Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. They belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. The songs I reference here belong to their respective artists as well. With that out of the way, please enjoy this piece of fanfiction.

The SSG Avira-Genesis's largest known frigate

At the control bridge, a crew of dedicated Beheeyem in Genesis uniform were steering the helm, using nothing but their own minds and numerous holographic screens in front of them. Due to the unusual method of controlling the ship, the bridge was near silence. Suddenly, one Beheeyem pilot "disconnected" from the system and turned his head around.

'Sir, our systems have just detected an anomaly. It appears to have a massive energy signature.' He said.

A Hypno wearing aviation captain attire approach him and responded. 'That's strange. Which nation does that vessel belong to?' The captain then had a closer look at the screen in front of the Beheeyem.

'We don't know sir. The signature doesn't seem to match any known aircraft.'

'Have you tried contacting them?'

'Yes, via codes, sir. It looks like they can receive our transmission, but for some reason didn't respond or send any IFF.'

'In that case then let me try speaking directly to them.' The captain summoned a headset comm device with his fabricator. The Beheeyem, with his telepathy, gave out a new command to the system and connected it to the captain's device. The Hypno adjusted a few controls, cleared his throat and spoke. 'Unknown vessel. This is captain Ronus from the SSG Avira of the Genesis Corporation. You are in currently our flight path. Please identify yourself and give us permission to pass.' He and the crew waited. After a few seconds, no answer was received. The captain repeated the message and achieved the same result.

'What should we do sir?' The same Beheeyem asked.

'Do not take any risk, go around it. How is our fuel situation?'

The Beheeyem connected his mind to another part of the system. He responded a second later. 'We should have enough fuel for that, sir.'

'Good, then proceed to take the alternate route.' The captain pointed forward.

'Sir, yes sir!' All the pilots said in unison.

As the Beheeyem crew about to change the course, a siren went off, blaring with hostility. A few other Beheeyem looked at the numerous new dots on their screens reported.

'Sir, there are multiple smaller energy signatures emerged from the unknown vessel. They are approaching us and appearing to be hostile.'

'Yes. I'm aware of that.' The captain put his hand around his chin, thinking. 'You said they can receive our signals, correct?'

'Affirmative, sir!'

'Good. If that is the case.' He put both hands behind his back and announced. 'Commence protocol B23.'

'Sir, yes sir!' The crew said before activating a new series of holographic interfaces.

While everyone was working on his request, captain Ronus found his seat in the center of the room and activated the communicator once more. This time he dialed someone else. 'Mr. Lucious, we have a little problem.'

(The song "Do the evolution" by Pearl Jam begins to play)

Chesterization proudly presents.

A Pokémon fanfiction

Genesis

(Song ends)

Chapter 12: A long flight

At the starboard side of the frigate, Catherine was sitting and sleeping on a metal bench. Her left fist supported the head, successfully stopped a large amount of drool from falling out of her mouth. Both of her legs spread slightly and her right arm rested on her thigh. On the floor, between her feet, was a half-opened book with strange symbols marked on the leather cover. The Pokémon, agents and workers alike had given her pose a weird look and commented, "That is not very lady-like". Catherine had anticipated that kind of respond and said "the hell with being lady-like", before settling on this bench.

When Catherine's fist was tired of supporting her head, it struck her with a painful sensation. The pain ran across her arm with the speed of a thought and woke her up immediately. Her head sprang up and reflex stretched her left arm. 'Oh shit! It's happening. Shit, shit!' She exclaimed as the blood started flowing back in her numb hand. The pain transformed into something worse a second later. 'Damnit!' A whisper curse as her fingers started twitching on their own. Catherine then folded and stretched out her arm. She kept doing so until the unpleasant feeling stopped. When it did, a sense of relief and satisfaction took over. Despite experienced this "situation" during her time in the Outland many times before, there was still something oddly pleasant about going through all of that.

Once the nostalgia feeling and the pain wore off, Catherine searched for her book and placed it on the bench. She stood up, stretched, and popped her knuckles. Pretty much did everything she could to recover from the numbness and sleepiness. A look at the watch on her fabricator, 'Two hours', she whispered to herself. After remembering why she was there, Catherine yawned and looked through the bulletproof window in front of her. Nothing had changed since the last time she saw it. She ran over the checklist of things beyond the window one more time: Blue sky on top, a thick layer of cloud under it, and not a sign of a living thing. The last detail made the view the more disappointing to her.

