Book II: Impending Twilight
Chapter 107: The next contract
Point of View Gray
The morning was young, and the sun was just now beginning to peak from above the tree line. I inhaled a breath of the cool morning air, and exhaled a misty fog. My body was still pretty sore from my injuries, but the trip was going to be possible thanks to Amaterasu's help. Despite me being a bit stubborn, I couldn't deny that I really needed the rest.
"Well, looks like this is it," Amaterasu spoke from behind me as she stepped foot out of her den.
"It seems so," I agreed as I turned back to her.
"Be careful out there, I'd hate find out you ended up getting injured like that again, but from the way you describe your work, it seems like it's bound to happen again somewhere down the line."
"I don't plan on letting this happen again," I sternly stated.
"Very well then. If you're ever in the area again, don't be a stranger. Out here it can get lonely at times, so it never hurts to see a familiar face."
"I'll be sure to stop by if I'm ever near. Thank you for the invitation," I slightly bowed my head to show some respect. "I know I've been somewhat of a stubborn bastard at times, but I'd like to thank you for all the help... Not only did you treat my wounds, you kept me from storming off and hurting myself again," I bowed my head again, feeling that I had no way to repay this debt.
"Well…" She said with a small chuckle, "it's the very least I can do. We pokemon need to watch out for each other." I nodded in agreement.
"Well, I guess I should get going, I have a long trip ahead of me."
"Take care Grayson, and may Arceus and all the other Legendaries watch over you." The two of us shared one final glance, before I began my journey back.
This trip was most certainly going to be a long one, especially since I wasn't fully recovered. It was truly a shame that I'd failed. I'd even admit to being embarrassed of the fact. Despite my hesitation of confronting Zack again, I did need to let him know I wasn't dead.
Point of View Annie
Quietly, I sat in a chair thinking to myself, while half asleep due to the two hours of sleep I got. It was as if Arceus let me get just enough sleep to make myself groggy, but not enough to restore my energy. One thing was for sure though, when I get off my shift, I'm dying on my mattress. That's if I'm not kept awake all night again.
"You're quiet today," a weak voice that was devoid of any real emotion quietly spoke from across the room. My eyes locked onto the vaporeon that sat in front of me.
"Sorry, I'm just a bit tired," I smiled at the vaporeon as I snapped myself out of my thoughts. The water type shifted in his spot, but was restricted due to the shackles that bound him to the ground, with very little moving space. To me it never made sense, if I told the guards that I trusted him to be unshackled, then let the kid be unshackled, he's already been through enough, plus he wouldn't even have the strength to fight. To make things worse, the vaporeon was just a kid, probably around twelve, give or take a year.
I rose up my clipboard to write as I crossed one of my legs over the other. "So, care to tell me how you're feeling today?" I asked the vaporeon as I always asked my patients, of course I never expected a good answer, but my job was to help with there problems.
"Like anyone cares about how I feel here." The vaporeon turned his head from me as he bit down and his claws scratched against the reflective white floor.
I frowned at the child, "I wouldn't have taken this job if I didn't want to help pokemon like you," I weakly smiled at him, even though it was a poor argument that was somewhat of a lie. I did want to help, but I wasn't here by choice.
"If you really cared you'd do something about this," the vaporeon spoke quietly, as each word became more heavy than the last.
I remained silent as I listened to the vaporeon's breath's grow louder, and soon the first tear fell. My throat tightened as I felt the need to speak up, but there was nothing I could say to him that wouldn't make things worse.
"I'm not even a pokemon anymore, even if I did get out I'd just be some freak!" the vaporeon broke out into sobs as he began to pull on the chains. "And you're just sitting there acting like you can talk me into a better mood?! I want my freedom back, I want to be with my family, I want my body back to the way it used to be!" the vaporeon screamed as he began pulling on the chains.
"Please, I need you to calm down, or I'll have too-" I froze as small embers came from the vaporeon's maw and then he crashed onto the ground holding his jaw shut. A red light flared up in the room, and the vaporeon broke into tears.
"I'm not a vaporeon anymore, just some freak," the vaporeon cried. I got up out of my chair to walk towards him, but right when I stood, the door to our room flew open. Quickly storming the room was one human, and three pokemon.
