Chapter 6: Fate spins along
"Hey guys, I think he is finally waking up!"
This wasn't the first time this week Slate had woken up disoriented, but at least he remembered what had happened before this time. However, the experience of being beaten within an inch of his life was something he would prefer forgetting.
He was in the cabin outside the Shaded Canyon, and the last one to wake up from the look of it. Dart and Latenna was lying down in straw piles on the floor, having been given a what looked like a bowl of soup each. Meanwhile, the large purple creature from earlier was stirring a pot in the fireplace, while the spiky one was handing another bowl over to Slate. And in the corner of the cabin…
Well, Slate had been the second last to wake up. He was ever so slightly startled to see the outlaw who almost killed him in the corner of the room, even if he were unconscious and tied up in every way imaginable.
"Here, eat this. You'll feel better." The spiky creature reassured with a gentle voice. The purple one by the fireplace turned, and showed a smile that almost felt unnatural on such an intimidating creature.
"I'll have you know, I make a mean Oran soup kid." the large creature laughed. Looked like he was telling the truth as Dart was vigorously slurping up his bowl, while even Latenna had given up on drinking it in a non-messy way. With his jaw being as awkward as always, and him not having any limbs to grab with either, all Slate could do was scoop a large portion of the bowls content into his lower jaw, before swallowing.
And it was amazing. It still had all the healing properties he experienced when eating the berries, but combining it with the feeling of a warm meal, which could also have been magically enhanced for all Slate knew, made for a blend which really invigorated a weary body. Within the minute, all three team members were on their feet again.
"You're the best Regal!" Dart blurted out as soon as he had energy to speak again.
"Thank you Regal, and you as well Sting." Latenna also thanked their rescuers. Slate stared blankly for a bit, before he also thought to thank them.
"...Thank you." He blurted out.
"You're all very welcome." The one called Regal chuckled, before locking eyes with Slate. "I believe introductions are in order. I am Regal, a Nidoking if you didn't know. Me and my brother here are a ranger team as well."
"And I am Sting, a Sandslash. We rarely see any new faces here." Sting greeted as well.
"Right, I am Slate, the new recruit. Nice to meet you." He greeted back. Though the detail of these two of seemingly different species were brothers really stuck out to him, but he really didn't have feel like pressing the matter at the moment.
"Heck of a first mission kid. None of you could've been prepare to meet a guy like that in the Shaded Canyon." Regal said "But you all did a banger of a job."
"But, we were wiped out." came from Latenna.
"You collected the supplies you were tasked with, and even protected them from an adversary way beyond your capabilities. Your mission is very much complete." Sting lectured her, not for the first time based on his tone. "You're too hard on both yourself and those around you."
"What rank was that criminal even?" Dart asked, having seemingly already put the whole 'almost dying' thing behind him.
"Officially a B, though it was planned to increase it to A if he wasn't caught soon." Sting answered him. "Shaded Canyon would've been closed off if we tracked him down sooner. You were simply victims of rotten luck"
'Bad luck huh? Like I needed more of that.' Slate thought to himself.
"Shouldn't we get back to Sunshade? The sun is going down soon." Latenna asked from over at the window.
"Don't worry, we have arranged for a teleporter to come get us." Sting answered. "So just sit tight and recover until they arrive."
"A teleporter? How did you manage that?" Latenna asked.
"This rapscallion is wanted after a raid on the Everluce Archives. Apparently he stole a classified report on remnants of humanity in this world." Regal answered. "Those eggheads at the capitol want it back enough to dispatch a teleporter."
'Human remnants?' Slate wondered. He had no idea such a thing existed in this world.
"Could I see that report?" Slate requested.
"Sorry kid. Classified means none of us are allowed to look at it." Regal answered to a dejected looking Slate.
"Excellent work. Good to see there is still justice and order to be found in the outer reaches of the world." came from a new voice behind Slate.
Everyone turned towards the new voice. A Xatu, as Dart whispered to Slate. Apparently, this was the teleporter they were waiting for.
"Of course ma'am." Regal responded, as he handed the outlaws bag to her. "I hope nothing is missing, as I couldn't go through it for obvious reasons."
The Xatu's eyes briefly glowed as she inspected the bag.
"All is well. I will drop you all off in Sunshade before returning to Everluce City with the criminal, as promised. Gather up, make sure to touch someone else." she ordered the group. Everyone complied, with Regal picking up the criminal. Xatu looked over the group before locking eyes with Dart.
"First things first…" she muttered as a purple glyph shape like an eye appeared over her head. This caused Dart to flinch briefly, but it didn't seem to hurt him. Then she touched Regal with her wing, and…
In a flash, the group was standing in the middle of Sunshade. Regal put the criminal down, as Xatu addressed the group.
