Do any of you hate this new set-up? I know I do.

Eh, I'll get used to it.

Hatchery

IV

Cilan was a little disturbed that he could not remember his parents. And the more he thought about it, the more he could not recall most of his childhood. It was rather chilling, now that he really thought of it. But he had to relax. Maybe he could not just remember because he just could not. Maybe he would in time. Right? But now he should be happy. He was going to get his job! He was excited for his first day. Cilan combed out his hair, his Pansage sitting on the bed next to him. His large paws tugged at his Owner's shirt; smiling up at him like a youthful child.

"Pan, pansage pan," the Pokémon stated merrily.

"I know, it's our first day," Cilan said happily, turning to his Pokémon to comb out his fur. "Can't wait, right?"

"Pan pansage pan, pan!" the Pokémon stated, purring practically as the comb went through his fur. His tail was trembling from the pure pleasure he was feeling.

Cilan was smiling as he continued to stroke and comb out the tangled fur. Cress came from the bathroom, his Panpour hugging his shoulders. "So, you're ready?" the second brother inquired, reaching up to smooth back his hair.

"Yes," Cilan stated, placing the comb to the side as he scooped up his Pokémon, placing him on his own shoulder. "Where is Chili?"

"He left."

"He did?"

"Yes, when you were sleeping."

"Oh."

Cilan ran his hands down his chest, smoothing out his shirt. He wanted to speak to his other brother, but it seemed that it would not happen. "Have you decided upon a job yet?" he inquired.

"Yes," Cress answered.

"Oh, what is it."

"It took me a while to figure it out, but I thought that it would be the best for me," Cress said, reaching up to comb back his hair.

"Alright."

"I have decided to work with children."

"Children?"

"Yes, remember when we were taking care of children at the daycare?" Cress asked, straightening out his shirt. "I would like to help them—study child psychology and help beginner parents and troubled children."

"Oh," Cilan stated, a grin on his face. "That sounds like an exceptionable job. Well, I hope you enjoy it."

"And I hope you enjoy your job."

"Oh, I believe that I will."

The Hatchery was a large building that stood proudly among patches of bright green bushes. There was a barn-like building that was surrounded by fences where farm Pokémon lived. They were grazing on the grass, in the barn, or with their own species. A Blitzle stood behind the fence, his head resting against the wooden boards, looking at the young adults with innocence and pure childlike interest. Cilan smiled, reaching out to stroke the Pokémon gently on the snout, to which it quickly responded to. A group of teenagers hung about, waiting for their instructor to guide them. The boy with the Pansage glanced about, looking for the girl with the Axew. Was she late? He hummed to himself, his eyes looking around the area. She was nowhere to be seen. He frowned, reaching up with his other hand to pat his Pansage.

"I wonder where she is," he said to his Pokémon.

"Pansage pan," the monkey Pokémon stated, his tail flicking from side to side.

Cilan frowned, and then turned back to the Blitzle, stroking and petting it as it purred with pleasure. "She's bound to come," he said.

"Pan."

"Right?"

"Pansage . . ."

He nodded his head, petting the black and white Pokémon caringly. Just then, a pair of hands grabbed his side, and he jolted, causing the Pokémon to jump away in freight. The Pansage twitched, rotating around to see the snickering Iris.

"Pan pansage pan!" the Pokémon stated, shaking his thick paw.

Iris laughed, her hands at her stomach. "Got you again!" she laughed.

Cilan turned around, giving her a playful glare. "Don't do that!" he said, reaching out to push at her arm. "I was wondering where you were at."

Iris grinned from ear to ear, her hands behind her back, and her heels pressed together. Her Axew popped from her hair, snickering at her. "Axew, ew ax," the little dragon Pokémon said to the other human and Pokémon.

"Aw, you were missing me?" she asked playfully.

"N-n—well, yes," Cilan stated, deciding not to lie to her as he felt his hot blush bloom at his face, his hands slipping into his pockets sheepishly.

"Aw, you're so sweet," she said with a smile.

"Axew," her Pokémon said, grinning from tusk to tusk. "Ax ax axew."

