Hey guys! Guess who I found lying in an alley under a cardboard box? It's Mr. Barley! Yeah guys, I found him! So now I can finally write in third person. Wait, what? You don't understand how Mr. Barley's absence hinders my ability to write in the third person? Don't worry about that, I'll explain later.

He looked down at his "hands". But what he saw wasn't really of the "hand" variety. It was more like a "paw" or a "not a hand/hands at all" than a "hand." And this came as a great surprise to him.

"Holy shit! My f*cking hands are paws?! What the f*ck is going on?!"

He took it very well.

Paren grew more distressed by the second, freaking out at every aspect of his transformation.

"Holy crap I have a tail! OH GOD IT'S A TAIL AND I'M WAGGING IT! HELP ME!"

It must have taken pla-

"HELP ME!"

It must have-

"Holy shit! How freaking short am I?!"

It must have take place during his close encounter wi-

"Oh shit! Electricity? What the hell is going on?!"

Never mind on the encounter stuff. As he became more distraught with his new self, electricity was bouncing around the room, jumping everywhere and nearly connecting with one of the officers. Paren tried to stop the electricity that was shooting out of his cheeks, but his failed attempts resulted in a drastic increase of electric bolts. They zipper around the room, and began hitting the officers with a deadly shock. One by one, the members of the S.W.A.T. unit began falling to the ground. Paren couldn't tell if they were dead or not, but was afraid to approach them.

If they were still alive, and he touched one of them, they would most definitely die from his overcharge. He looked for something rubber, anything that could repel his electricity, to prevent any further harm. His eyes scanned his bedroom, until something of glistening familiarity caught his attention. It was a silver device, with an empty chamber of glass, and multiple buttons of varying colors.

"The TM-1300 Prototype?" Paren exclaimed in awe as he picked up the device. "I thought I destroyed this stupid thing."

But there it was, in functioning condition, as if he hadn't smashed it to bits. On it was a sticky note, on which was scribbles the words,

You only get one. Now you owe me.

Paren examined the words closely, confused by their meaning. Now you owe me? Who did he owe, and what did he owe them? Was it the same person that brought back the prototype from its previous state of scrap metal in an alleyway?

"Well, whoever this is, I guess I'm in debt to them," Paren said, stuffing the note in a backpack before strapping it onto his back.

Outside, the commissioner who had been holding the microphone was still awaiting the return of the S.W.A.T. unit he had sent in ten minutes ago. It had begun raining, but not there was no forecast of lightning. Suddenly, he heard a commotion coming from the second story, and saw flashing lights sourcing from the criminal's window.

"Commissioner, the unit is not responding," a cop announced.

"What happened, are coms down?" The commissioner asked.

"No sir," the police officer answered fearfully, "they're all dead."

"God damnit!" The commissioner shouted as he slammed his fist onto the hood of a cop car. "It seems that they are armed and dangerous. Davis!"

"Yes, sir?" A nearby detective responded.

"Have you evacuated all civilians within a block of the building?"

"Yes, sir. We have also positioned snipers are several vantage points, but none of them have a visual."

"Call in to headquarters, see if we can get a green light."

Paren moved aside the curtain and glanced out the window, and saw the officer who had been holding the megaphone was now conversing with someone over the phone. But he wasn't trying to focus on that. He needed a way out of the house, but the only viable exit he had was the front door, which just so happen to be where the entire police force was waiting for him.

"Okay, so that's a no on the door," he brainstormed, "there's no basement for me to hide out in and no back doors at all. I'm not jumping out through the window, I'd just land in front of them all. There are just too many on the ground for me to escape that way."

He noticed the officer hang up his phone, then called over one of the soldiers. He whispered something into his ears, to which the soldier gave a look of surprise. But after a stern look from the officer, the soldier called something into his walkie-talkie. This was followed by the tank backing up from the front door and onto the other side of Baylean.

"Oh thank goodness," Paren rejoiced, "that's one less thing to worry about at least."

Then the tank stopped completely, and its top slowly rotated, halting when the barrel was pointed a floor below the window he was looking out of. The barrel was then raised a few inches.

"Ohhhh SHIT!" Paren shouted as he dove away from the window.

The was a loud boom of the tank firing its round at the bedroom, accompanied by an earth trembling explosion that left a massive hole at the point of contact. The commissioner motioned for a pair of binoculars, and closely examined the wreckage. He called into his walkie.

"Does anyone have a visual on the target?"

He was met with a negative response from most people, except for some from the sniper team. Two of the eagle eyes just kneeled with their scopes zoomed in on who, or what, they believed to be the target. One of them just couldn't force the words out. The other one had similar difficulty, but he was eventually able to respond.

"Uh, sir?"

"What is it Eagle Squad?"

"Is the, uhm, target a small, yellow mouse-like animal?"

"What? No, of course not! You know exactly what the target looks like!"

