"Upright, you've gone quiet. You okay?"
Doggy waited for a reply. The quilava was busy finding the right words, curled up on his bed.
He chose a few. "I'm okay." More like crashing. The giddiness from Roxxie's treatment had worn off. A sense of dread stood in its place. "I just need something."
This incensed the growlithe. "Oh? Come on, weirdo, tell me."
I need to ask you, Upright thought, where I can find Grace. It'll put both of us into jeopardy and ruin your dreams of being an adventurer. It's this or nothing.
Doggy admitted he joined the Initiative because of Upright. The quilava couldn't bring himself to ask such a question.
"...Is there anything to eat?" He asked instead.
The growlithe treated the order with respect. "Okay. Uh, we eat on a schedule. Dinner isn't for awhile... Yikes. We aren't having dinner, everyone is going to watch the orb Amory brought." He drummed his forepaws against the ground in frustration. "Sorry, I think you'll need to wait until tomorrow." He added, with a grin, "you big snorlax."
An image of a ginormous, lazy pokémon came to mind. It amazed Upright how that information snaked its way into his head. Despite his state, it made him chuckle. It made him determined. There had to be a way to discover Grace's whereabouts without the growlithe. Perhaps if there was somebody like Doggy...
Wait. If I can find one of her thieves, they will bring me to her!
Maybe he could guilt Amory into the location of a few – considering the cinccino's brother was in the Graces, Amory might keep tabs on the group. It was unlikely, but his best chance as well. "Hey, Doggy? Commander Amory has an office in the vocation tower, right?" Despite spending his time at the warehouse, Amory would likely be on-site, to handle the orb.
Doggy shook his head. "On the Word from the others is that it's abandoned. Just a whole bunch of stuff laying around. It's strange for a cinccino to leave things dirty!"
"Just… papers and stuff? Old reports?"
"Upright. Out of everything here, what makes you think I cared about a dirty room? Gah-hoh, I'm so pumped for courses!" He tried to get the quilava to stand. "Come on! Be pumped up with me!"
He complied and stood up with a smile. "Thanks for spending time with me, Doggy. I think I'll go for a walk."
"No!" The growlithe barked. He leaped in front of Upright, blocking his way to the stairs. "Not on your life, okay? Sit down, take some deep breaths."
"What are you doing?" Upright asked. It occurred to him. "Doggy… I am not having an episode."
"Oh. er..." Doggy scratched his head with a hind leg. "The custodian said to be wary of you going for a 'walk.'"
"Unless more bandits attack, I'll be okay."
"Well, okay. I'm going to visit commander Tairé. He said he wanted to see me in private. Probably beg me, or whatever… ha." The growlithe allowed his friend to pass.
He had lied, the walk was ill-destined. But Upright knew that there was no other choice: he had to steal from Amory's office. At this point, he couldn't figure out whether it was a stroke of genius, or another in a line of mistakes.
~~~O~~~
He wasn't on the first three floors, Upright thought. He must be higher up. He walked up the stairs, caught in a storm of doubt. Stealing from Amory, even peeks at his old reports, felt wrong. In every way: as a friend, an adventurer, and as the self he was slowly losing. But he had to. He had to, or else he would be out on the streets of Pathen, alone and unable to fend for himself.
Without realizing it, he came steps away from Regal's room. The door was ajar, the mienshao was in, and they locked eyes for a moment. Regal stood up, smiling. Her tail wagged with eagerness, and she already had words prepared.
Upright ran past the door and up the stairs, on all fours. He hid behind a banner hanging over an open window.
If I need to leap, I will, he swore. Upright shook his head. What?! No, you loon, keeping going up. You know she won't chase you.
He took a moment to catch his breath by Khridoli's room. Thankfully, the pangoro was out. When he was confident the danger had passed, he continued.
On the sixth floor was the cartographer, Eatzle, busily painting a new banner. It had ranges of snow on it, as well as a bright sun overhead. The beams shot down in symmetrical rays, landing on a blotch of valleys at the end of the banner.
Where did the smeagle find time to paint this? Upright wondered. It left him mystified enough to ask. "E-Excuse me, commander, when did-"
"Not interested," Eatzle replied. Upright squeaked out an apology and continued.
It took him a moment to realize: the commander was referring to Upright's chances as a cartographer. He dreaded how his episode affected his chances.
Seventh floor. Big painted letters spelled out ROXXIE. Upright figured she, like Amory, worked at her station, the infirmary, rather than her office.
On the eighth floor was Amory's room. A scent of dust floated out from the room. It seemed unused for years.A desk, peeling from years in the sun, had piles of papers strewn across the top – as if Amory left in a hurry. There was a stool for the short cinccino to reach the top. It would be easy to walk in and read whatever he wanted.
