Something wasn't right. Something definitely wasn't right. I feel something watching me. I couldn't decide whether it was good or bad, but I refused to open my eyes to check because I did not want to find out.
Up until this point, everything was going so well. The tour with Violet went off without a hitch. This organization must've had a lot of external support because the facility is massive. Outside of personal amenities, it had just about everything a person needed. In fact, it had everything it needed to raise an army.
After that, Violet and I went our separate ways after returning to the Team Alpha rooms. Richard, whose mood had changed from a jubilant excitement to somber happiness. He showed me where everything was and that rooms were split between males and females, which I could understand. I only paid enough attention to really understand what each room did. Outside of that, I dedicated myself to figuring out what was bothering him.
I got my answer about an hour later as everyone prepared to retire for the night. Lucas had pulled me aside and informed me that everyone was on edge because they had all said their final goodbyes to a critically injured squadmate, which helped me put two and two together. Whoever they were was most definitely what that doctor was talking to Basilisk about, and judging by how some team members were even more affected by it than others meant that this person had some tie to the Palmers.
One thing I really couldn't understand, though, is why cut out Violet from this deal? From what she told me, she was a relatively new squad member, so she must've at least known him. I pondered that until sleep eventually took me, and while I was hoping for it to be a kinder respite than what I was used to back home, it was nothing like it. I was having a nightmare or night terror as far as I could tell.
Finding a bit of courage, I cracked open my eyes. I was still in bed, but at the same time, I wasn't. Instead of staring at the bottom of a bunk bed, I was staring at a purple sky littered with various pieces of land, all floating around chaotically. In some parts, water flowed in every direction. There was no sense of order to anything I saw, which messed with my mind.
Sitting up, I could tell I was still in the male sleeping quarters, but things were different, much like the missing bunk bed. The concrete walls were cracked and, in some places, missing. In fact, half of the room was completely gone. Some of the room's furniture was floating outside the room's boundaries. Worse yet, I could still feel that presence, which could be anywhere in this chaos.
"Hello!" I called out. My voice echoed, but it grew more and more distorted with each echo. "Is there anyone out there?"
No one but the chaos you see before you.
"Who said that?!" I yelled, slightly panicking as I sprung up from the bed.
It is truly gratifying to see my labor has paid off.
I sprung up in bed, gasping for air. Sweat trickled down my face as I frantically scanned the room, looking for any sign of… whatever that was. Much to my relief, it was the same normal boring room. Everybody and everything was still in place. I folded my hands over my face and relieved a sigh.
"What the hell was that?" I muttered to myself.
I tried recalling my childhood knowledge about the world of pokémon. Okay, so I was in a place that defied all logic. Everything seemed out of place. Water flowed in every direction and pieces of floating land, and the sky was purple. It did seem familiar, but I couldn't quite put a finger on it. I suppose I could ask someone like Mystic tomorrow, which would probably be better than focusing on it, considering I still need to sleep while I have the time.
I tried falling asleep, but I couldn't remove that place from my thoughts. Everything seemed so wrong, not to mention whatever else was there with me. It seemed to know who I am, or at least my title. Either way, it's a very concerning notion because I still have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing.
I don't know how long I was lying in bed, but eventually, an alarm went off. Richard shut it off and got from the bed as soon as it came on. I sighed and got out of bed, followed by Lucas and Tommy shortly after.
"How did you sleep, Guardian?" Lucas said, hopping off the top of one of the bunk beds.
"Not well," I muttered.
"Oh, you are in a world of hurt today!" Tommy bellowed as he walked out of the room.
"What does he mean by that?" I demanded.
"Well, each team has a sort of orientation that its new recruits go through," Lucas began.
"Team Alpha is no exception, regardless of any exceptional cases. Our orientation version involves a challenging obstacle course to test you on one specific thing," Richard continued.
"And that is?" I asked.
"That's for you to figure out," Richard responded.
"So, is this official, or is this unofficial?"
