Alex idly kicked a rock along the sidewalk close to the highway as he made his way back towards the city. He looked towards the road and smiled a bit as a single car sped by the otherwise empty highway. Seemed like things were slowly getting back up to speed.

It was late in the morning, following his overnight stay at his parents' place. The visit had gone pretty well all things considered. Alex went over the basics with his parents, such as what pokemon were, how they were all element-based, and some of the basics on pokemon battling in general, as well as everything he knew regarding people transforming into pokemon... which, Alex realized, ended up not being a lot when he actually tried explaining it. His parents seemed concerned about the entire thing, his mother moreso than his father, but Alex chalked that up to the very sudden and intrusive circumstances of them all appearing. But then there was his sister, who seemed not even the least bit bothered by the entire ordeal. Maybe it was because, contrary to what she claims, she was still very young and not exposed to the real world? It was impossible to tell for Alex. And honestly, trying to understand that girl was a fool's errand at times anyway. Either way, Alex hoped they'd get comfortable with the idea soon. Especially since he was one of those very pokemon people he talked to them about.

But that was something he could worry about another day. For now, his goal was to walk back downtown to get his car and drive home. Thankfully, the weather was far more accommodating than his first cross-city trek. Mother nature seemed to take pity on Alex and blessed him with cloudy skies and a cooler temperatures. Of course, it being Texas, 'cool' was more a relative term in the summer. It was still hot, and Alex was still sweating, but it was much more bearable to him this time.

Alex's phone buzzed in his pocket and he automatically pulled it out and tapped the notification. It was a text from Eli.

'yea man training tomorrow sounds good. if you want we can get something to eat before. my treat.'

Alex let out a small chuckle and quickly typed out a response in confirmation and slipped his phone back in his pocket. He had decided to reach out to Eli the previous night after explaining things to his parents, and that somehow led to Alex offering to help Eli train. Or at the very least help him find different training methods and locations. Which in turn could also be beneficial to Alex as well. Not that Eli would know that, anyway.

Alex gave a quiet and troubled grunt as he pondered that last thought. Up to this point, he hadn't told a soul of him being a mew out of fear of how they'd respond to him, but he was beginning to wonder if the trouble was really worth it. It seemed like everyone else had too much on their plate to even care at this moment. Maybe it was something that he didn't necessarily have to actively lie about? Alex shook his head. There were just far too many unknowns to think about at that moment.

Alex glanced to his right and slightly ahead of him as he noticed a figure approaching. He tensed up slightly and fixed his attention on the unknown figure that seemed to be heading straight for him. Alex readied himself to flee at a moment's notice, but as he got close enough to the figure, Alex could tell it was just a man who was not specifically coming for him, rather he just happened to be going his direction. Alex gave a quick sigh and relaxed again, feeling very silly that he worked himself up over nothing. But then something even worse happened. As the two crossed paths, the man turned and started walking alongside Alex. And neither party had anything to say. Alex internally groaned and almost wished that the man was an aggressive figure. At least then he'd be spared the awkwardness of walking alongside and in the same direction as a complete stranger, having nothing to talk about.

Alex tried to put it out of his mind and focus on why he was going downtown to begin with, but his present situation just felt so strange to him that he couldn't ignore it. He glanced at the man who seemed to be paying him no mind. He briefly considered speeding up or slowing down his pace just to be by himself again, but he was worried he'd make the situation even more awkward by doing so. So Alex naturally chose the worst option. He tried striking up a conversation. "So ah... I don't suppose you're heading downtown to rescue your car too?" He felt like facepalming as soon as the words left his mouth. '...smooth, Alex. Real fucking smooth.'

The man shifted his attention to Alex, and Alex was worried about the response he'd get because of him saying something stupid, but then the man cracked a small smile. "Actually, that's exactly it. You work up there too?"

Alex's eyes widened slightly at the worst case scenario of talking to a random person not happening before his eyes. "Um, yea. Yea, I actually work in a warehouse for one of the sports stores near UT. They sell a bunch of longhorns stuff there. Or at least I did before this nonsense happened."

The man nodded. "Mm, I suppose I'm lucky, then. I work in one of the big office buildings that's in the heart of downtown. Sure caused a shock at first, but I was able to work from home after a couple days."

Alex's eyes widened again, but this time because he was shocked at what the man was saying. "What? And you're not a first responder or anything like that? How? I thought everything was completely dead for more than a week?"

The man shrugged. "Life still has to go on. Calling it hectic would be an understatement, and no one got nearly enough done, but it still has so happen so we can keep functioning as best as we can. I at least have the day off so I can get my car."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you'll be able to get it? They were saying that the main downtown areas were still suffering gridlock on the news last night."

The man seemed very patient with Alex. "Did you watch the news this morning?"

