"Ninetales," a voice says, and Ninetales can hear the concern, "Ninetales, you're crying in your sleep again."
Ninetales bolts up, mouth dry like the Desert Resort, and searches around for the source. A nearby Quilava looks at her with soulful eyes, "Is there anything bothering you?"
Ninetales' body is hit with an almost physical sense of déjà vu, and she nearly falls from her cot.
"Nothing's wrong, Quilava," she finally chokes.
"That's good," he beams, "What were you dreaming about?"
"Death."
"Aren't we all?" Quilava chuckles mournfully.
"Didn't we have this conversation yesterday?" Ninetales asks. She strictly remembers it- waking up crying, Quilava, in the exact same words and tone, asking if there was anything bothering her.
"I don't think so," Quilava answers, shrugging.
"What day is it?" she asks, thoroughly terrified.
"Tuesday, the 28th," Quilava supplies helpfully.
Ninetales thanks him and lies back down so he can't see her trembling. The flames on his back, providing the watery orange lighting, slowly die down. When they go out completely and Ninetales knows he's asleep, she lets out the shaky breath she feels she's been holding in for an eternity. She permits herself only a minor panic attack, and as she lays there, hyperventilating in shock, a few words float to the top of her mind like bubbles in a soft drink.
Tuesday the 28th.
Tuesday the 28th was the day she died. Tuesday the 28th was the day she ran from the army to her childhood home pursuing a lonely, quiet death. Tuesday the 28th was yesterday.
Tuesday, October 28th.
Today.
Ninetales wakes from a shallow sleep to Chatot screaming, "Up and at 'em, fire types!". He proceeds to shriek his dreaded call at the top of his lungs for another minute, while sleepy moans crescendo around him. Some fire-type even throws a pillow at him. With a good-natured Boomburst that makes Ninetales cringe and everyone who was sleeping surely wake up, Chatot takes flight and streaks down the hall to the Ground dormitory. Even through thick walls, Ninetales can hear the wake-up bird scream at another group of sleeping Pokémon.
As the fire types sluggishly don their gear, a Dodrio zooms by, dropping a package by the door. It's a morning tradition, and as Ninetales forces herself into a too-tight Assault Vest, she can't help but wonder how early Chatot has to get up.
She remembers thinking the same thing yesterday, too. Yesterday the 28th.
As the Pokémon unwrap Dodrio's breakfast parcel (Figi Berries, same as the other 28th, of course) and chew on stale berries, Ninetales tries to pick up a conversation with the soldier next to her, a young Flareon with a hopelessly pessimistic attitude and a monotonous voice.
"Good morning," she starts. Flareon looks back at her coldly.
"If it was a good morning, we wouldn't be here," he deadpans, turning back to his Berry. Ninetales gives up hope of having a normal chat with him. The sound of chewing rises around her, and it's all quiet until the heavy footsteps.
"Attention, fire-type soldiers!" A portly Heatran thunders through the door, "The humans have made a retreat back to Saffron City! We are to follow them and destroy every last one!"
"But Commander Heatran!" Delphox cries, swallowing the last of her Figi Berry, "What if they're expecting us?"
Heatran fixes her with a steely-eyed glare, "Then we kill them anyway."
He prances off, and Ninetales stands up, having finished her berry. She shakes dust from her fur, and gently nudges Quilava up. He looks behind her, and gasps, "Ninetales, what happened to your tail?"
She frowns. This is something that didn't happen yesterday.
"What do you mean?" she twists back, trying to see her tails.
"You're missing one!" he exclaims, wide-eyed.
Bile rises in Ninetales throat and she feels another panic attack coming.
"I guess we'll have to call you Eight-tales," Camerupt jokes.
"I'm missing a tail? Are you sure, Quilava?" she asks.
"Positive. There's definitely eight of 'em now. Maybe you should have a nurse check it out?" he looks worried.
"It was probably the blasted humans!" Delphox cries, her flame shooting up, "They probably snuck in here at night and cut one of them off for a scarf!"
"Damn humans!" Ninetales growls half-heartedly, but she knows who really took her tail. It's a warning from Arceus. A warning to not die again. She makes a mental promise that she won't.
"Seriously, Ninetales," Quilava paces behind her, "There's no blood or anything. It's just gone."
