Act 2: A New World
Welcome to Act 2! I hope you will enjoy this chapter!
"...Brother, do you feel it?" A voice echoed out from the darkness that permanently resides within this dimension, rendering the speaker practically blind, he was never fond of the darkness, and now he cannot even escape its grasp, it wrapped around him like a ragged, thick blanket, clinging onto and seemingly melting into every inch of his skin, nearly suffocating him. He doesn't recall how long he has been trapped here, a year? No, that is too short. A century? No, that is too long. Counting the days seems… pointless, he originally did, when he was first tricked and trapped in here, thinking it won't last long before they broke out of here, but that fantasy as soon shattered, along with his hope.
Shattered, but not lost.
He believes he will get out of here one day, his brother promised him, he promised that one day they will be free again, free to roam the universe once again, he doesn't know how long it will take, but he trust his brother, he always do, he never lied to him, he never tricked him, if he said these days will come to an end, they will.
Another voice answered him, coming from somewhere directly opposite of him, presumably the speaker's brother, even if he cannot see him, his voice alone comforted the speaker, "Yes… I do. Do you think he might be the one?"
"I… don't know, brother, you have seen what his kind has done in another world, we have seen it, he almost destroyed it, we need to unify this planet, not reduce it into rubble. How do you know if he is not like them?"
"I don't know either, I know a lot of things, Anthon, but that doesn't mean I know everything, nor can I predict the future."
"Then… what should we do?"
"We do what we always have done since our imprisonment, I know what you are worried about, Anthon, but chance taking is unavoidable, if we wish to ever escape this place. Will he perish? Or will he succeed? We won't know until we have tried. Put him in with the others."
"Yes, brother."
The duo fell silence once again, plunging the darkened dimension into silence, once again.
All is calm, and all is well, he thought to himself, following a thin trail amidst the prospering forest, It certainly has been a long time since he has arrived in a world where he can just relax, and not having to worry about anything at first, this world is sure populated by Pokemon, Alger can tell that from the scent left behind on the trail by those who traveled down it, and they are certainly civilized to a degree, evident by the roughly paved path he is walking on.
The path is neither wide or well maintained, a handful of weeds have already pushed past the gravel sands that lined the road, exposing their newly grown leaves and stems to the outside world, but it will do. Instead of a straight path cutting through the vast forest like an arrow, the road twisted and bent, snaking around those trees that stood in its path, as if the road is alive, knowingly avoiding the plant life, unwilling to damage even the smallest of all saplings. The sun's brilliant rays shone from above, not even the thick forest canopy would block it completely, casting down onto the forest floor, lighting up the tangled roots of the trees as they crossed paths and seemingly merging into one another.
Alger took a deep breath of the fresh air, taking in the beauty of the scenery in front of his eyes as the path begin a slow descent in depth, the soft blue light emitted by its rings gradually increased in intensity as his eyes started to glow with the same calming light, the leather side pouch he was carrying opened on its own, and from it, a small notepad and a pencil floated out, surrounded by a blue field of energy, the notepad flipped open to an empty page, and the pencil began to scribble on it, floating just behind the Umbreon, following him. This imagery is too precious to pass up unrecorded, he thought to himself, trying to depict the scenery with words to the best of his abilities.
However, this gorgeous scenery did not last very long, looking ahead, the forest is growing thinner with each step he took, Alger presumed he is coming up to a clearing or something, but he soon realized that was not the case, as his ears picked up the faint sounds of water flow coming from directly down the path. Surely enough, as he draws closer towards the sound source, passing around a small grassy hill, the small, slow flowing stream came into his view, torrents of water cutting right through the forest, dividing it into two halves. The water clashed against the banks from time to time, white flickers splashed out from the water surface, like the fresh snow of December, only to fall back down and dissipate into the stream mere seconds later. The path is replaced by a bridge as it approached the stream's banks, the bridge is a simple structure of wood and clean cut stone, just wide enough for two medium sized Pokemon to pass side by side, there is also a wooden post by its side that resembles a road sign, but he is too far away to make out the writing on it, if he could even read this world's language, that is.