"Um... no?"

The man nodded. "Mm, they freed up more space. The parking garage where my car is is there."

Alex nodded and there was a brief silence before Alex decided to ask something else that was slightly prodding at his mind. "Did they... say anything else about the pokemon situation?"

The man nodded and seemed to be gathering his thoughts. "Yea, the government heads from every nation, as soon as they figured out what was happening and where these creatures were coming from, all did a quick rough census. No telling how accurate these numbers are yet, mind you, but they did give us a rough estimate on how many people transformed. They're guessing that about two percent of the human population underwent some sort of transformation."

Alex gave a stiff exhale at the number. "One in fifty people... Jesus, I know that doesn't sound big, but that still means that there are several million pokemon out there in the world."

The man said nothing for a moment and fixed his gaze on the sidewalk in front of them. He shook his head. "I tell ya what, I can't help but feel sorry for that lot."

Alex held back a small grimace at the man's comment, dreading what he might have to say about the subject. Alex, however, was just curious enough about the man's thought process that he wanted him to elaborate. "Oh? How come?"

"Just forget about what manner of creature they turned into for a sec. The fact that they transformed at all is just downright scary. Couldn't imagine what they're all feeling right now, knowing they have to deal with such a huge change," the man said in a melancholy tone, eyes still fixed on the path in front of him.

Alex's dread faded as the man explained himself, figuring out quickly that he wasn't speaking in judgement, but rather sympathy. "Ah, yea, I know what you mean," he muttered, "I have a coworker and a friend who both turned into pokemon, themselves, and it's uh... well it's been very rough on them both."

The man glanced back over to Alex with a soft gaze. "They have my sympathies. 'specially because I don't think it's over for them yet."

Alex turned his head to face the man in confusion. "Why do you say that?"

"Well think about it. If these past several years have taught us anything, it's that mankind can be a stupid fear-driven lot at our worst. You throw in something like what happened a week ago, and you've got as good a chance as any for some fear-driven persecution."

Alex was struck dumb at the man's words. His thoughts were similar to Alex's own fears, but he wasn't able to adequately verbalize them like the man just did.

Realizing that Alex didn't have anything to say, the man gave a sigh and continued. "I really hope it doesn't come to that, though. None of em would deserve it. Even the more imposing creatures. They're still people. Ain't their fault that what happened happened."

Alex blinked and slowly looked back to the sidewalk in front of them, processing what the man just said to him. "Yea... I hope not either," he muttered after realizing the man's words were genuine.

The two said nothing else to each other, but it no longer felt awkward. Alex felt the two had a mutual understanding. His mind raced in thought. Up until this point, he had all the reservations in the world when it came to telling people he was a mew, out of fear of what everyone's reactions might be. And yet here was this random man, pouring out his thoughts that were filled with sympathy to someone who as far as he knew was just another regular person. 'If I could get an unprompted vote of confidence from a complete stranger, I... I dunno, could I really let my friends and family know?' Alex internally shook his head. It was certainly something to think about, but perhaps he didn't have to go about this completely alone. Maybe.

Alex made his way past a bunch of buildings on a downtown sidewalk. After exchanging farewells and well wishes, the man had split off to a different direction once they started to reach the outer city limits. But if Alex was being honest, he could hardly recall the last few moments traveling with him anyhow. The man's words were still ringing in his mind.

"None of them deserve it. They're all still people. It isn't their fault that this happened." Alex tried shaking it off again. 'I dunno why I'm getting so worked up over this anyway. I mean, I already know all of what he said.' Alex slowed his pace and brought his hands up to observe them. They were regular human hands. Obviously. But if he wanted, he could make them, along with the rest of his human body, disappear. Completely on a whim. He slowly flexed his fingers. what would others think if they saw him transform. Alex looked around. There were a bunch of people around... just people. Minding their own business. 'I could do it if I wanted to... just transform right here. I wonder what they'd think. would they even realize what I am?' Alex grimaced as another thought came to his mind. 'No, they'd probably freak out. Lash out in fear. I mean hell, they all look nervous as is.' Alex studied a few people's expressions. They all had varying expressions of worry and fatigue. Alex gave a frustrated grunt and focused his attention back to the path in front of him, but then he took a breath and relaxed a bit. 'Then again, that's not necessarily true. I mean, they could just as easily be focused on everything else. Not specifically the pokemon. After all... that man I met earlier seemed sympathetic. Why not everyone else?' Alex pondered it for a moment, but shook his head to clear his thoughts. 'I need to stop thinking too hard about this right now or I'm gonna have an existential crisis. Assuming I'm not having one right now. Why the hell am I even thinking about showing myself to a crowd of random people anyway?' he thought to himself in exasperation. Alex just gave an impatient growl and pressed on.

