Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. They belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. The songs I reference here belong to their respective artists as well. With that out of the way, please enjoy this piece of fanfiction.
Anna was sitting in her office. In front of her was a levitating desk made of glass with various gadgets. These devices made a number of charts, blueprints, reports and even a photo of her and a lot of Pokémon appear within the desk itself. Anna moved some of them away, giving space for a holographic screen to rise up from the center. She snapped her finger, triggering a keyboard to materialize in front of her.
She typed and made the screen changed to an image of a Pokémon sitting behind similar desk. He was holding in front of his face a wooden notepad with a humanlike mechanical arm. His hand had a more elegant design compare to Doc's, which were rough and bore the look of metallic bones with machines shoved into it. The Pokémon spoke up, voice filled with authority.
"Good afternoon, Anna."
"Good afternoon Mr. Lucious."
"I have just received a report that you have just recruited a Kirlia named Catherine this morning. Was that correct?"
"Yes, sir. I took the liberty of recruiting her a few hours ago. However, I do believe that I have sent you the paper explaining my intention of hiring her a few weeks ago."
"Hmmm, really? If that was the case then I truly apologize."
"I understand sir. With the pressure of maintaining the company, and project New Genesis in motion, forgetting that piece of information was plausible."
"I appreciate your understanding." He paused, thinking about something. "Anna, I have nothing against you recruiting new agents for the Foundation. But, are you sure about this Pokémon? We have no personal records of her, who she had worked for, and her overall performance. Are you certain that she is Foundation material?"
"Absolutely, sir."
"Well, care to explain?"
"She was discovered in the Outland by Doctor Voynich two weeks ago. This is a report from him at the time." Anna activated a device near the keyboard. The voice of Doc began to play. "April 21st, 1200 hour. We found a potential candidate in sector 754 today. A Kirlia. A about mid or late twenty, hard to tell. Heavily injured and dehydrated, had already rescued her and taking her back to base as we, I mean, speak. Sorry, forgot this is just a recording. A fascinating factor is that, despite her injuries, she managed to fight of a pack of about twenty Mightyena. Not only that, she did so with a single Focus blast. I can only imagine her potentials when she is at top shape." The recording was terminated there. Anna continued "And that's not all, our doctors suggested that her injuries would take her months to recover, yet she got up and was ready for her first mission just a few hours ago. This was why I hadn't tell you about her interview. It was way off schedule."
"I see."
"Doctors also did a few tests and uncovered some interesting things."
"Tell me then." Lucious said while dragging his finger across the note pad.
"Her bones structure is, quite unique. They are incredibly dense and their chemical components make them almost as hard as iron. There were also layers and layers of healed mini-fractured in her left hand, suggesting intensive training as a child. Not only that, most of her cells can regenerate at an extremely rapid rate, only slower than the effect of R-286 healing serum." "Mutation?"
"It could be sir. And despite of having no personal records of her, I can tell what kind of Pokémon she was."
"Yes, I have read that, she claimed herself to be a Celestian, correct?"
"Yes sir. But that not the end of that. From her clothes and other personal belongings, it is clear that she is or rather, was an Angelic Guard, a group of elite warriors in the Celestial nation and she was an Archangel: The equivalence of a commander. In addition, inside her coat were several crests of honor, heroism, and other prestige titles sew in by golden threads. The reason why they are not shown outside was due to Celestial nation's traditions."
"I see."
"She might not be high in ranking but she certainly did many feats to earn these titles. Yet, her exile is still a mystery."
"A mystery? So there is a risk of hiring her. Nonetheless, it appears that she has what it takes." The Pokémon put his hand in pondering position. "In the end, I trust your judgment. Don't make me regret it. Keep a close eye on her."
"Yes, sir."
The Pokémon's image then disappeared from Anna's screen. Without giving her time to breathe, another device on her desk began to ring. She hovered her hand above it, allowed the robotic female voice to speak up.
"Ms. Anna, there is a call from Doctor Voynich."
"Put him through."
(The song "Do the evolution" by Pearl Jam begins to play)
Chesterization proudly presents.
A Pokémon fanfiction
Genesis
(Song ends)
Chapter 4: A new home
Axel and Catherine were inside an elevator with the smell of rusted iron and rot. Catherine still had blood and tissues stain all over her coat. The blood had begun to dry out a little, turning into sticky black and dark brown puddles, gave off the appearance of tar. She was sweating way back from the hangar bay, making the smell the more unpleasant. However, memory of the days at the Outlands reminded her that this was nothing.
Axel also had a few spots on his jacket, visor and the device on his side. He was keeping a straight face while breathing softly with his mouth. There were footprints made of semi-dried blood on the floor, probably from the previous users, preventing him from tapping his feet. Catherine shook her head violently, not for the smell, but for the sudden drowsiness. Axel saw this and broke the silent. "Strange, there're usually cleaning bots for this place. Hope you don't mind the smell."
Catherine decided to turn to Axel and answered. "I've been through worse. Just a bit tired."
"Yeah, must be one hell of a day for you huh?"
"It's not like one day when you wake up from a near death experience only to be thrown in a cluster fuck of well, all this shit."
"You might be surprised, but I know that feeling."
She turned to him with doubt in her eyes. She did not know what to respond but. "Uh huh, that. So, what happen now?"
"We are going to the Decontamination booths, get ourselves clean. Then head to the Square, collect our rewards and head back to the living quarters. Sound good?"
She yawned. "If I know what those are I would say, yes. And what is the Square?"
"It's our living ground. This base has a lot more than just a few labs and hangar bays. You will see it shortly."
A ding played along with the robotic voice in the elevator. "You have reached the Decontamination Chambers, sorry for the insulting scent. The cleaning robots decided to revolt a few minutes ago, they are being puni*static* replaced at the moment. Don't let this stop your from having a pleasant day."
"Heh, that's explains it." He said.
The door opened, allowing both of them to exit. The air with the smell of burnt plastic and antiseptic went inside Catherine nostril. Admitted that smell was somewhat of an improvement, she gaged a bit when it filled her lungs. She looked around, there were numerous booths made of glass within this place. All of which varied in sizes. Inside each of these booths there were several scanners attached to a device on the ceiling, a box with a thunderbolt symbol under a button and a camera. Catherine also saw footprints leading from the elevator and ended at one of the booth.
"What in the fuck? We don't have shower head in Celestial but I'm sure as hell those things are not. And no way I'm going in there and have a shower in front of-"
Axel just walked over, opened a booth and got inside. He looked at her disturbed face while slowly reached for the button behind him. He then pressed it, stood still and closed his eyes. The machine carrying two scanners on the ceiling extended, rotated around him and shot him with a barrage of green light. A colorless liquid was then sprayed on every square inch of his body. Another scanner shot him with a bright white light. Each shot cut and made the stains of blood disappear in quite literally, a flash. Axel stepped out, and took his visor off.