Despite knowing that legendries did not exist in this world any more, she kept on hoping to catch glimpse of one up here. "Above the cloud is the realm of the gods", her mother once told and she had been taking those words literally, ever since the ship reached over 50.000 feet. Catherine let out a snicker, laughing at her own naïve mind. She began to wonder why thoughts as pointless as those had appeared in her head. The answer was clear to her. Like many random thoughts throughout her life, they all stemmed from one source, her mother, specifically, the stories. Catherine still, for reasons unknown, had not fully accepted the fact that none of those tales where true. They had and always been, made believe. A world of illusion, built to escape the harsh and unforgiving reality. She knew all these facts for a rather long time. Even had lived by the real world's rules since then, yet, from time to time, Catherine still wished for the opposite. No matter how hard reality trying to prove otherwise, she still believe in those stories. Why someone would believe in something that is obviously wrong, she still could not comprehend that.

"Maybe, they don't have to be right. Maybe they just need to be there for me to remember her by." She thought.

A long drawn breath of defeat left Catherine as she decided to do something other than trapping herself in a state of melancholy. She began to analyze the screen above the window frame. The top screen was displaying the flight path of the ship. Avira, represented by a red moving dot was halfway to its destination-a square named Gamma base. Below the map was the schematic of the vessel. Catherine was then noticed the resemblances between Avira and those spaceships in Rick's movies. There is the control bridge in front, the long middle section containing all the equipment, cargos, passengers and the thrusters in the back.

Instead of displaying all the technical details only an engineer would be interested in, the schematic focused more on the routes toward the nearest escape pods. About those, Catherine kept asking, how would that help if she stuck in a metal casing, which she had no control over? Yet again, why should she worry? She was told that this ship pack enough fire power to take out a squadron of jet fighters. Moreover, the Foundation agents, she included, would never go down without a fight. The ultimate assuring fact was the secret weapon Genesis possessed. Something so effective that could stop potential threats without the need of firing a single shot from the ship.

Finished with the schematic she looked to her left. 'God, they are here.' She commented on the sight of Celeste and Axel in the distance. Both were sitting on another bench. The Sylveon's head rested against where Axel's shoulder would be if he had one. One of her ribbon feelers wrapped around his vines. She was sleeping soundly while Axel looked out through the window, deep in thought. 'Shit, get a fucking room, would you?' Catherine whispered to herself. 'You both got it lucky and it pisses me off.'

"Isn't it nice? You finally have enough spare time for such useless tasks." The malevolent voice said.

"Fuck off! I'm not in the mood to deal with you."

"Oh, how fascinating. This kind of behavior has never occurred in the Outland. I wonder what had changed. Oh yes, Genesis. I told you this whole Genesis ordeal was a good idea. Like always, I am the one that do all the thinking for you. You should be grateful for the fact that I had brought you this far." She escaped the thought by changing the subject within her head. "Run away from your troubles again? Oh Cathy, when will you ever learn?"

A slap on the shoulder startled her. 'Hey Catherine.'

She looked to her left and saw Axel. 'The fuck?' She looked behind him. 'How did you? What happened to Celeste?'

'She woke up, and do some "ladies' business". Saw you nearby so just wanna say hi.' He looked at the window. 'So, are you enjoying the view?' Axel said with a smile.

'No, it's boring as fuck. Clouds, big shock.' She gave him an annoyed glare.

'Wow, harsh.' He picked up her book and sat down beside her.

'You look extra grumpy today, what's wrong?'

Catherine snatched the book from his hand and said. 'You woke me up at three in the morning with a fucking blow horn, told me to get ready, pack all my shit in two minutes and strapped me on an eight hours flight without a bed. So use that fucking brain of your and figure out why.' She pressed her finger on his forehead.

'Okay, you're not a morning Pokémon then.' Catherine let out an angry grunt. 'Though I admit, the announcement was coming right out of nowhere. So your frustration is well, justify.' He summoned a can of coffee and offered it to her. 'Here, have some.'

Catherine put down the book and took the drink. 'Made me pay for this and I'll shove it in somewhere nasty.' That made him scooched away from her. 'Jeez it's just a sodding can. You can have it for free of course.'

'Fucking appreciate it.' She casually opened the can and drank it.

'You scare me sometime. You know that?' Catherine was thinking saying "Good." but decided to keep her silent. She knew that he was trying to cheer her up in his own way. It was not working but she appreciated the thought.

'And you don't have to swear, you know.' He added.

She used the sleeve to wipe her mouth. 'Of course.' She said. 'But I don't want to. It gives everyone the wrong signal.'

'Eh, then what is the right signal?' He crossed his arms, his left eye focused on her body language.

She swallowed a huge gulp of coffee. 'I have told you about it. Don't try to buddy buddy me, I got nothing to give you; And also, don't fuck with me. That's the signal. Do you got it this time?'

