*Sombra's POV*

Dozens of fleeting thoughts race through my head as the black-haired man pets my ears with his hand. There's no doubt about it- I'm terrified beyond belief, more so than the forest that I used to call home could ever hope to faze me. Most of them manifest themselves as hopeless stuttering, but I can manage to get a few pained words past my shivering vocal chords.

"Who... who are you...?" I fumble my own words, my tongue threatening to fall down the back of my throat,

"And... and why am I here?"

The man gives me a warm smile, his red eyes glowing like the gentle flames of a hearth. I could tell, just by looking at the man, that he was a gentle giant; it calms me slightly, but I still can't help but feel terrified. I'm still soaking wet, and gradually freezing to death, after my "trip" through that Vaporeon. The cold temperature of this room didn't help me, making this place feel more like a crypt than an area that I could call a home.

"Don't worry, Sombra," he tells me, although I find it hard to believe that he isn't joking,

"Everything will be alright. I just want to know what happened to you, in the past day or so. When you first met Percival."

The name immediately sets off the alarm bells in the back of my mind.

Percival?! Isn't that the same one that the Espeon warned me to stop?! But... I've never met him, before! Unless...

"Is 'Percy' short for Percival?" I ask sheepishly.

Just hearing the two names so close together allows my mind to put the pieces together. My tired brain had already figured out what my heart desperately wants to avoid- I didn't want to ever see this Percival that I'm supposed to stop, but... I may have already been acquainted with him.

The look of dampened horror on the man's face confirms my suspicion, and my heart practically sinks through my chest.

"Yes," he replies flatly,

"I saw him take you away, back to his laboratory, when you were deep in the forest. It was his Toxicroak that attacked you, I believe."

My eyes widen in shock at the realization- he knew about what happened, or, at least in part.

"How did you..." I falter, but the terror in my voice doesn't drop his calm demeanor in the slightest. In fact, it does the exact opposite.

"Don't worry about it, Sombra," he coos, a gentle undertone in his voice that I could barely pick up through my trepidation,

"Do you remember anything that happened while you were with this 'Percy'?"

I take a nervous few breaths and nod. My fear of what I had just recently been through is only compounded by the man's apparent anxiety over what "Percy" had done to me.

"The first thing... When I woke up after that attack... He... He told me that he was a Scientist who works in Geosenge... And he was going to ask me some questions about myself, to see if I had recovered from whatever his Toxicroak did to me. I could remember the answers to most of them, like my name, but he ended his trivia with something he called 'virtual reality.' He said that... That it was fake... and that no harm would come to me! And then..."

I trail off at once, the horrifying images of that massive purple snake- the Arbok- come flooding back to me: the look of malice on its face, the crushing grip of its coils, the sharpness of its fangs, and, worst of all, the untold amounts of pain I had to experience in its stomach.

...

"And then what happened?" the man asks me, now quite curious.

His gaze is still quite calm and collected when he prods me again, which helps my unnerved state only slightly, but there's a purpose behind his red eyes that I don't think I'll ever come to understand. He ruffles one of my ears back with his hand and smiles.

"Don't worry, you're doing fine. Just keep going, and we can help you," he affirms.

I take another deep breath and continue.

"That virtual reality... It didn't feel fake at all. It... It all felt so real, like it was actually happening to me. The pain of... That thing... That snake...!"

I can't will myself to go on. All I can manage is a few short whimpers to keep from passing out from fear. My entire body is shaking by this point, and the man calmly kneels down to steady me with his arm. It's warm to the touch, but the faux embrace reminds me too much of the Arbok I had so desperately wanted to forget, and it doesn't help in calming me, this time.

"So I know that your name is Sombra," he tells me,

"But I don't think you've gotten to know us."

I can tell that he's trying to change the subject to abate my uneasiness, and my mind eagerly latches onto the idea.

"Your names? Are you going to tell me your names?" I deadpan, and the man smiles in affirmation.

"Yes, I'm going to introduce everyone here to you," he replies,
"But, first, I need to tell you a few things, but do not repeat them to anyone. Understand?"

Before I can respond, another, much harsher outcry breaks out from among the other humans.

"How do you know that he's not just going to spill this knowledge to Percival? Something tells me that he's reprogrammed his mind, somehow..."

I turn my gaze to face this new man. The speaker bears coal-black glasses to match his equally-darkened hair. Just by the sound of his voice, I can already tell that he doesn't trust me.

