Day: 1, Time: 1347, Location: The S.C. Aleathra, Corridor 3A

“Carter!” Sam screamed out across the hallway, stopping the other in his tracks as he turned around to glance at the sprinting Gym Leader. Something was apparently on her mind, considering the look on her face…

“What seems to be the pro-“ Carter was unable to finish the sentence when Samantha grabbed the soldier by the collar and hefted him into air with unnatural strength, slamming him against the wall and pinning him down. His cry was muffled by his own gagging with Sam pressing hard against his collar.

“Where the hell is Vyren?!” she screamed out, tears streaking down her cheeks as she spoke with such force. Carter struggled with the female, off his feet, kicking softly.

“He…went on that…m-m-mission…” the soldier muttered out between staggered breathes, getting another blow against the wall with that comment.

“Why did you…?!” she yelled, unable to fully express her resentment for Vyren onto taking that mission. “Why did you ask him?! Couldn’t you take anyone else?!” she questioned forcefully instead.

“I…I’d r-rather u-u-use ‘other’ r-r-r-resources…” Carter coughed out, before getting a third push against the wall then his release as he fell to his knees, coughing and gasping for air.

“Damnit!” the Gym Leader yelled out, slamming her fist into the nearby bulkhead, clenching it tightly. Carter looked up, before glancing up and down the corridor at some spectators, slowly turning away from the scene upon Carter’s nod.

“I’m sorry…” Carter spoke softly, looking up at the sobbing Sam, blood trickling down the wall from her fist.

“Why…” Samantha whispered, eyes closed, trying to restrain herself; but unable to. “Why Vyren…he already…”

“Died? I know…” Carter whispered, getting Samantha to quickly snap her attention back towards the male with angry – yet sad – eyes. “I’m sorry, Sam…”

“I don’t believe you…” Samantha spoke softly, stepping away, ignoring her bleeding hand. “I don’t believe you’d send someone who wasn’t involved in this to that…”

“We’re all involved in this, no matter how we look at it,” Carter replied towards Sam’s back. The female sniffled, glancing back. “No matter how you look at it…we all got involved…”

“I still can’t believe what you did…” the female answered, striking straight into Carter. She continued to walk away. The male sighed, slowly standing up.

“In such short time…you grew to care for him so much…your would be killer into the one you care so much for…” Carter spoke to himself, still staring at Samantha. “In such short time…” he repeated, turning towards the other way in partial disgust for his own actions.

Day: 1, Time: 1404, Location: Trilands, North Island, North TR Research Facility Air Space

Kystel and Karrion banked to their left, scouting out the area around the facility for potential weaknesses while keeping an eye for anything suspicious. However, Kystel was distracted, and Karrion saw that with the way the Fearow flew, as well as a previous incident a night back.

“Kystel…what’s wrong?” Karrion questioned the younger flyer once again, getting silence just like the previous attempt. She sighed softly, watching the Fearow perch on one of the buildings surrounding the TR Research Facility. Taking it as an opportunity, the Pidgeot landed beside the Fearow – not so close, yet not so far.

“I let him down,” Kystel finally spoke, quickly directing Karrion’s attention towards the other flyer. “I let my trainer down…” The female Pidgeot nodded slowly, understanding bit by bit what was bothering the Fearow now, confirming a previous suspicion she had of the situation.

“If it’s about Vyren and the ‘West’ incident…” Karrion started, breaking off her sentence for a moment as she tried to string the words together. “Everyone makes mistakes…”

“But I cost Vyren his life!” Kystel yelled back, cutting Karrion’s string while it was barely started. “A first life…maybe his only ‘spare’ life…I can’t make another fatal mistake like that…”

“If you keep thinking like that, you will make a mistake,” the female responded quickly and sharply, interrupting Kystel’s train of thought. The Fearow glanced up at Karrion, the words striking deep into his heart.

“I knew we were Rockets…let, I didn’t tell him…” Kystel spoke softly, returning to his own state of mind. “Then he gets captured when I’m not watching…getting him killed…and what kept him alive was that bullet around his necklace…for reasons I don’t know…” The Fearow tilted his head towards the ground, watching pedestrians and vehicles pass by. “Luck was on our side that time…but it may not always be…I don’t want to make another mistake again…or else we will all pay…” Karrion sighed softly, glancing down at the objects below, agreeing with that fact.

“Then we’ll just have to make sure we don’t make a mistake…” Karrion answered, a rather simplistic answer considering.