'Is that so?' Axel put his hand around his chin. 'But. You don't act like that. If anything, you are much friendlier than I expected you to be.'

'Really? I'm that easy going? Damn it! Didn't pay attention.'

'Pff, why is that a bad thing?' He let out a smile of disbelief.

'It just, you know, you got to be careful. There is all kind of Pokémon on Essal.'

'I see. I take it that you don't want to be used or tricked. Is that it?'

She shrugged her shoulder. 'Pretty much. My uncle always warms me about that. After a few, I might say, encounters in both the Outlands and Celestial, I have to agree with the bastard. On Essal, show too much kindness and trust, you are asking to be fucked over. The world had grown cold. Morales were outweighed by the selfish need to stay alive.'

'Well, actually it had never changed. It's just easier to see that these days.'

'Oh,' the annoyed look on her face faded away 'Mother said it was different back then. She had seen good Pokémon everywhere in the past. I guess she just wanted to comfort me.'

'Well, she is not wrong.' Axel expected a surprised look from Catherine, but was denied of it. He assumed she needed something more than that. 'There are good Pokémon out there. There are those who willing to face hardship in their own survival to make the lives of those around them easier. They are helping one and another out, making their lives on this miserable world, tolerable.'

'Heh, yeah right.'

'You know what the best part is? We are protecting them, the good Pokémon on this hellhole we call Essal.' And Catherine finally gave him the look he wanted. He then continued with a friendly smile. 'I know it's sound cheesy but that's what I got after a near twenty years of living in Genesis's facilities. That crippling mindset of your, it was understandable when you were still out there. However, here, I assure you, the Foundation is nothing like the Outlands. Lucious would never use us. He willing to sacrifice a few millions in extra profit so that his employees, we included, have a better working condition. Sure he still making loads of money, but at least we are all happy.'

"Stop that! I got it. He is the god damn miracle this world need." She screamed in her head. However, she did want to believe in what he had said. It sounded so right to her. Somewhat idealistic but it sounded right. And naturally, when something seemed right or too good to be true, Catherine tried finding flaws in it.

Axel continued. 'You saw how he takes care of the Pokémon here; even the engineers got their own living ground with room the same size as ours.'

Catherine showed Axel her right palm. 'Yes, I got it. But Lucious is not who I worry about. I mean the whole company, Genesis.'

'How so?' Axel was quite surprised to hear that.

'Do you know the reason why Essal is so fucked up right now? It's because of those who called those nuclear missile strikes.'

'Again, your point?'

'In a company as big as Genesis, what are the chances that there are some assholes among the ranks? Nothing is perfect, there are bound to be a few fuck ups.'

His hand left his chin, his head tilted slightly in denial. 'That's a good point. But they are just a small number.'

She slammed her fist on the bench, spilled out some of the coffee. Her voice was raised. 'Everyone says that. The Agni's mass execution, it was caused by a small number of Pokémon. Only three thousand in the few millions of Pokémon. The Apocalypse war, just a few millions, a fraction to the nine billion Pokémon on Essal. And see how far we get with that? Only less than two billions left.' She sighed. 'In this company, I just don't know.'

'So, you wish to be full on protective mode to prevent that? For the chance that somewhere, somehow, someone might screw you over?' He drew a thin smile. 'Well, I would like to say it's a bit paranoid and ridiculous, but something tells me that I might have to eat my words someday for saying that. So, um, okay.'

'Good, you got the idea.'

'Hum. That sounds like a horrible mindset to be living in, but whatever floats your boat. I won't argue with you then.'

Axel shrugged and about to leave the bench. He had seen Pokémon like her. There was no point in arguing, as their minds were near impossible to change.

Catherine looked down at her hand, rubbing on parts of the tattoo. 'But, not so sure if I could stay on that boat. Especially, when.' She sighed. 'I admit. It's really comfortable living here and with you guys.'

'Aw, isn't that sweet.' He got back to the bench.

She gritted her teeth. 'Take that back or I shove my fist up your mouth.'

'Okay, jeez, calm the hell down. It's a joke.'

She ran her hand on the back of her head. 'Sorry, kinda tense after all the morning bullshit. Anyway, yeah, I love living in a place where the biggest fucking concern is the bar being taken by a lunatic. Where I can just have a chat or throw jokes around with mercenaries and don't worry about getting a bullet to the chest. The place where there is breakfast prepared by someone that said, "Good morning dear", to me, every day.' She closed her eyes. 'I want to believe that I'll be safe.' She stopped for a moment.

