Episode 1: Claire
Claire sat in a chair outside the principal’s office at her school. She sighed and looked up towards the ceiling. This wasn’t her first rodeo at the big boss’s office, they were actually pretty good friends. They would often talk and chatter like the other kids who can make friends with their peers who were in the same generation as them. Claire didn’t mind the principal being her only friend though, it was a better and more interesting experience.
What Claire was really afraid of was her parents coming over with to settle their daughter’s newest problem. Claire had always been afraid of her parents. They were extremely toxic and had unhealthy ways of dealing with their problems. Her Dad was an excessive drug and alcohol addict, and her mother sought validation through self-fulfilling means that meant abandoning her family for sometimes days on end. Their marriage was failing, and Claire wanted to do everything she could to not be the cause of their eventual but inevitable divorce.
“Miss Hendrick will see you now,” The receptionist said, “Don’t go crazy with your tea party today, okay?” The staff at the school was aware of how close friends Claire and the principal are, and they would often joke about it. Claire went inside the room and closed the door behind her. She sat down and faced the principal. The principal looked to be something in her early fifties, with her hair gray and her skin starting to wrinkle, but still having the physical capacity of someone a few years younger.
“Welcome back Claire. Do you know why you’re here?”
“I socked a kid for calling me a…well, a dog.”
“Do you know who said that?”
“Yeah, cheeky little Rebecca. What a punk.”
“Alright, that’ll be more anti-harassment sessions for big B.” She took out a slip of paper and added a tally underneath Rebecca’s name.
I hope she burns.
“Well, at this point I should be letting you go, but under protocol I gotta keep you in for your parents.”
Oh of course.
They did idle chatter while awaiting for Claire’s parents to arrive. They were having an alright time when the door was knocked upon.
“Come in.” Miss Hendrick said.
The door opened and in came her parents. His father looked horrible, as if all he did today was spray air freshener on himself to mask the smell of all the awful chemicals and compounds he keeps ingesting, and her mother looked cranky and like she had better places to be than to attend to whatever issue her daughter has.
“Good afternoon. Please have a seat.” The two took a seat behind Claire. “It is unfortunate to report that Claire has gotten in a little bit of trouble again.” Her mom just gave a deep breath while her Dad gave a grunt. “She had attacked a student who called her a vulgar word today. This marks the 5th time this month this has happened.”
“And how many in total?” Claire’s mom said.
“That’s 36.” Claire did a double take. Woah, when did the other 31 happen?
“That’s just horrible.” Her Dad said.
“Yes, it is.” The principal gave a sigh as she realigned herself. “Well, this is obviously not a very clean track record.”
“Yeah, I understand that. I’m gonna try harder not to lose my cool again next time.”
“You’re not going to need to worry about it.” Claire was curious at this statement, but soon her heart rate started soaring when she starting to figure out what was going to be said. “With this record of violence, we can no longer have you enrolled into our schools. We’ve given you detention, some suspension, and have given you disciplinary actions and yet they don’t seem to be helping a lot. That is why I…well, we’re going to have to expel you Claire.”
Claire’s heart sank to her stomach at the news. Not because she wouldn’t be going to school, she couldn’t care less, nor for the fact her best friend felt the need to do this to her, but for the fact that she will now have to be with her parents for a far longer time than she was comfortable with. She could already feel her parents’ rage and disappointment from behind her, piercing into her soul.
“Please understand that it’s not because of who you are, but rather because of the choices you’ve made. If you had decided differently on many scenarios we wouldn’t even be in this office right now. Do you understand?”
“…Yes.”Claire wasn’t going to bother to beg or to break down now. Miss Hendrick was right about her, and she had to live up to those choices and take full responsibility for them.
If only I had found that out sooner…
“Now, since your records are at this point nonexistent, I am going to ask that you leave early. Failure to comply will result in security coming to get you.” Claire heard her parents getting up behind her, and Claire went to follow. She thought she heard the principal say “Good luck on your future”, but she couldn’t hear properly.
She gathered her things from her locker and went outside with her parents. The car that her parents showed up in was a white pickup truck, her father’s choice, and the interior was decorated with all sorts of vehicular accessories, courtesy of her mother. It would’ve passed for a normal kind of vehicle to be seen in, if not for the distinctive smell of weed and other noxious drugs all mixed into one repulsive aroma.
They all climbed in and her dad started the car. He put it into gear and they drove away. Claire sat in the back silently, knowing sooner or later her parents are going to have a talk with her about it.
They sat in silence even as they pulled into the driveway and exited the car. Their house was a double floored house that had a pleasant blue color to it. It was a very pleasant house, though occupied by not very pleasant people. They exited the car and got inside the house. The house smelled of various air fresheners that were plugged into every outlet installed by Claire’s mother to mask the smell of her husband’s substance abuse.
“Sit down Claire.” Her Dad said in a gruff voice. She laid her backpack down by the steps and walked into the living room. She sat down on the couch and kept her head down as her parents stood in front of her. “Now I want you to tell me just how many times we’ve told you to get your act together.”
“A lot of times.”
“Just a lot? Do you not pay attention! And now how many times have I told you to do THAT hm?” His voice was raised like he had been given a hardcore insult. A normal girl would’ve broken with this verbal abuse, but Claire had been through the worst of his outbursts.
“Charles! Calm down! You don’t need to yell at her for every wrong thing she does!”
“Well Veruka, just how do I get the lesson straight!”
“Try actually solving the problem for a change!”
He pointed at Claire. “I am!”
“Not in that way! We just need to enroll her into a new school and-” She was slapped in the face.
“A new school?! For THAT monster?!” He got slapped.
“Yes! And the only monster her is you!” She was slapped again. Soon it just turned into a slapfest with each other. Claire, knowing that at this points her parents wouldn’t care less if she were there or not, got off the couch and walked towards the stairs. She picked up her backpack and walked up towards her room.
She entered her room and placed her backpack beside her bed post. She lifted up her pillow and picked up her copy of Pokemon X. She had bought the game using the money she got from odd jobs last year and doing chores for people. She couldn’t have enough money for her own Nintendo system but she had a close friend who was willing to let her use her machine. She opened up the window and carefully scaled down the roof, in a casual way she practiced hundreds of times. When she got down on the driveway she started walking towards her friend’s.
As she walked she looked at her card. It would seem weird for someone to purchase a video game she didn’t even have a system for, but it wasn’t like she had anything better to spend it on. Most other girls her age would purchase a new phone case or some new memorabilia from the local Hot Topic store. She liked Pokemon from a young age, but never had the chance to play any of the games. Most of the time she would play with whatever cards spectators would donate for that match, way back in the day. Now she had her first game.
