[fiveofnone]

He doesn't know what to do about that look except avert his gaze awkwardly. Madrone did ask, after all. It's not his fault that he understands that sort of thinking better than others...

It's a relief when the subject changes. Madrone's question about a child murderer earns him a shrug. "There are all types in the Nexus, Professor. He was advertising on the Darknet, it's possible he made a friend there, too."

Madrone's other questions aren't answered with nearly as much certainty. "Josh didn't write much about the witch... ah, I should have said, Harley was able to take photos of his journal while she was in his cabin. He sounded eager to pursue learning about voodoo. I don't know enough about magic to guess at this witch's intentions."

[youmeandpokemon]

Well, yes, he did ask for an answer, but Madrone never suspected Caspar could think like that. He shakes off his concern regarding that line of thinking, because his focus is now on the fact that a child is involved. Madrone doesn't want to believe that's true: maybe the child was there at the wrong time and could be another victim? He has no idea how to process this information...

"He probably wants power. As for the witch, unless we directly found a way to confront her, I'm not sure what those intentions are." Madrone isn't sure what Josh wants to do either, which makes the situation tricky, especially given his recent attack on a 'friend'. "Marie's goals were straight-forward: there's documents and security footage from her business showing Josh visiting her multiple times.I don't know how significant it is, but I can pull those up as well."

Maybe learning more about Josh's behavior will allow Caspar to figure out what his next steps are.

[fiveofnone]

Perhaps it'd be less surprising if Madrone knew more about Caspar's past, but that's a discussion for another time. He's not about to push his "child as an accomplice" theory, either. He knows it's a little far-fetched. More likely that the other person is simply on the small side.

"Considering how many powerful people are in the Nexus, that's probably his goal," Caspar agrees. "That makes him more dangerous, too. He might be looking for a way around the anti-violence field." Which, if successful, would really suck. "The witch lives in his home world, but Harley and I don't know where that is. There probably isn't a door, if she had to make a portal herself."

He hates that Adia was able to read over those journal entries, as necessary as it was to prove Josh's intentions. Already she blames herself as being the reason Josh wanted to visit the Nexus in person. Never mind that he probably would have wanted access anyway, as crazy as he is.

"Go ahead, pull them up. Let's see how deep their relationship extended."

[youmeandpokemon]

Madrone has started wondering if the entire crime scene was set up: perhaps the extra set of footprints are to throw the police off? It's probably for the best that Caspar isn't pushing the child killer idea around any longer. The other topics at hand are more concerning, namely the loss of the anti-violence field.

"Maybe he's using the money to buy technology which can break it? I'm not sure what kind of things are needed in order to turn the AV field off, but I don't like it." Madrone unfortunately agrees with the second comment, nodding his head lightly. "Getting to his homeworld seems impossible, unless we get his PINpoint, but by that time, we're close to capturing him..." He looks at his tea carefully, a thought coming up in his mind. "I think we have to try and set a trap for him, or find out where his hotspots are in the Nexus."

Madrone, in all fairness, wants to start taking Josh's photo around the Nexus, but that will only scare the serial killer off. In a normal world, the plan would be great, but in the Nexus, it's horrible. He pulls up a video clip on the computer, dated from a year ago, showing Josh talking with Marie inside a closed shop. He's wearing a black hoodie, while she's dressed in a blue button up shirt, black slacks and a tie.

The video is taken from the day they first met, showing Josh playfully, or bragging, about how good he is at luring people to different places. Marie seems annoyed at his pompous attitude, asking him basic questions about how efficient his work is and how she doesn't want him getting caught. It's hard to tell if Josh is lying his way through her questions or not, but at the end of the talk, Marie slides him an envelope full of money.

[fiveofnone]

"If it were that easy to break, the AV field would have failed a thousand times over by now." He frowns and tugs at the sleeves of his suit jacket, not wanting to let the theory go entirely. Josh had taken advantage of the AV field being down once before, why wouldn't he at least give it a try? "The last time the AV field fell, it was because of some powerful magical artifact. Those probably cost a pretty penny, too. Or he could be trying to find a loophole. There are a lot of spells that technically aren't considered a direct assault. They slip past the AV field all the time."