Arceus. Am I really going to do this? A jolt went through him. The door to the room was open. T-That must mean someone has been in! I've got to do this now!
He hurried into the room, shutting the door behind him. Right away, he went nosing into the papers on the desk:
Report on snippers…
Upright read a few sentences. "Pliers," he whispered.
Report on screech-boxes…
"Radio."
Report on lightbringers…
Upright took a second glance. He couldn't determine what it was, based on the summary:
Releases flash of light, loud noise. Very unpleasant.
"Grr, these are all reports! Perhaps there's something in the drawers."
The front drawer on the desk – which in itself felt like a relic compared to the pokémon's handiwork – was locked. But that didn't matter. He was a pokémon! He could wrench it open with his strength. Upright tugged hard, pushing back with his hind-legs.
The desk leaned onto its front legs. This was a really heavy desk, and Upright found himself slowly being pushed down. It towered over him. He let out a yowl as it crashed on top of him.
Somehow, he ended up in the knee-space of the desk. Upright's instincts told hm to flee after the loud noise, but a hollow hole caught his eye. The drawer's front was bolted to the desk, yet the inside was hollow – except for a card taped to the top. One would need to climb under the desk and reach in to discover it.
Upright removed the card. On the front was a picture of four faces sculpted into stone. One of them was picking its nose, to the disgust of its friends. The faces were distinctly human, and this was definitely a relic.
When he opened up the card, strange music blared out. The quilava cried and shut it again, but curiosity dictated he listen to the full song.
The song played while he read the message on the inside, one part in print and another in a messy scrawl spanning both sides. It reminded him of an anthem he heard before:
May you be presedential for your birthday!
Hello brother,
I am super, SUPER sorry everyone gave you a hard time. I accept full responsibility. Except, how was I supposed to know rubbing that tiny stick on the scratchy-strip would make fire? You have to admit, it was funny, and nothing valuable was lost.
Thank you, Amory, for deciding to be a researcher with me. Your decision surprised me, and made me really happy. You always keep me in line, making sure I get work done and ensuring none of the relics tip over into the docks. I never imagined we would have such perfect lives, after struggling in the forest for so long.
Happy birthday, Amory. I hope you like the card – I love the catchy music!
The music cut short. A strong claw forced it shut around the Upright's paw. It didn't stop there, not until the startled quilava was close to crying out in pain. He was slowly dragged out from under the desk. The desk made another slam as the newcomer let it fall back to the ground.
"You little brat," the voice whispered. "Sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."
I know this identity mark. It's Daté. Alarms went off in his head. He was all alone with the Grace.
The grovyle tossed him down to the ground. "What are you doing in my new office?" He spat.
"Your office?" Daté took a step forward. "Nothing!" Upright cried. That didn't stop the grovyle. "Nothing, nothing, nothing-"
Daté wrapped his claws around Upright's muzzle. The quilava breathed as hard as he could through his nose – desperate, short whistles of air.
"It can't be a coincidence. An hour after being appointed as head of the Territory Guard, you are snooping about my quarters. With a relic, no less." He picked up the card. "What does it do? Records my voice? Alerts you of when I leave?"
"It's a birthday card!" Upright wailed. He wailed wordlessly, hoping to catch someone's attention.
"Go ahead and squeal. No one will hear you unless they stick their head near that door." It was true; nobody heard Regal and him until Khridoli walked by her door. I mistook you for someone with wits. Integrity, at least. But mere days into your stay, and they already have you stalking me, trying to incriminate me."
"I didn't know you were given this office. Read the card," Upright pleaded. "It's Amory's."
"Don't talk. You might a be a damned whelp, a human, whatever, but that won't save you now. I can toss you straight into the Scar Sea and no one will know it was me. From what I heard? Your friends will assume you had an episode and decided to take a plunge."
"R-Read it..."
Daté relented and opened up the card. He seemed disgusted by the music at first, but he slowly became docile. "Fine… you have seconds to explain yourself."
"I… I am very scared. And I thought Grace could help, s-so I wanted to ask Amory. But he is busy... so I decided to look at his stuff instead, in case they told of someone who would take me. I just want to ask for her help, w-what am I supposed to do… why are you yelling at me?" And then, the quilava fell into a fit.
Daté perched himself on the desk. He shook his head. "Damn it, child. I was this close to getting rid of you. Thank Arceus." Upright replied with more sobs. "Gah… I'm not here to deal with your fits. The only reason you want to see Grace is because she discovered you. Your crummy mind likely thinks of her as mommy."
