Team Fortress of Sky
Chapter 1: Meet the Eevee
Author's Note: After five years of debating, I've finally decided to present Team Fortress of Sky in text format, as I have very little time on my hands with school, a webcomic, and an insurmountably large amount of procrastination as the catalyst. I thought it was a very fun concept from the start, and now I am able to present it after making up my mind! I also figured that I might upload this fanfic right now, as Explorers of Sky turns 10 this year and Team Fortress 2 turns 12!
"Incoming!"
"Defend him, maggots!"
Slash! Slash! Slash!
"Aah! He slashed out my spine!"
"Are... Are you guys okay?"
"Nein! Don't let go!"
"Just a little longer... Hold on..."
"Yo, how much longer? I can't hold on all day, moron!"
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Nine screams of agony and pain were let out.
Nine Pokémon, a Pikachu, a Squirtle, a Cyndaquil, a Bulbasaur, a Phanpy, a Meowth, a Togetic, a Delibird, and a Riolu, lay out cold on the sand of a beach.
The Pikachu had bandaged hands, which didn't seem to be covering any particular wounds, as well as a hat, a headset, and dogtags. The Riolu was covered from head to toe with his balaclava, his nice dress shoes, his gloves, and his expensive suit. The Delibird wore a fingerless glove, and had the hat of an Australian huntsman complete with yellow-tinted sunglasses.
The Phanpy was fatter than most of his kind, and wore a pair of gloves and a bandolier. The Meowth had a hard hat, goggles, and a glove on his right hand, while the Bulbasaur had nothing but a beanie and an eyepatch, other than a little piece of paper with a smiley face on his underbelly. Lastly, the Squirtle wore absolutely nothing but a helmet covering his eyes.
Meanwhile, an Eevee named Eevee paced back and forth in front of a guild modeled after a Wigglytuff, pondering whether she wanted to join. After a bit of procrastination, she made her choice.
"This is it. Today I'm going to be brave and join the guild. I can do it... I can do it..." Eevee said as she took a dramatic deep breath and stepped on the grate in front of her.
"Pokemon detected! Pokemon detected!" called a squeaky voice, startling Eevee.
"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" chanted a loud voice.
"It's Eevee's footprint, you numbskull!"
"This guild is haunted! Well, at least it isn't a booby trap..."
"Did she say booby trap?" roared the loud voice.
"Shut up!" hissed the squeaky voice as the discouraged Eevee backed away in defeat.
"I can't do it..." she sighed to herself as she went down the steps of the plateau the guild rested on. "I told myself that I would join today, but no, I still don't have the courage... I could've sworn that holding on to my personal treasure would inspire me... Dammit... I'm nothing but a coward..."
Whenever Eevee felt down, she would always go down to the beach. She was absolutely marvelled by the Krabby blowing bubbles into the sky.
"Wow, what a beautiful sight," she thought out loud. "Oh, it's so wonderful to see the Krabby at sundown blowing bubbles in this clear weather... How the bubbles reflect the setting sun off the waves... I wish everyone could see this... It's so nice here... Coming here heals my spirits..."
Her thoughts were interrupted when the sight of nine Pokémon passed out nearby caught her notice.
"What... What's going on over there?" she asked. She ran up to the pile of Pokémon. "Oh dear! Are you guys okay?"
The Pokémon with the eyepatch, who was on top of the stack, fell onto Eevee, collapsing the pile. The Pikachu and the Squirtle were in each other's faces, fighting to get one off the other.
"Get off me!" The Pikachu whined.
"You get off me first, maggot!" The Squirtle barked as he kicked the Pikachu off him.
"Whaur... Whaur ur weee? 'Ave I drank too much scrumpy?" the Bulbasaur slurred as he opened his only eye.
"You're all awake! Thank goodness!" Eevee gasped. "You guys wouldn't move at all. I thought you all were roadkill!"
"Whoa, okay, okay, how did you come to dat conclusion, moron?" asked the Pikachu.
"I just found you guys laying there! How would I know? But since you're alive, how did you all end up unconscious?"
The Pokémon stared at her before she continued.
"Please don't stare like that. Anyway, my name's Eevee! Happy ta meet you all! Who are you guys? I don't think I ever saw any of you Pokémon around here..."