The idea of setting a trap only makes his frown grow. "Yeah, Harley suggested that, too," he grumbles. "No offense, Professor, but we both know who we'd need to use as bait to get that plan to work, and I'm not risking my girl on the off-chance that we can lure him out of hiding."

He returns his attention to the screen, watching the video with a keen interest. There's a smooth confidence to Josh's attitude that Caspar had not witnessed in person. Where was the awkward boy with the painfully obvious crush? Clearly there's more to this psycho than he first thought. "How was he able to gain her trust?" he wonders aloud. "She's obviously annoyed with him here, but she had nothing but smiles for him in the photo from the convention."

[youmeandpokemon]

"So the only way to stop Josh from actually breaking or altering the AV Field is the catch him beforehand." Madrone knows and understands Caspar's concern about making Adia a target. "No. I wouldn't want to put her at risk. We'll think of something else, as there has to be another way to drag him out of hiding."

What that is, Madrone has no idea. He takes a sip of his drink, while watching the security footage carefully. The video continues on, showing Josh stepping away form the table, but he stops in front of a shelf that's just out of the camera angle. He turns to face Marie once more, holding a long box in his hand. It looks like a game and he asks Marie if she actually has fun with her job. Marie tells him that he's the opposite: all play and no work.

He takes a seat in front of her once more, placing the game box on the table, as if taunting her. She opens the box and begins setting up the game, while Josh watches her calmly. For 20 minutes, the two of them are quiet, playing both a physical and mental game against each other, until Marie becomes visually upset. Josh is grinning, leaning back in his chair, staring at her angry face.

She demands that he play another game against her, his demeanor has become overly friendly. The results fail to change during their second game: Josh, despite his attitude, makes every move carefully, adapting to Marie's choices: either with aggression or completely outsmarting her. After 3 games, Josh leaves Marie behind, the woman manages a smile of her own at his departure.

"This guy..." Madrone closes the video once it ends. "Is he smarter than we've taken him for? This video was taken a year ago and if he really beat someone who thinks of themselves as smart, maybe she started to find him tolerable." Madrone looks at some of the other video file names, seeing a similar trend: long recordings of Josh and Marie spending hours playing games. Every one of them shows the group actually getting along better, Marie warming up to the serial killer and her skeptical nature becoming less prevalent.

Madrone, wanting to spare Caspar hours of review, merely takes screenshots of significance, putting them on the TV with date stamps. As more dates and time progress, there's clearly some sort of friendship developing. The professor, as if on cue, asks Caspar a relevant question. "How did you and Adia meet?"

[fiveofnone]

It relaxes him slightly to know that Madrone isn't willing to put Adia at risk, either. Truth be told, he'd rather find Josh outside the Nexus -- the easier to grab that little creep and drag him to justice. But looking for him in the endless number of worlds he could be hiding in seems like too great a task to contemplate.

He focuses on the footage instead. It doesn't take him long to figure out the basic rules of the game while he watches it being played. Marie is good... but Josh is better.

"I think he might be," he grudgingly admits as he watches the repeated matches unfold. "Worse, I think he understands other people better than I gave him credit for. He knew that he had to assert his superiority to get her to roll over like that. He became what she wanted."

That act never would have worked on Adia. Is that why he went in the opposite direction?

Madrone's question startles him out of his musings. "Hmm? Oh... we met on board the Chiron. We were in the same lab. She asked me for help with an assay and I walked her through it. That was the first time we spoke directly... well, we became friends after that." It's only until he's done explaining that he gives the professor a strange look. "Why do you ask?"

[youmeandpokemon]

"He proved that he can be serious when needed, and in those moments, a force to be reckoned with." Madrone doesn't like this in the slightest, even allowing some of his thoughts to slip out of his mouth. "He would make a very powerful Pokemon trainer."