"This is where I must bid you all farewell. Leave the criminal with me, and the bounty will be transferred to the guild shortly."
She didn't wait for an answer, as she reached for the Heatmor and immediately vanished in a flash.
"Wow, how is travel ever a problem with teleporters around?" Slate asked.
"One would think so." Regal chuckled, before answering. "Teleport is considered a basic move to learn for psychics. However, once you add factors like lacking line of sight, large distances and bringing others along, it demands both skill and energy to pull off. We also saw miss Xatu use Miracle Eye to counteract Dart's dark aura negating psychic energy. Not counting the legends, there is probably only a double digit amount of mons on the continent capable of such Teleports.
"Not to mention. As composed as miss Xatu looked, she will probably be resting for the entire tomorrow." Sting added.
"More of a luxury then. Understood." Slate responded.
"Anyway, it's getting late. We should be getting home." Latenna said.
"Yes. Thank you both again." Dart said, and was off just like that.
"Now hold on, there is still one thing I want to speak with you about Slate." Sting said. "Between us Huskborn, you know?"
This caused Slate to look towards Latenna in bewilderment. Latenna seemed to be just as confused herself for a moment, but she quickly seemed to realize what he meant. Sting saw my bewilderment, and decided to explain himself.
"It's a rare occurrence for a Husk to form a soul, and become a conscious Pokemon just like everyone else. You might've guessed me and Regal aren't brother by blood, with us being different species and all." he explained.
'Of course. Chief Treck must have made a cover-story for me.' Slate finally realized.
"We met the first time dad took me into a dungeon." Regal added. "Since then we were raised as brothers."
"I was of course barely able to speak when I woke up, so I know how the sudden awakening feels. Now I can finally pay that favor Regal and his father did for me forward, and help another of my kind. So know that whatever you need, I will be more than happy to help."
A part of Slate felt really bad for keeping his real story secret from the duo, especially after they saved him. But Stings circumstances seemed similar enough to still help a lot.
"Thank you. I could really use the help." Slate answered him.
"No problem kid. Just holler whenever you need me." Sting said "Oh, and one last thing before we split for the night. Some mon out in the world still look down on us Huskborn as lesser beings. That shouldn't be a problem here in Sunshade, but other places you might want to keep that card close to your chest until you know who you're dealing with."
This warning made Slate gulp slightly. The cover-story gave him an explanation of why he lacked basic knowledge, but he still had to learn if he wanted to move around without drawing negative attention. Not ideal for searching around too soon. As the four remaining Pokemon split up, and all went their separate ways, Slate headed towards the room arranged for him on the station.
The room was nothing much. At least it had a window to not feel like a complete prison cell. But otherwise the small room was only furnished by a straw bed, and a shelf. Not the most homely place, fitting from a soul who is a long way from home. However, if the last two days had proven anything, it was that this lost soul was not alone on the road.
Now, Slate has had his first adventure in this world. However, in this strange world other forces has been set in motion as well. And as the wheel of fate spins along, other lost souls emerge. We turn our focus away from Slate and the Badlands for now, and instead find ourselves on the Eastern coast of the Oldega-continent.
'Thank Arceus, I found one of you at least.' came from a disembodied voice. Everything else was just a complete haze, but the voice was clear and graceful.
'One of what? Where even am I?'
'There is no easy way to explain this, but your soul has slipped over into another world. As for what, I mean you are human.' the voice explained.
'Soul? Do you mean I am dead?'
'Not quite. I cannot say what happened in your world, but you still belong among the living. But enough of that. We don't have much time here. Do you still remember your name?' came from the voice.
'It's… Liza'
Why was such a basic detail so hard to remember? There shouldn't have been a need to stutter there. Liza thought to herself.
'Liza. The world you are about to enter is a lot different from the one you came from. Things won't be easy for you, but I know you are fated for great things." The voice continued.
'What great things. What even is any of this?' Liza asked. She felt the haze clearing, and a light appearing in the distance.
'It seems we've run out of time. Step forth. And meet the new world with courage." The voice said as it gradually faded.
Liza tried to shout for her to stay, but would be no response, as the light filled her vision, and she finally opened her eyes. Just to see some blue crocodile roughly her size hold a light up to her face.
Liza screamed and tried to back away from the sharp teeth so close to her face. After a clumsy shuffle backwards, she realized the crocodile wasn't giving chase, rather scratching his head staring at her. A quick survey of her surroundings also revealed it to be a lot smaller than she initially thought. Thought that also applied to her.
"What are you?" she mumbled, mostly to her self.