'Too much good things have happened and I worry if there is something wrong.' Now got her hand caress her forehead, Catherine let out another sigh and continued. 'Great now, I just sound like an ungrateful bitch.'

'Nonono. Don't be. You are not. It's natural. We all face these kinds of problems in our lives. Come to think out it, It's probably just the negativity bias in our head.'

'The what now?'

'It's a natural function in your brain that keeps you safe by make you cautious at all time. Perfectly normal. Well. just enjoy the fact of living here. But don't be too naïve about it.'

'Oh good, the middle road, the perfect harmony. Yeah, it's easy to say but really hard to do, Axel. How can I enjoy things in life when I keep getting reminded that I might get fucked over?'

He patted her shoulder. 'Like I said it's natural and like everything else, just give it time to adjust. Took Celeste and me a few months, you should be no different. Things will get better in time. At least around here, I promise'

'Uh huh. We will see about that.' She finished the drink and crushed the can with her Psychic.

After tossing it away, Catherine pointed her finger at him. 'Eh about the "comfortable" term, that I used. Don't get any other idea from that.'

'Of course, I have a girlfriend you know. Don't flatter yourself.' He put his hand on his chest and gave a signature Snivy smug face.

'Don't be delusional, ax-hole.'

Axel laughed. 'Aren't we all, a little inside?' He nudged her with his elbow before jumping out of the bench. 'And hey. Catherine, I don't want to sound like prying…'

Catherine completely blocked out his question and pointed her finger at the window. 'Oh shit, did you see that fucking thing?' Catherine caught glimpse of a dark spot among the cloud in the distant. A spot that soon concealed itself before Axel could look through the window.

'No, must be your sleepy eyes.' Axel said as he activated his visor and had a second look.

She looked again, and noticed the spot had gone. She yawned. 'Yeah, probably it.'

Knowing that was the sign for him to leave, Axel said. 'You are obviously tired. Just try to get some rest. Well, have fun being paranoid and stressed out, Celeste and me are going to do something fun.

Catherine made a "go away" gesture and grabbed her book. 'You do that and see if I care.'

'Sure, bye.' He waved and ran straight to the right, all without batting an eye back at her. Catherine yawned one more and watched as Axel disappeared from sight. Seeing that the dot represented the ship still had a long way to go, she changed her mind and started running.

'Hey, Ax-hole, wait up!'

Little did Catherine knew, the dark spot she saw was one vessel from a fleet of Braviary-shaped drones. All of them were hidden in the cloud around Avira, preparing to strike. They opened various compartment on their wings, revealing a great number of cannons and machine guns. The drones' camera pinned their target sight at crucial parts of the ships. The engine, the bridge, and structure weakness such as windows, all were marked. All these machines needed were word from their commander and they would fire all the weapons.

A few miles away from the Genesis's ship, there was a city laid on a flying island. Underneath this island were thick sheets of metal along with an abundance of electric wire roots and strange devices. The metal was quite old, made obvious by a layer of orange rust fused with green and black moss. Above it was a thick glass dome, perfectly covered the upper part of the island. It was there to keep the properly pressurized air inside for its Flying type residents. All of whom were too busy living their lives to notice the Genesis frigate outside of their city. To some of them, the outside world was just sky and cloud. The surface world where their ancestors once lived had all gone up in smoke and they are the only survivors on this world. For that, they should just focus on their own lives filled with repetitions. There are enough machines inside the city to keep the residents busy for years to come.

At the center of that entire island was a tower-a nest that gave the city's leaders full view of their land and beyond. At the highest point of the tower was a room filled with computer screens mounted everywhere. The room and all the equipment were operated by a team of flying types with bowled hats devices attached to their heads-similar to the Ducklett in the Delta base. The only one without the devices was a Honchkrow with a cigarette in his mouth. He was playing caption Ronus's message on a large computer. He said 'Hehe. What on Eden are these intruders think they are? Once the artilleries finish calibrating, destroy them, just like the rest.'

'Yes sir.' The flying types then concentrated their thoughts and gave the command to the drones. 'All were done sir, how should we destroy them?'

'Cut that frigate in half or in smithereens. I don't care which.' He spat the cigarette to a pot and demanded a nearby Murkrow to give him a newly lit one.

Before the flying types could give the final signal, the screens around the room turned off. A few flying type pressed a couple buttons with their talons. The screen turned back on, with the phrase 'system rebooting' on them. The big boss Pokémon seemed to be annoyed with that, but he did not lose his cool. The computers in this city were so old that flaws like this were an everyday occurrence. He was a tad angry because this error happened in the most inconvenient of times. A moment later, he realized that this was not a computer error.

