Chapter One

Robomon Beta

"It's been like, four weeks…. Think we should ditch 'im….?" In a hushed murmur, Mars eyed the abandoned shack with disdain. While she'd lost count of the days, she maintained her grace, but her patience was another matter, entirely. Dark rings adorned her eyes, framed by a rat's nest of choppy, matted tresses. The scent of neglect lingered with her person, the result of weeks of aimless foraging.

Strange things were happening in the land of snow – Stranger than usual, that is. Galactic's fall was a sudden one – Sudden and brutal. The mighty CEO of Sun Industries brought Sinnoh to the brink of collapse, but even more troubling, (in the eyes of his underlings, anyway) he had cast them aside in his moment of glory, and ejected them from his glorious new world. Silver light danced upon the icy Lake Verity, as was nature's way, but the two girls had yet to discover why or how they had ended up on her graceful shores. One moment, they were celebrating the dawn of their new world; But the next, they found themselves as unwanted drifters, stripped of Pokeballs and all sense of dignity.

"'Ditch him'? Are you NUTS….? What'll we do without a techie…?" Jupiter snapped, huddled in an indignant ball. She, too, was a pitiful sight to see, bruised and shivering against a robust evergreen. Mars scoffed, tapping her toes to the rhythm of her comrade's jitters. Sensing Mars' desire to gain alpha status, Jupiter hauled herself to her feet, to remind her junior that she was still the larger, and more savvy of the two. "You can do whatever you want, but Cyrus is history – You wanna sink to his level? Then go ahead – Get outta here! We don't need ya!"

Mars' semi-permanent scowl deepened at the cut, but it did little to phase Jupiter. "I refuse to have the Galactic name go down in Sinnoh's history as a pack of spineless cowards…! We stick together – No matter what!"

Their moment of tense, catty silence was hardly awkward anymore.

"Tch….. Well, a change of clothes would be nice…. What the hell is he dawdling for, anyway…? It's fuckin' FREEZING out here in the sticks…." Jupiter smirked as Mars stepped down. There was something empowering about Mars' tendency to make empty threats; All the same, however, her habit of complaining didn't make their lakeside stay any more comfortable.

"Cut 'im a break, will ya…? I don't see YOU slaving over any circuit boards…." Jupiter growled as she flipped her hair. It did her little good – Her waist-length locks remained stiffened and snarled, but the sway to her hips maintained her aura of authority. She turned to face the tattered shack, and sighed. "….That Saturn…. Bless his shallow heart… He's a bigger diva than either of us, and he's just been tuckin' in his heels this whole time…."

"Someone say my name…?" The girls jumped in surprise upon hearing a snide voice to their backs.

Hand to her chest, Mars let out an exasperated sigh. "What the HELL, dude…? Scared me half to DEATH..! We thought you were inside, working! Where in Sam-hell have you BEEN all morning…?"

In all his weathered and pasty glory, Saturn beamed in snarky self-satisfaction. Once silver, his uniform boasted a distinct black char, and a disdainful odor from weeks of painstaking welding. His slender arms hid themselves behind his back in an almost childish fashion. He withdrew them to proudly reveal a battered brown bag. "Off celebrating, of course!" At a closer evaluation, the scent of alcohol lingered from behind his bleached grin. He waggled the disguised bottle in teasing delight.

"Have a swig, girlies, and sit tight – Today is the day where we turn this whole shitstorm around!"

Jupiter and Mars exchanged dubious glances before returning their unimpressed gazes to their partner. "…Gimmie that, you sneaky lil' shit…! I haven't had a drink since Spring Break…" Naturally, Mars was the first to take the bait, coldly swiping the bottle from his pale, but cheery hands.

"Celebrating what, exactly….?" Jupiter stepped up, more interested in business than Saturn's makeshift cocktail party.

"….Robomon Beta, of course…! …..Or have you already forgotten….?" Saturn took the liberty of circling the girls in a lucid skip. "Her brain's finally been activated~! Looks like she's good ta go~!"

"Ack…!" "Whua…?" The girls expressed their grievances as he grabbed them by their collars and dragged them in a hasty tug. "Common', ya crazy bitches! Lets go take 'er for a spin!"

Although she'd been complaining since day one, Mars gaped in disbelief. It was admittedly a little difficult to grasp how their shallow, hedonistic, Saturn had really managed to piece together a working android out of scrap metal, and junk circuit boards, in a matter of a few weeks. Perhaps Jupiter was on to something in rejecting the idea to bail… Nonetheless, she only graced his eye contact with an ugly scoff as his sapphire eyes darted back to hers.

