Usual Warnings and Disclaimers apply.
# # # Chapter Specific notes # # #
Italics are Kenai using telepathy.
- - - is a sub-separator.
In Ganon's section, the time is 00:00 to about 2:15 in the morning after last chapter, and in Laura's section, it's about 20:00 to 23:30, then Martin messes around for three hours breaking complicated things, making the last section 2:30 to 2:45 in the morning. Phew. Just another note in case it's been forgotton, this is taking place in late January.
Chapter 4: The Human Factor (Part 2: Evening)
Cemusem Forest (Unconcious):
Ganon couldn't help it, his natural curiosity was too strong.
The next morning he flew back to the hidden section of the wall, settling down in the bushes to watch it carefully. He slowly crept towards it, crawling along the ground as though any sudden movements would cause it to attack him. He gingerly touched a section of it with the back of his claw, retracting it the second he touched it. Nothing happened. He touched it again, holding it there for an entire three seconds before he became too scared to leave it there. He panted loudly as though he'd just flown a marathon. That was terrifying.
"Why are you panting over there?" The girl's voice on the other side asked. He screamed, as did the voice on the other side. They both stopped abruptly and he looked back at the wall confused. Whoever was on the other side was as scared of him as he was of her.
"Who's there?" He eventually managed to build up the courage to ask. There was a long pause before he got any response.
"I don't think I'm allowed to say." She said, "The rules here are very strict."
"Well, that's the reason why I come out to these bushes here, to be free of the rules and restrictions of the main building." He said back, curling up alongside the wall to hear the voice better.
"What? There's trees and shrubs at your side there too?" She asked, seemingly fascinated.
"What the? Yes..." He answered slowly, thinking it may be a trick question. He heard some claws clap together once and a strange sort of laugh and a sigh. He felt a strange tingle flow through him as he heard her. It was a nice laugh that gave him a warm, fuzzy feeling.
"Is there a Bluk Berry tree just in front of you to the left?" She asked, apparently overjoyed. He looked over in that direction, and he looked at it.
"It's more of a bush really, but yes, why?" She laughed again almost ecstatically, and Ganon couldn't help smiling.
"That means your side is practically a mirror of my side! Ooooh! How fascinating!" She said. Ganon smiled broadly, and could tell that she was smiling too.
"You have a pretty voice." He said absently, before he mentally slapped himself. He heard a giggle from the other side, and relaxed again. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to say.
"Aww, that's sweet!" She answered, "I think I like you." She said, giggling girlishly. Ganon smiled again. He had made his first friend.
- - - - - - - - -
Ganon was slowly coming around from the fall. He could tell he had been out for several hours because night had fallen. He opened his eyes, and immediately saw Mildred looking back at him. He backed away quickly and hit his head on a tree.
"The human child is awake, Lomar." She cawed. Ganon just looked at her in shock. Did she just say…?
He looked around him and saw no-one else. He looked the other way, and could tell that they were talking about him. He pointed at himself with a confused look on his face.
"He doesn't think we're talking about him. Bless his stupid thick head." She said in a mock motherly tone. Ganon scowled at her immediately and swiped at her, instantly making her flap back out of reach. She settled down next to Lomar, and for the first time, Ganon noticed that he was only stood on one foot. His other claw seemed to be holding something in front of him, and was glowing red slightly. Ganon peered around to try and see it, but Mildred moved to block his view.
"Oh look, now the brat thinks he can take us on..." She said, lunging forwards with her beak, aiming for his face. He yelped and threw his hand in front of him, causing her to miss and draw blood from the back of his hand. He winced but remained silent as he looked at the blood pouring from his hand. It looked worse than it was, but it was still extremely painful. He stood up in front of them, and turned back into his Latios form, earning a scream from Mildred.
"What do you mean my stupid thick head?" He demanded, eyes glowing with power. He didn't notice it from his rage fuelled stupor, but his entire body was shaking from anger.
"Erk! Sorry, we thought you were some nosey human child after our stash." She said, shielding her face from him.
"Stash?"
"It means the contents of the nest." Lomar added hastily, putting down the rock he had been holding. It was glowing. Ganon was still too young to know that Lomar was avoiding something.
"Oh. Lomar, why was that rock glowing red?"
