Chapter 3: A Fresh Start
I tried lifting my head up and my body did not agree with me. Everything suddenly got all bright and fuzzy as the image of the Zoroark became more of a distinct black colored blob in front of me. I saw the blob get closer, not even feeling him as he rested his hand on my shoulder, mumbling something. All I heard was the distinct ringing in my ears as I recognized something making noise nearby me. I saw the blob lean back, then run off into the forest, leaving me to my killer migraine that was developing rapidly.
It took a little while, but sight came back while everything looks a lot more... vibrant than before... before what again? Oh... that's right, I jumped off a cliff after a bomb so it didn't kill everything in the forest. Probably not one of my best ideas but even without the antimatter coursing through my veins giving me outstanding healing, I'm somehow alive. Again.
The next of my senses to come back was my hearing, which to say, went from loud ringing to very amplified. I already had outstanding hearing and a knack for hearing objects moving through the air, things like mortar shells, but I picked the later up in the war. The forest was just plain loud, I didn't hear any creatures, they must have run off, but the leaves in the wind just bugged my ears.
Still not really able to move at all, I just kept staring at the sky as the feeling of my body slowly started to creep into my mind. The first thing I felt was the soft fur like thing that surrounded me. That was not right... fur? I'm pretty sure I should be naked from the force of the explosion that I was hit with. It still much too painful to move, I noticed something else. My nose felt much longer and as I focused my eyes on where my nose was supposed to be I found something very different there.
I tried to mumble a what the out loud, but the only thing I managed to get out was a painful grunt. That, in turn, managed to make my head hurt more, which didn't help with the fact that my brain was dying with trying to fathom what I was seeing in from of me. A snout, I had, of all things, a snout. And it was covered with a layer of black fur. I sat in disbelief for a few more moments before trying to sit up to see the rest of my body.
It was at that moment when the Zoroark came back and saw me clearly struggling to lean my head down.
"Hey," he started quietly, but it sounded more like someone shouting into my ear. He must have seen me flinch when he started because he lowered his voice to barely a whisper, making it sound normal to me. "If you're struggling, don't try and move. I brought you some berries, they should help any... conditions you might have."
He moved to my side, holding out an oran berry for me to eat. I attempted to open my mouth but got a scream of protest from my jaw, only allowing me to barely open my mouth. The Zoroark, seeing my struggle, decided to crush the berry in his and let the juices drip into my mouth. The effects were instantaneous, I could feel my mind starting to clear and my tense muscles starting to relax shortly after the majority of the first berry's juices were swallowed.
After a few more minutes of him feeding me many different types of berries, I felt like I had just drunk a dozen of expressos. It was not the most comfortable thing when your mind says you can do something while your body physical can not, but I was finally able to stand without needing anything to keep me standing.
"We should get going, we can talk about this," he said, gesturing to my body, "when we get to a safer location."
I looked at him questioningly, still thinking about my sudden transformation into a species that I didn't even think existed in the physical world.
Seeing my face, he clarified, "There are many human settlements nearby, and as you are a Pokemon, I don't think either of us wants to get captured. The humans might be ways away, but we probably attracted attention."
Just then, the sound of a helicopter punctured the air. I looked up and saw a chopper with a very familiar large red R on the side of it. My eyes widening in fear, I looked back at the Zoroark who was still looking at it apprehensively. I tapped his shoulder, "need, leave, now," I managed to croak out as a warning as he glanced back at me.
"Follow me then," He said, glancing back at the helicopter headed our way before moving off towards the forest. I slowly followed him, hoping that he could lead us to safety. Even if my information was outdated, I didn't want to meet any possible version of Team Rocket anywhere on this planet.
We had walked at a semi-brisk pace for a while, moving along the forest floor. Luckily, it seemed the helicopter flew around for a bit then headed back to who knows where. We were climbing the side of a mountain, but it was more like I was walking up a waterfall with my new body. It didn't help that just because the Zoroark in front of me was the same species as myself does not mean he has tips on how to handle walking.
"We should stop here," he stated, "your no good to get to the next cave before nightfall, and I don't want to be here at night."
"Yeah, that's... a good idea," I managed to get out in between deep breaths. My body had been screaming at me to stop for a while now, but I wanted to make sure I was well away from that Team Rocket helicopter. Nodding to me, he walked off into a cave as I followed. We had just made it into the cave before I promptly collapsed onto the rocks.
