(A/N: Man, it's been awhile since finishing "War Returns Home." I pretty much have to change my style for this storyline since it's a bit more adult-related. Oh yeah, I decided to change the POV to third-person, that way things will be a bit easier. Oh yeah, I do not own Pokemon. Nintendo owns Pokemon. I just own Pikette. Well okay, I don't own her, she's just my friend.)

Chapter 2: A Change In Plans

The city was run down, due to the multiple bombings that it took over the last couple of days. While the city was empty, it was still easy to get caught in a firefight or at least fall prey to sniper fire. One such sniper was laying in one of the partially collapsed building, scouting the open area, waiting for a target.

As luck would have it, while looking through his scope, he saw what appeared to be a soldier of the oppositional force hiding next to one of the sandbags. He was mostly covered, but the sniper could see a small part of his head, just enough to get a bullet through.

He took careful aim and once he got himself steady, he held his breath and gently pulled the trigger. A shot rang out, but it was not his and the sniper fell to the ground, dead, a bullet gone straight through his head.

"Son of a bitch!" Chris yelled out into his headset. "How the hell did anyone find me?"

A voice then came over his headset. "You must be losing your skills, Chris. I could see you easily from a mile away."

"Thanks a lot Jenkins, you asshole," Chris said, pissed now because he lost the lead in this firefight. However, he couldn't help but smile seeing that only his friend from the Academy would have been following him.

Then, another voice, right behind him on his bed, said, "You know, I was trying to sleep, Chris."

Chris just smiled as he easily recognized the voice. "Sorry, Pikette," he said. "I'll try to keep my outbursts to a minimum."

"Good," Pikette said, curling back up to sleep. "I'll never understand humans and their obsession with video games."

It had been three years since the incident that took place with Sector 7. And what happened during the next three years turned out to be a little different than either Chris or Pikette planned.

Shortly after returning to the Pokemon world, Chris got a notice from one of the members of the Sinnoh International Police (SIP). Apparently, they found out about Chris' actions and came to him asking if he was interested in joining. Of course, Chris wasn't really willing to seeing as he wanted to leave the soldier part of him behind. That, and he wanted to live a comfortable life with Dawn.

However, they then mentioned something that ended up making Chris change his decision: They had found out about what happened to his body with the nanomachines and said that they had been investigating what could have been behind Sector 7 going rogue. They were very close to finding out, and told Chris that it was his moment to get his revenge.

It wasn't an easy decision, but Chris knew that he deserved the right to find the bastards who did this to him and make them pay dearly, even if it meant killing them, and accepted. However, that wasn't the hard part.

Chris knew Dawn wasn't going to like this idea and knew that he was going to be gone for a long time. With that, he decided that he and Dawn should go their separate ways. Reluctantly, Dawn agreed to this. Chris was planning on going to the Academy himself, but Pikette asked Chris that she go along with him, seeing that he was her closest friend. He accepted, but would later find out with guilt that she broke off her relationship with Pikachu as well, for the same reasons.

And, after three years of intense training at the Academy, he now found himself at SIP Headquarters, located near Sunnyshore City. He was now Private Chris Johnson, part of the SIP's Spectre-class squad. While SIP was mostly a police branch, it was the Spectres (Special Tactics and Reconnaissance) that took care of the big stuff, meaning they got the bigger missions, and especially the bigger guns.

After about another ten minutes, Chris then signed off and turned off his 360. He then looked over to the sleeping Pikachu and smiled. It hadn't been an easy three years and thought perhaps he would suffer from loneliness, but Pikette was here with him, helping him get through each and everyday.

He actually noticed a change in her. While she still had her moments of being sarcastic and making smart and snappy comments, she seemed to have mellowed out. Of course, their friendship had only deepened while they've been here and they both knew they could rely and depend on one another if they needed to.

Chris then got up and was about to leave, but then went over to Pikette and petted her gently before going out the door. It wasn't long after he got out when he heard someone say, "Private Johnson, could I have a word?"

Chris looked over and saw one of his commanding officers, Captain Peterson, who was in his forties, was slightly dark-skinned and had short black hair. Chris quickly got into a salute. "Sir, of course, sir."

"At ease," Peterson said. "You mind taking a walk?"

"Not at all sir," Chris said as they started walking down the large hall.

"So, I'm surprised Pikette isn't here on your shoulder, or at least following you from behind," Peterson said, chuckling a bit.

"No sir, she's sleeping right now," Chris said.

"She seems to do that a lot now," Peterson said, smiling. "No offense, of course. I'm glad that she's able to adapt to this kind of environment."

"She would follow me anywhere, even to the ends of the Earth. She's just that good of a friend," Chris said. "And I thank you again sir for allowing her to stay here."

"I would never break up a relationship between a human and their Pokemon," Peterson said. "Actually, I always get the feeling there's something real important about her. Other than the fact that she can speak telepathically."

