"Password changed last night, Killian," a metallic voice pinged from the hidden speaker next to one of the many hidden entrances of the Mount Coronet hideout.

"Oh, come on, Drake. I've been on an errand for Neptune, you know it's me!" I said with a goofy grin towards the camera that was camouflaged as a rock.

"Doesn't matter. If you don't have the password you can't get in," Drake said with obvious glee in his voice. I sighed sheepishly, thinking back to our last training session where he had been on the receiving end of Pikachu's reminder shocks more than once... Actually more than five times.

"Fine, then will you at least get a message to Neptune? Tell her I'm back and I got what she asked for," I said, glancing over at Pikachu who looked like he was about to faint from hunger.

"N-neptune? You want ME to give NEPTUNE a message?" Drake asked, all of his superiority vanishing from his voice at the mention of the leader. I felt a little bad using this tactic... but I was hungry!

"I mean she was the one who ASKED me to leave. If she finds out you didn't let me deliver her item then I'd hate to be you, Drake," I said casually, reaching up and holding the back of my head with my hands interlocked.

"Alright alright, don't tell her I stopped you!" Drake said, now sounding completely terrified. The rocks rumbled slightly as the door swung open, allowing me to enter. I walked through the door eagerly and smacked Drake on the shoulder as I passed his monitoring station.

"You're a real pal, Drake. I'll see you in class soon," I said with a gleeful smile before running down the quiet tunnels. As I got closer to the center of the mountain, the rock gave way to metal-coated walkways and even though the smells of the canteen were making my stomach rumble painfully, I forced my way towards Neptune's office.

As I made my way through the now-familiar hallways, my mind couldn't help going back to Serena. It had been awful having to leave her looking so sad. But every time I saw her I was reminded how important what I was doing really was and I had forced myself to catch a spunky Ponyta that I had found right where Bethany had suggested.

The sooner I can 'prove' myself to Neptune, the sooner I get into Headquarters and figure out her plan. Then I can tell Director Falon to send in the troops and be done with this undercover stuff. As excited as I had been to take on a solo mission like this, I realized now that I really REALLY hated lying to people. I hoped that the next mission wouldn't be undercover and I could just be myself and fight off the bad guys like normal.

When I came to a stop outside of Neptune's imposing office door I briefly hoped that she was in there. I didn't know how much longer my stomach could go without a warm meal. After knocking respectfully on the door I took a step back and waited. A sigh of relief escaped me when the door slid open and I quickly walked in. Neptune was sitting at her desk, which for once was not neat and organized. I blinked as I looked at the papers strewn across the office with what looked like calculations that had more letters in them than numbers. My head spun just looking at the complicated stuff and I quickly looked away to meet Neptune's smirking gaze.

"It appears you are not a mathematician," she said with cold amusement and I vehemently shook my head.

"Not at all," I said firmly, trying to hold back a shudder. She chuckled quietly and set her pen aside, leaning back in her chair and rubbing one hand briefly against her left temple in the first sign of weakness I had ever seen from Neptune. 

"You took longer than I was expecting," she said after a moment without emotion and I bit my lip.

"I'm sorry, it was difficult trying to find a pokemon I thought would suit you," I apologized with a low bow. When I peeked up at her again her lavender eyes were staring right at me without giving away any of her inner thoughts.

"And what have you brought me, Satoshi?" she asked in a challenging tone.

With a silent plea that this wasn't going to blow up in my face, I pulled out the Pokeball that I had tucked safely in the inner pocket of my jumpsuit and released the Ponyta I had caught just yesterday. I felt a ray of hope when Neptune's eyes widened with genuine surprise, but then her unreadable mask dropped back on and she looked between me and the slightly jittery Ponyta beside me.

"Why did you choose a Ponyta?" she asked in an even tone, not giving away if she was happy or disappointed. I tried to ignore the lump in my throat that was forming from my nerves and licked my dry lips.

"You said you wanted a pokemon that would be loyal to you, right?" I said, hoping that I could get my point across without sounding like a Golden Magicarp salesman.

Neptune nodded silently, which I took as her permission to continue my explanation. I reached down and stroked the Ponyta's back where there were no flames to calm her and she slowly stopped moving her hooves and stood still.