"I'm a frickin' human! Who the hell do ya think you're talkin' to?" the Pikachu snapped as the giggling Cyndaquil gleefully chased a bubble.
"Boy, this can't be right..." the Meowth mumbled as he contemplated his paws and tail.
"What in the world?" asked the Delibird as he and the other eight, minus the Cyndaquil, looked at their reflections in the water. "I'm an owl! A Delibird!"
"I was afraid this was going to happen," said the facepalming Riolu.
"I have git tae be drunk!" exclaimed the Bulbasaur. "This cannae be! I git me four legs!"
"I've turned into a sissified Squirtle!" yelled the Squirtle to everybody as his eyes popped out from under his helmet.
"Look at you all! Now look at me! Heavy is tiny baby Phanpy!" complained the Phanpy, who was 1'08". For a comparison, the Squirtle and Cyndaquil were also 1'08", the Togetic was 2'00", the Bulbasaur and the Riolu were 2'04", and the Delibird was 2'11.
"Hey, fatso, I'm smaller than you!" barked the Pikachu, who was 1'04". Funny enough, the Meowth was as small as him.
In response to the Pikachu's comment, the Phanpy tackled him. The Pikachu began running out of fear, being an Electric type despite the Phanpy not knowing any Ground type moves.
The Pyro's back suddenly lit up after it tripped on a rock, sending the Togetic into a state of panic.
"I have got to find a cure for all zhis!" he cried. "Zhe gasmask's back is burning, and it's gonna die if I don't intervene!"
"Umm... Isn't that normal for a Cyndaquil? You all look like normal Pokémon to me. That is, if you weren't so insane..." said the Eevee.
"You have got to help us find a cure for zhis disease! Schnell!" the Togetic begged as he grabbed Eevee's mane.
"Whoa, whoa! Can you guys at least introduce yourselves first?"
"Oh, ja. I'm zhe Medic!"
"I am Heavy Weapons Guy! Call me Heavy!" the fat Phanpy boomed.
"Soldier, reporting for duty!" the Squirtle gritted.
"Demoman, ur Demo, any of them be good!" the Bulbasaur said.
The Cyndaquil mumbled something incomprehensible, but Eevee could make out that he was the Pyro.
"The name's Sniper, mate!" said the Delibird as he waved enthusiastically.
"You can call me Engineer, or Engy for short, missy!" said the Meowth cheerily.
"I am the Scout, and I could kick the asses of the others any day!" grinned the Pikachu.
"Did I not mention that I am the Spy?" inquired the Riolu as he appeared right behind Eevee.
It seemed like a lot to swallow for poor Eevee, and on top of that, the Heavy made an irrelevant comment about his Sandvich having gotten bigger and much more filling. It was not surprising how he could carry it, considering how strong Phanpy were in general.
"Can I call you guys collectively the mercenaries? Because you really look like them considering all that fancy getup of yours."
"Sure, pardner," smiled the Engineer.
"You know, you guys don't seem like bad Pokémon..." Eevee told the nine Pokémon. "You see, there has been a massive outbreak of hostile Pokémon lately, and a lot of them have gotten aggressive to the point where it's no longer safe..."
"Aye, we got yer back, mate," the Demoman grinned. "We'll defend ye the best we can! Now if only 'ah hud some explosives..."
"Gee, thanks... But you don't need to defend me just because I'm a girl..."
"Oh, no, rest assured, your gender is irrelevant," said the Spy.
All of a sudden, a Koffing showed up behind Eevee and nudged into her with great force.
"Yipe!" she cried as she dropped her treasure.
"Well, excuse us!" smirked the Koffing. On a side note, his name was John.
"WHY... WHY DID YOU DO THAT?" snapped Eevee.
"Oh, f-striking us early on in the fanfic, aren't ya?" snarked a smug Zubat, named Steve. "We just love screwin' with ya cause you're a wimp! Right, John?"
"Of course, Steve! Whoa-ho-ho! Say, kid, that thing yours?" John chortled.
"Oh, crap! My-" Eevee realized before she was cut off.
"Because we'll take that!" Steve chuckled as he swiped Eevee's personal treasure.
"Hey! Give it back, or I'll... I'll..."