"What? Oh, you've noticed my ability. Very well." He said whilst taking a few steps back. He held his head up into the air, and belched a stream of flame into the air. Ganon hovered back slightly. Even he knew that it was very strange for such a little bird to make quite a big fireball.
"How do you do that?!"
"I was born with it." He lied.
Ganon looked around at Mildred, who just shook her head.
"It used to be a problem. He would snore. I once woke up with half my tail feathers burnt off, and I was grounded for months."
"You weren't grounded, you just wanted me to wait on you wing and claw." Lomar said chuckling.
"Oh be quiet you!" She said, slapping him playfully with her wing.
Ganon watched them play-battling for a while with sadness. He was still tormented by the loss of his only love in the Nursery. They may never have actually met face to face, but they each knew they loved the other.
He sighed sadly, immersing himself in memories of that beautiful voice. The Swellows looked back at him with curiosity.
"What did you say laddy?" Lomar asked, shaking Ganon from his trance. He blinked at them, before realising that they were talking to him.
"Nothing. I just remembered you said something about me needing to practice being a human. I've picked a form, so what should I do now?"
"You've picked a form? Show us!" Mildred said.
"But you've already seen it!"
"We were more interested in burning it before than paying attenion to details."
"Oh alright then…" He said. He glowed blue again, and stood before them was the human child again. They circled him, scrutinising the guise from every angle.
"Hmmm... slight plasticine texture to the fabric..." Mildred mused, noticing an innappropriate sheen to the clothes, as though they were made of wax.
Ganon tried to make a witty retort, about how their own feathers looked like wax to him, but making intelligable sounds with a foreign set of vocal chords proved difficult, rendering him practically mute.
"What's the matter laddy, Skitty got your tongue?" Lomar asked, raising an eyebrow... well... feather above his eye. Ganon simply nodded, causing Mildred to tilt her head.
"But couldn't Teal use-" She began, but Lomar quickly flicked out a wing, muffling her speech.
"So you can't talk at all... Okay. In that case then, we've done all we can." Lomar said as he flapped a few feet into the air. For some reason, Ganon felt very apprehensive all of a sudden.
"Now hold still and this won't hurt too much."
He opened his mouth and coated Ganon in flame. It blackened the entire outfit, before he used gust to put out the remaining flames where the material had caught. Ganon's face was now covered in soot, and his clothes were beyond natural repair. He looked annoyed at the pair, but they weren't done yet. Lomar dashed in, and slashed the shirt and trousers with long gashes. Ganon could feel blood coming from the wounds to his body, and was shocked as Mildred suddenly flew in front of him. She crashed repeatedly into a tree, and then used Endeavour on him. He felt himself faint as the attack left him immobile. The Swellows gazed at their handiwork.
"He certainly looks bedraggled enough to pass for a feral child doesn't he?" Lomar asked.
"Yeah… He…certainly does." Mildred panted between breaths. She was going to have to rest for quite a while.
"Milly, do yourself a favour and eat a herb. Then we'll go to the village and get him settled into the PokeCentre."
"Ok…"She said as she flew back up to the nest. A few seconds later, she flew back down in a drunken line, and took one of the human's hands in her claws, and began to drag it. Lomar took the other hand, and dragged it towards the village with her, with Ganon pulled limply behind them.
They dragged him into the heart of the sleeping town, moving through the streets past the outskirts to the opposite end of the village. A few hundred metres from the last several houses which were considered the towns border, a lone building sat there, with the Pokemon Centre logo plastered above its doorway. However, there were a myriad of unique traits to this particular establishment. Whilst virtually every other centre on the planet was staffed by at least one nurse Joy, if one came within five miles of this one they'd be chased out immediately. The same went for any other official from the regular branches without invitation.
As they approached the doorway, it opened with a customary ding. They dragged the body inside, and jumped on the bell on the desk repeatedly. They could hear someone mumbling angrily from the backroom, and they saw a large brown humanoid Pokemon putting a lab coat on as it entered the main room. It yawned loudly, before it started talking.
"Welcome to the PokeCentre, how may I… oh cut the crap you two, you're late? It's two in the morning if you haven't noticed." The Alakazam grumbled angrily.