The screen changed into static and blasted an alien high pitch sound. All the flying type covered their head with their wings, a futile attempt to block out the sound.

'What is going on? What happened to our system?' The Honchkrow tried screaming over the horrid sound.

'I think someone is in it, sir.' One of the crewmembers replied, struggling to standing on his station.

'Then get them out now!'

'I'm trying, sir, but I can't concentrate, the noise. It's so.'

'I don't care! Get them out! Now!' He screamed while desperately held on to the sides of his head.

'I'm trying, sir.'

The noise stopped, just as sudden as its appearance. The crew calmed down a little; some were still dumbfounded by the audio attack. The collection of black and white dust on the screen then began to auto focused and gathered into a figure. Although it was impossible to make any feature out of it, the figure spoke in upmost clarity. The tone was dripped with insecurity. 'Hello, is anyone there?'

The Honchkrow forced a Murkrow to move the microphone closer to him. 'Who are you? Identify yourself!'

'I'm Pixel, please to meet ya. This is a nice system you have here, but quite outdated though.'

He grabbed the mic with his talon. 'What on Eden are you doing?' He yelled into the mic.

'Sorry, I cannot answer that. I'm just following orders. You can talk to my boss. Mister Lucious, I got them through.'

'What are you think you…'

Genesis's voice then took over. 'Good day gentlemen. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lucious Genesis the Third. CEO of the Genesis Corporation.'

'I don't care who you are.' The Honchkrow spat back.

'The owner of the vessel you wished to attack.'

The flying type paused and said. 'How dare you speak with me this way?'

'There is no other option. We have been trying to contact you on all frequencies and you have never responded to any of them. You are not a registered nation so it was impossible for us to contact your embassy agencies. This is our only way to talk to you. With a few hundred lives on board, I find it impossible not to hack into your system. For that I am truly, sorry.'

'You are violating our rules.'

'If you wanted to bring laws into this, them the international laws are on my side of the table. We have no intention of at invading your nation. We just simply passed by to transport our workers and security team. We even have decided to take an alternative route to avoid further complication. But the result was your ships prepared to attack us.'

'What are you suggesting? Are you blaming us for this?'

'Not quite. I believe all this was nothing but a misunderstanding. I figured that since your nation had, departed away from this world for so long, you might be unaware of its current rules. I wish to enlighten you about them in another time. However, at this moment, I want you to stop the attack.'

'You speak to me as if I am a child. You arrogant…'

'With all due respect, this is not about me being arrogant or not. This is the lives of my employees-my own family, we are discussing about here. And I will not let your fear and ignorance becomes the cause of their demise.'

'Fear, ignorance? How dare you?' He nearly chewed off the cigarette.

'I don't pass judgements. I simply just report things I have observed. By lengthen this conversation; you are putting your own Pokémon in danger as well.' The pace of his words accelerated, Lucious was beginning to lose his patience.

'What do my Pokémon have anything to do with, are, are you threatening us?'

'We are not, I assure you that. But you are cutting away your and my options.'

'What options?'

'Options to end this dilemma, peacefully. Now, please stop the attack or something horrible will happen.'

He swiped his wing. 'You are not threating me. Continue with the attack!' He commanded the crew.

'But sir, I cannot send the signal. They had jammed it.' A Murkrow said.

'Use the short wave radio, you ignorant twat!'

Genesis continued. 'How disappointing. Your own paranoid have sent you into a blind rage, unable to see what to come. In that case, Pixel, deactivated the anti-gravity field of their island, bring them down.'

He and the rest of the flying type in the room opened their eyes wide in shock. 'What, are, you, DOING!?'

'How far sir?' Pixel asked.

'Until they touch the ground.'

'Yes, sir. Sorry guys, the boss was trying to be nice.'

The screen changed into red and the emblem of the Genesis Corporation popped up. Everyone in the nest and the island then experienced a powerful vibration. The island was shaking violently. Before any of them could find something to hold on to, the entire structure began to fall. Gravity and everything else lost the grip on all the flying types in the dome. In an instance, their feet left the artificial ground and all were pinned to the ceiling of the dome. A mixture of screams and cry of fear flooded the air within. The same thing happened to the crew inside the nest. The wires connected to the bowl devices were all tangled up. Some even wrapped themselves around an unfortunate fling type. As the island reached the halfway point, the wires floated in a state similar to zero gravity. The Honchkrow did his best to grab the microphone, which was flying away from his grasp. Once he got it, he yelled into the microphone. 'Damn it, all right. We accept! We accept! Just stop all this! Let my Pokémon live!'