Catherine had her mouth opened a little. She proceeded to walk backward to a booth, opened it and pressed the button with her elbow. Instead of closing her eyes, she just put on her sunglasses. The thing had some blood smears on the lenses as well. She than let the booth do its job. When the liquid began to be sprayed, she accidentally inhaled it, making her flinch and coughed in disgust. That let even more of the liquid get in her mouth, stinging a large portion of taste buds. The machine stopped and played a siren. Axel knocked on the door. "Are you alright?" He asked.
"Bitch! Does it look alright? Aw shit, it's in my mouth. It stings." She spat on the floor. "Shit. What the fuck is this?"
"Just shake it off and stand still. It's almost over. Try holding your breath."
Catherine spat out some more and slowly got up. The bitterness was still present in the corner her mouth. She resumed the original position and pressed the button once again. The bright white light zapped her, returned her coat back to its dark blue stage. She took off the glasses and stepped out of the door, still trying to get the horrible taste out.
Axel said with a smile. "We have regular showers in the living quarters. They are much more comfortable than these are. Just not as fast."
"You guys are fucking weird." She said and spat on the floor one last time.
"Said the swearing Celestian."
She sighed. "Please tell me that not everyone in this base is a god damn smartass."
Axel kept his silence. He then walked to the door at the end of the room and opened it, letting sunlight to come in.
"Sunlight? Sunlight? But we were going down. Did we just travel to the other side of Essal? It's impossible." Then Catherine reminded herself that these Pokémon could fit a rocket launcher inside their watch, so anything goes. Beyond the door, she saw bushes, streetlights and crystal like pavement. Axel held the door and signaled her to step out.
(The song Empire ants by the Gorillaz begins to play.)
Catherine walked outside and immediately shielded her eyes as she looked up. A ginormous dome made of millions of LCD screens surrounded everything around her. The screens were painted with the color of an afternoon sky, completed with cloud and everything. At the far right, there was even a substitute sun displayed on them. It was brilliant and warm. Catherine looked to her left and saw Axel going down some stairs. She followed him and reached the balcony on the lower floor. She then slowly made her way to the rails on the edge to get a full view of the place.
Everything was placed in a giant hexagon valley made from layers of trees and whites buildings. The air above was occupied by a few hovering vehicles and a couples of those planes that she was in earlier. In the center, which was also the lowest point of this structure was three gigantic black towers. The one in the middle with the Genesis logo was the highest of the three. Catherine felt the wind blew gently across her face. She took a deep breath. The air here was not reek with the stench of blood or filled with chemical. This was clear and fresh.
For the first time in days, she felt relax. The cursed decontamination booth disappeared from her mind, hell, the air even cleansed as for as a few weeks in the Outland. Catherine then looked at the trees grown along on the balcony. Something she had almost forgot what they really looked like. Axel tapped on her shoulder.
"Welcome to the Square, the heart of the base, Catherine. You have to excuse the unremarkable name, company's choices, not mine. I would name it Garden of Heroes or something like that."
"Everything looks fucking amazing."
"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet. Anyway, let's get going. You can look at trees later on." She lifted her hand from the rail. Axel continued. "The assignment center is right over there, so let's catch a bus." Axel started to run and urged Catherine to follow him. Catherine teleported to Axel's side, caught up with him.
They got to a part of a balcony that had a chunk bitten off it. Beside the missing part laid a hologram sign that chalked up numbers and letters. A few Pokémon were standing in line in front of it. They were held back from falling by a blue crystal rail with a hologram of the words: "Watch your steps" imprinted in the air above. Without waiting for too long, a red flying bus with black windows on the sides descended and stopped at the missing part of the balcony. Its doors then stretched open and the rail disappeared, giving ways for Pokémon to get on and off. Catherine and Axel were the last to board. She spent quite some time to look down at her feet, minding the height showing in the gap between the balcony and the bus.
Upon entry, she noticed a few odd things about this bus. There was no driver inside the machine, just seats and a couple of bulletin boards showing pictures of various landscapes on Essal. The seats position was different as well. It resembled that of a subway rather than a bus. The inside was lit up with the light provide by the outside through the windows. Catherine sat down and Axel took the seat at the opposite side. There were not a lot of Pokémon riding the bus, only a few Kadabra engineers and a small family of four Kecleon. They were wearing casual clothing, no armor, no weapons. The inside of the bus emitted a series of small beeping sound as the doors were shutting themselves. The robotic voice said: "Next stop, East Wing." The bus separated from the balcony, slowly turned to the right then ascended. Catherine turned around and looked through the window. The vehicle passed several buildings, all covered in glass and metal; all were spotless and the insides were rather empty. She could only see a handful of Pokémon staying in them.
The LCD sky suddenly opened a large hole, allowed a large plane with cannons and machine guns placed across its body to land into an airfield. There were several smaller domes at the other end of the Square as well. They looked like giant golf balls from Catherine's point of view. The bus then moved closer to the center of the Square, giving Catherine a closer look at the three black buildings. At this point, Catherine eyes grew heavy and closed themselves. As her head was about to bump into the glass, Axel began to speak, waking her up.
(Song ends)
"Some pointer for the new comer, the building over there, on the left is our living quarters and the others are Genesis's offices. That will be the last stop for today." Catherine did not answer, just continued looking through the window. Axel continued his tour guide. "At some point, you should check out the rest of the Square. Genesis did everything they could to make all of us live here comfortably. There is a gym/ stadium, a fully equipped shooting range, and hundreds of restaurants in this place. You can have everything you expected from a big city. Hell, we even have shopping malls down here. See those seizure-inducing building?" He then pointed at blocks of large buildings made of colorful glasses. "The place is a gathering of all kind of luxurious items all across Essal."
In a droopy tone, Catherine said. "I never get that. Spending money on something you wouldn't even touch more than once."
"It's not really my cup of tea, either. However, to some workers and other agent, it means a lot. It's more of a habit, a hobby. It's healthy."
"Pff, hobby, haha." Catherine snickered in a drunken voice. "The world is falling apart and you motherfuckers still think of that? Funny, you risked your life, earn money just to get a little closer to a shiny piece of garbage and that's normal." Catherine turned to Axel, only to see a scared look from one of the Kecleon. Realized what she did, she shook her head, trying to knock herself awake. "Ugh…Fuck….Sorry."
"It's okay. Not judging. You are tired. We'll just collect the reward and take a break." Axel said.
Catherine did not answer. Instead, she just slammed the back of her head to the window and shut her eyes.
Just when she was about to catch a quick sleep and let out her first snore, the bus suddenly shifted, dropping her on the ground. The impact instantly woke her up. "Agh…What the fuck?" The bus slowed down and the robot voice said. "Reached East wing." Axel offered her a vine to help her get up. Catherine lazily took it and backed on her feet. Axel made his way to the end of the bus.
"Let's go. It will be over soon."