Well, I can't exactly say that I trust him, either...

The red-eyed man who had been talking to me turns to him and scowls.

"Can you not see that he's terrified?!" he raises his voice,

"If we don't get him acquainted with the Cosmos, he'll never say a word to us! Just be glad that I've gotten as much out of him as I have, so far! I promise, we'll figure out what Percival did to him... And we'll help him."

The shorter man doesn't seem too keen on the "And we'll help him" bit, but he nods his head at the rest of the statement.
"Cassius, we don't have the time to dilly-dally like this," he warns,

"Sombra is the key that we need to take down Percival, and the longer we remain in the dark, the more advances he can make on us while we're totally blind!"

The key? To taking down Percival? Why is... But if that man I met truly was Percival, I need to work with these humans as much as I can! Maybe they can help me understand what happened in Percival's "lab"...

"My name is Cassius," the red-eyed man affirms, slowly drawing me out of my thoughts and back into reality,

"That man I was just talking with is Sigmund. He's the most analytic of the group, while my specialties are espionage, surveillance, and scouting."

He makes an introductory motion towards the other humans present, as he references them.

"This is Davian. He's a master at working with Pokemon's natural tendencies, and helping them to overcome simply impossible obstacles for their respective species. For instance, he's taught his Machamp an excellent set of fine motor skills. It can even operate with a sewing needle, which would usually be deemed impossible by any other Machamp and their Trainer. How he does it, I have no idea, but he has his secrets. We all do."

I slowly take in Davian's appearance, although it won't be hard for me to miss him. Out of the five humans present, Davian is the only one with a unique head of vibrant, sea-blue hair. He doesn't seem to talk much, however.

Cassius turns his attention to the next Scientist, whose name would follow me quite far. As soon as I see the man, slightly hunched over with a enigmatic gaze in his green eyes, I just know that he's much more than his appearance suggests. To the casual observer, he looks far too old to work quickly, but I can tell that the gears of his mind are turning quite rapidly. His sickly white hair suggests that he is quite experienced in life, both mentally and physically.

Cassius follows my strange regard of the main and hides a smile.

"That is Rex," he affirms,

"Don't let his appearance fool you- he used to be construction worker back in the day, and he still does retain some of that ability. Even for an older gentleman, Rex is still quite strong. But here in the Cosmos, his skill is identifying weak points of structures, Pokemon, and the like; it is simply unparalleled."

Finally, Cassius points his gloved hand at the man standing next to the Vaporeon that had already scared me to death with its uncanny abilities. His hair is black, although not nearly as darkened as Sigmund's, and his emerald eyes seem to bring an uncharacteristic warmth with them, despite the monster of a Pokemon that he's currently petting with the back of his hand. He looks down at the Vaporeon and smiles.

"And that's Arcadia," Cassius states,

"He's our newest member, but that doesn't mean he's incompetent. In fact, his Pokemon, Basque, is the only reason that you're here with us, and not stuck with Percival or in some abandoned laboratory with no recollection of anything."

I take another glance at the Vaporeon that I know Cassius is referring to, and I can't help but shudder. Something deep within me continues to prod me, telling me that this "Basque" is going to attempt taking my life one day. Although he's satiated when Arcadia is near him, I can just tell that I wouldn't be safe from that watery prison cell forever...

As if to compound my fears even further, my ears immediately perk up when I hear an unmistakeable sound, one that I had since come to terms with while living with starvation- the sound of a growling stomach, empty and waiting to be filled.

Thoughts phase in and out of my mind, as I step backwards, away from the sound and the mortifying source of it. My fur stands on end and, through my terrified eyes, I watch in half-curiosity and half-terror as Arcadia kneels down to Basque and rubs the Vaporeon's stomach, as if absolutely nothing is out of the ordinary. To him, it must be that way, but I know better.

"Someone sounds hungry," he quips,

"Shall we find you something to eat?"

Basque nods enthusiastically and licks his lips. Anyone that knew anything about survival could see the hunger in his eyes- that burning desire to continue to live, against all odds. It's something that I'm quite familiar with, coming from the single accursed forest.

Arcadia slowly stands up with a smile on his face, walking towards this room's metal door and turning the handle, Basque purring at his heels.

"Keep an eye on Sombra for me," he instructs Cassius,

"I want to talk to him, myself, sometime. But, first, I need to get some more food in Basque's belly."

He turns and walks away, shutting the door with a soft clang; and, as the two leave the room, my mind begins to wander.

