Chapter 36
They were awoken by the sound of their alarm clocks. Andy woke up and felt refreshed and rejuvenated, likely due to how he was thinking about how the meeting was supposed to go, he slept almost like a child on Christmas. The three left the room and met up with Josh, and the four of them had breakfast.
Andy could identify an air of tension around them. Surely Josh had been thinking about the turn of events as well that his mind was just full of what might happen. None of them spoke at all to each other, for they had nothing to say. They just munched on their meal without much talking.
Andy looked at the clock and read it was 10:15. They quickly wrapped up their meal, cleaned up after themselves, and proceeded towards Xander’s office. The Aggron was waiting, along with Troy and one or two more PRT members, obviously those of a much higher rank than even Josh.
“You guys good? Alright, put the rings on and lets go.” They all obeyed and slipped on their rings. They went through the fake wall, up the elevator, down the hall, and up the spiraling stairs. They exited the rock and made their way straight forward, across the plain and up the mountainside.
They got up to the radio tower and knocked on the door. A different man answered the door and looked them around. “Can I help you folks out?”
“We’re here to see your boss. It was Rufus, yeah?” The worker nodded and accepted them.
“Feel free to remove your rings, nobody’s gonna hurt you.” They did as was asked as the worker went over towards the wall, put in the combination, and motioned them down the ladder.
They went down the ladder and met two Pokextinction guards. They were both armed, but their weapons were inactive.
“Thank you for coming, please follow us.” The guards turned and they started marching down the hall. Even though they were expected of and they weren’t trying to sneak around, they felt even more tension than when they first entered this base. They walked along labs, rooms, but the most interesting scene was when they walked by the prison cells. Vincent was locked in a cell and he was cursing under his breath.
“Stupid, stupid son of a…no idea who they’re messing with…idiot!” Was all Andy could make of it. He quickly turned his mind from Vincent and focused on following the guards. They kept going down the halls until they opened a door. Inside was a grand and spacious room, almost like a gym of a kind.
Rufus was at the other side of the table, looking serious as if he were expecting them. Andy couldn’t tell if this guy just was very serious or never smiled a day in his life. Before them there was a lot of foods and other consumables that look very appealing to Andy, even if they were in some sort of evil organization’s company.
“Come on in and take a seat.” He said. Andy and the other representatives of the Pokeumans all took a seat on one side of the table, while Rufus, some goons, and Sam sat on the other end. “Now that we are gathered here, I believe it is time for some proper introductions.” He raised a fist and did a single great pound on his chest. “I am Rufus, the leading commander of this Pokextinction Unit. Beside me is my best general, Samuel.”
“Pleasure to meet you all.” Sam said.
“The goons you see around me are some of my finest troops, those who accepted the idea of Pokeumans and Pokextinction combining.”
All of the guards suddenly stood up, did a salute, and shouted “Yo!” all at once. After about three seconds of standing, they sat back down.
“Please don’t look so anxious, the guards are unarmed and I kept a close eye on the food so they weren’t poisoned. Go on and eat!”
They spent the next few moments dining. The consumables were as good if not maybe a little better than the things served at the Pokeuman bases. Soon people grew less tense and began conversing with each other. The conversations Andy was hearing go around were something that truly sounded like cooperation. Sam was telling Josh about some stories of his past, Xander and a few other guards exploded with laughter after someone told a joke, Claire and West were thanking each other for the wonderful night they had last night, and much more that went around. Andy wasn’t particularly one for conversation while eating, so he mostly kept silent.
After everyone had their fill, Rufus sent an order around for the goons to clear the table. The table was cleared very quickly and professionally, and the guards returned to their seats.
Rufus stood up. “I’d first like to welcome all of you here today. I have gathered my most trusted persons and invited our possible allies for our new mission. Do you have any questions before I explain things and begin the planning?”
“So, who and what exactly are you guys?”
“We are a division, or faction, if you will, of the Pokextinction group that is tasked with the retrieval of the Time Gears. We used to be under the lead of Mr. X, and he assigned us goals to go for while he went for his. It gets work done faster, see.”
“Why did you allow Vincent to do all those terrible things?”
“We at first thought that this was a sacrifice for amount of progress he was making. When he first started on this mission, his kill count was lower than his progress, but when he started spending too much time with destruction that it got in the way the goal, we realized that the deaths he causes were not a cost for the progress, but a hinderance. We don’t need blood on our name. The attack he lead on your base is where he crossed the line. As you no doubt have seen as you came here, he is finally behind bars, possibly to face execution.”
Yikes.
“Why have you decided not to follow Mr. X anymore?”