As he got closer, he noticed there is something else by the banks of the river, just behind road sign, something that is definitely alive, the pencil he was holding with psychic abruptly stopped its scribbling as the notepad slammed shut on itself, the floating items quicking returned themselves to the pouch on his side as the Umbreon stopped to consider his choices while taking a slightly more defensive stance, should he allow himself to interact with this world's inhabitants? He certainly couldn't dismiss the possible risks that accompany that choice, he doesn't know if this individual is aggressive, or if they can communicate at all. Maybe he should just-
He mentally scolded himself for thinking like that again, being cautious is good, but being overly cautious and constantly overthinking the current situation will only result in time wasted and fear unwanted. Compromising between logic and caution, he took a few steps to the side so he could get a full view of the creature behind the road sign while still remaining a safe distance away, the creature is currently crouched down along the bank, facing away from Alger, presuming to get a drink of water from the stream, it is definitely an Absol, evident by its blade-shaped tail and the sick like growth on the right side of its head. Though... something is off about this Absol, the supposedly clean, snow-white fur of an Absol is now dirty and ragged, tainted with dirt, dust and small stains of dried up blood from place to place, patches of fur have clumped together, presumably from the lack of grooming and care, all of these signs are certainly not encouraging the Umbreon to make contact with this Absol, but he went ahead and called out to the Pokemon nonetheless.
"Hello?"
The response from the Absol was almost instantaneous, its head jerked up from the water surface, rapidly looking all around it, as if spooked by Alger's greeting, after a few seconds it seems to have realized that the source of the greeting is right behind it as it backed up from the river banks and sprung around to meet the Umbreon, breathing heavily.
Alger already felt there is something slightly wrong with this Absol judging from its reaction, it is possible that he spooked the Absol by saying that greeting when it is not expecting anyone to be around it, but its reaction is too… jittery for it to be considered as a normal reaction, and its appearance is not exactly helping its case.
The Absol still said nothing, it just stood there, staring at Alger with a blank look on its face, it doesn't seem to be aggressive in anyway, but the look it had in its eyes greatly unnerved Alger, Vul once told him that one's eyes are the window to their souls, but when he looked into this Absol's eyes, he doesn't see a soul, or any emotions at all, he only see a pair of dilated, brown pupils, filled with confusion, rage and paranoia, socketed into a motionless face, a look that Alger knows all too well.
The look of madness.
A madness-ridden creature is just as dangerous as any other enemy, if not more, it will drill into their minds, causing it to spin out of control, taking away what is left of their destroyed selves while adding new and more dangerous thoughts, a new personality will arise from the ashes of the old, bearing no resemblance to the person they once were, luring them further and further away from the self they once know, until they simply no longer remember what they were like before. Creatures like these are usually erratic, unreasonable and unstoppable if they are to attack, since they no longer possess any rational thoughts, Alger realized the danger he is in now, there is no telling what this Absol will do next, he begins to slowly back off while keeping his eyes on the Absol.
The nameless Absol seems to have noticed that Alger is backing away, and much to Alger to surprise, it called out to him in a shaky voice, clearly feminine, "Wa… Wait!"
The suspicious Umbreon stopped, still staring at the Absol, "...Yes? Is there something you would like to tell me?"
"You are… you are one of us," The Absol is still breathing heavily, clearly distressed about something, "You… you have to leave this place, leave before they know! They know, they know, they always know, they are watching us, every one of us, they are always watching, leave! Now! You are… You are all just little kits in a box, waiting to scoop up by anyone, you don't see the dangers do you? You just assume there is no box and everything is alright and dandy? Every single one of you! Inbreds! Idiots! Mindless!" She screamed, seemingly getting very aggravated
all of a sudden for no apparent reason.
All of this nonsensical screaming coming from this Absol only made Alger more convinced that there is something clearly wrong with this Absol in the head, "...Miss, with all due respect, but are you feeling alright?"
The Absol's head twitched to the side at this question, "I am fine! I am good!" She diverted her gaze from Alger, looking aimlessly around the forest before refocusing on the Umbreon, "Why are you looking at me like that? Stop it! Stop it stop it stop it! Your rings are so bright, did you know that your fur is really nice looking?" She asked with a slight smile, almost like a kit pretending to be all innocent and cute, but in this case, it only served to disturb Alger even more.
Sensing he might be in danger if he chooses to stay here any longer, Alger begins to back off once again, but the female Absol was having none of it, "Why are backing away from me?" Alger didn't respond, only continue to back away slowly, his lack of a response only angered the Absol even more, "Why are you backing away?!", she yelled, this time effectively freezing Alger in place as he doesn't wish to find out what she would do next if he continues to back away.