Claire shrugged as she faced forward. She left her house behind and saw the friend’s house just on the horizon. She kept walking until she made it to her front door. The parents of the household answered the door.
“Oh! Claire, welcome back!” The mom said with a smile.
“Hello. How are you two today?”
“Doing very fine,” the dad said, “and yourself?”
“I’m okay.”
“Tiana is just waiting upstairs. Won’t you come in?”
“Yes. Thank you very much.” She was let into the house and allowed up the stairs. Claire felt like she had a second home over at Tiana’s place. Where she could pretend her parents were not unhinged and that she had a sister to hang out with. It was like a home away from whatever place her home would be called.
She went into the room to find Tiana painting some pictures. She was about three or so years older than Claire, so she had already graduated and was now waiting for her college acceptance letter.
“Oh, hey Claire! My DS is just charging on my dresser.” Claire gave her greeting and walked over to the system. She removed the Bravely Default card, inserted her game, and switched the power on. “So how far along are you?”
“I got my second gym badge not too long ago. Now I’m just heading to Shalour City.”
“Nice. Got your starter evolved?”
“Yep. Now he’s a Braixen.”
“Nice. Did you say you were going to keep him that way?”
“Yup! Braixen is my all-time favorite.”
“Nice. It’s gonna be annoying pressing B everytime he levels up to stop evolving, huh?”
“Nah, I’ll just give him an Everstone for the rest of the game. He’s pretty powerful by himself to need an item anyway.”
“If you say so.”
They continued talking all throughout Claire’s visit. They talked about Pokemon some more, but then they talked about their future plans, Claire getting expelled, and how Claire would have to deal with her parents.
“Wow! You got that Lucario!”
“Yeah, I’ll just put him onto my team to get that fighting type.”
They continued to talk for the night when Tiana had a thought. “How cool do you think it would be to be in a Pokemon game?”
“What?”
“Yeah, it’d be cool to get our own Pokemon team and stop bad guys on a daily basis.”
“Plus we’d get the respect of a hero as young as ten years old!”
“Yeah that would be nice.”
When it got dark, and after a very nice dinner provided by Tiana’s family, Claire saved her game and ejected it as she bid her friends farewell. It was a refreshing break from what she would have to experience at home.
When she returned home she saw her Mom making something to eat for herself while her Dad was drinking in the corner.
“Claire, where’d you go?” Her mother asked.
“I went to Tiana’s place.”
“Oh that’s nice.”
“Who’s house?” Her Dad said. Claire knew that some alcohol induced storm was brewing, so she tried to be subtle.
“I went to a friend’s house.”
“What friend.”
“Tiana’s?”
“Don’t you remember her?” Her mom said.
“Ughhhhh.” Her dad gave up comprehending the info and just crashed on the couch.
Claire went to bed. She slipped into her pajamas and hid her game under her pillow. As she drifted off she felt a strange feeling of peace.
***
When Claire woke up in the morning her head hurt. It wasn’t excruciating pain, but she definitely felt it. She rubbed her head and her thumb felt like she was hitting something over and over. She wondered what it was as she went into the bathroom. She looked into the mirror and saw her ears had moved to the top of her head and became a Braixen’s ears.
Claire couldn’t believe what she was seeing. A whole wave of emotions came to her all at once. Some felt like she had a feeling of relief and some wonder. Fear, surprise, and shock all came at once. She wanted to scream out of fear and joy but she didn’t want to wake her parents either. She tugged to make sure. Yep, they were a part of her head now.
She didn’t really know what to do now. She got dressed and put on a hoodie and put her hood up. Then she proceeded downstairs and grabbed something to eat as she made her way to Tiana’s place.
She knocked on the door and was welcomed back inside. She flew upstairs and met Tiana.
“Okay, you will not believe what happened today.” She lowered her hood and explained to Tiana what was up. Tiana politely asked if she could tug on her ears, to which Claire gave permission. She gave a gently tug. Sure enough, it was part of her scalp.
“Woah. Neat. What are you going to do now?”
“I kinda want to see where this goes. I didn’t do any planning for this and I wonder how far along this’ll go.”
They laughed for a little when the phone rang. It was quickly answered by someone downstairs. Then after some time Tiana’s Mom walked in.
“That was Claire’s mom. She’s gotta go back home now. Oh what pretty ears, did you make those Claire?” She didn’t wait for an answer before she turned and left.
“Okay.” Tiana said. She turned to Claire as she got the door for her. “Take care, alright?”
“Yeah. Catch you later.” She thanked the family for their time and left the house.
She was practically skipping down the block as she made her way home.
This is so exciting! I can’t wait to see what happens next!
She stopped at a tree along the sidewalk. She had to complete her character. She jumped up and grabbed a branch off the tree. She twisted the branching twigs and leaves until it was nothing more than a straight and firm stick. With her new stick she walked home. When she was walking up the driveway, she tossed the stick onto the roof just outside her window. No way would her parents let a stick in the house.
Inside her Mom had finished her lunch and her Dad was sitting on the couch.
“Hey, welcome back Claire. We wanted to talk to you about something. Have a seat.”
Claire sat down at the table and her Mom pulled up a chair.
“Alright, so we need to talk about what we’re going to do with schooling.”
“No need. I can always just not go to school.”
“Not an option. You need an education.”
“Okay.”
“Alright, so we’ve talked about what to do for your education.”
“Neato.”
“And we’ve decided that if you’re gonna punch kids into oblivion, we think it might be better to be homeschooled.”
“No thanks.”
“You don’t have any options on this one. You are going to be homeschooled, and you start tomorrow.”
Claire’s heart started to sink. She never really cared about school, she only did it to get out of having to be with her parents for the whole day. Now she’s proposing to keep her in the house for school.
“No, no, please-”
“Why is she wearing her hood?” Her Dad spoke. This was the first time Claire’s Dad was actually welcome into the conversation.
“What? It’s cold…”
“No, it’s not, you’re inside, so take it off.” He got up and made his way towards the table.
Claire grabbed her hood. “No please, I don’t want-”
“Take it off!” Her Dad yelled as he yanked her hood off.
Her ears were exposed now. By the look on her parents’ face they were surprised. Claire could feel something else though. Something about their eyes looked different than usual. What was surprise was instantly replaced with malice.
“You’re one of them.” Her Dad said. He gave a swift punch across Claire’s face and she was face down on the floor. He quickly jumped over her form and ran towards the kitchen. Her mom, also under the sudden change went over to storage. Claire quickly got up to see his Dad grabbing a knife. Her Mom quickly ran back with a spray gun with a weird purple thing in it.