Iris reached up, pushing back her long ponytailed hair. "Well, I'm totally ready for this job," she stated, reaching for the Blitzle, calming it down with gently pats on the thick neck. "There, there."

"Bliz," the Pokémon stated, nuzzling against Iris' hand. "Bliz . . ."

Iris gave the Pokémon another firm pat, and then turned to Cilan. "Are you?" she inquired.

"Of course," Cilan said confidently, placing his hand to his chest. "This will be enjoyable."

Iris grinned, and then jumped onto the lower part of the fence, and then moved, sitting at the top part of the fence with perfect balance. Her Axew crawled from her hair and sat in her lap. Cilan was intrigued by the girl—she was different than most females, and he wished to learn more about her.

"So, are you willing to talk to me?"

Iris eyed the boy next to her, uncertainty and distrust in her eyes. She knew what he wanted to talk about her past and about why she came here. She was just not ready for that; she had to know if he was like her. Iris would have to find his records to come to that conclusion (socially deviant, wanted to be different, couldn't make many freinds; all of that was in The Hall of Records. All Communities had one), but for now that answer was "no." Her eyes then closed, and looked up to the sky. "No," she breathed.

Cilan frowned. "Alright," he stated, nodding his head.

"And don't inquire me about it again."

"I-I'm sorry."

Iris turned to him completely, and her Axew crawled from her lap, and approached the fence, tapping at it. The Pansage blinked, and then jumped from his Owner's shoulder, and onto the fence, staring at the little Axew with a smile.

"No, don't be," she stated, her hand resting on her Axew's back. "I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

Cilan bobbed his head. "Right," he said in a whisper.

He could feel in the core of his being that something was up. She knew something, and she did not want to tell him because she just did not trust him enough. He wanted to gain her trust—she knew something, something substantial; life-changing even. Why would she be transported from her home to here? Something happened, and he ached to know. But for now, Cilan would wait.

"Everybody!" a woman called to the group. "Come this way! The tour is about to begin!"

Cilan and Iris turned to the voice, and the girl gripped her Pokémon gently, jumping off the fence and landed on the ground perfectly. "I guess we have to go," she said, her Pokémon crawled into her thick mane.

Cilan's Pansage jumped from the fence and onto his shoulder. Iris grabbed his hand, and then tugged him along.

"C'mon! Let's go!" she said with a smile.

He looked at her, and then grinned back.

"Control the hearts and minds of all."

"And this is the first room we'll see; where the eggs and held until they hatch," the woman said, opening the door for the students to enter.

The room was large had large square glass domes that contained an array of different coloured eggs that had different patterns. Lights were inside the containers, shining down on the eggs to keep them warm. Iris rushed over to one glass container, her hands pressed against the glass, smiling at the Pokémon eggs.

"Look at all of them, Cilan," she said, jabbing at the glass.

"Yes," he said with a smile, recognizing one of the eggs as a Pansage egg. "Look, a Pansage egg." Cilan pointed past the glass and at the green and tan egg.

Iris grinned, staring at the egg he was pointing at. The woman who was guiding them was limber, dark-haired, and wore a scientist lab coat; carrying around a notepad and pen. "Okay, people," she called, moving to the centre of the room where an island table where an egg sat in a plush top; it was flashing on and off like a light bulb. "Crowd around here, please."

Cilan and Iris turned up to the woman, and joined the group as they circled around the egg.

"This egg is about to hatch," she said. "It is easy to tell how an egg is about to hatch—they glow and flash. The closer they become to hatching, the flashing intensifies, just as it is doing now."

Iris raised her hand. "Mrs. Juniper," she called.

"Yes, Iris," the older woman said.

"How long does it take for an egg to hatch?"

"Around six to seven months," she answered curtly. "Like a human fetus to grow in the Human Hatchery, but a little less time."

Iris nodded. Another teenage female lifted her hand. She had long hair that was tied back into a ponytail that cascaded around her shoulders and back. The female wore shorts that were cut way above the knee, but lower than her thigh.

"Yes, White," Juniper stated.

"What do we have to do to keep an egg alive?" she asked, her Tepig nudging at her feet.

"Ah, good question," Juniper stated with a grin. "Well, just keep it warm and clean. That's all it takes. But if you don't do that, the egg will die. Oh! Look, look. The egg is hatching!"