"Ponyta have a unique trait where when they have become friendly with their trainer their flames will no longer burn them. It will take some time to create that bond, but I know how hardworking you are. So as soon as you have successfully bonded with Ponyta, you'll be able to know because her mane won't burn you," I said, smiling down at the small Ponyta and thinking of how Serena had fearlessly stroked Squeaker's flaming mane. "Plus, Rapidash is a great fire type who can learn lots of different moves. And it's a riding pokemon if you can bond with it and not worry about the flames burning you, so it would be useful in lots of ways once it's evolved as well."

Neptune listened to my reasoning without comment and once I was finished I tried not to fidget. I hated how intimidating this small woman could be, and I wished that she would just tell me what she thought already instead of just staring at me for minutes on end. Just when I thought I would burst from impatience and hunger, Neptune pushed her rolling chair away from her desk and stood up elegantly.

Her hair swished as she tossed her head and sent it cascading down her back before walking up towards me and the Ponyta. She regarded the pokemon with a critical air, and I could feel Ponyta trembling under my hand as they stared at each other. To my shock, Neptune's mask cracked and I saw a faint smile quirk up one side of her lips and she knelt down to meet Ponyta's eyes.

"Satoshi thinks that we'll get along, huh, my little flame spirit?" Neptune whispered, reaching out and running a gentle finger down Ponyta's nose. A horsey sneeze escaped the little pokemon, which released two sparks of fire from her nostrils. To my relief, Neptune actually laughed, seeming unconcerned, and stood up with a small smile at me.

"I will gladly take her, Satoshi. I'm impressed that you were able to pick a pokemon that I was not expecting," Neptune said with a half-smile that seemed to be hiding something. There was nothing I could do to crack her emotionless mask though, so I just smiled and bowed.

"That's a relief to hear, Neptune," I said sincerely. I didn't know what I would have done if she had hated my choice. OR what she would have done to me.

"Honestly, Satoshi, were you worried?" Neptune asked, leaning casually against her desk and holding out one hand. I glanced uncertainly at the hand until she flicked her gaze down to Ponyta and I realized she wanted her Pokeball.

"Oh, right! Sorry about that," I said while quickly placing the Pokeball in her waiting palm. Neptune stroked the bridge of her Ponyta's nose one more time before returning her to her Pokeball and minimizing it. She then slipped her newest pokemon into her jacket pocket and stood upright, looking me straight in the eyes.

"You are constantly surpassing my expectations, Satoshi," she suddenly announced, which shocked me a little, but she wasn't done speaking so I kept my thoughts to myself. "I've watched you excel here as a grunt and I don't want to have my perfect soldier so far away from me anymore. I am going to make you a Major in Team Galactic."

I could feel my eyes bulging with shock at this news and I wasn't sure if I should show my inner elation at this promotion or not. But then confusion took over as I tried to think of what that really meant for me. Neptune chuckled, apparently finding amusement in my reaction, and then she grinned at me.

"A Major is a step below a Captain. I would have been happy to make you a captain but Proteus and Celeste were quite off-put by the idea," Neptune's eyes narrowed and her voice hardened as she glared at me, "NOT that I give in to whatever those two say. I am the leader of Team Galactic and what I say goes."

"Of course. That's how it should be," I readily agreed, feeling awkward at the suddenly menacing aura around her. She relaxed after my agreement though and she once again had that strange half-smile on that I could never tell if it was showing actual happiness or was just her way of showing that she was in control...

"Anyways. You'll be under the direct supervision of Celeste since she is in charge of Grunt recruitment and training. You will continue your admirable job as an instructor to our members and helping them increase their knowledge of pokemon battles."

I couldn't help but grimace at this news. Celeste was not one of my biggest fans and I wasn't super excited to know that she would be the one I had to report to. Neptune let out a small chuckle and I nearly jumped out of my skin when she patted my arm in an almost fond gesture.

"Trust me, it's better than being put under Proteus," she said with a strange gleam in her eyes. I nodded warily and she chuckled once again in amusement. I really didn't understand why she found me so funny, but at this point, I didn't care. I was FINALLY making some progress.