"Well, the only thing I'm seeing is-"

"It's a f*cking pikachu!"

The commissioner looked over at the soldier who said this, but stopped himself from speaking when he saw the man staring intently towards the giant hole in the apartment. His head swung around to look at it, and there he saw it standing just at the ledge. It was now pouring with rain, and the commissioner could barely see the hole through the waterfall of rain. But then he saw it, a small, yellow mouse with bright red cheeks and the weirdest tail he had ever seen in his life.

"What the hell is that thing?" He questioned with a hint of awe.

"Sir, I think that IS the target."

He then spotted what the strange creature was carrying in his furry arms. It was none other than the prototype they were instructed to retrieve, and that their target was the last one seen with it.

"Son of a bitch, that must be Paren then," the commissioner said, grabbing the megaphone. "Hey Paren. I am the commissioner of this police force. Now, you get a decision here. You can either give us that device, and we take you in for stolen property and murder. You'll get about thirty or so years to life, not too bad."

Paren looked at him, perplexed by the idea that thirty years in jail was "not too bad."

"Or, you try and run with that prototype. We already have a green light on firearms, and you seem smart enough to know what comes next."

He was right. Paren had snipers scoping in on him, and there were almost twenty men down there that were equipped with a gun. Escaping would prove extremely difficult and dangerous, if not entirely impossible. If he just gave up, he would at least get out with his life.

"There is no way I am going to prison for doing what was right. It's not like they can understand me anyways, so how can I get a fair trial?" Paren thought to himself. "Ahh screw it, I'm running."

"Well Paren, are you coming down or will we have to come and get you?" The commissioner asked humorously.

There was a feeling of static in the air, an unreal one that the commissioner seldom experienced. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot down and hit the pikachu, followed by a blinding light and an ear-shattering boom of thunder. The commissioner looked back to see the yellow mouse had somehow ran away.

"Does anyone have a visual on the target?" He shouted over the pending of rain.

"No sir," a detective replied, "the sniper team had been temporary blinded from the light, no one knows where he's ran off to."

"Damnit! Call in a chopper! Everyone spread out across this city! We are looking for a small, yellow mouse with a jagged tail! Move!"

Paren laid motionless on top of the roof, paralyzed with shock, emotionally and literally. He was out of breath, barely able to comprehend what had just happened. He remembered the uneasy feeling of static, his tail felt odd, and then there was a blinding light that came from all directions. Then, just like before, he had felt a surge of power, and time crawled at a snail's pace. He couldn't believe that he had jumped twenty feet into the air and latched onto the edge of the roof with his tail.

"So," Paren muttered after catching his breath, "lightning is a... thing."

The little pikachu got up on to his feet, and took the break from action to get a closer look at his new self. He had surprisingly shrunk in height from seven feet to just over twelve inches. He looked back at his huge tail, confused on how his tail could be larger than him. More importantly, how could it look like a... a, a lightning bolt?

"This is definitely the weirdest Saturday of my life," Paren remarked as he wagged his tail. "I've got a feeling things aren't going to be back to normal anytime soon."

Paren sat back down, mentally planning out his next move. He had at least half of the police force looking for him, and no family to turn to. There was always Uncle Romero, but he lived on the other side of the country, so that would be a last resort. Where would he go now? Where could he go now? There was no way he could trust any of his friends, especially since he couldn't even trust his own mother. But escaping from the state with not a word to anyone at all? He couldn't just leave his friends without saying goodbye, could he? Lino lived two miles away, an easy bike ride and even easier in a car, but two miles was a lot longer when it came to something of Paren's height.

He finally decided that his main goal was leaving the city, or at least the immediate area, and then wait for the tension to die down while he waited in someplace that would have people too drunk to realize he was a pikachu.

"Ooh! Like Vegas?" Paren inquired.

No. Vegas is also on the other side of the country, though not as far as your uncle. Still, it's a walk across fourteen or more states, and one of them is Nevada.

"Any better ideas then?" Paren asked.

I'unno. I've kinda just been going off of what you do, and haven't really thought most of this through. . . . . .

Wait a second, you can hear me?

"Yeah, why?"

How long have you been able to hear me?

Paren thought for a second. "I guess since I turned, I've been hearing a voice in my head. Are you my conscious or something?"

I... uh.. I don't know, maybe? All I can do is hang around you and explain your situation.

"Why would you ever do that though?" Paren asked, "And to whom?"

I'dunno, you? I just felt it'd be safest if I kept doing that. I don't know what kind of universal timeline these "narrations" I'm doing could be holding up, but the whole things just feels... delicate. Or lazy?

"So, you're just going to hang around me for now?" Paren questioned. "Cause I feel that would be awkward, like you'd be stalking me."

I'm not a stalker if I'm your conscious. So, even if I'm not your conscious, you could pretend I am and we won't have to risk destroy any walls of reality or fabrics of time and space.