Alex pushed any thoughts relating to his pokemon identity out of his mind, and the farther he walked, the more calm he became again. After walking the distance of a few blocks, Alex passed the building where he worked at. He gave it a single glance, not intending to pay it any further mind, but in that one glance, he thought he noticed a couple of his coworkers standing there, making him do a double take. Sure enough, two of them were there in front of the entrance talking to themselves. "Nick? Andrew?"

His coworker and manager both looked over when they heard their names being called. Nick was first to react. "Alex! Dude! You're okay!" he exclaimed in friendly jubilation while walking over and giving Alex a very firm pat on the back. Too firm.

Alex doubled over and gave a sharp cough at the unexpected display of affection. "Ah! *cough*... dude! Ease up, man. I'm not exactly made of paper but jeez! 'course I'm okay, though. Why wouldn't I be?"

Nick tried giving a frown, but it was mostly ineffective as one after giving a good natured chuckle. "You never reached out after you took off for your place so I never knew if you made it back safe or not. C'mon, how you gonna leave your dear friends hanging like that?"

Alex tried giving Nick a deadpan stare. Nick was hamming it up as usual. He knew it. He knew Alex knew it. Alex tried giving an exasperated sigh, but his stoicism broke very fast. He gave a chuckle of his own.

Nick gave his best shit eating grin. "Ah! See? There it is! He does have a hea- ack!" Nick was interrupted by Alex playfully shoving his face and pushing him away.

"Alright, alright, that's enough out of you," Alex snarked. He then turned his attention to Andrew, who himself had an amused smile while shaking his head at Alex and Nick's shenanigans.

"It is good to see that you're safe. Have you been managing okay?" Andrew asked after regaining a more calm demeanor.

Alex nodded and sighed. "I've been managing okay, yea. I dunno if Nick or Preston told you, but I had to walk all the way home from Austin cuz my car was just trapped."

Andrew narrowed his eyebrows out of curiousness. "Where exactly do you live anyway?"

"Just outside of North Austin into the suburb town up there."

Andrew's eyes immediately widened up. "You had to walk that far? Goodness, did you make it home safe- well I guess you did since you're here now, but still," he said in disbelief.

Alex sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Yea, that walk back was pretty rough. I was exhausted."

"I can imagine," Nick muttered.

"Thankfully though, my roommate and I already did some shopping a couple days before it happened, so we had plenty to cook and eat after the power came back on. By the way," Alex paused and glanced around, "is anyone else around? Did Spencer and Preston make it home okay?"

Andrew nodded. "Spencer did. I heard back from him a couple days after. Not sure about Preston, though. I didn't reach out to him."

Alex gave a disappointed frown, then turned to Nick. "Did you hear from him? Or from Ashley or Clair, for that matter. Are they okay?"

"What, no worry for dear ol Frank? Bad form, my friend, you're gonna hurt his feelings," Nick said in a teasing tone.

Alex rolled his eyes, impatience for Nick's shenanigans rising. "Oh please, I like the guy just fine, but you have to admit, that guy is as quiet and antisocial as it gets. About the only way he'd be affected is through lack of wifi."

Andrew gave a warning stare. "Alex..."

Alex raised up his hands in defense. "Hey, I'm not saying that to be mean. I swear. I'd be worried about him too, but even you have to admit, the guy never leaves his apartment for anything other than work in the first place. No matter how many times we've invited him out."

Andrew looked like he wanted to argue, but even he couldn't dispute this point. He gave a defeated sigh and a small nod, recognizing Alex's point.

Alex turned his attention back to Nick. "So Clair, Ashley, and Preston?"

Nick started off with a casual shrug. "I don't think you have to worry about the girls. They were both home when it happened," Nick paused when Alex gave a relieved nod, "Yea, Clair was kinda startled cuz her next door neighbor transformed and she saw it. Not sure what it was though. She was absolutely useless when trying to get a description out of her. Might've been too panicked. Ashley only found out later that evening on the news, though. So it sailed over her head for the most part.

Nick gave a troubled frown, making Alex's eyes widen slightly. "But Preston, though... I dunno, man. I haven't really heard from him in a while. I reached out once a few days ago to check on him, then again the day after. I did get a text saying 'I'm okay. I'm busy.' from him yesterday, but then nothing since." Nick paused and shook his head. "This whole thing's taking a lot out of him. I tried cheering him up in my texts, but I don't think it helped."

Andrew gave a sad nod. "This past week has been difficult for a lot of people. And actually..," Andrew paused, seeming to hesitate to go further, making Alex slightly worried, "I don't want to add on to your stress, but I was telling Nick here earlier, you may want to prepare for job termination."