"Your equations were right again, Kenai. This Latios came through. We ran all the tests, and we'll put a skills report together for tomorrow." Lomar said, leaning forwards on the desk, "Just out of priority though, he can't use vocal or telepathic means of communication as a human though."
"Oh I'm fed up of getting Eons with complications attached..." Kenai muttered, "Why can't we just get normal ones from portals..."
"Just bad luck."
"That was a rheatorical question. Anyway, vocal is easier to get from scratch, so I'll get Edward and Clair to teach him." Kenai said, pulling up a chair knowing this was going to take a while. Lomar gawped at him.
"You're introducing him to humans?!" He asked incredulously. Kenai glared evilly at the bird, hating everyone not being able to comprehend to magnitude of his genius. Even among Alakazam, he could be considered gifted.
"I don't have many field agents that can put on a human guise and maintain it without being rumbled within hours. Eons have the capacity to emulate appearance perfectly, however other traits take a while to learn. Mimicing a humans appearance is one thing. To pass him off as a human, he's going to need to learn about human social customs, laws, physiology… you name it, he's got to learn it. When in rome, do as the romans do, otherwise you get fed to the lions."
"I see..." Lomar lied.
"Ergo, use a human to teach him how to be human." Kenai responded, standing up.
"And how do you intend to get Eddie to co-operate?"
"Easy." Kenai said, before wandering back into the backroom. A flash of purple light burst from the door, and a male human screamed and leapt through the doorway. He was middle-aged, but his hair was already streaked heavy with grey, no doubt due to the number of Psychic wake-up calls he'd received in the past. He was wearing a white nightcap, and a white dressing gown. He looked at the boy on the floor, and looked over to Alakazam.
"What does he want?" The human said groggily.
This boy is a feral child that these Swellows have brought in, Eddie. He appears to have been caught up in a fight with a member of the Char family, probably a Charizard judging by the depth of the wounds. He can not speak any intelligible words, but his mind is sharp. I suggest we take him in and raise him alongside your own child. Kenai told the human through psychic.
"A feral child? Are you sure? We'll need to scan him for any diseases first."
Already taken care of. The boy is clean.
"Are you sure." The man said, still too tired to think straight. Kenai just looked at him evilly.
Sure?! My IQ is 7,680, and you ask if I'm sure?! The man winced, woken up by the ferocity of the Pokemon.
"Sorry, I forget that you're…"
An unparalled genius, and a psychic that can anticipate every single word that you say. Yes pretty much. But what is the decision on the child. Until you actually decide though, I can't read it from your mind.
The man looked up and down Ganon's unconscious form once or twice, lifting his face up and looking at the eye under the eyelid. Lomar held his breath, knowing exactly what he'd find.
"He has red eyes. That's a bit freaky, but not really too bad. Yeah, he looks in saveable condition. We'll look after him won't we Kenai?"
Yes.
The Swellows sighed audibly. Eddie suddenly seemed to notice them for the first time.
"What are these two doing here?"
I told you. These are the Swellows that brought him here.
"A feral child raised by Swellows? Well..." He inspected the two birds carefully, "Why'd they bring him in?"
Privately, Kenai thought 'Because I'm paying them to' but to Eddie he simply said They wanted to be nice.
"Oh... umm..."
You were going to check some guest dates in the files. Kenai said, pushing the human's conciousness into making him leave. Edward promptly wandered back into the backroom, leaving Kenai free to resume talking to the Swellows.
"Human minds are so easy to manipulate, especially if they're still asleep. Sometimes I think Abras are more active than this guy." He said, looking back through the doorway at his human to catch him trying to stifle a yawn. He continued to rifle through some notebooks. Kenai continued.
"And you're jobs done now. I'll wire the money over this afternoon."
Eddie wandered back out of the room, and put the notepad on the desk. Kenai raised a bushy eyebrow at Edward being so quick about shaking off the control despite being asleep.
"I forgot to ask. What's his name anyway?"
Ganon.
"Ganon? Strange name. Anyway. He will be up on the top floor in the residential area. Normally it's a family guest bedroom, but ever since my wife passed away, the rest of the family rarely visits."
Both Swellows bowed their heads in reverence. Kenai mused that their acting had indeed got better since last time.
They say they are sorry for your loss.