"A mix of both. We aren't exactly required to do this by the wider organization, but each squad does something like this for all new recruits. There is some official stuff for you to do afterward, but that will seem much easier after the obstacle course," Richard began to head to the exit. "Now, let's run you through your morning routine."
I followed him out of the room, and he led me to the room right down the hallway from the dorms. From the tour with Violet, I recognized it as being the men's "locker room." I'm sure that wasn't the actual name for it, but for now, it worked.
"So, normally, we wake up at around 5:30 in the morning, unless it is a holiday or one of our designated days off," he began. "After waking up, all of us must get changed into the clothing of our choice. We only put on our "uniform" when we have a mission on the same day."
"I'm so confused. Is this a military thing or like… just a normal thing?" I asked.
"I'll give a quick rundown: The P.L.F. was formed as an experiment. The government experimented with integrating both humans and pokémon into a single organization. Don't ask. Things were a bit backward back then. The experiment proved very successful. To make a long story very short, and we've existed ever since. So, technically, we are a government organization, but we are given a lot of leeways."
"That's… somewhat helpful," I responded.
"If you want a better explanation, there's always the library," he sighed. "Anyway, after getting dressed, we all convene at the mess hall to grab food, which we eat in the room where we all met you yesterday. After that, we discuss the plan for the day."
"That's it?" I asked incredulously.
"Yep. That's it," he responded.
"Wow… I expected that to be more complicated."
"Everyone does. We didn't have enough time yesterday to find you a change of clothes, so I guess you are good to go, so just wait outside for the rest of us."
I shrugged and waited outside the locker room. People from both sides trickled out of the locker rooms until the hallway became cramped. It was oddly silent. I couldn't tell if it was from morning grogginess or something else. It wasn't until Basilisk ushered all of us out of our section and into the larger hallway.
It was a concise journey to the mess hall, which wasn't too crowded yet. I guess that's one of the perks of being the first letter of the alphabet. The options for breakfast were a shoddy-looking breakfast sandwich or a muffin with yogurt. I very quickly took the muffin and yogurt.
Once we returned to that briefing room, conversation finally broke out as everyone began to eat. It was a quiet murmur at first but rose in volume gradually. While that was happening, I was peacefully eating my breakfast. Until Violet came and sat down next to me, having just finished a conversation with Ghost. I didn't mind, though. Some company is always nice.
"I see you picked the muffin," she began. "I don't really blame you. I'm almost positive they use rattata meat in sandwiches."
I nearly choked on my food and looked at her wide-eyed. She chuckled in response to my reaction.
"I was just joking," she laughed before becoming severe. "At least I think I am."
"Thank god I didn't take the sandwiches then," I half chuckled.
I continued to eat until I noticed Violet giving me this bizarre look.
"Did I say something wrong?" I asked.
"No, no! I keep forgetting you're from another world that's… like different from there," Violet responded.
I snickered, "Trust me, I understand that."
"So, what were things like? Religiously, I mean?" she asked.
"That's an… odd question to ask," I mused.
"Sorry! I just have an interest in religion and that sort of thing," she sputtered.
"Well, at home, there was a mix of many religions. I, myself, wasn't too religious," I explained.
"Why?"
"I don't know. I guess I never really thought of it, or at least I didn't think it would do me any good. I wasn't exactly in too good of a situation before I got here, so maybe I didn't really believe any sort of higher power existed anyway," I said after a long pause. "What are things like here?"
"All religions here are complementary. All of it stems from the worship of Arceus, and each deviation emphasizes a single legendary while still adhering to the worship of Arceus. There are some fringe groups. I am aware of a specific group of zoroark that live in some lost valley. They gave up their mischievous nature to worship Arceus, so the story goes."
"That's certainly much better than the situation back home. There were a lot of fights throughout history that were religiously charged," I remarked. "But that is a story for another time. I've got a muffin to eat and apparently a very long day ahead of me."