"Hey, this isn't necessary!" I yelled at the four, but they ignored me. One of the three pokemon was a jolteon, and it quickly sent a bolt of electricity at the vaporeon who was still crying on the ground. He let out a loud cry, before passing out unconscious.
"if you want to prevent this, then keep your damn pokemon under control!" a arbok snapped at me, as a machop grabbed the vaporeon by its hind legs and dragged him out of the room. I waited quietly until the four of them left.
"Damnit!" I yelled as I threw my clipboard on the ground, causing all my notes to scatter. "He was just a kid!" I yelled at the four that were no longer there. I inhaled a deep breath as I stormed out of my work station and headed down the hall. I stopped in front of a door and banged on it repeatedly, until it opened on its own. I clenched my fist as I walked into the room.
"You know your guards got some nerve barging into my sessions when I didn't buzz for any help!" I yelled at a xatu who sat behind a desk.
"Oh Annie," the Xatu said carelessly. "We merely do that to protect our workers, if we don't you can end up dead one of these sessions, especially someone who's careless like yourself."
"Excuse me? You got something you wanna say?" I growled at my superior, Russ.
"Take a seat Annie," Russ ordered, but I remained standing.
"I'm fine how I am," I replied back with a growl.
"Hmmf, fine." Ross snorted. "I've been observing your work lately. Not only are you the one the guards have to aid the most, you're also the one with the lowest success rate of actually helping our specimen stay sane," the xatu scoffed.
"So you're attacking my work now, this is very irrelevant to what I'm trying to address here!"
"I can tell you this Annie, if this keeps up, you may want to start looking for a new job." I paused as my eyes widened at the xatu.
"All the other therapists here do is drug them up or use psychic abilities to brainwash them into zombies, it isn't right."
"And you know what Annie, it works. These pokemon are quiet till there next lab date. Either way, what does it matter, they'll be dead in the end anyways, and those who do survive will have their minds wiped clean."
"That's not helping though."
"Well Annie, you can choose now. Do what you view as the right decision, or lose your job in a week or two. I could honestly not care less, there is a very long line of far more qualified pokemon waiting to get your job. Now, get out of my office."
Not wanting to risk my job any further, I quickly left his office without another word. While walking down the hall, I glanced up towards a clock and noticed I had a small gap of time between now and my next appointment. Taking advantage of my time, I went into the break room, which was empty at the moment. I shut the door behind me and locked myself in.
"Arceus, I really can't deal with this today," I stammered out as I leaned against the wall, and slowly slid down to a sitting position and hugged my knees. My eyes began to grow heavy, and I rubbed my eyes with my arm in an attempt to hide any emotions. "I can't... not here," I told myself. "I just need to last six more hours, then I can be alone." I took a moment to calm myself, then I stood back up.
I went on with my work day from there, I saw all my patients, and I continued my usual routine. Luckily, none of my other patients had any violent outbursts, I could thank Arceus for that, I guess. Once my shift finally ended, I didn't waste time heading to my room. Once in my bedroom I collapsed onto my bed like I always did.
"Finally," I cried out in relief. For the next twenty minutes I laid on my bed half conscious, until I remembered Zylen. I reached for the phone, and dialed up the zoroark. I waited on the line for a few seconds, until he answered.
"Hey," Zylen answered.
"Hey, is now a good time?" I asked the zoroark.
"Yeah, I finished my work for today, so I got the night to myself for once," Zylen said.
"Oh, that's good."
"You alright Annie? You seem a little more quiet than usual, especially for this hour."
I remained quiet for a moment, I didn't know how to explain what was going on with work. "I... I don't want to talk about it, I really just can't think about it anymore."
"okay... So are you calling about what we talked about last night?" Zylen asked.
"Yeah."
"Alright, and?"
"And I want to hire you for what we discussed."
"Alrighty, I'll leave tomorrow morning then. Shouldn't take me long to track them down. As for your second assignment, I still can't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do."
"Okay."
Zylen sighed into the phone, "I'll also get you your cheese cake."
"Cool," I dismissively answered.