Alex's blood went cold as Andrew continued to explain. "It's not anything you did. In fact, no one did anything wrong. But the problem is were facing a huge unknown the likes of which we've never seen before, and we have no idea on how it's going to affect A, the job market and B, the sporting market in particular. It's not guaranteed anything will happen, though!" Andrew rushed to encourage, "It's just that... I don't want to lie to you and say the possibility isn't there, because it is. I just want you to be prepared for the worst case scenario. That's all."

Alex took a shaky breath in an attempt to calm his already rattled nerves, then gave a stiff nod. "Um.. okay. Thanks- um, thanks for letting me know."

Nick gave Alex a sympathetic look, but said nothing so far.

"I know it isn't the easiest thing to hear after an already rough couple of weeks." Andrew paused and gave a distressed sigh. "If it makes you feel any better, it's not just your job that's up in the air. Or even Nick's or Preston's- anyone. Mine is in question too."

Alex did a double take. "Wait, huh? Aren't you supposed to be the manager though?"

"I am the general manager, yes, but I have higher ups too. And if it doesn't look like we're going to be recovering from this as a business anytime soon, they won't really need me to manage this place, especially since there are at least two other companies in Austin that sell University of Texas apparel." Andrew shook his head and looked towards the building almost with longing. "Trust me, I hate this as much as you guys do. Maybe not as much since I still have to come back every so often and maintain our stock and such, but I'm just as worried I'm going to lose my job."

Alex shuffled uncomfortably, not knowing what to say. It was true that this extra bit of news helped his mood slightly, but he didn't want to outright say it. Maybe it just had to do with the fact that he had the knowledge that everyone was in the same crappy boat? Alex studied Andrew's expression and briefly felt startled at what he saw before a wave of intense sympathy washed over after. In that moment, he saw not his manager, but just another coworker scared for his own job. Alex's gaze softened. "I'm sorry, Andrew. I hope it doesn't come down to that."

It was a simple statement, but it seemed to have enough of an impact. Alex got a smile out of Nick, and after a few moments, Andrew as well. "I hope not either, Alex," Andrew responded simply.

After a moment, Nick's warm smile shifted into one slightly more jovial. "Ah, but c'mon, let's not worry about it for now. Whatever happens happens. Let's use the time we have now. Hey, I've got an idea," Nick rambled all at once before Alex and Andrew had a chance to respond, "What say we take a walk around Austin and kill some time? I bet a few things have to be open by now, and if not, well there are always a few parks around the area, right?"

Alex's expression once again shifted to one of amusement and he shook his head in partial disbelief. 'I swear to god, if I didn't know this dude for several months now, I'd say he's high on something.' And yet, he couldn't find himself objecting to his friend's proposal. "Alright, sure. I'm game. Guess I can always come back for my car later."

Nick gave a fistpump, causing Alex to roll his eyes. "Alright, that's one. Andrew?"

Andrew shook his head. "I'd love to, but like I said before, I have to visit every so often to maintain the store and warehouse. This would be one of those times."

Nick grumpily stuck his tongue out.

'What are you, four?'

But Nick didn't press the issue. "Alright, fine. Another time. C'mon, Alex. I know this cool place on sixth street we can try," he declared, having started to walk away from the building.

Alex sighed and gave a last look towards Andrew. "See you around, and good luck," he spoke quickly with an encouraging smile.

Andrew nodded. "Be safe." He turned towards the building to head inside.

Alex turned back and started towards Nick and quickly caught up to him. "Wait a sec, why sixth street? What makes you think anything will be open there?"

"Aww c'mon, where's your sense of adventure? We'll never know for sure unless we try, right?"

"You do realize we're more than likely just wasting our time walking there for nothing, right?" Alex countered.

"Then it'll be good exercise! Besides, after being cooped up for days on end, I kinda need it," Nick remarked in a tone that was far too cheerful for the statement he just made in Alex's opinion.

"...I spent hours just walking here..."

"Then you'll be in better shape than me! Let's go!"

Alex just groaned.

Alex and Nick reached the start of sixth street far sooner than Alex thought. Perhaps he spent so much time walking to downtown from his home that a walk from one downtown location to another felt like a quick trip to the corner store by comparison. Regardless, there was one detail that stuck out right away to him. "Hey, Nick?" he muttered in an almost whisper like tone, "You know how we saw more than a few pokemon that day?"

Nick nodded and whispered back. "Yea... and yea, I know. It's kinda freaky."

The scene seemed relatively normal. Which was the entire problem. There wasn't and sign of any vehicle pile ups. No emergency vehicles, no sirens, nothing. Just people, albeit in fewer numbers than normal, populating and walking up and down the street. Just. People. There was not a single pokemon in sight. Alex thought back to the man he met before. 'One in fifty. That should mean that there are a handful of pokemon around. And yet...' Alex squinted to see if he could see even a humanoid pokemon blending in somewhere, but there didn't seem to be any such being. '...and yet I don't see a single one anywhere now. Are they just pretending as if it didn't happen...?'