“Because we finally woke up ourselves. We all believed what we were doing was for the greater good for humanity as a whole, and that Pokeumans were a threat to the general peace. Then we took a step back and look at what we were doing. So many lives lost, children slain, families destroyed, all because of our meddling. If, perhaps, Pokextinction weren’t a thing, children would no longer have to fear their turning, and families may no longer have to be separated. Perhaps, in the future, humans will consider a child’s Pokemon turning as simple as puberty. Once our conflict is over, maybe we will turn the Pokextinction bases into medical and physical therapy locations to help the children stay healthy and comfortable.”
Andy couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He pictured a future in his head. He would come home and find that a child of his was showing first signs of turning into a Lucario, Riolu, or whatever card the gene pool was going to play. Instead of fearing for the child, he could hear himself say ‘Don’t be scared it’ll be okay! Let’s go to a special doctor so you can stay healthy.’ Maybe he could reunite with his original family, and maybe welcome his clone as well. With whatever technologies in memory Pokextinction may have, they could alter the memories of his clone, and perhaps alter some physical features, to welcome him as a member of the family.
“Does anyone have anymore questions?”
Andy didn’t have any. He felt like things were looking up, and a utopia was just on the horizon.
“Alright, then I’ll explain what is going on.” Rufus took a large drink of water and set the glass down. “We’ve been able to understand the true plan of Mr. X. He plans not for the well-being of the world, but he desires to rule the world. Both worlds, perhaps.”
“Both worlds?”
“Yes. Beyond our fabric of time and space, there exists a world completely resided by Pokemon. Think back to the history lesson no doubt you have heard. Pokemon had to escape to another world to avoid further oppression from humans. That world still exists today, and it is the target of Mr. X. Now, usually, a few Dimensional Gems manipulated by a person strong in energy could open a gateway to the other world, but we have evaluated that Time Gears are a good substitution.”
“What’s the plan, and what do we do?”
“The plan is to go into the other world and get the Pokemon ready for a potential attack. We have evaluated the progress of Mr. X and his hunt for the gems. He is making dangerous progress, so we need to act quickly or else Mr. X will get whatever fiendish power he craves.”
“Go into the other world and warn them, correct?”
“Yes. Hopefully we can ambush X and his troops by calculating the point in which he will enter. With our advanced tech and the element of surprise, they should be taken down pretty quickly.”
“I have a problem with all of this,” Josh said, “Why should we be trusting you guys? With your track record, you could be making us do the dirty work for you!”
“Doing the dirty work of saving Pokemon and our world? I know it must be hard to trust us, especially with our history, but you must remember nobody here can exactly channel energy, can they?”
“…Yeah.”
“I know it’s a lot to ask, but please trust us. We’ve got a plan, a machine, and our hearts, seeking redemption. We’ve put our past alliances behind us, and now we want to progress for what is truly the best for everyone.” There was silence for a moment, until Xander got up and began clapping. Soon everyone joined the applause, and it felt powerful.
“Now, do we have a plan?”
“I am ready to accept this proposal on one condition.” Xander said, standing up. “You said you have a machine. Am I to assume it is for Time Gear amplification for make inter-worldly travel possible?”
“That is correct.”
“Can it be transferred?”
“Yes, if it can get the required power source and is re-assembled correctly.”
“Alright, could it be possible to move the machine to our base?”
“Ah, I understand. It is unwise to hold most coveted items in a stronghold for people you don’t trust. It can be taken apart and re-assembled. Transfer shouldn’t be too difficult, we can simply close surrounding roads and use the trails from the base of the mountain to reach your base.”
“Alright! It’s settled! And you remember where our base is located, yes?”
“Yup.”
“Alright. We’ll get up early and have some patrol people stand outside. It’ll be like moving furniture into a new house.”
“Definitely.” Xander and Rufus reached across the table and shook hands with each other.
***
Back at the base, Andy and his friends talked while eating dinner. It was BLTs with fries, Andy’s favorite.
“Everything sounded so amazing!” Claire said. “You guys probably didn’t see me, but I was crying when Rufus was discussing about the future with Pokeumans and Pokextinction. That whole thing sounds so amazing.”
“Yeah!” West exclaimed. Josh was the only one who was not happy about things.
“I can’t believe they changed either. Normally I’d be suspicious, but this time…I want to believe what they say.”
Xander came up to them. “Hey y’all, you’ve done so much for us, so you don’t have to help with moving boxes and whatnot.” Andy breathed a sigh of relief; he felt so exhausted he wanted a rest.
They finished their dinner and headed for their rooms. All they wanted to do was enjoy what was happening now. They later met and went to the movie theater to watch Greatest Showman. Afterwards they played games and when curfew hit they all went to their rooms and fell asleep.