"Yeah, well, it's not too big a deal. Grief is more detrimental than any other emotion." He said, trying to stifle another yawn. "Anyway, better go back to sleep. Big day tomorrow with that group coming in."
Lomar looked at Kenai incredulously, as Eddie walked back into the back room and fell asleep again in seconds.
"You told him about it?!" He squawked at Kenai.
"No! I just said it was mating season, and they would need a place to stay." He said glancing back at Lomar as he turned off the healing machine for the night.
"He would never have agreed to that. He'd think he'd be kept awake all night."
"I'll admit it did take a long time to convince him. Don't forget though, that if it works, it'll be worth it."
"If... Don't forget it's a very big if. This is the seventh we've tried with that damn machine and it's got us nowhere. It's costing us too much. We've already lost favour with the Grid."
"Lomar... Don't argue with the boss if you value your salary. Maybe not next time, maybe not the time after, but it will work eventually. All I need to do is look at the schematics again. Unfortunately, Martin had them when he left on his field mission. Until then, help me take the Latios upstairs. We need to make sure he settles down well. I'm also needed downstairs soon, I'm on the night shift."
"Fine, fine. Come on Milly."
They eventually managed to get Ganon onto a hospital trolley, and Kenai piloted it to one of several lifts. He tapped to fifth floor button, and the lift began to rise. About a minute later, they were up in a dark corridor lit only by the starlight from the window. It was a clear night sky outside, and a few Noctowls were returning to their own nests after a good nights hunting, even though it would be about six hours until sunrise.
"Okay. This is his new room. I'll bring him some new clothes up tomorrow."
"He doesn't need new clothes."
"Like I said, I'll bring up some new clothes tomorrow. Eddie would be suspicious if he saw Ganon wearing some different clothes when you so obviously didn't bring any with you."
"Ah, we were wrong to doubt you Kenai."
"I'm a genius. Don't forget, but knowing you, you will anyway."
"Idiot..." Mildred mumbled under her breath at Kenai.
"Exactly."
The subterranean vault was immense. Complicated machines of various sizes and shapes were perched around the lower side edges of the room overlooked by a balcony, each with cables leading towards a towering monolith of hard drives and CPUs in the centre. The floor space in between was subdivided into multiple cubicles, each with at least two people in each poring over intriguing mechanical devices. The entire opposite wall was covered in plasma screens depicting world maps, weather patterns, a series of totally unintelligible graphs, and even a diagram of the entire solar system. This place was very high-budget. Martins face was absolutely livid as he looked down.
"Well then. Follow me closely you two." The boy said, leading them towards a pulpit on the edge of the balcony they'd entered on. He grasped the edges of the lectern, and leant forwards towards a microphone. Martin and Laura clasped their hands over their ears as the feedback whistled as the boy spoke.
"Testing, testing. Okay... Members of the Grid. I have returned from the recon mission, and I am proud to report that Pierre Noirisse has now been eliminated. Girls may now wander the streets in safety." He said, his confident grin widening even further as the girls below all whooped loudly below them, some even turning around in their cubicles and hugging each other. Laura puzzled over their behaviour, until Martin once again brought her attention back where it belonged.
"Geraint, you're being a show-off." Martin asked the boy through gritted teeth. The boy looked back and nodded once, before turning back to the microphone. Laura looked back at Martin to see a vein pulsing in his temple. They clasped their hands over their ears again from the feedback.
"The girl you have to thank for his termination is Laura here. I therefore make her an honorary member of the Kids Grid. " He said, offering her a hand. She blushed and accepted it, stepping up to the podium next to him. He held her hand above their heads theatrically, much to Martins severe annoyance.
"Welcome Laura, to the Kids Grid!" He shouted.
"To the Kids Grid. Welcome!" The chorus echoed back from the crowd. A few people cheered and clapped their hands as well. However one small girl at the back was hanging her head slightly and walking away from the commotion towards a doorway set in the back of the room. Just by her pose Laura could tell she was crying. Laura looked back at the boy next to her quizzically, but noticed that he wasn't looking at the crowd below, just that one girl, a look of sorrow on his own face that no doubt mirrored the girls own. He looked back across to Laura and put his hand over the microphone.