"So... is it just my title that has changed?" I asked cautiously, hoping that my eagerness to see inside the headquarters wouldn't be obvious. Neptune smiled without showing her teeth and walked past me, gesturing for me to follow her.

"That is only the beginning, Major Satoshi," she said as she moved to the back of her office.

I frowned at her strange behavior, but then she walked up to one of the bookshelves positioned in the back corner and gently placed her fingertips on the edge of one of the shelves. A sound of released pressure sighed out and the bookshelf slowly slid to the side. With one of the characteristic waves of her hand without looking back, she stepped through the opening. I followed her quickly, feeling my heart pick up speed in anticipation. Even Pikachu, who had been slumped against my shoulder with hunger, perked up and began taking in his surroundings with much more interest.

"Only a select few are allowed into the heart of our headquarters," Neptune explained as she walked confidently down the dark tunnel behind her suitcase.

"I'm honored," I said immediately, walking swiftly to keep up to her fast pace. How does a girl so short move so fast? I wondered to myself. Neptune glanced over her shoulder at me briefly with a cool smile before facing forward again and continuing to speak.

"You won't need to know the details of our plan of course, but I want to show you the project we are currently working on since you are going to be an important part of it." I could feel a tremble go through my body as I felt myself getting that much closer to giving Director Falon the information she needed to finally make a move on Neptune.

Maybe we can defeat Team Galactic before the Grand Festival happens and I can cheer Serena on, I thought to myself. Lost in my thoughts I suddenly came to a screeching halt when I realized that Neptune had stopped moving and was standing outside a massive steel door. She glanced up at me and I quickly backed away, but she smiled her strange half-smile and grabbed one of my wrists. I could hear telltale sparks coming from my shoulder, showing that Pikachu was not happy at this development. Neptune ignored my partner though and dragged me over to the scanner on the side of what looked to be a triple or even quadruple reinforced steel door.

"I'm going to register you into the security system now," Neptune said without preamble as she typed in several commands into the device so fast I couldn't even follow what she was doing. The scanning pad suddenly glowed a deep red color and she moved my wrist that was still resolutely in her grip and pressed my hand against the pad.

"Hold your hand firmly against the screen so it can make a scan of your fingerprints and palm," Neptune ordered, and I pressed a little harder against the scanner. The scanning pad made several beeping sounds and then with a cheery 'ding' the color of the pad changed to green and the massive door began to creep open.

Neptune smiled at me and released her hold on my wrist. "Well done, Satoshi," she said with a cunning glint in her eyes. "For now the only way you may enter into Headquarters is through my office, which the door will only open for me. Proteus wanted to make sure you didn't disturb his work."

I tried to keep the frown from my face as I nodded my understanding. That would make things a little difficult to explore and dig up any good evidence, but hopefully I could get them to loosen up if I did a good job on the project that Neptune had mentioned.

Neptune led me through the door only once it had fully opened, and when I glanced at the frame of the door I flinched when I saw several unexplained openings all along the inner frame. A cold chuckle snapped my attention forward and I flinched again at the malicious grin that was spreading across Neptune's lips.

"Very good, Satoshi," she said quietly. "If anyone who isn't authorized tries to go through the door before it is fully opened they will find themselves peppered with a barrage of paralytic blow darts. After all, we can't be too careful," Neptune said with the most terrifying expression I had yet to see from her. I tried to hold in my unease at this particular news and I nodded slowly.

"I guess I shouldn't expect anything less from you, Neptune," I said with an uncertain smile. Her grin relaxed into a smirk and she nodded smugly.

"You'll find that I am nothing like that idiot Cyrus, nor my overly trusting Grandpa," she said with a hard glint in her purple eyes. I wasn't sure how to respond to that so I just smiled and she continued into the large room. My eyes widened when I actually took a second to observe where I was standing.

First of all, EVERYTHING was made of a shimmering white substance that I couldn't identify. The floors, the ceilings, the machines that dotted the floor, they were all made of the stuff. It was unlike any metal I had ever seen and I couldn't help but scuff my toes gingerly against the floor. It made a slight squeaking sound, like a gym floor with a thick protective coating, but even though my shoes were kind of dirty after my jaunt in the forest it didn't leave a mark. And even though it looked slick, I didn't feel as if I would lose traction or anything as I followed after Neptune.