"Alright seriously, did something happen today?" Zylen rose his voice into the phone, which caught me off guard and I nearly dropped the phone.
"I said I didn't want to-"
"Yeah-yeah, I heard the first time. Seriously though, I'm not going to pry, but I can tell whatever it is, it's getting to you. I mean Arceus Annie, I just told you I'd bring you cheese cake... and you're like a zombie on the phone. So I'm assuming something big happened if you're bothered this much."
I slightly smiled, he knew me so well. "I just don't want to talk cuz' I'm scared honestly..."
"Scared, why?" Zylen asked.
I let out a hard breath, "Today I talked to my boss. I had something to complain about that I thought was unfair, I'm just trying to help the pokemon down here, but then he just starts criticizing me and verbally attacking me and stuff. In the end of the conversation, he tells me that I should consider looking for a new job, because if I don't change things I'll be fired within a week or two."
Zylen remained quiet as he consumed the information.
"I-I don't know how to respond to this. I'm trying my hardest to actually help them, and all he wants me to do is put them on drugs, or mess with their brain to make them emotionless." My eyes began to water as I explained things to him, but I tried my hardest to keep them in. "I really need this job, but I don't want to stoop down to that level. I know I'm already a horrible person, but I just can't do that to others, even if it means protecting Flare." Tears began streaming down my eyes, and I wiped them away as quickly as I could.
All I heard from Zylen was silence, until he finally spoke up. "If things really do get bad, then leave Genesis. We can find your brother and we can leave this region together. They won't follow us across the world over something like that."
"That's not what I want for Flare though! I agreed to all of this because I wanted him to have a good life, not one where we're hiding in the shadows our whole lives," I stammered out.
"I really don't have an answer you'll like, I'm sorry. It's either you do what your boss tells you, you do my plan, or you switch positions to something else."
"There is nothing else I can do here!" I shouted into the phone. "And I can't do what he wants either... I mean even if I could, then what? I'm just going to live a miserable life until one day I either kill myself from not being able to live with myself, or I drop dead from all the stress I'm under."
"Annie, don't talk about hurting yourself please... it's not really a pleasant thought for me."
"Yeah well none of this is pleasant for me either. I have had to deal with this crap for the past seven years, and I'm just reaching my breaking point."
"Alright listen, I'm sorry this is happening, but if you don't want to leave Genesis then you're going to have to be strong for a bit longer. I'm a busy guy, but if you ever need to talk just call me, I'll try my best when I can. For now though, I'ma do what you asked so you can at least feel a bit better, then when I finish that I'll see if maybe we can work something else out to get you out of this."
"Yeah... getting out of this would be nice," I admitted.
"Annie, I'm going to have to go now to get supplies for my trip. If you're still awake in two hours call me, if not, then hopefully you can get a good night of sleep."
"Alright, thanks for talking Zy. I at least feel like I got a bit off my chest... just please be careful while you're gone, I don't want you getting hurt over this."
"Heh, relax, I'm a pro at what I do. All in all, I'll probably come to the conclusion that the espeon isn't dangerous, but we'll see."
"Alright, well be safe."
"You do the same Annie." The two of us hung up and I was alone once again.
Point of View Zylen
Since the beginning of my new contract, I have mostly spent my time in the form of a mightyena. A mightyena was one of my favorite forms, not only is its species quick on its feet, but they're known for being relentless hunters that can track down anything. No matter how far you run, and how hard you try to change your scent, a mightyena will always sniff you down.
During my travel, I made my way from where I last saw Crimson, and I followed the scent for days. At first the scent was faint, even for a mightyena, but the smell of all those pokemon were hard to forget. My journey has taken me far, but it took me to the general area I expected to be, Snowbelle. Despite my thick fur in this form, it was so cold I couldn't help but shiver like mad.
Snow slowly fell from the sky, and added to a small layer on the ground that was no thicker than an inch. That was Snowbelle, early winters, late springs, but summers that weren't too hot.
"Ughhh, I freaking hate the cold," I scowled as I followed the scent. For the next few miles I followed the scent, until I found a small camp that was set up. Three tents were set up, all of which would probably hold two pokemon, and in the middle of all the tents was a camp fire. I cautiously approached the campfire, until a greninja jumped in front of me in a blur.