Alex was jostled back to the present with a remark from Nick. "Not too surprising, I guess," he nonchalantly mentioned, falling mostly silent after. He spotted a loose piece of concrete and started kicking it along the sidewalk as they went along.

After a few moments of silence, Alex gave Nick a look, encouraging him to continue his line of thought.

Nick glanced at Alex's gaze and gave the loose concrete rock a hard kick, as he gathered his thoughts. "Well... I mean with everyone trying to get shit going again, it'd be natural to push the whole pokemon thing away when they've already got enough to worry about. I bet it'd be better for the pokemon people to try and pretend like it doesn't exist while they get their life in order from everything pretty much falling apart. Then they can worry about the whole transforming thing later." Nick gave the rock another kick, but it curved into the street and fell into a sewer. Nick gave a 'tsk' of annoyance.

Alex was almost afraid to ask the follow up question he had in his head, but he was too curious what his friend and coworker had to say. "You don't think people being afraid of what they'd think of them if they saw what they were would factor into their decision not to be in pokemon form?"

Alex was afraid Nick might be suspicious of the way he asked his question, but Nick didn't seem to notice. "Why should it? I mean they didn't do anything wrong. Hell, we saw how Preston was. He had zero say in what happened to him. Same with everyone else. They've got to see that. Or they should, anyway," Preston spoke in a very casual tone for what he was saying.

Alex raised a disbelieving eyebrow at Nick. "As much as I agree, that sounds pretty naive, man. Even for you. No offense, of course," Nick smirked, but said nothing, allowing Alex to continue, "but you know how stupid and fearful mankind can get. And we basically just had what is essentially hundreds of different alien species show up on our planet in a single instant. I just," Alex paused and gave a sad sigh, looking away from Nick and focusing a distant gaze in front of them as he completed his thought, "I wanna believe you're right and nothing will come from this, but it's just too naive to think that."

"Is it, though?" Nick got another side eye disbelieving glance from Alex, and gave another small smirk, "Oh the ever so clever Alex didn't think of something that I did? That's a first."

Alex rolled his eyes and gave a light backhanded swat to Nick's arm. "Just get to the point, genius."

Nick gave a snicker, but decided not to add any more jabs. "My point is yea, humans suck a lot sometimes. But you're worried like an innocent group of people is gonna get persecuted or whatever. But it's not a group of people. There is no single group this happened to. It happened to everyone and everywhere. Race, country, social standing, don't matter. It affected someone in all of those groups. That's why I think people ought to be- and probably WILL be- a little more understanding. Fear? Sure, at first. People can flip shit over things they don't understand. But dude, we've literally been playing games over this for a couple decades now. It can be understood."

Alex's expression and feelings shifted from cynical disbelief to one of unsure hope as Nick continued his profound explanation. "I... suppose you're right," he muttered almost inaudibly.

Nick gave Alex a friendly smirk and gave him a gentle pat on his back. "You worry too much about others. Don't get too worked up over it. They'll be fine. Preston's gonna be fine too. He just has some shit to work through, but he's a tough guy. C'mon, lets keep going."

Alex's mind once again ran wild, chewing on everything that Nick had to say. He seemed so sure that everything was going to work out smoothly for all the pokemon people in the world. Alex still had his doubts, but Nick seemed accepting enough about the whole pokemon thing. Then there was that man he met earlier in the day. "None of them deserve it. They're still people. It isn't their fault." Those words kept ringing in his head enough, combined with Nick's profound speech that he had to wonder if he was just making a big deal over nothing. 'Yea, I'm a pokemon, a mythical one to boot- hell, probably THE mythical one- but is that really a huge deal...? People seem more concerned with getting their life in order than any pokemon issue anyway. Would it really be a bad thing if someone knew...?'

Alex took a glance at Nick, who Alex saw was taking the entire situation in stride. Alex thought about it and realized that Nick, while not normally serious or emotional, was still very supportive, and had some of the most surprisingly profound things to say at times. Maybe he wouldn't be too much help in terms of helping Alex cope, but something that he did notice was that Nick was usually very good at listening. And sometimes, even that could be a huge help.

"Yo, Alex?"

Alex flinched and his attention shot back to Nick. "Huh? what? what is it?"

Nick raised an eyebrow. "You alright, buddy? You keep on spacing out like that and you're gonna land on Pluto."