They were dropped off at a station in front of a single story building. Nothing too remarkable about the place, it looked like any other building in here with a few Foundation logos painted on the wall. On the pavement, there were a hologram sign confirming this place to be the Assignments center. Axel ran toward it and got in first, leaving Catherine to navigate her way in a slightly staggered stage.
She was a bit angry with herself for acting like that. If this were the Outland then she would be dead by then. This environment must have spoiled her, she thought. Things here just slowed down and it made she feel safe somehow. She shook her head. Both the wake herself up and reminding her the danger of a false sense of security.
"Here." Axel's voice startled her. He was offering her a can of energy drink, the same brand as Rick's. "It worked the first time didn't it?" Catherine just snatched the can and drank it. This time she finished it in less than a minute. The drink took effect and sent Catherine back up. But she was not as focus as the first time she use it. "Feeling better?"
"Yeah, thanks."
"Don't be, because you owned me 10 creds for that."
"You son of a…"Catherine was about to threw the can at him, but remembered the request she made to him. She instead used her Psychic move to toss it to a trashcan.
"See? I got the message. Okay, let get our money and get home." Axel said.
"Best thing I heard in days."
They stepped in the station. It had a few Foundation agents inside as well. All of them just gave both Catherine and Axel a quick glace and then resumed to their businesses. Some linger on Catherine, but soon looked away as they walked deeper into the station. The first thing Catherine saw was three large cubicles that took half of the space. All three had a large sheet of glass and various mails slots in front. A Ducklett ran the first cubicle. His head wore a bowl frame with wires connected to the ceiling. He was sitting or rather floating on a blob of water held stasis on a device. Surrounding him were mountains of machine. All of which were too far for him to reach. The ceiling above him then opened up three trap doors and dropped down humanlike robotic arms. The arms extended and interacted with the machine around him. Next to his cubical was a Kangaskhan with throwing grenades in her pouch. Dozens of gun were hanged on the walls behind her, to her left and right. A Lucario with a huge shotgun was talking to her. The Pokémon was quite loudmouthed, as everyone in the station could hear him bargaining with her, something about retaking a weapon. And the final cubicle was owned by a Meowth. The Pokémon just have lockers surrounding him, with a few pieces of gemstone placed on his desk. A Weavile wearing an oversized metal gauntlet on her left arm gave something to him through the mail slot and then left shortly. Near the exit were a slot machine and a vending machine that just stay there for some reason. Catherine understood the vending machine but the slot machine just seem out of place.
Standing at the opposite of the three cubicles was a Lopunny in battle armor and an eyeless Sableye. He had a metal blind fold with a pattern of a pair of eyes. Both were locking their sight at the hologram bulletin board on the wall. The thing was filled with various pictures, figures and words that were too small for Catherine to read. The pictures changed from places to faces of Pokémon. Some of them had scars and wounds on their faces and the words "WANTED" drawn in capital letters above their head. The Lopunny was probably the only one that still looked at Catherine from time to time. She seemed to whisper something to the Sableye when Catherine turned her back. Beside the bulletin board were a set of leather couches and table with a box of crystal tablets placed on it. A Gallade with a right mechanical arm held a tablet with the word News imprinted on the back while sitting comfortably on the couch.
Axel then walked to the Ducklett and Catherine followed. The flying type was busy with an Electivire carrying a huge sword on his back. The sword was almost as long as his height. The broad blade split into two parts from the middle. One part was a conventional blade and the other had saw teeth on the edge. The hilt had a red gemstone and a V symbol on it. The Ducklett sitting behind the glass did not look too thrill went talking to him. The wire connected the Ducklett and the ceiling was shaking as he waved his wings and robot arms at the same time.
"God damn it! One last time you brain dead ingrate. The mission only gives you a full payment, WHEN, WHEN, the target is alive and in one piece. A quarter of his body doesn't count. I don't care if the piece was still breathing when you pick it up. He is DEAD now. So pay your fine and get off my feathers."
The Electivire reached back and picked up the sword.
"Ah ah ah. I don't think so." The Ducklett summoned two turrets from the ceiling above the Electivire and closed up every door in the station. Metallic shutters took over the windows and orange barriers appeared around the turrets. The turrets then beamed their laser sights at the Electivire's head. The panel in front of the Ducklett opened up, revealing a red button.
"Tough guy huh? May I remind you that high doses of neurotoxin are in those bullets? I don't how much it hurt when you dying from it, but it is said to give painful death. Remember those Pokémon you have killed? You don't want to join them in hell. You are going to get your daily dose of whoop-ass from them and on top of other religious creature that I have no knowledge of. You think you fast enough? This button should change that. Forgetting the accessory the company gave you?" The Electivire backed off. His hand left the sword in its place. The doors opened and the turrets retracted. "Now, what did we learn today?"
"Follow the mission requirements to the words."
"That's right. Also, a little recommendation for you. Next time, choose missions that don't require you to keep things alive. You obviously sucks at it. Hope we won't have this kind of trouble in the future. Okay? Good. Next!"
Axel then stepped up as the Electivire walked away.
"Ah, isn't it Doc's little boy. What you want kid?"
"Just payment and nothing else."
"Card please." A mail slot opened in front. Axel summoned a red with black stripe card from his device, put that in the slot and let it fall on a conveyer belts. The conveyer belt then loaded it backward allowing a robot arm to pluck it and laid it in a scanner. A pair of robot arm went down from the ceiling and typed on the computer. A large blue rectangle appeared on the glass. Catherine could not see anything, but the Ducklett obviously saw more than that. "Busy week huh, kid?"
"The usual."
"You should live your life. Get drunk or something. And who is behind you?"
"She is Mark's replacement."
"Uh huh, I'll get a blank ready then." Another hand pulled down and activated a fabricator machine behind the Ducklett. The Ducklett then opened a different mail slot, and returned the card to Axel through it. :Alright, have a nice day kid. New blood, come." Catherine then approached the glass. "State your name and number."
"Catherine Kobb. 364"
"Cob as in C. O. B." the Ducklett asked as he commanded the hands to type with his mind.
"No K. O. B. B."
"Alright. He typed a few more, read the information and turned off the screen."
"Kay. Here a little load down." He looked behind him, commanded an arm to pick up a newly fabricated card and handled it to Catherine. "That's your credit card, keep it well. Pretty self-explanatory, that is where you store your money and use it to pay for things. Lose it and we both got to suffer an ass load of paperwork. Please don't lose the god damn thing."
"It won't happen." She said while examining the card.