Part of me thinks that Imprison will keep me alive when Basque finally comes for me... But, at the same time, what if my fears turn out to be untrue? What if Imprison doesn't even work on him?! Then what will I do?...

A short, pained sigh escapes me, and I slowly lie down on the room's cold floor. Cassius smiles, much in the same way that Arcadia had done for Basque, and strokes my left ear warmly.

"You tired?" he asks.

That makes two of them that seem to want to care about me. That Arcadia... and Cassius. Though I'm not really sure how to feel about Basque... His words still ring in my head:
"If you don't settle down in there, I'll liquefy you faster than you can blink! Get comfy- you're staying in my gut for a while until Arcadia tells me what to do with you next."

... Basque is completely devoted to Arcadia, I can tell. But I just know that it's on a temporal restraint. Without that emerald-gazed Scientist to keep him well-fed and happy, he'll turn on me, once I've undoubtedly "served my usefulness" in helping stop Percival... No, why do I believe that they just want to hurt me, to use me for their own gains? Is it because of Pyre? Of my dead family? Or is it because of me- and my own hardened heart, hardened by the living nightmare that my life has recently turned into?... All this thinking... It really is tiring me out... I just need to rest...

The desire to sleep, to rid myself of the concerns of this life, soon overtakes me, and I mew softly in answer to Cassius' question. He nods in acknowledgement and stands up, walking away to one of the desks for a few moments. I crane my head to watch him, until he comes back with a small blanket of sorts, which he then dexterously slips under my exhausted body. A short purr escapes me, this being the most comfortable and relaxed moment in my entire life. Here, among Scientists who wanted me to live; without Basque to emotionally scar me, further; and soft, sweet comfort under my fur- I can't ignore the opportunity for long. Even before I'm consciously thinking about drifting to sleep, my eyes automatically close, and I soon nod off without being able to stop myself.

...

...

...

"Hey!" a sharp voice hisses into my ear, but my body doesn't seem to register it. I can hear the noise, but I don't have the resolve to act on it.

"Wake up, Sombra!" the unknown speaker sighs, although I swear I can make out the intonation. Then, it adopts a slightly sardonic air to it.

"Or do I need to hold you in my gut again for you to wake up?"

That one short sentence, although rigid and full of sarcasm, is more than enough to jolt me awake. I open my eyes with a start, seeing Basque directly in front of me, and instinctively spread myself along the floor, hoping to at least stall the, now, not-so-mysterious Pokemon. His stomach, just from a quick glance, is twice as large in diameter as it usually would be, and I shudder.

What could possibly be in there? Well, rest assured, it's probably not coming out...

"Basque...? Please... don't do it!" my voice cracks and quivers, the only conceivable response I can think of to match his satirical invitation,

"I don't... ever want to go back there, ever again!"

He smiles and laughs, seemingly reveling in the sheer terror running through my veins. My heart beats faster than it ever has before, but it slows and relaxes once I hear Arcadia's voice come from behind me. I don't dare to turn around and expose my vulnerable backside to the Vaporeon, however.

"Ah, Sombra, you're awake," the man muses,

"I have something to show you. Basque I had found a certain something with your name on it while we were taking you out of Percival's lab."

He casually walks over and kneels down in front of me, as if he can already tell that I don't want to turn away from Basque's every move, although the Vaporeon, himself, doesn't really seem to mind my prying gaze.

Arcadia's quite smart, I'll give him that. That explains why he knows how to handle his missions while working with a Pokemon like Basque. I can understand why they became friends.

A small cream-colored folder rests itself in Arcadia's grasp, and he slowly opens it, laying the contents, a single white sheet, out on the floor in front of me. I take a moment to look at it, but I can't seem to make heads or tails of the writing, except for one small picture in the upper right hand corner- that of a thin, starved Umbreon. My eyes widen, as I soon realize the reason that he's showing this folder to me.

"Is that..." I falter,

"Is that... Me?!"

Arcadia nods and slowly ruffles my ear with the palm of his hand. His touch is warm, but it feels more inviting before, like I'm more relaxed, despite the cold-blooded predator happily curled around his enlarged stomach only a dozen or so feet from me.

"Cassius found this folder in Percival's archives, and he figured that we might as well save the only thing that will expose Percival's twisted experiments. Remember how Sigmund said that you're the key to bringing him down? We wanted to save his research about you, but nothing else of it is allowed to survive. I don't really know exactly what he did, but I'd seen a few of his newer experiments... and it worries me. In any case, would you like me to read it to you? You seem a bit worried about what it's saying."

