"No matter what happens," Upright told himself. "Things are going to be great here. You know it."
He took a few steps away from the window. From the tenth floor, right near the top, he could see so much more of the Outside, far more than he did with Doggy on the ridge. If he went all the way to the left of the window, pressed his cheek to the glass, he could see the ridges leading up to Cutter's Alley – where he witnessed the green dragon Rayquaza for the first time.
With this view of the Outside, a seemingly endless expanse stopped short by a great mountain whose peak stood level to the tower, his heart yearned for the chance to set out. Forests, lakes, caverns, valleys… from the tower they looked like emeralds, diamonds, sapphires, rich in color, always rich, no matter how long his eyes were given to adjust.
A host of clouds floated down over the window, blocking out the view. Upright turned around to find Marker close by.
"Oh," Upright squeaked, a little startled. He wanted to be Outside so badly, he felt embarrassed despite having done nothing but stare out the window. "You're up early, too." Maybe it wasn't early – but he assumed a place like the Initiative would order them down when it needed them.
The poochyena closed in on him. "Doggy told me everything," he said. "I didn't understand most of it."
Upright laughed. "Don't worry about it. Let's just be the best adventurers we can, okay?"
Marker wagged his tail. "I can't wait to be in a pack with you."
"Me neither. Have you given any though about the other tasks? Or do you still want to be an underdog?"
"I have come to realize about every other task," Marker said adamantly, "that they are not things I wish to do. Although I do like to spread 'cheer.' The little blue one is choosing that, though, and every hair on me says to avoid him. For he is annoying."
Upright sighed. "That's fair enough. Well, maybe you can let me borrow your confidence. I have no idea- Gah!"
Upright caught the movement of a blue shape in the corner of his eye. Except it hadn't been moving, or even shifting around in place – it felt as though this pokémon was there the entire time Upright was contemplating the view. Watching… or waiting for a chance to get at the window it was eagerly eyeing.
The snappish reptile waddled up a few steps. It didn't make a peep, save for the scattering of its toe-claws.
"Hi?" Upright tried.
No response.
"You are very stealthy," Marker said. "You would make a good hunter."
The compliment had no affect on the crocodile. That jaw, Upright thought, it's just… wow. Huge. It occurred to him that this must be Hard-day, the creature that tried to take Pep as a main course. Anything able to do that, let alone stomach doing that, likely had a screw loose.
Hard-day waddled with new purpose. Upright scrambled out of his way like he would for a tumbling boulder.
But his focus seemed to be on the latch of the window. Hard-day stretched up to reach it. His claw-tips scratched the brass latch, but it was futile.
As much as the idea of opening the window churned his guts, Upright volunteered his tallness to the effort. "E-Excuse me, I can get it." With a small grunt of effort he wrenched the thing open, then carefully, carefully, he pushed it open a crack.
A pink muzzle popped into the crack. For the second time that morning, Upright yowled and nearly fell to the ground.
"Pep!" He exclaimed.
The sylveon dashed in. She shook her pelt free of dust, and crouched down awkwardly.
"Thank you very much," she said to Hard-day. The gator wagged his tail ever so slightly. "And you too, Upright."
The quilava pointed to the window, dumbfounded. "What were you doing-"
"No questions," she pleaded. Then her and her accomplice fled down the stairs. "See you at the mess hall!"
Marker let them slip by, curiosity making his tail stiff. He started to stalk towards the window – which now hung open, letting in a breeze Upright could only describe as delicious. "I wonder what is out there," the poochyena said.
Upright slammed the window shut. "Let's find out another time. Pep mentioned the mess hall. We should get going."
"Yeah. Everyone left ten minutes ago," Marker said.
They turned tail for the stairs, with Upright stealing a last glance at the window.
"Next time," he recommended, "lead with that."
~~~VII~~~
"Like I said, I have no idea." Upright scratched his head. "I mean, maybe she weaned a favor out of him. I'd be feeling guilty too, if I bit someone like that."