"Good. My job here is to give you the rewards after each missions and assignments .You can get your rewards from the comfort of your living quarters but that will take away 50% of the rewards itself." Catherine squinted her eyes when she heard that. "Unfair, I don't care. The company pays you 8000 creds for guarding a door, so better not be a lazy whiny asshole about it. The bulletin board is over there, it is where you choose your assignments. The diff between them and missions? You can do assignments on your own and don't always require a full team. You can work with other members if you like. How to split the money is up to you. The assignments are easy, random stuffs that I couldn't care less, like capturing new species or something. You can register your assignments with me or from your living quarter with some additional charges. The same goes for missions. However, the team must be okay with missions though. Drop an assignment or a mission will be forced to pay a fee. The numbers depends on the situation. Like, you agree to recue someone but dropped half way, that crap gonna cost, a lot. And you are going to be branded a major asshole so think before taking them, not mentioning flak from the company." He took a deep breath. "Holy shit, that was a lot. Got them all?"
Catherine nodded.
"A little something about this place too. Pick up jewelry, gems stone or physical money? Give them to Meowth and he exchanges them for credits. I believe he does antiques as well. Unused but good weapons that you picked up? You give those to the female next door for credits. She gives the best deals so take it whenever you can. Near the exit is a slot machine to unwind. Try your luck maybe you can score a 5* weapon. Play at your own risk. And no, I won't give you a loan, ever. Get to the bank for that. Don't recommend getting a loan there either, it'll screw you right up your ass. Have anything else you wish to ask?"
Catherine scratched the back of her head. "Eh, yes."
"Then just read this, I ain't got all day." He let out a book out of the tray. "Do some reading, it's good for you."
"Next." The Ducklett shouted despite no one was behind Catherine.
She then returned to Axel, who was exchanging a conversation with the Gallade. The Lucario then made a hitchhiking gesture to the Gallade. The Pokémon said something to Axel and then left with the Lucario. Axel then turned around and asked. "Done? Okay, let get back."
"Axel, what is 5* weapons?"
"Oh, forgot to tell you that. Here we have classes for our weapons. Your basic shotgun is a 1* class, which is the worst and cheapest. Rick's bazooka is 3* I think. And 5* is the best, for now, and also the most expensive. If you thinking about gambling then I just want to say, don't. The chance of winning 1 in 14000000. You have a higher possibility of getting hit by a falling LCD screen in the dome and live after the impact."
"Sound like a challenge. I'll take it."
"It just a game of chance" he sighed "don't you want to get to the living quarters and rest? You were bumping your head on the bus."
"The energy drink helped. I think I'll get back later, just want to test this out. Oh, and how do I send you the money back? I hate owning Pokémon."
"Just make sure you have more than 10 cred when you done with the slot machine. Do whatever you want. I'm not going to give you money when you go broke."
Catherine just made her way to the slot machine. The multi-color lights arranged into the word: "Jackpot" lit up when the machine noticed her present. A small slot was opened up with the line "Insert card here". She put her newly obtain card inside it and pulled down the lever. This triggered the machine own robotic voice. "Gambling with this sum of credits is not recommended. Only play when you really need to vent. Genesis wishes you to reconsider."
"Perfect" She thought before pulling down the lever again. The reels started spinning and a jolly jingle played along. The music died down when the reels stopped one by one, the machine let out an up most annoying sound when there's nothing match up. Catherine pulled one more and was awarded with the same sound afterward. Little did she know, that was the sound she had to hear all afternoon, along with her groan of dismay. After an hour or so, the machine let out a beep when it sucked the money dry.
"What the fuck? I just play for a few times and I'm out?"
"We don't endorse excessive gambling so it quite costly for each pull. But you've been doing that for a while now, just stop." Axel said while sitting in couch in the lounge, reading a tablet connected to the newsstand. Catherine then reclaimed her card and went for the second booth to meet up with Kangaskhan with haste.
The Pokémon behind it slowly shook her head. "Honey, I know what you are going to do. Don't do it. You need your weapons, just keep them for now and you can earn one of your own. It takes time, but it much more rewarding then whatever you are doing there. I know putting that machine was a bad idea."
"Speak for yourself, my incomes just went up." The Meowth spoke from the other side.
Catherine was about to tell her to keep quiet and give her the credit. But thinking carefully about her words, Catherine just said. "Okay, I'll just trade this in and I'll leave." Catherine summoned and gave her Rick's RPG.
"Oh well. Here you go." The Kangaskhan pumped her card with credit and cautiously gave it back to Catherine. Catherine instantly took it and got back to the machine.
"Catherine, Rick is not going to be thrill about that." Axel said.
"It's a gift, so I can do what the hell I want. Just one more. If it failed, I'll fucking stop. If it wins I'll fucking stop. I just want to go through with this. Try every fucking possibility. Beside I still got like." She put the card inside. "One shot left. What the hell, lady?" She looked back at the second cubicle.
"That's not going to work. Catherine. Just save those credits and get back."
Catherine pulled the lever. The reel kept spinning and a symbol of Genesis showed up in the first reel and soon another followed. Catherine eyes opened wide, waiting for the final symbol to land. Just when another Genesis logo landed, the machine shut itself off.
"What the fuck?" Catherine kicked the machine. Before she could do anything else, a party horn and the sound of music came up. The machine's top opened up, fabricated some devices that shot confetti all over the place. Axel dropped the tablet and stood up.
"Holy shit, what happened?' Catherine said"
"You won, hon." The Kagaskhan cheered behind the counter.
Catherine threw her arm up and yelled in celebrate. "Fuck yeah! How about that, green jackass? How you like me now, bitch, Wooo."
"Well, I'll be damned." Axel muttered.
The side of the machine opened. The thing then fabricated a triple barrels shotgun with the imprint of a Houndoom on each barrel. It was painted in red and black and has a shiny coating to it. Beside the weapon attached a small card. Catherine used her Psychic to made the weapon threw itself to her. She tried to pull the trigger but the thing would not fire.
"Hey, no firing in here, take that to the shooting range." The Ducklett yelled from his counter. He then connected a microphone. "And what hell are you looking at? It's just dumb luck. All of you, return to your duties." He addressed the other agents in the station, who were looking at Catherine newly acquired prize.
"I suppose you want to test it out?" Axel asked
"Fuck yeah, I do." She pumped the shotgun.
"Good, because everyone in here wants that, held it tight. Let's get you to the shooting range, quick."
A few hours before
Anna pressed a button on her keyboard. The moving image of Doc took up a quarter of her screen afterward. He was in a workshop, beside him laid various pieces of robots. One of which got a wrench impale through. Doc still had that PR smile on his face and some oils and green fluid added on as well.
"Good afternoon, Doctor."
"Afternoon Anna. Sorry for not responding sooner, I was busy with other assignments."
"It's okay. So, how was today mission?"
"It was fine. There were a few problems but nothing too major. The bandit's base has been destroyed, most of them dead, some of them got away but not too many."
"Don't worry about them, we have already got them with our satellites. How about Catherine?"
"Good. The new member is certainly fits for the job. Her attitude need some work, though. But that didn't get too much in the way. Her power and ability are certainly interesting. But I need to see her in action more along with some data to get a full grasp of her potentials."