He runs his hand down my back, spreading the warmth it gives to my entire body, and a slight smile crosses my face. I want to enjoy that feeling as much as I can, although it's quickly pushed to the side by my burning desire to know what Percival knows about me.

"Go ahead, read it to me," I say before I even have the chance to stop myself, although the back of my mind is sending the opposite message to my brain.

Am I really ready for what I'm going to find in there?

Arcadia takes a deep breath and begins to read, holding his finger next to the symbols on each page so that I could follow along with what he was saying, possibly to cognitively match blocks of text with words,

"'Sombra (1/3)

Species: Umbreon (Male)

Age: Untested. Biology suggest around 18 years of age.

History: Found in the forest outside Geosenge City on //////. Physique was quite weak- I believe that he is malnourished and unwanted. Taken back to lab on ////// using Toxicroak's poison as a sedative.

Status: Alive (3)'

Some of the text is faded, so I can't exactly read the dates, but I assume that the day he found you in the forest and brought you back to his lab was the same day Cassius saw the Toxicroak accosting you."

His finger moves to a diagram of some machine under the word "Status," as if he's attempting to analyze what it is supposed to be. I take a glance at it, myself, and I'm shocked- I recognize what it is that's in the picture.

A small metal table with chains on it... A glass wall separating it from a large metal panel of buttons...

"This diagram tells me that this is the completed set-up for something... But I can't quite make out what it's a set-up for- the writing is too faded to tell..." he muses, but my unrest quickly triggers another question from him.

"You OK, Sombra?" Arcadia asks, and I slowly shake my head.

"I've seen that... I've seen that machine before," I whimper subconsciously,
"He told me he was going to help me... Then he bound me on that table, pressed a few buttons... Electricity surged through me- then everything went blank after that."

Arcadia attempts to comfort me by slowly stroking the underside of my chin, his hand still feeling as warm as ever. It gives me a slight sense of security, like I'm protected.

Maybe I can get to the bottom of this, if all I need to abate my fears is him, around. Maybe...

"Well, your 'Status' references another page that must undoubtedly be part of this folder on you... There's just one problem. As you can see, this folder only contains one sheet of paper- the first section of the biography he made of you. Something tells me that we'll need all three parts to piece together just what he did to you. Maybe we can go find it, if..."

A loud sigh interrupts him, and I realize it had come from Sigmund.

He seems quite good at cutting off conversation... While that's useful to be to-the-point, it's starting to get on my nerves.

Sigmund frowns and expresses his disgust with the idea almost immediately.

"We don't have any more time for looking around, Arcadia! With our luck, the International Police have already barricaded any sort of entry into Percival's decrepit lab. And even if the rest of that biography was there, there's no doubt we'd be stopped and interrogated! That's the last thing we need when we're already under a time crunch!"

Cassius's face falls, and he turns to Arcadia.

"He's got a point. We need to figure out, very quickly, what's going on, here. Our issue is that the only lead we have is Sombra- he doesn't know what Percival did to him, and my guess is that Percival has the other two sheets of paper we need. I'll go scout out the surrounding area for anything we can..."

A loud Croak echoes from outside the room, somewhere, and the noise instantly makes every single fur on my stand up on end. I had never wanted to hear that horrible sound again, and I can immediately tell that everyone else seems to have the same reaction. I jump backwards, as far as I can away from the sound, and shiver in the corner of the room; curiosity, however, does not allow me to close my eyes, and I am forced to watch the entire situation unfold in front of me.

"Wasn't that..." Arcadia begins to say, until Cassius's eyes flare up in anger. He pulls his own Pokeball from his belt and angrily storms towards the room's metal door, a scowl freshly planted on his face, until Rex grabs him by the collar of his lab coat and jerks him backwards.

"Don't be hasty, now. Something tells me that it came here to lure us into something far worse than simply fighting it. If we keep it from coming back, Percival will know exactly where we are, as this Toxicroak is his messenger. I also have a feeling he's attached some sort of recording device to it. Thus, any decision that we make right now will carry consequences for the entirety of this crusade against Percival. He already knows that we oppose him as he has a vendetta against Arcadia. Why waste energy proving what he already knows, as well as much more information?!"