"What business do you have here, mightyena?" The greninja asked me as her arms cross. "Need food? Lost? I can help if needed, but I'm afraid my time is a little scarce."
"I'm here to speak to Mandus," I said, as my form shifted back to my original zoroark form. The greninja just barely flinched from the surprise.
"What are you doing all the way out here? You're a mercenary, I remember that, so are we on your list now?" The greninja asked. In the background I could see that quilava and a black scyther watching.
I smiled at the greninja, but it was a nervous smile, "I'm here on mercenary work, but I'm not here to kill you."
"Go on."
"Annie, the Braixen, I don't know if you met her, but she wanted me to assist you guys."
"And why would she send you if she had interest in us?" The greninja asked.
"Because, we have something we want to work out with you guys, and I think it's all in our favor. So, go get Mandus, and I'll talk it out with him."
The greninja stared at me, doing nothing but blinking every few seconds.
"Ummm, hello-:
"Wait here," She quickly replied. The ninja pokemon left, and the scyther and quilava kept their eyes on me until the greninja returned with Mandus and the albino espeon.
"Long time no see," I joked with Mandus, but the lucario didn't even break a smile.
"why are you here?" Mandus quickly asked.
I explained everything I told the greninja earlier to Mandus, down to the part where I mentioned a deal.
"A deal?" Mandus repeated with skepticism.
"Yeah," I nodded. "You see, Annie hired me to track you down and assist you if you'll agree to a deal. If you're really claiming the power of Legendaries as your own, then you'll be a force to be reckoned with. So, I'll help you capture your next target, and in exchange, you'll help us bring down Genesis," I told Mandus, even though it was a clever lie. Annie had no true intention of bringing Genesis down, but hey if Mandus really had the power to do it then I'd let him, far as I'm concerned he'd be doing the world a favor. "I think this is a fair trade though, your espeon will struggle to hold another Legendary, so I can help with that. Plus, I know you're doing this for all the pokemon that are mistreated by humans, and Genesis is on the top of the list of wronging pokemon. So, what do you think?" I asked Mandus with a smirk.
"Why would Annie want to destroy the very corporation she works with?" Mandus asked.
"Funny you ask, she's not actually working for them. Back when the whole Team Flare downfall thing, Annie and I got caught up in that, and in that whole mess was Annie's little brother. Long story short, we had a run in with an absol known as the White Reaper, and their was no way we were going to beat her... so, we struck a deal. They let us go, but they wanted Annie to be a spy for them. As for me, I got off easy and I just have to relay info between WPA and Annie.
"Annie also isn't allowed to contact her brother in anyway, and if things go bad they could kill him since he's a criminal just like us. So, problems are coming up now, Annie is having work problems and may lose her job, which will result in us being on WPA's bad side. So, if you help destroy Genesis we may actually live, and Annie can see her brother again," I finished and let the lucario absorb all that info I fabricated over the past few days.
"Tempting offer," Mandus commented, "I always planned on destroying Genesis once we have control of enough Legendaries."
"So, you'll accept?"
"I'll allow you to fulfill your contract, and tell Annie that I'll do what is in my power when I have the three Legendaries I seek."
"Excellent," I smirked.
"Just one question though," Mandus asked. "The White Reaper, how was she when you saw her?"
"Whoa, that was years ago Mandus."
"It has been a long time since I've talked to her, just the name White Reaper makes my skin crawl." A small smirk crept onto Mandus's face as he appeared to be drifting off in nostalgia of somesort.
"Well... From what I saw she was alive," I answered the lucario.
Mandus snapped out of his thoughts, "Hmmf, I didn't expect her to be any other way."
"You know her or something?"
"Nevermind that," Mandus dismissed and walked back towards the camp they had established. I followed behind the lucario, but I stopped following once I was by the campfire. I brushed the snow off a stump of wood, and I sat near the warmth and comfort of the fire. I reached my hand into my mane and withdrew a box of cigarettes and a lighter. Once I lit up my cigarette I began feeding my bad addiction.