"Yes, and I have just spoken to Mr. Lucious regarding her recruitment."
"Did he show any sign of disapproval?"
"No, however, he instructed me to keep a close eye on her. Can I pass this task on to you?"
"Certainly NOT." Doc gave Anna a straight answer and slammed his metal fist against the table, shaking his image. "A problem." He added with a grin on his face.
"Doctor." Anna showed slight irritation and relief.
"Hehehehe"
"Since you are here, I have special mission to offer you, are you interested?"
"Oh, I'm all ear."
"It's about the bandits that got away from you. Our satellites have tracked them to their last location, the 268 forest, but that's not the main thing. Shortly after their arrival, something at the heart of the forest made a spike appeared in our energy readers."
"What source of energy?"
"Similar to those of human technologies."
"NO, I will not accept. I will not accept the fact a bunch of good-for-nothing-violent costume geeks could get their hand on human tech. It must be an accident. It must be."
"We don't know for sure. We only know that the spike is strong and has lasted for a long period of time."
"Could be a cluster of tech? Like that one we found last summer. That must have been a defensive system that runs on back up energy sources that triggered the readers."
"Yes, Doctor. That is the most likely possibility. The bandit may have uncovered it but I don't think they could crack the codes protecting it, ever. So, the tech and the security system may still be intact."
"Should not take any chances, should kill them."
"We have already sent a team to take care of the bandits and secure the area. However, we believe that only you can open it. You have experience with these tech after all. So we want and your team to investigate the content inside it."
"Hmm, not sure. Everyone is still rest up from today mission. Myself, still busy. Not sure if we can do it now. Unless, I could abort fixing all these revolting robots and do it with some other agents."
"That would not be needed, tomorrow would be just fine. The team we sent will help us secure and monitor the place. If anything go up, I will personally inform you."
"Thank you. Is there anything else you wish to tell me before I get back to work?"
"No, Doctor. Good luck on tomorrow mission."
"Oh, yes. The possibilities of new techs and new discovery, so excited."
*Bang, Bang, Bang*
Catherine and Axel were in a large room within the shooting range. The near empty room made every sound Catherine's new gun created into barrage of echo. Catherine was standing behind a crystal fence. In the distance were a few paper target boards. Each time she pulled the trigger, a group of three white orbs launched out of the shotgun, went straight to the paper targets and effortlessly went through them, leaving behind 3 neatly holes. Slowly formed rings of ice could be seen around the holes as well. Axel was sitting nearby; next to him was a control panel.
"The weapon card said you could change the element of your bullets by using the buttons near the grip. There are apparently three elements to use, fire, ice and electric, hench the name Cerberus. Hmm, I know that's company orders and all, but their choices in names are just questionable." Axel said while holding a tablet connected to a card.
Catherine pressed the button, the lights on the gun turned from white to red. She pulled the trigger once more, and the gun launched three fire orbs from its barrel. The projectiles exploded when came to contact, ignited her targets instantly. Axel pressed a button on the tablet, summoned new targets for her.
"This thing is fucking awesome."
"Yeah, but it come with a price. This is a Genesis shotgun. That's mean it used special elemental clips for ammo. Those are pretty expensive, so save them."
"Yeah, yeah." Catherine switched the gun element to its final, electric. However, it did not have a much different effect. The orb just rather charred the board.
"Hey." Catherine whispered.
"Huh, bored already?"
She rested the gun on her shoulder. "No, but, I don't believe that this big ass building only have these. Is there something else? Something that make this testing more challenging, fun and a bit more gruesome."
Axel stood up and said. "There is, but that going to cost."
"Stop that, I got the message. Come on, I know what I said. We are a team so just give me something to test my stuff, help me get better. It's for the good of the team right?"
"Even if you are Doc, I still not going to do that for free."
"God damn it, I'll pay you later. You really need to pull that stick out of your ass."
"Only when you pull yours. Okay, follow me." Catherine shot a glare at him.
Axel then took Catherine to a large and completely empty room. Everything inside was painted white.
"What the fuck?" Catherine said as she moved closer into the center of the room.
"Catherine don't go in too far. There's a glass."
"What?" Catherine said before bumped into an invisible wall.
Axel walked to the corner of the room. Stepped his foot on a button and made a panel rise up from the floor. The buttons on said panel changed color, helping Axel distinguish and control them.
"Eh? What the hell is this?"
"The combat simulator. You will understand why it is so damn expensive, latter."
Axel then swiped his card. The panel lit up in excitement. A stasis pod then rose from the floor. The pod was in the same size as the one Catherine was in earlier that day. "Ok, this is going to get strange. Get in the pod." He said and pushed a button, making the pod open wide.
"What? What is that got anything to do with testing guns?"
"Just trus- Oh wait. I don't know, I have already thrown 4000 credits away. So please get in this pod. Remember to make sure that you put the gun in your inventory."
"Oh god, are you serious? Okay, I'm going. But tell me what the hell it is."
"This whole room is the combat simulator. The pod will scan everything in both your body and the fabricator, down to your cells and inventory. Then the computer will create a virtual version of yourself based on them. Your stamina, strength, power, weapons, everything, they took these number and put them together into a virtual you. That you will be projected inside that glass, for everyone can see. The pod then connects your mind with the virtual version of you in that glass case, creating a combat simulation afterward. Where you can make enemy kill you and you won't die. Or you could kill an enemy over and over again to test your weapons."
"Sounds weird."
"Trust me, it's fun." Axel shrugged.
Catherine returned the shotgun to her inventory then slowly stepped inside the pod. Axel closed it with a push of a button. A microphone inside the pod transferred Axel's words. "Close your eyes." Catherine did just that. She could feel the sweat at the back of her neck when the machine locked itself. She breathed slowly, trying to calm herself down. "Here we go." Axel said.
A flash of light appeared and a strange hum came from the machine. She felt like spiraling in an invisible vortex when the hum became more rapid. Then came a sound and she was dropped back on her feet.
Axel said. "Okay, you are in. You can open your eyes now."
Catherine did as she was told. She was still in the room and was standing in the center of it. She saw Axel beyond the glass, near the panel with the pod was behind him. She look at her arms, she could still feel them and move them, but their color were off. They were nearly see-through. There was a certain disconnection between her and them, as if they did not belong to her.
"Catherine, can you hear me?" His voice was close, almost in her head.
"Yeah, and I can see you too."
Axel turned his head to the left and waved once. She did not wave back. "Good. Then it is functioning properly. Try moving around. Feel anything weird, tell me."
And Catherine did. Her steps were lights. She teleport jumped and landed, experiencing reduced effect of gravity. "So this is the whole simulation thing? It's not that much different."
"Oh, you will see. All right, the readings are good. Ready for some digitized enemy?"
"Sure, whatever the fuck that is." Catherine summoned her new weapon while Axel was typing something on the keyboard. An Image of a Lucario wearing bulletproof vest was slowly constructed from a mix of numbers and colors. He looked like the Pokémon on the Genesis promotional panel. "Wow, it looks so, real."
