Chapter 6
“Forza! Come on you’re going to be late!” I bolted upright, accidently knocking heads with Fortis.
“O my gosh! I’m so sorry, Fortis. You can’t startle me like that!” I apologized, ignoring the throbbing of my head.
“I’ll keep that in mind. But come on! It’s your first official day at the base! I tried to let you sleep in as much as you could, but I go too excited. You’ve got, like, 15 minutes to get ready.” I sat up. I liked having time to walk to class, but thanks to Fortis, I would need all that time to make myself presentable.
“Did I miss breakfast?”
“Yes. Did you even look at the time? It’s 7:30.” I leaped off the bed and went to run toward the door, but my chest stopped me. I fell to my knees, the pain making my eyes water.
“Forza, you okay? Should you wait another day?”
“No. I’m sick of resting and not doing anything. I don’t want people to pity me just because I got hurt. I’m still stronger than half of those imbeciles but I won’t be able to show anyone because I feel so helpless! Why can’t I just be useful for once in my life!?" I placed my head between my knees and tried not to sob.
“You know, it’s a little unnerving to hear that with a low voice and know that you’re the one using it. You took out Salazar! That’s not useless at all. Come on, I’ll show you where your classes are.” Fortis offered. I raised my head and saw Fortis’ paw extended toward me. I took it and he helped me to my feet. There it was: that electric feeling. I was so distracted by it I tripped over my own feet and toppled on top of Fortis. His chest spike jabbed at me, but it wasn’t too serious.
“Sorry. I was distracted.” I apologized but made no move to get up.
“It’s okay. I get distracted all the time.” Fortis didn’t try to move either. In fact, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders. It was comforting. The door opened and I started to get up. It was Igna.
“Good morning, love-birds. I trust you slept well Forza?” She asked as I pulled Fortis up.
“Yeah, actually. Can we go now?” I rubbed the spot Fortis stabbed me as Igna led the way. My first class was Pokémon History.
“Will I finally know what this is all about? I still want to know about Pokéxtinction.” I asked.
“Yeah. Be careful what you say around Mr. Vertia. He’s a little too obsessed with being punctual.” Igna warned. I tilted my head at Fortis, but he gave me no explanation.
“Okay. I trust you know where the heck we’re going?” I asked. Fortis nodded and started to lead the way. I followed close behind, trying to ignore all the stares and whispers. It felt like forever before we finally reached the classroom. At the desk was a Hoot hoot with glasses.
“Hello Miss Zoroark. What’s your name?” He asked. He seemed nice, but Igna’s warning still rang in my head.
“I’m Forza. What’s this Pokéxtinction I keep hearing about?” He looked at me like I had just sprouted wings.
“You mean, Grayson never told you? What has he been doing these days? Well, since you got here early, I guess I can explain it to you.” He adjusted his weight on his chair to get more comfortable and launched into history.
“A long time ago, before humans were even around, Pokémon lived on earth. They were very technologically advanced, so they all lived in comfort. When they saw the humans, and realized they weren’t very bright, they changed their appearances to the form of humans and helped them advance. Pokémon also started to mate with humans, under their human guises, of course.
“It wasn’t long before humans started abusing their gifts and using them to dominate others. It got bad enough to the point where they had to open a portal into another dimension to escape them. All of the humans’ memories of them were wiped clean and they left Mew behind to make sure they stayed forgotten.
“Everything was fine for a long time until a man named Mr. X found one of Mew’s hairs in the jungle. He tried to use an experimental machine to take the hair and make a clone of it’s original owner. Thankfully, the machine couldn’t handle it and it exploded, setting off a nuclear reaction all over the world. All of the children with a Pokémon gene in their body turned into their respective parent around the ages of 12-19 I think. I can’t really remember. We call these children Pokeumans. That’s what you are. All of us here are.
