[CHAPTER 110]

"...I don't recognize any constellations right now, in this particular attitude…"

James Lovell

H.O.R.I.Z.O.N

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'What I'm trying to say is that it's unnatural! And it's such an easy fix!' James was in the process of getting quite worked-up over the topic of discussion. Scratching at his unruly brown hair, he groaned audibly before turning to his companion. It was difficult to see his frustrated expression from knee-height.

'I don't get it.' Rikola replied lightly, burying her hands in her pockets. 'What's the big deal?'

'Isn't it obvious! Unconsolidated sand can't remain stable at slopes greater than thirty degrees!'

This conversation had been going on for some time as the two of them wandered through suburban Viridian. Apparently, something about the geography and topography inside the HORIZON simulation was all wrong. James had been moaning about granite underlying everything, unusually thin soil profiles, and angular hills for nearly twenty minutes straight. In truth, Bagheera had been only been half-listening. The Pokémon was much more interested in the scents and smells of the city as they wandered down the pavement. Rikola hadn't been listening at all - only grunting in agreement when there was a pause in conversation.

It was another few minutes before she got the opportunity to interrupt James's incandescent geological insights.

'How far even is this training field?' Rikola groaned, checking her watch, 'I'll have to drop offline in like an hour too. Ugh'

'Baba said it's a couple of blocks south.' James shrugged before an idea popped into his head, 'Hey! Why don't you let out your Pokémon? It might give them and Bagheera a chance to get to know each other first?'

'Meh.' Rikola pulled a Pokéball from off her belt. In a smooth motion she clicked open the lock and a flash of blinding red light lit the pavement for a second. Bagheera jumped back in fright as the space in front of him suddenly turned from air into the material form of a Pokémon.

A bipedal fox-like Pokémon shook herself off once the awakening was complete. It was clearly a female, with predominantly yellow fur flowing down over her waist to outline what would have looked like a dress on a human. The dark orange tip of her tail wagged back and forward gently as the Braixen surveyed the scene before her. A rather plain-looking brown stick was clutched between fluffy white paws.

The most alarming thing was the fox's size. She stood only a few inches shorter than Rikola, who herself was a tiny bit shorter than James. The Braixen's composure was somewhat human at first with the unmistakable sparkle of intelligence behind her eyes. That was, until the Pokémon bent down, stuffing her twig into her tail, and tapped Bagheera on the nose lightly.

'Hi there little one! Aren't you sooo cute!'

The Liepard back away in embarrassment, almost tripping over his paws in the process. He wasn't sure what was more alarming - the fact that he could understand the Pokémon or just how incredibly effeminate her voice was. It was as if Bagheera could hear two languages at the same time. Overlaying the cute yapping of the fox was a much sweeter feminine voice that was translated naturally for the Liepard.

The Braixen giggled at the reaction of the dark-type.

'You must be Rikola's companions' new Pokémon! What are you called?

'See!' James spoke over the top of the two Pokémon. 'They can get to know each other before...well…'

'Ripping each other to shreds?' Rikola suggested with a dark grin, 'Nah I'm teasing you. She's too shy for that. You coming then girl?'

The Braixen nodded to her trainer, before turning back to the Liepard trotting next to her feet.

'I'm Missy by the way! And you are?'

'Uh...Bagheera. Nice to meet you.' The feline replied slowly, unsure how his voice would sound to the Pokémon.

'Oh my! So formal.' Without missing a step the Braixen curtsied before giggling lightly. 'Nice to meet you too Bahheera. Hehe'

The Liepard didn't have the heart to correct the ditzy Pokémon. She walked by the side of her trainer elegantly, and tall enough to be mistaken as another player. Bagheera sighed, wondering if he was going to get babied wherever he went due to his size. Liepards weren't large Pokémon and James's had repeatedly mentioned he was small for his size. It also meant the feline was tiring out faster on their morning walk. For every step James' took Bagheera had to take two.

'So! Do you like your new trainer?' Missy asked happily, looking down at the feline with a grin spread across her muzzle. The Braixen had small gleaming white teeth that were too rounded to be dangerous. James and Rikola had returned to discussion about sand.

'I...I think so.'

'Oh...I guess you haven't known him long? I met Rikki almost a year ago and she's amazing. So smart and funny...and…' The Braixen giggled. 'You'll see. I bet James is the best!'