“No! She must be captured and brought to-” And then Claire’s Dad did the unthinkable. The knife suddenly left his hand and appeared in her Mom’s chest. Her Mom staggered and dropped the gun as she clumsily fell to the floor, knocking over the tables and chairs. For the first time in her life, Claire felt horrified. She always told herself that she never knew her Mom well or that she cared for her. Yet here she faced an odd reality she would never consider a possibility for the family.
Claire’s Dad had killed her Mom.
This was the defining moment that made Claire realize she was in so much trouble. She made a mad sprint up the stairs. She knew that she should’ve gone out the door, since going upstairs would not leave very many options if her Dad gave pursuit. Something deep inside her told her to go up the stairs, her mind racing with I gotta get the stick, I gotta get the stick!! as she entered her room. She practically ripped the window out of its track as she pushed it out of the way and grabbed the stick. It just felt like it was a part of her now, and it felt comfortable in her hands.
She must have struck the stick against the surface of the house or something, because when she pulled it in it was on fire. Claire noticed that this fire wasn’t normal. Normal fires would burn down the stick and to her hands like a match, but this fire stayed near the tip and didn’t seem to burn. It seemed almost like…
“…Mystic Fire.”
Her Dad made a mad dash up the room and entered inside. He raised the knife as Claire swung her stick in his direction. There was definitely heat coming off the fire as her Dad leaped back.
“You’re one of them, you’re one of them!”
“Leave me alone, please! Leave me-” Claire stopped when something was suddenly caught in her throat. She spat it out and a fire ball soared across the room. It missed her Dad, but it landed on the wall behind him, and now the house was on fire. Claire’s Dad ignored it as her ran straight at Claire. He tackled her and they landed on her bed. He was on top of Claire as he brought the knife down. Claire caught his arm and it became an arm wrestle. Their arms were shaking as the knife slowly came down.
Claire felt her nails getting sharper and out of instinct she clawed him in the face, across the eyes. It definitely cut through skin as his face started to bleed. He yelped back as he dropped the knife to grab his face. He was blinded, and the roaring fire made hearing impossible. He backed away out of the room, hit his back against the door frame, realigning his path and tried to run forward. He tripped over the banister and he fell down the stairs where the fire had spread.
With her heart racing, Claire grabbed her copy of Pokemon X and jumped out of the window. She slid down the roof and landed on the drive way. Then she made a run for it, running as fast as her feet could carry.
She didn’t know where she was going, but it was away from her house. By now she could hear the smoke alarms going off and the fire department would surely be on their way. She couldn’t go to Tiana’s house or anywhere in this neighborhood. She had to get away, but to where?
“Hey! The soon-to-be-Braixen down there!” She heard a voice calling from her left. She looked up and saw a Gallade running alongside her on the brick wall. “Looking for a place to crash?”
“Yes, please!” The Gallade jumped down and Claire ran right into him. Soon the whole world was twisting and felt contorted. Then her feet hit the ground really soon.
“Now that was a Teleport! You seem to be doing fine, you sure this is the first time you’ve teleported?” He didn’t wait for her to answer before he walked away. Looking around Claire saw a large, smelly lake with a big rock in the middle. She had only visited this lake occasionally, but she knew where she was. “The name’s Troy, by the way.” He reached into a crack in the rock and twisted something inside. Soon a small cave revealed itself.
Troy beckoned her to follow, but did a double take at the flaming stick. “…Are you gonna put it out?”
“How do you put this kind of fire out?”
“Just stick it in your pants.”
“What. I don’t have a tail yet!”
“Do it anyway, it’ll feel natural and your clothing will not catch on fire.”
***
Claire was now being given a piggyback ride by Troy down a long dark hallway after climbing down some stairs. He suggested doing it for her safety, and when asked explained that there were traps that recognized humans, and they would instantly eject her out of the tunnel and make no progress at all.
They walked through and got into an elevator and passed the fake wall after the trip. Claire couldn’t believe what she was seeing, real Pokemon! They were passing the halls with books and backpacks like normal students. Some Pokemon were like the ones from the games, while some were still going through with their transformations, like she was.
“Please follow me.” Troy said. As she was walking behind him it suddenly came to her that she could understand Pokemon now. None of them were repeating their names like in the cartoon, which relieved Claire. They walked until they got into a large office, and inside was a Bisharp typing.
“Hey Troy. Another one?”
“Yup.”
“Great, come on in.” They walked past the desk and entered into the office. An Aggron was in the center of the room throwing a tennis ball around the room. When he saw the guests he caught the ball and threw it into the shelf at his desk, cleared his throat, and faced them with his hands folded.
“Welcome back Troy! Seems like we have a new guest?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Great! Just let her in, and I’ll give her the orientation.” Troy gave her a little push inside the office and told her to take a seat. Afterwards he was excused. “Alrighty then, what’s your name?”
“My name is Claire.”
“Wonderful! My name is Xander and I’m in charge of this base. Let me show you the orientation video.” He dimmed the lights and pulled a television set out. He pressed some buttons and then the program went on.
The video went into great deatail about the history of a new term to Claire: Pokeumans. It taught her all about Pokemon genes, Mr. X, Pokextinction, and how they specialize in memory manipulation.
“So wait,” Claire said as the video ended, “most Pokextinction members don’t know they’re part of the group until they see a Pokeuman, right? They are essentially sleeper agents, so how come my Dad tried to kill me instead of capturing me?”
“Woah, someone had it hardcore. Did your Dad consume any mind-altering substances?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll bet that messing around with the instructions he was planted. Alcohol and drugs are not something to sneeze at. Any other questions?”
“You said we turn into our favorite Pokemon right?”
“Yes.”
“Well, my favorite Pokemon was the Braixen on my team,” Claire said as she looked at the cartridge, “but, it was a male, so…wait, I’m not gonna turn into a guy, am I?”
“The he-no! Well, not unless your favorite Pokemon was male-exclusive like Nidoking. Claire, please, we don’t want to scare away any children and the sensitive!”
“Sorry.”
“Any other questions?”
“Yeah. This might be a little awkward, but I’m turning into a Braixen, and nobody is wearing clothes here?”
“Um…no, but you could make something if you want…”
“Yeah, but isn’t that awkward? We’re essentially going around naked and-”
“Claire,” Xander stood up, “Do you see any visible part of me or anyone else that you have met so far that would require us to cover up?”
“No.”
“Okay,” he sat back down, though he looked a bit more nervous, “Now I’ll give you a key to your room and-”
“Wait a second, does that mean we’re all sterile? Wait, Pokemon lay eggs, so can we still have kids?” Claire gasped, “Can we make Pokemon babies?!