Is it a polished stone? It can't be marble since it's all one color... But even though it's shimmery I don't see any flecks in it... What is this stuff?

"You're so cute, Satoshi."

I jerked my head up at that comment and looked over to see Neptune watching me with amusement. Hoping that she thought I was just admiring the weird material and not trying to analyze it, I quickly jogged over so I was following her a little more closely and I turned my attention to the people working in the room.

Everyone was wearing lab coats from what I could see, which kind of made them blend in with the white machinery. Engineering had never been my strong suit, so I had no clue what any of these machines might be doing, but from what I could tell they were all building... something. Yeesh, Ash. Director Falon is going to be annoyed if I can't give her anything better than "They're building something".

"So... what is all of this?" I asked cautiously as Neptune led me past several machines all with at least two scientists manning the machine and writing down notes every once in a while.

"I told you that our new world is going to be completely new, didn't I?" Neptune asked over her shoulder as she observed everything with a gleeful look in her eyes.

"Uh, yah. I remember that," I said, thinking back to when she had taken me up to her secret alcove for the first time and explained a bit about her background to me.

"This is where it all happens," she said with obvious pride in her voice. "We have scientists creating new food that is packed with twice the amounts of vitamins and we're even reengineering something as simple as soybeans so that they are packed with even more protein and grow bigger with a meatier texture to be more satisfying." She gestured to the station she was referring to as we walked past them and I found myself spinning in place as I tried to take it all in before quickly catching up to Neptune.

"We also have teams working to create new materials that are stronger and completely resistant to natural disasters or pokemon moves, like the compound that this section of the headquarters is made of. I noticed you admiring it when we first walked in," she said with her eyes lit up joyfully as she ran a finger along one of the white machines.

"Resistant to natural disasters?" I repeated, trying to keep up with her and still take mental notes of everything we were passing.

"Of course!" Neptune said, turning around briefly to show me a face that was so full of glee she looked like a child for a moment. "This material is as strong as steel but as forgiving as rubber. Even if an earthquake were to occur, this material would just bend and roll along with the shockwaves and be left in mint condition. We call it crectin."

"That's insane," I exclaimed and she laughed as I realized how bad that sounded and awkwardly tried to apologize.

"To most people, it's an impossible dream," Neptune said with stars in her eyes. "But that's what our new world will be all about, Satoshi. Making the impossible possible!"

I couldn't help but be impressed at what Neptune had accomplished here. It sounded too good to be true, honestly. What could the world be like if Neptune would be willing to make these inventions to improve the world we already have? I wondered to myself with some sadness.

"Over here is what I really wanted to show you though," Neptune said, turning around and heading for an adjoining door.

She placed her hand on the scanner which dinged and turned green. This time she didn't wait for the door to open completely before walking through, so I assumed only the entrance doors had the booby traps built into them. I followed after her and immediately stiffened when hostile eyes landed on me. Relaxing a bit I smiled cheerfully at Proteus, who was standing next to a table with two robotic arms all made of crectin.

"Is it really necessary for him to be here?" Proteus quipped as Neptune came in and walked over to him.

"I want him to see your brilliant process," Neptune retorted with a stern glare. Proteus looked both annoyed and pleased by Neptune's compliment, but he made sure to give me a good death glare before he sniffed and turned back to what he had been working on. Neptune gestured for me to come closer and I cautiously did so.

As I got closer I frowned in confusion at what I was seeing. A pool of red hot metal was being held in a jar that appeared to be made of the same crectin stuff as the table. I watched as Proteus added pinches of powdered substances in varying shades of brown to the molten mixture as the robot arms continued to feed a steady stream of fire underneath the bowl to keep the mixture heated. Neither Neptune nor Proteus offered an explanation of what was happening so I just watched, reaching up and stroking Pikachu absently as I waited for something to happen.