"Don't ask. Long story." was all he said before taking his hand off the microphone and holding his hand in the air for silence. He leant back into the microphone, earning another piercing bout of feedback.
"And the sound technicians for this microphone are fired. That's everything. Back to work people."
After a bout of laughter everyone returned to their relevant posts, continuing their various projects. The boy turned back to Martin, who was leering menacingly at him.
"Kids Grid," He said, spitting the word out as though it was poison, "You never asked for my permission for Laura to become a member."
"And why should I have? She appears perfectly capable of making her own mind up."
"And she can, but she's mute. Did you not think it weird that she has not yet said a single word? The sole reason why we came to this infernal port was to put her in the vocal training class. Now you just swan up and trap her in this place without question. On that basis, you could have hired me." Martin said, scowling all the time. The boy looked around briefly, before gesturing for them to follow him. He turned on his heel, and led them around the balcony, behind partitions screening them from view of the main hall.
"I'm afraid that your presence here Martin is not going to be taken kindly, considering you work for Razor. But I trust you both considering your service to us, so I will answer your questions. The answers however, are very sensitive, so I am taking you to the most private place, my room. Follow quickly and quietly. If Laura has your Pokeball, then it would be better for you to travel in that whilst you are here." The boy said. Martin rolled his eyes, but followed regardless.
"You know full well that it is company policy for employees to remain outside of a Pokeball."
"Whatever. Just come on quickly and quietly."
The boy led them along the edge to the east side, and up a spiral stairway towards the residential department. It was nowhere near as obviously scientific as the main floor; it even had a table with a vase of flowers on it at one end of the corridor. He stopped at the far end of the corridor, and took out another key from his belt. He unlocked a sheet steel door, and held it open.
"In here." He said, as he ushered them in. He looked back down the corridor to check that no-one was following, before snapping his left hand out almost carelessly, eliciting a gasp of pain from the air. He curled his fingers around the invisible object, and pulled it away, revealing a small pink haired boy. It cowered in fear and ran off.
"Stupid boy... I've told him not to take that out of the lab." He mumbled absently as he shut the door behind him. He locked the door, and strode into his room, sitting down on the edge of his bed. He ruffled his hand through his hair once, before turning back to Laura and Martin who had sat down besides his table.
"Okay then. We may talk freely here. This is the most secure room, espionage-wise, due to my condition. As Martin knows already, my name is Geraint. The condition of which I speak is this." He said, standing up. Martin looked at him expectantly, and Laura looked at him with a mild look of confusion, which seemed to have been permanently fixed on her face since she'd arrived. Geraint looked to each of them in turn, before bowing his head down. His hair flared red again, but this time, when his skin seemed to darken it was much more observable. It was turning into black fur on his and back and forehead, whilst his front and arms turned a light tan colour. He grew in size slightly until he was five foot seven, and then looked back up at the pair, his red hair moving to the back of his neck and literally becoming flames. Laura gasped silently as she looked at the Typhlosion in front of her. For some reason she felt a burst of attraction towards him as he shimmied out of the clothes that were now slightly too small for him. He tossed the translator over to her, and she fumbled catching it, too preoccupied with his body. He made motions for her to put it around her neck, before Martin shook his head. He didn't seem phased at all by his transformation.
"She can already understand the Pokemon Language. She doesn't need your translator." Martin said coldly, taking the device out of her hands, shooting it another piercing look as he put it down as roughly as possible. Geraint looked slightly bemused by this answer and reclined on the bed again, unaware of how saucy it would look to a female Pokemon. Laura looked at the floor in slight embarrassment.
"Well, that's a handy skill. Where did she get it? No, that would be prying. Anyway, now to answer your questions. I did not know she was mute, I believed it was shock from seeing that mans death. We offered her a place without question because she helped us to condemn that terrible man. We never offered you that position because you are a Pokemon." Geraint said coolly, oblivious to Laura's obvious discomfort as she was now fidgeting with her hands in her lap.
"Specieist bastard." Martin mumbled under his breath. Geraint looked back up at him with anger flaring in his eyes. It was obvious to Laura already that sparks flew whenever these two met.