The mad Pokemon seems relieved that Alger stopped, "Thank you… Do you know that your fur really shines in the sunlight? Like obsidian, smooth and reflective… No! No No No NO!" Her smile slowly grew into a snarl, "You don't deserve a fur like that, you are not fit for it, you lowly Dark Type."
The tension in the air was almost tangible, Alger really doesn't wish to harm this Absol unless he is left with no other choice, it is not her fault for acting like this, she is no longer in control of her actions, "...Miss, may I ask your name?" He asked, in hope of changing her point of focus to another subject.
"A name?" The hostility in her voice vanished, "A name… Ah! Yes! I do have one, it is… it is… Uh… Claris! Yes! That is my name!"
"...Claris, that is a good name." Alger secretly sighed in relief, it appears that his plan of distraction is working for now, "...Tell me, Claris, do you have a family? Kits? Mate? Anyone?"
"A...family?" Claris gave Alger a weird look, as if her confused mind could not process what he is asking, then she stopped, her look of confusion is replaced by one of happiness as a smile gradually spread across her face, "Ah! Yes! A family! How could I forget! There is… Uhh… My Mate, Bran! He is the most gentle and loving Mon I have ever met! And a good father! He sometimes handles our two kits better than I do!" Claris's face grew brighter as she talked, almost sounding like a normal caring mother, talking about her family.
This did relieve Alger a little bit, taking the pressure off the situation for now, "...And where are they now?" He asked, hoping to see if he can reach her family, seconds before he realized he made a horrible mistake by asking that question.
The Absol's eyes widen in shock, the question spooked her, scared her, it dived deep into her shatter mind, grabbing a repressed memory and forcibly yanked it out of the corner it was hiding in, the smile slowly faded from her face as tears started rolling down her cheeks. Soon, hysterical sobs begin to shook her entire frame, resonating from deep within her chest, "They! They took them away from me! They took everything away from me!" Her frenzied screams shook Alger to the very core, making his fur stand up straight up across his back, filled with rage and agony, borderlining wrath. "They kept me here they kept me here… Day after day after day after day… Saying it is for the greater good… Now I know, it is all a lie! It is all a fucking lie! I will... I will find them, and I will tear their throats out with my own claws! You.. you are one of them, aren't you? You are helping them, are you not?! Yes, yes, yes you are, You traitorous little scum… The filth of our kind!"
...Now would be a good time to run.
Alas, Alger reacted a few seconds late, just enough for the Absol to bring her front paw up, charging up a shadow claw and slashed at the Umbreon, despite Alger being nowhere near where she is, just as he was wondering what she is trying to do, he felt a breeze of wind went past him, followed by a wave of sudden sharp pain on his right shoulder and the strong metallic smell of blood, looking at where the pain originated, he saw three gashes on his shoulder, blood trickling down his front leg, tainting his fur with a hint of red, the Absol somehow managed to connect her attack without physically hitting him. His wounds heal fast, but the implication of the location of the wound means he is practically crippled in terms of mobility for a short amount of time, Claris, taking notice of her opponent's partially crippled state, began to advance towards Alger menacingly, eyes spelling out intents of murder.
"I don't like blood." She continued to mutter out her distraught grumbles, "It sticks to everything, slick and sickening, but yours, yours I can stand, the color of justice, the blood of a traitor. I shall cleanse you right off the face of this world, no one will know you ever existed, no one! Do you hear me?! No one!"
Alger stood his ground, his wounds still bleeding away, it would be some time before they are fully healed, the pain didn't bother him too much, but the inherent fear when fighting an unfamiliar opponent is, so far she has managed to connect a melee attack without coming into physical contact with him, he doesn't know what else she might be capable of, nor does he wish to find out, fighting a crazed opponent whose capabilities are unknown is inadvisable and severally disadvantages for him, but he has no other chance but to fight, he certainly cannot outrun a fully grown Absol in a wounded state, and running away would give Claris a clear view of his unprotected backside.
The Absol's steady advance soon grew into a sprint, teeth bared and charging right at Alger, seeking a fast ending to this battle, she leaped upwards when she is only a few meters away from Alger, coming down at him from above. Alger didn't move until the very last second, until her claws are mere inches from his face, he used feint attack to get around Claris and got out of the way of her attack with relative ease, causing the Absol to slam face first into the dirt as she did not expect her attack to miss. Using this as an opportunity, he charged up a Shadow Ball in front of his mouth and launched the volatile purple sphere of energy at the backside of Claris, who is still distracted trying to get the dirt out from her mouth, the energy sphere connected and exploded against her side, knocking the Absol off balance, but when the smoke cleared, it doesn't appear that the Shadow Ball has done any significant damage, the fur on Claris' body where the sphere hit are scorched and burnt, and that seems to be full extent of damage dealt by that attack.