"Ah, I had nearly wiped that from my memory, too," Violet muttered. "Good luck dealing with all of that."
"Is it that bad?" I asked, feeling my nerves creep up on me.
"Depends on the type of person you are. I could see a few people here have had a field day with that. I loathed nearly every moment of it, especially what came afterward."
"So…" I leaned in closer, "Do you mind sharing what exactly that is?"
A wicked smile crossed Violet's face, "Now that would be spoiling the surprise!"
"But aren't friends supposed to help each other out?" I said desperately.
"Oh! So we're friends now?" Her wicked smile had turned into a rather wolfish grin.
I raised my hands defensively, "Well… I mean… yes?"
"While normally I'd say slow your roll, I'll make a special exception, just for you," she laughed.
"Why?" I asked, suddenly confused.
"Well, if you haven't noticed, you and I aren't exactly liked. At least not yet," she explained, leaning back in her chair.
"I mean, Aurora seems to like me."
"Ugh, don't even get me started on Aurora," Violet glowered.
"What's wrong with her?" I questioned.
"Chalk it up to… cultural differences," she hissed.
I snorted, "I mean, I'd expect there to be cultural differences. You're human, and she's a lucario, after all."
She froze for a second, and her eyes went wide, "Yeah, I suppose there would be some cultural differences," she chuckled nervously. That was weird.
"Alright!" Basilisk barked, "After eating, you have about an hour to yourselves. After that time is up, I want you all to convene here for our newest recruit's orientation. I hope that'll help raise everyone's spirits."
"Oh, I know it'll raise mine," Tommy bellowed, eliciting some laughs from everyone. "Maybe I should try and find a camera."
I set my muffin down. I suddenly didn't feel hungry anymore. I absolutely cannot wait for whatever I'm going to get myself into. I imagine it must involve some level of humiliation. I'm glad that of all the organizations with a vested interest in whatever I'm supposed to be, the one that hazes you to join found me.
"" Are you going to finish that?" Violet asked as the others began to file out of the room. I looked at her and shook my head. Any delight on her face before had now washed away and in its stead was a look of concern. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know! Maybe the crucial test thing that I have to do!" I said, throwing my hands in the air.
"It isn't as bad as everyone is making it out to be. We all kind of joke around about it," Violet tried to soothe, but to no avail.
"That really doesn't make me feel any better."
"Alright, how about this?" A slight smile returned as she leaned closer to me, "All I'll say is that they aren't testing you for what they think they are. You'll understand when you get there."
Satisfied, she leaned back, and I gave her a quizzical look. She shrugged her shoulders, and her expression soured before I could ask any questions. She was looking past me, so I turned around to see what was causing the disturbance, and, much to my surprise, Aurora was there.
"Guardian?" She began.
"Aurora?" I responded, turning around in my chair. "You know that's not my name, right?"
She paused briefly before nodding, "Think of it as a title of enduring respect."
"Respect that I haven't earned yet," I muttered. "So, what is it that you need?"
"Since you are new to everything here, Lucas and I thought you might need help learning about everything," Aurora chirped innocently.
Violet snorted, "Nathan's got that really important test in an hour, and your idea of fun is to bury him in books?"
"Maybe it's not the most fun, but it is necessary. Don't you want him to be prepared considering…" Aurora trailed off as Violet gave her a nasty glare.
"Alright, how about this? I'll go studying after the test. I think it'll be better that way since I'd have more time to avoid whatever fight is brewing here," Aurora perked up, nodded, and quickly slinked her way out of the room. I then refocused my attention on Violet, who was sitting there with a smug look on her face.
"What the hell was that about?" I snapped.
She held her hands up defensively, "I just saved you an hour of being bored to death by those honor-bound pricks."
"When you said cultural differences, I thought it was a very minor thing. This though. This is hatred," I remarked, recoiling in surprise at her hostility.