Does Percival really hate them so much? I wonder why... But, if he's supposedly given a recording device to his Pokemon... What's to say that he hasn't done the same to me?! What if I'm secretly a spy for him, and I don't even know it?!

Just the thought of helping my, now, enemy, is alarming to me.

Croak! comes the sound from outside, this time louder and much, much closer than before, although it's slightly pained at the same time. In response, Davian calmly holds up a hand, as if telling us all to stop moving and listen to him.

"Relax," he smiles,

"I've already got the situation under control."

Every single entity, human and Pokemon, looks at the blue-haired Scientist with question in his gaze.

"What do you mean that you've got the situation..." Sigmund growls, but he halts his criticism immediately when a massive bipedal Pokemon, bearing striking resemblance to a human, in and of itself, opens and steps through the room's door. It seems to have one of its arms behind its back, like it's holding a surprise party for someone. I have to look at the Pokemon a few times, just to make sure I'm seeing it right.

Bluish-gray skin... If that wasn't weird enough, the muscles on each of its four arms are wider than my own chest is... I don't know whether that's a testament to how thin I am, or how muscular that Pokemon is... Or both. But there's an odd glow in the Pokemon's slitted red eyes- that same type of scrutiny that I saw in Davian's eyes. Perhaps this Pokemon belongs to him?

A short, poignant bellow escapes the Pokemon's yellow lips as it walks up to Davian with a smile,

"Ma!"

"Ah, Machamp, good to see you again. I assume you came here to show me something?" Davian muses.

The Pokemon nods and holds the arm it had been hiding in plain sight. When I take a glance at what it's holding, I gasp in amazement. There, gently nestled in the crook of the Machamp's burly appendage, is the blue body of a Pokemon that I could recognize quite easily, even though there's something off about it.

That's the Toxicroak that attacked me- there's no doubt about it!

"Davian... Did you not just hear what we were talking about?!" Sigmund snarls angrily,

"If that Toxicroak has heard what's been going on here... That information is probably already transmitted to Percival by now! Do you realize what you've done?!"

Davian doesn't lose his cool, and, instead, a smile forms on his face.

"There is no need to worry, Sigmund, Machamp had this planned from the start. After out attack on Percival's lab, I expected something to be hunting us down, tracing our signal, you know? So I stationed my Machamp a fair ways away and waited for that expected assault to come to fruition. I've educated my Pokemon about the use of recording devices, and how they can be combatted. You are familiar with how the move DynamicPunch works, yes? A blow so strong, that it causes the target's brain to become confused. Why does this work, though? It is due to the sound waves, amplified by the punch, that interrupts the brain's activity..."

"We know this, already, Davian," Sigmund looks at the man coldly,

"You don't need to educate us on a move that your Pokemon has used dozens and dozens of times! Unless you mean to tell me that DynamicPunch has somehow saved our base from Percival's prying eyes?!"

"That's exactly what I'm going to tell you," Davian smirks, and, before Sigmund can interrupt, he continues,

"One other quirk about it that I noticed, is that each sound wave can be manipulated to disrupt certain frequencies. Moreover, Machamp are famed for being able to throw an incredibly large amount of punches in a short span of time. Thus, if each punch were to be calculated to disrupt certain frequencies..."

A triumphant smile forms on Cassius' and Rex's face at almost the same time as Davian's own.

"You can jam any frequency, even if you don't know it!" Rex caws,

"So you did plan for this... You're quite advanced for someone who spends most of his times reading books to his Pokemon."

He adds the last bit with a teasing, but understanding, smile.

"Thus, Sigmund," Davian addresses the man who had doubted him,

"I have not visibly harmed the Toxicroak, only allowed it to faint by virtue of its own pressure points. There is no evidence of doing so, and its own recording device records nothing but mere whimpers. Can it hear us now? Possibly. But all that will be received and returned is undecipherable cacophony. Thus, I believe it is time that we propose our next task to garner some information."

Sigmund nods, slowly, yet begrudgingly.

Does he just want to prove everyone wrong or something? It's starting to get a little ridiculous... Unless he's really that paranoid about any and all circumstances. He very well might be- based on what Cassius introduced him as, he seems to be the type of person to analyze every single possibility of every single action. Now I see why he's in this group- as a counterbalance to the risks that they have to take while fighting Percival. At least, I hope that's what all of this means... I might just be slowly going crazy from all that's happened.

"You want to find the other pieces of Sombra's biography, don't you," the man sighs, pointing a crooked finger at Davian, who simply smiles at the passive accusation.

