Chapter One

CWCville Outskirts

The dimensional transporter materialized me somewhere outside of the city proper. Once I had my bearings I took a look around and realized I was in an open field surrounded by a forest. The grass was green and full and sprouted all around me were eye piercing neon yellow and hot pink flowers. The Zapbuds. The impossible flowers also willed into existence by the former dictator as another aspect of his daydreams.

If there were Zapbuds here, there was also the possibility the abandoned juveniles could be nearby. I stood still and listened carefully while slowly turning my head to scout the area. All I could hear were the sounds of nature: birds calling, wind blowing, and the swish of grass and Zapbuds brushing. No laughter, no playing, no annoying calls. Just peaceful nature as it should be. After waiting another moment, I began to walk forward, following the path of the sun which should take me to the city.

I ran the plan through my head again as I walked. I was here to investigate and make contact with both the human and chu denizens of CWCville. While I had become infatuated with the various versions of the one known as BMP, I didn't want to replicate his killing spree. Enough trauma had been inflicted by the dictator and him without me adding to it. I should resort to violence only if it was necessary. I wasn't a complete monster.

As I stepped from the treeline into another open field, I stopped. I was no longer alone. Approxmately 20 feet away was one of the juvenile chus. The creature stood an estimated 15 inches tall and was obviously malnourished. His yellow fur was matted and multiple patches were missing. He couldn't have weighed more than 10 pounds on a good day. So far he hadn't noticed me, so for now, I would keep it that way.

The young Sonee turned to his left and waddled forward. One of the more freakish aspects of the juvenile biology was their complete lack of legs, leaving their malformed feet fused directly to their pelvises. The little yellow Sonee stopped at a patch of grass that stood to his waist and reached down. As their first form did not have hands with opposable digits, he had to use both of his stained arm stubs to grasp and lift. When they came up he held onto a small Zapbud. I watched as he brought it to his black nose, sniffed, and then shoved it into his mouth, hungrily chewing and swallowing the entire top portion in one go.

It actually made me feel pity for him. My observations had shown me several timelines where Sonees and Roseys had been abandoned either into the woodlands or the underground sewers by careless adult chu parents and left to their own. Thinking about this now filled me with rage. A white hot rage. Even abominations from a sick mind's imagination deserved a fair shot at a normal life. I grimaced and balled my fist, forcing the anger down. At least for now. I took a breath and watched as the yellow Sonee waddle walked to another patch and picked another Zapbud.

It's time for first contact, my inner voice said.

I took a large step forward from the treeline and announced my presence.

"Hello there, little guy!"

"Nee!"

The Sonee cried out and looked up, dropping the Zapbud stalk. His green reptilian eyes were wide as he watched me. I made it a point to stand still, not wanting to scare him off too soon. He watched me for a long moment, his mind attempting to assess me and decide if I was a danger. He had lived in the woods his entire young life and was used to seeing both animals and the occasional big human or chu, but I was new to him. We locked eyes and both remained unmoving.

I was the one who made the first move. I dropped to one knee and reached into the pocket of my hooded jacket. Producing a granola bar, I ripped the wrapper and pulled it halfway down. I held the snack in my right hand in an offering. My scientific interest was now piqued, outweighing the rage I felt at his parents for putting him in this situation.

"Sonee?"

The little guy squeaked as he took slow waddle steps toward me. I remained perfectly still as he approached. Because of his mutant DNA, it took him far longer to reach me than expected. Once close, his reptile eyes locked into the granola bar. He leaned forward and sniffed. I watched as his eyes went even wider than during our initial encounter and he leaned forward, biting off a piece.

"NEE! SO-NEE!"

He shrieked in absolutely delight as he chewed. Seconds later he took another bite, this time going all the way to where I had peeled the wrapper. He chewed in pure bliss, the granola, nuts, and sugar were the most delicious thing this little runt had ever had. In the turning contraption of his little mind he felt pure happiness for the first time. This big human was his friend now! He gave him the tastiest snacks! The yellow Sonee laughed as he reached out his arm stubs, grasping the bar and taking it.

I could only watch as he shoved the remainder into his mouth and peeled the torn wrapper off with his little arm stubs. To my own amazement, this one seemed actually grateful for the care he received. I watched him devour the snack and met his eyes when he looked back up to me. He blinked and took a step forward.

"Sonee?"

"I'm sorry, little dude. I don't have any more," I told him.

"Nee? Sonee?"

"I don't have any more to give you," I said again, standing up to my feet.

The Sonee waddled up to me and tapped my leg with his arm stubs. I looked down and could only shrug. He tapped my leg again and this time I reached down, grasping the scruff of his neck like I would a dog. I scooped up the underweight Sonee and held him to my eye level. He looked right at me again, but this time, something felt different. The expression in his eyes seemed a bit less reptilian and unfeeling.

"You aren't a bad Sonee at all, are you?"

"Nee. Nee-nee!"

"I don't know what happened to you or how you got here, but this isn't a place for a little Sonee like you. Do you want to come with me for a while?"

The Sonee nodded his head and waved his little arm stubs.

"So-nee! Nee! Nee!"

Our studies of alternate dimensions had also allowed us to reverse engineer technology. I placed the Sonee before me and reached into my pocket, producing a red and white ball the size of a softball. I held it up for him to see.

"This is called a Pokeball. It'll be a nice house for you until we figure something out. Do you want to go in?"

Again, the yellow creature squealed. "Nee! So-Nee-Son! HA HA!"

I tossed the Pokeball onto the grass and it snapped open. A jolt of yellow light emitted and struck the Sonee. He disappeared into the ball as it automatically closed its lid. I picked up the ball and placed it safely into my jacket. For now, the trek would continue and those responsible would have to be punished.