"I honestly don't know what happened," she fibs, and the matter is forgotten as Flareon sneezes and accidentally ignites a passing Sunflora. He apologizes in his unique manner (a weary-sounding "Oops") as Camerupt supplies a helpful Earth Power attack, which, despite making Sunflora even more enraged, puts out the flames quite effectively. She scolds both Flareon and Camerupt vigorously, and continues on her way.
"Who's joining the fire-types today?" Quilava asks.
"Normal for certain, and probably Steel or Flying," Delphox shrugs.
"Oh, great, I'm going to be paired with Castform," Ninetales hisses, and everyone except Flareon laughs. Castform is, without a doubt, the most annoying Pokémon on the forces. She's only paired with Ninetales because of Ninetales' Drought ability and because Ninetales is one of the few Pokémon who can put up with her.
To prove Delphox's point, Wigglytuff waddles through the door, "Hey, fire-types!"
"Hey!" Quilava greets.
"We're going to chase the humans to Saffron with you! The flying and ice types are coming with us! Meet in the courtyard in five minutes!"
He bounces away, and Ninetales straightens up. She's the fire commander, with Quilava her second.
"Alright then, you heard Wigglytuff. Let's head out," she says, "I'll be right there."
As her commandees shuffle out, Ninetales pauses. It was this time yesterday she decided to run.
"Ninetales, are you coming?" Quilava asks, peeking back through the dormitory door.
"...Yeah," Ninetales shakes her head to clear it of the thought and follows Quilava out. Maybe if she stays, something good will happen. Something good would be nice.
Most everyone is in the courtyard when Ninetales arrives, minus the ice types. She stands in the front with Wigglytuff and Chatot, the other two commanders, surveying her charges. Castform, in Ninetales' presence, has already morphed into Sun form and joined the fire troops. Flareon's assault vest hangs from his frame awkwardly, but there are no tighter ones. Delphox concentrates on her flame, watching it burn brighter intently. Camerupt nervously jingles the Mega Stone on a simple cord around his neck. Quilava smiles at Ninetales when she reaches him. Nobody has noticed her missing tail yet.
The soldiers begin to talk quietly, and when the ice types arrive, the sound has grown monstrous. Ninetales herself has picked up a friendly chat with jolly Wigglytuff and loud Chatot, and soon Aurorus takes his place beside them. With a staccato Chatter, Chatot silences the foot soldiers.
The talking has been so loud that no one noticed the buzzing.
As Ninetales turns her head to the sky to notice the helicopter above them, the first bomb falls.
There is a boom, but Ninetales can't hear it because of a strange ringing in her ears. She struggles to her feet and shrieks, "Fire troops! On your toes!"
She launches a Fire Blast at a helicopter and it drops from the sky, black smoke streaming into the sky like the tail to a comet. Flareon leaps into the dirt, killing the pilot with a Dig. He rejoins Ninetales drenched in blood.
"Saffron City was a setup!" Wigglytuff yells as another bomb tosses Ninetales into a wall. As she shakily gets to her feet, he continues, "That's where they make weapons!"
An Avalugg blasts a bomb with Ice Beam so that it never falls, exploding in midair like a deadly firework. The flying type soldiers all take off, Chatot in the lead, sending a barrage of attacks at the helicopters. It looks like the Pokémon are winning, and then the reinforcements come.
Another buzzing metal behemoth soars into the battlefield and explodes into humans. Like Combee from a hive, they pour out of the aircraft, parachutes snapping open behind them. Before they touch the ground their guns and blades are ready, and they attack the avian Pokémon. A Skarmory falls beside Ninetales, says "Swellow" and nothing else. The ground turns dark beneath him.
As the first human touches down, Ninetales blasts him with Flamethrower. He screams "Human! Human man human!" and races over. A bullet pierces Ninetales' leg, but she uses Extrasensory and the human is still. Delphox falls with a bullet in her neck, splattering Ninetales with blood. Quilava fights valiantly against three soldiers but is quickly overwhelmed. His head rolls to a stop beside Ninetales.
"No!" she screeches with horror, surveying her rapidly diminishing forces.
"Commander Ninetales, you have to run!" A Cincinno shrieks, blood dripping from her mouth, "May Arceus himself-"
Ninetales breaks into a sprint towards the exit, wind whistling by her, so she doesn't see Cincinno fall with blank eyes. Her wounded leg forces her to a hobble, but she ignores the white lacing the corners of her vision.
Ninetales falls and has no time to feel pain before everything turns into an empty, empty scream.