The Genesis emblem disappeared and the fuzzy figure returned to the screens. 'Pixel, stop.'

'Yes, sir.'

The island stopped plummeting and forced all the residents to crash on the fake grass floor. The crew inside the nest got back their baring and caught their breath. Some along with a few residents outside would not see another day. After the flying island slowly gained altitude, Lucious continued. 'I usually don't do death threats, but I shall make an exception this time. We will not let go of our control on your city until we have left the area. Here is my promise. We will not drop your city as long as you promise not to attack us in return. Keep your promise and we will keep ours'. Have I made myself clear?'

The Honchkrow looked at the trashed control room. Every fiber of the Honchkrow's being tried to suppress a deep feeling of hatred and shame. After admitted defeat, he uttered a quiet 'Yes.'

'Good. I really hope that we have met each other in a more, preferable situation.'

He clenched on the mic, nearly snapped it in half. 'I'm sure you do. You all can pass and stay away from my city!'

'Oh we would definitely do that. And we will avoid this flight path in the future for sure, so please, do not worry. Thank you for your cooperation.' Said Lucious as the screens changed back into statics.

Back at the Avira, in a part of the central area, was the entertainment center. This was the place to keep the boredom away from the passengers during long flights. In here, there is something for everyone, and by all means, everyone. There were multiple a pool tables, smoking room, a bar, which was usually operated by Gwen when she was on board (not that day though). A large chunk of its space was a video game arcade, where Catherine found herself stuck in at that moment. Despite the games here were all widely played by mature Pokémon, she still felt weird about staying here. To her, all the flashing neon lights and music were annoying to say the least. However, there was no word to describe what she was seeing.

Axel and Celeste were playing one of those Asuna dancing game. Both were concentrating on the screen in front of them, all while dancing precisely to the hail of command arrows presented on the screen. Catherine at one point tried to compliment them, but the concept of the game shielded her away from saying that. Especially since the output source of the commands was strangely disturbing to her. On the screen were a longhaired Gardevoir stood in between the command arrows. The look of said Gardevoir was something that Catherine considered overloaded with synthetic innocent and sweetness. Seeing how both managed to keep smiling while doing such an embarrassing task, Catherine spoke. Or rather, she had to yell to fight off the overly cheery music. 'Seriously, this is what you guys consider fun?'

'Come on Catherine try it at least.' Celeste said while maintaining her streak.

'I stand behind my words. You guys at Asuna are weird.' Catherine said.

'At least we embrace it, and everyone loves us for it. Right, Axel?'

'Um, yeah.' His focus was on the screen. The shorter legs were giving him a hard time to follow the arrows.

'And how in the fuck do you keeping up with her?'

'Can't, answer, that now.' Said Axel as he was getting ready for another chorus.

'I should have stuck with the bench, much less demeaning.' Catherine then looked at a window and saw the edge of the floating island. 'What the fuck is that?' She shouted. Her words did not affect both. They however, reached the ear of the other passengers. Not until everyone in the arcade moved to windows, did Axel and Celeste stopped the game and joined the rest. As the frigate passed by the island, sunlight shone on the dome, turned it into the perfect muse for a pretentious poet. The kind that made them gave hours on end, describing how sun light would reflect on a giant snow globe in the sky. Along with how that image could represent thousands of things that was wrong or right with the world. Most of the agents and workers were not poets so they could not do much else but looked at the sight in awe.

'Woah.' Axel exclaimed while Catherine kept her arm crossed, trying to comprehend what she was watching. She might not know what it was, but she was definitely satisfied with the scene.

'It's beautiful.' Celeste said as the ship got a closer look at the island.

'Hey, look, there are tiny Pokémon inside it.' She then jumped up and waved. 'Hey there' she said. She kept doing that with a smile on her face, never knew what had happened to the island and what could have happened to her and all the passengers on Avira.

Move away from the arcade and entertainment center, in a worker break room on Avira. This room was quite simple, there were only a table, two chairs and a window. Nevertheless, it had one special feature that had drawn Doc and Markov to it, privacy. At the time, they were continuing the same thing that they always do when they met-playing chess. The two brothers were so caught up on the task as hand that even the sight of the floating island could not distract them from it.

Their aged and wrinkles hands commanded two armies of metal chess pieces made from recycled bullet shells. Markov was in control of the black pieces that shaped like Zoaroak and Docs' were white Lucario. The pieces were fighting on an ammo box battlefield. Both the soldiers and the ground beneath them were showing clear sign of wearing and rust. They had been fighting the same kind of battle for over fifty years. Despite that, they marched on and followed every command set by Doc and Markov. At the age of supercomputer and hologram, one would expect Doc and Markov to use something more "advanced". However, both of them had grew attach to this piece of antique and recently, these pieces of metal soldiers bore new meaning to Doc. The battle was reaching its end, with both side experiencing great losses. Markov placed his knight down. 'Brother, you are getting less, aggressive than usual.' Markov said as he took Doc's rook.