Put on the spot, Alex began stuttering and stammering. "Well I uh... I I just was- I thought- I mean," Alex stopped himself and took a breath and a moment to gather his thoughts. 'Should I? Shouldn't I? I mean he is a good friend...' Alex looked up at his friend and saw concern. He had his friend's undivided attention. '...I suppose it wouldn't hurt making him my confidence man for now.' Alex took a shaky breath and his heart did multiple flips as he steeled his will to do what he considered to be a big deal. 'Fuck, I can't believe I'm about to do this.' "I'm... well I'm not exactly fine, per se, but I'm managing."

Nick gave a concerned frown. "Something you wanna get off your chest? We can leave this area if you want. Find some place less crowded."

Alex gave a stiff nod. "Please."

The two quickly left the area and walked to a nearby park, picking a spot under a huge tree. There were a few people around, but they mostly kept to the sidewalks and went about their business.

"So what's on your mind?" Nick asked, trying to keep the tone casual and comfortable.

This did little to help Alex's nerves. His heart was still pounding in his chest. 'Last chance to back out now.' But no, Alex was going to see it through. "First off, you've gotta promise not to tell anyone else. I'm serious about this. This is... I'm still kinda struggling with this, and if the wrong person knew, it could, well uh... it-it could be a huge problem for me," he started, attempting to keep his tone down.

Nick studied his friends expression and recognized that whatever Alex was about to tell him meant a great deal to him. He gave a nod. "I promise. Not a word leaves here without your say so."

This didn't encourage Alex as much as he hoped it would, though he did see that Nick was being sincere. His heart did another flip and he gave another sigh, second guessing his decision to tell Nick, but ultimately deciding to press on. "You remember the day it all started, right?"

Nick gave a smirk and a dry chuckle. "I'm pretty sure if someone didn't remember it, they either lived as a hermit, or they have amnesia. But go on?"

Alex managed a small smile, appreciating that Nick was trying to keep the mood light. "So... ugh, I don't know how to put this without directly saying it, so I'm just gonna go for it."

Nick raised an eyebrow at the slight pause, but said nothing, letting Alex finish at his own pace.

"When I was away from you guys and Preston turned into a druddigon, I... um, well... I also had it happen to me."

Nick's eyes narrowed for a brief moment, confused at the way Alex worded his confession, but he caught on nonetheless, and his eyes went wide. "Woah, hold up, you're not saying that you're...?" Nick trailed off in shock of the sudden revelation.

Alex slowly nodded, and he felt his blood run cold as the truth finally came out to someone. "Yea. I am one. A pokemon."

Nick studied Alex's expression. There was fear, anticipation, uncertainty, and even a hint of shame. Alex couldn't meet Nick's gaze, but he could tell that he was trying to decipher whether or not he was telling the truth. Nick must have figured out he was, because he made a single quiet comment. "Why didn't you say something?"

Alex visibly flinched. It may have been the fear and anticipation making his reaction out to be far worse than it actually was, but Nick's tone sounded somewhat harsh and betrayed.

Nick must have realized how it sounded to Alex when he flinched, however, because he began to stammer a bit. "Ah, shit, I uh, I didn't mean it like that. I swear. It's just, well uh, I mean you know that I knew already that Preston is a druddigon, and like, I'm totally cool with it. Hell, you being a pokemon is cool too, if not cooler since you're a bigger pokemon nerd than I am. Which is a good thing!" Nick quickly added, "So like, why keep it to yourself and fucking torture yourself with it for no reason?" he asked as gently as he could manage.

Alex gave a sharp sigh, slightly relieved that the worst case scenario didn't happen. "It's not that I hid it because I'm a pokemon. I... kinda hid it because of what specifically I turned into."

Nick was confused all over again. "Huh? Okay, then... which one did you turn into?"

Alex glanced around. Their surroundings seemed empty enough. "The uh... the mythical of all mythicals? The genetic ancestor? Number one fifty one?" he spoke quietly so only Nick could hear.

Nick appeared to catch on halfway through Alex's hints. His eyes went wider than Alex had ever seen on him. "No fucking way! You turned into-" he started loudly before Alex frantically cut him off.

"Shhhh, shhshh shut the fuck up, you dumb bitch!" Alex whisper-yelled fearfully while flailing his arms to get Nick to stop.

Nick bit his lip and together with Alex both looked around to see if anyone heard. Thankfully, there was no one in the area to even see that they were having a conversation. Nick took a breath in an attempt to calm himself. "Are... you're not serious, are you?" he asked more quietly, dumbstruck by what Alex just told him.

Alex nodded weakly, not able to meet his friend's shocked gaze.

Nick brought a hand to his own forehead and leaned back, trying to make sense of it all. "But... wha- you were completely normal when you got back! When- how did- huh?"

Alex started shaking slightly as his mind briefly flashed back to Eli, worrying that what happened to him when his so called friends found out might be happening to him now. "I-I stumbled into the method to turn back on complete accident. That's why. I dunno how much you've learned about this thing, but to turn back, you just have to actively will yourself back. Same goes for changing into your pokemon form."