He wanted to say more, but the mess hall oppressed him with its sheer volume of pokémon. There was nothing quite like a chorus of smacks and chomps made by scores of creatures, some with a row of teeth behind their row of teeth. Doggy seemed nonchalant, except for whenever a full-fledged adventurer passed by their table for a look. In fact, he took a chance to complain about it again rather than conspire with Upright.
"Why did they corral us to this corner?" Doggy asked. "Shouldn't we be getting to know our fellow adventurers?"
In other words, you're angry because our custodian told us we'll be served last. Of course, Upright didn't dare say that out loud. "Maybe it's better to know our fellow applicants. What I'm doing now."
"The best way to know someone is to ask," Doggy muttered. "Go ask them if you're so tied up about it."
In a flash of spuriousness, Upright stuck his tongue out. Their custodian, watching over them like a hawk, just started to turn over when the quilava covered the expression with his cup. "Pah to you too! I'd like to see you ask that totodile anything..." he nearly choked on his water – all they'd been allowed to get yet. Luckily, his table was too busy fuming about the food situation to notice.
"Doggy," he whispered, leaning in.
The growlithe turned an ear in. "What?"
"I knew Hard-day's species. No one told me what it was."
"...Was that a problem for you?"
He almost became miffed again, but he realized that it was a problem he kept secret. If pokémon were a smidgen less self-referential, it would have been a serious issue. As it stood, he had made a fine job of improvising. "Not anymore."
Doggy nodded studiously. "I see. Most pokémon are born knowing their species. I just assumed you did."
Upright smiled, a bit giddy to know that he was adjusting, learning, even while he slept. He had a real shot at this.
"Perfect. Now keep that smile on your face," Doggy told him.
"Huh?"
"To everyone else, you sort of flipped out on Tahtib, came back to the dorms and then slept without hardly saying a word to anyone. Also, you look more intimidating every time you wake up. No offense, Upright, but a lot of pokémon asked me if you were a hard-ass or something. So you can do with a smile."
A hard-ass? Never, ever… out of the many ways he'd choose to describe himself, that sat at dead last. "I had no idea," he said. "What should I do?"
"Pardon me, young ones!" Roxxie cried. The small commander bounded onto the table. Leaving his question without an answer put a nasty itch in the back of Upright's head. "It's time for you to receive instruction."
Upright looked around for the other commanders, curious if they schlepped the duties onto one pokémon – like they had with the announcements at orientation. He spotted Tairé, balancing an apple on his nose to entertain a group of adventurers. Though they all looked fairly grizzled, they found it amusing enough to applaud. And he spotted Khridoli. The look on his face made it obvious: he hadn't spoken a word since yesterday.
"We haven't provided you with very much information," Roxxie said. "Do not worry – this is for a good reason! At the Initiative, we want to cultivate every sort of adventurer. If we do not allow you to foster yourselves, how can we expect you to be effective when you go Outside?"
The applicants nodded amongst themselves, though there were outliers – Acker and Barley looked like they could use directions. Please Arceus, Upright prayed, at least tell us how to get started.
Roxxie failed to contain a giggle. "You won't see many adventurers the next two weeks. After orientation, we send those stinkers out on vacation. Sayonara! Take this time to visit those commanders that requested you, meet intermediaries who interest you, and sign up for courses." She waddled around, standing right in front of Acker. "I might even recommend you all go in this order..." the mudkip smiled and wagged back at her.
"Golly," Doggy whispered to Upright. "I wonder who she finds very interesting."
Roxxie then tried to charm Pep. The sylveon gave a fairly catty reply, licking at her paw and pretending the musharna meant to address someone else. The commander frowned.
"Well then… the entire Initiative is open to you. Including-" Roxxie became real sly – "breakfast."
That the crowd of rookies became disorderly would be a disservice. Upright found himself inches away from being a stepping mat. Even Doggy, though he apologized, tried to pounce over him. He couldn't leap clear over the tall quilava, and they both ended up on the ground in a confused pile.
"Hungry?" Upright hissed at the growlithe.
"A little. Get offa' me, I'll die if I don't eat within the next five seconds! Strider's curse," he added, as if it needed legitimizing.
Marker bounded around them, well on his way to food, glorious food. "Five," he counted. "Four..."