"Sooo... you're a mercenary?" I turned to me side to see a quilava who appeared to be puzzled by my presence.
"Uh huh," I nodded at him with a cigarette in my maw.
"Don't think we won't have our eyes on you," the fire type stated, "But I'm just saying, names Merrick though."
"Shade," I answered.
"You know, I actually recall a different name back in Coumarine."
I blew a puff of smoke as I withdrew my cigarette from my mouth, "Let's just go with Shade, the braixen you heard using my real name is a very close friend, but I use Shade on my contracts."
"Kay..." Merrick's head cocked to the side as he observed me some more.
"So, I've never actually met a zoroark... Is it true your kind can make illusions and shapeshift?"
I just barely smiled at the question, but I tried to keep the mercenary face going, "It's true, our forms can change to match any pokemon we've seen in our lives, along with casting illusions."
"Cool, mind showing me? Maybe make the scenery around here a little less... gloomy?"
"If we're going to be fighting against a Legendary tomorrow, then I'd prefer to save my strength. Casting mass illusions on that scale can leave even a skilled zoroark exhausted." The quilava seemed to lose amusement in me, and found his own little corner on the other side of the camp fire.
Joining us at the camp fire moments later was the greninja. She sat down on a rock. Something about her seemed a bit mysterious, kinda how I viewed Mandus when I first met him , perhaps the two were kindred in some way.
"Zylen," a voice caught my attention. I turned to my left and met eyes with the albino espeon who blended in with the snow pretty well. It was actually kind of hard to think that he was possibly a danger. "If you're going to be helping us tomorrow, then I'll need to explain every detail to help you reach your potential against Xerneas."
"Alright, I'm all ears."
"So tell me, what do you know about Xerneas?"
I took a moment to think, and then I came up with a answer, "Absolutely nothing," I admitted.
Vincent shook his head in disappointment. "For future reference, look into your jobs before-"
"I don't need your criticism," I snapped at him.
"Very well," Vincent agreed. "I'll tell you everything then, but truthfully we don't know a lot ourselves. I guess I should start off with the legends of the goddess of eternal life. Xerneas is known to be one of the more powerful Legendaries, this is due to her ability of accelerated healing. In many stories, she is known for healing injured pokemon of their diseases, or fatal injuries. In some rare instances, she even shares the gift of eternal life."
"Ummm, so not only are we hunting a pokemon that does good things, we're also fight a omnipotent being that won't stay down..."
"I see you're skeptical about achieving victory. Well actually, that's where you and me will come in. You see, in order to defeat Xerneas we're going to have to deal a lot of damage really fast. You and I are both capable of creating illusions that can aid our teammates to safely deal damage. Not only that, we'll have a higher chance of capturing her if we're both psychics. You are a decent psychic, right?"
"I'm a jack of many trades, and a master of some, but psychic was never really my thing. Not saying I can't help manipulate Xerneas, I'm just not as good as you or Annie."
"I see. Well that's fine, we do have other tricks to use."
"Such as?"
"Our own Legendary, Zygarde."
"I nearly forgot about that thing... where is it?"
VIncent glanced down towards his paws, "Zygarde is easily able to burrow under ground, so I have him stay down there most of the time. Although, when we get Xerneas it'll be a bit more tricky since she can't burrow underground."
"Perhaps I can help with transferring her. I can cast an illusion where no one will see us, so long as they don't get close enough to disrupt the illusion."
"Hmm, you know Zylen, that may actually come in handy," Vincent smiled.
"It's Shade out here," I corrected. "My real name is for those close to me only, it's a business rule I follow."
Vincent nodded understandingly, "My mistake, Shade. Anyways, we have a lot to go over, not only how to fight Xerneas, but you need to have a full understanding of how our team will function tomorrow. So get comfortable."
Chapter End
Author Note: Well that's all for this chapter. Hopefully the small time skip wasn't jarring, but I had nothing to write that wouldn't be filler if I didn't do that. And God FFN is very difficult to upload a chapter from a phone, so hopefully nothing got screwed up that is ehat I did for this chapter.
Thanks to genericgamer207 for editing.