Feeling slightly more generous than her hot-headed counterpart, Jupiter returned his efforts with a cold shove. "Don't get yer panties in a knot, ya queer - We're comin', we're comin'…!"

"That's 'Mister Queer' to YOU, Miss Thaaaaang – This is Nobel Science Prize shit we're talkin' about, here…!" Without missing a beat, Saturn spun around to sneer at two up-turned noses. "Annnnndd, without further ado….." The weathered shed door creaked as he pushed it open and ushered them inside. "….you're about ta meet….." Mars took a parting swallow of Smirnoff and passed it to Jupiter, bracing for disappointment. "….the coolest FUCKING thing….." Jupiter rolled her eyes. "….you're ever gonna see –'EY! Watch it, skank, there's live wires all over this place!" Mars jumped in her stride, just short of bumping heads with a dangling power cord.

Saturn's modest shack looked like the Best Buy from hell. Dismantled gadgets occupied just about every free surface, including the dirt floor. Everything from laptops to car parts sat on lifeless display, revealed when he flipped on the humble light.

So preoccupied by his mess, they failed to notice the main attraction. "Robomon – Activate." Saturn sharply called, snapping his fingers in haste.

…..Robomon loading….. A mechanical voice replied. The girls jumped in surprise at the android's prompt response. From behind a dusty oak desk, a piercing red light glowed against the wall. There was a moment of mechanical movement before the strange creature marched out from her hiding place.

The beast was as hastily put together as the tech had been dismantled. Half of it (the left to be more specific) was made of up of various bits of scrap metal and rusted parts. Her other half looked erriely organic – Her blank, but very real right eye blinked in a glassy stare. The creature (or what was left of it) resembled an Abra in its stubby ears, and ugly paws. The tail appeared organic as well, but the creature's dead pelt had long since lost its luster. The only truly impressive part of the android was it's power core – A pale blue orb that occupied the slight left of her chest, flashing on and off in an off-putting mimic of a living heartbeat.

"Eeeugh…! What the fuck, man..? You were supposed to be making us a robot, not a freakin' Frankenstein…!" Despite her tough front, Mars scampered to take refuge behind Jupiter, as if the robot might have been programmed to blow her head off.

"Tch… Do you even KNOW how impossible that is…?" Let down by a less than desirable reaction, Saturn hunched his narrow shoulders. "There's no WAY I could make a working brain in such a slim timeframe..." The robot perked its ugly ears at the sound of his voice, and stiffly turned its head to face him.

"Heheh… I think it's kinda cute…" Jupiter giggled. "…But where'd you get the Pokemon….?"

"The damn things sleep eighteen hours a day – It wasn't that hard…. I just bashed 'er over the head, and dragged 'er outta the nest…." The sadistic trio shared a moment to laugh at such an image.

…..Running optical app… Its mechanical eye shifted and dimmed - Welcome home, master… The mechanical Abra's forced, vague smile was uncomfortable, to say the least.

"Hello to you, too, Beta~" Saturn proudly marched up to the creature, and scratched behind it's organic ear. "Now, common', lets make these bitches eat their words…" His eyes narrowed down at her in a sort of paternal vanity.

Beta hesitated, flicking her tail in a disturbingly natural manner. …Does not compute….. Words are intangible, master….. They cannot be consumed for sustenance.. Saturn scoffed and rolled his eyes. "It's a fig'gure 'a speech, stupid – Know what? Forget it. Common'."

…..Yes, master. …Deleting most recent conversation file….. Again, the beast blinked as she loaded the command.

"Eeeehhh…. She takes things kinda literal…. You'll get used to it, no sweat…" Jupiter sneered at Saturn's hasty explanation, but Mars didn't look nearly as certain.

"….What can she do….?" Mars summoned the nerve to slink out from behind her comrade for a closer look.

"Glad you asked~!" Saturn's proud beam returned. "She does whatever I tell her to! How's about's we take 'er out on the route and give 'er a go…?"

"Wicked fucking cool, bro. Count me in~" Jupiter gave Mars an encouraging nudge before draining the last of the vodka down her throat. Mars gave a disdainful growl.

"Yeahsure,whatever. This stupid thing had better work…."

…..processing remark….. She twitched as the creature jerked its head in her direction.

…..To work is my primary objective, humanoid….

"Fuck yeah it is, Beta." The robot's vague grin returned at her master's cocky wink. "Route 201, here we come."