The flashing intensified, and everyone watched with wide and curious eyes. Just then the egg faded away, and a Snivy appeared. The little freshly-hatched Pokémon opened its eyes, glancing around with equally curious eyes. Its long tail twitched, and it stood up on wobbly legs before falling over. Juniper smiled, placing her notepad and pen aside, and helped the little Pokémon stand on its small legs.

"See, this is what a hatching looks like," she said. Juniper scooped up the Snivy, holding it close to her chest. "Now, we're going to approach the Pokémon Daycare, and all of you will tend to a baby Pokémon. This little Snivy will join the others. I will help it integrate with the others." She patted the top of the Pokémon's head. "We will also go to where the farm Pokémon are taken care of. Please this way." She walked with a slight bounce in her step, never letting go of the newly-hatched Snivy.

The other teenagers followed, as did Iris and Cilan, not before the two exchanged glances and chuckled under their breaths.

"Pokémon and humans should not become too attached. They are just tools and food."

Cilan knelt down with a Deerling, tending to the baby Pokémon with utter care. Iris was caring for a Scraggy, watching the little Pokémon pull up his elastic skin to its chest, and then it succumbed to gravity when the Pokémon let it go. She giggled, and patted its head.

"You're too cute," she said, picking it up and put it into her lap to clean its pale scales.

Iris glanced up, seeing the other teenagers off on their own, and then she turned to her new friend. "Hey, Cilan," she called, her hands cupping her mouth.

He looked over to her, his eyes bright with curiosity. "Yes?" he replied.

"What do you think?"

"About what?"

"The job," she said, reaching up to push back her long hair. "What do you think?"

"Oh," Cilan said. His Pansage touched noses with the Deerling. "I love it." The brush went through the pink fur of the Deerling, and his hand slicked it down, causing the young Pokémon to twitch with pleasure. "I think I may take this job as my own."

"Me too," she said, still tending to the attention-hungry Scraggy. "But I don't want to deal with killing Pokémon for food. I don't think that's for me."

Cilan shook his head. "I'm a bit shaky around blood," he said, thinking of the fountain of liquid that would pour from a wound. He shuttered at the thought. "I don't think I could handle it. But this will be fine with me." He stroked the Deerling fondly.

"Yeah, this is great," she said. "I would love to stay like this—and in this job—for the rest of my life."

"Me too."

She smiled brightly at him, and then there was what he recognized—the flashing of those odd flashes. It was different this time, but it was on her long, thick hair and eyebrows. The flashes died down quickly as soon as they went. He stared at her with wide eyes, confused and slightly afraid. These flashes were becoming life-dominating, he was now realizing. What if this continued and never went away? Cilan sat there, his eyes dull and listless. Iris blinked, staring at him.

"Earth to Cilan," she called, waving out her hand to him. "You there?"

Cilan blinked, and then forced a smile. "Yes, I am alright," he stated quickly.

Iris stared at him, a frown on her lips.

"So, how was your first day?"

Cilan glanced up, smiling from ear to ear at his brother. "Wonderful," he said with a dreamy look in his eyes. "All the baby Pokémon were adorable and I watched an egg hatch."

"Really?"

"Yes. It was amazing."

"What did it look like?"

"Well, the egg glowed and a Pokémon just appeared."

"Just like that?"

"Yes. What about you?"

Cress smiled gently, his Panpour clinging to his shoulders before jumping off and landing on the desk beside them. "Well, we followed the Guide around and he explained what we would be doing," he said, reaching up to comb back his hair. "He explained what we would do with children who are socially deviant, those who are depressed, and so and so forth."

"Sounds like you will enjoy your job."

"Oh, yes."

Cilan turned to Chili, who was laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling with a listless expression. His Pansear was resting beside him, the little creature's head resting against his chest, still aching for more attention from him. Cilan licked his dry lips, and called: "Chili."

The third brother turned his head to his two other brothers. "Yeah?" he called.

"Um, so, what job did you pick?"

"Janitor."

Cress and Cilan exchanged surprised looks with each other.

"A j-janitor?" Cress said, his upper lip trembling with shock.