"'Course I do, Sigmund. And I know just how to..."

Sigmund opens his hand to silence Davian and shakes his head.

"I know I should be trusting your judgment after how you handed the situation with Percival's little spy, but I already know that it is far too dangerous for any of us to leave this place and go investigate. We need all of our minds, put together, to remain vigilant..."

Without warning, the normally-quieted Arcadia decides to add his own input to this lopsided discussion:

"But there's one piece of evidence that Percival knows we have, yet no one else does. And he's already proven that he can help us gather information."

He turns his gaze to his trusty murderer of a partner, and I know, immediately, what he's thinking; and, as much as I don't want to trust Basque with anything, I have a sinking feeling that Arcadia is right.

None of us can leave here, for fear of being discovered... But Basque can. If they try, he just simply becomes water and gets away. My only worry is for whoever he happens to meet on his little excursion...

An understanding look affixes itself to everyone else present in the lab, including the Vaporeon in question.

"Ah, I see what you're saying," Cassius is the first one to state his opinion on the matter,

"The rest of us need to stay here to keep the Cosmos undiscovered while we work, and Sombra needs to remain here because who knows what Percival did to him... But Basque can get into the blast site, stay hidden, investigate, and leave. Just as long as you're not going to ask him to carry another Pokemon back with him, we should be fine."

"Exactly correct," Arcadia confirms,

"We already have Sombra, so there is no further need to 'bring any Pokemon back' like you're worried about. But there is one thing he can still find for us- that is information. You see, Basque is the only one of our group that the International Police do not know about- at least, that we can send out freely. Like you said, it is unwise to use Sombra as our spy, because Percival will be looking to reclaim him. We cannot, under any circumstances, allow that to happen, until we figure out what the man did to the poor Pokemon..."

Arcadia turns to Basque, and a chill runs down my spine as the Vaporeon returns the man's gaze. I swear that, even though his entire focus is on Arcadia, he's still looking at me hungrily, and my premonition greatly unnerves me, to the point that I'm practically in tears.

Just looking at him... I can't shake the feeling that it's only a matter of time before something goes wrong, and he eats me, for real...

However, this time, Arcadia doesn't seem to notice my distress.

Or, perhaps he does, but he needs to tell Basque what to do, first... Either way...

"Basque, you heard what we were discussing, yes?" Arcadia questions,

"And you understand what is being asked of you?"

The Vaporeon nods, and he begins to purr again, as if Arcadia's voice had just activated his vocal chords.

"I need to go to this 'blast site' and find some information for you? On Sombra, right?" he asks for confirmation.

"Exactly," Arcadia affirms,

"Although, there is only one condition. I want you to stay as far away from others as you can. The less that the International Police know about you, the better that we will fare, later on, and..."

"But what if I get hungry on the way?" Basque interrupts, placing a paw on his shrinking stomach,

"That's bound to happen, isn't it?"

Arcadia, in response, closes his eyes and puts a hand to his chin for a moment. After a few seconds, his eyes light up with what can only be described as an interesting idea.

"I know that your stomach is unable to react with inorganic compounds, as well as most plant fibres... And there's not really a place to hide this on your body... Basque, do you think that you can keep something smaller in your stomach for me?"

He reaches into one of the folds of his lab coat and withdraws a small screened device with buttons on it. Both Basque and I look at the object, curiously. Neither of us know what Arcadia's planning, but Davian is already grinning.

"You can't give him a walkie-talkie to hold onto... So you're just letting him hold it in him!" he chuckles.

"Precisely!" Arcadia smiles, kneeling down and holding the object out to Basque with a smile.

"This is a walkie-talkie. Two entities can use it to communicate from long distances. If you ever have a question, I want you to use this to talk to me. So, when you get hungry, you can always just ask me what to eat, if you need help. I just need you to do one thing with it- since you don't have pockets like I do, I need you to hold this in your stomach for me, just so it stays hidden from outside view; and don't worry, I've already safeguarded it from the contents of your internals, so it'll be fine."

He smiles warmly, and Basque nods, nudging the device out of Arcadia's hand and onto the floor. The Vaporeon slowly pads over to it, looking down at his stomach for a moment. Whatever was inside, had all-but vanished, and Basque takes this as a sign of approval. In an instant, the Vaporeon is quickly replaced with a mass of water that, before my eyes, surrounds the small object in a sphere of crystalline blue. Then, as if by magic, the features of the Vaporeon emerge from the mass, bit by bit, until the entirety of the liquid has been converted back into skin and scales.