'He sure is.' Bagheera mumbled under his breath to quietly for anyone to hear.

'Oh look! we're here! This is going to be so much fun Bahheera!'

Surprisingly Rikola said a similar thing to her Pokémon, although in a much more gruff tone as she plucked up the collar of her leather jacket. 'Oh boy this is going to be great.' The blue-haired girl laughed, punching James on the shoulder. 'You're going down!'

A large gate opened out into what looked like a sport field. However, the green space was neatly fenced off into a number of small playing fields. Each was no larger than a basketball court, with a large block of nine with only a few occupied. The scent of freshly mown grass filled Bagheera's nostrils as he surveyed wide area.

'Right. I booked us into court seven for an hour.' James mentioned, pulling out his softscreen. Bagheera followed the two players down a gravel track lined by trees until they reached the correct field. Missy followed behind, skipping down the path as she watched another battle across the field. It was difficult to see from Bagheera's height, but large gusts of fire were swirling through the sky. Obviously, the destruction that such moves caused could be fixed instantly in the virtual world - or never occur at all. The Braixen oohed and ahhed before almost tripping over her large black foot paws.

Rikola pushed open the wire-mesh gate to the sectioned-off pitch and quickly surveyed the area.

'Well seems I'm short on time. Should we get to it? I'll take the left and you take the right?' The jacketed girl asked. She was already walking in her chosen direction.

'Sure thing.' James agreed before turning to his Pokémon directly. Bending down into a crouch, he ruffled the fur under the feline's narrow cheeks. 'Right Bagheera! You ready?' The Liepard nodded. It was hard to make the motion appear more certain, so he flicked his tail too, bouncing lightly on his front paws. The show of over-enthusiasm brought a warm smile to the boy's face.

'Great! Just listen to what I say and try your best! This is new for both of us.' James' ruffled the fur between the Liepards ears before stroking at the fur on his chin. 'You got this bro.'

The term of endearment slipped off the boy's tongue without thought. However, he was surprised when the Pokémon's eyes lit up brightly in response. The Liepard mewed in agreement, bounding across to their position in the pitch. Bagheera had gained a sudden burst of energy form the pep talk and was bouncing lightly on his feet, rolling his shoulders. To James, the motions of stretching before the battle was bizarrely human. He'd have to ask Baba later about any intelligence behind the programming.

Missy the Braixen was doing a less vigorous warm-up opposite, mostly consisting of combing back the fur between her ears. Both took their places either side of a round Pokeball shaped painted circle in the centre of the pitch. Bagheera's tail lashed back and form in anticipation of whatever was coming next, a nervous energy bouncing in his stomach. He just had to listen to James' right? Simple. Just perform what his trainer asked and try not to get hit. It was just like...like fighting right?

'You ready?' Rikola called across the training field.

James was still rummaging through his bag. It took a few moments to find what he was after. With a grin of triumph, the teenager pulled out a signature trainer's cap and stuck it down on his messy brown hair firmly. Purposefully making strong eye-contact with Rikola, James dropped the bag and (with an exaggerated motion) turned the cap around backwards. His companion just groaned in response, rubbing at her eyes in exasperation.

'Alrighty!' James' goofy smile made Bagheera's heartbeat a little faster, 'LET'S GO.' He shouted, fist-pumping the air.

Nothing happened.

The teenager thought his enthusiasm might naturally spark the battle on it's own. However, the sudden silence and the confused gaze of Rikola and the two Pokémon caused a flush of blood to his cheeks. Maybe it wasn't as simple as it was in the movies.

'Psybeam into flame charge!' Rikola announced loudly, breaking the silence. 'Let's test the waters Missy!'

The bipedal fox nodded sternly before adjusting her stance. With an elegant flourish she whipped her stick out of her tail with the sound of a lighting match. The wood caught on fire instantly and only seemed to be getting brighter.

'It's a distraction Heera!' James called from behind, making the feline's ears perk up in response. 'Sand Attack!'

Ugh...what? Was this a geological move or something?

However, where his more human side questioned how he could attack with sand. The whole was suddenly filled however by a strange instinct that reminded the Liepard he knew exactly what he was doing.

'JUMP RIGHT!'