"So, is there anything else you wanted to see me about, sir?" Chris asked.

"Yes, there is," Peterson said, now more serious. "I'm sure you know about Zena Corp.?"

"Of course, the pharmaceutical company," Chris responded. They were the major providers of medicine for the Pokemon and helped fund the Pokemon Centers in Sinnoh, Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn.

"And I'm sure you heard about the incident that took place in the Dartmoor Mountains?" Peterson continued.

"Yes sir, I did," Chris said. About two months ago, there was a report of grisly murders that took place in a small area of the Dartmoor Mountains. Apparently, a small research team was collecting samples from the mountainside for research. However, they never returned and once the area was investigated, feds saw that the team had been killed, what looked to be by some sort of creature. "You think Zena was involved?" Chris added.

"Maybe, maybe not," Peterson said. "However, we did some poking around at one of the major facilities and it seemed like they were taking part in strange and definitely suspicious activity."

"Are we going to intervene?" Chris asked.

"Yes, but secretly," Peterson said. "If they find out what we're up to, we may never get another chance. That, and we may end up having huge problems with them as well. This will end up being a Reconnaissance mission, which is why I came to you."

"You want me to take up this mission?" Chris asked. "With all due respect sir, I feel maybe this is something one of the more experienced guys can take."

"I had a feeling you would say that," Peterson said. "Which gives me the other reason I'm here. How long have you been a Private?"

"Almost two months sir," Chris replied.

"With what you did against Sector 7 should've already earned you the rank of Sergeant," Peterson said. "But you and I know why that mission was a success. I don't want the others to become suspicious and find out your "true nature." If I really had the choice, Private for you would've just been a stepping stone."

"Thank you sir," Chris said, nodding.

"But the point is, I know you're ready for this," Peterson said. "If there's anyone I can count on here, it is you."

Chris thought about it for a minute. "Alright sir, I'll do it," he said. "When do I leave?"

"Oh-six-hundred," Peterson said. "We'll make sure to have you all prepped before taking off. Now, I have some more paperwork to do, so I'll let you get ready for it then if you need to."

He started to walk away but then Chris said, "Captain Peterson." Peterson looked back and saw Chris in attention. "May I make one small request, sir?"

Peterson smiled. "What is it, soldier?"

"Sir, I would like to have Pikette accompany me on this mission," Chris said.

"I'm not surprised," Peterson said. "You sure she can handle this?"

Now it was Chris' turn to smile. "I've known her for almost four years, sir. There is nothing that Pikette can't handle."

"Very well," Peterson said. "But remember, she's your responsibility, so make sure to look after her."

"Yes sir," Chris said, giving one final salute before Peterson turned away again. "Always do," he thought.

He then went back to his room, seeing that he was hungry and perhaps Pikette was awake and hungry as well. But of course, she was still sleeping. He couldn't blame her. The last three years had taken a toll on her. He decided then to bring something back for her.

All of a sudden, he found his entire body starting to tighten up, almost lock up. Realizing what was happening, Chris then quickly left the room in almost a quick dash. Once the door closed, Pikette stirred and partially opened her eyes. "Chris...?" she said sleepily.

Chris quickly found himself an area as the pain was intensifying. He then brought out a syringe and quickly injected it into his neck, the solution quickly getting rid of the pain.

After that, Chris found himself breathing heavily. It had been three years since he had to do that, and recently he's been having to do it again. Before, it was due to Sector 7's tactic of trying to use nanomachines to take control of Pokemon, mind and body.

But it couldn't be because of that, not again. There was another possibility and Chris didn't like this one: Was it possible that the nanomachines in his body were starting to mutate? If so, this was very bad news. What it meant was that they could start killing his body from the inside.

"Chris?" He looked around and saw that Pikette was only a couple of feet away from him, looking at him with a concerned look on her face.

"Oh, hey Pikette," Chris said. "Nice to see you're awake."

"Well, actually you were the one who woke me up, again," Pikette said. "You seemed to have been in a hurry. Something wrong?"

Truth was, Pikette never witnessed Chris having any of his recent attacks. And he knew he couldn't tell her. Not now. It would've been too much for her to bear, and personally, he didn't want her in anymore pain.

"Just had to use the bathroom," Chris said, laughing slightly. "You know, those intense games really can make you go."

"Okay...." Pikette said. "Well apparently you really had to go then."

"Yep," Chris said.

"Chris, is there something you're not telling me?" Pikette asked.

Of course she would put him in a corner. "Actually, there is something I have to tell you," he said. "But I'll explain over dinnertime. Hows that?"

"Alright," she said, getting up on Chris' shoulder as they headed towards the mess hall. "You know, it's amazing how a couple hours of sleep can make you terribly hungry...."

(A/N: Alright, well that ends Chapter 2 here. Surprised for once I didn't have any music? Oh trust me, you'll get a good amount in this story, don't you worry about that. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and all and next chapter we might start getting into some action. We'll see.)

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