”
“That’s a health class discussion! Let me throw in a map for you too.” Xander handed her a key and a map of the school. He took a pen and circled a class. “Talk to this teacher! She’ll help you out!” He leaned back in his chair. “Why are you so interested in this subject, anyway?”
“I’m sorry, I’ve always wanted to start a family of my own, and I need something positive to help cope with all the stuff I just saw. My mom got killed and I think I blinded my Dad.”
“Oh, I can see that. Go ahead, I’ll send you your schedule when you get situated.” He beckoned Claire goodbye as Claire thanked him for the introduction. He didn’t resume playing with the tennis ball, instead he leaned forward and put a hand to his mouth, looking as if he regretted everything he had ever done to get him to this point.
Claire left the office and immediately went straight to health class. She needed something to flood out the negative feelings of shock and grief she was having. When she found the class she kicked the door open and went right in.
“Excuse me, Miss! I’m afraid I missed a very critical part of the class. I need every slideshow, every video, every assignment and picture you’ve got in the books, anything to help me answer the question: Where do Pokemon babies come from.”
The teacher, an Audino, jumped at the door crashing and was steadying herself from the shock. “You’re a new student?”
“Yes ma’am!”
“And you’re sure you want to cover this lesson now?”
“Yup! If it’s okay with you.”
“Well, it is part of my curriculum, It’s just you’re the first student to have an interest in it.”
“Alright,” she sat down at the front row, “Teach me, if you will.”
“Uh…okay.” She went over to her desk and typed on the computer. “In Pokeuman bases, we do not give out homework. Do you still want some to do anyway?”
“Yes! The whole nine yards!”
“…Okay.” The poor teacher gave Claire a thick textbook. She began typing into the computer and clicking some buttons until the printer began printing papers. The teacher dimmed the lights and turned the projector on.
“Okay, so when a male Pokemon and a female Pokemon of compatible species really love each other and decide to start a family…”
***
Claire entered into her room with a thick bundle of filled out papers. She set them down at a desk as she stared in awe. There was a very fine tv and computer along the walls. There was a couch and a coffee table between the two. There were two more rooms along the wall, and each had a bed in it. She claimed room to the right. She jumped on her bed and flopped down. She took a look at her Pokemon X game and she slid it under her pillow. She laid on her back and she stared at the ceiling.
Soon she got bored and her mind began to wander. Her mind suddenly flashed back at earlier today. She could see her Mother getting killed over and over and over in her mind, and her Dad, oh how he terrified her. Sure, she wouldn’t say she was crazy for them, but she did feel a little love for them.
She cupped her hands over her face as a swarm of questions came to her. She wondered if all of this was her fault. If she hadn’t started turning, maybe climbed up through the roof instead of coming in through the front door, maybe if she ran out the house instead of going upstairs things would’ve been different. She wished she had met a Pokeuman earlier, or maybe if Tiana had also started turning. That was another question in her mind: what of Tiana? Could she be turning as well? What if she wasn’t? Would her clone take her place? But the house burned down, so where would the clone go? Would Claire just be erased from Tiana and her family’s mind? She didn’t know.
“Wait a second.” She got up from the bed and went over to the TV. She started scrolling through the channels until she found the local news station. On it was a news reporter standing in front of a destroyed house. She turned up the volume
“…the house that belonged to married couple Veruka and Charlie was burnt down just earlier today. It was about 1:47 in the afternoon when the fire department was called to the scene.”
The shot cut to a male firefighter being interviewed. “We arrived on the scene and the house was just ablaze. We tried to put it out with our hoses but they didn’t seem to work so we instead used the chemicals found in fire extinguishers. We don’t know what kind of fire it was, it could be based off a new chemical for all we know.”
Magic Fire, dummy, just tell me what happened to my parents!
The news cut back to the news reporter. “Inside the building where two bodies identified to be the remains of the couple. Veruka seemed to have been stabbed by a sharp object, and Charlie’s remains were too charred for an accurate autopsy to be performed. Their daughter Claire’s body was not found in the burnt house and is now deemed missing. Back to you Larry.”
Claire turned off the television, nearly threw the remote at the wall and put her hands to her face. She had killed her parents. Turning into a Pokemon set off the trigger in their brains which lead to her Dad going off and killing her mom, and her Dad died in the fire she started. She began crying as she muffled her herself in the couch pillow. It definitely was not the best way to start off a fresh start, but her emotions ran free and she didn’t think rationally. She tried not to think of what her mother and father looked like after the fact, but the image of her mother with a gaping hole and her father looking like a sack of burnt bacon kept flashing over and over.
***
She didn’t even know when she fell asleep or for how long, but she woke up in the early hours of the morning. For a split second, everything seemed like a bad dream. She felt like maybe she had woken up from some morbid imagining of hers, but by touching her ears she knew it wasn’t.
When she regained full consciousness, she started to make out what was going on slowly. She was part Braixen, she was in a underground base, and she was part of a secret civilization that only those with the wildest imaginations could barely dream of. She felt all the more special and important now than she did before.
Then she also considered the sad realities. Her parents were dead because of her not controlling her powers, but she couldn’t be the only who did that in this base, right?
…right?
She got up from the couch and was about to explore the room when she saw an envelope placed on the door handle of the room. She grabbed the letter and opened the contents. Inside was the generic welcome letter that most other students received, a map of the school, and a schedule for classes. She folded up the papers and stared at the ceiling. If she were going to be here, she might as well make the best of it. She went back to the couch and tried her best to get back to sleep.
***
Claire, now a full-fledged Braixen, had just come back from doing some practice in the gym. She had learned a lot with her time there, and she had gotten better at her moves. She still felt horrible of what happened on the day she came to the Pokeuman base, but she tried to cover it with good things instead.
As she walked back to her room she bumped into Xander.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!”
“Oh, you’re fine. I actually needed to see you.”
“What’s up?”
“Well, I forgot to ask you something. See, we have to make sure all the Pokeumans that come here have a place to stay and feel safe. Your room has room for two more people about your size to use. Do you have any preference to your roomates?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you want have only girls be your roommates, or are you okay with having boys and girls be your roommates?”
“So either all girls or co-ed, huh?”
“That’s right.”
“…How about co-ed?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I can handle it!”
“…Alright. Just remember not to move too fast with the men, okay?”
“Okay.”
“And hey, if for some reason you or someone else feels uncomfortable with the co-ed room, just remember I can be talked to so I can sort it out.”
“Thank you.”
“You have a good day now, okay?”
“Alright, see you later!”
And Claire returned to her bed to end the day.