Nick gave a curt nod, indicating that he was aware of that part about the transformations.

Alex paused and continued. "I panicked. I always thought it'd be cool to be a pokemon, but actually doing so was horrifying. I didn't wanna be stuck like that with no explanation. So... yea. I thought I was hallucinating when I turned back. Thought if I just ignored it for the time being I could get help after work. But then Preston transformed too..." Alex trailed off.

Nick brought his palm down from his forehead to his chin, starting to get a grasp on the situation. "Is that how you figured out Preston was the druddigon so fast?"

Alex sheepishly brought his hand to the back of his head, still unable to look his coworker in the eye. "Umm... sorta? See even after I saw him like that, I still thought in the moment that I just imagined the whole mew thing. The thing with Preston was still just a guess. I only fully figured it out when you gave me your account on what happened."

Nick slowly nodded and the two went silent for several painful moments until Nick shook his head and gave a chuckle. "Wow. Just... holy fuck. I mean, I totally get why you didn't wanna tell anyone now. Also why you're so jumpy and spacey today. Something like that getting found out would make for a lot of unwanted attention."

Alex briefly glanced up at Nick, but said nothing.

Nick shook off the rest of his shock and placed a palm on Alex's shoulder, gripping him firmly but gently. "Hey. Alex."

Alex finally was able to make eye contact with his coworker. There didn't seem to be any hint of ill feelings towards him.

Nick smiled at his friend. "I already promised I won't tell anyone, and I mean it. And besides, like I said, you being a pokemon is pretty damn cool. Even cooler since you're one of the super mega special ones," Nick said, adding a little bit of dramatic flair to his last sentence that Alex couldn't help cracking a small smile at, "So yea, try not to beat yourself up over it so much now. I sure as hell ain't gonna judge you. Just as long as you don't go messing with me in ways that I can't get back at you for cuz you've got superpowers and I don't," Nick said with a cheeky smirk.

Alex managed a chuckle. "Alright, alright," he droned on in a dismissive tone. He then took a very shaky breath, letting go of his fears that didn't come to pass, and gave his friend a couple pats on his shoulder. "Thanks, Nick. Really."

Nick's smirk shifted into a genuine smile. "Anytime, fam." He let go of Alex's shoulder and spun around in a flashy fashion. "Now! I dunno about you, but I could still go for a bite to eat. What say we head back to 6th street? My treat!"

"Nick, I really don't think we'll find anything. Everything looked closed."

"Au contrare, my extraordinary acquaintance. I'll have you know I spotted an open cafe right by a bank a couple of streets down."

Alex gave Nick a weird look. "What? Then why didn't we go there to begin with?"

Nick gave his best shit eating grin. "Tis not the destination that makes a journey memorable, but the journey itself! Now c'mon, let's go!" without waiting for another response, Nick started off ahead of Alex again.

Alex gave an exasperated groan. "Fuck's sake, Nick, you're more trouble than you're worth sometimes," Alex muttered. Yet he couldn't help but smile. Alex just laid a bombshell of information onto Nick and he didn't let it change the dynamic between them at all. Nick made it absolutely clear that he had Alex's back, and he still found room to be his usual devil-may-care self. Honestly, he could live with it. And Alex had to admit, his attitude, while troublesome at times, was pretty amusing and endearing. Alex jogged to catch up to Nick and walked side by side with him and began talking about trivial things again as they made their way to the cafe.

"Okay, but like, there's gotta be more of you, right? I'm not gonna wake up one day and be ganged up on for all the times I've messed with you, am I?" Nick quietly asked.

Alex shook his head with an amused smirk. "I really don't know, Nick. But even if there were, I don't think that's how it works. I'm pretty sure I've never heard of one being able to summon all the others at will."

Nick brought a finger to his chin in thought. "Hmm, okay, but what about invisibility? That's still a thing for you, right?"

Alex raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think I'd be able to turn invisible of all things?"

"Becaaause it's supposed to be a mirage in the game's lore! Duh! The dex even says it can do that!"

Alex blinked, then took out his phone and quickly tapped on his pokedex app, going to mew's entry. Sure enough, right there in its lore. Power of invisibility. Alex let out a loud groan and facepalmed. "Oh for fuck's sake, I can't believe I completely forgot to try that! Uuuugghh." Alex locked his phone and slipped it back into his pocket. "Well, guess that's one more thing on my to do list to experiment with."

"Aha, so you admit you would've used it against me if you could!" Nick accused in an obnoxious tone, pointing a finger at Alex.

Alex rolled his eyes. "Nick, get real. First off, never said that. Second, even if I knew how to, I wouldn't use it for something as dumb as pulling pranks. I'd use it so I can train in solitude without as much risk of getting caught."