“If only it were that simple…” Kystel thought, not wanting to speak his mind of doubt and pessimism.

Day: 1, Time: 1256, Location: The S.C. Aleathra, Infirmary

Sarpal gently ran a finger down the Starmie’s fissure in her jewel, getting a wince of pain from the Pokémon. The female Chimera quickly withdrew her hand, bowing her head apologetically.

“It’s alright…” Jewel spoke telepathically, her gem glowing partially with her message. “I asked for it…”

“I shouldn’t have granted that request…sorry…” Sarpal apologized anyway, feeling guilty for her actions. Jewel sighed softly, gently stroking Sarpal’s hair with some telekinesis. The blue haired female smiled a little, enjoying her companion’s telepathic touch. She only slept for an hour that morning after Ice’s awakening, but she felt partially refreshed...or perhaps better said that she was partially disturbed…something during her sleep.

“How long have I known you for? Three, four years?” Jewel asked, reminiscing of her past, though they hinted something deeper that Sarpal couldn’t decipher.

“Three days till seven years,” Sarpal remembered crystal clearly, stroking one of the prongs on the Starmie’s body. “Of course I’ll remember…I’ll never forget that fateful day…”

“Yeah…I guess not…” the Starmie agreed, sighing softly, also beginning to remember that day. “Fateful…yes…three days before seven years? Has it really been that long…?” The female Chimera nodded slowly, sending a psychic image to the Water type. Jewel chuckled softly, finally recalling the events clearly thanks to the help of her companion.

“You’ve grown much stronger in your psychic abilities,” the Starmie commented softly, knowing the source of the ‘recall’ being the person the Pokémon spoke with at the moment. Sarpal smiled.

“I’ve had a lot of help and guidance…” the female spoke, an underlying tone stating that the Starmie in bed was one of those who guided her.

“Yes…you have…more from the Dragons then anything else, however,” Jewel responded, throwing some of the responsibility away from herself. Sarpal, on the other hand disagreed with that thought completely, blessing Jewel as the greatest influence on her Psychic ability. Sighing softly, Jewel ‘glanced’ away. “I hope I can see you in three days…”

“What…do you mean?” the Chimera questioned, the tone unbecoming of injured the Pokémon. Jewel ‘shook’ her ‘head’.

“It’s nothing, just strange superstition,” Jewel answered, trying to deflect something bothering her in her mind and dreams. Sarpal could only gaze at the Starmie, the Human watching her own reflection from the Pokémon’s jewel, distorted by the crack within it. The Chimera had a brief understanding of Jewel’s tone…something that she felt linked to the Human’s dream…

Day: 1, Time: 1357, Location: Trilands, North Island, SF Attack Team HQ, Rooftop

The Alakazam reached out towards the distance, sensing for anything in the facility that they were to scout and assault. The research facility was literally right down the street. The attack team was set up in an abandoned warehouse that they ‘rented out’ for their non-existent company, just an alias to be undercover on.

“Anything?” Guile asked the Alakazam, approaching the Pokémon standing on the roof and psychically reaching out to the distance, arms raised, eyes closed. A brief moment of silence came before Guile decided to try to reach out as well with his own psychic ability, towards the same objective as his companion.

The Chimera ran straight into a brick wall at the edge of what he believed to be the facility. He dropped his scan, glancing at the Alakazam, probably trying to find a way around that barrier.

“Psychic Dampener is strong,” the Alakazam snorted, opening his eyes and lowering his arms. “Solid in every corner…not a single weak point…”

“It doesn’t waiver at all? Not to any touch or probe?” Guile questioned, trying to determine what his Pokémon saw in all that.

“It didn’t waiver, it just shifted,” the Psychic type spoke, confusing Guile. Detecting this, the Pokémon elaborated. “The barrier protecting against Psychic probes and attacks shifts, like a giant bubble swaying left and right. It doesn’t waiver, it just moves.”

“It doesn’t change in size?” the Chimera wondered out loud, finding that rather hard to believe. The Alakazam shook his head, turning his gaze towards Guile. “So the generator of the barrier just shifts…and that’s it…” The Chimera thought for a moment, glancing back out towards the general direction of the facility. “Could we…push the generator off kilter, in a strange sort of way?”

“I already tried applying more Psychic force against the barrier,” the Pokémon reported. “It just recoils and pushes back with equal force, bringing it back to its original position.”