"I'm not lying. Where I come from, we don't exactly get along with lucario. Although, I will admit, our reasons are much more justified than others like me."
"What? Do humans just have a hatred for lucario here?" I asked, to which she paused.
"No… in fact… I'd argue that a lot of people like lucario. More so for the loyalty above all else."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You know, human-pokémon relations," she stated plainly. A horrified look crossed my face, which she quickly picked up on. "What? Are you one of those people who think we aren't sentient or capable of being anything other than tools?"
I shook it off and then narrowed my eyes at her, "What do you mean by us?"
Her eyes widened before quickly returning to normal, "It was just a slip of the tongue, but my point still stands," she huffed, her face becoming a scowl.
"No, I don't think that. This is just all new to me. A few days ago, absolutely none of this was real to me, and human-pokémon relationships are an especially new thing that I don't understand. Sorry if my reaction offended you."
Her gaze softened, and she placed a hand on my shoulder, "Don't apologize. I should have known that it would've been new to you. I'm sorry for getting a bit pissy at you too. It's just something that…" she trailed off. "Eh, I don't need to bore you with an explanation.
"Alright," I began. "Let's move on from that then." I shifted my gaze to a clock on the wall. I still had an hour left before I had to face whatever this test was. For an hour, I had no idea what to do with it. Maybe I should've gone and gotten buried in some books. At least that would've given me something to do.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Burned into that void, though, was the ghastly image of the creature that I had had a nightmare about. I couldn't see it, but that voice was enough to haunt me. Powerful, guttural, and elegant. Coupled with whatever fucked up world I was in just worsened it.
I opened my eyes and looked at Violet, staring back in keen interest. "Have you ever had a nightmare that felt so real that you're convinced it was?"
"Walk me through this nightmare," she said, leaning back in her chair.
"Well… I was in this fucked up world where nothing made sense. There were bits of land floating in nothing and water that flowed in every direction. The sky was a purple haze… and there was this voice. This... terrible guttural voice that knew who I was. It referred to me like I was some sort of project."
Her eyes went wide, and she gasped, "You're absolutely sure this was something that happened?"
"Yeah?" I responded, slightly unsure and very nervous.
"I think you were contacted by Giratina."
"Wait? Giratina? Isn't Giratina supposed to be evil?"
Violet sighed, "That's a misconception that the world has. I won't bore you with it, but Giratina is certainly not evil."
"How exactly would you know this?" I questioned.
"Where I come from, my people are record keepers. We protect pieces of knowledge that have been forgotten by the world. Take it from me, any of the things you read will have some sort of bias in them that alters the actual historical event," she explained.
"So, if Giratina is not evil, why did it speak to me?"
"Well, according to one story, it helped to create your role. Before you ask to elaborate, it's probably something that would be better explained when and if we are ever near my home," she elaborated. "Now, how much sleep did you get last night?"
"I don't know, but it certainly doesn't feel like much."
"Alright, I'm not supposed to do this, but I'll keep an eye on the clock if you want to take a quick power nap. About five minutes before the hour is up, I'll wake you up. Sounds fair?"
I wordlessly rested my head on the table. It didn't take long for me to drift off, but something wasn't right. Again, I could feel a presence bearing down on me, and I knew it wasn't Violet's. It wasn't a powerful presence either. It just felt… normal.
Past sins threaten to spill out upon the world. Are you ready?
Violet shook me awake just as Lucas and Aurora walked into the room. Lucas glared at Violet as he took his seat, which she eagerly met with her own glare. I quickly tried to shake off any vestige of tiredness and at least look like I had been awake the entire time.
Everyone else began to file into the room during the next few minutes. The last person to enter was Basilisk, who carried two glasses of… something. She set the two cups in front of me and, along with everyone else, shuffled to the other side of the room. I looked at the cups and then back at them, perplexed.
"Is… this some sort of joke?" I finally said after about a minute of silence. "These are just two cups of what I hope is water."