I didn't have to wait long though. After just a few more minutes of Proteus adding several measures of different powders he stirred the mixture thoroughly and then typed something into a keypad down below the table. I jumped back when the robotic arms lifted the bowl up and a third robotic arm dropped from the ceiling with a mold of some kind. It placed the mold on the table and then retreated into the ceiling so the other robotic arms could pour the mixture into the mold, which had a loose diamond shape.

The robotic arm that had been spouting fire suddenly switched its nozzle and a loud burst of air came to life. I watched as it inserted the nozzle into a small hole on the other side of the mold and Proteus and Neptune both watched patiently for several minutes. I was just getting bored when the robotic arm moved away from the mold, killing its air gun at the same time, and then retreated to the edge of the table.  

With a strange reluctance, Proteus reached out to the mold and cautiously flipped it open. My eyes widened and I leaned forward in awe as I saw the shimmering coffee-colored stone inside. I had never seen anything quite like it before, but it reminded me of a fire evolution stone except this one was much darker in color.

"So? Was it a success?" Neptune asked, sounding impatient. Proteus gingerly picked up the stone, wincing slightly and flipping the apparently still warm stone between his palms for a few seconds before inspecting it thoroughly.

"No impurities this time," Proteus announced with a grin. "There's really only one way to know for sure though."

With a quiet tapping sound, Proteus inputted a command to his hidden keyboard. Both Pikachu and I jumped when a whooshing sound of released pressure came from the wall behind us. I stepped to the side as a robotic arm reached past me and into the gaping hole that was now in the wall behind me. My entire body stiffened when I saw a cage being pulled out by the robotic arm with a small Eevee lying on its side, looking like it hadn't eaten in days.

"Wait. What are you doing with that Eevee?" I asked, feeling a burst of protectiveness go through me at the sight of the weak creature. 

Proteus sneered at me as the cage was set on top of his work table before the robotic arm retracted to its spot along the table.  "Just watch, outsider," he sniffed. 

I glanced over at Neptune for some backup but her eyes were glued on the barely breathing Eevee with intense anticipation in her expression. I took a step forward, trying to think of something I could do, but before I could decide exactly what was going on Proteus reached through the bars of the cage and tapped the stone against the Eevee's side.

For a split second, nothing happened and I began thinking of how I would be able to convince Neptune to let the Eevee free when suddenly a beam of light shot from the spot where the stone touched the Eevee. The young pokemon let out a cry filled with horrendous pain and I could see its paws scrabbling against the cage floor as if desperately trying to escape. Proteus pulled his hand out of the cage and backed away a few steps, but Neptune remained at the very edge of the table watching the Eevee writhe in pain in front of her with a sick delight in her expression.

"You're hurting it! Stop!" I cried out, running over to the table and gripping the bars of the cage Eevee was in. The little pokemon let out another moan of pain and I watched in horror as the strange evolution stone sank slowly into her side, causing her entire body to glow with a sickly brown light.

"Don't interfere, Satoshi," Neptune snapped, glaring up at me briefly with more malice than I had ever seen her direct toward me.

Every fiber in my being wanted to reach in and pull out that awful stone that was inching into Eevee's body... but knowing what might happen to my position with Neptune forced my hand. Painstakingly, I released my fingers one by one from the cage bars and I turned away from Neptune and focused instead on the weak Eevee in front of me. It had stopped struggling and only a few faint moans could be heard from its glowing body, but I could see tracks of fat tears pouring from its eyes as they turned up to look at me. Once Eevee's entire body was bathed in the brown light it suddenly turned sparkling white and I had to close my eyes from the intensity of it.

I quickly opened them again, squinting a bit to try and shield my eyes from the light somewhat, and I watched as Eevee's body became longer and slimmer as its legs both thinned out and became firmer. The soft fur cuff around Eevee's neck shrunk back, becoming a collar of some sort made up of small round stones with one diamond shaped stone right at the base of its throat. Its fluffy tail lengthened and smoothed out at the same time as its ears shifted closer together at the top of its smaller face and became angular in shape. From the way they pinged against the metal cage floor, it was obvious they had become harder than any flesh should ever be. Even its eyes changed shape, shifting from the adorable round eyes that could make you melt into slanted almond-shaped eyes that were set further apart.