Before even considering why, Bagheera sprung to the side. The tight muscles under his purple coat rippled as he leapt out of the path of the approaching Pokémon. The Braixen was drenched in red-hot flames, hot enough to scold the Liepard as he bounced away from her rushed attack. Turning on his front paws with claws digging into the dirt, Bagheera was struggling to comprehend the onslaught on his senses. However, his trainer was one step head as James yelled through the hazy air.

'Scratch from behind! In then out!'

Bagheera located Missy from the radiated heat of the fire-type. The sand cloud dissipated even as the Liepard used his last scrap of cover to lash out at the Braixen. It was no use. Both the Pokémon and her trainer Rikola were ready for the offensive.

'Tail Whip him off then Ember! NOW!'

'ROLL WITH IT!' Was all James could shout in warning as the attack backfired. Missy was prepared for the feline who even now was bounding through the air with small sharp claws outstretched. The Braixen span with startling speed, removing her body out of the impact zone whilst simultaneously whipping her tail round to swat at the Liepard. Bagheera was met with a face-full of tail as he collided with the burning-hot fluff. The sudden change in momentum flung him onto the ground heavily and his purple coat bulldozed through the grass.

Paying heed to his trainer's advice, the feline didn't try to recover from the hit. Rolling across the grass and Bagheera lacked the agility to bounce back into his feet. The ball of fire that shot down to finish the set piece missed the cruel-Pokémon by an inch. The Liepard blinked. Dazed, and a little confused at what had just happened, he saw Missy's muzzle loom over him.

'Hey! Hey are you alright? I didn't hurt you did I?'

Bagheera groaned,

'MISSY! This is a battle!' Rikola was waved her arms up in the air, trying to catch her Pokémon's attention. 'Seriously? It's ok! Pokémon recover!'

'Humph.' Was all the Briaxen had to reply with. Bending down, she picked up the feline between her two large paws and set him back onto all four feet.

'Uh...Thanks.' Bagheera mumbled, rolling a sore shoulder from the impact.

'No problem!' Missy tilted her head and smiled. 'I was worried I'd…'

'Missy!' Rikola yelled, 'Get your head in the game!'

The Braixen turned, sticking her vulpine tongue out at her trainer. Pulling her stick out of her tail, she carefully studied the branch before burying it back in her fur. Missy was in the process of returning back to her half when James dashed over to his Pokémon. Bagheera was plodding back to his starting point when he was intercepted by a warm hug. James tickled the feline's ears before setting him back down.

'That was epic Heera! Keep that up bro and we might have a chance. Do you know Pursuit yet?'

Bagheera tilted his head from side to side,

'Ah ok. Well give it a try! It might give us the edge we need!' Even as he spoke Jame jogged back to his position on the baseline. The fact that he stripped of his black hoodie to reveal a slim t-shirt underneath only emphasized that the teenager meant business.

'Round two!' He called over to Rikoka. That was all the girl needed.

'Right! Our special attack trumps their defence, Fire Spin!'

Missy nodded, whipping out her stick with a swift motion. The wood set alight once more and much like some kind of wand, she twirled it around herself in a burst of flame. It was like a dance as the Braixen lunged forward and shot of burst of flame towards the Liepard. Huge rings of flame spun from her stick which the fire-type used to cast tighter and tighter burst of flame.

'Attack through the flames!' James called, 'Pursuit if you can! We can only attack from up close!

Bagheera responded instantly, pushing off with his back legs just as a ring of flame came flying towards him. The leopard jumped through even whilst feeling the heat of the fire scorching his stomach. Picking up speed and the cat bounded through the cylinder of fire straight towards the bipedal fox.

'Uh...Uhmm…' Rikola hadn't expected Jame's to throw his under experienced Pokémon directly into the most dangerous move. It was a stroke of genius the player wasn't exactly prepared for. 'Ember! Bat him off!'

It was too late however. Even as the Braixen prepared the move Bagheera swept into her with a large tackle. The much smaller cat and their relatively lower experience meant the contact was messy and did little but stun the fox.

'Psybeam!'

'Pursuit!'

The two trainers shouted simultaneously, hands balling into fists as they watched the two Pokémon, now in close quarters within a sheath of flame, frantically battling. James had quickly realized that a Psybeam at point-blank range by the much stronger Pokémon would cause damage even for a dark-type. Knowing the aggressive Rikola wouldn't miss out on such an opportunity, he could only hope that Bagheera could pull of a pursuit - turning a defensive escape instead into a planned parry.