"I need help," Upright begged. "I… I-I can't do it on my own."
"This is annoying. You want advice from someone you trust? Take it from me. You can trust me, because I have everything to gain from your sanity. You can't become a liability in my plans."
Upright sat up, sniffling. At this point, he was willing to listen to anyone.
Daté thought about it for a moment. "Follow me." His claw grasped around Upright's paw. The quilava allowed himself to be pulled. They left the dusty room and started up the stairs. The journey ended, unexpectedly, at the next floor. They stopped in front of a metal door.
"This is Austere's office," Daté explained. "He's the one smart bastard in this entire place. Listen to what he has to say." He reached forward and pressed a button. A large buzzing went off behind the door.
A doorbell? Upright wondered, sobering up.
A charmander answered the door. He was small, around three-quarters of Upright's height. The expression on his face betrayed none of his expectations. Yet, in a way, he seemed to already have a grasp on the situation.
"Good afternoon," Austere said. "At least for you and me, Daté."
Upright realized Austere was older than him, which unsettled him. Why isn't he evolved? The quilava thought. He could be a charmeleon by now. A charizard, even.
"You too," Daté muttered.
"Congratulations on your promotion. I assume you traded that orb of yours for the old guard position. We're all indebted to your discovery."
The grovyle glowered. "Thank you."
Austere smiled. "The Territory will be glad to have you watching over her. And you're Upright? Amory told me all about you. I'm very glad you visited." The charmander looked up at Daté. "I'd like to speak with you later. For now, this unlisted needs my help."
"Good luck with that," Daté said, before descending down the stairs. Austere gestured for him to enter.
Unlike the other offices, Austere's opened up into a full workshop. Benches, legs lowered for their user, lined on the far wall. Along the closer wall: kegs with a familiar scent. Upright was drawn to it – it took all of his willpower to stay away.
Austere went around, picking up odds and ends he left on the floor. "Sorry for the clutter. This is one of my independent projects. This is a brewery – you might have seen the vineyard below the exercise area. Don't wait to tell me your problems. Just know, I've never helped a human before."
Upright jolted. "I'm not-"
"No need to lie. I can't blame Amory for doubting you – the last claimant caused disasters for many of the commanders. But you have an inherent knowledge of relics, you are panicking like I would expect one to, and your mannerisms have a stench all their own. And, of course, Daté cared enough for your well-being to send you here."
Somehow, the complete lack of judgment took away the shock. Upright felt… fine with Austere knowing his secret. The quilava asked the question burning a hole in his chest: "what do I do?"
"There's nothing you can do. Thankfully, due to the Initiative's past, no one will dare propose it. Eventually, however, there will be rumors of your differences."
"Please. I can't be different. I need to fit in."
"The Initiative doesn't have a norm. Do whatever you like: that is how you fit in."
He's not helpful at all, Upright lamented. "Easier said than done. I don't know what I like. I arrived here certain of what I wanted… but I'm losing myself. I'm becoming who I once was."
"Don't be silly. Your only afraid of change. Changing is what a pokémon does. I know little about this vein of transformation, but I will assume this: your humanity is completely abolished. It is a trace of humanity that powers relics. Come here."
Upright came forward. The charmander laid a claw on his shoulder. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"Trying to adopt your soul as a garment."
"Gah!" He lurched back, afraid of the idea.
"Don't worry. All I felt was fur and muscle, the blood underneath… you're not a relic. You're a quilava in the present, and you have to start making decisions based on that description. Close your eyes, now. I want you to focus only on who you are at this moment. You are Upright, not a human named Upright. You've been in the Territory since you were born. You are a mass… of instincts… feelings… ideas... what does this Upright want to do? Don't be afraid of surprising yourself."
Upright shut his eyes. All he could hear was a churning from the kegs. "I'm n-not sure."
"Do you want to work with Amory?"
"I… but he..."
"I'd accept you as a toolkit. Do you want to be a toolkit?"
"I'd..." Upright exhaled. "I maybe, er, don't want to be stuck in rooms like this."
"A-ha. No offense taken. Good. What about the other vocations?"
Upright rubbed his muzzle. "Well, since you mentioned it. Cheerleading sounds obnoxious. Point out problems in others and hope they fix them. I don't have the patience!"
"Any opinions on, say, commander Khridoli? You're his unlisted, after all."
It came out suddenly.
"Khridoli is an ass," Upright growled. "He needs to discipline his bratty child, fix his attitude, and reign in his mate. Arceus's sake, she assaulted me!"
"That's vicious," Austere mocked. "Is that the evil human side speaking?"