Alger is well aware of his lackluster offensive capabilities, even for his species his attack is relatively weak, but it should have at least done something against an Absol, unless this is another aspect of her ability, damage resistance. However, the situation doesn't allow him any time to think, Claris has already gotten back onto her paws, only seem to be more enraged by his attack, "Who… Do you think you are?! How… How dare you attack me?! You! You will die! You will burn! Die!" The sickle-like growth on the side of her head begins to glow with a white energy, before she brought her head back and swung it towards Alger. Similar to last time, nothing seems to have happened, but Alger knows something is coming towards his way, a field of azure glow of rose up from the ground, surrounding the Umbreon, protecting him from any possible harm for a short while. Unsurprisingly, something invisible slammed into the Barrier walls of Protect, creating a noise sounding like something bursting due to pressure before it dissipated. Now Alger is certain that Claris is making use of something else other than her normal moves to attack him, but is it what exactly?
Displeased by the fact that Alger has managed to block her attack, Claris growled, but she did not continue to attack, knowing that the Barrier Walls created by the Umbreon will render any of her attempts useless, instead, she started circling the Azure Barrier, eyes fixed at Alger, waiting for the Barrier to drop before resuming her assault. Alger knows what she is waiting for, and he doesn't have much time before the Barrier drops, he needs to find away to fight her so that he can actually damage her.
Formulating a risky plan, he dropped the Barrier prematurely and attempted to feint out of his original position to escape a possible attack, but Claris was ready, her attack managed to catch the Umbreon, creating another cut on his side, though it did little to hider the Umbreon from running, after gaining some distance from Claris, he made a hard U-turn and charged right at her, a shadow ball forming in front of his muzzle. The surprise element was more or less there for Absol in pursuit, causing her to skidded to a stop, looking quite confused before deciding to not let this opportunity go to waste, horn glowing white with energy as she begins to charge up another attack.
He threw the Shadow Ball at Claris, who simply dashed a few inches to the side, confident that it won't hit her. However, unknown to her, Alger never intended for the Shadow Ball to hit her, he intentionally the lowered firing angles by a few degrees so that it will smash into the ground a few meters in front of her. And it did, the Shadow Ball detonated as it impacted the ground causing large amounts of dust and dirt to be hurled into the air, and some into Claris' face, practically blinding her for a few seconds, just the window of opportunity for Alger needed to get up close and personal, this time a ball of white energy forming up in front of his muzzle, seconds before it burst into a violent beam of energy, fracturing and branching into more beams as it traveled through the air. The Distortion Beam, courtesy of his look-alike.
Most of the beam failed to hit Claris head on as she sensed the large wave of energy coming at her from the side, giving her just enough time to get out of the way of majority of the beams, but some still managed to hit her, injuring her right side and hips quite severally.
Alger is breathing heavily, his whole body ached, that Distortion Beam took away too much of his energy to use, he still hasn't quite gotten used to how energy intensive it is, despite his look-alike's claims that it is very energy efficient. That Distortion Beam definitely crippled Claris for now, though judging how she is now clawing at the ground, struggling to get back up, it is only a matter of time before she is on her paws again. But now, Claris is in fact, the least of his worries, his ears picked up something else, coming from behind, they sound like… footsteps, rapid footsteps of several individuals.
Claris heard them as well, she whimpered at the sound of the distant footsteps, and begin to crawl away from Alger, seemingly wanting to run away from whoever is coming.
"Get a move on you maggots! I bet that crazy ass Absol jumped another one! No one is to die on my patrol!" Someone shouted in the distance. Turning around and looking down the road, Alger saw three individual coming past the small hill and running towards them, all dress up in some sort of armour with a similar style, the one taking the lead is a Typhlosion, holding a spear of some kind, while the two smaller Pokemon, a Nidoking and a Sandslash, are desperately trying to keep up with their overly energetic squad leader, rapidly closing in on Alger and Claris, but not before Claris made her escape as she limped her way into the forest, Alger did not try to stop her, he only stood by and watched as the Absol slowly disappeared into the thick undergrowth, vanishing from his view.