Missy the Braixen prepared the Psybeam, focusing the energy down her stick which lit with pink psychic energy. The female fox swung the stick round and aimed it at the chest of the Liepard which was scrambling to escape. Bagheera had quickly realized how much bigger the bipedal Pokémon was than himself. Dancing between her black paws he refrained from scratching at her fur in panic.

Desperately trying to work out firstly what Pursuit actually was, not to mention how to perform the move, Bagheera only just managed to dodge the Psybeam. The pink laser played across the fur of his haunches but it felt like a warm tickle than anything else.

'He's a dark type!' James hollered, 'You can do it Heera!'

'Fuck.' Rikola swore before rectifying her mistake, 'Light him up Missy!'

The Braixen responded quickly, twirling her flaming stick and coating herself in a sheath of flame. Bagheera was still in the process of high-tailing it out of range when a blob of fire exploded on the grass before him. Scrambling to escape the splash of orange flames the leopard was almost caught by another blob which singed the fur on his tail.

'Lie!' The dark-type yowled, anger welling upside at the disadvantage he had without the ability for long-ranged attacks. That anger only grew when another burst of flame splashed just within the reach of his tail.

'Come on bro!' James called.

The frustration at his position in the battle-field unlocked something primal within the Liepard. Where normally anger might cause a tightening in the chest, this feeling was a lot warmer and more comfortable. It was like an energy pit bubbling up through his chest and spine. Maybe this was how special moves worked? Even as he dodged yet another bundle of flame, Bagheera spun and with startling speed lunged for the Braixen.

Missy, having showered the feline for the past minute whilst subtly trying not to hit the Liepard, wasn't expected the retaliation. Through the smoke from her last Ember the dark-type came flying towards her chest.

'Eek!' The Braixen panicked, bringing her flaming stick around. At this point it was mostly charcoal and the brittle material burst into a fireball as it connected with the side of the Liepard. The yellow-speckled purple fur of the Pokémon was lit up with fire even as the ball of dark-energy rapidly expanding around the feline's outstretched claws raked down Missy's chest.

The two tumbled backwards in a bundle of limbs and tails even as James yelled in excitement.

'You did it Heera!'

The Liepard was in no position to hear the congratulations. The frantic brawl that erupted from the physical bashing from Missy was too much for the exhausted Pokémon. The Liepard flopped onto the grass and skidded to a feline struggled onto his feet but failed, sagging back onto the ground.

The world turned black.

Richard blinked a few times, a strange feeling of disconnect spreading across his body. Going to wipe at his eyes and for a few long seconds his legs failed to respond. When they did, tight straps were holding them back. Only the realization that it was a harness holding Richard above a treadmill stopped the sense of rising panic. Breathing heavily, the SONY loading screen suddenly hovered above his face and he flailed at the headset to take it off. Richard could barely coordinate his body.

'What the hell happened!' Mark's voice sounded muffled until the programmer ripped off the headset and inbuilt earphones. Richard instinctively flinched as blinding lights shone on his eyes. For some reason it was hard to breathe.

'Richard! You alright?' Mark repeated, 'Your heart rate is up! Shit...you're sweating like hell. Are you seeing this? Your pupils are messed up.'

Mark waved a hand in front of Richard's face but the young man batted it away aggressively,

'Back off.' He growled before remembering where he was, 'Uh...sorry...I…'

The young adult hung limply from the cables trying to make sense of what the hell was happening. One moment he's been fighting from the perspective of a sleek, muscular feline the size of an average dog. Now he was in the awkward body of a human suspended in some highly technical set-up. He'd just fainted in battle right? How did he know whether he was a human dreaming he was Liepard, or a Liepard dreaming he was a man? Separating the real from the virtual was almost impossible until Mark undid his constraints with a heave off a buckle. The sudden feeling of gravity back on his body brought Richard round. He only just had time to catch himself before he slumped.

Mark was holding him up. The young man was balanced in the Asian's one hand and a battered mobile softscreen in the other. Between all of this he managed to disconnect the skin-to-skin contact of the Neuralink at the base of Richard's neck.

