As Cyclone flew on, fallen woodland gave way to open fields. Various Pokemon traversed the well-worn paths. Just as she was wondering how close she was getting to her destination, she spotted an impossibly tall, narrow black and white spire in the distance. That must be the Monochrome Tower that annoying fish-thing blabbered about. Well, at least he was somewhat useful. Cyclone made a hasty beeline in the direction to said tower.
She momentarily glanced down and nearly dropped from the sky in shock. Giant heads emerging from the ground? First the ice dragon and now these weird monstrosities! Cyclone slowed down and began gliding in wide circles, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. From what she could make out, the giants were completely still, frozen in place. Perhaps not even alive? Mustering up her courage, she began to descend, curious to see these unusual creatures up close.
After a bit of hesitation, Cyclone fluttered into a landing. The massive heads loomed all around her but, as she studied them, she could tell they were not living beings at all, and never were. In fact, they were dwellings of some kind, assorted Pokemon walking in and out of them. The young Swellow felt a large amount of unease in this strange place, though none of the inhabitants bothered her. She even spotted her worst enemy, a Sneasel, mingling with a group of other Pokemon. It barely acknowledged her, only glancing in her direction momentarily before continuing its conversation with its friends. This place certainly held an unnerving gathering of peace and unity.
"Is this Tao Village?" Cyclone quietly asked herself.
Cyclone locked eyes with a creature she didn't expect to meet; Sorbet. The terrifying, icy hell-beast towered above her. Memories of the dragon amidst the snowy blizzard, bathed in a red glow whilst roaring ferociously, came back to her, along with that dreadful feeling of helplessness and fear. Cyclone crouched down, cowering.
"You do know it'sss not the real Sssorbet, right?"
An Ekans slithered past Cyclone, snickering. The Swellow hopped to her feet and glared at the giant dragon. Scrutinizing it, she could tell that it truly was fake, its lopsided body transparent. Water cascaded from its maw like crystal-clear vomit. Truly a nauseating sight. Cyclone felt like regurgitating in response. A dubious thought came to the Swellow. She smiled.
I won't lose my lunch over that thing, but I will let loose something else.
Cyclone swiftly hovered above the fountain, took aim, then dropped a healthy blob of guano directly onto fake-Sorbet's head. Surely, proper vengeance for embarrassing her!
"Hey!" a bubbly voiced called from below. "You can't do that!"
"Yeah!" another piped in.
Cyclone looked down. In the fountain at the base of the statue swam two irate Magikarp. She rolled her eyes. Magikarp's legacy of being the weakest creature ever to exist was world-famous, known even to her. Not wanting to be heckled by another fish today, especially one as pathetic as a Magikarp, Cyclone swooped down, clutched one of the Magikarp in her talons, then flew upwards. The hapless fish flopped helplessly in her grasp.
"Ahh! Put me down!"
"Okay!"
Cyclone released her grip on the poor fish, sending it splashing into the fountain. She laughed. She hadn't had this much fun since she was a young Taillow! She suddenly felt an unnerving presence, like she was being stalked by a predator. Cyclone spun around, ready to challenge whoever dared to spoil her fun. She froze in place, slowly flapping her wings just enough to stay airborne. A huge, no, massive bird leered at her, the sharp, blood-red plumage on its head casting a shadow over its narrowed eyes. Cyclone couldn't pull away from its intense glare. She was reminded of the Staravia back in Creeping Forest but this creature was far more menacing.
As if the situation couldn't get more alarming, a Patrat peered from behind the large bird's neck. Its red and yellow eyes pulsed in a quick, sickening way, causing Cyclone's vision to blur and swirl into a vortex of confusing colors. She felt herself falling, then large talons tightly gripping her wings.
So... this is how it ends...
Cyclone was never killed, of course. She felt herself continue to be carried, yet she couldn't tell up from down, nor could she see her captors clearly. Their voices sounded distant and muffled. She could eventually tell she was in a dark place, inside one of those unsettling monster-shaped dwellings, no doubt. Finally she was left alone, though she still felt the presence of glaring eyes piercing her.
After what seemed like hours, Cyclone's senses returned. Her side ached from laying down in an unnatural position. As her vision came into focus she saw that she was surrounded by solid black bars. A pair of glowing red and green eyes leered at her in the dark.
"Name and place of residence," the owner of the striped eyes demanded gruffly.
"None of your business!"
The room suddenly shook. No, it wasn't the room, it was the cage holding Cyclone shaking, struck by the interrogator.