"The name is Alex, I never did introduce myself properly, I guess we were just too busy running," he looked down for a second before bringing his head back up with a smile, "You seem to have taken jumping off a cliff and turning into a different species thing better than most would,"
I stifled a laugh at the old memories of all the weird things that happened during the war before responding, "Well, this is a first time to have my body changed, but if you ever see the things I have you come to realize that unexplained events happen, and you can't let them bother you for too long, because worrying won't cause the problem to go away." It much was easier to talk now that I was able to just lie still on the floor. Maybe I should try that if I ever have a PR meeting again.
"Where do you come from? And what are you anyways, because I'm pretty sure normal humans don't turn into Pokemon," Alex asked curiously.
"I come from Earth, altho, Pokemon didn't exist..." well... they did, but not in they way they do here I mentally added before continuing. "As for who I am, I really don't know anymore."
"But we are on earth, how could you come for here without knowing that Pokemon exist, they were around since the beginning of time..."
Looking at his confused face I responded, "My best guess would be that I'm in a different dimension, but I don't know for sure."
"Alright... but do you at least have a name? Because I'm not calling you Zoroark,"
"Huh, these first world problems I have," I mumbled under my breath.
He looked up questioningly, "Whats so problematic about telling me your name?"
"Well, firstly, the callsign I usually use might have some bad connotation in this world, and secondly, its a new world for me so... I want some change in my life, a name that represents what I am."
"Well pick something fast, I can tell your about to lose the battle of staying awake,"
"Names were always difficult for me... I'll tell you when I think of one," I mumbled with a sigh.
"What am I to call you then? Boy?"
"For now, just call me whatever," I said before laying down to rest for the day tomorrow. "You know, rock is a lot comfier when you have fur covering your body..." I mumbled before drifting off to sleep.
Inside the Dream
The ground is hard and rocky while covered in a layer of dust. There is no plant or animal life anywhere in the surrounding space.
A small convoy of a few trucks and two armored cars can be seen driving through the area, approaching much rockier terrain, a perfect spot for an ambush
The view shifts to someone sitting next to the driver of the forward truck
"This is Escort-1, ready to proceed," a voice says over the radio.
"Escort-2, ready to go," follows shortly after,
"Transport Alpha checked and ready,"
"Transport Beta, we are go,"
I picked up the microphone and responded, "This is Mobile Command, all units cleared, proceeded to the drop-off point."
All of the vehicles begin to take a twisty route through the rocks, ensuring that any big ambush spots are avoided
A head peaked out from behind the front seats of the truck and said, "Sir, we are coming up on the last possible choke point before the city limits, intel suggests they know about the convoy so this is most likely where they will make their move."
I nodded slowly, before picking up the microphone, "All units, we are approaching the last possible high-risk zone, be on the lookout," I placed the mic down and looked back before saying, "Thank you, Sargent"
I turned back to the front just in time to see a large chain of detonations go off on the cliff face with a jaw-rattling boom. The driver of the forward escort barely swerved out of the way of the rocks tumbling down into our path of travel, while our truck hit them straight on. We were chucked up against the dashboard when a rock pelted through the left window slicing across the drivers lower back.
I could hear the groaning of metal as the truck shifted under the weight of the rocks, shifting slightly. I looked up and saw the Sargent come through the door
"We're boxed in," he started quickly, "we can't go forward and a regiment is behind us, we have reason to believe that they just want to destroy the weapon so we can't study it."
"Alright, get the men out of the trucks and around transport alpha, we can't lose that cargo or we will be defenseless from whatever they are planning."
The Sargent nodded before returning to the back of the truck. I heard groaning from beside me and I looked over the truck driver next to me.
"Ughh..." he slowly started to sit up, "I... my legs... I can't..." he muttered before slamming his fist down on the dash.
I quickly unbuckled from my seat and examined his injury. The rock had cut straight across his exposed lower back, slicing clean through the spinal cord. I reached down and unbuckled him, before placing his arm over my shoulder and lifting him out of his seat.
He grunted in pain before muttering, "What are you doing? I'm just gonna slow you down, you need to help defend the cargo!"
"And I'm not just going to leave and injured man behind, so stop whining and focus,"
"But..."
"That's an order," I grunted before he could finish.
I stumbled out of the passenger side door of the truck, squinting slightly at the bright sunlight. I started to move to the back of the command truck as gunfire started to go off. That is when I heard someone shout the word you really don't wanna hear when guarding a truck.