“I guess force is out of the question…” Guile thought, heading back toward the door onto the roof, the Pokémon in tow. “We’ll have to report in our findings then…see if we can come up with something to stop it…”

Day: 1, Time: 1402, Location: The S.C. Aleathra, Training Deck 2 – Mountain Terrain

Umbre was sent sprawling backwards, rolling over the rocky terrain for a few moments before leaping off the ground, back flipping and landing gracefully on the surface, panting heavily.

Opposing him was the Hitmonchan known Ripper, walking over casually, not even breaking a sweat. Umbre continued to huff and puff, trying to find some sort of weakness in the Fighting type’s style. So far, he’s found none, and only got a face full of punches from the opponent, among beatings on various other parts of his body.

“For a kid who takes a beating, you sure got a lot of guts and spunk,” Ripper commented, his fist already drawing much beating against the opposing Pokémon, who was less experienced AND had a type disadvantage. Umbre grinned slightly, taking the admiration with stride.

“I take it after my parents…” Umbre responded softly, sliding his legs apart, preparing to attack once again. Ripper nodded slowly, preparing for the next attack the Dark type will have in store for him.

“I’ve tried every viable option of attack…and nothing seems to hurt him…” Umbre thought, glancing left and right at the surrounding rocky terrain before returning to the Hitmonchan. “Why did I pick a fight with Ripper to train myself? It’s suicidal when I think about it…” The Umbreon narrowed his eyes, watching the Fighting type with much contemplation.

“I need to get stronger…or else I won’t be able to protect mom…or sis…” Umbre continued to think, keeping close watch over the Hitmonchan. “Ripper offered to train me a little, just to help out a bit, I couldn’t refuse…though being pounded into a pulp wasn’t my idea of fun…” Umbre could feel his legs starting to wobble, giving way to fatigue, unable to support his own body weight. “No, I can’t give up now…not just yet…not until I can prove to someone I can do it…”

“Are we just going to play the staring game, or are we going to fight?!” Ripper shouted out, getting slightly impatient. “If you won’t come to me, then I’ll come to you!” With those words, and a war cry, the Hitmonchan leaped forward, reeling his right arm back while his left fist spearheaded the assault. However, his left fist hit ground, throwing up rock shrapnel as the Umbreon leaped into the air with renewed vigour, not giving up just yet.

“That’s more like it,” Ripper thought to himself, grinning at the spunk this kid had. With those thoughts, they resumed the duel.

Day: 1, Time: 1426, Location: Trilands, North Island, SF Attack Team HQ, Main Floor

Des was busily typing away at his laptop, trying to hack into the main computer of the TR Facility, hard to do at an exterior location, but not impossible; though the information will be very limited.

Tim was leaning against the table where Des worked, but instead of watching over the hacker’s shoulder, the demo man seemed zoned out, glancing at his hand with silent admiration, curiosity, and fear.

A Blastoise marched into the room, carrying a few large boxes in his arms, dropping them rather clumsily with a loud ‘thud’ that resonated through the warehouse. However, the suddenness of the sound did nothing from breaking Des and Tim from their individual trances. Blaster was curious what made the pair drop out of reality, though he decided to ignore it for now, returning back to the truck to get some more equipment that the team would need. Silence once again engulfed the pair.

“Are you going to be alright?” Des questioned the one leaning against the table, stopping his work on the keyboard and looking up at his partner in crime, concerned for Tim.

“I was thinking about what Alex said…” Tim responded softly, turning his hand over to face the back of it, curious about what he’s turning into…to cause earthquakes and to shoot embers…

“A curse and a blessing?” Des questioned, stopping his hacking for now, finding it appropriate to take a break and confront his friend about this issue as well.

“No…” Tim answered, shaking his head and glancing towards the far truck gate, where the others were either loitering or unloading. “The Phoenix part…” Tim waved his hand, sparks of fire emerging from his finger tips and dissipating almost as quickly as they appeared. Des quickly leaned back on his chair instinctively, taken aback by the appearance of the flames.

“One would think you would be wondering about Ryna, considering your mentality,” Des answered, regaining his composure and trying to change the subject. Tim threw another set of sparks from his hand, once against shaking his head.

“When you’re sitting here, waiting, wanting, thinking, you’re mind tends to wander…” Tim responded softly. Their conversation was killed by another loud thud of supplies dropping nearby, and it did kill the conversation, as neither felt like talking much after the interruption. Tim pushed off the table, deciding to head upstairs and check out the view while Des returned to his laptop.