"What's wrong? Too scared?" taunted John with a smug expression plastered on his face.
"Err, John, there are nine guys accompanying her," Steve pointed out.
"Well, then, let's get out of here before any of them make a move," said John.
"See you, coward. Heh-heh-heh," Steve told Eevee as he and John disappeared into the depths of the Beach Cave. "Oh, crap, I forgot we didn't have hands! This is going to be hard to carry unless we use our mouths."
"Bloody wankers!" the Sniper hissed.
"Darn, what do we do? That was my personal treasure!" Eevee cried. "We have to get it back! Can any of you help me?"
"What do we do?" the confused Heavy asked as he and the other equally confused mercenaries exchanged glances. "I am not big or strong enough to help!"
"No time to waste, we hafta go! Listen, that treasure means a lot to me... If it was gone, I'd... Please, I can't do this without any of you..."
"Hey look, girl, I'm not sure how much assistance we can offer if we have no memory..." the Engineer glumly said.
"That doesn't matter, we have to hurry, with or without memory!"
"Heavy was stronger when he was human..."
"STOP DWELLING ON YOUR TRANSFORMATIONS AND LOST MEMORIES!" Eevee snapped. "HUMANS, GHOSTS, WHATEVER YOU ARE, ONE OF YOU IS STILL HELPING OR I WILL KILL ALL OF YOU!"
"Alright, alright, I'll do it! Calm your tits!" yelped the Scout.
"What are tits?" Eevee asked, confused.
"You can count on me to teach those frickin' crooks a lesson!" The Scout continued, ignoring Eevee's question as he rushed into the cave on all fours. "Come on! Let's go!"
"Scout! Hey! Wait for me!"
"Hey, look, money!" exclaimed the Scout as they entered the cave. He immediately claimed it.
"Okay, since you're new around here, I might have to explain a few things," said Eevee. "That is Poké, the currency we use to buy items in Kecleon Shops!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I know what money is!" retorted the Scout as they went further into the cave.
"Wow, this dungeon is a lot smaller than I thought," remarked Eevee. "I mean, look! I can still see the entrance from here!"
All of a sudden, a Shellder crept up from behind and licked the Scout's butt.
"My ass!" the Scout cried, discharging an electric shock. He then eyed the fried Shellder. "Hey, this looks delicious!"
"Okay? What just happened?" Eevee asked before the Scout found a peculiar seed.
"Oh, hey, this looks interestin'!" he exclaimed, holding it.
"No, Scout! Don't eat that!"
"Listen, around here, I eat what I want!" the Scout scoffed as he took a nibble of the seed.
"Scout, that's a Blast-" Eevee started before the Scout started screaming about his mouth being on fire.
The Scout's screaming attracted the attention of a horde of an assortment of Shellos, Shellder, and Corsola.
"Hey, it wasn't my fault! I had no idea how spicy that seed was!"
"I tried warning you, but you didn't listen!"
After warding off the horde of Pokémon, they went deeper and deeper into the surprisingly shallow cave until they reached the Beach Cave Pit.
"Why, hello, chicken," smirked John. The treasure was behind him and Steve.
"What have you done with my Relic Fragment? Give me back my personal treasure or I will kill you!"
"Treasure, huh? This thing is so valuable we'll make so much frickin' money!" retorted Steve.
"Whoa-ho-ho! Who knows how much it'll sell for?" John asked. "We'll sell it and get filthy rich!"
"Yeah, we have a great reason not to give it back! But if you want it, wimp, come and get it!"
"Ooohh, yeah, tough talk!" the Scout replied sarcastically before he charged at Steve. "Bring it on, dummies! Thundershock!"
Eevee decided to use Tackle on John as well.
Steve went down very easily, having fallen in only two hits or so, despite using Leech Life at least once.
"Oh, yeah? Who's the real wimp here, asshole?" a triumphant Scout taunted Steve.
"Damnit..." muttered Steve.
"Steve may have made it easy, but I won't!" John declared. "Poison Gas!"
Scout let out a cry as he was poisoned by the smog.
"Scout? Are you okay?" Eevee asked.
"I may be poisoned, but that prick is going down with his wimpy little buddy! Let's both get 'im!"
They charged at John together, and the battle ended as they knocked him out with a swift blow.