He shakes his head, hating that Josh is actually sitting on a stronger poker hand than previously imagined. He pulls up another video, dated after the Khan invasion. Josh is sitting at the same table from before, drinking a beer, while Marie paces back and forth nervously with a glass of whiskey in her hands.

"Josh...you killed them...Was that your intent from the start?" She finally takes a seat across from him.

"Yes. Let's face the facts. They would've kept killing innocent Pokemon..."

"I watched the game show and the after party. You dragged other people from the Nexus into this without consent." She brings one hand down on the table, frustrated. Josh just stares at Marie while she lowers her head, feeling a small amount of remorse.

"I'm sorry. There's a woman I'm falling in love with and I needed to see if she'd care about me, even if she found out I'm a serial killer." Josh takes a drink from his beer quietly.

"Maybe you should just tell her the truth instead of setting up some elaborate scheme. If anything, there's other fish in the sea...people who won't judge you for who you are."

"No. She's the one I want..."

Marie reaches for his hand, holding it for a brief minute, before letting go. "Stay low for now. I'll send you an extra payment, but for now, shut up about the whole thing. Don't let these Nexus Superheros sniff you out..."Josh stands and Marie sadly watches him leave.

Madrone thinks about what Caspar has said, regarding his relationship with Adia. "Because love comes naturally, not forced. Sometimes we fail to see that everything we wanted was right in front of us." He looks at the stopped video, then back to the Cylon. "Josh loved Adia, but could never have her. Marie seems to have loved Josh, but he was blinded by other goals and unable to see that. Emotions drive us to do crazy things..."

[fiveofnone]

"Yeah? He's got that persian's loyalty. She was guarding that cabin for him while he was somewhere else." Caspar thinks back to their encounter with the gengar and frowns. Many pokémon are dangerous in their own right, how much more of a threat would they be with someone like Josh calling the shots?

Any sympathy that he might have had for Marie turns to ash while he watches the video. That. Bitch. She knew nearly everything and did nothing about it. He's about to comment on her contributing to the problem when Madrone's words stop him short. He frowns at the screen, then meets the professor's gaze.

"I'll be honest; I don't think there's a single person out there I truly cared for until I met Adia. She taught me how to love someone else. How to love them selflessly. This?" He waves a hand at the screen. "This isn't love. Love isn't about testing someone else. It's showing who you really are and hoping they can accept you." He shakes his head. "Josh may be smarter than we think, but he's a complete fool about this."

[youmeandpokemon]

"Maybe the Persian was tired of its old owners. If Pokemon aren't stimulated, they can get bored and rebel against their trainers." Madrone can only hope the Persian doesn't continue following Josh's orders in the future.

To be fair, Madrone shares a similar look and feelings about Marie's nature, especially when it wouldn't have been hard to sell Josh out to someone in the Nexus. Love makes people do weird things and she seems to be no exception to that rule.

"Do you think Adia would've forgiven him, if he had never walked this path?" Madrone pauses, then realizing his question is too personal, turns away from Caspar quickly. "I meant more along the lines of, if he didn't try to scare her, would she have overlooked his violent past?"

[fiveofnone]

"I'd hate to see how Josh plans to keep his persian stimulated." Caspar deadpans, but there is worry hiding behind those hard hazel eyes. "Let's hope that she gets bored of him at some point, too."

The question takes him by surprise, not only because of its personal nature, but due to the unpleasant mixture of emotions it elicits in him. He doesn't want Adia to forgive a monster like Josh, not even hypothetically, but is that out of worry or jealousy? And if there's a limit to her forgiveness, what makes him deserving and others not?

He looks away, his expression lost as he struggles to answer. "I. I don't know. She's capable of forgiving a lot." It's her greatest asset and her Achilles heel. He turns his gaze up to the still image of Marie on the screen, her lovesick eyes staring off into the direction Josh had walked away. "But if he continued on his path? Torturing and murdering others for fun and profit? No... she wouldn't want to remain friends with him. Her empathy only extends so far."