"Well, that and you worked for Razor. During the time since you left, we were forced to withdraw our support from their cloning program. They have tried seven times to date to no avail, with another demonstration scheduled in one week. They were outraged and we no longer meet eye to eye on anything. In fact, we are currently in the middle of a major arms race. They have sent spies over several times, trying to steal secrets for our latest batches of devices."
"Well if your group has a problem with Pokemon, how come you're their leader?" Martin said. Laura nodded, agreeing with his point.
"Simple. They don't know. I was one of the most secret experiments; namely allowing humans to use Pokemon abilities. I was the eighth and one of five that managed to survive. Out of those, I'm the only one besides Carosso that came out sane. When we realised that the human form couldn't support Pokemon abilities without this side-effect, we had to call off the research. The process was irreversible, and therefore I am now able to take on the forms of either my natural human form, or the Typhlosion form I gained from the experiments. This is also the reason," He turned to face Laura again, "Why it wouldn't work between me and that girl you saw during your initiation. She was my girlfriend before the experiment, but she doesn't know about my condition. I still love her, and she still loves me, but it just can't work. I've lost my humanity." He said, bowing his head sadly at the end. Laura looked back down at the floor too, she had never heard such a tragic tale of romance before. Well, she hadn't heard of romance before anyway, besides herself and that boy on the other side of the wall, but her instincts told her that what had happened to him was unfair, and she couldn't help crying slightly.
Martin just bawled sarcastically, cupping his hands around his face in an almost offensive manner. She looked over at him and scowled.
"Oh, boo hoo. Get over it lover boy. You're just doing this so you get the sympathy vote from Laura so she'll do what you ask. It won't work. Laura, turn back to your natural form." Martin said, turning totally towards Laura. Geraint stopped crying suddenly, and looked up with confusion. On his Pokemon face it was almost cute. She fidgeted with her hands again, before Martin coughed twice. She looked back over at Geraint, who was staring eagerly, before enveloping herself in blue light. Geraint gasped as she turned back into a Latias. He leapt three feet off the bed, landing on it again with a thump.
"A Pokemon?! All this time she was a Pokemon?! Oh my god! I'm naked in front of a girl! Argh!" He screamed before trying to curl up on his bed again to hide himself as best as possible, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"
"Martin, what's his problem?" She asked, as Geraint continued to hide in his bed. Martin tutted.
"Humans have a different morality system to most Pokemon. Humans do not have long fur like most Pokemon, therefore their... erm... you know whats... would always be on show. Whilst there are some strange people that do not seem phased by this, a majority of humans wear clothing to hide their embarrassment. Usually, Geraint doesn't have a problem with being in his Pokemon form around males and humans, because they usually have no interest in such things. Being female and a Pokemon means that he's very awkward around you, and will feel un-naturally attracted to you." Martin said expertly. Laura looked back over at Geraint, who squeaked again and hid even further into the sheets.
"No I'm not!" He yelled out quickly, before ducking his head back.
"Whatever. So. How are we going to deal with this?" He asked the Typhlosion, who seemed to have found it easier now to stay still and just have his head poking out from the covers.
"Well, to counter the human muteness, she'll have to have lessons with me..."
"Because you fancy her."
"Yes, because I... No!" He yelled back at Martin, glancing at Laura who was next to him. She was laughing at his stupid antics.
"Well, as a hybrid, I know how to approach the exercise from a Pokemon's point of view."
"And why she couldn't do that with your other spy Carosso?"
"Well he's always out. Being a hybrid, he can integrate with Razor better than any other agent." He said calmly. Martin was glowering at him even more, but Geraint gave it no notice.
"Anyway, as for boarding arrangements, you can have the room next to mine," He said, "It was built for privacy just as this one was; it was just easier to build them into the same section. As for the lessons, how about each night at eleven o'clock?"
"You're just saying that because it was voted the most romantic time." Martin said, scowling at him again. Geraint's blushed.
"Err, no... It's because it's company policy for workers to stop at 10:30, which is about now. So the lesson would be in half an hour in here. I'll spare you the trouble tonight so you can get settled in. We'll also have to get you a starter Pokemon as your battle partner. But we'll sort that out tomorrow. For now, we'd better get you set up in your new room before other people start coming back up here to rest." He got up and picked up his clothes, before strolling into the bathroom. Laura looked back at Martin, who just shrugged his shoulders, and looked back at the device on the desk. He grasped it firmly and pulled the two sections of casing apart. He tilted it to look inside it more thouroughly, and started poking at sections of it.