Claire sat in a chair outside the principal’s office at her school. She sighed and looked up towards the ceiling. This wasn’t her first rodeo at the big boss’s office, they were actually pretty good friends. They would often talk and chatter like the other kids who can make friends with their peers who were in the same generation as them. Claire didn’t mind the principal being her only friend though, it was a better and more interesting experience.
What Claire was really afraid of was her parents coming over with to settle their daughter’s newest problem. Claire had always been afraid of her parents. They were extremely toxic and had unhealthy ways of dealing with their problems. Her Dad was an excessive drug and alcohol addict, and her mother sought validation through self-fulfilling means that meant abandoning her family for sometimes days on end. Their marriage was failing, and Claire wanted to do everything she could to not be the cause of their eventual but inevitable divorce.
“Miss Hendrick will see you now,” The receptionist said, “Don’t go crazy with your tea party today, okay?” The staff at the school was aware of how close friends Claire and the principal are, and they would often joke about it. Claire went inside the room and closed the door behind her. She sat down and faced the principal. The principal looked to be something in her early fifties, with her hair gray and her skin starting to wrinkle, but still having the physical capacity of someone a few years younger.
“Welcome back Claire. Do you know why you’re here?”
“I socked a kid for calling me a…well, a dog.”
“Do you know who said that?”
“Yeah, cheeky little Rebecca. What a punk.”
“Alright, that’ll be more anti-harassment sessions for big B.” She took out a slip of paper and added a tally underneath Rebecca’s name.
I hope she burns.
“Well, at this point I should be letting you go, but under protocol I gotta keep you in for your parents.”
Oh of course.
They did idle chatter while awaiting for Claire’s parents to arrive. They were having an alright time when the door was knocked upon.
“Come in.” Miss Hendrick said.
The door opened and in came her parents. His father looked horrible, as if all he did today was spray air freshener on himself to mask the smell of all the awful chemicals and compounds he keeps ingesting, and her mother looked cranky and like she had better places to be than to attend to whatever issue her daughter has.
“Good afternoon. Please have a seat.” The two took a seat behind Claire. “It is unfortunate to report that Claire has gotten in a little bit of trouble again.” Her mom just gave a deep breath while her Dad gave a grunt. “She had attacked a student who called her a vulgar word today. This marks the 5th time this month this has happened.”
“And how many in total?” Claire’s mom said.
“That’s 36.” Claire did a double take. Woah, when did the other 31 happen?
“That’s just horrible.” Her Dad said.
“Yes, it is.” The principal gave a sigh as she realigned herself. “Well, this is obviously not a very clean track record.”
“Yeah, I understand that. I’m gonna try harder not to lose my cool again next time.”
“You’re not going to need to worry about it.” Claire was curious at this statement, but soon her heart rate started soaring when she starting to figure out what was going to be said. “With this record of violence, we can no longer have you enrolled into our schools. We’ve given you detention, some suspension, and have given you disciplinary actions and yet they don’t seem to be helping a lot. That is why I…well, we’re going to have to expel you Claire.”
Claire’s heart sank to her stomach at the news. Not because she wouldn’t be going to school, she couldn’t care less, nor for the fact her best friend felt the need to do this to her, but for the fact that she will now have to be with her parents for a far longer time than she was comfortable with. She could already feel her parents’ rage and disappointment from behind her, piercing into her soul.
“Please understand that it’s not because of who you are, but rather because of the choices you’ve made. If you had decided differently on many scenarios we wouldn’t even be in this office right now. Do you understand?”
“…Yes.”Claire wasn’t going to bother to beg or to break down now. Miss Hendrick was right about her, and she had to live up to those choices and take full responsibility for them.
If only I had found that out sooner…
“Now, since your records are at this point nonexistent, I am going to ask that you leave early. Failure to comply will result in security coming to get you.” Claire heard her parents getting up behind her, and Claire went to follow. She thought she heard the principal say “Good luck on your future”, but she couldn’t hear properly.
She gathered her things from her locker and went outside with her parents. The car that her parents showed up in was a white pickup truck, her father’s choice, and the interior was decorated with all sorts of vehicular accessories, courtesy of her mother. It would’ve passed for a normal kind of vehicle to be seen in, if not for the distinctive smell of weed and other noxious drugs all mixed into one repulsive aroma.
They all climbed in and her dad started the car. He put it into gear and they drove away. Claire sat in the back silently, knowing sooner or later her parents are going to have a talk with her about it.
They sat in silence even as they pulled into the driveway and exited the car. Their house was a double floored house that had a pleasant blue color to it. It was a very pleasant house, though occupied by not very pleasant people. They exited the car and got inside the house. The house smelled of various air fresheners that were plugged into every outlet installed by Claire’s mother to mask the smell of her husband’s substance abuse.
“Sit down Claire.” Her Dad said in a gruff voice. She laid her backpack down by the steps and walked into the living room. She sat down on the couch and kept her head down as her parents stood in front of her. “Now I want you to tell me just how many times we’ve told you to get your act together.”
“A lot of times.”
“Just a lot? Do you not pay attention! And now how many times have I told you to do THAT hm?” His voice was raised like he had been given a hardcore insult. A normal girl would’ve broken with this verbal abuse, but Claire had been through the worst of his outbursts.
“Charles! Calm down! You don’t need to yell at her for every wrong thing she does!”
“Well Veruka, just how do I get the lesson straight!”
“Try actually solving the problem for a change!”
He pointed at Claire. “I am!”
“Not in that way! We just need to enroll her into a new school and-” She was slapped in the face.
“A new school?! For THAT monster?!” He got slapped.
“Yes! And the only monster her is you!” She was slapped again. Soon it just turned into a slapfest with each other. Claire, knowing that at this points her parents wouldn’t care less if she were there or not, got off the couch and walked towards the stairs. She picked up her backpack and walked up towards her room.
She entered her room and placed her backpack beside her bed post. She lifted up her pillow and picked up her copy of Pokemon X. She had bought the game using the money she got from odd jobs last year and doing chores for people. She couldn’t have enough money for her own Nintendo system but she had a close friend who was willing to let her use her machine. She opened up the window and carefully scaled down the roof, in a casual way she practiced hundreds of times. When she got down on the driveway she started walking towards her friend’s.
As she walked she looked at her card. It would seem weird for someone to purchase a video game she didn’t even have a system for, but it wasn’t like she had anything better to spend it on. Most other girls her age would purchase a new phone case or some new memorabilia from the local Hot Topic store. She liked Pokemon from a young age, but never had the chance to play any of the games. Most of the time she would play with whatever cards spectators would donate for that match, way back in the day. Now she had her first game.