[youmeandpokemon]

"Indeed. Pokemon hunting humans for prey would defeat the whole purpose of being a Pokemon Trainer. Let's hope he's not doing that." Madrone removes the screenshot from the computer, not adding any new images to the screen.

Instead, he listens to Caspar's opinion carefully, bringing his hands together. Strangely, he's rubbing the area around his ring finger carefully, a nervous or thoughtful habit of his. The whole desire for attention, the inability to break free from old habits...Josh reminds him far too much of someone he knows and their pursuit of power.

"People like him can't change. They can try to fight against their habits from long ago, but if they can't put aside their pride or desire for power..." Madrone sighs, shutting off the computer, standing up from his chair. "Shall we go outside for a bit? I believe this situation is getting underneath my skin."

[fiveofnone]

It's a distasteful idea, and Caspar hopes not as well. He's seen enough examples of pokémon behaving badly, but there is an innocence to them that he doesn't like to see tarnished.

Caspar's gaze drifts back to Madrone, somewhat relieved that the professor shares his point of view. "It sounds like you're speaking from experience," he says quietly, noting the nervous gesture. But he's fine with dropping the subject completely when the professor suggests a change of scenery.

"Sure... maybe we should go to the woods like Adia suggested. I wouldn't mind seeing some of the wildlife."

His PINpoint vibrates, and he pulls the device out to check the incoming message. What he sees makes him smile. "No legendary pokémon so far," he says to the professor. "But she's having a nice time watching the fish."

[youmeandpokemon]

"...This isn't about me. It's about protecting the people I consider important, along with the Pokemon of this world." Madrone grabs a grey cardigan sweater from a nearby chair, putting it on over his usual suit. It's nothing colorful like what Caspar would wear, but it's functional and will keep him warm. The serious look hasn't left his face, at least until Caspar fills him in on Adia's progress.

"Good. I highly doubt Keldeo will show himself, but the area is perfect for relaxing." He takes two Pokeballs off a shelf, tossing one to Caspar calmly. "If we're going to take a walk through the forest, I think it would be rude if you forgot your friend." That would be Tepig he's talking about, since the Pokemon hasn't been chosen by a trainer of Madrone's liking yet. For a second, his gaze rests on another Pokeball, but he disregards it quickly.

"I hope you don't have any allergies to flowers." Madrone starts walking to the back door of the lab, opening it quietly.

[fiveofnone]

Nice deflection, Professor. Don't worry, Caspar won't pry. He tucks away his PINpoint and watches impassively while Madrone adds a layer for the weather. "You said it senses the pure of heart, right? If anyone is qualified to catch a glimpse, it's Adia."

It's only when he catches the poké ball and realizes who is inside that his posture relaxes, a surprised grin appearing on his face. Despite being occupied with an adorable kitten at home, he hasn't forgotten about his porcine pal. He keeps the ball in his hand, looking forward to seeing her.

"No, I don't have allergies." Whether by design or chance, he doesn't know. But it makes a walk in the woods far less problematic. He follows Madrone out the door. "What was up with that other poké ball? Another pokémon you're rehabilitating?"

[youmeandpokemon]

"Yes. Legendary Pokemon do not approach those with ill will or malice in their hearts. They know the risks of being captured as well, so avoiding all human contact is optimal." Shutting the door behind them, Madrone starts walking towards a path on his left, where the vegetation and grass has started growing again due to the arrival of Spring.

"Rehabilitation....Yes, that's a good way of summarizing it." He's not so good at deflecting the second question, having not even realized that Caspar caught him in that moment of hesitation." He pauses to examine a cherry blossom tree, where a little Fletchling rests, tucked in between two branches. The bird Pokemon ruffles its feathers getting cozy in its nest.

"Think of it like this....Tepig, for example, grew very attached to you during your time together. I could find another trainer for her, but would she be happy? Tough decisions must be made that benefit both human and Pokemon alike."