"Name and place of residence."
"Chi... Cyclone. Creeping Forest." The authoritarian tone almost made her blurt out her birth name. She hoped he hadn't noticed.
"Your real name."
Cyclone sighed. "Chirpy."
If Cyclone could see in the dark she would have witnessed the figure stifling a smile. "Miss Chirpy, today you were observed vandalizing village property and harassing one of its citizens. In these trying times, we, the Patrat Patrol, must increase security. We have zero tolerance for such a disturbance of the peace."
"Disturb your peace?" Cyclone shouted, rattling her cage. "My little 'disturbance' doesn't compare to the disaster your guys' stupid, lumbering dragon caused the forest! It's an absolute mess! I almost died! What the hell were you jerk-faces thinking?"
The room was suddenly bathed in bright daylight as a small creak was heard. The interrogator jumped. Taking a moment for her eyes to adjust, Cyclone could now see that he was a Watchog, though something about his fur coloring looked off. In the doorway stood the two Pokemon from earlier, the Patrat and the large grey bird with the permanent scowl.
"Always one for dramatics, eh Officer Vergil?" the Patrat chuckled.
The Watchog blinked blearily as he gazed at the newcomer. He composed himself and cleared his throat. "Welcome back, Officer Scout. What did the boss-lady say?"
"She said, uh, to just to put the troublemaker to work." The Patrat scratched the back of his head as he continued. "I was thinking on my way over here, with all of the new Pokemon moving in, maybe Archimedes could use some assistance at the Pidove Post?"
"Hm, I suppose so. And this troublemaker is a she is a bird, after all," Vergil added.
"Wow, your brain is almost as brilliant as your stupid eyes," Cyclone remarked. All three authoritarian Pokemon turned to Cyclone. Despite her predicament, Cyclone stood defiantly in her cage, chest puffed and crest raised.
"So, we have ourselves a comedian, too," Vergil chuckled dryly. Cyclone tried not to cower as the taller rodent approached her. He laid a paw on the cage door, flipped a hook, and the door swung open with a shrill creak. As Cyclone confidently strode out, Vergil turned to the larger grey bird. "Officer Peep, please escort our young guest to Pidove Post."
Finally released from her prison and brought back into the outdoors, Cyclone's first instinct was to make a break for it. The presence of that monumental grey bird, Peep, was a blatant reminder that such an action was unwise. Suppressing her unease, Cyclone turned to him.
"So, Peep," Cyclone said. "I guess we were both given embarrassing names, huh?"
Peep just glared at her silently. His intimidating gaze alone prevented Cyclone from daring to open her wings. What was with the denizens of Tao Village, anyway?
After a brief march, the two birds arrived at a dwelling modeled after a bird Cyclone recognized, a Pidove. Pidove Post. Clearly, Tao was bursting with creativity. Not surprisingly, they were greeted by a serious-looking Pidove.
In a low, grumbling voice, Peep explained to the Pidove, Archimedes, about the situation with Cyclone. He then left the two alone, taking to the skies. Archimedes sighed as he faced his new assistant.
"May as well get started right away, then. There are still families out there awaiting letters from their loved ones, not to mention the upcoming festival. Lower your head, please."
"What? Why?"
Not waiting for her to obey, Archimedes gathered a canvas strap in his beak and tossed it around Cyclone, then hopped behind her, pulling it with his beak.
"Hey, what are you... ah, tight!"
Ignoring her anxious wing flapping, Archimedes gave a quick yank to the strap until he felt it was sufficiently secure around Cyclone's chest. She shook the smaller bird off only to find her center of gravity had changed, causing her to topple forward.
"What are you doing, you obnoxious little pecker?!" Cyclone clumsily hopped to her feet only to fall back on her rump. This day just wouldn't stop injuring the young Swellow's ego.
"It's your mail bag, Miss Chirpy. You cannot do your job without it. Now each letter, you see, is addressed with a seal. Its symbol..."
"What?! Stop! I didn't... what the hell is going on?!" Cyclone flapped her wings furiously, only to hover in circles, her body tilting awkwardly.
"Calm down, the weight of the mail bag just takes a bit of getting used to. Dear lord."
It was then that Cyclone noticed an oversized sack slumped on her front. She settled down and sighed in exasperation. "What am I doing, anyway?"