Day: 1, Time: 1402, Location: The S.C. Aleathra, Training Deck 4 – Meditation Room

Espe sat still, sitting on her hind legs, eyes closed, concentrating. She reached out with her mind, trying to find peace, and yet also trying to find a tormented soul that belonged to someone very close to her. She failed to comfort this soul physically, so she tired to do so psychically, even if her psychic ability wasn’t very refined – she felt the urge to try.

“So many tormented souls…” Espe whispered, reaching into the ‘pool of souls’ that composed the ship’s crew and Pokémon. The young Psychic was slowly becoming frustrated with confusion of wading through the torment.

“Don’t become frustrated…don’t look at it as a whole, just in parts, one piece of the puzzle at a time,” a voice advised her, guiding the Espeon’s thoughts through the chaos. She began to calm down, her search guided by another, ‘highlighting’ the areas of search one section at a time.

“I’m just a friend,” the disembodied voice told Espe, reading her mind as she was about to ask the question of identity. The young Psychic nodded slowly, scanning each area slowly and efficiently, trying to find that one she was looking for. “In time, you will gain enough mental discipline to distinguish everyone individually with little trouble…” The young Pokémon remained silent, only scanning each sector slowly, checking and confirming each that she poked and prodded at.

“Thank you…” Espe finally spoke, after confirming the one she was currently overlooking was the one she desired. The Pokémon felt the other presence fade away, unlike when it first just suddenly presented itself. A brief ‘nod’ from that presence, then it vanished. Without further delay, Espe began her search for cause and mission to rectify it.

Day: 1, Time: 1508, Location: The S.C. Aleathra, Deck, Bow

Alex stared out towards the distance, more directly towards the north island of the Trilands. He could feel the emanation of Psychic energy from there, even with the distance, specifically of a certain Bulbasaur in that direction. He could sense her despair, doubt, and self hatred.

“You were emitting an aura of agony so powerful that it could’ve possibly engulfed the whole planet…” Alex whispered, repeating the exact words another Psychic onboard the ship told him earlier that day.

“And before you ask, I have been watching out towards the sea most of the time,” Alex spoke aloud, detecting the presence of Ice nearby, a familiar presence that he grew accustomed to after all that time aboard another ship similar to the one they currently resided on. The Lapras Chimera also unintentionally known about his curiosity on the watcher that stood at the bow of the ship.

“‘Most of the time’? I was expecting the answer to be ‘all of the time’,” Ice remarked, not surprised that his presence was known to Alex, even with his back turned towards Ice. The Psychic chuckled softly, still gazing out towards the north island.

“I don’t think you would come all the way out here just to criticize me, now would you?” Alex inquired with partial humour, getting a short laugh out of Ice. The Lapras’ visage grew more serious though, approaching the Angel Chimera.

“I’m just curious about what’s going on in the world of Alex, well, that’s part of my reason for coming out here,” Ice informed the other, stopping when he was standing beside Alex and also staring towards the north island.

“And the other part?” Alex inquired, turning to face Ice. He could not read the emotions of Ice’s mind, nor the emotions of Ice’s face at the moment. It made Alex wondered if Ice had matured greatly since their last encounter.

“Just your premonitions of the future,” Ice answered softly, glancing back towards the centre of the ship, the large structure erected from the deck that housed the many crew, Pokémon, and visitors on board.

“Why not add ‘about Ice and Sarpal’ at the end of that last sentence?” Alex spoke once again in partial humour. The male Lapras Chimera blushed slightly, that also being part of his reason for being here, though he would never directly ask as such.

“Did you find out psychically?” Ice questioned, expecting that to be the answer for Alex’s knowledge into Ice’s mind.

“No, just a lucky guess,” Alex answered truthfully, turning around and leaning against the railing around the ship’s deck. “I couldn’t read your emotions or your face, so I took a shot into the dark.”

“I somehow doubt that, but I’ll take your word on it,” Ice answered, leaning back against the railing too. “So, what do you see?” Alex was silent for a moment.

“Would you believe a bright and beautiful relationship for you two?” the Psychic questioned, making Ice wondered if he was serious about that question. Alex shook his head. “To be honest, the best way to describe it is hazy…because every individual writes his or her own future…it’s just how you and her get along that will determine everything.” Ice remained silent, absorbing the words of wisdom.