[fiveofnone]

Although they are no longer discussing Josh, it's nice to know that he'll never get his creepy hands on a legendary pokémon. The signs of Spring's arrival are comforting, too, for an oddly similar reason. He also takes in the picturesque scene before him, listening to Madrone patiently.

The answer is not what he expects.

"Wait. She won't be happy with another trainer?" He looks down at the poké ball, clearly distressed. "Professor, she's a great little pig, but I can't bring back a fire-breathing animal to Atlantis. How is she going to learn to do anything if she doesn't have someone to train her?"

Somehow, without meaning to, Caspar has grown quite attached to Tepig as well. The thought of her being unhappy at all makes him unhappy, too.

[youmeandpokemon]

Madrone suspects no one will ever get their hands on a Legendary, let alone see on in person. He hopes that will stay true, given his past experience with them, which thankfully, Caspar hasn't asked about. The surrounding forest isn't very thick with trees, mostly filled with different flower-filed bushes. Hidden behind the trees are a few Deerling, watching to see what the new humans visitors are doing, staying far away for fear of being captured.

"I'm not saying that you take Tepig, rather, many of the trainers who come into my lab for starters have tried to interact with her with less than favorable results. Often it ends with Tepig trying to adamantly eat their shoelaces; then set them on fire." That tale definitely deviates from Caspar's first encounter with the pig. "Like I said before, it's about finding a solution that benefits both human and Pokemon. Maybe you can help me with that, Caspar."

[fiveofnone]

As unhappy as he feels about Tepig's predicament, he can't help but smirk a little at the professor's elaboration. "Lights them on fire, eh? They probably started bossing her around as soon as she was out of the poké ball." Idiots. "An exuberant gal like that needs the space to strut her stuff."

It doesn't solve the problem of Tepig not having a trainer, though. Although, okay, he can't help but feel a little pleased at being the only person she's clicked with so far. Maybe she really does need him. Crap. He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "Alright. What do you recommend we do?"

[youmeandpokemon]

"Just the shoelaces, not their clothes." Madrone is happy to elaborate on the two trainers who've tried to choose Tepig. "One trainer was very overconfident in thinking he could handle Tepig; the other was too friendly."

He brings one hand under his chin, trying to come up with an answer to Caspar's question. "Well, recently I've been working on adding a PINpoint feature to the Pokedex. It would allow trainers to have Pokeballs directly teleported to their Pokedex." Madrone doesn't seem confident that this plan has come to fruition yet. "For now, I could keep her along the lab and you can visit her?"

[fiveofnone]

"Well, everyone has to start somewhere," he says mildly. He feels a small burst of pride over Tepig's behavior. Good for her for not putting up with arrogance or saccharine displays of affection. She's a pig after his own heart.

It's obvious that plan A is still in the works, so Caspar will have to settle for more frequent visits to the lab. "I'll try to come every day," he promises. "Will she be okay in the poké ball when I'm not around? What's it like in there for them, anyway? Is it like a kind of stasis?" Adia does not like the concept of poké balls, but Caspar is willing to accept their necessity if he can be given a good enough explanation for them.

[youmeandpokemon]

"Yes, hence why she didn't go with those trainers. They were given Pokemon better suited for their personalities." Madrone can't help but sigh at the second question, mainly because he's been asked it so many times in his life and it never gets easier in explaining it. "The Poke'ball, from what I've learned in lectures, is like a mini home for the Pokemon. A researcher described Pokeballs like fancy hotel rooms, comfortable spaces for Pokemon to live in." Even Madrone isn't completely satisfied by that answer, but other professors are dedicating time to studying Pokeball mechanics, not him.

"She'll be fine if you're not able to stop by. I make sure all the Pokemon gets ample food, water and playtime." Speaking up Tepig, its like she knows Caspar is holding her Poke'ball, because it begins to shake in his hand. "I've heard giving anything a nickname is a sign of commitment, so be careful with your word choices around her."