“Mr. X turned into a Mewtwo and is now leading the organization known as Pokéxtinction. We don’t really know what he wants, but he has succeeded in kidnaping many of these kids for his own purposes. So, we created these bases to help protect them. Once their old enough to take on the humanizing ring, they can graduate and start living a normal life. End of history. Now get in your seat before class starts!”
“Wait, what are ‘humanizing rings’?” I asked just as the bell rang. Andy pushed me into a vacant seat before they were all taken. I never got my answer until the end of class, when Mr. Vertia asked to see me alone.
“I’ll wait for you outside.” Fortis said and left.
“Is there a problem, Mr. Vertia?”
“Please, call me Gary. And no, I’m just going to answer your earlier question. Humanizing rings are rings that can change your appearance back into your weaker human form. I like you, but you can’t tell anyone else about this. That information is classified to PRT members.”
“What’s the PRT?” I asked. He looked at the wall clock and sat straight up.
“If you don’t get moving you’re going to be late! You must be punctual!” I almost sprinted to the door. Fortis was startled to see me burst out like that.
“Forza! Don’t scare me like that. C’mon, let’s go to class.” Fortis started to walk away, but I caught up with him.
“Hey Fortis, what’s the PRT?” I asked.
“It’s the Pokéuman Rescue Troop. They sometimes leave the base to go rescue new Pokeumans. It’s really hard to get in though. You have to beat the Elite Four, and they are not called the ‘Elite Four’ for nothing. But if you ask the Headmaster for the first key, once you win, you can become a PRT!” He said excitedly, but I wasn’t. If I’d known I’d have to fight to get in, I never would’ve asked. I stared at the floor ahead of us, trying to resist the urge to punch the wall.
“Hey, you alright?” I glared a Fortis. Of course, I didn’t know I was. I was just angry. Why did Salazar have to do this to me?
“Did I say something wrong?” He continued to pry. I turned away again and tried to ignore him. He touched my cheek and I realized it was wet again. I used my own paw to wipe my face.
“Let’s just get to class.”
Chapter 7: Next
“Forza! Come on you’re going to be late!” I bolted upright, accidently knocking heads with Fortis.
“O my gosh! I’m so sorry, Fortis. You can’t startle me like that!” I apologized, ignoring the throbbing of my head.
“I’ll keep that in mind. But come on! It’s your first official day at the base! I tried to let you sleep in as much as you could, but I go too excited. You’ve got, like, 15 minutes to get ready.” I sat up. I liked having time to walk to class, but thanks to Fortis, I would need all that time to make myself presentable.
“Did I miss breakfast?”
“Yes. Did you even look at the time? It’s 7:30.” I leaped off the bed and went to run toward the door, but my chest stopped me. I fell to my knees, the pain making my eyes water.
“Forza, you okay? Should you wait another day?”
“No. I’m sick of resting and not doing anything. I don’t want people to pity me just because I got hurt. I’m still stronger than half of those imbeciles but I won’t be able to show anyone because I feel so helpless! Why can’t I just be useful for once in my life!?" I placed my head between my knees and tried not to sob.
“You know, it’s a little unnerving to hear that with a low voice and know that you’re the one using it. You took out Salazar! That’s not useless at all. Come on, I’ll show you where your classes are.” Fortis offered. I raised my head and saw Fortis’ paw extended toward me. I took it and he helped me to my feet. There it was: that electric feeling. I was so distracted by it I tripped over my own feet and toppled on top of Fortis. His chest spike jabbed at me, but it wasn’t too serious.
“Sorry. I was distracted.” I apologized but made no move to get up.
“It’s okay. I get distracted all the time.” Fortis didn’t try to move either. In fact, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders. It was comforting. The door opened and I started to get up. It was Igna.
“Good morning, love-birds. I trust you slept well Forza?” She asked as I pulled Fortis up.
“Yeah, actually. Can we go now?” I rubbed the spot Fortis stabbed me as Igna led the way. My first class was Pokémon History.