Archimedes cleared his throat. "As I tried to explain, Miss Chirpy, these are letters. People write in them, intending for their messages to reach others. Our jobs, as delivery birds, is to make sure that the recipient receives their letter. Seeing as how you're probably illiterate, I'll explain. The letters have pictures and digits on them, see?"
Archimedes held up a letter with his foot to Cyclone's face. "Notice how this drawing looks like a picture of a person's face? Yet this one has numbers, or symbols, I suppose you'd see them as. These markers match a place of residence. The pictured ones go to the buildings they appear as, while the numbered ones will be going to the new tenements that have been recently built."
Cyclone's eyes glazed over at these instructions. More than ever she wanted to go back to Creeping Forest, despite it being in ruins.
Archimedes scoffed. "Humph! I knew you couldn't handle it! I'll never find the help I need, and you have to find another way to be free to go back to your home!"
"Wait," Cyclone said. "You mean if I do this work for you, I'll be free?"
Archimedes's chest puffed out in irritation. "Of course! God, you're infuriatingly dense! You caused trouble in this village, which is a Bad Thing. You get punished, then must pay your dues through community service. After justice has been served, you may do as you please, assuming you have stopped causing trouble! Even a newly hatched chick could comprehend all of this information!"
Cyclone stood to her full height, craning her neck towards the smaller bird.
"Hey, I can bring some stupid little letters to a bunch of dinky little nests! AND, I won't mess up, not once! I'll deliver them fast, faster than you could ever do! Just watch!"
Cyclone shot out through the door of Pidove Post, only to, once again, fall flat. She squeezed her eyes shut, flapping in vain in the dust. A gentle, feathery touch on her head caught the furious bird's attention. She stopped struggling and opened her eyes, her gaze meeting Archimedes' yellow ones. His expression was soft, almost sympathetic.
"Chirpy," he cooed.
"It's Cyclone," she sighed.
"Pardon me. Miss Cyclone, I know you've been through a lot. I can see it in you. I want you to excel at this job, and I want you to be free again. Please, Cyclone, allow me to take you under my wing."
Just from hearing another mention her favored name, Cyclone was reminded of Songy. How was her sister doing anyway? Did she even make the migration all the way to warmer climes? Would Cyclone ever see her family again? A crushing loneliness suddenly weighed down on her like a heavy cloak. Cyclone's vision became blurry and she trembled, trying to hold back tears.
"I see you may want to be alone," Archimedes said. "I'll be inside. When you're ready, I will show you around the village and instruct you how to balance with the weight of the mail bag. Tao Village is not such a bad place. Things are just different from what you're used to. You'll be fine, Cyclone, you're a strong bird."
Once Archimedes was out of sight, Cyclone tread to the back of the Pidove Post. She lied down and, for the second time in her adult life, sobbed heavily. She felt like an absolute failure. A random, stupid act got her trapped in this bizarre place, with its strange rules. After she couldn't squeeze out anymore tears, she just say motionless, head hung low. She noticed a huge, pink and yellow face staring at her from the distance, one of those abodes in the likeness of some mon.
"What are you looking at?" Cyclone sniffled. "Big, stupid face. Lots of stupid faces. I won't let you losers keep me down."
As if to prove a point, Cyclone scrambled up the side of the Pidove Post, half flying and half climbing. Once she made it to the top, she surveyed Tao Village with its gathering of towering, blank faces.
"I'm not letting you keep me down." A shadow passed the roof of the post. Cyclone looked up, seeing Peep patrolling from the sky. "And I won't let you keep me down either, you with your stupid-looking head feathers! I'll show everyone here I'm not some weak, pathetic coward like the rest of you!"
"I see you are well, Miss Cyclone?"
Startled from her sudden company, Cyclone nearly lost her footing. Archimedes grasped the bag strap in his beak to prevent her from tumbling off the side of the hut.
"Ark... uh..." Cyclone stammered.
"It's Archimedes, but you may call me Archie. What do you say we have something to eat, and then I'll show you a tour of Tao Village. Does that sound good?"
"Sounds great, but can you get this stupid thing off of me?"
Archimedes obliged, hopping behind Cyclone and loosening the strap. The bag fell with a slump. Cyclone breathed deeply and stretched her wings. Archimedes took the bag in his feet and glided to the doorway of the post. Taking one last look around Tao Village, with its goofy structures, Cyclone smirked, and then followed her new mentor. This community service was just one little setback. Cyclone knew, in her heart of hearts, that it was only a matter of time 'til she would be free to explore the lands, learn its mysteries, and face its challenges. The sky's the limit.
The End