Claire shrugged as she faced forward. She left her house behind and saw the friend’s house just on the horizon. She kept walking until she made it to her front door. The parents of the household answered the door.
“Oh! Claire, welcome back!” The mom said with a smile.
“Hello. How are you two today?”
“Doing very fine,” the dad said, “and yourself?”
“I’m okay.”
“Tiana is just waiting upstairs. Won’t you come in?”
“Yes. Thank you very much.” She was let into the house and allowed up the stairs. Claire felt like she had a second home over at Tiana’s place. Where she could pretend her parents were not unhinged and that she had a sister to hang out with. It was like a home away from whatever place her home would be called.
She went into the room to find Tiana painting some pictures. She was about three or so years older than Claire, so she had already graduated and was now waiting for her college acceptance letter.
“Oh, hey Claire! My DS is just charging on my dresser.” Claire gave her greeting and walked over to the system. She removed the Bravely Default card, inserted her game, and switched the power on. “So how far along are you?”
“I got my second gym badge not too long ago. Now I’m just heading to Shalour City.”
“Nice. Got your starter evolved?”
“Yep. Now he’s a Braixen.”
“Nice. Did you say you were going to keep him that way?”
“Yup! Braixen is my all-time favorite.”
“Nice. It’s gonna be annoying pressing B everytime he levels up to stop evolving, huh?”
“Nah, I’ll just give him an Everstone for the rest of the game. He’s pretty powerful by himself to need an item anyway.”
“If you say so.”
They continued talking all throughout Claire’s visit. They talked about Pokemon some more, but then they talked about their future plans, Claire getting expelled, and how Claire would have to deal with her parents.
“Wow! You got that Lucario!”
“Yeah, I’ll just put him onto my team to get that fighting type.”
They continued to talk for the night when Tiana had a thought. “How cool do you think it would be to be in a Pokemon game?”
“What?”
“Yeah, it’d be cool to get our own Pokemon team and stop bad guys on a daily basis.”
“Plus we’d get the respect of a hero as young as ten years old!”
“Yeah that would be nice.”
When it got dark, and after a very nice dinner provided by Tiana’s family, Claire saved her game and ejected it as she bid her friends farewell. It was a refreshing break from what she would have to experience at home.
When she returned home she saw her Mom making something to eat for herself while her Dad was drinking in the corner.
“Claire, where’d you go?” Her mother asked.
“I went to Tiana’s place.”
“Oh that’s nice.”
“Who’s house?” Her Dad said. Claire knew that some alcohol induced storm was brewing, so she tried to be subtle.
“I went to a friend’s house.”
“What friend.”
“Tiana’s?”
“Don’t you remember her?” Her mom said.
“Ughhhhh.” Her dad gave up comprehending the info and just crashed on the couch.
Claire went to bed. She slipped into her pajamas and hid her game under her pillow. As she drifted off she felt a strange feeling of peace.
***
When Claire woke up in the morning her head hurt. It wasn’t excruciating pain, but she definitely felt it. She rubbed her head and her thumb felt like she was hitting something over and over. She wondered what it was as she went into the bathroom. She looked into the mirror and saw her ears had moved to the top of her head and became a Braixen’s ears.
Claire couldn’t believe what she was seeing. A whole wave of emotions came to her all at once. Some felt like she had a feeling of relief and some wonder. Fear, surprise, and shock all came at once. She wanted to scream out of fear and joy but she didn’t want to wake her parents either. She tugged to make sure. Yep, they were a part of her head now.
She didn’t really know what to do now. She got dressed and put on a hoodie and put her hood up. Then she proceeded downstairs and grabbed something to eat as she made her way to Tiana’s place.
She knocked on the door and was welcomed back inside. She flew upstairs and met Tiana.
“Okay, you will not believe what happened today.” She lowered her hood and explained to Tiana what was up. Tiana politely asked if she could tug on her ears, to which Claire gave permission. She gave a gently tug. Sure enough, it was part of her scalp.
“Woah. Neat. What are you going to do now?”
“I kinda want to see where this goes. I didn’t do any planning for this and I wonder how far along this’ll go.”
They laughed for a little when the phone rang. It was quickly answered by someone downstairs. Then after some time Tiana’s Mom walked in.
“That was Claire’s mom. She’s gotta go back home now. Oh what pretty ears, did you make those Claire?” She didn’t wait for an answer before she turned and left.
“Okay.” Tiana said. She turned to Claire as she got the door for her. “Take care, alright?”
“Yeah. Catch you later.” She thanked the family for their time and left the house.
She was practically skipping down the block as she made her way home.
This is so exciting! I can’t wait to see what happens next!
She stopped at a tree along the sidewalk. She had to complete her character. She jumped up and grabbed a branch off the tree. She twisted the branching twigs and leaves until it was nothing more than a straight and firm stick. With her new stick she walked home. When she was walking up the driveway, she tossed the stick onto the roof just outside her window. No way would her parents let a stick in the house.
Inside her Mom had finished her lunch and her Dad was sitting on the couch.
“Hey, welcome back Claire. We wanted to talk to you about something. Have a seat.”
Claire sat down at the table and her Mom pulled up a chair.
“Alright, so we need to talk about what we’re going to do with schooling.”
“No need. I can always just not go to school.”
“Not an option. You need an education.”
“Okay.”
“Alright, so we’ve talked about what to do for your education.”
“Neato.”
“And we’ve decided that if you’re gonna punch kids into oblivion, we think it might be better to be homeschooled.”
“No thanks.”
“You don’t have any options on this one. You are going to be homeschooled, and you start tomorrow.”
Claire’s heart started to sink. She never really cared about school, she only did it to get out of having to be with her parents for the whole day. Now she’s proposing to keep her in the house for school.
“No, no, please-”
“Why is she wearing her hood?” Her Dad spoke. This was the first time Claire’s Dad was actually welcome into the conversation.
“What? It’s cold…”
“No, it’s not, you’re inside, so take it off.” He got up and made his way towards the table.
Claire grabbed her hood. “No please, I don’t want-”
“Take it off!” Her Dad yelled as he yanked her hood off.
Her ears were exposed now. By the look on her parents’ face they were surprised. Claire could feel something else though. Something about their eyes looked different than usual. What was surprise was instantly replaced with malice.
“You’re one of them.” Her Dad said. He gave a swift punch across Claire’s face and she was face down on the floor. He quickly jumped over her form and ran towards the kitchen. Her mom, also under the sudden change went over to storage. Claire quickly got up to see his Dad grabbing a knife. Her Mom quickly ran back with a spray gun with a weird purple thing in it.