Axel said. "In where you are standing, it is. Try and see for yourself."
Catherine struck its face. She got a feeling of punching a slug as her fist met the Pokémon snout. The digitized head whiplashed, making the Pokémon taking a few steps back. It then immediately returned to its position, showing no sign of injury.
"Holy shit."
"Come on, you can do better than that. Give him your all."
Catherine gave it a beat down. She started by a hook to the jaw, followed by a jab to the stomach, lowering the Pokémon's head. She grabbed its head and knee struck him. She could hear the cracking sound of bone in that one. Catherine teleported backward, raised her foot and kicked the Pokémon's dome, knocking him on the ground. Like a twisted puppet, the Pokémon stood up, repositioned his head and returned to his pose.
"Okay, that is fucking scary."
Catherine fabricated the new shotgun, pumped it and shoot the incinerate orbs at the hollow enemy. The orbs came in contact and ignited him. The Pokémon combusted got on the ground, flailing and rolling. When the fire stopped, it left nothing behind but a charred figure. What remain then turned into digital dust and reassembled back into the Lucario.
"You can do anything you want with it. You can beat it until the end of time and it will never mind. It can't feel pain but still have basic respond though, try hitting it with electric."
Catherine obliged and shot the Pokémon in the head. The electric coated the Pokémon's head, giving it spasm like a sideway limbo dance. Catherine changed the element while waiting for it to stand up. Just when the Pokémon stood up, she fire the freeze shot, partially frozen him. She fired another and another until he was frozen solid. Catherine then charged purple psychic power to her left fist and shattered him completely with a full force punch. Crystalized pieces of the Pokémon fell to ground with satisfying "cling" sound.
"You're right. This is fun."
"Try warming up with some moves. See how it goes."
When the pieces pulled themselves into the Lucario, Catherine grabbed it by the collar, channeled a large amount of psychic power into her hand and tossed it upward. She drew Anima and shot the Pokémon in the stomach, sending him upward. She then drew Lady Death and shot him rapidly, slowly pushing him upward. When gained enough height, Catherine then teleported up in the air and kicked the Pokémon upward. She then teleported under him and gave him a barrage of kick giving him and her more height. She then half charged a Focus Blast and shot the Pokémon to the ceiling. After the Pokémon hit the ceiling and fell down. Catherine teleported above him and attached herself to the ceiling. Then she fired her flame orbs from the shotgun, dealing some burn damage on the Pokémon. She then formed her hand into a claw grip and charged a Focus Blast. Just when the Pokémon was about to hit the ground, she pulled him to her with her psychic. She dived down and launched herself toward the half burn body. "Focus slam!" She threw the orb down on the Lucario's back, sending the Pokémon down with a violent explosion. Through a series of teleportation, she got back on the ground.
"Oh, that's nice."
"You haven't seen nothing yet. How about this?" Axel typed and summoned up a group of four identical Lucario holding assault rifles. "Now, let make them do something huh?"
The Pokémon stopped standing still and began to fire at Catherine. She teleported away, not before punching one in the gut. She gained some distance with her teleportation and then summoned a grenade. "Singularity." She threw the grenade, maintaining a purple cloud on her hand and let the vortex sucked all the Lucario in. She then watched as them blew up into smithereens.
"Who taught you that?"
"Huh? Which one?"
"Gravity. And that Singularity."
"Myself." She said before breaking a Lucario's neck and used his body as a meat shield.
"Really?"
"Not quite though." She shot at the group with Lady Death while holding on to the meat shield. "My mother helped out with Gravity. But Singularity is all me."
"How did you and your mom do that? Here, we can't even update it to a Pokémon."
"I'm not sure, Mind over matter, no limit, all that good stuff. I can learn many moves that I'm not supposed to. Just give me the books and I get right on that. She thinks the ability runs in the family or something. But strangely enough she couldn't even do it."
"Uh huh, could be a genetic gap."
She stuck a grenade on the Pokémon's back, and kicked it to the group. "Don't know. Your skills aren't too bad. Did you get that update thing for those?" The digitized body then exploded.
He chuckled. "No, the update just give knowledge and not much else, without practice, they are next to nothing. For example, your reloads is still pretty clumsy."
"Humph." She teleported up in the air and stomped on a Pokémon. "So, how long have you been holding the sword?"
"20 years, give or take one or two."
"Shit, that must be harsh." She said while stepping on a Lucario gut. Catherine began to pant harder. Strange, considering all this was in her head.
"Not so much if you are raised in a place like this."
"Yeah. With all this technology and the Square, even the Councils would be jealous. So you were trained as a kid to be an assassin?"
"Well, yes. I was rescued from a slave trade. Genesis took me in, and run a few medical test. Doctors said I have disease that preventing me from evolving. But in return I got super reflexes, the ability to change my time perception and strength. So Doc asked me if I want to join and train, I agreed."
Catherine let out an "Oh" for having the answers of several questions at the back of her head. She then continued talking while repeatedly shooting a Lucario in the chest. "So in some regard, you 20 years ago was going through something similar to me, right now?"
"Yes. I admit, it was hard to adapt at first but I got used to it after a while. You would be no different."
"Well, there goes my excuse to bitch and moan." She started to pant. "But, hah, why didn't you just go to an orphanage? Maybe, you can get a better life. Wait, nah, what I am saying? This place is got to be better. Yeah, right call."
"Heh, you are the first to say that? Most just stop at the: "Why didn't you pick the orphanage?" one."
"You are not a charity case, nobody here is, so why does that? As much as I hate to admit it, here looks so much better than the surface."
"So, I'm assuming that you're enjoying the place?"
"Yeah, it isn't too bad, a tad confusing but nice. Fresh air and all that. And that makes me really want to punch you in the face." Catherine then proceeded to hold a Lucario head with both her hand and pressed her thumbs in the eyes sockets. Mimicking Rick's head crush.
Axel confused a bit but caught on. "I understand, but you really didn't want to join in. I just supported that."
"If you were doing it for my own well-being, you would have stopped me, not sending me to the Outland."
"What? I respected your freedom and don't want you to be lost and confused in this place. It not just going to the base, but it's like going to a different time. It like living in somewhere 1000 years before and suddenly yanked to present day. Besides, I was going to sent you to a nice settlement outside of Genesis's range. A small town with nice Pokémon that could use some help."
"Like I'm gonna buy that." She let out a grunt and drop kicked another Lucario.
"I'm going to take you there some other time. I promise."
"Agh, fuck it. It doesn't matter, it's in the past. The present is now I killing stuffs with a 1 in 1400000 chance of obtaining gun and I'm rubbing it in your face with your money. Future with moral dilemmas, I let you handle them. Just get me some targets."