“Will I finally know what this is all about? I still want to know about Pokéxtinction.” I asked.
“Yeah. Be careful what you say around Mr. Vertia. He’s a little too obsessed with being punctual.” Igna warned. I tilted my head at Fortis, but he gave me no explanation.
“Okay. I trust you know where the heck we’re going?” I asked. Fortis nodded and started to lead the way. I followed close behind, trying to ignore all the stares and whispers. It felt like forever before we finally reached the classroom. At the desk was a Hoot hoot with glasses.
“Hello Miss Zoroark. What’s your name?” He asked. He seemed nice, but Igna’s warning still rang in my head.
“I’m Forza. What’s this Pokéxtinction I keep hearing about?” He looked at me like I had just sprouted wings.
“You mean, Grayson never told you? What has he been doing these days? Well, since you got here early, I guess I can explain it to you.” He adjusted his weight on his chair to get more comfortable and launched into history.
“A long time ago, before humans were even around, Pokémon lived on earth. They were very technologically advanced, so they all lived in comfort. When they saw the humans, and realized they weren’t very bright, they changed their appearances to the form of humans and helped them advance. Pokémon also started to mate with humans, under their human guises, of course.
“It wasn’t long before humans started abusing their gifts and using them to dominate others. It got bad enough to the point where they had to open a portal into another dimension to escape them. All of the humans’ memories of them were wiped clean and they left Mew behind to make sure they stayed forgotten.
“Everything was fine for a long time until a man named Mr. X found one of Mew’s hairs in the jungle. He tried to use an experimental machine to take the hair and make a clone of it’s original owner. Thankfully, the machine couldn’t handle it and it exploded, setting off a nuclear reaction all over the world. All of the children with a Pokémon gene in their body turned into their respective parent around the ages of 12-19 I think. I can’t really remember. We call these children Pokeumans. That’s what you are. All of us here are.
“Mr. X turned into a Mewtwo and is now leading the organization known as Pokéxtinction. We don’t really know what he wants, but he has succeeded in kidnaping many of these kids for his own purposes. So, we created these bases to help protect them. Once their old enough to take on the humanizing ring, they can graduate and start living a normal life. End of history. Now get in your seat before class starts!”
“Wait, what are ‘humanizing rings’?” I asked just as the bell rang. Andy pushed me into a vacant seat before they were all taken. I never got my answer until the end of class, when Mr. Vertia asked to see me alone.
“I’ll wait for you outside.” Fortis said and left.
“Is there a problem, Mr. Vertia?”
“Please, call me Gary. And no, I’m just going to answer your earlier question. Humanizing rings are rings that can change your appearance back into your weaker human form. I like you, but you can’t tell anyone else about this. That information is classified to PRT members.”
“What’s the PRT?” I asked. He looked at the wall clock and sat straight up.
“If you don’t get moving you’re going to be late! You must be punctual!” I almost sprinted to the door. Fortis was startled to see me burst out like that.
“Forza! Don’t scare me like that. C’mon, let’s go to class.” Fortis started to walk away, but I caught up with him.
“Hey Fortis, what’s the PRT?” I asked.
“It’s the Pokéuman Rescue Troop. They sometimes leave the base to go rescue new Pokeumans. It’s really hard to get in though. You have to beat the Elite Four, and they are not called the ‘Elite Four’ for nothing. But if you ask the Headmaster for the first key, once you win, you can become a PRT!” He said excitedly, but I wasn’t. If I’d known I’d have to fight to get in, I never would’ve asked. I stared at the floor ahead of us, trying to resist the urge to punch the wall.
“Hey, you alright?” I glared a Fortis. Of course, I didn’t know I was. I was just angry. Why did Salazar have to do this to me?
“Did I say something wrong?” He continued to pry. I turned away again and tried to ignore him. He touched my cheek and I realized it was wet again. I used my own paw to wipe my face.
“Let’s just get to class.”
Chapter 7: Next