"Well, this sucks." He said after a minute of taking it apart.
"What does?" She asked, flying over to see the inside of the device.
"This. They've tried reverse engineering our technology, and made a complete hash of it. I mean, oh my god," He said, pulling out a particularly large section of circuit board out, "They haven't even bothered to remove our emblem from it! Talk about cheap-skates." He winced as he heard the bathroom door lock click as it was opened again. Laura immediately transformed back into her human form, putting the Latios amulet around her neck. Geraint stepped out just as Laura was adjusting her hair. He smiled appreciatively, before he looked down at Martin, who still had the mangled device in his hands. He groaned and walked up to Laura, tapping her on the shoulder.
"Okay, I'll take you to your room." He said, as he walked over to the doorway, "Martin, you'll have to sleep in the same room as Laura." He said, turning his head to glance over his shoulder. He saw Martin shrug, and unlocked the door. He looked around outside briefly, and punched the air in front of him again. A short grunt and a thump on the ground told him he'd hit the pink haired kid again. He scowled, and took the shielding device off him again. He walked the five metres to the next door, and unlocked it, walking in with Laura.
"Here's the key, give me a shout if you need help." He said, and he pushed Martin forcefully into the room after her. Martin was intending to sneak away to perform a little espionage himself.
"Old habits die hard, don't they Martin." He laughed as he closed the door behind them. Martin grumbled slightly and wandered into the room. Laura walked over to the bed and turned into her Pokemon form, curling up of the soft duvet.
"Oh, this is comfortable. I could get used to this." She cooed contentedly. Martin gave her a reprimanding look.
"Then don't. I don't intend for us to be longer than necessary." He grumbled as he sat at the desk, and put his bag down. He pulled out a soldering iron and stand, as well as a strange pair of glasses that had a series of folding lenses on them. He flexed his fingers, and picked up the iron. Laura continued to bounce gently on the bed. The sound of squeaking springs was extremely distracting.
"Laura, can you stop squeaking the bed like that? I'm trying to concentrate." He said, giving her a reprimanding glance. She looked back at him sadly. She was enjoying it, but he was older and it looked as though what he was doing was important.
He concentrated on the device again, stabbing at it mercilessly with a screwdriver when a piece of circuit refused to move. Martin pulled at some more parts of the device, breaking off some loose wires, which he held in his mouth.
"Martin, what are you doing?" She asked, yawning slightly. Martin didn't look up from his work.
"I'm twaking dwis hunk-a junk apwart. I pwactically dewigned it, so I know wha bids do wha." He said awkwardly around the wires. Laura didn't understand a word he said.
"Take the wires out of your mouth."
"Cwan't."
"Why not?" He heard Martin give a muffled sigh, and he turned around to talk to her.
"Cos I'm hwoldin dem dare. If I dwop dem, I cwan't pick em bwack up." he said, indicating that both his hands were busy. Laura rolled her eyes and got up, taking the pieces out of his mouth.
"Well, I said I was taking this hunk of junk apart. I practically designed it, so I know what bits do what. At the minute, I'm making a bug scanner to make sure we're not being watched. Wires please." He said, opening his mouth again. Laura rolled her eyes and put the wires back.
"Thwank yoo." He said around them.
"What?" She asked. He grumbled and moved one of his hands into a thumbs-up. She understood.
She went back to the bed and curled up on it, watching Martin intently. Twice he swore vehemently, and once he'd resorted to slapping it. However about five minutes later, she could hear it whirring into life, and Martin jumped up, doing a little victory dance. He picked up the device, and studied it carefully..
"Absolutely nothing. Oh well, guess I haven't made it sensitive enough."
"Or there aren't any bugs." Laura suggested, yawning a lot more.
"This is the Kids Grid, there's always... Ah ha!" He yelled triumphantly, waking Laura up form her stupor. He ran over to the wardrobe, and pulled it open. He reached an arm in, and revealed a sleeping Caterpie with a tape-recorder fastened to it's head. He grabbed it by the tail, and ran over to the doorway with it. He opened it wide, and booted the hapless insect out.