Soon the Typhlosion was in front of him, his spear by his side, kneeling down so they are of a similar eye level, Alger was correct on the fact that he is wearing some kind of armour, though most of the armour seems to have made out of wood, held together by ropes woven together by some kind of plant fibre with patches of metal here and there, most likely to provide some extra protection. There is also this insignia etched into the chest piece of his armor, resembling a circle encasing a spiral like structure with some vague rune-like symbols on the side, "Hey buddy, you alright? Tell us what happened. Did an Absol jump you?" He shook Alger a bit, eager to know what happened to him.
"...Yes, an Absol did jump me, sort of, but I managed to fight her off for now." He noticed the Typhlosion gritted his teeth at his words, a few spots of flames begin to flare up across the back of his neck, yet the ropes holding his armor together seems to be unaffected by the fire.
"That little bitch..." The Typhlosion muttered under his breath, just as his fellow teammates finally caught up with him, panting heavily, he turned around and shouted at them,"Hey, Narl! Dan! Stop standing around to do something! Narl! This Umbreon requires medical assistance now! And Dan! Stand guard just in case the bitch comes back to finish him off!"
Narl, presumably the Sandslash, saluted the Typhlosion, "Yes… Captain Nex...", she dragged her tired body closer to Alger as the Typhlosion, now know as Nex, moved past Alger with the Nidoking, most likely to be Dan, poking the bushes to see if Claris is anywhere near the group.
"Hey." Narl waved her long claws in front of Alger's face, gaining his attention, "It will be alright, you are safe with us, let me see your wounds." Alger obeyed and shifted to the left slightly, giving Narl a clear new of the cuts on his shoulder and side. "That is… some pretty deep wounds, hold still." She reached down to open a light green haversack by her side, carefully undoing the straps so that her long claws will not poke a hole in the bag, the Sandslash removed a roll of what seems to be bandages in one of her claws, possibly made with plant fibre judging how rough-looking it is, and a vial half-filled with a dark blue solution. Narl uncorked the vial, "This probably will sting, but it will help with the wound." She warned the Umbreon and poured some of the vial's content onto his wounds, it did sting a bit at first, but the pain was gradually replaced dull feeling of warmth as Narl begin to wrap the bandages around his exposed wounds.
"There we go! Now, move a bit tell me if any of the bandages feels uncomfortable and might restrict your actions." Narl then moved back a bit, giving Alger some more space, putting away the sealed vial and left over bandages back into her pack.
Alger took a few experimental steps, his wound still radiate pain if he moves, but nothing he cannot handle, other than that, that bandages doesn't seem to restrict his movements that much, "...I think everything is fine, thank you for addressing my wounds."
Narl was about to reply, but she was interpreted by Nex, with a look of anger and irritation, "Narl! How is the Umbreon doing? Does he need extensive medical care?"
"Uh… No Captain, he is fine, I treated his wounds with some oran berry extracts and covered them with bandages, any luck on finding that Absol?"
"Well if we found her we won't be standing here doing nothing won't we?" He stomped the ground with his spear, "I swear to Arceus that when I finally get my hands on her, I will make sure she can't stand for a whole month before and toss her into jail!"
"Hey Cap, relax a bit will cha'?" Dan doesn't seem to be bothered by this incident a whole lot, "If we did manage to get to her, by one in a million chance, we're the ones gettin' messed up, not her, have you not heard about Team Honor? I heard they got real messed up when they tried to go after her, ya' know? I think the leader is still in bed."
"That is because she got lucky and stole the blessing of a Shrine right under our noses! Do you have an idea how rare those are? Not to mention the fact that decent Interpreters are in low supply!"
All of this chatter only served to raise more questions in Alger's mind, there is still a lot of things to learn about this world, "...Judging by what you two are talking about, is it safe to assume that this Absol has been assaulting people for quite some time?"
"Oh yea, tell me all about it," Dan said, looking down at the Umbreon, "She just appeared out of nowhere one day, barking mad already, though there have been talks about seeing her with another Pokemon back in Central Guild sometime before, pretty sure they are all rumours though. Randomly, she would just suddenly appear somewhere along Route 76, and starting talking to any messagers or travelers she can find, and it is always about the same topics according to the survivors, about her nonexistent family, claiming that she is fine, comments about the targets' fur's conditions before she gets enraged and attack. Crazy as you can get."
"That was all and interesting, thank you Dan for all the useless exposition," Nex came up and pushed Dan to the side, eyes narrowing on Alger, "But now I believe I have some questions for our furred friend over here. Who are you? And why are you doing so close to the border? There have been reports about Tristian Spies' attempting to infiltrate the border, state your name and business now before I decide to pound your face into the ground and take you to the Outpost."