Basque smiles and looks up at Arcadia, looking quite proud of himself as he points to a small bulge in his stomach and rubs it with his paw.

"There," he smiles,

"It's all tucked away."

So that's what happened... When the mass of water surrounded me in Percival's lab, all he did was form his stomach around me. That's probably both the most interesting and most disturbing process that I've ever seen...

Arcadia laughs and pats Basque on the head.

"Good work. Now, before I say anything else, that device shouldn't affect your ability to eat anything else... Just make sure that when you need to eat, you push it out of your stomach. We wouldn't want your meal to get to talk to me, now would we?"

Basque grins, and he nuzzles Arcadia's hand affectionately, making the man smile. But, before Arcadia can reply, Cassius holds up a small red-and-white sphere that he had taken from his belt.

"I think I know how to get Basque all the way over there, without any sort of suspicion. My Pidgeot's known for being about to carry quite the load. Just as long as your little friend doesn't get too hungry along the way, we should be fine- I don't think that he can carry both Basque and another Pokemon, at once, though. Birds are built for flying, and too much wait makes it impossibly difficult to stay afloat..."

Arcadia nods, but he doesn't turn his attention away from Basque.

"Good luck, big guy," he smirks,

"Just do your best- try to get as much information about Sombra as you can. And, if you need me, you know what to do."

He begins to pet Basque with one hand, letting the Vaporeon revel in happiness by nuzzling it, while his other hand slowly moves a syringe, outside of Basque's range of vision, to the base of the Pokemon's neck, and gently pushes it into his skin. Basque lets out a small cry of pain, but Arcadia quickly diminishes it with a smile. As the syringe's plunger comes down, so do the Vaporeon's eyelids, and, within a few seconds, Basque is fast asleep, sleeping at Arcadia's feet.

The man nods and turns to Cassius.
"I really hate having to do that to him..." he sighs,

"But we have no other choice. Basque is the only Pokemon we have that doesn't know this hideout, backwards and forwards, and we can use that apparent naivety to fool Percival... In any case, Cassius, he's all yours."

Cassius, as if on cue, raises the hand holding the small red-and-white sphere, and throws the object to the ground. Just as it touches the room's floor, it opens, and a bright white light blinds me for a moment, forcing me to close my eyes. When I open them again, a large bird Pokemon stands in front of Cassius, looking at the man with a curious gaze.

"Geot?!" the bird caws. It seems to already know that it's been summoned with a purpose, and it turns its head, scanning the room to attempt the locate this calling.

I had to marvel for a second at Cassius' Pokemon. I'd never seen anything quite like it, before.

The avian's plumage is colored a robust brown that I can tell, immediately, isn't just for show, undertoned with a cream-colored down of flight feathers. I look up at its head, and it gazes back at me curiously, bringing with it a red-and-yellow crest, two piercing eyes, and a hooked beak that looked strong enough to rip through just about anything.

I can see why his Pidgeot is the right Pokemon for the job- just looking at its frame suggests that it's far stronger than any normal bird...

Cassius smiles, pointing a finger to the sleeping Vaporeon, and the bird practically crows in approval, as if it's waiting for the invitation to lift Basque and cart him off to who-knows-where.

"Geot!"

The Pidgeot ruffles its feathers and stretches its wings idly, seemingly still wanting a comment.

"Pidgeot, you know the way to the blast site by Geosenge? I trust that you'll keep our little friend safe and sound while you bring him there."

Cassius' Pokemon nods, and he opens the room's metal door for it. I assume this is what leads to the outside world, and I breath a heavy sigh of relief.

But I'll be safe here, for now, at least. Percival won't be finding our location anytime soon, thanks to Davian and his Machamp, and Basque's leaving for a while. Finally, I won't have to fear for my life... Hopefully, this'll, at least, last longer than a few minutes...

Quicker than lightning, the Pidgeot grabs the downed Basque in its talons and speeds through the doorway, careful not to knick its wings or its passenger on the way out. Once I can no longer see the Pidgeot through the open doorway, the metallic seal shuts behind it with a loud, firm click.

Along with the door's cessation, my own eyes begin to droop and close. I don't recognize how exhausted I am, still trapped in my fear of Basque, and, even though I had only just woke up, my tired mind gives into sleep and unconsciousness before I can stop it...