Next: Here
They were awoken by the sound of their alarm clocks. Andy woke up and felt refreshed and rejuvenated, likely due to how he was thinking about how the meeting was supposed to go, he slept almost like a child on Christmas. The three left the room and met up with Josh, and the four of them had breakfast.
Andy could identify an air of tension around them. Surely Josh had been thinking about the turn of events as well that his mind was just full of what might happen. None of them spoke at all to each other, for they had nothing to say. They just munched on their meal without much talking.
Andy looked at the clock and read it was 10:15. They quickly wrapped up their meal, cleaned up after themselves, and proceeded towards Xander’s office. The Aggron was waiting, along with Troy and one or two more PRT members, obviously those of a much higher rank than even Josh.
“You guys good? Alright, put the rings on and lets go.” They all obeyed and slipped on their rings. They went through the fake wall, up the elevator, down the hall, and up the spiraling stairs. They exited the rock and made their way straight forward, across the plain and up the mountainside.
They got up to the radio tower and knocked on the door. A different man answered the door and looked them around. “Can I help you folks out?”
“We’re here to see your boss. It was Rufus, yeah?” The worker nodded and accepted them.
“Feel free to remove your rings, nobody’s gonna hurt you.” They did as was asked as the worker went over towards the wall, put in the combination, and motioned them down the ladder.
They went down the ladder and met two Pokextinction guards. They were both armed, but their weapons were inactive.
“Thank you for coming, please follow us.” The guards turned and they started marching down the hall. Even though they were expected of and they weren’t trying to sneak around, they felt even more tension than when they first entered this base. They walked along labs, rooms, but the most interesting scene was when they walked by the prison cells. Vincent was locked in a cell and he was cursing under his breath.
“Stupid, stupid son of a…no idea who they’re messing with…idiot!” Was all Andy could make of it. He quickly turned his mind from Vincent and focused on following the guards. They kept going down the halls until they opened a door. Inside was a grand and spacious room, almost like a gym of a kind.
Rufus was at the other side of the table, looking serious as if he were expecting them. Andy couldn’t tell if this guy just was very serious or never smiled a day in his life. Before them there was a lot of foods and other consumables that look very appealing to Andy, even if they were in some sort of evil organization’s company.
“Come on in and take a seat.” He said. Andy and the other representatives of the Pokeumans all took a seat on one side of the table, while Rufus, some goons, and Sam sat on the other end. “Now that we are gathered here, I believe it is time for some proper introductions.” He raised a fist and did a single great pound on his chest. “I am Rufus, the leading commander of this Pokextinction Unit. Beside me is my best general, Samuel.”
“Pleasure to meet you all.” Sam said.
“The goons you see around me are some of my finest troops, those who accepted the idea of Pokeumans and Pokextinction combining.”
All of the guards suddenly stood up, did a salute, and shouted “Yo!” all at once. After about three seconds of standing, they sat back down.
“Please don’t look so anxious, the guards are unarmed and I kept a close eye on the food so they weren’t poisoned. Go on and eat!”
They spent the next few moments dining. The consumables were as good if not maybe a little better than the things served at the Pokeuman bases. Soon people grew less tense and began conversing with each other. The conversations Andy was hearing go around were something that truly sounded like cooperation. Sam was telling Josh about some stories of his past, Xander and a few other guards exploded with laughter after someone told a joke, Claire and West were thanking each other for the wonderful night they had last night, and much more that went around. Andy wasn’t particularly one for conversation while eating, so he mostly kept silent.
After everyone had their fill, Rufus sent an order around for the goons to clear the table. The table was cleared very quickly and professionally, and the guards returned to their seats.
Rufus stood up. “I’d first like to welcome all of you here today. I have gathered my most trusted persons and invited our possible allies for our new mission. Do you have any questions before I explain things and begin the planning?”
“So, who and what exactly are you guys?”
“We are a division, or faction, if you will, of the Pokextinction group that is tasked with the retrieval of the Time Gears. We used to be under the lead of Mr. X, and he assigned us goals to go for while he went for his. It gets work done faster, see.”
“Why did you allow Vincent to do all those terrible things?”
“We at first thought that this was a sacrifice for amount of progress he was making. When he first started on this mission, his kill count was lower than his progress, but when he started spending too much time with destruction that it got in the way the goal, we realized that the deaths he causes were not a cost for the progress, but a hinderance. We don’t need blood on our name. The attack he lead on your base is where he crossed the line. As you no doubt have seen as you came here, he is finally behind bars, possibly to face execution.”
Yikes.
“Why have you decided not to follow Mr. X anymore?”