...The current situation certainly got a lot more interesting.
Alger doesn't know what to say, he has no knowledge of what Tristian even is, not to mention the border and the political climate this world he is in, he doubt that anyone here would believe him if he told the truth, and will probably worsen his current situation, he can't lie either, since he got nothing to build his lies from. "...My name is...Alger, I think, but before I answer your question, would you please explain to me what Tristian is?" Alger replied, hoping the plan he has in mind will work.
The trio looked slightly surprised at Alger's response, Nex was the first to respond, the flames around his neck flared up again, "Do you think that I am some kind of idiot you furball? I ain't got times for your games, answer the question before I decide to put you out of commission right here right now! What are you doing here?"
Alger kept his calm composure, "...Sir, as much as I would like to answer your question, but I really do not know what Tristian is, nor do I… really recall what I was doing and where I was headed, I just…" He closed his eyes, faking a pained expression, "...I just… ugh, remember waking up at the bottom of a tree with a pounding headache, walking down that path in a haze for a long time and fighting that Absol. I don't… remember, I don't remember? I don't remember! I don't remember who I am!" He tried to fake the panic and fear in his voice while trotting around in circles with a look of shock and desperation on his face, muttering "Who am I." in a low voice, over and over again, hoping that they will but into his acting.
Narl seemed to believe him, she rushed into his path, making the Umbreon bump into her, stopping his fake panic-induced trance, forcing him to look into her eyes, "Listen, Listen! Calm down, you name is Alger, right? You might be experiencing something called a concussion, a condition that might occur if someone receives a direct and sudden blow to their head, which might result in conditions like memory loss, most of the time it is only temporary, it might be hard for you to deal with it now, but please believe me, your memories will return, it is only a matter of time." Alger only stared at her with a surprised expression, giving a slight nod in response.
Nex however, was less inclined to believe him, raising his spear and pointing at Alger, he spoke with doubt and hostility, "Concussion my ass… Whatever that is, Recruit Narl, I would request you to remove yourself from this filth, and allow me to handle him, the way it should have been done in the first place."
"No," She refused, turning around to face her Captain that dwarfed her, undaunted by his demand, "We don't know if he is a Spy or not, he might even be just a Bastian citizen who got lost! You cannot execute someone just because you think they are lying!"
"How you do know he is not lying?"
"How do you know he is lying then?"
"The point is, you cannot trust someone just because they claim they lost their memory!"
"No, the point is, you cannot kill someone just because you think they are suspicious without any sufficient proof or asking our commanders."
"Are you defying my orders Recruit Narl?"
"No, I am doing the right thing to prevent you from breaking the law."
"..."
They argued on, neither side willing to back down and accept the other side's point. Alger turned his attention to Dan, the Nidoking, expecting him to join in the argument as well at the rate it is heating up, but Dan seem to have no plans of contributing to the argument, he simply sat down, twiddling around with the various components on his armor. "...Shouldn't you do something about this? They are your friends after all, right?" Alger asked, curious why he chose to stand aside.
"Who? What? Me? Oh, don't mind me, I am just here for the ration, whatever happened between those two is none of my concern." Dan scratched his chin, staring blankly into the distance, "There is no reason for all this fuzz over someone who might be from the Tristia region, no one wants this hostility to continue."
Alger wished to inquire a bit further in detail of what he is talking about, but he was cut off by the enraged shouting coming from Nex as he smashed his spear against the ground, "Agh fuck it! Recruit Narl, you will get to bring your precious little friend to the Outpost, but if anything goes wrong, you will take full responsibility, do I make myself clear?!"
"Yes Captain."
"Good." Picking up his spear from the ground, he mentioned the group to follow him down the path, "Get a move on, we are already running late on schedule, and one of you better find a way to present our furred friend over here that you are so insisting on keeping alive in a likable manner so the commander won't have his head."
"The Patrol party has arrived! Let them in!"
The wooden gates of the Outpost creaked open, inviting the group into the encampment, Nex moved forward to converse with the two guards that opened the gate for them while the rest of the group remained where they were, Alger noticed the guards, a Heracross and a Mightyena respectively, are wearing similarly style armour as the ones Nex, Dan and Narl are wearing, with slight variations so it can fit their body shape.