“No! She must be captured and brought to-” And then Claire’s Dad did the unthinkable. The knife suddenly left his hand and appeared in her Mom’s chest. Her Mom staggered and dropped the gun as she clumsily fell to the floor, knocking over the tables and chairs. For the first time in her life, Claire felt horrified. She always told herself that she never knew her Mom well or that she cared for her. Yet here she faced an odd reality she would never consider a possibility for the family.
Claire’s Dad had killed her Mom.
This was the defining moment that made Claire realize she was in so much trouble. She made a mad sprint up the stairs. She knew that she should’ve gone out the door, since going upstairs would not leave very many options if her Dad gave pursuit. Something deep inside her told her to go up the stairs, her mind racing with I gotta get the stick, I gotta get the stick!! as she entered her room. She practically ripped the window out of its track as she pushed it out of the way and grabbed the stick. It just felt like it was a part of her now, and it felt comfortable in her hands.
She must have struck the stick against the surface of the house or something, because when she pulled it in it was on fire. Claire noticed that this fire wasn’t normal. Normal fires would burn down the stick and to her hands like a match, but this fire stayed near the tip and didn’t seem to burn. It seemed almost like…
“…Mystic Fire.”
Her Dad made a mad dash up the room and entered inside. He raised the knife as Claire swung her stick in his direction. There was definitely heat coming off the fire as her Dad leaped back.
“You’re one of them, you’re one of them!”
“Leave me alone, please! Leave me-” Claire stopped when something was suddenly caught in her throat. She spat it out and a fire ball soared across the room. It missed her Dad, but it landed on the wall behind him, and now the house was on fire. Claire’s Dad ignored it as her ran straight at Claire. He tackled her and they landed on her bed. He was on top of Claire as he brought the knife down. Claire caught his arm and it became an arm wrestle. Their arms were shaking as the knife slowly came down.
Claire felt her nails getting sharper and out of instinct she clawed him in the face, across the eyes. It definitely cut through skin as his face started to bleed. He yelped back as he dropped the knife to grab his face. He was blinded, and the roaring fire made hearing impossible. He backed away out of the room, hit his back against the door frame, realigning his path and tried to run forward. He tripped over the banister and he fell down the stairs where the fire had spread.
With her heart racing, Claire grabbed her copy of Pokemon X and jumped out of the window. She slid down the roof and landed on the drive way. Then she made a run for it, running as fast as her feet could carry.
She didn’t know where she was going, but it was away from her house. By now she could hear the smoke alarms going off and the fire department would surely be on their way. She couldn’t go to Tiana’s house or anywhere in this neighborhood. She had to get away, but to where?
“Hey! The soon-to-be-Braixen down there!” She heard a voice calling from her left. She looked up and saw a Gallade running alongside her on the brick wall. “Looking for a place to crash?”
“Yes, please!” The Gallade jumped down and Claire ran right into him. Soon the whole world was twisting and felt contorted. Then her feet hit the ground really soon.
“Now that was a Teleport! You seem to be doing fine, you sure this is the first time you’ve teleported?” He didn’t wait for her to answer before he walked away. Looking around Claire saw a large, smelly lake with a big rock in the middle. She had only visited this lake occasionally, but she knew where she was. “The name’s Troy, by the way.” He reached into a crack in the rock and twisted something inside. Soon a small cave revealed itself.
Troy beckoned her to follow, but did a double take at the flaming stick. “…Are you gonna put it out?”
“How do you put this kind of fire out?”
“Just stick it in your pants.”
“What. I don’t have a tail yet!”
“Do it anyway, it’ll feel natural and your clothing will not catch on fire.”
***
Claire was now being given a piggyback ride by Troy down a long dark hallway after climbing down some stairs. He suggested doing it for her safety, and when asked explained that there were traps that recognized humans, and they would instantly eject her out of the tunnel and make no progress at all.
They walked through and got into an elevator and passed the fake wall after the trip. Claire couldn’t believe what she was seeing, real Pokemon! They were passing the halls with books and backpacks like normal students. Some Pokemon were like the ones from the games, while some were still going through with their transformations, like she was.
“Please follow me.” Troy said. As she was walking behind him it suddenly came to her that she could understand Pokemon now. None of them were repeating their names like in the cartoon, which relieved Claire. They walked until they got into a large office, and inside was a Bisharp typing.
“Hey Troy. Another one?”
“Yup.”
“Great, come on in.” They walked past the desk and entered into the office. An Aggron was in the center of the room throwing a tennis ball around the room. When he saw the guests he caught the ball and threw it into the shelf at his desk, cleared his throat, and faced them with his hands folded.
“Welcome back Troy! Seems like we have a new guest?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Great! Just let her in, and I’ll give her the orientation.” Troy gave her a little push inside the office and told her to take a seat. Afterwards he was excused. “Alrighty then, what’s your name?”
“My name is Claire.”
“Wonderful! My name is Xander and I’m in charge of this base. Let me show you the orientation video.” He dimmed the lights and pulled a television set out. He pressed some buttons and then the program went on.
The video went into great deatail about the history of a new term to Claire: Pokeumans. It taught her all about Pokemon genes, Mr. X, Pokextinction, and how they specialize in memory manipulation.
“So wait,” Claire said as the video ended, “most Pokextinction members don’t know they’re part of the group until they see a Pokeuman, right? They are essentially sleeper agents, so how come my Dad tried to kill me instead of capturing me?”
“Woah, someone had it hardcore. Did your Dad consume any mind-altering substances?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll bet that messing around with the instructions he was planted. Alcohol and drugs are not something to sneeze at. Any other questions?”
“You said we turn into our favorite Pokemon right?”
“Yes.”
“Well, my favorite Pokemon was the Braixen on my team,” Claire said as she looked at the cartridge, “but, it was a male, so…wait, I’m not gonna turn into a guy, am I?”
“The he-no! Well, not unless your favorite Pokemon was male-exclusive like Nidoking. Claire, please, we don’t want to scare away any children and the sensitive!”
“Sorry.”
“Any other questions?”
“Yeah. This might be a little awkward, but I’m turning into a Braixen, and nobody is wearing clothes here?”
“Um…no, but you could make something if you want…”
“Yeah, but isn’t that awkward? We’re essentially going around naked and-”
“Claire,” Xander stood up, “Do you see any visible part of me or anyone else that you have met so far that would require us to cover up?”
“No.”
“Okay,” he sat back down, though he looked a bit more nervous, “Now I’ll give you a key to your room and-”
“Wait a second, does that mean we’re all sterile? Wait, Pokemon lay eggs, so can we still have kids?” Claire gasped, “Can we make Pokemon babies?!