"Coming right up." Axel summoned more enemy. A new enemy in the field caught Catherine by surprise. One succeeded in shooting her in the arm. It did not hurt much, just like a stuck of a needle. "I guess you don't have to worry too much about with that kind of attitude."
"Suck on this." Said Catherine as she controlled a singularity in her left hand and shot a focus blast with her right. The orb was small yet its impact with the singularity triggered an explosion. "So, hah, hah, hey, stop with the targets, hah, for now."
"Sure." Axel turned the digitized Pokémon into statues.
"Thanks, woo, damn. This simulation does scale down to everything."
"Hungry?"
"Yeah, Okay, how the fuck how do you know that?"
"I can hear everything from here." Axel looked behind him and heard the sound of Catherine stomach grumbling. "Want to grab something to eat before heading back?"
"Yeah, I can go for a bite. But what about your credits."
"You spent 10000 credits today. I think I could do the same. Just for today. Money means nothing if you don't use them, right?"
Twenty minutes later, both were standing at the entrance of the food court located within the shopping center. Catherine did not know if calling it a food court was enough as the place took up two floors of the building. There definitely was a change in temperature. The place is much warmer than the rest of the Square. A mixture of scents and smoke was in the air. It was also the opposite of other building Catherine seen so far, it was packed. There were doctors, engineers, workers, children, just as every kind of Pokémon were in the place. Axel mentioned them on their way here; he said that most of the workers and agents had family and young children. As a result, Genesis allowed all of them to live here. The dim yellow lights in here made Catherine stomach growled some more. Catherine took notice of a hotdog stand and snack near the entrance. There was an old Typhlosion behind it. He was maintaining a long line of young Pokémon. He blew a puff of fire at the hotdog, earning the cheering of the children.
"With a place that can create weapons out of thin air, why can't you do so with food? Why this whole ordeals? Can you just place a machine somewhere and let Pokémon have them?"
"Food taste horrible if fabricated. All of us would rather be living to just surviving. When you look at it, we are living a hole with an artificial sun. It would be even more of a downer if we get our food from a machine. Beside, Mr. Lucious wants to create a sense of community in here so he added a few jobs like that for some of the retired workers who wishes to contribute. Let them do something helpful. Not the best for the company but the best for everyone."
Noticed the smile on the children. Catherine said. "The Lucious guy sounds pretty cool."
"For the most parts. Yes." Said him as he flicked the tracking device on the base of his tail. "So what do you want to eat? Here we have everything."
"Ice cream."
"Eh, excuse me."
"You heard me. I want motherfucking ice cream. My mother mentioned it over and over, praising it. She said it the fucking best thing in the world. She didn't say fucking but you catch my draft. I want that."
Axel laughed. "Catherine, we save those for dessert. Maybe just a few berry soup before that?"
"No, I want it now. Eating dinner when the sun is still up would feel weird."
"Yeah, Mercy cooks today anyway so, sure."
Catherine and Axel decided to have their ice cream near the entrance of a shopping mall. Catherine sit on the edge of a fountain while Axel stood. His were two green scoops and hers was white. Axel was slowly eating his while Catherine had just bit down a large chunk.
"So, does it meet your expectation?"
"Yeah, pretty cool but not the best."
"Probably vanilla is not your flavor." He licked his ice cream. "So, your mom had traveled beyond Celestial? That's new. I thought Celestians were all forbidden to leave."
"My uncle is a merchant, so he got permission to leave Celestial to collect imports. My mother followed him, I guess. She did so when she was young. Said she like to discover more of this world, obviously didn't like Celestial very much. She always had cool stories and left all kind of loot behind for me."
"And somehow your mom is okay with you swearing like an outsider?"
"No. Well, when she get older and have me, she uh, stayed in Celestial afterward. When I'm an Angelic Guard, she requested the Councils to have me travel with my uncle from time to time, to protect his wares and all that. And he let me talk with all kind of Pokémon during his trips, even the craziest and nastiest kind of merchants."
"Smugglers?"
"To some extend yes. I blame the bastard of an uncle for my mouth ever since. But without him I wouldn't know much about the outside. Well, my mom helps too. She even taught me astrophysics. I don't know how the fuck did she learn that but I glad she did." Catherine began to trail off. Her ice cream started to melt.
"Oh, you are reusing the lie made by the Councils. How creative of you." Said the malevolent voice in her head.
Axel had one question in his head, but he did not want to ask her. Not at the time being, instead he decided to change the subject. "So that how you created the Singularity attack, using the premise behind black holes."
"Yup. That is my proud creation. Nothing is more awesome than rubbed it to the Councils' faces. We doesn't need such knowledge, they said. Well, I can't fucking hear you over the sound of the panic bandits I'm crushing."
"You are not doing too well with the Councils, aren't you?"
"More like were. Yeah, we hardly get along. They always give me the sting eyes for some reason. Probably because of my mouth. Again, thanks a lot, uncle. But they are nice enough to give me shiny crest when I do something great. Want to show you, but yeah, a lot of Pokémon here so no."
"Nah, I believe you. Why you are still an Archangel then? Your skills should be up in higher."
"Heh, how did." She was about to ask.
"I read. I ran through a book or two about the Celestial nation."
"Okay, well, uh, let just say, I don't like responsibility and drama. I like being an Archangel, you can control a small group of Angel but have like zero to no responsibility. Just have to deal with lots bullshit. You told them to: "back the fuck off and let me deal with this". Keep them alive, earn medals but doesn't earn rank. And if I almost got promoted, I do some stupid shit to get myself demote. And sadly, the exile is the stupidest shit I have ever done."
"Then you are going to love this job. You got no promotions, no crests but a ton of trouble if you screw something up. See the Electivire?"
"Whatever." Catherine finished her ice cream. "I'll deal with them later."
"Great, we have another Rick."
"No need to worry about me. This place is my second chance, not fucking it up right now. Just don't expect me take things as serious as you."
"Only time will tell."
"Hey, out of order question." Catherine asked as she jumped from the fountain. "Who is Mercy?"
"She is our nurse. You meet her soon enough."
The LCD then changed their appearance into the twilight sky as he finished his sentence. "Well, it getting dark, let's just get to the living quarters."
"Sure. Show the way."
It took them roughly a few minutes on a bus to get straight to the center of the Square. Yet, to reach their living quarters it took them well over 15 minutes. The place got several security checkpoints; Catherine just followed and did whatever Axel told in order not to cause any trouble during the rest of the day. Both passed by row of corridors and rooms then stopped at one particular door.
The door in front of the team's living quarter slid open, revealing large room that stretched wide, and far. There were five separate doors placed along the length of the rooms and one at the end of it. There were a long family couch and a curve TV and or the miscellaneous things on the opposite of the doors. Closet to the main door was an Audino wearing a fitting pink and white uniform with a red cross painted on the shoulder.