'Yana?' Mark was talking into his portable softscreen, 'Richard just got bottled out of HORIZON. No...No not our end.' There was a pause, 'Nah he didn't break any of the kit. We never...uh no…Cool. See you in a minute.'

Richard rubbed at his eyes, not being able to make top of tail of the conversation. After a minute off drunken swaying and dizziness, the feeling started returning to the man's legs. He pulled himself away from Marks grip and took a few paces towards the door. For some reason two feet no longer felt enough for balance and Richard flung his arms around wildly to stay upright.

Mark caught Richard for the second time.

'Take it steady. You're showing signs of rapid disconnect nearly identical to early Neuralink tests. It shouldn't have been possible...but I guess we've played around with the coding.' The Programmer was starting to ramble on and Richard shot him a harsh look. The Asian sniffed, before pulling a chair across the vinyl floor.

'After an hour of so everything will be back to normal.' He explained as Richard took a seat. 'We'll need to have a full medical and a rest period of a few days and…'

'A few days?!' Richard adjusted the Haptic feedback suit around his crotch. 'I need to be in there helping…'

'Days Richard. We need at least that amount of times ourselves to work out what went wrong…!' Mark replied sternly, turning his back to the man and instead moving to the closest screen on the machine. A laptop had been left on the floor with a number of cables connecting it to the main frame of Booples. The latter mostly consisted of a stack of computer hard drives whirling happily in the ten degree heat. To Richard the room felt a lot colder than normal.

Mark scooped up the laptop as he sat cross-legged on the floor. For a few minutes he scrolled through various pages ensuring the experimental set-up is in working order.

To Richard, it felt like he'd been pulled out a cosy dream and couldn't think of anything he'd prefer over returning to the fantasy world.

'Days…?' The young man repeated, sighing heavily as he rubbed at his face.

'Yes.' Mark grumbled, 'We need that time to check over the hardware and safety check the Neuralink coordination to ensure it's only unidirectional.' The man didn't even look up from his computer.

Richard rolled his shoulders, opening and closing his hands as he stared at four long fingers and a thumb rather than stubby toe-beans.

That was when his mind caught up with what the computer engineer had said,

'Unidirectional? You mean…?'

'I mean that the Neuralink is an interface. Things can go both ways. Getting bottled can mess shit up. You know how it is - stare into the abyss and the abyss stares into you.'

`You're trying to tell me this isn't safe? That...that thing can upload stuff into my brain?!' Richard was starting to get angry at the way the programmer was avoiding his questions. Mark tugged the collar of his white shirt, loosening his tie, before speaking. His eyes never left the laptop screen however.

'Take this as your lunch break. Get a cold drink and come back this afternoon. We'll go through the log together and see exactly what happened. Any guesses as to why the uplink might have crashed?'

'I was in a Pokémon battle.' Richard blinked before stating,

'Makes sense.' Was all Mark had to say in response. There was no emotion in his voice. When Richard realized that was the end of the conversation, he pushed himself out of his chair and wobble for a few seconds. Only once he gained his bearings on how to walk did he head towards the door. Before exiting into Yana's office. Richard took a glance back towards the immersion machine, Mark, and the mass of cables and technical equipment that was becoming progressively messier with each ad-hoc addition.

'I'm still going to be allowed to carry on with this right?'

'Yeah.' Mark grunted, 'You'll going to be in and out until Yana's happy with the dataset. Don't sweat it. Pop-by the guys up on the first floor for a medical when you're out. Better safe than sorry. We'll get you to the experts tomorrow morning.'

'Uh huh.' Richard nodded before leaving, treading lightly on the balls of his feet as he left.

END

Because I haven't been able to touch on many sci-fi themes for the past few chapters, I've thrown in a few cheeky references to some classic philosophical ideas. The 'Abyss stares into you' quote by Nietzsche might have been obvious than the subtle reference of Zhuangzi dreaming of being a butterfly. I'll be sneaking a few more in here and there as little Easter eggs for those interested.

For the conversation at the start of the chapter, James is talking about the "angle of response" of dry sand. The "angle of response" is the steepest dip (of angle) a material can be piled without slumping. For many loose materials this is normally around thirty degrees, and hence is a good rule of thumb for defining 'geomorphological' features. - something which James is fervent in ensuring its credibility inside HORIZON. Everything else geological/geographical should be fairly accessible. Enjoy!