"Alright then, I guess it's a plan," Paren stated reluctantly.

Paren began walking to the edge of the roof, the same one he had jumped to, and peered down at the road. All the police cars where, to his gleeful surprise, gone. The yellow mouse carefully climbed down to his room, moving cautiously in spite of the slick water raining down. It was a downpour with no signs of letting up, and that just meant more lightning for our hero.

Once he was on street level, Paren turned back to look at his home. This place that he was leaving, this was all he knew. He had never done so much as stray away from the city, and this country-wide expedition was a drastic jump from his life. He was being forced out of his old life, and into a new one he had no knowledge of. This was the biggest decision of his life.

Paren sighed deeply, "I'm not sure if I'm ready to go, I mean what if..."

His voice trailed off into silence as his ears began twitching. The pikachu's head swiveled around the area, looking for the source of the distant noise. It was the sound of a tornado, maybe not as big, but just as dangerous. He looked up to the clouds, identifying a barely visible black dot coming over the horizon of buildings. Paren felt tension build up inside of him with the knowledge that what was about to happen would complicate his plans. He continued to stand still with paralytic fear.

Paren, what're you doing?

". . ."

Why are you just standing there?

". . . . ."

Paren! The hell's wrong with you?! Run!

". . . . . . . ."

Well, shit. You're gonna die, this entire reality is gonna fall apart, and I barely even got to express myself. This was one hell of a short story.

". . . ."

Eh, still better than the last one.

"That's a helicopter."

No, a helicopter is a fun little RC toy that toddlers try to eat. That, on the other hand, is a Little Bird MD-M6 Helicopter, equipped with dual rotary miniguns. That flying bird of metal death is gonna mow you down if you don't move NOW!

"What if it isn't coming for me?"

Really?

"Yeah, that was a bit too optimistic"

Oh shi-, FUCKING RUN!

Paren turned and began bolting down the street as fast as he could in the opposite direction of the attack helicopter. He looked back at the airborne threat, and saw that it was most definitely coming for him. In an attempt to throw off his pursuer, Paren took a sudden turn and cut right through an alley. Right before he exited the alley, the pikachu stopped to notice how hard it was raining. The water came down like a shower of bullets, pelting the ground painfully. Paren decided to hide out in the alley for now, afraid that there could be anything around either corner. It was easier for him to advance when he was already running, but now his brain started working, and he was starting to freak himself out.

"Okay, alright, okay," Paren said to himself in a calming manner, "this is perfect. All I need to do is plan ahead, compensate for a few cop cars, figure out where I need to turn and where I can spare a few streets. This is going to go perfect, nothing bad will happen at all."

I'm not so sure about that Paren, you're the kind of situation that is well known as "fucked".

"Wow, thanks for the positive encouragement."

Sorry to put it so realistically for you, but that is just something you need to learn and get comfortable with. Because the 'realism' of this situation is that you are the only thing that the police force is after at this point. That means tons of cop cars, with police officers in all of them, and all of them carrying some form of firearm.

"Now you're just being annoying. Come on now, can't you just be a little bit more s- SHIT!"

Paren took off dashing out of the alley after hearing what he believed to be the Bird that was still chasing him. It wasn't. He burst through a pile of trash and onto the street, where several police officers were stationed in their vehicles. They all looked at the yellow electric mouse in disbelief, but the emotions of awe and wonder soon warped into determination. Paren began running, as the cops began blaring their sirens in hot pursuit. It wasn't long until there were even more police cars chasing the pikachu, each individual one giving off a deafening shriek of alarm.

Then, out of nowhere, Paren heard it. The spin up of a helicopter's dual guns, the deadly notification of his demise. Paren turned around to see that the Little Bird had caught up, and the other police vehicles had slowed down to escape the firing zone of their own aircraft. Paren was too focused on the helicopter that he forgot too look forward at the approaching intersection. He turned just in time. To see a SWAT van positioned right in the middle of the road crossing. The mouse tried to slow down, to cleverly maneuver around the barrier. But he was moving far too fast, and didn't have the time to react. His face slammed right into the van and his momentum carried his unconscious body right under the van.

"Ha ha!" The commissioner proclaimed happily in the copilot seat, "Got the furry little bastard!"

Once the bird had grounded, he got out, and walked towards the SWAT team. What an easy trap to set! Who could have guessed that such an advanced creature would actually fall right into it? He approached the team with a face of glee, but it quickly changed when he observed confusion across all the SWAT members.

"Well, where is that yellow monster of a mouse?" He asked worriedly.

One of them replied, "We... uhh, we don't know where he is, sir.

"What do you mean?"

"He hit the van and slid under, but he never came out on the other side."

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU LOSE TRACK OF THE DAMN THING WHEN HE WAS ONLY OUT OF SIGHT FOR TWO DAMN SECONDS?!"