This Outpost is nothing special in terms of architecture, as he have noticed, even lacking at times, it is merely an area that is encircled by a ring of ditches and sharpened logs lodged firmly into the ground, with a few wooden watchtowers scattered around the encampment, it can definitely withstand and repel minor attacks, but it will surely crumble under a force with sufficient numbers.
The Heracross nodded and muttered something to Nex before he returned to the group, looking satisfied with the conversation he just had, "You are in luck today, Alger, is it? The Commander is here, that means we don't have to toss you into a cell until he returns. And don't even think about trying anything, all you can do, is shut your mouth and follow me, understood? Good." Diverting his attention from the Umbreon, Nex called out to the Nidoking leaning against the Outpost walls, looking uncaring about their interactions, "Hey Dan! You're dismissed for now, me and Narl will handle things from now on, return to the gate by tomorrow morning, we'll head back to camp tomorrow." The Nidoking gave a slight nod and left the group without another word, "Pacifistic Bastard..." The Typhlosion muttered under his breath, gritting his teeth as Dan's figure disappear around the corner of rolls of tents, erected from the ground in neat, tidy rows.
Turning around, he found that Alger and Narl are all staring at him, perhaps the remark that he made was a little bit too loud, his face flashed with a taint of red due to embarrassment, but that quickly turned into anger and irritation as flames being to flare up around his neck again, "What are you two looking at?! Narl! Aren't you suppose to being this Umbreon the Commander? You know where his tent is! Stop standing around and do something, or the Commander wil-"
"I will do what? Captain Nex?"
The flames around his neck instantly died down as he sprung around to greet the newcomer with a salute, "Comm- Commander Hector! Sir! I- I did not expect to you to b- be here, Sir!"
The Commander, evidently a Lucario, nodded in response, with his paws clasped behind his back, Alger noted the armour he is wearing is obviously of better quality than the ones he saw all the guards and soldiers are wearing, made out of a clear white metal held together by rivets, covering most of his torso, legs and arms, leaving an opening for his chest spike. The same symbol found on Nex's chest piece is also etched into the shoulder pads of his armor, which Alger presumed to be the symbol of this, if not all armed forces in this region.
"Where else would you expect me to be? Captain Nex?" The Lucario spoke in a calm tone, his silvery eyes giving a glare that made Nex shudder involuntarily, scanning through the trio in front of him, eventually stopping on the unfamiliar Umbreon in the middle, "...And what is the meaning of all this… commotion at the gates?"
"Sir, we just arrived and I was expecting you to be in your tent, please forgive my rudeness!" Nex apologized, with evident fear in his voice.
"Be wary of your surroundings, Captain Nex, you never know who is listening." Commander Hector seems to be letting Nex off the hook this time, "But, please explain to me why have you brought an Umbreon, who obvious not a military personnel, into a military complex?" He inquired, narrowing his eyes on Alger, who met his gaze head on, undaunted.
"Well Sir, you see, as we are continuing our patrol along Route 76, we encounter this Umbreon fighting off an Absol that has been jumping messengers and military personnel along that route for quite some time, Recruit Narl here patched him up as I questioned what he is doing so close to the border. The Umbreon claimed he has lost his memory and rejected the accusations of being a spy, insisting that he doesn't remember anything besides his name and waking up under a tree with a headache. And after a… debate between Recruit Narl and I on what we should do with him, we agreed it is better to let the Commander decide, hence why he is here."
"I see..." Commander Hector nodded in acknowledgment, "Recruit Narl, was Captain Nex's recitation of the event accurate?"
The Sandslash's grip around her haversack tightened as the sharp, brown quills that are on her back flattened against her, "Ye-Yes… Commander Hector, what Captain Nex said was… true..."
"Good, just verifying, that is all." The Jackal replied, turning his attention back onto Alger, who is still watching all of this silence, "Captain Nex, have you searched the pouches on his side? If you haven't, now would be a good time to do it."
"Uhh, no, Sir. Right away." Nex stepped up to him and ripped the pouches clean off the Umbreon in one swoop, earning a surprised yelp from the Umbreon, dumping its contents on the ground. A couple of notebooks with a plain cover fell onto the ground, followed by some berries and a couple of ripped pages, the notebooks immediately caught the attention of the Typhlosion as he tossed the now empty pouches back to Alger, "Now what do we have here?" He bent over and picked up one of the notebooks from the ground, flipping it open, only to stare at it with a blank look, "Uh… I can't read most of this… Commander Hector? If you may? I am not very well educated."