Doggy untangled from Upright and clamped down on the poochyena's tail. "I can survive on these mutt-on chops!"
Instead of replying with a nip of his own, Marker snarled. "What was that? You called me a mutt, yet..."
Upright already knew how this conversation went. He headed over to the table at the front of the mess hall. If he knew about the buffet arrangement of pork sausage, fresh mango and eggs, he wouldn't have worried so much about the smell yesterday. His nose twitched appreciatively.
The three ate in silence, as did everyone else. They made unsure plans about their days, silent plans, and secretly hoped to be invited along by someone else.
After finishing a smaller portion, Pep became the first to ask. She slid on over, next to Hard-day, and those busy eating turned their attention. If she asked for a tag-along, it would make Upright feel safer on doing the same. He realized that Pep, whether by some product of last night or through her candor, had become quite popular.
"Hey," she said to Hard-day. The totodile exited his eating match with Marker – no grievances were had, since the poochyena was losing hard. "Want to see commander Sooth with me? It will be nice of us to spare her two different visits."
Hard-day started to tip the rest of his food into his maw.
"We should hurry, too. We can spare the other applicants the wait!"
Hard-day wrapped his jaw around the ceramic plate and started chew on that, too. He sprung up and they left with him still chewing away.
Then it became a neat affair. Those with similar interested introduced themselves a second time, running off the moment they could. I went to sleep too early, Upright lamented. I have no idea who… wait a minute.
Upright spotted the sableye from yesterday: Maxim was his name. The dark form stabbed the pork sausage with a claw, contemplating the way it sank in. Maybe Regal made a mistake with me. I can still go with him, though.
"Hey," Upright said to Doggy, "I'm heading out." There was urgency in his voice: he didn't want the sableye to leave alone.
Doggy rose up himself. The breloom waved at him. "Me, too. Hopefully commander Tairé loves his unlisted enough that he won't lose sleep over me. This pup rides solo. Good luck, pal!"
"You too." Upright sprung into action, creeping over toward his fellow unlisted. The sableye caught on to his presence right away, giving him a sultry look – how do you even emote with diamond-eyes, Upright wondered. Maybe the way Maxim's eyes dulled...
"May I help you?" Maxim asked.
"Hi!" Upright squeaked. "A-Ah. Hello. Want to visit commander Regal with me? I remember you mentioning-"
"I've visited her."
It was awful news. "Oh," Upright sighed. "That's good. H-How'd it go?"
Maxim basked in their sullen moods. "I thought Regal and I similar in disposition. She made me realize that I am… immature."
Regal… told off her own unlisted?! An apology was the most he could muster for Maxim's situation. "Sorry," he said.
"Do not be. I have discovered the benefits of being a 'toolkit.' You can construct plenty of clever traps. Oh, Austere showed me some..."
Upright tried to ignore yet another opportunity die. Still. Maybe I should clear things up right away. To bring a pokémon all the way here, just to basically disown them. Khridoli let me know his rating of me beforehand. It's cruel, to say the least, to drop this one an unsuspecting rookie.
Maxim gave him one last, sardonic grin. "If you go further than I, tell me of what comes next."
"I will," Upright said. "Thought I'm sure she is mistaken."
"She was with me," Maxim said. Despite the strange gumption, it only made it easier to see the sableye's wounded pride. "She resides on the fourth floor of the vocations tower. This would be to the right of the mess hall we are in. Enjoy yourself."
Upright nodded sickly. "Thank you."
~~~VII~~~
"Fourth floor," Upright repeated to himself. "In the vocations tower." He closed his eyes, double-checking his route. There was only this tower directly to the right of the mess hall. The tower of vocations had ten floors, much like the dorms, each room occupied by a higher-up. Except for the first floor: the Master Adventurer resided therein.
Rooms one through three all had clear labels for their commanders. Yet the stock of white fur on the door of the fourth took Upright a moment to recognize. He sniffed at it – definitely Regal's fur, judging by color. In a way, the fur almost looked like a calling sign. It intimidated him slightly, adding on to the prospect of meeting Regal, which intimidated him intensely.