"What I am? Never seen a Totodile before? Name's Gates by the way." The crocodile suddenly responded.
'Ok, I'm either dreaming or insane.' Liza thought. 'Surely I'm still sleeping home at…'
She couldn't remember. Nothing but her name and some vague details. It frustrated her to no end, but if this was a dream she wasn't showing any signs of waking up.
"Hey, are you ok?" Gates asked the panicking girl.
Just then she realized she had been hyperventilating, and looking frantically around the whole time. This 'Gates' seemed friendly enough at least, so wherever she was she didn't seem to be in immediate danger.
"Just… confused, I guess" Liza finally answering him.
"Right, figures. I found you floating down the river back in town unconscious, so I brought you in here." Gates explained.
Liza looked at her surroundings. They were in a small, damp cave, with just a bed of twigs and a single wooden crate as interior.
"And where is here exactly here?" Liza asked.
"Oh this is my humble home, or hideout if you prefer." Gates answered. "It's right outside Azureport if you're from town. Just please don't tell anyone about this place when you leave."
That explanation didn't help much, but at least there was a town to start looking for answers.
"Doesn't ring a bell." Liza deadpanned.
"Hmm, are you from far away then? Or are you perhaps Huskborn? I know there are Buizel in the Azure River-dungeon." Gates asked the ever more confused girl.
"Huskborn? Buizel? What are you talking about? I am human." She blurted out.
"Human? Like in the legends my parents told me? You're joking right?" Gates responded, like she just told the most obvious lie ever.
"Why would it be a joke? Just look at…" Liza yelled in frustration before she looked down at her hands.
Or rather, what was supposed to be her hands. Instead she found herself looking down at a pair of orange paws. In fact, her entire body seemed to be covered in orange fur, ending with a pair of tails.
"Wha… This isn't… Why…" She started mumbling to herself. Gates looked at her with growing concerns. Clearly this Buizel wasn't well.
'New Huskborn does not usually have problems with their bodies, they get confused by their newfound consciousness. This girl seems to have the opposite problem.' He pondered to himself. 'She could possibly actually mean that human thing, right?'
"That wasn't a joke, huh? You really were human?" Gates said dumbfounded. "Just like the legends?"
"Legends…?" the confused Buizel blurted out.
"Right… There are multiple legends about humans turning into Pokemon, the creatures of this world." Gates begun, feeling like he owed her an explanation. Who knows? Maybe it would help her calm down. "Whenever they showed up, was soon followed by times of great hardships. But they all proved themselves great heroes during that time."
Liza buried her head in her arms upon hearing this, and made a sound that Gates registered as sobbing.
"Umm… Are you ok?" Gates stuttered out, not knowing how to console her.
"Hahahaha!" She finally let out. "Some hero I must look like"
Gates let out a sigh, as a he looked at the laughing Buizel with concern. At least she had calmed down.
Gates had sat down on one of his storage crates, as there wasn't much else in his hideout, and watched his guest. Liza, as she had introduced herself as, had finally calmed down, and was now trying to get used to moving around in her new body. Still not quite sure about the whole human story, he felt like inquiring more.
"So, you can't remember anything else?" Gates asked the Buizel.
"No, nothing more than my name and… oh!" She interrupted herself when she gave her tail an experimental spin, and got startled by just how swiftly it moved. "I can do that now apperently."
Gates chuckled at her clumsy display, even if she seemed got a hold of everything fairly fast.
"You said there was a town neaby right?" She asked Gates.
"Right… That might be a good idea." He answered hesitantly, remaining seated on one of the few crates that furnished the cave.
"Where even is the exit to this place?" She asked him.
Gates stood up and pointed towards the pond in the corner.
"The entrance to this cave is underwater, and fairly hard to find. You have to swim." He answered.
"But, how far is it?"
"Nowhere near far enough to be risk to a Water-type, which you are now."
Liza looked at the underwater tunnel, still hesitant to swim into the darkness.
"Listen here. I will help you with what I can, but if you head into town you have to do it on your own. And if you decide go your own way, all I ask is that you don't tell anyone about me or this place." Gates told her, now with a fully serious tone.
"Why, is there something wrong with the town?" Liza asked him.
"No, but I am a wanted mon" Was the answer.
Authors Note:
Now with a second human introduced, you might have understood that this story is going to swap perspectives fairly frequently. And with how unstable the upload frequency probably will become, I have promised myself not to swap on cliffhangers unnecessarily, as letting tension hang for that long never pays off in a satisfying way. Let's hope I can manage to make all the stories interesting, as concepts have already been demoted to off-screen backstories due to me not being able brainstorm up enough meat on the bone to make actual storylines out of it. Anyways, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.