'Yes. I'm adopting new strategies. You know me. Always changing.'

'Is that so? Well, I have to be, careful then. Although I know for sure, I'm going to lose.'

'Don't be. Have some unrealistic confidence in yourself. The odds this time are pretty high.'

Markov reached his head up and laughed. 'Haha, yes brother. But that is, not how it works.'

Doc smiled as well. 'Indeed, you have no chance. I simply just make the game relatively longer today so you can still be in it. Spending more quality time with you.'

'Really? Now, why is that? Usually you go for the kill and talk in between my failure. What changed.'

'It's because of you. This is the quietest seasonal visit I have ever experienced, no the second, still not as quiet as our first. Normally, you are more talkative. Constantly asking vague philosophical questions to test if I am still a Pokémon or have become a machine. I just got a little curious at your current action. Is my curiosity bothering you? If not then what is bothering you?'

'No, not at all. Your concern is always, welcome.' But now, let me see. What seem, to be the bother? To your question, well, many things had caught me, off guard recently. I hate losing, control over my surroundings, so please understand.'

'I understood, as always. Both of us do hate that after all.'

'Glad to see, you are still with me.'

'I am, always. So what had caught you off guard, brother?'

Markov then avoided making eyes contact. 'It's better for you, not to know, right now.'

'Certainly, you must have your reasons. However, hiding it won't do much help, especially hiding something that bothers someone like you. I am your brother and the lead engineer of Genesis, there must be something that I can do for you.'

'Well, we'll return to the Gamma base soon, and I will tell you about it, tomorrow. But now, I want to enjoy, the rest of today.'

With suspicion, Doc closed his eye and came up with a subject changer. 'Sure thing. I respect your decision. Speaking of which, how are things in Gamma these days?'

'Same old. Everything is locked up. All subjects are secured. If anything go wrong, then I can't do much else, to help. Everyone can, do my so-called, job. Supervising and reporting, even a collage drop out. Nonetheless, it does have its upsides. From time to time, I got the honor to propose new plans concerning the testing and resources. Other than that, nothing special. I wish I could, still do researches. Like old times. Now, I just can do a few tasks, mend a few wounds, and diagnose a few special patients. All that, so I can keep, my doctor status. Less lives are being saved by me, directly anyway. I am no longer the best doctor on Essal. Yet, strangely, everyone keeps, calling me that. I should be flattered, but it is just a hollow title now. Sad, isn't it?'

'Yes, being an executive is not as glamorous as it sounds, isn't it? Are you changing your mind? We always have room for another agent.'

Markov shook his head lightly. 'To that, I can only say. No. I'm too old, and not enhanced enough for that. Sorry. Tempting, but no.'

'Understandable respond. I was thinking the same. Give it a few more years and I will retire as well. When we are one hundred years old, we will travel back to Glacier. To see how things had changed. Just like we planned.'

'Oh I won't forget that. Hope that I, am still alive at that point.' Markov sighed.

'I'm sure you will. You have made it so hard to die.'

'Yes, I did. Anyway, how long, are you going to, keep this game going?'

'I will do it until my absolute victory of course. Just like before.'

Markov chuckled. 'Think again, brother, check mate.' Said Markov as he slammed down his own rook, trapped Doc's king in an impossible situation. Doc's reaction was delayed for a good second. He then tried to analyze the move his brother had made. Once he understood, he said with a smile. 'Well, that was unexpected. That must be the 1001st move that I couldn't see.'

'Well, I have a lot of tricks up in these sleeves.' Doc shot a strange look with his healed eye. 'Hehe, just joking, I probably got lucky. There must be a small glitch, in your system and I, just happened to benefit from it.'

'Yes, there are so many variable. It must have been my mistake.'

Markov laughed. 'That mechanical brain of your, it is far from perfect, isn't it? So, another game?'

'I don't see why not?' He swept all the pieces away and began resetting them, while Markov kept a small grin.

They continued playing until the captain announced their arrival.

The Gamma base, Genesis's third "official" facility

Built two years after the passing of Genesis the Second, this facility was the first milestone in the effort of rebuilding Essal. Since its construction, the base was serving as a research and development center for Genesis's top scientists. The facility housed fewer workers and scientists compare to the later bases, but the resourceful mind of each personnel here made up for it. This was where the digital fabrication technology was successfully created, or rather recreated. The methods of reversing the devastating effect of radiation on soil, the indoor weather system, the first generation of artificial intelligent based on real life personalities, and hologram projectors, all were created here. As a result, this base was Lucious's most proud creation and always would be.