"AND STAY OUT!!!" He yelled after it for good measure, rubbing his hands together and shutting the door.
"Well, that's the bug sweep complete. Time for the more important part."
"What's that then?" Laura asked. Martin looked at her, almost guilty about what he was about to do.
"Hush now girly, go to sleep. It's not important. Go to sleep." Martin whispered gently, his voice soft and melodic. She couldn't really hear the words as such, more of a light chiming in her mind that made her...(yawn)... ever so... sleepy...
She hit the pillow softly, already dreaming of that strong voice from the other side of the wall, imagining him holding her close, kissing her softly.
Martin stopped looking into her dreams, and remembered what he was supposed to do. He picked up the bug sweeper, taking it apart again. He fitted another lens over his eye, increasing the magnification even further as he manipulated a bundle of fibre optics. He ran the translator module through the radar scope, and attached the satellite feed through the scope. Now he just needed to remember the number.
Kenai was getting up again, putting on his nightgown again. The phone in his office was ringing, and he was chuntering murderously.
"What sort of idiot rings in the middle of the night... If I ever get my hands on him... Thunder punch his ass from here to Australia."
He looked at the phone screen, and answered it. A Marshtomp's face appeared on the screen. It didn't look anywhere near as tired as he was. He pressed a button under the phone, marked COFFEE.
"You idiot, it's half past two in the morning you absolute dumbass."
"Kenai, just because I've evolved doesn't mean you can call me a dumbass."
"Oh, it's you Martin. No wonder I didn't recognize the number if you've evolved. So you've infiltrated the Kids Grid base."
"How did you know?" Martin asked, his face in shock. He was hoping to make the revelation dramatic, but when you're working with a genius, it's difficult.
"Several reasons. Firstly, you fed the signal through the Telepathic Module, so I can read your mind through it. Secondly, the signal analyser says you are using Kids Grid technology cobbled together by your own hands into the form of a psionic comms set. And thirdly, I can see it on the sign behind you."
Martin looked around, and Kenai smirked as the Mud Fish sweat dropped.
"Okay. Anyway. We're in the Lutran Detachment..."
"Yes, I can read." Kenai said, inspecting his non-existent nails. Martin scowled.
"You're just jealous that I got to retire, and you can't."
"You didn't retire, you were allowed to go home until someone came along that could get you into the Kids Grid. But choosing when you're locked in the middle of an enemy's base is hardly a safe time to start trying to pick faults."
Martin gaped on the screen whilst trying to come up with a witty retort. Eventually, he had to make do with a less than ideal answer.
"Shut up." He said. Kenai laughed at the monitor, and picked up his cup of coffee which had just been delivered.
"Well, what have you got to tell me? I can tell you still have your bag of tricks just by the fact you are talking to me. Which also means you have the schematics I need, several months overdue." Kenai said, before taking a sip. Martin held up some pieces of paper.
"Oh.... crap, I'll scan them now then. Geraint mentioned the demo, so I presume he's intending to infiltrate."
"So we've got them back in the loop. Geraint will be coming personally I trust." Kenai said, leaning forwards to collect some papers that rumbled out of the printer. He analysed them briefly, before nodding.
"Yes." Martin answered. Kenai leant back in his chair resting his fingers together, "You are aware he is a hybrid, alternate form Typhlosion?"
"Yes, I do know that, I have plans in mind for his arrival. We'll keep an eye out for him over here."
"Okay. Martin out." And the phone blacked out again, leaving Kenai alone in his office. He looked over at the schematics again, and looked out through the glass partition of this office, down at a haze of coolant surrounding a large tubular machine below, the interwoven pipes feeding out of it bubbling gently.
Martin took the device apart again, reverting it to it's original Kid's Grid configuration. He stood up and immediately collapsed, since he hadn't used his legs in the best part of an hour, and they were cramped. He swore quietly, looking back up at Laura, and was relieved that she was still asleep. He took another look into her dreams and wasn't really too surprised to see she was still enraptured with a strange blue and white dragon. She cooed happily and clutched the sheets a little tighter in her sleep.
Just to clarify, Geraint has lustful feelings for Laura only in his Typhlosion form in winter. The rest of the time, she's just a recruit. It was really difficult to try and word it in the main plot.