Nick narrowed his eyes and continued pointing at Alex. "Okay... but I've got my eye on you."

Alex swatted Nick's hand away. "Get your weak ass out of here. Are we almost there so you can quit pestering me already?"

Nick snickered and pointed to a building just up the street from where they were. "Yea, it's right up there. See that bank? Right next to it."

Alex squinted a bit to see it, but then gave a satisfied not. "Ah, okay." Alex was about to say something else before he stopped walking. 'Was that... yelling?'

Nick stopped when he realized Alex was no longer right next to him, and looked behind him. "Yo Alex, you alright, man?"

Alex held up a finger to shush Nick and listened closer. It definitely sounded like faint yelling... like someone fighting? "Do you hear people yelling?"

Nick shrugged, not paying much mind to it. "Not really, but it's sixth street. I wouldn't be surprised if someone was screaming their head off while drunk somewhere."

Alex gave an unsure glance back and listened for a moment longer before slowly turning around. "Yea, I guess you're-"

Alex was interrupted by the sounds of a glass breaking followed up by an even louder crash, some strange deep guttural cry, and a lot of faint computer-like beeping, startling both Alex and Nick. It was coming from the steakhouse that they both just passed. The noise got the attention of more than a few people passing by as well, and a small crowd was starting to form.

"Okay, THAT I heard. What the hell even was that?" Nick asked somewhat forcefully.

"I dunno, but maybe we ought to just keep moving. It might be a bar fight or some shit," Alex noted feeling less and less sure about their current situation the more he spoke. Another smaller crash and some yelling and screaming could be heard from inside the building.

Nick scoffed. "I dunno, it sounds a little too crazy to be just a fight. But if it is, I kinda wanna see it," he remarked and turned towards the building to see if he can get a better view of whatever was transpiring inside.

Alex shook his head and kept giving nervous glances to the building. He heard another pair of small crashes inside, but what was even more alarming to Alex was that he heard multiple screams coming from inside. A few people burst outside the door, running away from the building with sheer terror on their faces. Much to Alex's dismay, this was not deterring Nick in the slightest. Alex debated on stopping Nick. This was looking less and less like a good idea. He heard lots more screaming inside, and it was getting louder. 'Fuck this, it's not worth a mere spectacle.' Alex rushed forward to close the distance between him and Nick, just as Nick was reaching the entrance. "Nick wait, I don't think this is such a good-"

...

...

...

...

...

blink. whiteness.

...

Ringing.

...

Alex's ears were ringing.

Pain.

...

His head was hurting. And chest. He coughed. Several times.

The ringing was fading. He heard faint screaming. Alex blinked. His vision was blurry. His head felt wet.

Alex's entire body suddenly started aching. He groaned. He was on the ground? He tried lifting his head. Pain exploded and he let out a loud groan. Why were people screaming? He blinked again and his vision began to come back into focus.

The building... had a hole in it? Alex grimaced in pain and sat himself up as best as he could. An entire section of the building was in ruin. People were screaming and running out and away from the building. Alex began to regain his reason and began to panic. Alex was close enough to get hit by whatever caused it, but Nick- "Oh fuck no. NICK! Arg-!" Alex doubled over in pain. His chest and head were hurting immensely. He held his hand up to his head. It felt warm and wet. He brought his hand down so he could see it. Blood. His heart jumped in his chest, but he forced himself to pay it no further mind. There were more pressing matters.

He looked around and his eyes were drawn to a figure he immediately recognized as a regirock. It was laying on the ground motionless. His eyes widened as he realized what had happened. 'Oh you've gotta be shitting me.' He frantically scanned his surroundings until-

Alex felt sheer terror coursing through his veins. No.

It's not real.

Alex dragged himself over to a figure, ignoring the pain.

It was him. But why?

'Why?'

Alex felt his vision going blurry again. He felt lightheaded.

Nick was laying motionless in a pool of dark red blood, with a shocked, distant, lifeless expression with his mouth slightly agape.

"H... help...

...

"HEEELLP!"

((Aaand forget what I said about this month not being busy. Of course me, being an absolute moron, forgot that the holiday season tends to be the busiest season of the year. Thank goodness I got bit by the writing bug when I did, or this chapter may not have come out until February. Ugh... well it's out now. And I actually quite like how it came out, if I do say so myself. And holy moly, longest chapter I've written BY FAR. Of course I make no promises that future chapters will match this length. But anyway, reviews are much appreciated. I know it doesn't seem like it, but I really do read them all. And I appreciate it lots. And of course, happy new years, everyone! May 2020 become nothing more than a funny memory.

Also, changed the genre from 'adventure' to 'drama' since it seems to fall a bit more in line with the latter category.))