She was setting up a large round table with five plates on them. The plates got a miniature dome each, preserving the food like a work of art. All dishes were placed neatly on them. One has a bowl of smooth, green soup decorated with a small piece of herb. One was extremely big with lot of steak covered in what Catherine could presume to be hot sauce. And there was one plate with nothing but vials carrying red, green and dark blue liquid. The other two were too far for Catherine to see clearly what they had. The Audino turned around, said in bubbly voice. "Welcome home. Just in time for dinner."
"Nurse Mercy." Axel greeted.
"Good evening Axel, and the new member. Pleasure to be your acquaintance. I am Diana Mercy, the nurse of the team."
"Catherine Kobb." She said along with a slight bow.
"Made yourself at home Miss Kobb. For an obvious reason, I have made something special for you today. I hope you enjoy it."
"But, you're a nurse." Catherine tilted her head in confusion.
"My duty is making sure everyone is in top shape both physically and mentally for all the missions ahead. Cooking is just one way for me to do my job. Thanks to new technology, everyone is getting injured less and less. I feel a bit guilty for not be able to contribute more than just patch up someone that rarely got hurt. Therefore, I cook with knowledge I earned in my maiden years. It is quite beneficial. It is far cheaper than eating out. I can make sure that everyone is healthy and the team got some place to come back to. Oh, I'm terribly sorry. This old woman just keep ramble on and on. You must be starving."
Catherine just bowed slightly while maintaining straight face. It somehow took her some effort to actually say. "Not at all."
"Then settle in, the others will be joining us shortly." She said while making her way to the table.
Just as the three of them sat down, the main door swung open, revealing an oil covered Doc. "Sorry, I'm late. I got to fix a few glitches in the program of the cleaning bots." Doc barged in. "Oh, you're back, good, just need to wait for Rick. I want to discuss a new mission during dinner. Excuse me for the oil. Will decontaminate myself shortly." He changed his course to the kitchen and turned on the sink. The sound of running water brought some surprise to Catherine as she was expecting something flashy like the decontamination thing.
The door swung opened once more. This time was Rick. The Emboar was wearing a tee shirt with the number 56 on it. "Whoo, I'm back." Rick stepped in and announced the room.
"What's the scores?" Doc asked as he stepped out of the kitchen, and waved his arms to shake off the remaining water.
"One, three baby." The mother friggin Arcadian are in final.
Mercy said. "Eh, congrats. Now contain your excitement. It is time for dinner."
The Emboar just went for the table and sit down. Doc got to his respected seat as well.
"Since everyone's here, have a nice meal and allow me." Rick said lifted opened the dome, picked his knife and fork and started to cut the meat.
Catherine then looked at her plate. There are five different things on it. She did not sure what they were. One was chunky red, one was black beans, she had no idea what the purple soup was, the white rice and yellow egg were what she could recognize. Mercy did not look at her, but she could feel that the Audino was expecting her reaction. So Catherine quietly took a bite at the chunky red. It was crunchy and a bit spicy. Just the way she liked it. She did not say anything and continued eating at a steady pace.
Doc tapped his vials together gather everyone's attention. "So, I have just got an offer from Anna. Our satellites had followed the bandits that escape this afternoon and we discovered something interesting. A spike in energy readers appeared shortly after their arrival to the forest. Energy that is similar to those of the human being technology. Very optimistic, this could be another cluster of tech."
"Human being? You mean, omni-being? I thought they are legends. Tall tale of stuffs that you can't explain." Catherine asked.
Axel said. "Legend or not, there's no denying that their tech are legendary. Without them and Doc's reverse engineering, there would be no digital fabricators."
"Dude, without them, everything in the base wouldn't be here." Rick said.
"Don't care. Have enough in my head already." Catherine said before taking a bite out of the egg.
"So what does Anna want us to do?" Axel said.
"She wants, of course me breaking the security code and us investigate the site. Clearing possible threats, and clearing way for the salvage team. Securing the site if possible. An A rank mission. Just for my expertise on breaking human passcodes."
"Isn't that a bit soon for Catherine, Doc? Today was just her first?"
"Bah, easy mission. There's not much threats regarding human tech anyway. You got me taking care of those. What do you say, Catherine?"
"As long as you don't make me do machine, go ahead." Catherine began to finish her plate. One could see a smile in the corner of the Audino's mouth.
"So, everyone in?" Doc asked.
"Yeah, whatever you say my friend." Rick said.
"You already know my answer." Axel said and stepped out of the table with an empty bowl. He then headed for the sink.
"So it's settled. We shall begin first thing tomorrow."
Rick and Catherine then left the table and did the same thing as Axel, leaving doc behind with his full vials.
Axel then led Catherine to one of the seven doors connected to the main room. Inside was a plain bed with white sheets and pillows, a fridge, a couples bedside desks and a large window that showed not the outside of the building but a picture of the galaxy. "This is your very own living quarter. It has a bed right there. You can change it to some fancy stuff in the future if you have enough credits. The same go for the fridge. Beside it is the request machine, want to buy something but don't feel like walking, just use it. There will be a small fee though. The bathroom is there, got tubs and everything. Laundry, just throw it in the mini decontamination machine. Works the same. Fill up the room with memory and things that you like. That window there is a TV and it can function as a computer too. And that is all. Enjoy."
"Hey, Axel."
"Yes."
"That's enough. Thanks again."
"We are teammate, it is expected, but, you're welcome. Thank you for your cooperation. See you tomorrow, now try to rest."
He left and closed the door behind him. The door then automatically locked itself with a click. Catherine set up a passcode and then jumped on the bed. The thing was reeking with the smell of plastic. It was not as soft as the sand she had been sleeping on but that fact alone was good enough. She rolled in her bed and closed her eyes.
All the questions and doubts returned. She kept playing back memories in her head then creating her own simulations for the days after. Asking "what if", scenarios after scenarios. "What if he was right?"; "What would happen if I had took his offer"; "What if they find it out?" After a while, she bored of the ideas, realizing that was pointless and tried to get some shut-eye. The lack of sound bothered and calmed her at the same time. It was hard to say, but she did missed the howling of the wind and wildlife in the Outland. At the same time, she was glad that she did not have to wake up in mid sleep to look for dangers anymore.
Did she? She stepped out of the bed, headed to the bathroom, and turned on the light, somehow expecting a feral to pounce at her. However, there was nothing. Just a tub, showerhead, a sink and a weird machine lied beside it. She quickly opened the medicine cabinet and received nothing but pills put in alphabetical order. She closed it, get out of the bathroom and back to bed. It took her quite some time to actually fall as sleep.
Author's notes:
Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed what you have just read and wished to see more, please follow or leave a review. They would give me motivation to write more for everyone. All feedbacks will be appreciated. If you find anything lacking or flawed in my story (grammar, word use, etc.), please tell me in the reviews as well. I shall do my best to updates these chapters sooner and make them more polished. This is my first ever story so please forgive any possible mistake in the future and help me fix them.
Thanks again and have a pleasant day.