Come on, he silently willed. Super easy. 'I think you put the wrong rating.' 'Oops, sorry Upright, thanks for coming in.' 'By the way, Regal, do you know how to quit being a hard-ass…
Nowhere was safe from his constant doubting. Oh, I also fought her son. Guess it slipped my mind.
Before his mind could object, he lunged at the door. He thudded rather than knocked on the fine wood.
"I am pleasantly surprised," commander Regal sang. "I did not expect such an early visit. Do come in."
Did we meet at orientation? How does she know it's me?
Upright slowly trudged into the office. It smelt of lilac, yet not at a nose-searing intensity. There was a single round table with neat, organized stacks of paper. Commander Regal stepped around the desk the moment he came in. The mienshao's two scarves, a hundred-fold more graceful than Amory's, ran over the papers as she moved in. The scarves didn't displace a single sheet.
"How are you, Upright?" She asked.
"G-Good. I came by to clear up something."
The mienshao's smile faltered. "Whatever do you mean?"
"You put me as very interested. I was thinking, that must be-"
"If I have been expecting you, it must not be a mistake." Commander Regal was closer than a moment ago. He racked his brains, trying to remember when she took a step forward.
Upright also couldn't figure out her meaning. "Wait. So you actually want me to be an infiltrator?"
She nodded. "I actually do. In fact... I am so, so sure. Would you be willing to take a free lesson from me?"
"What?"
"In this room. A class! One from my Building Tolerance course, one of the essentials for infiltration. I am afraid it is a task that places you under a certain kind of duress. It is incomparable to other tasks, and requires special preparation."
A class?! This is good. More good luck. Everyone will want to know what it's like to take a class. A class from a commander, nonetheless. Commander Regal read the pleased look on his face, and she drank it in eagerly.
"I see a 'yes' on that cute little muzzle," Regal cooed.
"I-I'm not sure if I make a good infiltrator," he admitted. "But I'd really like any help I can get."
"Okay. This class involves one simple exercise. Applied differently each class, it conditions you for situations in the Outside. Lay on your stomach, please."
Upright followed obediently, placing himself on the carpeted floor. Regal strolled forward and laid a paw on his back. She was so calm, calculating, Upright imagined her courses as different forms of meditation. A way to expel stress from the body, build tolerances to it – Arceus himself couldn't offer better.
She rubbed his back, the rhythm of each rub sending him into a stupor. Breathing instructions would come any moment now. She moved on to his arms, massaging them.
But he felt suspicious. Something felt… off. He should ask her to stop.
No. You can't afford to leave a stone unturned. Do you want to end up all bummed like Maxim?
"Are you sure?" Regal asked. Her voice had grown heavy, her paws came to a stop at his left arm. "There is no easy class at the Initiative, love."
Upright closed his eyes, sighing. "Yes, I'm sure..."
Commander Regal wrenched his arm up, breaking it at the shoulder.
It took a moment. It really did. As if he was ascertaining the meaning behind an awful joke.
Then it came in a gigantic wave: pains, enough to make him nauseous.
He howled, kicking his legs out furiously in the hopes of kicking Regal, then continued because the gyrating distracted him from the pain. Upright lost control of his voice. He barked, howled, unable to contain it.
How does this hurt worse than fighting Tahtib? How does it, how does…
Regal. I hurt her son. Revenge. Get out.
The mienshao blocked the door.
Take cover? Cover.
He used his good arm to climb back up to two legs. It was impossible to keep his arm from flopping – the instant he tried to move, a bit of vomit rose up in his maw. Still, he sprinted over to the desk, throwing himself over the top. Like Doggy had done in the mess hall, he clipped the top with purpose, bring it down in front of him.
Covered.
He curled up into a ball, an intense heat bloomed across his back.
Commander Regal hummed to herself. "Oh, interesting. I am coming round to get you."
"Stay away!" Upright shrieked. "Stay away from me!"
"What are you going to do?"
"Blow everything up." To prove it, he jetted his flames, high enough for her to see over the desk.
She tittered. "You think a bit of flame will stop me? It didn't stop my son."
It is revenge!
"I'll make sure all these papers get burned!" Upright screamed. "And I hope it's a real inconvenience!"