“Because we finally woke up ourselves. We all believed what we were doing was for the greater good for humanity as a whole, and that Pokeumans were a threat to the general peace. Then we took a step back and look at what we were doing. So many lives lost, children slain, families destroyed, all because of our meddling. If, perhaps, Pokextinction weren’t a thing, children would no longer have to fear their turning, and families may no longer have to be separated. Perhaps, in the future, humans will consider a child’s Pokemon turning as simple as puberty. Once our conflict is over, maybe we will turn the Pokextinction bases into medical and physical therapy locations to help the children stay healthy and comfortable.”
Andy couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He pictured a future in his head. He would come home and find that a child of his was showing first signs of turning into a Lucario, Riolu, or whatever card the gene pool was going to play. Instead of fearing for the child, he could hear himself say ‘Don’t be scared it’ll be okay! Let’s go to a special doctor so you can stay healthy.’ Maybe he could reunite with his original family, and maybe welcome his clone as well. With whatever technologies in memory Pokextinction may have, they could alter the memories of his clone, and perhaps alter some physical features, to welcome him as a member of the family.
“Does anyone have anymore questions?”
Andy didn’t have any. He felt like things were looking up, and a utopia was just on the horizon.
“Alright, then I’ll explain what is going on.” Rufus took a large drink of water and set the glass down. “We’ve been able to understand the true plan of Mr. X. He plans not for the well-being of the world, but he desires to rule the world. Both worlds, perhaps.”
“Both worlds?”
“Yes. Beyond our fabric of time and space, there exists a world completely resided by Pokemon. Think back to the history lesson no doubt you have heard. Pokemon had to escape to another world to avoid further oppression from humans. That world still exists today, and it is the target of Mr. X. Now, usually, a few Dimensional Gems manipulated by a person strong in energy could open a gateway to the other world, but we have evaluated that Time Gears are a good substitution.”
“What’s the plan, and what do we do?”
“The plan is to go into the other world and get the Pokemon ready for a potential attack. We have evaluated the progress of Mr. X and his hunt for the gems. He is making dangerous progress, so we need to act quickly or else Mr. X will get whatever fiendish power he craves.”
“Go into the other world and warn them, correct?”
“Yes. Hopefully we can ambush X and his troops by calculating the point in which he will enter. With our advanced tech and the element of surprise, they should be taken down pretty quickly.”
“I have a problem with all of this,” Josh said, “Why should we be trusting you guys? With your track record, you could be making us do the dirty work for you!”
“Doing the dirty work of saving Pokemon and our world? I know it must be hard to trust us, especially with our history, but you must remember nobody here can exactly channel energy, can they?”
“…Yeah.”
“I know it’s a lot to ask, but please trust us. We’ve got a plan, a machine, and our hearts, seeking redemption. We’ve put our past alliances behind us, and now we want to progress for what is truly the best for everyone.” There was silence for a moment, until Xander got up and began clapping. Soon everyone joined the applause, and it felt powerful.
“Now, do we have a plan?”
“I am ready to accept this proposal on one condition.” Xander said, standing up. “You said you have a machine. Am I to assume it is for Time Gear amplification for make inter-worldly travel possible?”
“That is correct.”
“Can it be transferred?”
“Yes, if it can get the required power source and is re-assembled correctly.”
“Alright, could it be possible to move the machine to our base?”
“Ah, I understand. It is unwise to hold most coveted items in a stronghold for people you don’t trust. It can be taken apart and re-assembled. Transfer shouldn’t be too difficult, we can simply close surrounding roads and use the trails from the base of the mountain to reach your base.”
“Alright! It’s settled! And you remember where our base is located, yes?”
“Yup.”
“Alright. We’ll get up early and have some patrol people stand outside. It’ll be like moving furniture into a new house.”
“Definitely.” Xander and Rufus reached across the table and shook hands with each other.
***
Back at the base, Andy and his friends talked while eating dinner. It was BLTs with fries, Andy’s favorite.
“Everything sounded so amazing!” Claire said. “You guys probably didn’t see me, but I was crying when Rufus was discussing about the future with Pokeumans and Pokextinction. That whole thing sounds so amazing.”
“Yeah!” West exclaimed. Josh was the only one who was not happy about things.
“I can’t believe they changed either. Normally I’d be suspicious, but this time…I want to believe what they say.”
Xander came up to them. “Hey y’all, you’ve done so much for us, so you don’t have to help with moving boxes and whatnot.” Andy breathed a sigh of relief; he felt so exhausted he wanted a rest.
They finished their dinner and headed for their rooms. All they wanted to do was enjoy what was happening now. They later met and went to the movie theater to watch Greatest Showman. Afterwards they played games and when curfew hit they all went to their rooms and fell asleep.
Next: Here