"Yeah," Chili said dully, turning his head back up to the ceiling. "The Community says that it would be the best for me."

"B-but, you were supposed to choose."

"Yeah, but I don't mind."

Cilan's brows furrowed, and he swallowed sharply. A janitor? A damn janitor? This was utterly ridiculous! The teenage boy gritted his teeth at the thought, and turned his head away from his brother, peering out of the window with disgust. How could they just do that to his brother?

"Don't you even care," Cress said with a growl in his voice. "A janitor is the lowest job one could have. Do you really not care about having that job?"

"I don't care. I said that already." He sat up, and slugged his way to the bathroom. "I'm going to bed, guys."

Cress and Cilan watched the boy move to the bathroom, and he closed the door. Cress' breath hitched, and he turned to his other brother.

"This isn't right," he rasped out.

"I know," Cilan growled out, his upper lip trembling. "How dare they do that to him? How dare they?" His voice became angrier as he said "dare." Revolting.

"But there's nothing we can do."

"And that's what sickens me the most."

Cress crossed his arms over chest, and he glared at the opposite wall. Cilan hung his head as his mind raced like crazy. His heartbeat then slowed down as he began to collect his stray thoughts. The young man closed his eyes, and then exhaled deeply.

"Cress."

"Yeah?"

"D-do you remember our parents?"

There was a pause.

"What parents?"

What Cress had said chilled him. "What parents?" Their parents! Their only parents. Who else? Cilan held the Cubchoo gently as the little being wiggling in his grip, and he reared his head up, his pink little tongue grazing against his chin. Cilan chuckled, reaching up with his hand to pat the creature on the head.

"How are you?" Cilan asked with a grin.

"Cub," the Cubchoo said, nuzzling the human.

Pansage sat next to his Owner, staring at the little Cubchoo with a playful smile. Where was Iris? He glanced around, searching for the dark-skinned young woman. All he could see where baby Pokemon, and young adults. He watched as a boy he came to know as Cheren walk by with a Venipede in his arms, which was cradled gently in the human's warm arms.

"Hey, Cheren," Cilan called.

The dark-haired boy turned to Cilan. "Yeah?" he asked. "What do you need?"

"Have you seen Iris?"

"The long-haired girl you've been with lately?"

"Yes, her."

"No, I have not."

Cilan frowned, and nodded his head slowly. "Yes, alright, thank you," the other male breathed.

Cheren stood there, blinked, nodded, and then walked off to be with White and Black, and another girl with curly hair. Cilan swallowed sharply, and sighed as he stood up to put away the Cubchoo in his little pen. He needed fresh water and food. Pansage jumped onto his Owner's shoulder as Cilan grabbed the nearly empty dishes.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"You're late."

Cilan's ears perked to the sound.

"I know. I know."

"No wonder why Opelucid got rid of you."

Cilan tensed at the harsh-sounding voice. That was utterly cruel to say.

"Hey, I said I was sorry. I was sick."

"Don't let it happen again."

There were some footsteps that echoed throughout the hallways, and a steaming Iris entered the Pokémon day care. Her hair was utterly disheveled as more wild than usual, and she looked wretched—like she was sleep-deprived. Cilan looked at her, and left the dishes on the counter to approach Iris.

"Are you alright?" he asked, reaching towards her.

She pushed his hands back. "Perfect, I'm fine," Iris grumbled, reaching up with her own hands to grip her head. Iris then sighed, as she grunted. "No, I'm sorry, Cilan."

He blinked, staring at her. "Alright," Cilan whispered, his Pansage staring at her.

Her Axew popped out of her thick mane, nudging his Owner tenderly.

"Axew ax," he whispered to her, his snout touching her cheek.

Iris reached up, patting her darling Pokémon gently. "It's been a bad night for me," she whispered, turning to him, forcing a smile.

He looked at her, seeing that her eyes darkened with rings of tiredness and fatigue. Cilan nodded, wondering what was wrong with her. She did not look well—it looked like that she was dying almost, on the outside, but he was also sure that she was dying on the inside as well. Her eyes showed it. After all, eyes were the window to the soul, and she looked like she was in pain.