Commander Regal laughed. "Oh, my. You might not be another write-off. My mate, hm, what a wonderful creature. He has an uncanny talent for bringing in the interesting ones."
Keeping his flames primed for so long had made him tired. "Go away..." his arm still throbbed painfully, yet it had the odd effect of lulling him towards sleep.
"You have such a gorgeous temperament. So reticent, until attacked. Viciousness does best coiled in a gentle spring."
"Hurt… a little," Upright huffed. He reached his limit – if Regal wanted to do something, she owned the advantage for it.
"This class is over," Regal said. "I hope the next time your arm breaks, you are more inclined to reason."
Build tolerance. "Sorry," he muttered. "Can I go now?"
She chuckled. "And like the tide, it rolls back again in a matter of moments. Do I have permission to tend to your arm?" Regal asked, even so there was no chance the dazed creature sparked a flame.
"Okay."
While she was securing his arm in thick linen, a burly voice interrupted their interaction. "Wait right here, kits," it said. The voice belonged to Khridoli. He must have gathered those who interested him, for a discussion inside his office.
He busted into the room after taking a few sniffs of the air. Several rookies poked their heads in, too curious to listen well to the commander. "Regal," he growled. "Please tell me this is the product of some accident, and not some 'test.'" Upright whined and covered his head with his good paw.
No, don't let them see me like this. Arceus knows what they'll make of it… nowhere to hide.
"I offered him a class," Regal replied. "Building Tolerance."
The rookies began to talk among themselves.
"He asked for this?" A dunsparce asked.
"Who asks for such a thing?" another applicant chimed in.
"He looks real feral. Marker, is your friend crazy?"
The poochyena peeked in farther than the other applicants. From the looks of things, he was already fitting in well among the group. "No," he guessed, slightly confused by the scene. "Upright is very timid." None of them seemed to believe the poochyena. And, to salt this growing wound, Tahtib appeared out of the woodwork – of course his father was interested in seeing him become an underdog – to provide some choice words on the situation.
He played innocent in front of the small crowd. "Wow, dad. Mom really does know how to pick out the crazy ones."
"Quiet, son," Khridoli growled.
"He won't be trying to help me 'build tolerance' when I am asleep at night, right?"
Upright, worse for wear in the wits department, decided it was a good idea to open his maw at the punitive brat. Tahtib fell into a defensive stance, yet raised his arms instinctively to protect his face. Somehow, like he knew to go behind the desk, Upright understood it as a sign of weakness.
"Yeah, there you go. Throw those paws up," Upright spat. "Like it'll help you."
"What is your problem?!" Tahtib asked, feigning shock. The other applicants shrank away from the doorway, and Khridoli rushed in. He began to usher Upright from the room, arguing with his mate all the while.
"Every year," Khridoli groaned, "you injure my unlisted. Can't you break your own unlisteds' arms? Or create a better test?"
"Mine never let me break their arms," Regal whined. "I asked him if he wanted to stop. It was all very consensual."
No… don't tell them I let you do it! Upright wanted to scream. I didn't know you would hurt me… except I did know. There was every opportunity to quit – the animal in him saw the surprise coming from a mile away, yet another part of him, the part desperate to be think things through, said why not?
"We will talk about this later," the pangoro said, growing haughty. "In our room."
"I love it when you get angry! Show me those fangs of yours, big guy." The rookies giggled – it was cut short as Khridoli's paw pushed Upright past them, and they all got a good look at the frazzled creature.
His reputation swirled down the drain in mere moments. No one would ever want to be caught alone with him after this, after learning how he decided it would be a good idea to let commander Regal take hold of his arm. As a silver lining: he performed well. What doing well meant for the future eluded hin.
Great work 'turning over the stone,' Upright. Real smart, considering you had no intention of becoming an infiltrator in the first place. Marker gave him a sympathetic head-tilt as the quilava went on to find another prospect to ruin. One thing was for sure: his perspective of the Initiative shifted once again, and Upright no longer felt things would end nicely. I want Amory, he concluded sullenly. I just want to be a researcher already.
He wandered down the steps aimlessly, wondering if he might leave the Initiative for a visit to the R&D warehouse.