”“That’s a health class discussion! Let me throw in a map for you too.” Xander handed her a key and a map of the school. He took a pen and circled a class. “Talk to this teacher! She’ll help you out!” He leaned back in his chair. “Why are you so interested in this subject, anyway?”
“I’m sorry, I’ve always wanted to start a family of my own, and I need something positive to help cope with all the stuff I just saw. My mom got killed and I think I blinded my Dad.”
“Oh, I can see that. Go ahead, I’ll send you your schedule when you get situated.” He beckoned Claire goodbye as Claire thanked him for the introduction. He didn’t resume playing with the tennis ball, instead he leaned forward and put a hand to his mouth, looking as if he regretted everything he had ever done to get him to this point.
Claire left the office and immediately went straight to health class. She needed something to flood out the negative feelings of shock and grief she was having. When she found the class she kicked the door open and went right in.
“Excuse me, Miss! I’m afraid I missed a very critical part of the class. I need every slideshow, every video, every assignment and picture you’ve got in the books, anything to help me answer the question: Where do Pokemon babies come from.”
The teacher, an Audino, jumped at the door crashing and was steadying herself from the shock. “You’re a new student?”
“Yes ma’am!”
“And you’re sure you want to cover this lesson now?”
“Yup! If it’s okay with you.”
“Well, it is part of my curriculum, It’s just you’re the first student to have an interest in it.”
“Alright,” she sat down at the front row, “Teach me, if you will.”
“Uh…okay.” She went over to her desk and typed on the computer. “In Pokeuman bases, we do not give out homework. Do you still want some to do anyway?”
“Yes! The whole nine yards!”
“…Okay.” The poor teacher gave Claire a thick textbook. She began typing into the computer and clicking some buttons until the printer began printing papers. The teacher dimmed the lights and turned the projector on.
“Okay, so when a male Pokemon and a female Pokemon of compatible species really love each other and decide to start a family…”
***
Claire entered into her room with a thick bundle of filled out papers. She set them down at a desk as she stared in awe. There was a very fine tv and computer along the walls. There was a couch and a coffee table between the two. There were two more rooms along the wall, and each had a bed in it. She claimed room to the right. She jumped on her bed and flopped down. She took a look at her Pokemon X game and she slid it under her pillow. She laid on her back and she stared at the ceiling.
Soon she got bored and her mind began to wander. Her mind suddenly flashed back at earlier today. She could see her Mother getting killed over and over and over in her mind, and her Dad, oh how he terrified her. Sure, she wouldn’t say she was crazy for them, but she did feel a little love for them.
She cupped her hands over her face as a swarm of questions came to her. She wondered if all of this was her fault. If she hadn’t started turning, maybe climbed up through the roof instead of coming in through the front door, maybe if she ran out the house instead of going upstairs things would’ve been different. She wished she had met a Pokeuman earlier, or maybe if Tiana had also started turning. That was another question in her mind: what of Tiana? Could she be turning as well? What if she wasn’t? Would her clone take her place? But the house burned down, so where would the clone go? Would Claire just be erased from Tiana and her family’s mind? She didn’t know.
“Wait a second.” She got up from the bed and went over to the TV. She started scrolling through the channels until she found the local news station. On it was a news reporter standing in front of a destroyed house. She turned up the volume
“…the house that belonged to married couple Veruka and Charlie was burnt down just earlier today. It was about 1:47 in the afternoon when the fire department was called to the scene.”
The shot cut to a male firefighter being interviewed. “We arrived on the scene and the house was just ablaze. We tried to put it out with our hoses but they didn’t seem to work so we instead used the chemicals found in fire extinguishers. We don’t know what kind of fire it was, it could be based off a new chemical for all we know.”
Magic Fire, dummy, just tell me what happened to my parents!
The news cut back to the news reporter. “Inside the building where two bodies identified to be the remains of the couple. Veruka seemed to have been stabbed by a sharp object, and Charlie’s remains were too charred for an accurate autopsy to be performed. Their daughter Claire’s body was not found in the burnt house and is now deemed missing. Back to you Larry.”
Claire turned off the television, nearly threw the remote at the wall and put her hands to her face. She had killed her parents. Turning into a Pokemon set off the trigger in their brains which lead to her Dad going off and killing her mom, and her Dad died in the fire she started. She began crying as she muffled her herself in the couch pillow. It definitely was not the best way to start off a fresh start, but her emotions ran free and she didn’t think rationally. She tried not to think of what her mother and father looked like after the fact, but the image of her mother with a gaping hole and her father looking like a sack of burnt bacon kept flashing over and over.
***
She didn’t even know when she fell asleep or for how long, but she woke up in the early hours of the morning. For a split second, everything seemed like a bad dream. She felt like maybe she had woken up from some morbid imagining of hers, but by touching her ears she knew it wasn’t.
When she regained full consciousness, she started to make out what was going on slowly. She was part Braixen, she was in a underground base, and she was part of a secret civilization that only those with the wildest imaginations could barely dream of. She felt all the more special and important now than she did before.
Then she also considered the sad realities. Her parents were dead because of her not controlling her powers, but she couldn’t be the only who did that in this base, right?
…right?
She got up from the couch and was about to explore the room when she saw an envelope placed on the door handle of the room. She grabbed the letter and opened the contents. Inside was the generic welcome letter that most other students received, a map of the school, and a schedule for classes. She folded up the papers and stared at the ceiling. If she were going to be here, she might as well make the best of it. She went back to the couch and tried her best to get back to sleep.
***
Claire, now a full-fledged Braixen, had just come back from doing some practice in the gym. She had learned a lot with her time there, and she had gotten better at her moves. She still felt horrible of what happened on the day she came to the Pokeuman base, but she tried to cover it with good things instead.
As she walked back to her room she bumped into Xander.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!”
“Oh, you’re fine. I actually needed to see you.”
“What’s up?”
“Well, I forgot to ask you something. See, we have to make sure all the Pokeumans that come here have a place to stay and feel safe. Your room has room for two more people about your size to use. Do you have any preference to your roomates?”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you want have only girls be your roommates, or are you okay with having boys and girls be your roommates?”
“So either all girls or co-ed, huh?”
“That’s right.”
“…How about co-ed?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I can handle it!”
“…Alright. Just remember not to move too fast with the men, okay?”
“Okay.”
“And hey, if for some reason you or someone else feels uncomfortable with the co-ed room, just remember I can be talked to so I can sort it out.”
“Thank you.”
“You have a good day now, okay?”
“Alright, see you later!”
And Claire returned to her bed to end the day.