The last thing to change was from the back of her neck two tendrils that looked like sad versions of the ribbons that Sylveon was known for grew and elongated until they could touch the beginning of the Eevee's new tail. As the last of the changes were completed the glow around it faded and I rubbed my eyes to chase away the spots in my vision so I could look at what had become of Eevee. As the new pokemon blinked its eyes I watched as it got shakily up to its feet and looked down at itself.

If I hadn't seen how much pain Eevee had been in I would have been astounded to see this new Eeveelution before me. Its ears looked to be made of greyish-brown stone with similar stone lining its belly and coming up its chest. The majority of its fur and tail were all the color of pale, undisturbed sand, and the collar that I had seen was made up of copper-colored rocks that were embedded into Eevee's neck. Like most pokemon, it looked to have regained its strength after evolving, but even so, it was taking all of my willpower to keep myself from punching Proteus in the nose for putting that injured Eevee through something so terrible.

"It worked," Neptune whispered, looking practically giddy, "Proteus it worked! Send it to the lab for tests and then make 50 more of these to use on our other test subjects."

Proteus turned and immediately began following Neptune's orders, not even glancing at the newly evolved pokemon still trapped on his work table. I opened my mouth to draw attention to this fact when Neptune came over to my side of the table and grabbed onto my arm. Pikachu once again began creating small pops of electricity in his cheeks but Neptune, true to form, ignored him and gestured to the pokemon in front of us.

"THIS is your new project, Satoshi," Neptune stated as she gazed at the pokemon who was still looking disoriented. I saw small tears run from its angular eyes and stiffened, glancing down at Neptune and trying to keep my disgust from my expression.

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to sound civil and not like I wished I could tear this entire laboratory apart.

"Your job, besides training the grunts, will be to lead the hunts to capture pokemon to test our new evolution stones on," Neptune said as if this were the most natural thing in the world. "Your knowledge of pokemon and your strength will be perfect. We've been running low on pokemon recently because the grunts are too inept to catch anything other than the most inexperienced of pokemon."

"But.." I let out before I could stop myself. I physically had to clamp my hand over my mouth to keep my refusal from falling out of my lips and when I met Neptune's eyes I saw that same look of amusement that she always seemed to have around me.

"Yes, I know how much you care for these silly creatures," Neptune remarked with a flippant wave at the crying Not-Eevee. "But remember Satoshi. My new world, OUR new world, will be completely new. Everything you have known will be different, including the pokemon. And I need your help so we can create a world filled with only the best pokemon that can be created."

I wanted to vomit. Honestly, if my stomach wasn't empty I might just have done that. But thankfully for my lack of sustenance, I was able to hold it together. After a healthy pause, I slowly nodded.

"If that is what you need me to do..." I forced myself to say, tearing my gaze away from the crying pokemon in front of me. Neptune beamed up at me, but I could see coldness in her pale eyes and I only barely kept back a shudder when she took both of my hands in hers and squeezed them.

"I knew you would, Satoshi. We have enough evolution stones and test subjects to last for this week so I want you to concentrate on your battle classes. When the time comes I will have Celeste explain how to hunt for test subjects. Are we clear?" Neptune asked, but it didn't really sound like a question.

"Of course, Neptune. I will do anything to help you create a new world," I said, hoping that I didn't sound as resigned as I felt inside. I couldn't help but flinch when Neptune reached up and patted my cheek. She let go of my hands though (thankfully) and gestured towards the entrance of Proteus's lab.

"I'm sure you're hungry and tired by now. Just go back the way we came and pull the small lever on the side of the wall when you get to my bookcase. It will let you into the office and you can leave from there," Neptune said in obvious dismissal. 

I bowed to her, not allowing myself to look over at the evolved Eevee before I turned and marched out of the detestable room.

A/N Yikes, that was such a long chapter!! I had even planned to add something to the end of it too, but it is way too long now :P So I guess that'll have to wait! What did you think? The picture above is what Eevee looks like after it was forced to evolve with the new evolution stone Proteus created. Honestly I think it's gorgeous XD Rueme is the artist and all of their eeveelution designs are just stunning!