"RPG!" rang through the air as a fast moving projectile flew through the air and collided with the side of transport alpha. The blast rippled the air and I went to one knee to keep my balance with truck drive situated on my shoulder.
"Sir, reinforcements from Mayville have an ETA of 1 minute!" someone shouted to me.
"Too late," the truck driver muttered as he pointed at t transport alpha, a bright light emanating from the hole punched into it, "The device is already going critical"
"GET TO COVER, NOW" I shouted over the sound of gunfire. Darting forward and to my right, I dropped the truck driver right behind a rock as my men scrambled to get behind something as the transport detonated in a massive explosion.
I watched as the metal was shredded apart from inside and a massive fireball spread out over the ground, spreading out before going up. I watched as the dust kicked up as the shockwave went flying out in a ring around the explosion. I felt it hit me as the shockwave tossed me off my feet and into the air before coming down hard on the ground.
I shot awake, panting heavily. I brought my hand to my face before seeing a paw with red claws pass in front of my vision, making me nearly jump out of my skin. I almost freaked before the events from yesterday came rushing back, allowing me to catch myself from hyperventilating.
I looked over to the from of Alex on the ground, his chest rising and lowering at a steady pace, indicating that he was still asleep. I sighed, knowing I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, not with the new nightmare still fresh in my mind. I quietly got to my feet, walking towards the cave entrance. I took one last look at Alex and walked out into the fresh night air.
A few feet from the cave I noticed a small outcrop, large enough to sit on. Trotting over to it, I began to climb up the rocks to reach the overhang a few feet above my head. I reached the ledge and rested, my mind is not used to how fast my body would get worn out. I looked up at the moon and sat there, listening to the sounds of the night.
Tilting my head slightly to the side, I continued to curiously look up at the moon. I thought it looked just a tad bit smaller than the original moon on my planet. But the size, it matched in dimensions with the moon after it got part of it ripped off in the orbital conflicts of the later parts of the 600th year during the war. Shrugging, I sat there for a while longer, just thinking about the mysteries of the universe.
It was nearly dawn by the time Alex came out of the cave. He looked around for a few seconds before noticing me sitting up on the rocks. Trotting over to me, he approached with an annoyed look on his face.
"Hey, stupid on the rocks, next time... don't go disappearing on me like that," Alex called up to me.
"Why would I disappear," I asked, "I have no clue where the food is, and besides, I don't think I'm exactly fit to go anywhere alone."
"Right... the food. I'll go scavenge some berries, you just wait at the cave. I'll be back in a little." he started to walk off before turning to look at me, "Oh and... hurry up with that name of yours before I start calling you whatever you act like."
I swore I heard something along the lines of they only stay for the food before heading back to the cave, sitting just on the inside of the entrance. I watched as the forest slowly came alive with the rising sun, the day Pokemon beginning to move about. The world felt so peaceful, all the Pokemon moving about without worry, able to live without fear. It was everything I fought for, the whole reason the war escalated in the first place. We fought for freedom, while our enemies didn't want to control the world, they just wanted to enforce a global government. They probably could have gone about doing that in a better way than attacking all the independent governments, however.
I turned my gaze away from the forest and looked at the side of the mountain, watching the morning light filter through the trees. There was something missing from this world, and it was not human presence. I had a good feeling that that was definitely there. I was alone, the world was inhabited, but not with those I had worked so hard to defend. Both sides fought for their ideals, and both sides lost in the end. In the end, the planet burned to dust, and while I could see a peaceful future, I just wished that everyone else could enjoy it too.
I sighed, I felt like a shadow of my old self, no one to fight for and most annoyingly, no knowledge of anything on this planet. I could probably be a type and move dictionary, but surviving in the wild as a Pokemon, not a clue. I looked out over the sunrise, deciding on something to call myself. I would always go by something, no one knowing my real name because that put everyone close to you at risk. I was a shadow of myself, so why not represent that in my callsign. I would go by Shadow, because even when the sun is bright, the sun does not touch every part of the world.
There's chapter 3... and yes, Shadow got turned into a Zoroark.
This took longer than I wanted to because well, let's just say the beginning of this chapter was not good before I rewrote it and leave it at that.
Anyways, I hope you are all enjoying the story so far, if you have any tips on how I can improve my writing, please don't be afraid to tell me.