"Of course." The Lucario accepted the open notebook with one of his paws, he skimmed through a few lines as a look of slight astonishment went across his face, "This certainly makes things… a bit more interesting." Closing the notebook with one paw, he eyed Alger again, if this Umbreon is indeed what he thinks he is, then he is in luck today. "Mister…?" He paused, handing the notebook back to Nex.
"...Alger"
"Mister Alger, do you recall anything related to the word Interpreter?"
Alger shook his head, "...As I said a million times before, I do not remember anything besides my name and where I woke up, I do recall Captain Nex here mentioning something like that when we first encountered."
"Hmm..." Commander Hector rubbed his chin, the memory loss can cause some problems, but this Umbreon might just be useful, he just need to verify his guess, and he knows the perfect way to do so. "Recruit Narl, would you mind heading to the Command Post and bring the stone tablet we unearthed from the Ruined Shrine not far from this Outpost a few month ago? Remember to bring the transcript along as well."
"Yes...Sir..." Narl saluted the Commander before dashing off into the encampment. It was quite a few minutes before she came rushing back, panting and carrying a small, black slate of stone and a scroll between her long claws.
"Your service is much appreciated, Recruit Narl." Hector looked down at the panting Sandslash and plucked the scrolls from between her claws, opening it in front of him. "Now, Mister Alger, if you may, try your best to see if you can read the writing on this tablet, and tell me what you can understand."
Alger, feeling a bit dubious about the Lucario's request, moved forward to look at the tablet a bit more closely. Its surface is surely not very well polished, rough and uninteresting, giving out a dull hue under the sunlight, but every inch of the surface is covered with symbols carved into the stone, most of them do not make any sense to him, but there are a few lines here and there that he do recognize, albeit written in a very strange font.
"...I think I read: ''Raise', 'Trapped', 'Conflicted', 'Freeing something from imprisonment,' and 'Blessed'. Is any of that correct?"
Hector nodded and retracted the scroll back into its original rolled up position, a mischievous look appeared in his eye, "Well, it seems like the problem here is solved. Sabel!" He suddenly called out into the air, some seconds later, the group saw something wrapping its short, purple claws around Hector's ankle, poking its head from behind the Lucario, revealing its large, gym stone like eyes, a Sableye. "Yesss?" The Sableye whispered, looking up, "Commander Hector? What do you need from old Sabel?"
"Oh, nothing major, I just wish to confirm that we have received a report about a missing Interpreter Apprentice yesterday." The Lucario said with a flat tone, handing the scroll back to Narl, who was surprised by what he said, in fact, everyone is, even Sabel himself.
"We… we do?" Sabel was puzzled by Hector's seemingly nonsensical inquiry, he was about to ask if he had misremembered something, but the look the Lucario had in his eyes made him change his mind, "Uhmm…. I mean, we do! Old Sabel remembers that report!"
"Excellent! The name of the missing apprentice?"
"It is Alger, Sir."
"Species?"
"An Umbreon, Sir."
"Appearance?"
"Exactly like the one before us, Sir."
"Time and location is disappearance?"
"Yesterday, along Route 76, Sir."
"Then, Mister Alger, I must apologize for our troop's disrespectful actions towards your property and yourself. Please, do not take any of this personally, in these times, one can't be too careful. Captain Nex, you will be escorting Mister Alger back to the Interpreter Academy in the Centre Guild tomorrow, I will be sending a message to Centre to inform that their… lost cadet has been found. Any objections?"
"Yes, Sir, actually, quite a few." The Typhlosion stepped up towards Hector, trying his best to prevent himself from blowing up at his Commander, "I don't know what you are trying to do here, Sir, but that Umbreon is not an Interpreter, he has to be a spy! He needs to be locked up a-"
The Lucario moved faster than anyone here expected, appearing in front of Nex in what seems to be an instant and decked him right across the left side of his face, knocking the pained Typhlosion onto the ground.
Hector, standing over the fallen Captain, paws still raised in the air, "Captain Nex, are you questioning my judgment and decisions?"
"Ugh… No Sir… I was merely being cautious..." Nex coughed, still trying to recover from that sudden and forceful blow.
"Very well then, my decision remains unchanged, your squad will escort Mister Alger to Centre Guild tomorrow morning, and if anything happens to him, I will have your head. Do I make myself clear?"
Nex's eyes seemed to glimmer with a baleful rage, but his expression remained as unchanged as he replied,
"Yes, Sir."