A few years back, Lucious moved the Foundation here and expanded the base, nearly double the space. The expansion gave it another function, a containment center for Essal's most exotic specimens. Duo to the effect of the Apocalypse war, many peculiar feral and phenomenal had appeared. Their appearance brought many opportunities as well as presented numerous threats to Essal. Some specimens were strange and bizarre, but most were dangerous, and they needed to be contained and analyzed. Genesis as a whole believed the specimen all housed unseen potentials-potentials that need to be examined further. Once understood, Genesis will find applications for them and create new technologies from that. On the path to obtaining some of these specimens, the Foundation had come across many anomalies as well. These anomalies had existed long before the Apocalypse war: artifacts, relics, and most importantly the Plates. Regardless of their origin, ferals or relics, after Apocalypse or before, all were stored here, in this maximum-security facility.

One of Lucious most trusted executives and former prime Foundation agent supervised all these activities. His name was Markov Voynich. From the outside, Markov was a simple-minded Alakazam. He appeared to be a traditional type executive, following orders from Lucious and managed the funds and researches of the facility with integrity. Despite being an excellent surgeon in the practical realm of medical science, he reluctantly took the position. He claimed it would be rude to turn down an offer from the boss himself. However, secretly, that was what he wanted the most. This position gave him something that being a Foundation agent could not. This was a job that even a collage drop out could do. Therefore, it gave him plenty of time and he used this time for his true passion, biological research and experiments. He did all this in a secret lab of his own, located a few hundred miles away from the Gamma base, completely free from Genesis's surveillance. Without restrictions from the corporation, he could and had got away with many horrid experiments: Excessive uses of prohibited chemical on subjects, deliberate mutations, and even torture on some subjects. His reason behind these actss was simply: "What Genesis had been doing was morally wrong in some degree. He saw no reason not to go a little further for faster results." He was not entirely wrong. The results from most of his works were still given to Lucious in the end and they had led to a few interesting discoveries. However, he kept some "special" results for himself. These, he knew for sure that Lucious would not accept or simply "was not ready" for them. In that lab, there were only a few staffs with him. Those he had indoctrinated to do his bidding and a few loyal disciples. He always kept a close eye on them and always ready to eliminate one at the first sign of betrayal.

Yet, no matter what others would label him for his actions, he was still a Pokémon. A Pokémon wishes nothing more but easing the pain of his only remaining family member. An Alakazam who had been tortured, mangled and damaged by a group of idiots that somehow had power over their own nation. To Markov, what he had and been doing was a payback for the world that had wronged his family. However, he was not always thinking about vengeance, he still thinking about what in front of him, his brother. If anything Markov hated more than losing control over his surrounding, was the irony came from his own ignorance. So from time to time, after a time span of four months, he paid his brother a visit. He willing to left all the bloody body parts, mutated flesh and thoughts of revenge behind, just for to visit his own kin. That was the reason why he was at the Avira at the time. At least, that was what everyone in the Delta base knew.

At the entrance of the containment facility in Gamma base, Markov was standing at a security checkpoint, moment after his biometric scan.

'Good morning, Mr. Voynich.' The engineer at the checkpoint greeted him. On his forearm was a device projecting a holographic keyboard and screen.

'Morning.' Markov responded.

'Still haven't left for you visit sir?'

'Oh, that. Yes, you see, I have just reached the end of my research. I must remain here, a few moments longer. I'm sure my brother will forgive me. Anyhow, he would come to me anyway. Speaking of which, do you have an update on the status of the SSG yet?'

'Oh yes, I completely forgot about the move. Allow me to check.' The engineer typed on his holographic keyboard. 'Oh, they will arrive in the next three hours, estimate time of course. The crew is prepping the landing site as we speak.'

'Good, I had better finish, with my research quickly then. It is time, for me to get ready, and greet my brother. We have not, met each for so long.'

The engineer bowed to him. 'Good luck with that sir. Have a pleasant day.'

'Oh, yes, today will be up most pleasant, for me.' The Markov grinned from ear to ear as he passed through the checkpoint.

Author's notes:

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to updates these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is my first ever story so please forgive any possible mistake in the future and help me fix them.

Thanks again and have a pleasant day.

Sorry for the long delay, I have been experiencing all kind of real life problems. I still have not settled down just yet but I could write, somewhat. The following chapter will arrive in less than a day so stay tuned.