"No! It's common sense! Everyone thinks I went too far against Tahtib. I did what everyone wanted to, sorry if that makes me a hard-ass! It's plain bad luck. Like I wished to be involved in that scrap by the Timestop, or lose my mind. If no one can take a moment to empathize before judging me, well then, maybe I ought to be… ought to be... Gah! I'm pissed! When do I get my chance to show everyone who I really am?"
Austere chuckled and ran to fetch something. Judging by the scrapes, it was an empty keg. "Go ahead," the charmander said, "dig in!"
Upright fell on the keg, sinking his teeth into the top. He teetered over with it. His hind legs lifted up, digging into the wood. With a cry, he headbutted the top, splintering the planks. From there he used everything he had to tear it apart. Wood flew everywhere – the scent of burning cedar wafted into the air. Everything became hot, very hot, and his biting began to singe the wood.
It took several minutes, but Upright totally demolished the keg. He laid on the wreckage, panting.
"Did that feel good?" Austere asked.
"Yes," Upright answered. "Oh, yeah."
The stress, the dread, the panic: gone. What should come next was so clear, so obvious. For the first time, since he first realized his desire to explore, Upright felt confident enough to make a choice. Further, he felt new. He felt himself again. "Thank you," he said.
"My pleasure," Austere replied. "You made Amory the happiest he has been in a long time. He has... trouble showing gratitude. So accept mine. If you'll excuse me, I need to help that same minccino set up the projector for tonight." He scratched his head. "Maybe clean up a bit..."
Upright nodded and left the charmander to his devices.
~~~O~~~
Once again, the mess tower was full of both applicants and seasoned adventurers. Yet the turnout seemed higher than at orientation; from what Upright heard on his way in, off-duty adventurers were more than glad to sacrifice a night in town, for a chance to see the discovery of a new Territory.
It didn't take long for his dorm's custodian to spot him. "Hello, hello," she called over the clamor. She knocked over a wartortle on her way to the quilava. "Dear, where did you go?! You were not to be left alone outside of the dorm."
"I'm all better," Upright said. The flaaffy frowned. "No, really. All better!"
The flaaffy gave him several sniffs, then smiled. "Good for you!" She cheered. "Come, come, sit with your floor. We are about to watch history unfold!"
He was taken over to the rest of his floor. It wasn't long before he felt several eyes on him. When he caught Pep staring at him warily, he simply shrugged and went to Marker and Doggy.
"My pack is here!" Marker barked. "Doggy and Upright. Did you two trade faces?"
Whatever happened to Doggy in the last few hours, it had turned his attitude around. He no longer looked pumped. Rather uncomfortable, yet strangely stoic at the same time. "Hey there," he said. Reading something in the quilava's eyes improved his mood. "Whoa, you seem a lot better! Then again, that was a long walk."
"I made a stop," Upright said. "How was your talk with commander Tairé?"
That quieted the growlithe again. "It was, well... whatever."
"I found the kitchen," Marker declared. "They let me have scraps. Why can't we have dinner, and watch the orb at the same time?"
"Why can't we do our business everywhere?" Tahtib mocked. "You're a mess, Marker, no wonder my dad likes you."
The poochyena huffed. "I would scrap you, but I am starving."
"Oh, Marker," Upright whined. "I'm as hungry as you are."
"...Me too," Tahtib admitted.
"It's starting!" Their custodian called.
They fell into silence. It was strange – a few days ago, they were on the top watching the bottom. Now, they all watched the Master Adventurer emerge above them. Not in his perch from before, but in the seats themselves – the perch was too close to the wide sheet draped across the tower, where the orb would inevitably play.
"Applicants, adventurers," the Master Adventurer cried. "Today, is a grander occasion than ever imaginable. Daté, our lost adventurer, traveled out farther than any pokémon has gone before. He has made, perhaps, a discovery that grants safety to our Territory. Another place of refuge, in the case of catastrophic events. A generation of adventurers shall unfold, starting today, who are acclimated to the idea that the world offers more than we assume, and more than the Initiative may discover on its own. To commemorate this event, we will first begin by announcing the names and tasks of those recruits who have already decided their role in this great undertaking."
"What?!" Doggy moaned. "No, don't do that!"
"Quiet!" Pep hissed. "I want to hear."
Upright clenched and unclenched his claws.
The Master Adventurer started to list the names of recruits. A small majority seemed to be scrappers, scouts, and underdogs, but there were several of the others. Upright could already imagine how it must feel for the master to say one's name.
"Acker," he announced, "a new cheerleader from East Territory."
The mudkip smiled proudly.
"Marker, a new underdog – and also the fastest to choose. What else can one expect from a docile?"
Marker wagged his tail victoriously, though the distinction sounded fairly neutral.