"Bahahahaha! Suckers! Look at you! You call us wimps and yet you are the real wimps! I cannot believe how much you frickin' suck! Ahahahahaha!" the Scout laughed obnoxiously.
"How did you wimps even KO us?" a dumbfounded John asked.
"Our chief is going to be pissed!" Steve complained. "You know what? Take your stupid treasure!"
"But remember, your victory was a fluke," John finished as he and Steve retreated.
"Hey douchebag, your face was a fluke!" the Scout called to John.
Eevee took a glance at her treasure, then turned to the Scout.
"My precious treasure... I never thought I'd get this back... Thank you, Scout!" Eevee cried in delight as she rushed to hug the Scout.
"Hey! Let go of- You know, it kinda feels good to be adored!"
"...That was a platonic hug. Plus, I'm with somebody already."
"...Oh."
"This is the treasure John and Steve stole," Eevee explained as she showed her treasure to the mercenaries. "It is my Relic Fragment... Well, at least that's what I started calling it... This means a lot to me, my precious treasure... You know, I love legend and lore and I love hearing tales from the past, all of which involve things just waiting to be discovered!"
All the mercenaries' jaws dropped as she went on with her monologue. The Scout simply fainted from John's poison.
"There is an infinite amount of things to discover, maybe beyond that amount! I always dream of these things. Ah, it's all so exciting! One day, I found this Relic Fragment washed up on the same shore where I found you guys. It's actually pretty uncanny how coincidental it was!"
"This looks like junk, mate," commented the Sniper, looking at the Relic Fragment disparagingly.
"Junk? Well, then take a closer look," Eevee replied. "In fact, all of you come closer."
The mercenaries complied, but got a little too close for Eevee's liking.
"Alright, you guys are invading my space!" Eevee said. The mercenaries backed away respectfully. "Anyway, look at the center of the fragment. There is a strange pattern inscribed on it."
"Oh, mon dieu. I've never seen such a compelling pattern like this," remarked the Spy.
"There must be some meaning to this pattern," Eevee continued. "I believe it is the key to legendary places where wonderful treasure lies! I've always wanted to join an exploration team to solve the mystery of my Relic Fragment!"
She then pointed somewhere beyond the forest path leading to Treasure Town.
"See that guild over there? That's Wigglytuff's Guild! Earlier, I tried becoming an apprentice, but no, I just didn't have the courage... What about you guys? You all lost your memories and somehow transformed into Pokemon... Do any of you know where you can stay?"
The mercenaries looked blankly at her.
"I'll take that as a no. If that's the case, then could you all join the guild with me? We could be first-class explorers! Please?"
"You want to recruit one of us? But we don't know what exploration team is..." replied the Heavy, picking up the Scout with his trunk and hauling him onto his back.
"Well, it's alright, because I don't know what an exploration team is either! I do know, however, that we need to go to Wigglytuff's Guild and sign up as apprentices first. That way we can get the training to become great explorers! I get the feeling it will be tough, though, but still! Let's go! Come with me, guys! I don't know how my girlfriend Jigglypuff will react to me being surrounded by nine guys, but who cares? This is going to be great!"
"Yea, that's the spirit, lassie!" cried out the Demoman as he, Eevee, and the other mercenaries headed to the guild. "Leeet's do it!"
Fun fact: Originally, the Scout, Heavy, Engineer, and Sniper were going to be turned into Shinx, Pikachu, Charmander, and Totodile respectively. The very first concept for the story also had the Medic as a Cyndaquil and the Pyro a Chikorita. I then switched it around before I decided to turn the Medic into a Togetic and keep the Pyro as a Cyndaquil.
The Soldier, the Demoman, and the Spy were always their respective Pokémon.
All of the Pokémon were initially chosen exclusively from the starters of Explorers of Sky, but I decided that for more diverse typing I turned the Medic and Sniper into Pokémon that were not starters in that game. (Togepi was also a starter in the Japan-only Light Adventure Squad)
I also considered turning the Soldier into a Machop while keeping the Sniper as a Totodile. The Soldier fights primarily with his rockets, so I wanted to give him something with the spirit of his rockets, so I decided not to make the change.
Spring semester of second-year college has started for me, so try not to expect many updates until May! R&R and stay tuned!