"One cup is water. The other will cause awful stomach pain," Basilisk explained, "Drink one, and you pass the test."
"That's it?" I said, taken aback.
"Yep," Basilisk replied.
"So, how bad is the stomach pain?" I asked.
"It felt like someone was stabbing me in the gut repeatedly," Richard explained. "Trust me, it's not something you really want to experience."
"Are you fucking kidding me? Is this even legal? I mean, you are making me drink poison!" I sputtered, trying my hardest to contain my panic.
"You could always quit and walk away," Tommy smiled. It was a rather smug look that irritated me. I reached for the water and brought it close to my lips to spite him. I tried drinking from the cup, but my arm locked up.
"Fuck!" I snapped as I set the cup down. I can't do this. I don't want to do this. I looked up at everyone and met each of their eyes. Most waited in silent anticipation, but a few were different. Most notably, Violet and, much to my surprise, Basilisk. I could, to a point, get Violet, but Basilisk? What stakes does she have in this?
"Do you give up?" Hailfire asked. The blaziken was noticeably very resigned during everything, not once indicating what she wanted from this. The same rang true for Charlotte, Richard, and Ghost.
"I bet he does," Tommy said with an infuriatingly smug look. Of course, you have him on the opposite end of the spectrum. He very obviously is vying for me to fail. The more I looked into his eyes, the angrier I got, and the more enraged I got, the more I wanted to wipe that smug smile off his face.
Still maintaining eye contact, I picked up one of the cups and swiftly drank from it. His smug look immediately dropped and was replaced with one of thorough disappointment. As happy as that made me, I was terrified that I had picked the one with the poison. The question was, how long did it take to act? A few tense seconds passed, and I felt nothing. I relaxed and slinked backward in my seat, relieved that I hadn't gotten the one with poison.
"Well, color me surprised," Hailfire remarked.
"And me disappointed," Tommy added, crossing his arms over his chest.
"So, I'm not feeling anything. Does that mean I avoided the poison?" I asked, straightening myself out a bit.
"Not exactly," Basilisk began, slithering over to my side of the table. "The poison wasn't real. It was just to test your determination."
"The fucking poison wasn't real?!" I hissed bitterly. "The hell was the point of that?!"
"Like Basilisk said, to test your determination because anyone who isn't crazy enough to down poison to get shot at is not wanted on this squad," Richard calmly responded.
"And now, with that out of the way, I'd like to formally recognize you as an officer of the P.L.F. and a member of Alpha Team," Basilisk continued, using a vine to hand me a rank insignia. "We'll spend the rest of the day helping you get accustomed to everything, but since everyone is here, we have another operation."
"Already?!" Ghost whined, throwing her hands in the air, which was odd to see a grovyle do.
"Quit your whining. We all know you relish the opportunity to live up to your name," Tommy responded to her, taking a seat directly across from me. Everyone else followed suit, with Violet sitting next to me.
"Yeah, but not so soon after we just had one and especially not after-"
"Listen up!" Basilisk barked, silencing the room. "We've gotten reports of suspicious activities coming from the industrial district. We think it may be Red Dragon related."
"Do we know for certain? It's not like the Red Dragons to risk attracting the ire of the police force," Richard remarked, leaning forward.
"While we don't know for certain, we are rather confident. None of the other local gangs have enough manpower to make the movements we've observed. We aren't set to move on this until the end of this week, so we have time to gather more information," Basilisk then made direct eye contact with me, "We will all still meet for training exercises on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Beyond that, your schedules are free but use it wisely. All of you are dismissed, except Nathan."
Slowly, everyone filed out, leaving me alone with the serpent, "Did I do something wrong?"
"No, not at all, but now that you are an official member of this squad, you have some official tests to do," she said, cracking a slight smile.
"Was that a joke?" I responded mockingly.
Her slight smile dropped, "You're pushing your luck, rookie," she slithered past me, "But, for the record, it was. Now come on. The sooner we get this done, the sooner you can relax."