"With these discoveries, our new cartographers Barley and Hard-day will have their work cut out for them."
The totoldile stood motionless – perhaps he missed his name. The sandshrew they met before stared back at him.
"Gah?" Doggy grunted. "I'm lost."
Tahtib tittered. "Idiot, only unlisted are really predictable. Example : you're a scrapper, freak's a researcher, and the mutt is an underdog."
"Now we have two pairs," the Master said. "Flightly and Shock, two birds, two new scouts."
"And we have Jay, a breloom looking to lead, as well as Doggy, a growlithe."
Upright gaped. He turned his eyes to the growlithe, who was covering his head. "Did I, er, mishear you these last few days?"
Doggy gnashed his teeth together. "Shut up, stinker. It's a long, long story."
"When the leader is a moron, everyone's sole order is dying," Tahtib quoted angrily.
The Master Adventurer readjusted before continuing.
"We have Upright. A funny name, as he enters into a harrowing task. Hopefully Regal will make sure he isn't our only infiltrator this year."
Doggy cuffed Upright in the head. "Hypocrite!" He snarled jokingly. "But, seriously… huh?"
"Didn't she break your arm?" Marker asked. "Are you okay in the head?"
"I have a good feeling," Upright said. He turned to Tahtib. "By the way: you went one for three."
There were a few more names Upright didn't recognize. Throughout, he had a warm feeling – yet when Amory and Austere came onto the ground floor, wheeling out a large projector, it turned to anticipation.
"Now, without further ado: video of the other Territory and its inhabitants!"
The two bickered with each other over the controls. Finally Austere relented, allowing Amory to make a few corrections. Finally, the sentret from earlier placed the orb into a slot.
"Due to issues, the order of scenes on this orb play backwards," Auster announced awkwardly. "Please bare with it."
Flying pokémon doused the flames. Picture appeared on the screen above them.
From the looks of it, Daté had left the orb on a mound of snow. Due to its pearly surface, it was likely no one but Daté knew about it.
The scene was a snowy expanse. Rockets jutted out in places, determinable by slivers of gray or black in the snow. Yet, besides that, only the castles in the background gave the scene any perspective. Compared to the architecture of Pathen, it was a crude, functional place. Already, pokémon were pointing and commenting at every detail. Several were overtaken by the existence of a castle in the snowy wastes – others, namely Marker, were enamored by the video.
For awhile, the sound consisted of howling winds. Then, a heatmor appeared from the right. He wore a long cape, and a leather tool-belt frayed the fur around his waist. Surprisingly, the orb fetched words out from the howls:
"Daté, are you sure you will not stay?" The heatmor asked. "Allow us to send our own. We could use someone with your talent."
Hearing the heatmor sent cries through the crowd.
"I would rather stay. I'm not particularly fond of my Territory," Daté replied.
Pathen's head guard, everybody," Upright thought bitterly.
"But," he added, "they need me. As it stands, they are not ready to initiate contact. They're… we're a slow culture. We need time, information. Our warmer climes give us room for such things."
"From our battles together, and against one another, I must avoid calling you soft," the heatmor said.
Upright rolled his eyes. "Doggy, isn't this so self-serving- Doggy?"
Doggy was growing more distressed by the moment. He titled his head, eyes wide with… what is that? Upright wondered. It filled the quilava with loneliness, seeing his friend watch the screen.
Daté chuckled. "You are too kind. As it stands, my journey has finished. It is time to return."
"Okay. But if you ever return yourself, you shall have a place waiting for you - in the high ranks of the Deathseekers."
The growlithe whimpered. Marker leaned onto his friend, who replied by covering his eyes. Doggy refused to see the next scene, a walk-through of the streets of the Territory.
Deathseekers, Upright thought. Arceus… why would Doggy say…
He placed a paw on his friend's head. He hadn't seen the growlithe cry before. But he wept openly. Everyone was too enamored by the orb to notice.
He tried to speak. "I… it looks s-sorta, you know…"
"I'm here for you," Upright promised suddenly. "Whatever happens to either of you, I am here in full." The light of the projector danced across his fur. "I won't let you down. We'll get to the bottom of this, even if we have to go there ourselves!"
After hearing this, Doggy managed to compose himself. The orb continued, showing indoors, which made the growlithe nod to himself as if confirming a suspicion. They watched as Daté showed off rooms filled with bolts of red cloth, ornamental gold designs, and strange sharp tools.
What does the future have in store for us? Upright wondered. And will whoever I become be enough to challenge it?
It continued on, into the long hours of the night. He felt the curtains close on these first days. The grace period was over; he had arrived.