"Let's all start from the beginning..."

Will

Felyx waited eagerly for us to start explaining things to her. For someone who just met us, she seemed too trusting. I fear she will not be able to be of an asset to us. A trusting Morphling is a gullible one. They are usually unable to harm others due to their naturally soft hearts. Sighing mentally, I checked Felyx off the list for potential recruits in the dangerous areas of where we were taking her. Hopefully, the other newbie would prove to be a bit more wary of his surroundings.

"You see, Sophie, Will and I are what some people call Morphlings, or Pokemorphs. We can transform into a specific pokemon at will. Did you understand?" Lania started, brushing her greasy hands on her apron. She gave me a pointed glare and conversed with me.

Well, tell her! Lania urged me, widening her eyes and raising her eyebrows at me. Sophie caught on, and the ghost of a smile flickered through her mask.

"So... Pokemon really exist? That floating thing was real, not just a dream?" Felyx spoke up. Curious, I cocked my head at her, looking at her properly for the first time. Felyx was rather small for a human girl, and her eyes were too revealing of her emotions, unlike Sophie's carefully constructed nonchalant gaze. She seemed too carefree and cheery, not at all similar to the other Pokemorph recruiting missions I've been on. They had all suffered because they were different, and yet, Felyx was untouched by the hatred for humankind every single Pokemon had managed to breed within their hearts, no matter how small that hatred may be. Searching deeper within her through the windows of her soul, I realized with a start: Felyx had wonderful violet eyes. And I was like the curious, but hapless fly, without knowing it, I had grown too close to the flame, wondering how this little sunshine the form of a girl, seemed to stare up at me with such unwavering attention. Shaking my head slightly, I lifted my cap off and ran my hand through my hair. As I did so, I could have sworn I saw something beyond that cheery face emerge, something close to grief and relief, but not quite. However, when I turned around to get a better look, it was gone, replaced by the same ignorance that irks me. A seed of doubt crawled into my heart, and I mentally scratched Felyx's name back onto my list. Something just does not add up...

"As- as I told you earlier, Sophie is a Midreavous Morphling, a hauntingly beautiful ghost type. I'm an Emolga Pokemorph, an agile electric-flying mouse type. And Lania..." I lowered my voice so that only Felyx could hear, "Lania is special, an unknown Pokemon specimen. She's unique, but don't tell her I said that." I added with a wink, trying to shake off the uneasiness I felt about Felyx. Felyx broke into a toothy grin and winked back.

"We were either recruited like you-" I started, but was interrupted by Felyx. "Kidnapped, you mean. I was still taken away from the house without my consent." Lania covered her mouth and coughed loudly, cheekbones raised when her hand fell away.

"All right. Either kidnapped or came to the base camp, where we're taking you, on our own. There, we are sorted into groups based on an assessment by Captains of each group-slash-division. Training to become a Fledged Morphling or Pokemorph, Fledged means acknowledged or official by the way, will occupy the next 6 months there. If you drop out of training, you have to be relocated into Division B, and serve only at Base. You can't go for missions and stuff like that. If you pass training, you'd be assigned to a senior, your mentor. You take on the mentor's last name, because from then on, you are family. That's why Sophie and my last names are the same, and Lania has another last name, even though we were born with the same parents," I explained, watching with satisfaction as understanding dawned in Felyx's eyes.

Abruptly, we hit a bump in the road. There was angry gasp as stew spilled over the floor of the van. Lania hurried off to fix the mess made by her stew, Sophie following to help me, leaving us alone.

"Will? I assume I'm a Pokemorph, since you're taking me there," Felyx started. "But I don't get it, how do you people know?" I shrugged.

"Not quite sure of it myself, but as they say: The nose knows," I answered, tapping my nose thoughtfully, because Emolga has the most sensitive nose out of all the mouse Pokemon. It was a weak attempt at a joke, but it worked as Felyx smiled wider.

We started exchanging lame jokes that way, trying to see which person can come up with the most jokes. In the end, I won by a landslide, as Felyx only had a handful to tell. As we steadily approached the base camp, with a pang, I realized I wanted the time to freeze, so that I can enjoy this moment forever. As a newly appointed Captain, I could no longer afford such luxuries like spare time and hanging out with friends. This was the most fun I had ever had after the promotion. A cold fist wrapped around my heart. What if Felyx isn't really a Pokemorph? My mind swarmed with what ifs. The fist clenched tighter, and my primal instincts rose up from slumber and growled. The thought of Felyx returning to where she came from, no it was not her home, made me angry. That Quinn character had an aura of evil surrounding him, the stench of corruption of the human heart. The fist sealed my heart in a casing of cold ice, and the fire of determination washed over it.

I sneaked a peek at the small girl, the girl carrying many secrets and decided right there and then. She's not going back there. Never.

I'm sorry this is kinda short. I kid of ran out of ideas on what to write.

Many thanks to Umbruhon for the OC, the charming Will Caster.